Optimising yield and resource utilisation of summer maize under the conditions of increasing density and reducing nitrogen fertilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Shanshan; Wang, Xiangyu; Zhu, Qicen; Jiang, Dong; Dong, Shuting

2017-12-01

The inefficient use of resources always poses risks of maize ( Zea mays L.) yield reduction in China. We performed this research to monitor the effects of increasing plant density and reducing nitrogen (N) rate on radiation-use efficiency (RUE), N efficiency traits, grain yield (GY) and their inter-relationships. Besides, whether GY and resource-use efficiency can both be maximized was examined. Hence, a 2-year field experiment was conducted using a widely grown variety "Denghai 618" in Shandong, China. Treatments contained two different plant densities [67,500 (D1) and 97,500 (D2) plant ha-1] and three N levels [0 (N-2), 180 (N-1), 360 (Nck) kg ha-1], set D1Nck as control. Significant increases in grain yield, biomass, RUE, above-ground N uptake (AGN) and N efficiency were observed when density increased from D1 to D2. Declining N application was accompanied by reductions in yield, RUE and AGN especially under high density, yet an obvious improvement in N recovery efficiency (NRE), agronomic N efficiency and N partial factor productivity. The increased GY was positive related with population biomass ( r = 0.895**), RUE ( r = 0.769**) and AGN ( r = 0.923**), whereas it has no significant correlation with N efficiency. In this study, D2Nck obtained 18.8, 17.9, 24.8 and 29.7% higher grain yield, RUE, AGN and NRE respectively, compared to control, optimizing both yield and the efficiencies of radiation and N use. Furthermore, higher yield and RUE with more desirable N efficiency may be possible via optimizing density and N rate combination.

[Effects of irrigation amount on morphological characteristics and water use of Jatropha curcas].

PubMed

Yang, Qi-Liang; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Xiao-Gang; Liu, Yan-Wei; Yang, Ju-Rui

2014-05-01

Jatropha curcas is the most promising energy tree, and soil moisture is the key factor which affects the seedling quality and water use efficiency of J. curcas. With aims to evaluate the effect of different irrigation amount on growth, morphological characteristics and water use of J. curcas, a pot experiment was conducted with four irrigation amounts, i. e., W1:472.49 mm, W2: 228.79 mm, W3:154.18 mm and W4:106.93 mm, respectively. Compared with W1 treatment, the leaf area and stem cross-section area of base significantly decreased in W2, W3 and W4 treatments, but Huber value significantly increased, which could improve the efficiency of water transfer from root to shoot, thus enhance the capability of resistance to drought stress. Compared with W, treatment, the healthy index of J. curcas seedlings decreased slightly in W2 treatment but significantly decreased in W3 and W4 treatments. Hence, the irrigation amount from 228.79 to 472.49 mm was beneficial to increase the healthy index of J. curcas seedlings. Compared with W1 treatment, irrigation water was saved by 67.4% in W3 treatment, and the total dry mass and evapotranspiration significantly decreased by 17.4% and 68.6%, and the irrigation water use efficiency and total water use efficiency increased by 153.2% and 163.2%, respectively. In the condition of this study, the irrigation amount of 154.18 mm was beneficial to increase water use efficiency.

Spatial econometric analysis of factors influencing regional energy efficiency in China.

PubMed

Song, Malin; Chen, Yu; An, Qingxian

2018-05-01

Increased environmental pollution and energy consumption caused by the country's rapid development has raised considerable public concern, and has become the focus of the government and public. This study employs the super-efficiency slack-based model-data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) to measure the total factor energy efficiency of 30 provinces in China. The estimation model for the spatial interaction intensity of regional total factor energy efficiency is based on Wilson's maximum entropy model. The model is used to analyze the factors that affect the potential value of total factor energy efficiency using spatial dynamic panel data for 30 provinces during 2000-2014. The study found that there are differences and spatial correlations of energy efficiency among provinces and regions in China. The energy efficiency in the eastern, central, and western regions fluctuated significantly, and was mainly because of significant energy efficiency impacts on influences of industrial structure, energy intensity, and technological progress. This research is of great significance to China's energy efficiency and regional coordinated development.

A study of the effects of innovative and efficient practices on the performance of hospice care organizations.

PubMed

Kirby, Eric G; Keeffe, Michael J; Nicols, Kay M

2007-01-01

Due to changes in social norms, funding initiatives, and other environmental factors, the business of hospice care has significantly evolved over the past 40 years. There has been an influx of for-profit firms, increased consolidation, and significant funding changes. We have witnessed a growth in utilization rates, an increase in insurance coverage, and improved governmental funding. Hospice care organizations have responded to these pressures by pursuing more efficient and innovative business practices. Drawing upon institutional theory, this study seeks to address whether quality of care provided to hospice patients is affected as organizations respond to environmental pressures for innovative and efficient business practices. This study uses hierarchical regression to analyze data from 111 hospices in California. Innovative practices are positively related to quality of care. However, efficient practices have no significant relationship with quality of care. It appears that incorporating innovative practices is positively related to quality of care. Although cost containment may be necessary for continued survival, efficiency improvement efforts do not seem to lead to improved quality of care.

Effects of electrode settings on chlorine generation efficiency of electrolyzing seawater.

PubMed

Hsu, Guoo-Shyng Wang; Hsia, Chih-Wei; Hsu, Shun-Yao

2015-12-01

Electrolyzed water has significant disinfection effects, can comply with food safety regulations, and is environmental friendly. We investigated the effects of immersion depth of electrodes, stirring, electrode size, and electrode gap on the properties and chlorine generation efficiency of electrolyzing seawater and its storage stability. Results indicated that temperature and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of the seawater increased gradually, whereas electrical conductivity decreased steadily in electrolysis. During the electrolysis process, pH values and electric currents also decreased slightly within small ranges. Additional stirring or immersing the electrodes deep under the seawater significantly increased current density without affecting its electric efficiency and current efficiency. Decreasing electrode size or increasing electrode gap decreased chlorine production and electric current of the process without affecting its electric efficiency and current efficiency. Less than 35% of chlorine in the electrolyzed seawater was lost in a 3-week storage period. The decrement trend leveled off after the 1 st week of storage. The electrolyzing system is a convenient and economical method for producing high-chlorine seawater, which will have high potential applications in agriculture, aquaculture, or food processing. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Experimental study of hydraulics and sediment capture efficiency in catchbasins.

PubMed

Tang, Yangbo; Zhu, David Z; Rajaratnam, N; van Duin, Bert

2016-12-01

Catchbasins (also known as gully pot in the UK and Australia) are used to receive surface runoff and drain the stormwater into storm sewers. The recent interest in catchbasins is to improve their effectiveness in removing sediments in stormwater. An experimental study was conducted to examine the hydraulic features and sediment capture efficiency in catchbasins, with and without a bottom sump. A sump basin is found to increase the sediment capture efficiency significantly. The effect of inlet control devices, which are commonly used to control the amount of flow into the downstream storm sewer system, is also studied. These devices will increase the water depth in the catchbasin and increase the sediment capture efficiency. Equations are developed for predicting the sediment capture efficiency in catchbasins.

Breathing efficiency during inspiratory threshold loading in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Baarends, E M; Schols, A M; Nusmeier, C M; van der Grinten, C P; Wouters, E F

1998-05-01

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) demonstrate an increased oxygen cost of breathing. It is as yet unclear whether this is related to a decreased breathing efficiency. The aim of the present study was to compare breathing efficiency in 16 patients with COPD (11 men, five women) and 16 healthy elderly subjects (seven men, nine women), and to investigate a possible relationship between breathing efficiency and resting energy expenditure (REE). REE was measured using a ventilated hood system. Breathing efficiency was assessed by measuring oxygen consumption (V'O2), mean inspiratory mouth pressure (MIP) and flow during breathing at rest and subsequently during breathing against an inspiratory threshold (40% of maximal inspiratory pressure). During loaded breathing there was a significant increase in V'O2, MIP, and external work of breathing compared with unloaded breathing in both groups. As intended, ventilation did not increase significantly during the breathing efficiency test in the patients with COPD. The breathing efficiency (median, range) of the patients with COPD was similar (3.7%, 1.4-8.7%) to that of the healthy elderly subjects (3.2%, 1.7-8.3%). Breathing efficiency was not correlated with REE in either group. In the present study, in which dynamic hyperinflation was probably prevented, no difference in breathing efficiency was found between healthy elderly subjects and COPD patients when breathing against an external inspiratory threshold. Furthermore, breathing efficiency was not related to REE in both groups.

How different are hospitals' responses to a financial reform? The impact on efficiency of activity-based financing.

PubMed

Biørn, Erik; Hagen, Terje P; Iversen, Tor; Magnussen, Jon

2010-03-01

For policy-makers the heterogeneity of hospital response to reforms is of crucial concern. Even though a reform may entail a positive effect on average efficiency, policy-makers will consider the reform as less attractive if the variation in hospital efficiency increases. The reason is that increased variance of efficiency across hospitals is likely to increase the impact of geography on access to hospital services. This paper examines the heterogeneity with respect to the impact of a financial reform-Activity Based Financing (ABF)-on hospital efficiency in Norway. From a theoretical model we find an ambiguous effect of hospital heterogeneity on the effect of ABF on efficiency. The data set is from a contiguous 10-year panel of 47 hospitals covering both pre-ABF years and years after its imposition. Substantial heterogeneity in the responses, as measured by both estimated and predicted coefficients, is found. We did not find any significant correlation between pre-ABF measures of efficiency and the effect of ABF on efficiency. We did however find a strongly significant correlation between the effect of ABF and post-ABF efficiency. Thus, the analysis confirms the impression that, whereas pre-ABF efficiency did not play any role in how hospitals responded to ABF, those responding generally ended up as better-performing hospitals. Hence, for the type of reform studied in this article we find that policy-makers do not need to worry about the impact of location on patients' access to hospital services.

Traveling-Wave Tube Efficiency Enhancement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dayton, James A., Jr.

2011-01-01

Traveling-wave tubes (TWT's) are used to amplify microwave communication signals on virtually all NASA and commercial spacecraft. Because TWT's are a primary power user, increasing their power efficiency is important for reducing spacecraft weight and cost. NASA Glenn Research Center has played a major role in increasing TWT efficiency over the last thirty years. In particular, two types of efficiency optimization algorithms have been developed for coupled-cavity TWT's. The first is the phase-adjusted taper which was used to increase the RF power from 420 to 1000 watts and the RF efficiency from 9.6% to 22.6% for a Ka-band (29.5 GHz) TWT. This was a record efficiency at this frequency level. The second is an optimization algorithm based on simulated annealing. This improved algorithm is more general and can be used to optimize efficiency over a frequency bandwidth and to provide a robust design for very high frequency TWT's in which dimensional tolerance variations are significant.

Recent increases in terrestrial carbon uptake at little cost to the water cycle.

PubMed

Cheng, Lei; Zhang, Lu; Wang, Ying-Ping; Canadell, Josep G; Chiew, Francis H S; Beringer, Jason; Li, Longhui; Miralles, Diego G; Piao, Shilong; Zhang, Yongqiang

2017-07-24

Quantifying the responses of the coupled carbon and water cycles to current global warming and rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration is crucial for predicting and adapting to climate changes. Here we show that terrestrial carbon uptake (i.e. gross primary production) increased significantly from 1982 to 2011 using a combination of ground-based and remotely sensed land and atmospheric observations. Importantly, we find that the terrestrial carbon uptake increase is not accompanied by a proportional increase in water use (i.e. evapotranspiration) but is largely (about 90%) driven by increased carbon uptake per unit of water use, i.e. water use efficiency. The increased water use efficiency is positively related to rising CO 2 concentration and increased canopy leaf area index, and negatively influenced by increased vapour pressure deficits. Our findings suggest that rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration has caused a shift in terrestrial water economics of carbon uptake.The response of the coupled carbon and water cycles to anthropogenic climate change is unclear. Here, the authors show that terrestrial carbon uptake increased significantly from 1982 to 2011 and that this increase is largely driven by increased water-use efficiency, rather than an increase in water use.

Dark states and delocalization: Competing effects of quantum coherence on the efficiency of light harvesting systems.

PubMed

Hu, Zixuan; Engel, Gregory S; Alharbi, Fahhad H; Kais, Sabre

2018-02-14

Natural light harvesting systems exploit electronic coupling of identical chromophores to generate efficient and robust excitation transfer and conversion. Dark states created by strong coupling between chromophores in the antenna structure can significantly reduce radiative recombination and enhance energy conversion efficiency. Increasing the number of the chromophores increases the number of dark states and the associated enhanced energy conversion efficiency yet also delocalizes excitations away from the trapping center and reduces the energy conversion rate. Therefore, a competition between dark state protection and delocalization must be considered when designing the optimal size of a light harvesting system. In this study, we explore the two competing mechanisms in a chain-structured antenna and show that dark state protection is the dominant mechanism, with an intriguing dependence on the parity of the number of chromophores. This dependence is linked to the exciton distribution among eigenstates, which is strongly affected by the coupling strength between chromophores and the temperature. Combining these findings, we propose that increasing the coupling strength between the chromophores can significantly increase the power output of the light harvesting system.

Alteration in cardiac uncoupling proteins and eNOS gene expression following high-intensity interval training in favor of increasing mechanical efficiency.

PubMed

Fallahi, Ali Asghar; Shekarfroush, Shahnaz; Rahimi, Mostafa; Jalali, Amirhossain; Khoshbaten, Ali

2016-03-01

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) increases energy expenditure and mechanical energy efficiency. Although both uncoupling proteins (UCPs) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) affect the mechanical efficiency and antioxidant capacity, their effects are inverse. The aim of this study was to determine whether the alterations of cardiac UCP2, UCP3, and eNOS mRNA expression following HIIT are in favor of increased mechanical efficiency or decreased oxidative stress. Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control group (n=12), HIIT for an acute bout (AT1), short term HIIT for 3 and 5 sessions (ST3 and ST5), long-term training for 8 weeks (LT) (6 in each group). The rats of the training groups were made to run on a treadmill for 60 min in three stages: 6 min running for warm-up, 7 intervals of 7 min running on treadmill with a slope of 5° to 20° (4 min with an intensity of 80-110% VO2max and 3 min at 50-60% VO2max), and 5-min running for cool-down. The control group did not participate in any exercise program. Rats were sacrificed and the hearts were extracted to analyze the levels of UCP2, UCP3 and eNOS mRNA by RT-PCR. UCP3 expression was increased significantly following an acute training bout. Repeated HIIT for 8 weeks resulted in a significant decrease in UCPs mRNA and a significant increase in eNOS expression in cardiac muscle. This study indicates that Long term HIIT through decreasing UCPs mRNA and increasing eNOS mRNA expression may enhance energy efficiency and physical performance.

Alteration in cardiac uncoupling proteins and eNOS gene expression following high-intensity interval training in favor of increasing mechanical efficiency

PubMed Central

Fallahi, Ali Asghar; Shekarfroush, Shahnaz; Rahimi, Mostafa; Jalali, Amirhossain; Khoshbaten, Ali

2016-01-01

Objective(s): High-intensity interval training (HIIT) increases energy expenditure and mechanical energy efficiency. Although both uncoupling proteins (UCPs) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) affect the mechanical efficiency and antioxidant capacity, their effects are inverse. The aim of this study was to determine whether the alterations of cardiac UCP2, UCP3, and eNOS mRNA expression following HIIT are in favor of increased mechanical efficiency or decreased oxidative stress. Materials and Methods: Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control group (n=12), HIIT for an acute bout (AT1), short term HIIT for 3 and 5 sessions (ST3 and ST5), long-term training for 8 weeks (LT) (6 in each group). The rats of the training groups were made to run on a treadmill for 60 min in three stages: 6 min running for warm-up, 7 intervals of 7 min running on treadmill with a slope of 5° to 20° (4 min with an intensity of 80-110% VO2max and 3 min at 50-60% VO2max), and 5-min running for cool-down. The control group did not participate in any exercise program. Rats were sacrificed and the hearts were extracted to analyze the levels of UCP2, UCP3 and eNOS mRNA by RT-PCR. Results: UCP3 expression was increased significantly following an acute training bout. Repeated HIIT for 8 weeks resulted in a significant decrease in UCPs mRNA and a significant increase in eNOS expression in cardiac muscle. Conclusion: This study indicates that Long term HIIT through decreasing UCPs mRNA and increasing eNOS mRNA expression may enhance energy efficiency and physical performance. PMID:27114795

Hyperaccumulator straw improves the cadmium phytoextraction efficiency of emergent plant Nasturtium officinale.

PubMed

Li, Keqiang; Lin, Lijin; Wang, Jin; Xia, Hui; Liang, Dong; Wang, Xun; Liao, Ming'an; Wang, Li; Liu, Li; Chen, Cheng; Tang, Yi

2017-08-01

With the development of economy, the heavy metal contamination has become an increasingly serious problem, especially the cadmium (Cd) contamination. The emergent plant Nasturtium officinale R. Br. is a Cd-accumulator with low phytoremediation ability. To improve Cd phytoextraction efficiency of N. officinale, the straw from Cd-hyperaccumulator plants Youngia erythrocarpa, Galinsoga parviflora, Siegesbeckia orientalis, and Bidens pilosa was applied to Cd-contaminated soil and N. officinale was then planted; the study assessed the effect of hyperaccumulator straw on the growth and Cd accumulation of N. officinale. The results showed that application of hyperaccumulator species straws increased the biomass and photosynthetic pigment content and reduced the root/shoot ratio of N. officinale. All straw treatments significantly increased Cd content in roots, but significantly decreased Cd content in shoots of N. officinale. Applying hyperaccumulator straw significantly increased the total Cd accumulation in the roots, shoots, and whole plants of N. officinale. Therefore, application of straw from four hyperaccumulator species promoted the growth of N. officinale and improved the phytoextraction efficiency of N. officinale in Cd-contaminated paddy field soil; the straw of Y. erythrocarpa provided the most improvement.

Structure-guided systems-level engineering of oxidation-prone methionine residues in catalytic domain of an alkaline α-amylase from Alkalimonas amylolytica for significant improvement of both oxidative stability and catalytic efficiency.

PubMed

Yang, Haiquan; Liu, Long; Shin, Hyun-dong; Li, Jianghua; Du, Guocheng; Chen, Jian

2013-01-01

High oxidative stability and catalytic efficiency are required for the alkaline α-amylases to keep the enzymatic performance under the harsh conditions in detergent industries. In this work, we attempted to significantly improve both the oxidative stability and catalytic efficiency of an alkaline α-amylase from Alkalimonas amylolytica by engineering the five oxidation-prone methionine residues around the catalytic domain via a systematic approach. Specifically, based on the tertiary structure analysis, five methionines (Met 145, Met 214, Met 229, Met 247 and Met 317) were individually substituted with oxidation-resistant threonine, isoleucine and alaline, respectively. Among the created 15 mutants, 7 mutants M145A, M145I, M214A, M229A, M229T, M247T and M317I showed significantly enhanced oxidative stability or catalytic efficiency. In previous work, we found that the replacement of M247 with leucine could significantly improve the oxidative stability. Thus, these 8 positive mutants (M145A, M145I, M214A, M229A, M229T, M247T, M247L and M317I) were used to conduct the second round of combinational mutations. Among the constructed 85 mutants (25 two-point mutants, 36 three-point mutants, 16 four-point mutants and 8 five-point mutants), the mutant M145I-214A-229T-247T-317I showed a 5.4-fold increase in oxidative stability and a 3.0-fold increase in catalytic efficiency. Interestingly, the specific activity, alkaline stability and thermal stability of this mutant were also increased. The increase of salt bridge and hydrogen bonds around the catalytic domain contributed to the significantly improved catalytic efficiency and stability, as revealed by the three-dimensional structure model of wild-type alkaline α-amylase and its mutant M145I-214A-229T-247T-317I. With the significantly improved oxidative stability and catalytic efficiency, the mutant M145I-214A-229T-247T-317I has a great potential as a detergent additive, and this structure-guided systems engineering strategy may be useful for the protein engineering of the other microbial enzymes to fulfill industrial requirements.

Salicaceae Endophytes Modulate Stomatal Behavior and Increase Water Use Efficiency in Rice

PubMed Central

Rho, Hyungmin; Van Epps, Victor; Wegley, Nicholas; Doty, Sharon L.; Kim, Soo-Hyung

2018-01-01

Bacterial and yeast endophytes isolated from the Salicaceae family have been shown to promote growth and alleviate stress in plants from different taxa. To determine the physiological pathways through which endophytes affect plant water relations, we investigated leaf water potential, whole-plant water use, and stomatal responses of rice plants to Salicaceae endophyte inoculation under CO2 enrichment and water deficit. Daytime stomatal conductance and stomatal density were lower in inoculated plants compared to controls. Leaf ABA concentrations increased with endophyte inoculation. As a result, transpirational water use decreased significantly with endophyte inoculation while biomass did not change or slightly increased. This response led to a significant increase in cumulative water use efficiency at harvest. Different endophyte strains produced the same results in host plant water relations and stomatal responses. These stomatal responses were also observed under elevated CO2 conditions, and the increase in water use efficiency was more pronounced under water deficit conditions. The effect on water use efficiency was positively correlated with daily light integrals across different experiments. Our results provide insights on the physiological mechanisms of plant-endophyte interactions involving plant water relations and stomatal functions. PMID:29552021

[Effects of alternative furrow irrigation and nitrogen application rate on photosynthesis, growth, and yield of cucumber in solar greenhouse].

PubMed

Zhang, Liu-xia; Wang, Shu-zhong; Sui, Xiao-lei; Zhang, Zhen-xian

2011-09-01

This paper studied the effects of alternative furrow irrigation and nitrogen (N) application rate (no N, optimal N, and conventional N) on the photosynthesis, growth characteristics, yield formation, and fruit quality of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) cultivar Jinyu No. 5 in a solar greenhouse in winter-spring growth season and autumn-winter season. Under alternative furrow irrigation, the net photosynthetic rate of upper, middle, eand lower leaves was appreciably lower and the transpiration rate decreased significantly, and the transient water use efficiency of upper and middle leaves improved, as compared with those under conventional irrigation. Stomatal factor was the limiting factor of photosynthesis under alternative furrow irrigation. The photosynthesis and transient water use efficiency of functional leaves under alternative furrow irrigation increased with increasing N application rate. Comparing with conventional irrigation, alternative furrow irrigation decreased leaf chlorophyll content and plant biomass, but increased root biomass, root/shoot ratio, and dry matter allocation in root and fruit. The economic output under alternative furrow irrigation was nearly the same as that under conventional irrigation, whereas the water use efficiency for economic yield increased significantly, suggesting the beneficial effects of alternative furrow irrigation on root development and fruit formation. With the increase of N application rate, the leaf chlorophyll content, chlorophyll a/b, specific leaf mass, plant biomass, economic yield, and fruit Vc and soluble sugar contents under alternative furrow irrigation increased, but no significant difference was observed between the treatments optimal N and conventional N. N application had little effects on the water use efficiency for economic yield. The economic yield and biomass production of the cucumber were significantly higher in winter-spring growth season than in autumn-winter growth season.

The complicated substrates enhance the microbial diversity and zinc leaching efficiency in sphalerite bioleaching system.

PubMed

Xiao, Yunhua; Xu, YongDong; Dong, Weiling; Liang, Yili; Fan, Fenliang; Zhang, Xiaoxia; Zhang, Xian; Niu, Jiaojiao; Ma, Liyuan; She, Siyuan; He, Zhili; Liu, Xueduan; Yin, Huaqun

2015-12-01

This study used an artificial enrichment microbial consortium to examine the effects of different substrate conditions on microbial diversity, composition, and function (e.g., zinc leaching efficiency) through adding pyrite (SP group), chalcopyrite (SC group), or both (SPC group) in sphalerite bioleaching systems. 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis showed that microbial community structures and compositions dramatically changed with additions of pyrite or chalcopyrite during the sphalerite bioleaching process. Shannon diversity index showed a significantly increase in the SP (1.460), SC (1.476), and SPC (1.341) groups compared with control (sphalerite group, 0.624) on day 30, meanwhile, zinc leaching efficiencies were enhanced by about 13.4, 2.9, and 13.2%, respectively. Also, additions of pyrite or chalcopyrite could increase electric potential (ORP) and the concentrations of Fe3+ and H+, which were the main factors shaping microbial community structures by Mantel test analysis. Linear regression analysis showed that ORP, Fe3+ concentration, and pH were significantly correlated to zinc leaching efficiency and microbial diversity. In addition, we found that leaching efficiency showed a positive and significant relationship with microbial diversity. In conclusion, our results showed that the complicated substrates could significantly enhance microbial diversity and activity of function.

Potential for Increasing the Output of Existing Hydroelectric Plants.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-01

existing units to higher generating capacity by rehabilitating, modifying or replacing turbines and/or generators; increasing the effective...loss in converting fluid energy (flow and head) to mechanical energy ( turbine output) to electrical energy (generator output). The significant practical...opportunity is improvement of the energy conversion efficiency of the hydraulic turbine since the energy conversion efficiency of electrical

Optimizing sgRNA structure to improve CRISPR-Cas9 knockout efficiency.

PubMed

Dang, Ying; Jia, Gengxiang; Choi, Jennie; Ma, Hongming; Anaya, Edgar; Ye, Chunting; Shankar, Premlata; Wu, Haoquan

2015-12-15

Single-guide RNA (sgRNA) is one of the two key components of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 genome-editing system. The current commonly used sgRNA structure has a shortened duplex compared with the native bacterial CRISPR RNA (crRNA)-transactivating crRNA (tracrRNA) duplex and contains a continuous sequence of thymines, which is the pause signal for RNA polymerase III and thus could potentially reduce transcription efficiency. Here, we systematically investigate the effect of these two elements on knockout efficiency and showed that modifying the sgRNA structure by extending the duplex length and mutating the fourth thymine of the continuous sequence of thymines to cytosine or guanine significantly, and sometimes dramatically, improves knockout efficiency in cells. In addition, the optimized sgRNA structure also significantly increases the efficiency of more challenging genome-editing procedures, such as gene deletion, which is important for inducing a loss of function in non-coding genes. By a systematic investigation of sgRNA structure we find that extending the duplex by approximately 5 bp combined with mutating the continuous sequence of thymines at position 4 to cytosine or guanine significantly increases gene knockout efficiency in CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing experiments.

[Influence of wall polymer and preparation process on the particle size and encapsulation of hemoglobin microcapsules].

PubMed

Qiu, Wei; Ma, Guang-Hui; Meng, Fan-Tao; Su, Zhi-Guo

2004-03-01

Methoxypoly (ethylene glycol)- block-poly (DL-lactide) (PELA) microcapsules containing bovine hemoglobin (BHb) were prepared by a W/O/W double emulsion-solvent diffusion process. The P50 and Hill coeffcient were 3466 Pa and 2.4 respectively, which were near to the natural bioactivity of bovine hemoglobin. The results suggested that polymer composition had significant influence on encapsulation efficiency and particle size of microcapsules. The encapsulation efficiency could reach 90% and the particle size 3 - 5 microm when the PELA copolymer containing MPEG 2000 block was used. The encapsulation efficiency and particle size increased with the concentration of PELA. Increasing the concentrations of NaCl in outer aqueous solution resulted in the increase of encapsulation efficiency and the decrease of particle size. As the concentration of stabilizer in outer aqueous solution increased in the range of 10 g/L to 20 g/L, the particle size reduced while encapsulation efficiency was increased, further increase of the stabilizer concentration would decrease encapsulation efficiency. Increasing of primary emulsion stirring rate was advantageous to the improvement of encapsulation efficiency though it had little influence on the particle size. The influence of re-emulsion stirring rate was complicated, which was not apparent in the case of large volume of re-emulsion solution. When the wall polymer and primary emulsion stirring rate were fixed, the encapsulation efficiency decreased as the particle size reduced.

Increase in the Acceleration Efficiency of Solids in a Hybrid Coaxial Magnetoplasma Accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerasimov, D. Yu.; Sivkov, A. A.

2018-01-01

It is shown that in a hybrid coaxial magnetoplasma accelerator with a channel length of 350 mm and a diameter of 23 mm, the acceleration velocity and the energy conversion efficiency increase as the length of the plasma structure formation channel filled with a gas-generating material decreases from 17 to 9 mm. It is found that it is reasonable to use paraffin as the gas-generating material as it has a less significant deionizing effect on the high-current arc discharge and hence causes a less significant decrease in the discharge current intensity and an increase in conductive and inductive electrodynamic forces.

Chewing efficiency and maximum bite force with different attachment systems of implant overdentures: a crossover study.

PubMed

Elsyad, Moustafa Abdou; Khairallah, Ahmed Samir

2017-06-01

This crossover study aimed to evaluate and compare chewing efficiency and maximum bite force (MBF) with resilient telescopic and bar attachment systems of implant overdentures in patients with atrophied mandibles. Ten participants with severely resorbed mandibles and persistent denture problems received new maxillary and mandibular conventional dentures (control, CD). After 3 months of adaptation, two implants were inserted in canine region of the mandible. In a quasi-random method, overdentures were connected to the implants with either bar overdentures (BOD) or resilient telescopic overdentures (TOD) attachment systems. Chewing efficiency in terms of unmixed fraction (UF) was measured using chewing gum (after 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 strokes), and MBF was measured using a bite force transducer. Measurements were performed 3 months after using each of the following prostheses: CD, BOD and TOD. Chewing efficiency and MBF increased significantly with BOD and TOD compared to CD. As the number of chewing cycles increased, the UF decreased. TOD recorded significant higher chewing efficiency and MBF than BOD. Resilient telescopic attachments are associated with increased chewing efficiency and MBF compared bar attachments when used to retain overdentures to the implants in patients with atrophied mandibles. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Managing Knowledge And Information In The Sustainable Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grecu, Valentin

2015-09-01

Knowledge and information management are essential for the success of organizations and bring significant competitive advantages. There has been significant investments in setting up technological platforms that support business processes and increase the efficiency of operational structure in many organizations through an efficient management of knowledge and information. This research highlights the importance of using knowledge and information management in order to increase the competitiveness of organizations and to foster the transition towards the sustainable organization, as nowadays an organization that wants to be competitive needs to be sustainable.

Technical Efficiency of Automotive Industry Cluster in Chennai

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhaskaran, E.

2012-07-01

Chennai is also called as Detroit of India due to its automotive industry presence producing over 40 % of the India's vehicle and components. During 2001-2002, diagnostic study was conducted on the Automotive Component Industries (ACI) in Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai and in SWOT analysis it was found that it had faced problems on infrastructure, technology, procurement, production and marketing. In the year 2004-2005 under the cluster development approach (CDA), they formed Chennai auto cluster, under public private partnership concept, received grant from Government of India, Government of Tamil Nadu, Ambattur Municipality, bank loans and stake holders. This results development in infrastructure, technology, procurement, production and marketing interrelationships among ACI. The objective is to determine the correlation coefficient, regression equation, technical efficiency, peer weights, slack variables and return to scale of cluster before and after the CDA. The methodology adopted is collection of primary data from ACI and analyzing using data envelopment analysis (DEA) of input oriented Banker-Charnes-Cooper model. There is significant increase in correlation coefficient and the regression analysis reveals that for one percent increase in employment and net worth, the gross output increases significantly after the CDA. The DEA solver gives the technical efficiency of ACI by taking shift, employment, net worth as input data and quality, gross output and export ratio as output data. From the technical score and ranking of ACI, it is found that there is significant increase in technical efficiency of ACI when compared to CDA. The slack variables obtained clearly reveals the excess employment and net worth and no shortage of gross output. To conclude there is increase in technical efficiency of not only Chennai auto cluster in general but also Chennai auto components industries in particular.

Heavy Atom Effect of Bromine Significantly Enhances Exciton Utilization of Delayed Fluorescence Luminogens.

PubMed

Gan, Shifeng; Hu, Shimin; Li, Xiang-Long; Zeng, Jiajie; Zhang, Dongdong; Huang, Tianyu; Luo, Wenwen; Zhao, Zujin; Duan, Lian; Su, Shi-Jian; Tang, Ben Zhong

2018-05-23

Raising triplet exciton utilization of pure organic luminescent materials is of significant importance for efficiency advancement of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Herein, by introducing bromine atom(s) onto a typical molecule (bis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,5-dicyanobenzene) with thermally activated delayed fluorescence, we demonstrate that the heavy atom effect of bromine can increase spin-orbit coupling and promote the reverse intersystem crossing, which endow the molecules with more distinct delayed fluorescence. In consequence, the triplet exciton utilization is improved greatly with the increase of bromine atoms, affording apparently advanced external quantum efficiencies of OLEDs. Utilizing the enhancement effect of bromine atoms on delayed fluorescence should be a simple and promising design concept for efficient organic luminogens with high exciton utilization.

CPAP of 4 cm H(2)O Has no short-term benefit at term in infants with BPD.

PubMed

Sandberg, Kenneth L; Hjalmarson, Ola

2012-01-01

Lung development and function is compromised at term in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), characterized by reduced functional residual capacity (FRC) and impaired gas-mixing efficiency in distal airways. To determine whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) improves FRC, ventilation, distal airway function, and gas exchange in spontaneously breathing infants with BPD. Twenty-one infants with BPD (median birth weight 0.72 kg (range 0.50-1.27) and median gestational age 26 weeks (range 23-28)) were studied before and after CPAP of 4 cm H(2)O was applied by a facemask system. A multiple-breath nitrogen washout method was used to assess FRC, ventilation, and gas-mixing efficiency. Moment analysis and lung clearance index was calculated from the nitrogen-decay curve for assessment of gas-mixing efficiency. Transcutaneous (Tc) PO(2)/PCO(2) was monitored during stable infant conditions before each washout test. When CPAP was raised from 0 to 4 cm H(2)O, FRC increased significantly together with a significant increase in moment ratios (M(1)/M(0) and M(2)/M(0)). Tc PO(2) decreased significantly and the breathing pattern changed, with significantly reduced respiratory rate, minute ventilation, and alveolar ventilation. There was also an increase in tidal volume and dead space. CPAP of 4 cm H(2)O applied with a facemask at term to infants with BPD did not improve ventilation, gas-mixing efficiency in distal airways, or oxygenation despite an increase in FRC. We speculate that instead of promoting recruitment of unventilated lung volumes, increasing the end-expiratory pressure in infants with BPD may lead to an overexpansion of already ventilated parts of the lung, causing further compromise of lung function. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

[Research on the photoelectric conversion efficiency of grating antireflective layer solar cells].

PubMed

Zhong, Hui; Gao, Yong-Yi; Zhou, Ren-Long; Zhou, Bing-ju; Tang, Li-qiang; Wu, Ling-xi; Li, Hong-jian

2011-07-01

A numerical investigation of the effect of grating antireflective layer structure on the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells was carried out by the finite-difference time-domain method. The influence of grating shape, height and the metal film thickness coated on grating surface on energy storage was analyzed in detail. It was found that the comparison between unoptimized and optimized surface grating structure on solar cells shows that the optimization of surface by grating significantly increases the energy storage capability and greatly improves the efficiency, especially of the photoelectric conversion efficiency and energy storage of the triangle grating. As the film thickness increases, energy storage effect increases, while as the film thickness is too thick, energy storage effect becomes lower and lower.

Phosphorous removal from aqueous solution can be enhanced through the calcination of lime sludge.

PubMed

Bal Krishna, K C; Niaz, Mohamed R; Sarker, Dipok C; Jansen, Troy

2017-09-15

Water treatment plants generate an enormous amount of the sludge which is normally treated as waste. In the recent past, many investigations have been focused on developing an economical adsorbent using water treatment sludge to remove phosphorous (P) from aqueous solutions. However, the great extents of the studies have been limited in the use of alum- and iron-based sludges. This study, therefore, investigated the P removal performance of the calcined lime sludge. Calcined lime sludge at 700 °C significantly enhanced the P removal efficiency whereas marginal improvement was noted when the sludge calcined at 400 °C was tested. With increase P removal efficiency, final pH values of the solution also significantly increased. P removal efficiency of the calcined sludge decreased with increasing the initial P concentrations. However, the removal efficiency could be improved by increasing the weight of the sludge. Further analysis demonstrated that P removal trend followed both pseudo-second order and diffusion-chemisorption kinetics signifying the P removal is potentially due to a multi-mechanistic reaction in which, the process is controlled by intra-particle diffusion followed by chemisorptions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhancement of Spirulina biomass production and cadmium biosorption using combined static magnetic field.

PubMed

Shao, Weilan; Ebaid, Reham; Abomohra, Abd El-Fatah; Shahen, Mohamed

2018-06-06

The effect of static magnetic field (SMF) on Spirulina platensis growth and its influence on cadmium ions (Cd 2+ ) removal efficiency were studied. Application of 6 h day -1 SMF resulted in the highest significant biomass productivity of 0.198 g L -1  day -1 . However, 10 and 15 mg L -1 of Cd 2+ resulted in significant reduction in biomass productivity by 8.8 and 12.5%, respectively, below the control. Combined SMF showed 30.1% significant increase in biomass productivity over the control. On the other hand, increase of initial Cd 2+ concentration resulted in significant reduction of Cd 2+ removal efficiency, representing 79.7% and 61.5% at 10 and 15 mg L -1 , respectively, after 16 days. Interestingly, application of SMF for 6 h day -1 enhanced Cd 2+ removal efficiency counted by 91.4% and 82.3% after 20 days for cultures with initial Cd 2+ concentration of 10 and 15 mg L -1 , representing increase by 6.3 and 25.3%, respectively, over the SMF-untreated cultures. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geometric effects in applied-field MPD thrusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, R. M.; Mantenieks, M.; Sovey, J.

1990-01-01

Three applied-field magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster geometries were tested with argon propellant to establish the influence of electrode geometry on thruster performance. The thrust increased approximately linearly with anode radius, while the discharge and electrode fall voltages increased quadratically with anode radius. All these parameters increased linearly with applied-field strength. Thrust efficiency, on the other hand, was not significantly influenced by changes in geometry over the operating range studied, though both thrust and thermal efficiencies increased monotonically with applied field strength. The best performance, 1820 sec I (sub sp) at 20 percent efficiency, was obtained with the largest radius anode at the highest discharge current (1500 amps) and applied field strength (0.4 Tesla).

Geometric effects in applied-field MPD thrusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, R. M.; Mantenieks, M.; Sovey, James S.

1990-01-01

Three applied-field magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster geometries were tested with argon propellant to establish the influence of electrode geometry on thruster performance. The thrust increased approximately linearly with anode radius, while the discharge and electrode fall voltages increased quadratically with anode radius. All these parameters increased linearly with applied-field strength. Thrust efficiency, on the other hand, was not significantly influenced by changes in geometry over the operating range studied, though both thrust and thermal efficiencies increased monotonically with applied field strength. The best performance, 1820 sec I(sub sp) at 20 percent efficiency, was obtained with the largest radius anode at the highest discharge current (1500 amps) and applied field strength (0.4 Tesla).

Measuring Efficiency in the Community College Sector. CCRC Working Paper No. 43

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belfield, Clive R.

2012-01-01

Community colleges are increasingly being pressed to demonstrate efficiency and improve productivity even as these concepts are not clearly defined and require a significant set of assumptions to determine. This paper sets out a preferred economic definition of efficiency: fiscal and social cost per degree. It then assesses the validity of using…

Photon enhanced thermionic emission

DOEpatents

Schwede, Jared; Melosh, Nicholas; Shen, Zhixun

2014-10-07

Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission (PETE) is exploited to provide improved efficiency for radiant energy conversion. A hot (greater than 200.degree. C.) semiconductor cathode is illuminated such that it emits electrons. Because the cathode is hot, significantly more electrons are emitted than would be emitted from a room temperature (or colder) cathode under the same illumination conditions. As a result of this increased electron emission, the energy conversion efficiency can be significantly increased relative to a conventional photovoltaic device. In PETE, the cathode electrons can be (and typically are) thermalized with respect to the cathode. As a result, PETE does not rely on emission of non-thermalized electrons, and is significantly easier to implement than hot-carrier emission approaches.

Scalable Energy Efficiency with Resilience for High Performance Computing Systems: A Quantitative Methodology

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

Tan, Li; Chen, Zizhong; Song, Shuaiwen

2016-01-18

Energy efficiency and resilience are two crucial challenges for HPC systems to reach exascale. While energy efficiency and resilience issues have been extensively studied individually, little has been done to understand the interplay between energy efficiency and resilience for HPC systems. Decreasing the supply voltage associated with a given operating frequency for processors and other CMOS-based components can significantly reduce power consumption. However, this often raises system failure rates and consequently increases application execution time. In this work, we present an energy saving undervolting approach that leverages the mainstream resilience techniques to tolerate the increased failures caused by undervolting.

Investigating the Interplay between Energy Efficiency and Resilience in High Performance Computing

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

Tan, Li; Song, Shuaiwen; Wu, Panruo

2015-05-29

Energy efficiency and resilience are two crucial challenges for HPC systems to reach exascale. While energy efficiency and resilience issues have been extensively studied individually, little has been done to understand the interplay between energy efficiency and resilience for HPC systems. Decreasing the supply voltage associated with a given operating frequency for processors and other CMOS-based components can significantly reduce power consumption. However, this often raises system failure rates and consequently increases application execution time. In this work, we present an energy saving undervolting approach that leverages the mainstream resilience techniques to tolerate the increased failures caused by undervolting.

Scalable Energy Efficiency with Resilience for High Performance Computing Systems: A Quantitative Methodology

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

Tan, Li; Chen, Zizhong; Song, Shuaiwen Leon

2015-11-16

Energy efficiency and resilience are two crucial challenges for HPC systems to reach exascale. While energy efficiency and resilience issues have been extensively studied individually, little has been done to understand the interplay between energy efficiency and resilience for HPC systems. Decreasing the supply voltage associated with a given operating frequency for processors and other CMOS-based components can significantly reduce power consumption. However, this often raises system failure rates and consequently increases application execution time. In this work, we present an energy saving undervolting approach that leverages the mainstream resilience techniques to tolerate the increased failures caused by undervolting.

The influence of joint rigidity on impact efficiency and ball velocity in football kicking.

PubMed

Peacock, James C A; Ball, Kevin

2018-04-11

Executing any skill with efficiency is important for performance. In football kicking, conflicting and non-significant results have existed between reducing ankle plantarflexion during foot-ball contact with impact efficiency, making it unclear as to its importance as a coaching instruction. The aims of this study were to first validate a mechanical kicking machine with a non-rigid ankle, and secondly compare a rigid to a non-rigid ankle during the impact phase of football kicking. Measures of foot-ball contact for ten trials per ankle configuration were calculated from data recorded at 4000 Hz and compared. The non-rigid ankle was characterised by initial dorsiflexion followed by plantarflexion for the remainder of impact, and based on similarities to punt and instep kicking, was considered valid. Impact efficiency (foot-to-ball speed ratio) was greater for the rigid ankle (rigid = 1.16 ± 0.02; non-rigid = 1.10 ± 0.01; p < 0.001). The rigid ankle was characterised by significantly greater effective mass and significantly less energy losses. Increasing rigidity allowed a greater portion of mass from the shank to be used during the collision. As the ankle remained in plantarflexion at impact end, stored elastic energy was not converted to ball velocity and was considered lost. Increasing rigidity is beneficial for increasing impact efficiency, and therefore ball velocity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Correlation of energy disorder and open-circuit voltage in hybrid perovskite solar cells

DOE PAGES

Shao, Yuchuan; Yuan, Yongbo; Huang, Jinsong

2016-01-11

Organometal trihalide perovskites have been demonstrated as excellent light absorbers for high efficiency photovoltaic applications. Previous approaches to increasing the solar cell efficiency have focussed on optimisation of the grain morphology of perovskite thin films. Here, we show that the structural order of the electron-transport layers also has a significant impact on solar cell performance. We demonstrate that the power conversion efficiency of CH 3NH 3PbI 3 planar-heterojunction photovoltaic cells increases from 17.1% to 19.4% when the energy disorder in the fullerene electron-transport layer is reduced by a simple solvent annealing process. The increase in efficiency is the result ofmore » the enhancement in open-circuit voltage from 1.04 V to 1.13 V without sacrificing the short-circuit current and fill factor. Finally, these results shed light on the origin of open-circuit voltage in perovskite solar cells, and provide a new path to further increase their efficiency« less

Conversion to No-Till Improves Maize Nitrogen Use Efficiency in a Continuous Cover Cropping System

PubMed Central

Habbib, Hazzar; Verzeaux, Julien; Nivelle, Elodie; Roger, David; Lacoux, Jérôme; Catterou, Manuella; Hirel, Bertrand; Dubois, Frédéric; Tétu, Thierry

2016-01-01

A two-year experiment was conducted in the field to measure the combined impact of tilling and N fertilization on various agronomic traits related to nitrogen (N) use efficiency and to grain yield in maize cultivated in the presence of a cover crop. Four years after conversion to no-till, a significant increase in N use efficiency N harvest index, N remobilization and N remobilization efficiency was observed both under no and high N fertilization conditions. Moreover, we observed that grain yield and grain N content were higher under no-till conditions only when N fertilizers were applied. Thus, agronomic practices based on continuous no-till appear to be a promising for increasing N use efficiency in maize. PMID:27711154

Energy conversion approaches and materials for high-efficiency photovoltaics.

PubMed

Green, Martin A; Bremner, Stephen P

2016-12-20

The past five years have seen significant cost reductions in photovoltaics and a correspondingly strong increase in uptake, with photovoltaics now positioned to provide one of the lowest-cost options for future electricity generation. What is becoming clear as the industry develops is that area-related costs, such as costs of encapsulation and field-installation, are increasingly important components of the total costs of photovoltaic electricity generation, with this trend expected to continue. Improved energy-conversion efficiency directly reduces such costs, with increased manufacturing volume likely to drive down the additional costs associated with implementing higher efficiencies. This suggests the industry will evolve beyond the standard single-junction solar cells that currently dominate commercial production, where energy-conversion efficiencies are fundamentally constrained by Shockley-Queisser limits to practical values below 30%. This Review assesses the overall prospects for a range of approaches that can potentially exceed these limits, based on ultimate efficiency prospects, material requirements and developmental outlook.

Improvement in adenoviral gene transfer efficiency after preincubation at +37 degrees C in vitro and in vivo.

PubMed

Kossila, Maija; Jauhiainen, Suvi; Laukkanen, Mikko O; Lehtolainen, Pauliina; Jääskeläinen, Maiju; Turunen, Päivi; Loimas, Sami; Wahlfors, Jarmo; Ylä-Herttuala, Seppo

2002-01-01

Adenovirus is a widely used vector in gene transfer experiments because it produces high transduction efficiency in vitro and in vivo by means of the coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (CAR) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alpha-2 domain. Adenoviral gene transfer efficiency has been reported to correlate with cellular CAR expression. We report here a simple method to increase adenoviral gene transfer efficiency in cells that do not express high levels of CAR: preincubation of adenovirus for 30-40 minutes at +37 degrees C significantly increased the transduction efficiency in vitro in CHO and BALB/3T3 cells, in which CAR is expressed at very low levels. Increased transduction efficiency of preincubated adenovirus was also detected in vivo in rat brain tissue. In addition, we found that adenoviruses were rapidly inactivated in human serum in a complement-independent manner, whereas fetal bovine serum (FBS) had hardly any effects on the viral infectivity. We conclude that preincubation of adenoviral vectors at +37 degrees C may substantially increase gene transfer efficiency in applications in which target cells do not express high levels of CAR.

Hyaluronidase and Collagenase Increase the Transfection Efficiency of Gene Electrotransfer in Various Murine Tumors

PubMed Central

Golzio, Muriel; Sersa, Gregor; Escoffre, Jean-Michel; Coer, Andrej; Vidic, Suzana; Teissie, Justin

2012-01-01

Abstract One of the applications of electroporation/electropulsation in biomedicine is gene electrotransfer, the wider use of which is hindered by low transfection efficiency in vivo compared with viral vectors. The aim of our study was to determine whether modulation of the extracellular matrix in solid tumors, using collagenase and hyaluronidase, could increase the transfection efficiency of gene electrotransfer in histologically different solid subcutaneous tumors in mice. Tumors were treated with enzymes before electrotransfer of plasmid DNA encoding either green fluorescent protein or luciferase. Transfection efficiency was determined 3, 9, and 15 days posttransfection. We demonstrated that pretreatment of tumors with a combination of enzymes significantly increased the transfection efficiency of electrotransfer in tumors with a high extracellular matrix area (LPB fibrosarcoma). In tumors with a smaller extracellular matrix area and less organized collagen lattice, the increase was not so pronounced (SA-1 fibrosarcoma and EAT carcinoma), whereas in B16 melanoma, in which only traces of collagen are present, pretreatment of tumors with hyaluronidase alone was more efficient than pretreatment with both enzymes. In conclusion, our results suggest that modification of the extracellular matrix could improve distribution of plasmid DNA in solid subcutaneous tumors, demonstrated by an increase in transfection efficiency, and thus have important clinical implications for electrogene therapy. PMID:21797718

Making C4 crops more water efficient under current and future climate: Tradeoffs between carbon gain and water loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasan, V.; Pignon, C.

2017-12-01

C4 plants have a carbon concentrating mechanism that has evolved under historically low CO2 concentrations of around 200 ppm. However, increases in global CO2 concentrations in recent times (current CO2 concentrations are at 400 ppm and it is projected to be 550 ppm by mid-century) have diminished the relative advantage of C4 plants over C3 plants, which lack the expensive carbon concentrating machinery. Here we show by employing model simulations that under pre-historic CO2 concentrations, C4 plants are near optimal in their stomatal behavior and nitrogen partitioning between carbon concentrating machinery and carboxylation machinery, and they are significantly supra-optimal under current and future elevated CO2 concentrations. Model simulations performed at current CO2 concentrations of 400 ppm show that, under high light conditions, decreasing stomatal conductance by 20% results in a 15% increase in water use efficiency with negligible loss in photosynthesis. Under future elevated CO2 concentrations of 550 ppm, a 40% decrease in stomatal conductance produces a 35% increase in water use efficiency. Furthermore, stomatal closure is shown to be more effective in decreasing whole canopy transpiration compared to canopy top leaf transpiration, since shaded leaves are more supra-optimal than sunlit leaves. Model simulations for optimizing nitrogen distribution in C4 leaves show that under high light conditions, C4 plants over invest in carbon concentrating machinery and under invest in carboxylation machinery. A 20% redistribution in leaf nitrogen results in a 10% increase in leaf carbon assimilation without significant increases in transpiration under current CO2 concentrations of 400 ppm. Similarly, a 40% redistribution in leaf nitrogen results in a 15% increase in leaf carbon assimilation without significant increases in transpiration under future elevated CO2 concentrations of 550 ppm. Our model optimality simulations show that C4 leaves a supra optimal in their stomatal behavior and leaf nitrogen distribution and by decreasing stomatal conductance and redistributing nitrogen away from carbon concentrating mechanism and towards carboxylation machinery, we can significantly decrease transpiration and increase carbon assimilation thereby increasing water use efficiency.

Subsonic Performance of Ejector Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weil, Samuel

Combined cycle engines combining scramjets with turbo jets or rockets can provide efficient hypersonic flight. Ejectors have the potential to increase the thrust and efficiency of combined cycle engines near static conditions. A computer code was developed to support the design of a small-scale, turbine-based combined cycle demonstrator with an ejector, built around a commercially available turbojet engine. This code was used to analyze the performance of an ejector system built around a micro-turbojet. With the use of a simple ejector, net thrust increases as large as 20% over the base engine were predicted. Additionally the specific fuel consumption was lowered by 10%. Increasing the secondary to primary area ratio of the ejector lead to significant improvements in static thrust, specific fuel consumption (SFC), and propulsive efficiency. Further ejector performance improvements can be achieved by using a diffuser. Ejector performance drops off rapidly with increasing Mach number. The ejector has lower thrust and higher SFC than the turbojet core at Mach numbers above 0.2. When the nozzle chokes a significant drop in ejector performance is seen. When a diffuser is used, higher Mach numbers lead to choking in the mixer and a shock in the nozzle causing a significant decrease in ejector performance. Evaluation of different turbo jets shows that ejector performance depends significantly on the properties of the turbojet. Static thrust and SFC improvements can be achieved with increasing ejector area for all engines, but size of increase and change in performance at higher Mach numbers depend heavily on the turbojet. The use of an ejector in a turbine based combined cycle configuration also increases performance at static conditions with a thrust increase of 5% and SFC decrease of 5% for the tested configuration.

[Interactive impact of water and nitrogen on yield, quality of watermelon and use of water and nitrogen in gravel-mulched field].

PubMed

Du, Shao-ping; Ma, Zhong-ming; Xue, Liang

2015-12-01

In order to develop the optimal coupling model of water and nitrogen of watermelon under limited irrigation in gravel-mulched field, a field experiment with split-plot design was conducted to study the effects of supplementary irrigation volume, nitrogen fertilization, and their interactions on the growth, yield, quality and water and nitrogen use efficiency of watermelon with 4 supplementary irrigation levels (W: 0, 35, 70, and 105 m³ · hm⁻²) in main plots and 3 nitrogen fertilization levels (N: 0, 120, and 200 kg N · hm⁻²) in sub-plots. The results showed that the photosynthetic rate, yield, and water and nitrogen use efficiency of watermelon increased with the increasing supplementary irrigation, but the nitrogen partial productivity and nitrogen use efficiency decreased with increasing nitrogen fertilization level. The photosynthetic rate and quality indicators increased with increasing nitrogen fertilization level as the nitrogen rate changed from 0 to 120 kg N · hm⁻², but no further significant increase as the nitrogen rate exceeded 120 kg · hm⁻². The interactive effects between water and nitrogen was significant for yield and water and nitrogen use efficiency of watermelon, supplementary irrigation volume was a key factor for the increase yield compared with the nitrogen fertilizer, and the yield reached the highest for the W₇₀N₂₀₀ and W₁₀₅ N₁₂₀ treatments, for which the yield increased by 42.4% and 40.4% compared to CK. Water use efficiency (WUE) was improved by supplementary irrigation and nitrogen rate, the WUE of all nitrogen fertilizer treatments were more than 26 kg · m⁻³ under supplemental irrigation levels 70 m³ · hm⁻² and 105 m³ · hm⁻². The nitrogen partial productivity and nitrogen use efficiency reached the highest in the treatment of W₁₀₅N₁₂₀. It was considered that under the experimental condition, 105 m³ · hm⁻² of supplementary irrigation plus 120 kg · hm⁻² of nitrogen fertilization was the optimal combination of obtaining the high yield and high efficiency.

Effects of species-specific leaf characteristics and reduced water availability on fine particle capture efficiency of trees.

PubMed

Räsänen, Janne V; Holopainen, Toini; Joutsensaari, Jorma; Ndam, Collins; Pasanen, Pertti; Rinnan, Åsmund; Kivimäenpää, Minna

2013-12-01

Trees can improve air quality by capturing particles in their foliage. We determined the particle capture efficiencies of coniferous Pinus sylvestris and three broadleaved species: Betula pendula, Betula pubescens and Tilia vulgaris in a wind tunnel using NaCl particles. The importance of leaf surface structure, physiology and moderate soil drought on the particle capture efficiencies of the trees were determined. The results confirm earlier findings of more efficient particle capture by conifers compared to broadleaved plants. The particle capture efficiency of P. sylvestris (0.21%) was significantly higher than those of B. pubescens, T. vulgaris and B. pendula (0.083%, 0.047%, 0.043%, respectively). The small leaf size of P. sylvestris was the major characteristic that increased particle capture. Among the broadleaved species, low leaf wettability, low stomatal density and leaf hairiness increased particle capture. Moderate soil drought tended to increase particle capture efficiency of P. sylvestris. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal Dynamic Detection of Explosives (ODD-EX)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-29

2. Control of nitromethane photoionization efficiency with shaped femtosecond pulses, J. Roslund, O. Shir, A. Dogariu, R. Miles, H. Rabitz, J. Chem...feedback loop. 2. Control of nitromethane photoionization efficiency with shaped femtosecond pulses, J. Roslund, O. Shir, A. Dogariu, R. Miles, H. Rabitz...resonances that allow a significant increase in the photoionization efficiency of nitromethane with shaped near-infrared femtosecond pulses. The

Role of surface energy and nano-roughness in the removal efficiency of bacterial contamination by nonwoven wipes from frequently touched surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Nicholas W. M.; Best, Emma L.; Connell, Simon D.; Goswami, Parikshit; Carr, Chris M.; Wilcox, Mark H.; Russell, Stephen J.

2017-12-01

Healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) are responsible for substantial patient morbidity, mortality and economic cost. Infection control strategies for reducing rates of transmission include the use of nonwoven wipes to remove pathogenic bacteria from frequently touched surfaces. Wiping is a dynamic process that involves physicochemical mechanisms to detach and transfer bacteria to fibre surfaces within the wipe. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which systematic changes in fibre surface energy and nano-roughness influence removal of bacteria from an abiotic polymer surface in dry wiping conditions, without liquid detergents or disinfectants. Nonwoven wipe substrates composed of two commonly used fibre types, lyocell (cellulosic) and polypropylene, with different surface energies and nano-roughnesses, were manufactured using pilot-scale nonwoven facilities to produce samples of comparable structure and dimensional properties. The surface energy and nano-roughness of some lyocell substrates were further adjusted by either oxygen (O2) or hexafluoroethane (C2F6) gas plasma treatment. Static adpression wiping of an inoculated surface under dry conditions produced removal efficiencies of between 9.4% and 15.7%, with no significant difference (p < 0.05) in the relative removal efficiencies of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Enterococcus faecalis. However, dynamic wiping markedly increased peak wiping efficiencies to over 50%, with a minimum increase in removal efficiency of 12.5% and a maximum increase in removal efficiency of 37.9% (all significant at p < 0.05) compared with static wiping, depending on fibre type and bacterium. In dry, dynamic wiping conditions, nonwoven wipe substrates with a surface energy closest to that of the contaminated surface produced the highest E. coli removal efficiency, while the associated increase in fibre nano-roughness abrogated this trend with S. aureus and E. faecalis.

Nicotine increases brain functional network efficiency.

PubMed

Wylie, Korey P; Rojas, Donald C; Tanabe, Jody; Martin, Laura F; Tregellas, Jason R

2012-10-15

Despite the use of cholinergic therapies in Alzheimer's disease and the development of cholinergic strategies for schizophrenia, relatively little is known about how the system modulates the connectivity and structure of large-scale brain networks. To better understand how nicotinic cholinergic systems alter these networks, this study examined the effects of nicotine on measures of whole-brain network communication efficiency. Resting state fMRI was acquired from fifteen healthy subjects before and after the application of nicotine or placebo transdermal patches in a single blind, crossover design. Data, which were previously examined for default network activity, were analyzed with network topology techniques to measure changes in the communication efficiency of whole-brain networks. Nicotine significantly increased local efficiency, a parameter that estimates the network's tolerance to local errors in communication. Nicotine also significantly enhanced the regional efficiency of limbic and paralimbic areas of the brain, areas which are especially altered in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. These changes in network topology may be one mechanism by which cholinergic therapies improve brain function. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Nicotine Increases Brain Functional Network Efficiency

PubMed Central

Wylie, Korey P.; Rojas, Donald C.; Tanabe, Jody; Martin, Laura F.; Tregellas, Jason R.

2012-01-01

Despite the use of cholinergic therapies in Alzheimer’s disease and the development of cholinergic strategies for schizophrenia, relatively little is known about how the system modulates the connectivity and structure of large-scale brain networks. To better understand how nicotinic cholinergic systems alter these networks, this study examined the effects of nicotine on measures of whole-brain network communication efficiency. Resting-state fMRI was acquired from fifteen healthy subjects before and after the application of nicotine or placebo transdermal patches in a single blind, crossover design. Data, which were previously examined for default network activity, were analyzed with network topology techniques to measure changes in the communication efficiency of whole-brain networks. Nicotine significantly increased local efficiency, a parameter that estimates the network’s tolerance to local errors in communication. Nicotine also significantly enhanced the regional efficiency of limbic and paralimbic areas of the brain, areas which are especially altered in diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. These changes in network topology may be one mechanism by which cholinergic therapies improve brain function. PMID:22796985

The influence of increased distal loading on metabolic cost, efficiency, and kinematics of roller ski skating.

PubMed

Bolger, Conor M; Bessone, Veronica; Federolf, Peter; Ettema, Gertjan; Sandbakk, Øyvind

2018-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of increased loading of the roller ski on metabolic cost, gross efficiency, and kinematics of roller ski skating in steep and moderate terrain, while employing two incline-specific techniques. Ten nationally ranked male cross-country skiers were subjected to four 7-minute submaximal intervals, with 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 kg added beneath the roller-ski in a randomized order. This was done on two separate days, with the G2 skating at 12% incline and 7 km/h speed and G3 skating at 5% incline and 14 km/h speed, respectively. At 12% incline, there was a significant increase in metabolic rate and a decrease in gross efficiency with added weight (P<0.001 and P = 0.002). At 5% incline, no change in metabolic rate or gross efficiency was found (P = 0.89 and P = 0.11). Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) increased gradually with added weight at both inclines (P>0.05). No changes in cycle characteristics were observed between the different ski loadings at either incline, although the lateral and vertical displacements of the foot/skis were slightly altered at 12% incline with added weight. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that increased loading of the ski increases the metabolic cost and reduces gross efficiency during steep uphill roller skiing in G2 skating, whereas no significant effect was revealed when skating on relatively flat terrain in G3. Cycle characteristics remained unchanged across conditions at both inclines, whereas small adjustments in the displacement of the foot coincided with the efficiency changes in uphill terrain. The increased RPE values with added ski-weight at both inclines indicates that other factors than those measured here could have influenced effort and/or fatigue when lifting a heavier ski.

Optimizing nitrogen application rate and plant density for improving cotton yield and nitrogen use efficiency in the North China Plain

PubMed Central

Dong, Helin; Zheng, Cangsong; Sun, Miao; Liu, Aizhong; Wang, Guoping; Liu, Shaodong; Zhang, Siping; Chen, Jing; Li, Yabing; Pang, Chaoyou; Zhao, Xinhua

2017-01-01

Plant population density (PPD) and nitrogen (N) application rate (NAR) are two controllable factors in cotton production. We conducted field experiments to investigate the effects of PPD, NAR and their interaction (PPD × NAR) on yield, N uptake and N use efficiency (NUE) of cotton using a split-plot design in the North China Plain during 2013 and 2014. The main plots were PPDs (plants m−2) of 3.00 (low), 5.25 (medium) and 7.50 (high) and the subplots were NARs of 0 (N-free), 112.5 (low), 225.0 (moderate) and 337.5 (high). During both 2013 and 2014, biological yield and N uptake of cotton increased significantly, but harvesting index decreased significantly with NAR and PPD increasing. With NAR increasing, internal nitrogen use efficiency(NUE) decreased significantly under three PPDs and agronomical NUE, physiologilal NUE, nitrogen recovery efficiency(NRE) and partial factor productivity from applied nitrogen (PFPN) also decreased significantly under high PPD between two years. Lint yield increment varied during different PPDs and years, but NAR enhancement showed less function under higher PPD than lower PPD in general. Taken together, moderate NAR under medium PPD combined higher lint yield with higher agronomic NUE, physiological NUE, and NRE, while low NAR with high PPD would achieve a comparable yield with superior NRE and PFPN and high NAR under high PPD and medium PPD produced higher biological yield but lower harvest index, lint yield and NUE compared to moderate NAR with medium PPD. Our overall results indicated that, in this region, increasing PPD and decreasing NAR properly would enhance both lint yield and NUE of cotton. PMID:28981538

Web-based oil immersion whole slide imaging increases efficiency and clinical team satisfaction in hematopathology tumor board

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhongchuan Will; Kohan, Jessica; Perkins, Sherrie L.; Hussong, Jerry W.; Salama, Mohamed E.

2014-01-01

Background: Whole slide imaging (WSI) is widely used for education and research, but is increasingly being used to streamline clinical workflow. We present our experience with regard to satisfaction and time utilization using oil immersion WSI for presentation of blood/marrow aspirate smears, core biopsies, and tissue sections in hematology/oncology tumor board/treatment planning conferences (TPC). Methods: Lymph nodes and bone marrow core biopsies were scanned at ×20 magnification and blood/marrow smears at 83X under oil immersion and uploaded to an online library with areas of interest to be displayed annotated digitally via web browser. Pathologist time required to prepare slides for scanning was compared to that required to prepare for microscope projection (MP). Time required to present cases during TPC was also compared. A 10-point evaluation survey was used to assess clinician satisfaction with each presentation method. Results: There was no significant difference in hematopathologist preparation time between WSI and MP. However, presentation time was significantly less for WSI compared to MP as selection and annotation of slides was done prior to TPC with WSI, enabling more efficient use of TPC presentation time. Survey results showed a significant increase in satisfaction by clinical attendees with regard to image quality, efficiency of presentation of pertinent findings, aid in clinical decision-making, and overall satisfaction regarding pathology presentation. A majority of respondents also noted decreased motion sickness with WSI. Conclusions: Whole slide imaging, particularly with the ability to use oil scanning, provides higher quality images compared to MP and significantly increases clinician satisfaction. WSI streamlines preparation for TPC by permitting prior slide selection, resulting in greater efficiency during TPC presentation. PMID:25379347

Sedentary behavior and sleep efficiency in active community-dwelling older adults.

PubMed

Madden, Kenneth M; Ashe, Maureen C; Lockhart, Chris; Chase, Jocelyn M

2014-06-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that aerobic exercise interventions have a positive impact on sleep efficiency in older adults. However, little work has been done on the impact of sedentary behavior (sitting, watching television, etc.) on sleep efficiency. 54 Community-dwelling men and women >65 years of age living in Whistler, British Columbia (mean 71.5 years) were enrolled in this cross-sectional observational study. Measures of sleep efficiency as well as average waking sedentary (ST), light (LT), and moderate (MT) activity were recorded with Sensewear accelerometers worn continuously for 7 days. From the univariate regression analysis, there was no association between sleep efficiency and the predictors LT and MT. There was a small negative association between ST and sleep efficiency that remained significant in our multivariate regression model containing alcohol consumption, age and gender as covariates. (standardized β correlation coefficient -0.322, p=0.019). Although significant, this effect was small (an increase in sedentary time of 3 hours per day was associated with an approximately 5% reduction in sleep efficiency). This study found a small significant association between the time spent sedentary and sleep efficiency, despite high levels of activity in this older adult group.

Lubricant Formulations to Enhance Engine Efficiency in Modern Internal Combustion Engines

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

Cheng, Wai; Wong, Victor; Plumley, Michael

2017-04-19

The research program presented aimed to investigate, develop, and demonstrate low-friction, environmentally-friendly and commercially-feasible lubricant formulations that would significantly improve the mechanical efficiency of modern engines without incurring increased wear, emissions or deterioration of the emission-aftertreatment system.

Preparation and modification of N-(2-hydroxyl) propyl-3-trimethyl ammonium chitosan chloride nanoparticle as a protein carrier.

PubMed

Xu, Yongmei; Du, Yumin; Huang, Ronghua; Gao, Leping

2003-12-01

N-(2-hydroxyl) propyl-3-trimethyl ammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC) is water-soluble derivative of chitosan (CS), synthesized by the reaction between glycidyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride and CS. HTCC nanoparticles have been formed based on ionic gelation process of HTCC and sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP). Bovine serum albumin (BSA), as a model protein drug, was incorporated into the HTCC nanoparticles. HTCC nanoparticles were 110-180 nm in size, and their encapsulation efficiency was up to 90%. In vitro release studies showed a burst effect and a slow and continuous release followed. Encapsulation efficiency was obviously increased with increase of initial BSA concentration. Increasing TPP concentration from 0.5 to 0.7 mg/ml promoted encapsulation efficiency from 46.7% to 90%, and delayed release. As for modified HTCC nanoparticles, adding polyethylene glycol (PEG) or sodium alginate obviously decreased the burst effect of BSA from 42% to 18%. Encapsulation efficiency was significantly reduced from 47.6% to 2% with increase of PEG from 1.0 to 20.0 mg/ml. Encapsulation efficiency was increased from 14.5% to 25.4% with increase of alginate from 0.3 to 1.0 mg/ml.

Energy expenditure and activity of transfemoral amputees using mechanical and microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees.

PubMed

Kaufman, Kenton R; Levine, James A; Brey, Robert H; McCrady, Shelly K; Padgett, Denny J; Joyner, Michael J

2008-07-01

To quantify the energy efficiency of locomotion and free-living physical activity energy expenditure of transfemoral amputees using a mechanical and microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee. Repeated-measures design to evaluate comparative functional outcomes. Exercise physiology laboratory and community free-living environment. Subjects (N=15; 12 men, 3 women; age, 42+/-9 y; range, 26-57 y) with transfemoral amputation. Research participants were long-term users of a mechanical prosthesis (20+/-10 y as an amputee; range, 3-36 y). They were fitted with a microprocessor-controlled knee prosthesis and allowed to acclimate (mean time, 18+/-8 wk) before being retested. Objective measurements of energy efficiency and total daily energy expenditure were obtained. The Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaire was used to gather subjective feedback from the participants. Subjects demonstrated significantly increased physical activity-related energy expenditure levels in the participant's free-living environment (P=.04) after wearing the microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint. There was no significant difference in the energy efficiency of walking (P=.34). When using the microprocessor-controlled knee, the subjects expressed increased satisfaction in their daily lives (P=.02). People ambulating with a microprocessor-controlled knee significantly increased their physical activity during daily life, outside the laboratory setting, and expressed an increased quality of life.

Barium: An Efficient Cathode Layer for Bulk-heterojunction Solar Cells

PubMed Central

Gupta, Vinay; Kyaw, Aung Ko Ko; Wang, Dong Hwan; Chand, Suresh; Bazan, Guillermo C.; Heeger, Alan J.

2013-01-01

We report Barium (Ba) cathode layer for bulk-heterojunction solar cells which enhanced the fill factor (FF) of p-DTS(FBTTh2)2/PC71BM BHJ solar cell up to 75.1%, one of the highest value reported for an organic solar cell. The external quantum efficiency exceeds 80%. Analysis of recombination mechanisms using the current-voltage (J–V) characteristics at various light intensities in the BHJ solar cell layer reveals that Ba prevents trap assisted Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination at the interface and with different thicknesses of the Ba, the recombination shifts towards bimolecular from monomolecular. Moreover, Ba increases shunt resistance and decreases the series resistance significantly. This results in an increase in the charge collection probability leading to high FF. This work identifies a new cathode interlayer which outclasses the all the reported interlayers in increasing FF leading to high power conversion efficiency and have significant implications in improving the performance of BHJ solar cells. PMID:23752562

Trends in Department of Defense hospital efficiency.

PubMed

Ozcan, Y A; Bannick, R R

1994-04-01

This study employs a simple cross sectional design using longitudinal data to explore the underlying factors associated with differences in hospital technical efficiency using data envelopment analysis (DEA) in the Department of Defense (DOD) sector across three service components, the Army, Air Force and Navy. The results suggest that the services do not differ significantly in hospital efficiency. Nor does hospital efficiency appear to differ over time. With respect to the efficient use of input resources, the services experienced a general decline in excessive usage of various inputs over the three years. Analysis of the returns to scale captures opportunities for planners of changing the relative mix of output to input slacks for increasing a hospital's efficiency. That is, policy makers would get more immediate "bang per buck" with emphasis on improving the efficiencies of hospitals with higher returns to scale than other hospitals. Findings also suggest a significant degree of comparability between the DEA measure and these measures often used to indicate efficiency.

[Photosynthesis and transpiration characteristics of female and male Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim individuals].

PubMed

Liu, Yun; Zhong, Zhang-cheng; Wang, Xiao-xue; Xie, Jun; Yang, Wen-ying

2011-03-01

A field research was conducted on the photosynthesis and transpiration characteristics of dioecious Trichosanthes kirilowii individuals at four key development stages. At vegetative growth stage, the photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency of male individuals were higher than those of female individuals, and hence, male individuals entered into reproductive growth stage 22 days earlier than female individuals. After entering into reproductive growth stage, male individuals had higher photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance, but slightly lower water use efficiency than female individuals. As the female individuals started to reproductive growth, their photosynthesis rate and water use efficiency were significantly lower, while the transpiration rate and stomatal conductance were higher than those of the male individuals. The effects of climate factors on the growth and development of T. kirilowii mainly occurred at its vegetative growth and early reproductive growth stages, and weakened at later reproductive growth stages. Higher temperature and lower relative humidity benefited the growth and development of T. kirilowii, and illumination could enhance the photosynthesis rate of T. kirilowii, especially its male individuals. After entering into reproductive growth stage, the photosynthesis rate of male individuals increased significantly with increasing illumination, but that of female individuals only had a slight increase, and the transpiration rate of male individuals as well as the photosynthesis rate of female individuals all increased significantly with increasing temperature.

Use of bacterial acc deaminase to increase oil (especially poly aromatic hydrocarbons) phytoremediation efficiency for maize (zea mays) seedlings.

PubMed

Rezvani Borujeni, Samira; Khavazi, Kazem; Asgharzadeh, Ahmad; Rezvani Borujeni, Iraj

2018-04-16

Oil presence in soil, as a stressor, reduces phytoremediation efficiency through an increase in the plant stress ethylene. Bacterial 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, as a plant stress ethylene reducer, was employed to increase oil phytoremediation efficiency. For this purpose, the ability of ACC deaminase-producing Pseudomonas strains to grow in oil-polluted culture media and withstand various concentrations of oil and also their ability to reduce plant stress ethylene and enhance some growth characteristics of maize and finally their effects on increasing phytoremediation efficiency of poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil were investigated. Based on the results, of tested strains just P9 and P12 were able to perform oil degradation. Increasing oil concentration from 0 to 10% augmented these two strains population, 15.7% and 12.9%, respectively. The maximum increase in maize growth was observed in presence of P12 strain. Results of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that PAHs phytoremediation efficiency was higher for inoculated seeds than uninoculated. The highest plant growth and PAHs removal percentage (74.9%) from oil-polluted soil was observed in maize inoculated with P12. These results indicate the significance of ACC deaminase producing bacteria in alleviation of plant stress ethylene in oil-polluted soils and increasing phytoremediation efficiency of such soils.

[Effects of phosphorus sources on phosphorus fractions in rhizosphere soil of wild barley genotypes with high phosphorus utilization efficiency].

PubMed

Cai, Qiu-Yan; Zhang, Xi-Zhou; Li, Ting-Xuan; Chen, Guang-Deng

2014-11-01

High P-efficiency (IS-22-30, IS-22-25) and low P-efficiency (IS-07-07) wild barley cultivars were chosen to evaluate characteristics of phosphorus uptake and utilization, and properties of phosphorus fractions in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere in a pot experiment with 0 (CK) and 30 mg P · kg(-1) supplied as only Pi (KH2PO4), only Po (phytate) or Pi + Po (KH2PO4+ phytate). The results showed that dry matter and phosphorus accumulation of wild barley in the different treatments was ranked as Pi > Pi + Po > Po > CK. In addition, dry matter yield and phosphorus uptake of wild barley with high P-efficiency exhibited significantly greater than that with low P-efficiency. The concentration of soil available phosphorus was significantly different after application of different phosphorus sources, which was presented as Pi > Pi + Po > Po. The concentration of soil available phosphorus in high P-efficiency wild barley was significantly higher than that of low P-efficiency in the rhizosphere soil. There was a deficit in rhizosphere available phosphorus of high P-efficiency wild barley, especially in Pi and Pi+Po treatments. The inorganic phosphorus fractions increased with the increasing Pi treatment, and the concentrations of inorganic phosphorus fractions in soil were sorted as follows: Ca10-P > O-P > Fe-P > Al-P > Ca2-P > Ca8-P. The contents of Ca2-P and Ca8-P for high P-efficiency wild barley showed deficits in rhizosphere soil under each phosphorus source treatment. In addition, enrichment of Al-P and Fe-P was observed in Pi treatment in rhizosphere soil. The concentrations of organic phosphorus fractions in soil were sorted as follows: moderate labile organic phosphorus > moderate resistant, resistant organic phosphorus > labile organic phosphorus. The labile and moderate labile organic phosphorus enriched in rhizosphere soil and the greatest enrichment appeared in Pi treatment. Furthermore, the concentrations of moderate resistant organic phosphorus and resistant organic phosphorus decreased in rhizosphere soil. The concentrations of labile and moderate labile organic phosphorus in rhizosphere soil of high P-efficiency wild barley were significantly higher than that of low P-efficiency wild barley in each phosphorus source treatment. However, moderate resistant organic phosphorus and resistant organic phosphorus concentrations had no significant difference between the two genotypes. Wild barley with high P-efficiency demonstrated a greater ability of mobilization and uptake Ca2-P, Ca8-P, Al-P and labile organic phosphorus than that with low P-efficiency under Pi deficiency.

Cost-Benefit of Improving the Efficiency of Room Air Conditioners (Inverter and Fixed Speed) in India

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

Phadke, Amol; Shah, Nihar; Abhyankar, Nikit

Improving efficiency of air conditioners (ACs) typically involves improving the efficiency of various components such as compressors, heat exchangers, expansion valves, refrigerant,and fans. We estimate the incremental cost of improving the efficiency of room ACs based on the cost of improving the efficiency of its key components. Further, we estimate the retail price increase required to cover the cost of efficiency improvement, compare it with electricity bill savings, and calculate the payback period for consumers to recover the additional price of a more efficient AC. The finding that significant efficiency improvement is cost effective from a consumer perspective is robustmore » over a wide range of assumptions. If we assume a 50% higher incremental price compared to our baseline estimate, the payback period for the efficiency level of 3.5 ISEER is 1.1 years. Given the findings of this study, establishing more stringent minimum efficiency performance criteria (one-star level) should be evaluated rigorously considering significant benefits to consumers, energy security, and environment« less

Relations between the efficiency, power and dissipation for linear irreversible heat engine at maximum trade-off figure of merit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iyyappan, I.; Ponmurugan, M.

2018-03-01

A trade of figure of merit (\\dotΩ ) criterion accounts the best compromise between the useful input energy and the lost input energy of the heat devices. When the heat engine is working at maximum \\dotΩ criterion its efficiency increases significantly from the efficiency at maximum power. We derive the general relations between the power, efficiency at maximum \\dotΩ criterion and minimum dissipation for the linear irreversible heat engine. The efficiency at maximum \\dotΩ criterion has the lower bound \

Determining optimal torsional ultrasound power for cataract surgery with automatic longitudinal pulses at maximum vacuum ex vivo.

PubMed

Ronquillo, Cecinio C; Zaugg, Brian; Stagg, Brian; Kirk, Kevin R; Gupta, Isha; Barlow, William R; Pettey, Jeff H; Olson, Randall J

2014-12-01

To determine the optimal longitudinal power settings for Infiniti OZil Intelligent Phaco (IP) at varying torsional amplitude settings; and to test the hypothesis that increasing longitudinal power is more important at lower torsional amplitudes to achieve efficient phacoemulsification. Laboratory investigation. setting: John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. procedure: Individual porcine nuclei were fixed in formalin, then cut into 2.0 mm cubes. Lens cube phacoemulsification was done using OZil IP at 60%, 80%, and 100% torsional amplitude with 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50%, 75%, or 100% longitudinal power. All experiments were done using a 20 gauge 0.9 mm bent reverse bevel phaco tip at constant vacuum (550 mm Hg), aspiration rate (40 mL/min), and bottle height (50 cm). main outcome measure: Complete lens particle phacoemulsification (efficiency). Linear regression analysis showed a significant increase in efficiency with increasing longitudinal power at 60% torsional amplitude (R(2) = 0.7269, P = .01) and 80% torsional amplitude (R(2) = 0.6995, P = .02) but not at 100% amplitude (R(2) = 0.3053, P = .2). Baseline comparison of 60% or 80% vs 100% torsional amplitude without longitudinal power showed increased efficiency at 100% (P = .0004). Increasing longitudinal power to 20% abolished the efficiency difference between 80% vs 100% amplitudes. In contrast, 75% longitudinal power abolished the efficiency difference between 60% vs 100% torsional amplitudes. Results suggest that longitudinal power becomes more critical at increasing phacoemulsification efficiencies at torsional amplitudes less than 100%. Increasing longitudinal power does not further increase efficiency at maximal torsional amplitudes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lubricant Effects on Efficiency of a Helicopter Transmission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, A. M.; Coy, J. J.

1982-01-01

Eleven different lubricants were used in efficiency tests conducted on the OH-58A helicopter main transmission using the NASA Lewis Research Center's 500 hp torque regenerative helicopter transmission test stand. Tests were run at oil-in temperatures of 355 K and 372 K. The efficiency was calculated from a heat balance on the water running through an oil to water heat exchanger which the transmission was heavily insulated. Results show an efficiency range from 98.3% to 98.8% which is a 50% variation relative to the losses associated with the maximum efficiency measured. For a given lubricant, the efficiency increased as temperature increased and viscosity decreased. There were two exceptions which could not be explained. Between lubricants, efficiency was not correlated with viscosity. There were relatively large variations in efficiency with the different lubricants whose viscosity generally fell in the 5 to 7 centistoke range. The lubricants had no significant effect on the vibration signature of the transmission.

CH3NH3I post-treatment improves the performance of perovskite solar cells via eliminating the impure phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Jingjing; Liang, Chunjun; Zhang, Huimin; Sun, Mengjie; Liu, Hong; Ji, Chao; Zhang, Xuewen; Li, Dan; He, Zhiqun

Organic-inorganic halide perovskites are currently generating extensive interest for applications in solar cells. The perovskite morphology and composition have significant roles in solar cells. Impure phases, which will influence the performance of solar cells, are inevitably present in the film of perovskite. We found that another MAI deposition on the previous perovskite could ameliorate the film. The post-deposited MAI participates in the reconstruction of the perovskite, leading to reduced amount of impure phase, increased grain size, increased absorption and significantly improved power conversion efficiency. The results demonstrate a treatment approach to fabricate efficient planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells.

[Effects of plastic film mulching and rain harvesting modes on chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics, yield and water use efficiency of dryland maize].

PubMed

Li, Shang-Zhong; Fan, Ting-Lu; Wang, Yong; Zhao, Gang; Wang, Lei; Tang, Xiao-Ming; Dang, Yi; Zhao, Hui

2014-02-01

The differences on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, yield and water use efficiency of dryland maize were compared among full plastic film mulching on double ridges and planting in catchment furrows (FFDRF), half plastic film mulching on double ridges and planting in catchment furrows (HFDRF), plastic film mulching on ridge and planting in film-side (FS), and flat planting with no plastic film mulching (NM) under field conditions in dry highland of Loess Plateau in 2007-2012. The results showed that fluorescence yield (Fo), the maximum fluorescence yield (Fm), light-adapted fluorescence yield when PS II reaction centers were totally open (F), light-adapted fluorescence yield when PS II reaction centers closed (Fm'), the maximal photochemical efficiency of PS II (Fv/Fm), the actual photochemical efficiency of PS II in the light (Phi PS II), the relative electron transport rate (ETR), photochemical quenching (qP) and non-photochemical quenching (qN) in maize leaves of FFDRF were higher than that of control (NM), and the value of 1-qP was lower than that of control, at 13:00, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters values of FFDRF was significantly higher than control, which were increased by 5.3%, 56.8%, 10.7%, 36.3%, 23.6%, 56.7%, 64.4%, 45.5%, 23.6% and -55.6%, respectively, compared with the control. Yield and water use efficiency of FFDRF were the highest in every year no matter dry year, normal year, humid year and hail disaster year. Average yield and water use efficiency of FFDRF were 12,650 kg x hm(-2) and 40.4 kg x mm(-1) x hm(-2) during 2007-2012, increased by 57.8% and 61.6% compared with the control, respectively, and also significantly higher compared with HFDRF and PS. Therefore, it was concluded that FFDRF had significantly increased the efficiency of light energy conversion and improved the production capacity of dryland maize.

Energy efficiency to reduce residential electricity and natural gas use under climate change.

PubMed

Reyna, Janet L; Chester, Mikhail V

2017-05-15

Climate change could significantly affect consumer demand for energy in buildings, as changing temperatures may alter heating and cooling loads. Warming climates could also lead to the increased adoption and use of cooling technologies in buildings. We assess residential electricity and natural gas demand in Los Angeles, California under multiple climate change projections and investigate the potential for energy efficiency to offset increased demand. We calibrate residential energy use against metered data, accounting for differences in building materials and appliances. Under temperature increases, we find that without policy intervention, residential electricity demand could increase by as much as 41-87% between 2020 and 2060. However, aggressive policies aimed at upgrading heating/cooling systems and appliances could result in electricity use increases as low as 28%, potentially avoiding the installation of new generation capacity. We therefore recommend aggressive energy efficiency, in combination with low-carbon generation sources, to offset projected increases in residential energy demand.

Energy efficiency to reduce residential electricity and natural gas use under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyna, Janet L.; Chester, Mikhail V.

2017-05-01

Climate change could significantly affect consumer demand for energy in buildings, as changing temperatures may alter heating and cooling loads. Warming climates could also lead to the increased adoption and use of cooling technologies in buildings. We assess residential electricity and natural gas demand in Los Angeles, California under multiple climate change projections and investigate the potential for energy efficiency to offset increased demand. We calibrate residential energy use against metered data, accounting for differences in building materials and appliances. Under temperature increases, we find that without policy intervention, residential electricity demand could increase by as much as 41-87% between 2020 and 2060. However, aggressive policies aimed at upgrading heating/cooling systems and appliances could result in electricity use increases as low as 28%, potentially avoiding the installation of new generation capacity. We therefore recommend aggressive energy efficiency, in combination with low-carbon generation sources, to offset projected increases in residential energy demand.

Effect of Different Phases of Menstrual Cycle on Cardio-respiratory Efficiency in Normal, Overweight and Obese Female Undergraduate Students.

PubMed

Samsudeen, Nazrin; Rajagopalan, Archana

2016-12-01

The influence of obesity on cardio-respiratory efficiency in the various phases of menstrual cycle is not well understood until now. As majority of Indian women have a favourable attitude towards participation in sports it is significant to understand the variation in exercise performance during different phases of menstrual cycle to have an optimum performance. To evaluate the endurance capacity and cardio-respiratory responses in normal, obese and overweight female undergraduate students during different phases of menstrual cycle. Twenty normal weight, 20 obese and 20 over weight, unmarried, undergraduate female volunteers between the age group of 18-22 years, were recruited by convenient sampling. Cardio-respiratory efficiency was assessed by cardiac efficiency test, respiratory endurance test and respiratory blast test. Overall, exercise efficiency varied significantly during the different phases of the menstrual cycle with the highest during luteal phase and lowest during menstrual phase. Similar trend was observed in all the three weight sub-categories, but it was statistically significant in the normal and overweight category only. There was no significant difference in blast test during menstrual phase, follicular phase and luteal phase of menstrual cycle among three groups of individuals. Overall the obese and overweight females had a decreased value for blast test compared to the normal individuals. Significant difference was observed in endurance test among follicular and luteal phase of normal females but there is no change in overweight and obese. Significant difference was observed in Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) among luteal phase in normal and overweight individuals but there is no change in obese females. Overall obese individuals have a significant low PEFR compared to normal and overweight individuals. Significant increase in cardiac and respiratory efficiency was observed in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle in normal weight where as in overweight and obese females, there is an overall decrease in fitness capacity with increase in the Body Mass Index (BMI). Therefore, practice of regular exercise and intake of healthy diet which help in reducing the weight and in turn the BMI will help in enhancing the physical fitness of the individuals.

Enhancement of ultrasonic disintegration of sewage sludge by aeration.

PubMed

Zhao, He; Zhang, Panyue; Zhang, Guangming; Cheng, Rong

2016-04-01

Sonication is an effective way for sludge disintegration, which can significantly improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion to reduce and recycle use of sludge. But high energy consumption limits the wide application of sonication. In order to improve ultrasonic sludge disintegration efficiency and reduce energy consumption, aeration was introduced. Results showed that sludge disintegration efficiency was improved significantly by combining aeration with ultrasound. The aeration flow rate, gas bubble size, ultrasonic density and aeration timing had impacts on sludge disintegration efficiency. Aeration that used in later stage of ultrasonic irradiation with low aeration flow rate, small gas bubbles significantly improved ultrasonic disintegration sludge efficiency. At the optimal conditions of 0.4 W/mL ultrasonic irradiation density, 30 mL/min of aeration flow rate, 5 min of aeration in later stage and small gas bubbles, ultrasonic sludge disintegration efficiency was increased by 45% and one third of ultrasonic energy was saved. This approach will greatly benefit the application of ultrasonic sludge disintegration and strongly promote the treatment and recycle of wastewater sludge. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Enhancement of biocompatibility of 316LVM stainless steel by cyclic potentiodynamic passivation.

PubMed

Shahryari, Arash; Omanovic, Sasha; Szpunar, Jerzy A

2009-06-15

Passivation of stainless steel implants is a common procedure used to increase their biocompatibility. The results presented in this work demonstrate that the electrochemical cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP) of a biomedical grade 316LVM stainless steel surface is a very efficient passivation method that can be used to significantly improve the material's general corrosion resistance and thus its biocompatibility. The influence of a range of experimental parameters on the passivation/corrosion protection efficiency is discussed. The passive film formed on a 316LVM surface by using the CPP method offers a significantly higher general corrosion resistance than the naturally grown passive film. The corresponding relative corrosion protection efficiency measured in saline during a 2-month period was 97% +/- 1%, which demonstrates a very high stability of the CPP-formed passive film. Its high corrosion protection efficiency was confirmed also at temperatures and chloride concentrations well above normal physiological levels. It was also shown that the CPP is a significantly more effective passivation method than some other surface-treatment methods commonly used to passivate biomedical grade stainless steels. In addition, the CPP-passivated 316LVM surface showed an enhanced biocompatibility in terms of preosteoblast (MC3T3) cells attachment. An increased thickness of the CPP-formed passive film and its enrichment with Cr(VI) and oxygen was determined to be the origin of the material's increased general corrosion resistance, whereas the increased surface roughness and surface (Volta) potential were suggested to be the origin of the enhanced preosteoblast cells attachment. Copyright 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of advanced turboprop and turbofan airplanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, V. S.

1983-01-01

Results of a parametric study to determine the effects of design variables and penalties on the fuel efficiency of Mach 0.8, 125-passenger, advanced turboprop airplanes show that propeller-wing interference penalty has a major effect. Propeller tip speed has a minor effect, and could be decreased to alleviate the noise problem without significant effects on fuel efficiency. The anticipated noise levels produced by the propfan will require additional acoustical treatment for the fuselage; this additional weight can have a significant effect on fuel efficiency. The propfan advantage over an equivalent technology turbofan is strongly dependent on the interference penalty and acoustical treatment weight. Lowering the cruise Mach number to around 0.73 would result in greatly increased fuel efficiency.

Does Competition Improve Public School Efficiency? A Spatial Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Misra, Kaustav

2010-01-01

Proponents of educational reform often call for policies to increase competition between schools. It is argued that market forces naturally lead to greater efficiencies, including improved student learning, when schools face competition. In many parts of the country, public schools experience significant competition from private schools; however,…

No change in energy efficiency in lactation: Insights from a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Bender, Richard L; Williams, Heather S; Dufour, Darna L

2017-11-01

Lactation is the most energy-demanding phase of reproduction for human females, but it is still unclear how women in different environments are able to meet this additional energy demand. Previous studies have investigated whether changes in metabolism could have an energy-sparing effect in lactation, with conflicting results. Here, we asked whether increased energy efficiency in physical activity serves as an energy-sparing mechanism in lactation. We used a longitudinal design with a control group. Participants were 33 well-nourished, exclusively breastfeeding women and 29 non-pregnant, non-lactating (NPNL) controls aged 32 ± 4 years. Lactating women were measured at peak- and post-lactation. NPNL controls completed a baseline measurement and a follow-up visit. Energy efficiency in physical activity was assessed using a graded submaximal exercise test and calculated as delta efficiency (change in work accomplished over change in energy expended) and gross efficiency (work accomplished over energy expended). There was no significant change in either delta efficiency or gross efficiency from peak to post lactation in lactating women, and no significant difference in delta efficiency between lactating women and NPNL controls at any time period. However, lactating women showed greater between-visit variation in delta efficiency than the NPNL controls. Additionally, 79% of lactating participants lost weight between visits (mean weight loss -3.6 ± 2.3kg), consistent with a mobilization of body tissues to support lactation. We found no support for the idea that lactating women undergo an increase in energy efficiency to support the energy costs of lactation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Food security: increasing yield and improving resource use efficiency.

PubMed

Parry, Martin A J; Hawkesford, Malcolm J

2010-11-01

Food production and security will be a major issue for supplying an increasing world population. The problem will almost certainly be exacerbated by climate change. There is a projected need to double food production by 2050. In recent times, the trend has been for incremental modest yield increases for most crops. There is an urgent need to develop integrated and sustainable approaches that will significantly increase both production per unit land area and the resource use efficiency of crops. This review considers some key processes involved in plant growth and development with some examples of ways in which molecular technology, plant breeding and genetics may increase the yield and resource use efficiency of wheat. The successful application of biotechnology to breeding is essential to provide the major increases in production required. However, each crop and each specific agricultural situation presents specific requirements and targets for optimisation. Some increases in production will come about as new varieties are developed which are able to produce satisfactory crops on marginal land presently not considered appropriate for arable crops. Other new varieties will be developed to increase both yield and resource use efficiency on the best land.

Antenna coupled photonic wire lasers

DOE PAGES

Kao, Tsung-Kao; Cai, Xiaowei; Lee, Alan W. M.; ...

2015-06-22

Slope efficiency (SE) is an important performance metric for lasers. In conventional semiconductor lasers, SE can be optimized by careful designs of the facet (or the modulation for DFB lasers) dimension and surface. However, photonic wire lasers intrinsically suffer low SE due to their deep sub-wavelength emitting facets. Inspired by microwave engineering techniques, we show a novel method to extract power from wire lasers using monolithically integrated antennas. These integrated antennas significantly increase the effective radiation area, and consequently enhance the power extraction efficiency. When applied to wire lasers at THz frequency, we achieved the highest single-side slope efficiency (~450more » mW/A) in pulsed mode for DFB lasers at 4 THz and a ~4x increase in output power at 3 THz compared with a similar structure without antennas. This work demonstrates the versatility of incorporating microwave engineering techniques into laser designs, enabling significant performance enhancements.« less

Improvement of density resolution in short-pulse hard x-ray radiographic imaging using detector stacks

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

Borm, B.; Gärtner, F.; Khaghani, D.

2016-09-15

We demonstrate that stacking several imaging plates (IPs) constitutes an easy method to increase hard x-ray detection efficiency. Used to record x-ray radiographic images produced by an intense-laser driven hard x-ray backlighter source, the IP stacks resulted in a significant improvement of the radiograph density resolution. We attribute this to the higher quantum efficiency of the combined detectors, leading to a reduced photon noise. Electron-photon transport simulations of the interaction processes in the detector reproduce the observed contrast improvement. Increasing the detection efficiency to enhance radiographic imaging capabilities is equally effective as increasing the x-ray source yield, e.g., by amore » larger drive laser energy.« less

Cost-Benefit of Improving the Efficiency of Room Air Conditioners (Inverter and Fixed Speed) in India

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

Shah, Nihar; Abhyankar, Nikit; Park, Won Young

Improving efficiency of air conditioners (ACs) typically involves improving the efficiency of various components such as compressors, heat exchangers, expansion valves, refrigerant and fans. We estimate the incremental cost of improving the efficiency of room ACs based on the cost of improving the efficiency of its key components. Further, we estimate the retail price increase required to cover the cost of efficiency improvement, compare it with electricity bill savings, and calculate the payback period for consumers to recover the additional price of a more efficient AC. We assess several efficiency levels, two of which are summarized below in the report.more » The finding that significant efficiency improvement is cost effective from a consumer perspective is robust over a wide range of assumptions. If we assume a 50% higher incremental price compared to our baseline estimate, the payback period for the efficiency level of 3.5 ISEER is 1.1 years. Given the findings of this study, establishing more stringent minimum efficiency performance criteria (one star level) should be evaluated rigorously considering significant benefits to consumers, energy security and environment.« less

Similarities and Differences for Swimming in Larval and Adult Lampreys.

PubMed

McClellan, Andrew D; Pale, Timothée; Messina, J Alex; Buso, Scott; Shebib, Ahmad

2016-01-01

The spinal locomotor networks controlling swimming behavior in larval and adult lampreys may have some important differences. As an initial step in comparing the locomotor systems in lampreys, in larval animals the relative timing of locomotor movements and muscle burst activity were determined and compared to those previously published for adults. In addition, the kinematics for free swimming in larval and adult lampreys was compared in detail for the first time. First, for swimming in larval animals, the neuromechanical phase lag between the onsets or terminations of muscle burst activity and maximum concave curvature of the body increased with increasing distance along the body, similar to that previously shown in adults. Second, in larval lampreys, but not adults, absolute swimming speed (U; mm s(-1)) increased with animal length (L). In contrast, normalized swimming speed (U'; body lengths [bl] s(-1)) did not increase with L in larval or adult animals. In both larval and adult lampreys, U' and normalized wave speed (V') increased with increasing tail-beat frequency. Wavelength and mechanical phase lag did not vary significantly with tail-beat frequency but were significantly different in larval and adult animals. Swimming in larval animals was characterized by a smaller U/V ratio, Froude efficiency, and Strouhal number than in adults, suggesting less efficient swimming for larval animals. In addition, during swimming in larval lampreys, normalized lateral head movements were larger and normalized lateral tail movements were smaller than for adults. Finally, larval animals had proportionally smaller lateral surface areas of the caudal body and fin areas than adults. These differences are well suited for larval sea lampreys that spend most of the time buried in mud/sand, in which swimming efficiency is not critical, compared to adults that would experience significant selection pressure to evolve higher-efficiency swimming to catch up to and attach to fish for feeding as well as engage in long-distance migration during spawning. Finally, the differences in swim efficiency for larval and adult lampreys are compared to other animals employing the anguilliform mode of swimming.

Preliminary assessment of injection, storage, and recovery of freshwater in the lower Hawthorn aquifer, Cape Coral, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Quinones-Aponte, Vicente; Wexler, Eliezer J.

1995-01-01

A preliminary assessment of subsurface injection, storage and recovery of fresh canal water was made in the naturally brackish lower Hawthorn aquifer in Cape Coral, southwestern Florida. A digital modeling approach was used for this preliminary assessment, incorporating available data on hydrologic conditions, aquifer properties, and water quality to simulate density-dependent ground-water flow and advective-dispersive transport of a conservative ground-water solute (chloride ion). A baseline simulation was used as reference to compare the effects of changing various operational factors on the recovery efficiency. A recovery efficiency of 64 percent was estimated for the baseline simulation. Based on the model, the recovery efficiency increases if the injection rate and recovery rates are increased and if the ratio of recovery rate to injection rate is increased. Recovery efficiency decreases if the amount of water injected is increased; slightly decreases if the storage time is increased; is not changed significantly if the water is injected to a specific flow zone; increases with successive cycles of injection, storage, and recovery; and decreases if the chloride concentrations in either the injection water or native aquifer water are increased. In everal hypothetical tests, the recovery efficiency fluctuated between 22 and about 100 percent. Two successive cycles could bring the recovery efficiency from 60 to about 80 percent. Interlayer solute mass movement across the upper and lower boundaries seems to be the most important factor affecting the recovery efficiency. A sensitivity analysis was performed applying a technique in which the change in the various factors and the corresponding model responses are normalized so that meaningful comparisons among the responses could be made. The general results from the sensitivity analysis indicated that the permeabilities of the upper and lower flow zones were the most important factors that produced the greatest changes in the relative sensitivity of the recovery efficiency. Almost equally significant changes occurred in the relative sensitivity of the recovery efficiency when all porosity values of the upper and lower flow zones and the leaky confining units and the vertical anisotropy ratio were changed. The advective factors are the most important in the Cape Coral area according to the sensitivity analysis. However, the dispersivity values used in the model were extrapolated from studies conducted at the nearby Lee County Water Treatment Plant, and these values might not be representative of the actual dispersive characteristics of the lower Hawthorn aquifer in the Cape Coral area.

Effects of a controlled-release fertilizer on yield, nutrient uptake, and fertilizer usage efficiency in early ripening rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)*

PubMed Central

Tian, Chang; Zhou, Xuan; Liu, Qiang; Peng, Jian-wei; Wang, Wen-ming; Zhang, Zhen-hua; Yang, Yong; Song, Hai-xing; Guan, Chun-yun

2016-01-01

Background: Nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) are critical nutrient elements necessary for crop plant growth and development. However, excessive inputs will lead to inefficient usage and cause excessive nutrient losses in the field environment, and also adversely affect the soil, water and air quality, human health, and biodiversity. Methods: Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) on seed yield, plant growth, nutrient uptake, and fertilizer usage efficiency for early ripening rapeseed (Xiangzayou 1613) in the red-yellow soil of southern China during 2011–2013. It was grown using a soluble fertilizer (SF) and the same amounts of CRF, such as SF1/CRF1 (3750 kg/hm2), SF2/CRF2 (3000 kg/hm2), SF3/CRF3 (2250 kg/hm2), SF4/CRF4 (1500 kg/hm2), SF5/CRF5 (750 kg/hm2), and also using no fertilizer (CK). Results: CRF gave higher seed yields than SF in both seasons by 14.51%. CRF4 and SF3 in each group achieved maximum seed yield (2066.97 and 1844.50 kg/hm2, respectively), followed by CRF3 (1929.97 kg/hm2) and SF4 (1839.40 kg/hm2). There were no significant differences in seed yield among CK, SF1, and CRF1 (P>0.05). CRF4 had the highest profit (7126.4 CNY/hm2) and showed an increase of 12.37% in seed yield, and it decreased by 11.01% in unit fertilizer rate compared with SF4. The branch number, pod number, and dry matter weight compared with SF increased significantly under the fertilization of CRF (P<0.05). The pod number per plant was the major contributor to seed yield. On the other hand, the N, P, and K uptakes increased at first and then decreased with increasing the fertilizer rate at maturity, and the N, P, and K usage efficiency decreased with increasing the fertilizer rate. The N, P, and K uptakes and usage efficiencies of the CRF were significantly higher than those of SF (P<0.05). The N accumulation and N usage efficiency of CRF increased by an average of 13.66% and 9.74 percentage points, respectively, compared to SF. In conclusion, CRF significantly promoted the growth of rapeseed with using total N as the base fertilizer, by providing sufficient N in the later growth stages, and last by reducing the residual N in the soil and increasing the N accumulation and N usage efficiency. PMID:27704747

Effects of a controlled-release fertilizer on yield, nutrient uptake, and fertilizer usage efficiency in early ripening rapeseed (Brassica napus L.).

PubMed

Tian, Chang; Zhou, Xuan; Liu, Qiang; Peng, Jian-Wei; Wang, Wen-Ming; Zhang, Zhen-Hua; Yang, Yong; Song, Hai-Xing; Guan, Chun-Yun

Nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) are critical nutrient elements necessary for crop plant growth and development. However, excessive inputs will lead to inefficient usage and cause excessive nutrient losses in the field environment, and also adversely affect the soil, water and air quality, human health, and biodiversity. Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) on seed yield, plant growth, nutrient uptake, and fertilizer usage efficiency for early ripening rapeseed (Xiangzayou 1613) in the red-yellow soil of southern China during 2011-2013. It was grown using a soluble fertilizer (SF) and the same amounts of CRF, such as SF1/CRF1 (3750 kg/hm 2 ), SF2/CRF2 (3000 kg/hm 2 ), SF3/CRF3 (2250 kg/hm 2 ), SF4/CRF4 (1500 kg/hm 2 ), SF5/CRF5 (750 kg/hm 2 ), and also using no fertilizer (CK). CRF gave higher seed yields than SF in both seasons by 14.51%. CRF4 and SF3 in each group achieved maximum seed yield (2066.97 and 1844.50 kg/hm 2 , respectively), followed by CRF3 (1929.97 kg/hm 2 ) and SF4 (1839.40 kg/hm 2 ). There were no significant differences in seed yield among CK, SF1, and CRF1 (P>0.05). CRF4 had the highest profit (7126.4 CNY/hm 2 ) and showed an increase of 12.37% in seed yield, and it decreased by 11.01% in unit fertilizer rate compared with SF4. The branch number, pod number, and dry matter weight compared with SF increased significantly under the fertilization of CRF (P<0.05). The pod number per plant was the major contributor to seed yield. On the other hand, the N, P, and K uptakes increased at first and then decreased with increasing the fertilizer rate at maturity, and the N, P, and K usage efficiency decreased with increasing the fertilizer rate. The N, P, and K uptakes and usage efficiencies of the CRF were significantly higher than those of SF (P<0.05). The N accumulation and N usage efficiency of CRF increased by an average of 13.66% and 9.74 percentage points, respectively, compared to SF. In conclusion, CRF significantly promoted the growth of rapeseed with using total N as the base fertilizer, by providing sufficient N in the later growth stages, and last by reducing the residual N in the soil and increasing the N accumulation and N usage efficiency.

Acid or erythromycin stress significantly improves transformation efficiency through regulating expression of DNA binding proteins in Lactococcus lactis F44.

PubMed

Wang, Binbin; Zhang, Huawei; Liang, Dongmei; Hao, Panlong; Li, Yanni; Qiao, Jianjun

2017-12-01

Lactococcus lactis is a gram-positive bacterium used extensively in the dairy industry and food fermentation, and its biological characteristics are usually improved through genetic manipulation. However, poor transformation efficiency was the main restriction factor for the construction of engineered strains. In this study, the transformation efficiency of L. lactis F44 showed a 56.1-fold increase in acid condition (pH 5.0); meanwhile, erythromycin stress (0.04 μg/mL) promoted the transformation efficiency more significantly (76.9-fold). Notably, the transformation efficiency of F44e (L. lactis F44 harboring empty pLEB124) increased up to 149.1-fold under the synergistic stresses of acid and erythromycin. In addition, the gene expression of some DNA binding proteins (DprA, RadA, RadC, RecA, RecQ, and SsbA) changed correspondingly. Especially for radA, 25.1-fold improvement was detected when F44e was exposed to pH 5.0. Overexpression of some DNA binding proteins could improve the transformation efficiency. The results suggested that acid or erythromycin stress could improve the transformation efficiency of L. lactis through regulating gene expression of DNA binding proteins. We have proposed a simple but promising strategy for improving the transformation efficiency of L. lactis and other hard-transformed microorganisms. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity increases phosphorus uptake efficiency of European beech.

PubMed

Köhler, Julia; Yang, Nan; Pena, Rodica; Raghavan, Venket; Polle, Andrea; Meier, Ina C

2018-05-17

Increases in summer droughts and nitrogen (N) deposition have raised concerns of widespread biodiversity loss and nutrient imbalances, but our understanding of the ecological role of ectomycorrhizal fungal (ECMF) diversity in mediating root functions remains a major knowledge gap. We used different global change scenarios to experimentally alter the composition of ECMF communities colonizing European beech saplings and examined the consequences for phosphorus (P) uptake (H 3 33 PO 4 feeding experiment) and use efficiencies of trees. Specifically, we simulated increases in temperature and N deposition and decreases in soil moisture and P availability in a factorial experiment. Here, we show that ECMF α diversity is a major factor contributing to root functioning under global change. P uptake efficiency of beech significantly increased with increasing ECMF species richness and diversity, as well as with decreasing P availability. As a consequence of decreases in ECMF diversity, P uptake efficiency decreased when soil moisture was limiting. By contrast, P use efficiencies were a direct (negative) function of P availability and not of ECMF diversity. We conclude that increasing summer droughts may reduce ECMF diversity and the complementarity of P uptake by ECMF species, which will add to negative growth effects expected from nutrient imbalances under global change. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

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

Sparn, Bethany; Hunsberger, Randolph

Water and wastewater treatment plants and distribution systems use significant amounts of energy, around 2 - 4% of the total electricity used in the US, and their energy use is projected to increase as populations increase and regulations become more stringent. Water and wastewater systems have largely been disconnected from the electric utilities' efforts to improve energy efficiency and provide energy efficiency and provide grid services, likely because their core mission is to provide clean water and treated wastewater. Energy efficiency has slowly crept into the water and wastewater industry as the economic benefit has become more apparent, but theremore » is still potential for significant improvement. Some of the larger, more progressive water utilities are starting to consider providing grid services; however, it remains a foreign concept to many. This report explores intrinsic mechanisms by which the water and wastewater industries can provide exchangeable services, the benefit to the parties involved, and the barriers to implementation. It also highlights relevant case studies and next steps. Although opportunities for increasing process efficiencies are certainly available, this report focuses on the exchangeable services that water and wastewater loads can provide to help maintain grid reliability, keep overall costs down, and increase the penetration of distributed renewables on the electric grid. These services have potential to provide water utilities additional value streams, using existing equipment with modest or negligible upgrade cost.« less

Behaviour of aqueous sulfamethizole solution and temperature effects in cold plasma oxidation treatment.

PubMed

Sokolov, Alexander; Louhi-Kultanen, Marjatta

2018-06-07

The increase in volume and variety of pharmaceuticals found in natural water bodies has become an increasingly serious environmental problem. The implementation of cold plasma technology, specifically gas-phase pulsed corona discharge (PCD), for sulfamethizole abatement was studied in the present work. It was observed that sulfamethizole is easily oxidized by PCD. The flow rate and pH of the solution have no significant effect on the oxidation. Treatment at low pulse repetition frequency is preferable from the energy efficiency point of view but is more time-consuming. The maximum energy efficiency was around 120 g/kWh at half-life and around 50 g/kWh at the end of the treatment. Increasing the solution temperature from room temperature to 50 °C led to a significant reaction retardation of the process and decrease in energy efficiency. The pseudo-first order reaction rate constant (k 1 ) grows with increase in pulse repetition frequency and does not depend on pH. By contrast, decreasing frequency leads to a reduction of the second order reaction rate constant (k 2 ). At elevated temperature of 50 °C, the k 1 , k 2 values decrease 2 and 2.9 times at 50 pps and 500 pps respectively. Lower temperature of 10 °C had no effect on oxidation efficiency compared with room temperature.

Effect of external applied electric field on the silicon solar cell's thermodynamic efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zieba Falama, R.; Mibaile, Justin; Guemene Dountio, E.; Djongyang, Noël; Doka, Serge Y.; Kofane, Timoleon C.

2017-03-01

This paper presents a possible solution to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells. An external electric field is applied on a silicon photovoltaic solar cell, inducing band-trap ionization of charge carriers. Output current is then monitored and the thermodynamic efficiency is calculated. Results show on the one hand a significant increase in efficiency for a certain margin of applied electric field, and on the another hand the instabilities of efficiency. A simple approach is then suggested for the implementation of these results. An efficiency of 67% has been reached for an applied electric of 1586 V/Cm.

Sampling and Complementarity Effects of Plant Diversity on Resource Use Increases the Invasion Resistance of Communities.

PubMed

Zhu, Dan H; Wang, Ping; Zhang, Wei Z; Yuan, Yue; Li, Bin; Wang, Jiang

2015-01-01

Although plant diversity is postulated to resist invasion, studies have not provided consistent results, most of which were ascribed to the influences of other covariate environmental factors. To explore the mechanisms by which plant diversity influences community invasibility, an experiment was conducted involving grassland sites varying in their species richness (one, two, four, eight, and sixteen species). Light interception efficiency and soil resources (total N, total P, and water content) were measured. The number of species, biomass, and the number of seedlings of the invading species decreased significantly with species richness. The presence of Patrinia scabiosaefolia Fisch. ex Trev. and Mosla dianthera (Buch.-Ham. ex Roxburgh) Maxim. significantly increased the resistance of the communities to invasion. A structural equation model showed that the richness of planted species had no direct and significant effect on invasion. Light interception efficiency had a negative effect on the invasion whereas soil water content had a positive effect. In monocultures, Antenoron filiforme (Thunb.) Rob. et Vaut. showed the highest light interception efficiency and P. scabiosaefolia recorded the lowest soil water content. With increased planted-species richness, a greater percentage of pots showed light use efficiency higher than that of A. filiforme and a lower soil water content than that in P. scabiosaefolia. The results of this study suggest that plant diversity confers resistance to invasion, which is mainly ascribed to the sampling effect of particular species and the complementarity effect among species on resources use.

Levodopa modulates small-world architecture of functional brain networks in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Berman, Brian D; Smucny, Jason; Wylie, Korey P; Shelton, Erika; Kronberg, Eugene; Leehey, Maureen; Tregellas, Jason R

2016-11-01

PD is associated with disrupted connectivity to a large number of distributed brain regions. How the disease alters the functional topological organization of the brain, however, remains poorly understood. Furthermore, how levodopa modulates network topology in PD is largely unknown. The objective of this study was to use resting-state functional MRI and graph theory to determine how small-world architecture is altered in PD and affected by levodopa administration. Twenty-one PD patients and 20 controls underwent functional MRI scanning. PD patients were scanned off medication and 1 hour after 200 mg levodopa. Imaging data were analyzed using 226 nodes comprising 10 intrinsic brain networks. Correlation matrices were generated for each subject and converted into cost-thresholded, binarized adjacency matrices. Cost-integrated whole-brain global and local efficiencies were compared across groups and tested for relationships with disease duration and severity. Data from 2 patients and 4 controls were excluded because of excess motion. Patients off medication showed no significant changes in global efficiency and overall local efficiency, but in a subnetwork analysis did show increased local efficiency in executive (P = 0.006) and salience (P = 0.018) networks. Levodopa significantly decreased local efficiency (P = 0.039) in patients except within the subcortical network, in which it significantly increased local efficiency (P = 0.007). Levodopa modulates global and local efficiency measures of small-world topology in PD, suggesting that degeneration of nigrostriatal neurons in PD may be associated with a large-scale network reorganization and that levodopa tends to normalize the disrupted network topology in PD. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Natural stimulation of the nonclassical receptive field increases information transmission efficiency in V1.

PubMed

Vinje, William E; Gallant, Jack L

2002-04-01

We have investigated how the nonclassical receptive field (nCRF) affects information transmission by V1 neurons during simulated natural vision in awake, behaving macaques. Stimuli were centered over the classical receptive field (CRF) and stimulus size was varied from one to four times the diameter of the CRF. Stimulus movies reproduced the spatial and temporal stimulus dynamics of natural vision while maintaining constant CRF stimulation across all sizes. In individual neurons, stimulation of the nCRF significantly increases the information rate, the information per spike, and the efficiency of information transmission. Furthermore, the population averages of these quantities also increase significantly with nCRF stimulation. These data demonstrate that the nCRF increases the sparseness of the stimulus representation in V1, suggesting that the nCRF tunes V1 neurons to match the highly informative components of the natural world.

Effect of low-frequency oscillation on performance of Hall thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liqiu, WEI; Wenbo, LI; Yongjie, DING; Daren, YU

2018-07-01

In this paper, a direct connection between the discharge current amplitude and the thruster performance is established by varying solely the capacitance of the filter unit of the Hall thrusters. To be precise, the variation characteristics of ion current, propellant utilization efficiency, and divergence angle of plume at different low-frequency oscillation amplitudes are measured. The findings demonstrate that in the case of the propellant in the discharge channel just meets or falls below the full ionization condition, the increase of low-frequency oscillation amplitude can significantly enhance the ionization degree of the neutral gas in the channel and increase the thrust and anode efficiency of thruster. On the contrary, the increase in the amplitude of low-frequency oscillation will lead to increase the loss of plume divergence, therefore the thrust and anode efficiency of thruster decrease.

Energy Expenditure and Activity of Transfemoral Amputees Using Mechanical and Microprocessor-Controlled Prosthetic Knees

PubMed Central

Kaufman, Kenton R.; Levine, James A.; Brey, Robert H.; McCrady, Shelly K.; Padgett, Denny J.; Joyner, Michael J.

2009-01-01

Objective To quantify the energy efficiency of locomotion and free-living physical activity energy expenditure of transfemoral amputees using a mechanical and microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee. Design Repeated-measures design to evaluate comparative functional outcomes. Setting Exercise physiology laboratory and community free-living environment. Participants Subjects (N=15; 12 men, 3 women; age, 42±9y; range, 26 –57y) with transfemoral amputation. Intervention Research participants were long-term users of a mechanical prosthesis (20±10y as an amputee; range, 3–36y). They were fitted with a microprocessor-controlled knee prosthesis and allowed to acclimate (mean time, 18±8wk) before being retested. Main Outcome Measures Objective measurements of energy efficiency and total daily energy expenditure were obtained. The Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaire was used to gather subjective feedback from the participants. Results Subjects demonstrated significantly increased physical activity–related energy expenditure levels in the participant’s free-living environment (P=.04) after wearing the microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint. There was no significant difference in the energy efficiency of walking (P=.34). When using the microprocessor-controlled knee, the subjects expressed increased satisfaction in their daily lives (P=.02). Conclusions People ambulating with a microprocessor-controlled knee significantly increased their physical activity during daily life, outside the laboratory setting, and expressed an increased quality of life. PMID:18586142

Biomass Allocation Patterns Are Linked to Genotypic Differences in Whole-Plant Transpiration Efficiency in Sunflower

PubMed Central

Velázquez, Luciano; Alberdi, Ignacio; Paz, Cosme; Aguirrezábal, Luis

2017-01-01

Increased transpiration efficiency (the ratio of biomass to water transpired, TE) could lead to increased drought tolerance under some water deficit scenarios. Intrinsic (i.e., leaf-level) TE is usually considered as the primary source of variation in whole-plant TE, but empirical data usually contradict this assumption. Sunflower has a significant variability in TE, but a better knowledge of the effect of leaf and plant-level traits could be helpful to obtain more efficient genotypes for water use. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess if genotypic variation in whole-plant TE is better related to leaf- or plant-level traits. Three experiments were conducted, aimed at verifying the existence of variability in whole-plant TE and whole-plant and leaf-level traits, and to assess their correlation. Sunflower public inbred lines and a segregating population of recombinant inbred lines were grown under controlled conditions and subjected to well-watered and water-deficit treatments. Significant genotypic variation was found for TE and related traits. These differences in whole-plant transpiration efficiency, both between genotypes and between plants within each genotype, showed no association to leaf-level traits, but were significantly and negatively correlated to biomass allocation to leaves and to the ratio of leaf area to total biomass. These associations are likely of a physiological origin, and not only a consequence of genetic linkage in the studied population. These results suggest that genotypic variation for biomass allocation could be potentially exploited as a source for increased transpiration efficiency in sunflower breeding programmes. It is also suggested that phenotyping for TE in this species should not be restricted to leaf-level measurements, but also include measurements of plant-level traits, especially those related to biomass allocation between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organs. PMID:29204153

Biomass Allocation Patterns Are Linked to Genotypic Differences in Whole-Plant Transpiration Efficiency in Sunflower.

PubMed

Velázquez, Luciano; Alberdi, Ignacio; Paz, Cosme; Aguirrezábal, Luis; Pereyra Irujo, Gustavo

2017-01-01

Increased transpiration efficiency (the ratio of biomass to water transpired, TE) could lead to increased drought tolerance under some water deficit scenarios. Intrinsic (i.e., leaf-level) TE is usually considered as the primary source of variation in whole-plant TE, but empirical data usually contradict this assumption. Sunflower has a significant variability in TE, but a better knowledge of the effect of leaf and plant-level traits could be helpful to obtain more efficient genotypes for water use. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess if genotypic variation in whole-plant TE is better related to leaf- or plant-level traits. Three experiments were conducted, aimed at verifying the existence of variability in whole-plant TE and whole-plant and leaf-level traits, and to assess their correlation. Sunflower public inbred lines and a segregating population of recombinant inbred lines were grown under controlled conditions and subjected to well-watered and water-deficit treatments. Significant genotypic variation was found for TE and related traits. These differences in whole-plant transpiration efficiency, both between genotypes and between plants within each genotype, showed no association to leaf-level traits, but were significantly and negatively correlated to biomass allocation to leaves and to the ratio of leaf area to total biomass. These associations are likely of a physiological origin, and not only a consequence of genetic linkage in the studied population. These results suggest that genotypic variation for biomass allocation could be potentially exploited as a source for increased transpiration efficiency in sunflower breeding programmes. It is also suggested that phenotyping for TE in this species should not be restricted to leaf-level measurements, but also include measurements of plant-level traits, especially those related to biomass allocation between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organs.

Effects of milk yield on biological efficiency and profit of beef production from birth to slaughter.

PubMed

Miller, S P; Wilton, J W; Pfeiffer, W C

1999-02-01

Effect of milk yield (MY) on biological efficiency and gross margin as an indicator of profit potential of beef production from birth to slaughter was determined. Data included 9 yr of spring-born single male calves. Biological efficiency was calculated as carcass weight/total feed energy intake, including nonlactating and lactating intakes of cow and creep and feedlot intakes of calf. Slaughter end point was finish constant at 9 mm of fat thickness. Gross margin was determined as returns minus feed costs. Three breeding systems were analyzed: purebred Hereford (HE), large rotational (LR), and small rotational (SR). Analyses were performed separately by breeding system when differences in the effect of MY among breeding systems were significant. Increased MY was associated with increased preweaning gain (P < .001), increased weight at start of feedlot trial (P < .001), and increased hot carcass weight (P < .05). No significant (P > .10) effect of MY on age at slaughter or on carcass weight per day of age at slaughter was found. Increased MY was associated with increased cow lactating energy intake (P < .10) and negatively associated with calf creep intake (P < .01). No effects of MY on intake of the cow during the nonlactating period, calf feedlot intake, or total feed intake were found. Increased MY was associated with a reduction in backfat thickness of the cow during the lactating period (P < .01) with no change in body weight. In the subsequent nonlactating period, increasing MY was associated with increased backfat thickness (P < .10) and body weight (P < .05). No effect of MY on change in backfat or weight of cow from calving to the end of the next nonlactating period was found. No effect of MY on biological efficiency to slaughter was detected. Milk yield was positively associated with gross margin from birth to slaughter (P < .05); results were similar when cow feed prices were reduced by 30%. Increased MY was associated with increased biological efficiency to weaning in HE (P < .01) and SR (P < .10), with no effect found in LR. When feeding cows to requirements, milk yield has a positive effect on the profit potential of beef production from birth to slaughter.

Fabrication of an anti-viral air filter with SiO₂-Ag nanoparticles and performance evaluation in a continuous airflow condition.

PubMed

Joe, Yun Haeng; Woo, Kyoungja; Hwang, Jungho

2014-09-15

In this study, SiO2 nanoparticles surface coated with Ag nanoparticles (SA particles) were fabricated to coat a medium air filter. The pressure drop, filtration efficiency, and anti-viral ability of the filter were evaluated against aerosolized bacteriophage MS2 in a continuous air flow condition. A mathematical approach was developed to measure the anti-viral ability of the filter with various virus deposition times. Moreover, two quality factors based on the anti-viral ability of the filter, and a traditional quality factor based on filtration efficiency, were calculated. The filtration efficiency and pressure drop increased with decreasing media velocity and with increasing SA particle coating level. The anti-viral efficiency also increased with increasing SA particle coating level, and decreased by with increasing virus deposition time. Consequently, SA particle coating on a filter does not have significant effects on filtration quality, and there is an optimal coating level to produce the highest anti-viral quality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gene expression in bovine rumen epithelium during weaning indentifies molecular regulators of rumen development and growth

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

During weaning, rumen epithelial cell function must transition from a pre-ruminant to a true ruminant state for efficient nutrient absorption and metabolism. During this time, the rumen increases from 30 to 70% of the capacity of the gut, significantly impacting net efficiency of feed conversion in ...

Effects of TiO2 NPs on Silkworm Growth and Feed Efficiency.

PubMed

Li, YangYang; Ni, Min; Li, FanChi; Zhang, Hua; Xu, KaiZun; Zhao, XiaoMing; Tian, JiangHai; Hu, JingSheng; Wang, BinBin; Shen, WeiDe; Li, Bing

2016-02-01

Silkworm (Bombyx mori) (B. mori) is an economically important insect and a model species for Lepidoptera. It has been reported that feeding of low concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) can improve feed efficiency and increase cocoon mass, cocoon shell mass, and the ratio of cocoon shell. However, high concentrations of TiO2 NPs are toxic. In this study, we fed B. mori with different concentrations of TiO2 NPs (5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 mg/L) and investigated B. mori growth, feed efficiency, and cocoon quality. We found that low concentrations of TiO2 NPs (5 and 10 mg/L) were more effective for weight gains, with significant weight gain being obtained at 72 h (P < 0.05). TiO2 NPs at 20 mg/L or higher had certain inhibitory effects, with significant inhibition to B. mori growth being observed at 48 h. The feed efficiency was significantly improved at low concentrations of 5 and 10 mg/L for 14.6 and 13.1 %, respectively (P < 0.05). All B. mori fed with TiO2 NPs showed increased cocoon mass and cocoon shell mass; at 5 and 10 mg/L TiO2 NPs, cocoon mass was significantly increased by 8.29 and 9.39 %, respectively (P < 0.05). We also found that low concentrations (5 and 10 mg/L) of TiO2 NPs promoted B. mori growth and development, improved feed efficiency, and increased cocoon production, while high concentrations (20 mg/L or higher) of TiO2 NPs showed inhibitory effect to the B. mori. Consecutive feeding of high concentrations of TiO2 NPs led to some degrees of adaptability. This study provides a reference for the research on TiO2 NPs toxicity and the basis for the development of TiO2 NPs as a feed additive for B. mori.

Hemispheric lateralization of topological organization in structural brain networks.

PubMed

Caeyenberghs, Karen; Leemans, Alexander

2014-09-01

The study on structural brain asymmetries in healthy individuals plays an important role in our understanding of the factors that modulate cognitive specialization in the brain. Here, we used fiber tractography to reconstruct the left and right hemispheric networks of a large cohort of 346 healthy participants (20-86 years) and performed a graph theoretical analysis to investigate this brain laterality from a network perspective. Findings revealed that the left hemisphere is significantly more "efficient" than the right hemisphere, whereas the right hemisphere showed higher values of "betweenness centrality" and "small-worldness." In particular, left-hemispheric networks displayed increased nodal efficiency in brain regions related to language and motor actions, whereas the right hemisphere showed an increase in nodal efficiency in brain regions involved in memory and visuospatial attention. In addition, we found that hemispheric networks decrease in efficiency with age. Finally, we observed significant gender differences in measures of global connectivity. By analyzing the structural hemispheric brain networks, we have provided new insights into understanding the neuroanatomical basis of lateralized brain functions. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Simultaneous inhibition of acrylamide and hydroxymethylfurfural formation by sodium glutamate microcapsules in an asparagine-glucose model system.

PubMed

Wang, Zimeng; Wen, Chao; Shi, Xingbo; Lu, Dai; Deng, Jiehong; Deng, Fangming

2017-02-01

Inhibiting the formation of acrylamide (AA) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) during food heating processes has attracted considerable investigative efforts due to potential health concerns associated with these compounds. The main purpose of this work is to demonstrate a strategy to simultaneously inhibit the formation of AA and HMF with sodium glutamate microcapsules selected to confirm the efficacy of this strategy. An asparagine-glucose aqueous model system was prepared containing free sodium glutamate and sodium glutamate microcapsules. Compared to adding free sodium glutamate, the maximum inhibition efficiency for AA and HMF was found to increase by addition of sodium glutamate microcapsules to 19.07 and 84.32%, respectively. Moreover, the kinetics of AA and HMF formation were studied in this model system. The AA inhibition efficiency significantly increased from 6.75 to 60.35% and the HMF inhibition efficiency significantly increased from 5.98 to 79.72% with increasing the reaction time from 25 to 40 min, indicating that the sodium glutamate microcapsules strategy proves to be far superior at prolonged heating times. These findings suggested that this inhibition strategy may provide promising characteristics for a variety of applications in food processing.

Difference in leaf water use efficiency/photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency of Bt-cotton and its conventional peer.

PubMed

Guo, Ruqing; Sun, Shucun; Liu, Biao

2016-09-15

This study is to test the effects of Bt gene introduction on the foliar water/nitrogen use efficiency in cotton. We measured leaf stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate, and transpiration rate under light saturation condition at different stages of a conventional cultivar (zhongmian no. 16) and its counterpart Bt cultivar (zhongmian no. 30) that were cultured on three levels of fertilization, based on which leaf instantaneous water use efficiency was derived. Leaf nitrogen concentration was measured to calculate leaf photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency, and leaf δ(13)C was used to characterize long term water use efficiency. Bt cultivar was found to have lower stomatal conductance, net photosynthetic rates and transpiration rates, but higher instantaneous and long time water use efficiency. In addition, foliar nitrogen concentration was found to be higher but net photosynthetic rate was lower in the mature leaves of Bt cultivar, which led to lower photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency. This might result from the significant decrease of photosynthetic rate due to the decrease of stomatal conductance. In conclusion, our findings show that the introduction of Bt gene should significantly increase foliar water use efficiency but decrease leaf nitrogen use efficiency in cotton under no selective pressure.

Implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive: Opportunities and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zīgurs, A.; Sarma, U.

2015-12-01

Discussions in Latvia are ongoing regarding the optimum solution to implementing Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC (Directive 2012/27/EU). Without a doubt, increased energy efficiency contributes significantly to energy supply security, competitive performance, increased quality of life, reduced energy dependence and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, Directive 2012/27/EU should be implemented with careful planning, evaluating every aspect of the process. This study analyses a scenario, where a significant fraction of target energy efficiency is achieved by obliging energy utilities to implement user-end energy efficiency measures. With implementation of this scheme towards energy end-use savings, user payments for energy should be reduced; on the other hand, these measures will require considerable investment. The energy efficiency obligation scheme stipulates that these investments must be paid by energy utilities; however, they will actually be covered by users, because the source of energy utilities' income is user payments for energy. Thus, expenses on such measures will be included in energy prices and service tariffs. The authors analyse the ways to achieve a balance between user gains from energy end-use savings and increased energy prices and tariffs as a result of obligations imposed upon energy utilities. Similarly, the suitability of the current regulatory regime for effective implementation of Directive 2012/27/EU is analysed in the energy supply sectors, where supply tariffs are regulated.

Dependencies of surface plasmon coupling effects on the p-GaN thickness of a thin-p-type light-emitting diode.

PubMed

Su, Chia-Ying; Lin, Chun-Han; Yao, Yu-Feng; Liu, Wei-Heng; Su, Ming-Yen; Chiang, Hsin-Chun; Tsai, Meng-Che; Tu, Charng-Gan; Chen, Hao-Tsung; Kiang, Yean-Woei; Yang, C C

2017-09-04

The high performance of a light-emitting diode (LED) with the total p-type thickness as small as 38 nm is demonstrated. By increasing the Mg doping concentration in the p-AlGaN electron blocking layer through an Mg pre-flow process, the hole injection efficiency can be significantly enhanced. Based on this technique, the high LED performance can be maintained when the p-type layer thickness is significantly reduced. Then, the surface plasmon coupling effects, including the enhancement of internal quantum efficiency, increase in output intensity, reduction of efficiency droop, and increase of modulation bandwidth, among the thin p-type LED samples of different p-type thicknesses that are compared. These advantageous effects are stronger as the p-type layer becomes thinner. However, the dependencies of these effects on p-type layer thickness are different. With a circular mesa size of 10 μm in radius, through surface plasmon coupling, we achieve the record-high modulation bandwidth of 625.6 MHz among c-plane GaN-based LEDs.

Improving the efficiency of phytoremediation using electrically charged plant and chelating agents.

PubMed

Tahmasbian, Iman; Safari Sinegani, Ali Akbar

2016-02-01

The low efficiency of phytoremediation is a considerable problem that limits the application of this environmentally friendly method on heavy metal-polluted soils. The combination of chelate-assisted phytoextraction and electrokinetic remediation could offer new opportunities to improve the effectiveness of phytoextraction. The current experiment aims to investigate the effects of electrical fields and chelating agents on phytoremediation efficiency. In a pot experiment using mine soil, poultry manure extract (PME), cow manure extract (CME), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were applied to soil as chelating agents (2 g kg(-1)) at the beginning of the flowering stage. A week later, Helianthus annuus (sunflower) was negatively charged by inserting a stainless steel needle with 10 and 30 V DC electricity in the lowest part of the stems for 1 h each day for a 14-day period. At the end of the experiment, the shoot and root dry weight, lead (Pb) concentration in plant organs, translocation factor (TF), metal uptake index (UI), and soil available Pb (diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) extractable) were detected. Results indicated that the application of electrical fields had no significant impact on the shoot and root dry weights, while Pb concentration and UI increased in the 10-V EDTA treatment by 500 % compared to control. There was no significant difference between UI in 30- and 10-V EDTA treatments. Soil available Pb significantly increased in the 30-V treated soil. A positive correlation was observed between the available Pb in soil near the root and Pb concentration in shoot, its TF, and UI. In conclusion, a negatively charged plant along with the application of EDTA significantly increased the phytoremediation efficiency.

The Effect of Compression Ratio, Fuel Octane Rating, and Ethanol Content on Spark-Ignition Engine Efficiency.

PubMed

Leone, Thomas G; Anderson, James E; Davis, Richard S; Iqbal, Asim; Reese, Ronald A; Shelby, Michael H; Studzinski, William M

2015-09-15

Light-duty vehicles (LDVs) in the United States and elsewhere are required to meet increasingly challenging regulations on fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as criteria pollutant emissions. New vehicle trends to improve efficiency include higher compression ratio, downsizing, turbocharging, downspeeding, and hybridization, each involving greater operation of spark-ignited (SI) engines under higher-load, knock-limited conditions. Higher octane ratings for regular-grade gasoline (with greater knock resistance) are an enabler for these technologies. This literature review discusses both fuel and engine factors affecting knock resistance and their contribution to higher engine efficiency and lower tailpipe CO2 emissions. Increasing compression ratios for future SI engines would be the primary response to a significant increase in fuel octane ratings. Existing LDVs would see more advanced spark timing and more efficient combustion phasing. Higher ethanol content is one available option for increasing the octane ratings of gasoline and would provide additional engine efficiency benefits for part and full load operation. An empirical calculation method is provided that allows estimation of expected vehicle efficiency, volumetric fuel economy, and CO2 emission benefits for future LDVs through higher compression ratios for different assumptions on fuel properties and engine types. Accurate "tank-to-wheel" estimates of this type are necessary for "well-to-wheel" analyses of increased gasoline octane ratings in the context of light duty vehicle transportation.

[Mechanisms for the increased fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency of rice in wheat-rice rotation system under combined application of inorganic and organic fertilizers].

PubMed

Liu, Yi-Ren; Li, Xiang; Yu, Jie; Shen, Qi-Rong; Xu, Yang-Chun

2012-01-01

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the nitrogen uptake by rice and the nitrogen supply by soil in a wheat-rice rotation system, and approach the mechanisms for the increased fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency of rice under the combined fertilization from the viewpoint of microbiology. Comparing with applying inorganic fertilizers, combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers decreased the soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen and soil mineral nitrogen contents before tillering stage, but increased them significantly from heading to filling stage. Under the combined fertilization, the dynamics of soil nitrogen supply matched best the dynamics of rice nitrogen uptake and utilization, which promoted the nitrogen accumulation in rice plant and the increase of rice yield and biomass, and increased the fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency of rice significantly. Combined application of inorganic and organic fertilizers also promoted the propagation of soil microbes, and consequently, more mineral nitrogen in soil was immobilized by the microbes at rice early growth stage, and the immobilized nitrogen was gradually released at the mid and late growth stages of rice, being able to better satisfy the nitrogen demand of rice in its various growth and development stages.

Non-Destructive Current Sensing for Energy Efficiency Monitoring in Buildings with Environmental Certification

PubMed Central

Mota, Lia Toledo Moreira; Mota, Alexandre de Assis; Coiado, Lorenzo Campos

2015-01-01

Nowadays, buildings environmental certifications encourage the implementation of initiatives aiming to increase energy efficiency in buildings. In these certification systems, increased energy efficiency arising from such initiatives must be demonstrated. Thus, a challenge to be faced is how to check the increase in energy efficiency related to each of the employed initiatives without a considerable building retrofit. In this context, this work presents a non-destructive method for electric current sensing to assess implemented initiatives to increase energy efficiency in buildings with environmental certification. This method proposes the use of a sensor that can be installed directly in the low voltage electrical circuit conductors that are powering the initiative under evaluation, without the need for reforms that result in significant costs, repair, and maintenance. The proposed sensor consists of three elements: an air-core transformer current sensor, an amplifying/filtering stage, and a microprocessor. A prototype of the proposed sensor was developed and tests were performed to validate this sensor. Based on laboratory tests, it was possible to characterize the proposed current sensor with respect to the number of turns and cross-sectional area of the primary and secondary coils. Furthermore, using the Least Squares Method, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the air core transformer current sensor (the best efficiency found, considering different test conditions, was 2%), which leads to a linear output response. PMID:26184208

Non-Destructive Current Sensing for Energy Efficiency Monitoring in Buildings with Environmental Certification.

PubMed

Mota, Lia Toledo Moreira; Mota, Alexandre de Assis; Coiado, Lorenzo Campos

2015-07-10

Nowadays, buildings environmental certifications encourage the implementation of initiatives aiming to increase energy efficiency in buildings. In these certification systems, increased energy efficiency arising from such initiatives must be demonstrated. Thus, a challenge to be faced is how to check the increase in energy efficiency related to each of the employed initiatives without a considerable building retrofit. In this context, this work presents a non-destructive method for electric current sensing to assess implemented initiatives to increase energy efficiency in buildings with environmental certification. This method proposes the use of a sensor that can be installed directly in the low voltage electrical circuit conductors that are powering the initiative under evaluation, without the need for reforms that result in significant costs, repair, and maintenance. The proposed sensor consists of three elements: an air-core transformer current sensor, an amplifying/filtering stage, and a microprocessor. A prototype of the proposed sensor was developed and tests were performed to validate this sensor. Based on laboratory tests, it was possible to characterize the proposed current sensor with respect to the number of turns and cross-sectional area of the primary and secondary coils. Furthermore, using the Least Squares Method, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the air core transformer current sensor (the best efficiency found, considering different test conditions, was 2%), which leads to a linear output response.

Effective suppression of efficiency droop in GaN-based light-emitting diodes: role of significant reduction of carrier density and built-in field.

PubMed

Yoo, Yang-Seok; Na, Jong-Ho; Son, Sung Jin; Cho, Yong-Hoon

2016-10-19

A critical issue in GaN-based high power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is how to suppress the efficiency droop problem occurred at high current injection while improving overall quantum efficiency, especially in conventional c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW), without using complicated bandgap engineering or unconventional materials and structures. Although increasing thickness of each QW may decrease carrier density in QWs, formation of additional strain and defects as well as increased built-in field effect due to enlarged QW thickness are unavoidable. Here, we propose a facile and effective method for not only reducing efficiency droop but also improving quantum efficiency by utilizing c-plane InGaN/GaN QWs having thinner barriers and increased QW number while keeping the same single well thickness and total active layer thickness. As the barrier thickness decreases and the QW number increases, both internal electric field and carrier density within QWs are simultaneously reduced without degradation of material quality. Furthermore, we found overall improved efficiency and reduced efficiency droop, which was attributed to the decrease of the built-in field and to less influence by non-radiative recombination processes at high carrier density. This simple and effective approach can be extended further for high power ultraviolet, green, and red LEDs.

Effective suppression of efficiency droop in GaN-based light-emitting diodes: role of significant reduction of carrier density and built-in field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Yang-Seok; Na, Jong-Ho; Son, Sung Jin; Cho, Yong-Hoon

2016-10-01

A critical issue in GaN-based high power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is how to suppress the efficiency droop problem occurred at high current injection while improving overall quantum efficiency, especially in conventional c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW), without using complicated bandgap engineering or unconventional materials and structures. Although increasing thickness of each QW may decrease carrier density in QWs, formation of additional strain and defects as well as increased built-in field effect due to enlarged QW thickness are unavoidable. Here, we propose a facile and effective method for not only reducing efficiency droop but also improving quantum efficiency by utilizing c-plane InGaN/GaN QWs having thinner barriers and increased QW number while keeping the same single well thickness and total active layer thickness. As the barrier thickness decreases and the QW number increases, both internal electric field and carrier density within QWs are simultaneously reduced without degradation of material quality. Furthermore, we found overall improved efficiency and reduced efficiency droop, which was attributed to the decrease of the built-in field and to less influence by non-radiative recombination processes at high carrier density. This simple and effective approach can be extended further for high power ultraviolet, green, and red LEDs.

Roles of diet protein and temperature in the growth and nutritional energetics of juvenile slider turtles, Trachemys scripta

USGS Publications Warehouse

Avery, Harold W.; Spotila, James R.; Congdon, Justin D.; Fischer, Robert U.; Standora, Edward A.; Avery, Susan B.

1993-01-01

We determined the effects of dietary protein and Ta on growth rates, food consumption rates, digestion rates, and digestive efficiencies of juvenile slider turtles (Trachemys scripta). Results from this study provide a clearer understanding of how these environmental factors interact in influencing body sizes and growth rates of individuals in wild slider turtle populations. Changes in plastron length, carapace length, and body mass were significantly greater for T. scripta eating 25% and 40% crude protein diets than for those eating 10% crude protein. Those consuming 10% crude protein showed significant decreases in body mass and plastron length over a 13-wk period. Individuals at Ta's of 15°, 22°, 28°, or 34° C had food ingestion rates (kJ wk⁻¹) that increased markedly with an increase in Ta. Increasing dietary crude protein concentration increased turtle ingestion rates and influenced the positive effect of Ta. Increasing dietary crude protein concentration alone did not significantly affect turtle consumption rates but did significantly influence the positive effect of Ta. Digestive efficiencies were very high (because of the pelleted diet). Those turtles that ate at 15° C had a digestive efciency of 99.5%, as compared with 98.3% at 22° C, 94.8% at 28° C, and 95.8% at 34° C. Dietary protein concentration did not influence the digestive efficiencies of T. scripta. These data suggest that dietary protein is an important nutritional component to the growth of juvenile slider turtles and that elevated thermal conditions, combined with a high dietary protein availability, may explain the very high growth rates of slider turtles in some wild populations.

[Short-term responses of foliar multi-element stoichiometry and nutrient resorption of slash pine to N addition in subtropical China].

PubMed

Chen, Wei Wei; Kou, Liang; Jiang, Lei; Gao, Wen Long; Yang, Hao; Wang, Hui Min; Li, Sheng Gong

2017-04-18

We conducted a field experiment with three levels of N addition (0, 40 and 120 kg N·hm -2 ·a -1 ) in a Pinus elliottii plantation in subtropical China and collected green and senesced needles of P. elliottii at the peak (July) and the end (October) of each growing season in 2014 and 2015 for clarifying effects of nitrogen additions on concentrations of nine elements (C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe and Mn) in the green and senesced needles and their corresponding resorption efficiency and resorption proficiency. Our results showed that N addition had positive effects on concentrations of N, Al and Mn, negative effects on the P concentration and the Ca concentration in 2014, and neutral effects on concentrations of C, K, Mg and Fe in green needles. N addition signifi-cantly increased foliar N/P. These stoichiometric responses were N level-dependent (stronger at high N rate). N addition significantly decreased N resorption efficiency in 2015 and increased that of K in 2014. Compared with the resorption efficiency, resorption proficiency responded more strongly to increased available N. N addition significantly decreased resorption proficiency of N, and increased that of P, K, and the concentration of Fe in senesced needles, however, there were no significant effects on the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Al and Mn in senesced needles. We concluded that responses of foliar stoichiometry to N addition were element-specific, and plants might cope with changing environments via adjusting internal nutrient cycle (resorption). The elevated foliar N/P and K/P suggested a shift from N and P co-limitation to P limitation with N additions, and increased concentrations of Al and Mn might imply potential toxicity of metal ions to P. elliottii.

High flux, narrow bandwidth compton light sources via extended laser-electron interactions

DOEpatents

Barty, V P

2015-01-13

New configurations of lasers and electron beams efficiently and robustly produce high flux beams of bright, tunable, polarized quasi-monoenergetic x-rays and gamma-rays via laser-Compton scattering. Specifically, the use of long-duration, pulsed lasers and closely-spaced, low-charge and low emittance bunches of electron beams increase the spectral flux of the Compton-scattered x-rays and gamma rays, increase efficiency of the laser-electron interaction and significantly reduce the overall complexity of Compton based light sources.

Low-Cost CdTe/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

DOE PAGES

Tamboli, Adele C.; Bobela, David C.; Kanevce, Ana; ...

2017-09-06

Achieving higher photovoltaic efficiency in single-junction devices is becoming increasingly difficult, but tandem modules offer the possibility of significant efficiency improvements. By device modeling we show that four-terminal CdTe/Si tandem solar modules offer the prospect of 25%-30% module efficiency, and technoeconomic analysis predicts that these efficiency gains can be realized at costs per Watt that are competitive with CdTe and Si single junction alternatives. The cost per Watt of the modeled tandems is lower than crystalline silicon, but slightly higher than CdTe alone. But, these higher power modules reduce area-related balance of system costs, providing increased value especially in area-constrainedmore » applications. This avenue for high-efficiency photovoltaics enables improved performance on a near-term timeframe, as well as a path to further reduced levelized cost of electricity as module and cell processes continue to advance.« less

Low-Cost CdTe/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

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

Tamboli, Adele C.; Bobela, David C.; Kanevce, Ana

Achieving higher photovoltaic efficiency in single-junction devices is becoming increasingly difficult, but tandem modules offer the possibility of significant efficiency improvements. By device modeling we show that four-terminal CdTe/Si tandem solar modules offer the prospect of 25%-30% module efficiency, and technoeconomic analysis predicts that these efficiency gains can be realized at costs per Watt that are competitive with CdTe and Si single junction alternatives. The cost per Watt of the modeled tandems is lower than crystalline silicon, but slightly higher than CdTe alone. But, these higher power modules reduce area-related balance of system costs, providing increased value especially in area-constrainedmore » applications. This avenue for high-efficiency photovoltaics enables improved performance on a near-term timeframe, as well as a path to further reduced levelized cost of electricity as module and cell processes continue to advance.« less

Indoor radon problem in energy efficient multi-storey buildings.

PubMed

Yarmoshenko, I V; Vasilyev, A V; Onishchenko, A D; Kiselev, S M; Zhukovsky, M V

2014-07-01

Modern energy-efficient architectural solutions and building construction technologies such as monolithic concrete structures in combination with effective insulation reduce air permeability of building envelope. As a result, air exchange rate is significantly reduced and conditions for increased radon accumulation in indoor air are created. Based on radon survey in Ekaterinburg, Russia, remarkable increase in indoor radon concentration level in energy-efficient multi-storey buildings was found in comparison with similar buildings constructed before the-energy-saving era. To investigate the problem of indoor radon in energy-efficient multi-storey buildings, the measurements of radon concentration have been performed in seven modern buildings using radon monitoring method. Values of air exchange rate and other parameters of indoor climate in energy-efficient buildings have been estimated. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Tailoring charge density and hydrogen bonding of imidazolium copolymers for efficient gene delivery.

PubMed

Allen, Michael H; Green, Matthew D; Getaneh, Hiwote K; Miller, Kevin M; Long, Timothy E

2011-06-13

Conventional free radical polymerization with subsequent postpolymerization modification afforded imidazolium copolymers with controlled charge density and side chain hydroxyl number. Novel imidazolium-containing copolymers where each permanent cation contained one or two adjacent hydroxyls allowed precise structure-transfection efficiency studies. The degree of polymerization was identical for all copolymers to eliminate the influence of molecular weight on transfection efficiency. DNA binding, cytotoxicity, and in vitro gene transfection in African green monkey COS-7 cells revealed structure-property-transfection relationships for the copolymers. DNA gel shift assays indicated that higher charge densities and hydroxyl concentrations increased DNA binding. As the charge density of the copolymers increased, toxicity of the copolymers also increased; however, as hydroxyl concentration increased, cytotoxicity remained constant. Changing both charge density and hydroxyl levels in a systematic fashion revealed a dramatic influence on transfection efficiency. Dynamic light scattering of the polyplexes, which were composed of copolymer concentrations required for the highest luciferase expression, showed an intermediate DNA-copolymer binding affinity. Our studies supported the conclusion that cationic copolymer binding affinity significantly impacts overall transfection efficiency of DNA delivery vehicles, and the incorporation of hydroxyl sites offers a less toxic and effective alternative to more conventional highly charged copolymers.

Increased plastic litter cover affects the foraging activity of the sandy intertidal gastropod Nassarius pullus.

PubMed

Aloy, Alexander B; Vallejo, Benjamin M; Juinio-Meñez, Marie Antonette

2011-08-01

This study analyzed the foraging behavior of the gastropod Nassarius pullus on garbage-impacted sandy shores of Talim Bay, Batangas, Philippines. The effect of different levels of plastic garbage cover on foraging efficiency was investigated. Controlled in situ baiting experiments were conducted to quantify aspects of foraging behavior as affected by the levels of plastic litter cover in the foraging area. The results of the study indicated that the gastropod's efficiency in locating and in moving towards a food item generally decreased as the level of plastic cover increased. Prolonged food searching time and increased self-burial in sand were highly correlated with increased plastic cover. The accuracy of orientation towards the actual position of the bait decreased significantly when the amount of plastic cover increased to 50%. These results are consistent with the significant decreases in the abundance of the gastropod observed during periods of deposition of large amounts of plastic and other debris on the shore. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy efficiency to reduce residential electricity and natural gas use under climate change

PubMed Central

Reyna, Janet L.; Chester, Mikhail V.

2017-01-01

Climate change could significantly affect consumer demand for energy in buildings, as changing temperatures may alter heating and cooling loads. Warming climates could also lead to the increased adoption and use of cooling technologies in buildings. We assess residential electricity and natural gas demand in Los Angeles, California under multiple climate change projections and investigate the potential for energy efficiency to offset increased demand. We calibrate residential energy use against metered data, accounting for differences in building materials and appliances. Under temperature increases, we find that without policy intervention, residential electricity demand could increase by as much as 41–87% between 2020 and 2060. However, aggressive policies aimed at upgrading heating/cooling systems and appliances could result in electricity use increases as low as 28%, potentially avoiding the installation of new generation capacity. We therefore recommend aggressive energy efficiency, in combination with low-carbon generation sources, to offset projected increases in residential energy demand. PMID:28504255

[Effects of nitrogen fertilizer application rate on nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield and quality of different rice varieties].

PubMed

Cong, Xi Han; Shi, Fu Zhi; Ruan, Xin Min; Luo, Yu Xiang; Ma, Ting Chen; Luo, Zhi Xiang

2017-04-18

To provide scientific basis for reasonable application of nitrogen and create varieties with high N use-efficiency, an experiment was carried out to study the effects of nitrogen fertilizer application rate on grain yield, N use rate and quality of different rice varieties. Four different genotypic rice varieties, Nipponbare, N70, N178 and OM052 were used as tested material and three levels of nitrogen application rate (0, 120, 270 kg·hm -2 ) were conducted. Urea as nitrogen source was applied as basal (70%) and panicle (30%) fertilizer. The results showed that nitrogen fertilizer could raise yield mainly because of the increased effective panicles and filled grains per panicle. When the N application rate was 120 and 270 kg·hm -2 , OM052 had the largest grain yield among four varieties, being 41.1% and 76.8% higher, respectively compared with control. Difference in grain yield among four varieties was due to the difference of nitrogen use efficiency. Under 120 and 270 kg·hm -2 nitrogen levels, Nipponbare had the lowest grain yield and N agronomic efficiency (NAE, 40.90 g·g -1 and 18.56 g·g -1 ), which was a variety with low N use-efficiency. On the contrary, OM052 had the highest grain yield and NAE (145.9 g·g -1 and 81.24 g·g -1 ), was a variety with high N use-efficiency. N fertilizer application increased the amylose content and protein content, lengthened gel consistency, reduced chalky kernel, chalkiness, and alkali digestion value. With the increase of N fertilizer application, hot paste viscosity, peak viscosity, consistence viscosity and breakdown viscosity were decreased gradually, and setback viscosity was increased. Correlation analysis showed that the yield and yield components had more significant correlations with appearance quality, cooking and eating quality under low N level. This study confirmed that OM052 was a double high variety with extremely high N agronomic efficiency and yield. Reasonable application of nitrogen fertilizer could significantly increase effective panicles and filled grains per panicle, improve rice quality, and ensure high yield and superior quality simultaneously.

Technical efficiency in milk production in underdeveloped production environment of India*.

PubMed

Bardhan, Dwaipayan; Sharma, Murari Lal

2013-12-01

The study was undertaken in Kumaon division of Uttarakhand state of India with the objective of estimating technical efficiency in milk production across different herd-size category households and factors influencing it. Total of 60 farm households having representation from different herd-size categories drawn from six randomly selected villages of plain and hilly regions of the division constituted the ultimate sampling units of the study. Stochastic frontier production function analysis was used to estimate the technical efficiency in milk production. Multivariate regression equations were fitted taking technical efficiency index as the regressand to identify the factors significantly influencing technical efficiency in milk production. The study revealed that variation in output across farms in the study area was due to difference in their technical efficiency levels. However, it was interesting to note that smallholder producers were more technically efficient in milk production than their larger counterparts, especially in the plains. Apart from herd size, intensity of market participation had significant and positive impact on technical efficiency in the plains. This provides definite indication that increasing the level of commercialization of dairy farms would have beneficial impact on their production efficiency.

The effect of phototropic centers on energy-extraction efficiency in YSGG:Cr,Nd

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evstigneev, V. L.; Zharikov, E. V.; Zavartsev, Iu. D.; Nerobov, O. V.; Studenikin, P. A.

1990-06-01

The suppression of amplified spontaneous emission and a 1.5-fold increase in energy efficiency were achieved in YSGG:Cr(3+), Nd(3+) laser crystals under the formation of saturable Cr(4+) centers which absorb at a wavelength of 1.06 micron. It is shown that the efficiency of amplifiers and lasers operating in the Q-switched regime can be significantly enhanced by creating phototropic centers in the doped YSGG crystal.

Femtosecond laser for cavity preparation in enamel and dentin: ablation efficiency related factors.

PubMed

Chen, H; Li, H; Sun, Yc; Wang, Y; Lü, Pj

2016-02-11

To study the effects of laser fluence (laser energy density), scanning line spacing and ablation depth on the efficiency of a femtosecond laser for three-dimensional ablation of enamel and dentin. A diode-pumped, thin-disk femtosecond laser (wavelength 1025 nm, pulse width 400 fs) was used for the ablation of enamel and dentin. The laser spot was guided in a series of overlapping parallel lines on enamel and dentin surfaces to form a three-dimensional cavity. The depth and volume of the ablated cavity was then measured under a 3D measurement microscope to determine the ablation efficiency. Different values of fluence, scanning line spacing and ablation depth were used to assess the effects of each variable on ablation efficiency. Ablation efficiencies for enamel and dentin were maximized at different laser fluences and number of scanning lines and decreased with increases in laser fluence or with increases in scanning line spacing beyond spot diameter or with increases in ablation depth. Laser fluence, scanning line spacing and ablation depth all significantly affected femtosecond laser ablation efficiency. Use of a reasonable control for each of these parameters will improve future clinical application.

Factors affecting the efficient transformation of Colletotrichum species

USGS Publications Warehouse

Redman, Regina S.; Rodriguez, Rusty J.

1994-01-01

Factors affecting the efficient transformation of Colletotrichum species. Experimental Mycology, 18, 230-246. Twelve isolates representing four species of Colletotrichum were transformed either by enhanced protoplast, restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI), or electroporation-mediated protocols. The enhanced protoplast transformation protocol resulted in 100- and 50-fold increases in the transformation efficiencies of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and C. magna , respectively. REMI transformation involved the use of Hin dIII and vector DNA linearized with HindIII to increase the number of integration events and potential gene disruptions in the fungal genome. Combining the enhanced protoplast and the REMI protocols resulted in a 22-fold increase in the number of hygromycin/nystatin-resistant mutants in C. lindemuthianum . Electroporation-mediated transformation was performed on mycelial fragments and spores of four Colletotrichum species, resulting in efficiencies of up to 1000 transformants/μg DNA. The pHA1.3 vector which confers hygromycin resistance contains telomeric sequences from Fusarium oxysporum , transforms by autonomous replication and genomic integration, and was essential for elevated transformation efficiencies of 100 to 10,000 transformants/μg DNA. Modifications of pHA1.3 occurred during bacterial amplification and post fungal transformation resulting in plasmids capable of significantly elevated transformation efficiencies in C. lindemuthianum.

Bootstrapping data envelopment analysis of efficiency and productivity of county public hospitals in Eastern, Central, and Western China after the public hospital reform.

PubMed

Wang, Man-Li; Fang, Hai-Qing; Tao, Hong-Bing; Cheng, Zhao-Hui; Lin, Xiao-Jun; Cai, Miao; Xu, Chang; Jiang, Shuai

2017-10-01

China implemented the public hospital reform in 2012. This study utilized bootstrapping data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the technical efficiency (TE) and productivity of county public hospitals in Eastern, Central, and Western China after the 2012 public hospital reform. Data from 127 county public hospitals (39, 45, and 43 in Eastern, Central, and Western China, respectively) were collected during 2012-2015. Changes of TE and productivity over time were estimated by bootstrapping DEA and bootstrapping Malmquist. The disparities in TE and productivity among public hospitals in the three regions of China were compared by Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test. The average bias-corrected TE values for the four-year period were 0.6442, 0.5785, 0.6099, and 0.6094 in Eastern, Central, and Western China, and the entire country respectively, with average non-technical efficiency, low pure technical efficiency (PTE), and high scale efficiency found. Productivity increased by 8.12%, 0.25%, 12.11%, and 11.58% in China and its three regions during 2012-2015, and such increase in productivity resulted from progressive technological changes by 16.42%, 6.32%, 21.08%, and 21.42%, respectively. The TE and PTE of the county hospitals significantly differed among the three regions of China. Eastern and Western China showed significantly higher TE and PTE than Central China. More than 60% of county public hospitals in China and its three areas operated at decreasing return scales. There was a considerable space for TE improvement in county hospitals in China and its three regions. During 2012-2015, the hospitals experienced progressive productivity; however, the PTE changed adversely. Moreover, Central China continuously achieved a significantly lower efficiency score than Eastern and Western China. Decision makers and administrators in China should identify the causes of the observed inefficiencies and take appropriate measures to increase the efficiency of county public hospitals in the three areas of China, especially in Central China.

Effect of ethanol-gasoline blends on small engine generator energy efficiency and exhaust emission.

PubMed

Lin, Wen-Yinn; Chang, Yuan-Yi; Hsieh, You-Ru

2010-02-01

This study was focused on fuel energy efficiency and pollution analysis of different ratios of ethanol-gasoline blended fuels (E0, E3, E6, and E9) under different loadings. In this research, the experimental system consisted of a small engine generator, a particulate matter measurement system, and an exhaust gas analyzer system. Different fuels, unleaded gasoline, and ethanol-gasoline blends (E0, E3, E6, and E9) were used to study their effects on the exhaust gas emission and were expressed as thermal efficiency of the small engine generator energy efficiency. The results suggested that particle number concentration increased as the engine loading increased; however, it decreased as the ethanol content in the blend increased. While using E6 as fuel, the carbon monoxide (CO) concentration was less than other fuels (E0, E3, and E9) for each engine loading. The average of CO concentration reduction by using E3, E6, and E9 is 42, 86, and 83%, respectively. Using an ethanol-gasoline blend led to a significant reduction in exhaust emissions by approximately 78.7, 97.5, and 89.46% of the mean average values of hydrocarbons (HCs) with E3, E6, and E9 fuels, respectively, for all engine loadings. Using an ethanol-gasoline blend led to a significant reduction in exhaust emissions by approximately 35, 86, and 77% of the mean average values of nitrogen oxides (NOx) with E3, E6, and E9 fuels, respectively, at each engine loading. The E6 fuel gave the best results of the exhaust emissions, and the E9 fuel gave the best results of the particle emissions and engine performance. The thermal efficiency of the small engine generator increased as the ethanol content in the blend increased and as the engine loading increased.

Increasing Efficiency of Water Use in Agriculture through Management of Soil Water Repellency to Optimize Soil and Water Productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Demie; Kostka, Stan; McMillan, Mica; Gadd, Nick

2010-05-01

Water's ability to infiltrate and disperse in soils, and soil's ability to receive, transport, retain, filter and release water are important factors in the efficient use of water in agriculture. Deteriorating soil conditions, including development of soil water repellency, negatively impact hydrological processes and, consequently, the efficiency of rainfall and irrigation. Soil water repellency is increasingly being identified in diverse soils and cropping systems. Recently research has been conducted on the use of novel soil surfactants (co-formulations of alkyl polyglycoside and block copolymer surfactants) to avoid or overcome soil water repellency and enhance water distribution in soils. Results indicate that this is an effective and affordable approach to maintaining or restoring soil and water productivity in irrigated cropping systems. Results from studies conducted in Australia and the United States to determine how this technology modifies soil hydrological behavior and crop yields will be presented. A range of soils and various crops, including potatoes, corn, apples and grapes, were included. Several rates were compared to controls for effect on soil moisture levels, soil water distribution, and crop yield. An economic analysis was also conducted in some trials. Treatments improved rootzone water status, significantly increased crop yield and quality, and in some cases allowed significant reductions in water requirements. Where assessed, a positive economic return was generated. This technology holds promise as a strategy for increasing efficiency of water use in agriculture.

[Ammonia volatilization of slow release compound fertilizer in different soils water conditions].

PubMed

Hu, Xiao-feng; Wang, Zheng-yin; You, Yuan; Li, Jing-chao

2010-08-01

By using venting method incubation experiment, we studied the ammonia volatilization and kinetics characteristics of uncoated slowed release compound fertilizer (SRF) under different soil water conditions and the growth and nitrogen utilization efficiency of rice in pot experiment. Results indicated that the ammonia volatilization of SRF under waterflooding reached the peak ahead of 3-4 days compared to the moist treatment. The peak and accumulation of ammonia volatilization in the waterflooding treatments were higher than those under the moist condition. SRF could significantly reduce total ammonia volatilization compared to the common compound fertilizer (CCF), reduced by 50.6% and 22.8% in the moist treatment and reduced by 24.2% and 10.4% in the waterflooding treatment,but the loss of ammonia volatilization of SRF was higher significantly than that of the coated fertilizer (CRF). Ammonia volatilization increased with the increasing of fertilizer application. The dynamics of ammonia volatilization of SRF could be quantitatively described with three equations: the first order kinetics equation, Elovich equation and parabola equation. Compared to moist condition, the biomass of rice plant in SRF, CCF and SRF treatments increased by 67.86%, 78.25% and 48.75%, and nitrogen utilization efficiency increased by 57.73%, 80.70% and 12.06% under waterflooding condition, respectively. Comparing with CCF, nitrogen utilization efficiency in SRF treatment improved by 59.10% and 10.40% under two soil moisture conditions. SRF could reduce ammonia volatilization and improve biomass and nitrogen utilization efficiency.

Perceptual learning improves visual performance in juvenile amblyopia.

PubMed

Li, Roger W; Young, Karen G; Hoenig, Pia; Levi, Dennis M

2005-09-01

To determine whether practicing a position-discrimination task improves visual performance in children with amblyopia and to determine the mechanism(s) of improvement. Five children (age range, 7-10 years) with amblyopia practiced a positional acuity task in which they had to judge which of three pairs of lines was misaligned. Positional noise was produced by distributing the individual patches of each line segment according to a Gaussian probability function. Observers were trained at three noise levels (including 0), with each observer performing between 3000 and 4000 responses in 7 to 10 sessions. Trial-by-trial feedback was provided. Four of the five observers showed significant improvement in positional acuity. In those four observers, on average, positional acuity with no noise improved by approximately 32% and with high noise by approximately 26%. A position-averaging model was used to parse the improvement into an increase in efficiency or a decrease in equivalent input noise. Two observers showed increased efficiency (51% and 117% improvements) with no significant change in equivalent input noise across sessions. The other two observers showed both a decrease in equivalent input noise (18% and 29%) and an increase in efficiency (17% and 71%). All five observers showed substantial improvement in Snellen acuity (approximately 26%) after practice. Perceptual learning can improve visual performance in amblyopic children. The improvement can be parsed into two important factors: decreased equivalent input noise and increased efficiency. Perceptual learning techniques may add an effective new method to the armamentarium of amblyopia treatments.

Optimal ciliary beating patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilfan, Andrej; Osterman, Natan

2011-11-01

We introduce a measure for energetic efficiency of single or collective biological cilia. We define the efficiency of a single cilium as Q2 / P , where Q is the volume flow rate of the pumped fluid and P is the dissipated power. For ciliary arrays, we define it as (ρQ) 2 / (ρP) , with ρ denoting the surface density of cilia. We then numerically determine the optimal beating patterns according to this criterion. For a single cilium optimization leads to curly, somewhat counterintuitive patterns. But when looking at a densely ciliated surface, the optimal patterns become remarkably similar to what is observed in microorganisms like Paramecium. The optimal beating pattern then consists of a fast effective stroke and a slow sweeping recovery stroke. Metachronal waves lead to a significantly higher efficiency than synchronous beating. Efficiency also increases with an increasing density of cilia up to the point where crowding becomes a problem. We finally relate the pumping efficiency of cilia to the swimming efficiency of a spherical microorganism and show that the experimentally estimated efficiency of Paramecium is surprisingly close to the theoretically possible optimum.

Mechanical energy expenditures and movement efficiency in full body reaching movements.

PubMed

Sha, Daohang; France, Christopher R; Thomas, James S

2010-02-01

The effect of target location, speed, and handedness on the average total mechanical energy and movement efficiency is studied in 15 healthy subjects (7 males and 8 females with age 22.9 +/- 1.79 years old) performing full body reaching movements. The average total mechanical energy is measured as the time average of integration of joint power, potential energy, and kinetic energy respectively. Movement efficiency is calculated as the ratio of total kinetic energy to the total joint power and potential energy. Results show that speed and target location have significant effects on total mechanical energy and movement efficiency, but reaching hand only effects kinetic energy. From our findings we conclude that (1) efficiency in whole body reaching is dependent on whether the height of the body center of mass is raised or lowered during the task; (2) efficiency is increased as movement speed is increased, in part because of greater changes in potential energy; and (3) the CNS does not appear to use movement efficiency as a primary planning variable in full body reaching. It may be dependent on a combination of other factors or constraints.

Efficient convolutional sparse coding

DOEpatents

Wohlberg, Brendt

2017-06-20

Computationally efficient algorithms may be applied for fast dictionary learning solving the convolutional sparse coding problem in the Fourier domain. More specifically, efficient convolutional sparse coding may be derived within an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) framework that utilizes fast Fourier transforms (FFT) to solve the main linear system in the frequency domain. Such algorithms may enable a significant reduction in computational cost over conventional approaches by implementing a linear solver for the most critical and computationally expensive component of the conventional iterative algorithm. The theoretical computational cost of the algorithm may be reduced from O(M.sup.3N) to O(MN log N), where N is the dimensionality of the data and M is the number of elements in the dictionary. This significant improvement in efficiency may greatly increase the range of problems that can practically be addressed via convolutional sparse representations.

Physiological and leaf metabolome changes in the xerohalophyte species Atriplex halimus induced by salinity.

PubMed

Bendaly, Alia; Messedi, Dorsaf; Smaoui, Abderrazak; Ksouri, Riadh; Bouchereau, Alain; Abdelly, Chedly

2016-06-01

Atriplex halimus is a xerohalophyte plant, which could be used as cash crops. This plant was integrated in Tunisian government programs the aim of which is to rehabilitate saline areas and desert. To investigate its strategies involved in salt tolerance, A. halimus was grown hydroponically under controlled conditions with increasing salinity. Plants were harvested and analyzed after 60 days of treatment. The biomass of A. halimus increased by moderate salinity and decreased significantly at high salinity compared to control plants at 400 mM. Despite of the large amounts of Na(+) observed in the leaves of Atriplex plants, leaf water contents and leaf succulence kept on increasing in treated plants and decreased over 150 mM NaCl. This confirmed the compartmentation and the efficient contribution of Na(+) in the osmotic adjustment. Analysis of the metabolic profiles showed an accumulation of carbohydrates and amino acids. The leaf tissues preferentially stored proline, α alanine and sucrose. Increasing NaCl levels were also accompanied by a significant accumulation of malate in leaves. Involvement of these solutes in osmotic adjustment was considered low. Nevertheless, they seemed to have an important role in controlling photosynthesis which capacity was enhanced by low salinity and decreased with increasing salinity (evaluated by actual photochemical efficiency of photosystem II and chlorophyll contents). The unchanged maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II accompanied by the increase of the non-photochemical quenching, the enhancement of the total antioxidant activity and the decrease of the malondialdehyde contents in leaves showed efficient protection of membranes and photosystem II from photo-oxidative damage. This protection seemed to be attributed to proline and sucrose largely accumulated in leaves treated with salt. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Single-use instruments, cutting blocks, and trials increase efficiency in the operating room during total knee arthroplasty: a prospective comparison of navigated and non-navigated cases.

PubMed

Mont, Michael A; McElroy, Mark J; Johnson, Aaron J; Pivec, Robert

2013-08-01

The purpose of this prospective controlled trial was to determine if efficiency increases could be achieved in non-navigated and navigated total knee arthroplasties by replacing traditional saws, cutting blocks, and trials with specialized saws and single-use cutting blocks and trials. Various timing metrics during total knee arthroplasty, including operating room preparation times and specific intra-operative times, were measured in 400 procedures performed by eight different surgeons at 6 institutions. Efficiency increases were the result of statistically significant reductions in combined instrument setup and cleanup times as well as in adjusted surgical episode times in navigated total knee arthroplasties. Single-use instruments show promising benefits, but adequate patient follow-up is needed to confirm safety and efficacy before they can be widely adopted. Nevertheless, the authors believe that the use of single-use instruments, cutting guides, and trial implants for total knee arthroplasty will play an increasing role in improving operating room efficiency. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An experimental study on the design, performance and suitability of evaporative cooling system using different indigenous materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alam, Md. Ferdous; Sazidy, Ahmad Sharif; Kabir, Asif; Mridha, Gowtam; Litu, Nazmul Alam; Rahman, Md. Ashiqur

2017-06-01

The present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of coconut coir pads, jute fiber pads and sackcloth pads as alternative pad materials. Experimental measurements were conducted and the experimental data were quantitative. The experimental work mainly focused on the effects of different types and thicknesses of evaporative cooling pads by using forced draft fan while changing the environmental conditions. Experiments are conducted in a specifically constructed test chamber having dimensions of 12'X8'X8', using a number of cooling pads (36"X26") with a variable thickness parameters of the evaporative cooling pads i.e., 50, 75 and 100 mm. Moreover, the experimental work involved the measurement of environmental parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, water mass flow rate and pressure drops at different times during the day. Experiments were conducted at three different water mass flow rates (0.25 kgs-1, 0.40 kgs-1 & 0.55 kgs-1) and three different air velocities (3.6 ms-1, 4.6 ms-1& 5.6 ms-1). There was a significant difference between evaporative cooling pad types and cooling efficiency. The coconut coir pads yielded maximum cooling efficiency of 85%, whereas other pads yielded the following maximum cooling efficiency: jute fiber pads 78% and sackcloth 69% for higher air velocity and minimum mass flow rate. It is found that the maximum reduction in temperature between cooling pad inlet and outlet is 4°C with a considerable increase in humidity. With the increase of pad thickness there was an increment of cooling efficiency. The results obtained for environmental factors, indicated that there was a significant difference between environmental factors and cooling efficiency. In terms of the effect of air velocity on saturation efficiency and pressure drop, higher air velocity decreases saturation efficiency and increases pressure drop across the wetted pad for maximum flow rate. Convective heat transfer co-efficient has an almost linear relationship with air Velocity. Water consumption or evaporation rate increases with the increase in air velocity. Finally, the present study indicated that the coconut coir pads perform better than the other evaporative cooling pads and have higher potential as wetted-pad material. The outcomes of this study can provide an effective and low-cost solution in the form of evaporative cooling system, especially in an agricultural country like Bangladesh.

Light Increases Energy Transfer Efficiency in a Boreal Stream

PubMed Central

Lesutienė, Jūratė; Gorokhova, Elena; Stankevičienė, Daiva; Bergman, Eva; Greenberg, Larry

2014-01-01

Periphyton communities of a boreal stream were exposed to different light and nutrient levels to estimate energy transfer efficiency from primary to secondary producers using labeling with inorganic 13C. In a one-day field experiment, periphyton grown in fast-flow conditions and dominated by opportunistic green algae were exposed to light levels corresponding to sub-saturating (forest shade) and saturating (open stream section) irradiances, and to N and P nutrient additions. In a two-week laboratory experiment, periphyton grown in low-flow conditions and dominated by slowly growing diatoms were incubated under two sub-saturating light and nutrient enrichment levels as well as grazed and non-grazed conditions. Light had significant positive effect on 13C uptake by periphyton. In the field experiment, P addition had a positive effect on 13C uptake but only at sub-saturating light levels, whereas in the laboratory experiment nutrient additions had no effect on the periphyton biomass, 13C uptake, biovolume and community composition. In the laboratory experiment, the grazer (caddisfly) effect on periphyton biomass specific 13C uptake and nutrient content was much stronger than the effects of light and nutrients. In particular, grazers significantly reduced periphyton biomass and increased biomass specific 13C uptake and C:nutrient ratios. The energy transfer efficiency, estimated as a ratio between 13C uptake by caddisfly and periphyton, was positively affected by light conditions, whereas the nutrient effect was not significant. We suggest that the observed effects on energy transfer were related to the increased diet contribution of highly palatable green algae, stimulated by higher light levels. Also, high heterotrophic microbial activity under low light levels would facilitate energy loss through respiration and decrease overall trophic transfer efficiency. These findings suggest that even a small increase in light intensity could result in community-wide effects on periphyton in boreal streams, with a subsequent increase in energy transfer and system productivity. PMID:25412343

Technical- and environmental-efficiency analysis of irrigated cotton-cropping systems in Punjab, Pakistan using data envelopment analysis.

PubMed

Ullah, Asmat; Perret, Sylvain R

2014-08-01

Cotton cropping in Pakistan uses substantial quantities of resources and adversely affects the environment with pollutants from the inputs, particularly pesticides. A question remains regarding to what extent the reduction of such environmental impact is possible without compromising the farmers' income. This paper investigates the environmental, technical, and economic performances of selected irrigated cotton-cropping systems in Punjab to quantify the sustainability of cotton farming and reveal options for improvement. Using mostly primary data, our study quantifies the technical, cost, and environmental efficiencies of different farm sizes. A set of indicators has been computed to reflect these three domains of efficiency using the data envelopment analysis technique. The results indicate that farmers are broadly environmentally inefficient; which primarily results from poor technical inefficiency. Based on an improved input mix, the average potential environmental impact reduction for small, medium, and large farms is 9, 13, and 11 %, respectively, without compromising the economic return. Moreover, the differences in technical, cost, and environmental efficiencies between small and medium and small and large farm sizes were statistically significant. The second-stage regression analysis identifies that the entire farm size significantly affects the efficiencies, whereas exposure to extension and training has positive effects, and the sowing methods significantly affect the technical and environmental efficiencies. Paradoxically, the formal education level is determined to affect the efficiencies negatively. This paper discusses policy interventions that can improve the technical efficiency to ultimately increase the environmental efficiency and reduce the farmers' operating costs.

Analyzing the efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises of a national technology innovation research and development program.

PubMed

Park, Sungmin

2014-01-01

This study analyzes the efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of a national technology innovation research and development (R&D) program. In particular, an empirical analysis is presented that aims to answer the following question: "Is there a difference in the efficiency between R&D collaboration types and between government R&D subsidy sizes?" Methodologically, the efficiency of a government-sponsored R&D project (i.e., GSP) is measured by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and a nonparametric analysis of variance method, the Kruskal-Wallis (KW) test is adopted to see if the efficiency differences between R&D collaboration types and between government R&D subsidy sizes are statistically significant. This study's major findings are as follows. First, contrary to our hypothesis, when we controlled the influence of government R&D subsidy size, there was no statistically significant difference in the efficiency between R&D collaboration types. However, the R&D collaboration type, "SME-University-Laboratory" Joint-Venture was superior to the others, achieving the largest median and the smallest interquartile range of DEA efficiency scores. Second, the differences in the efficiency were statistically significant between government R&D subsidy sizes, and the phenomenon of diseconomies of scale was identified on the whole. As the government R&D subsidy size increases, the central measures of DEA efficiency scores were reduced, but the dispersion measures rather tended to get larger.

Characterization of a spray torch and analysis of process parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramasamy, R.; Selvarajan, V.

1999-07-01

Anode for a non-transferred DC plasma spray torch was designed to improve electrothermal efficiency. A theoretical calculation was made for the electrothermal efficiency in a DC plasma torch operating with argon at atmospheric pressure with power level in the range of 5.2 20 kW using energy balance equations. ANOVA for the two level factorial design was done. Plasma gas flow rate, current intensity, nozzle diameter and length were found to influence the efficiency. The efficiency was found to decrease with increase in current intensity and nozzle length and to increase with increase in nozzle diameter and gas flow rate. The overall energy balance calculations showed that the heat transfer to the plasma-forming gas decreases with increase in arc current and the same was more significant at higher flow rates. Plasma jet velocity for different flow rates, input to the torch and nozzle dimensions was calculated from the gas enthalpy. It was found that the velocity increased with increase in the power input to the torch and gas flow rate and decreased with increase in nozzle length and diameter. The current voltage characteristics of the torch operating with argon gas were studied for different gas flow rates. The Nottingham coefficients were calculated using least square method.

Design and Development of a Residential Gas-Fired Heat Pump

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

Vineyard, Edward Allan; Abu-Heiba, Ahmad; Mahderekal, Dr. Isaac

2017-01-01

Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning equipment consumes 43% of the total primary energy consumption in U.S. households. Presently, conventional gas furnaces have maximum heating efficiencies of 98%. Electric air conditioners used in association with the furnace for cooling have a minimum seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of 14.0. A residential gas-fired heat pump (RGHP) was developed and tested under standard rating conditions, resulting in a significant increase in heating efficiency of over 40% versus conventional natural gas furnaces. The associated efficiency of the RGHP in cooling mode is comparable in efficiency to an electric air conditioner (14.0 SEER) when compared onmore » a primary energy basis. The RGHP is similar in nature to a conventional heat pump but with two main differences. First, the primary energy savings are higher, based on a site versus source comparison, as the result of using natural gas to supply shaft power to the compressor rather than an electric motor. Second, waste heat is recovered from the engine to supplement space heating and reduce the energy input. It can also be used to provide supplemental water heating. The system utilizes a programmable logic controller that allows variable-speed operation to achieve improved control to meet building loads. RGHPs significantly reduce peak electric use during periods of high demand, especially peak summer loads, as well as peak winter loads in regions with widespread use of electric heating. This contributes to leveling year-round gas loads, with the potential to increase annual gas demand in some regions. The widespread adoption of RGHPs will contribute to significant reductions in primary energy consumption and carbon emissions through improved efficiencies.« less

Targeting and retention enhancement of quantum dots decorated with amino acids in an invertebrate model organism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Rui; Chen, Xue-Dong; Zhou, Yan-Feng; Zhang, Jue; Su, Yuan-Yuan; Qiu, Jian-Feng; Sima, Yang-Hu; Zhang, Ke-Qin; He, Yao; Xu, Shi-Qing

2016-01-01

The use of quantum dots (QDs) in biological imaging applications and targeted drug delivery is expected to increase. However, the efficiency of QDs in drug targeting needs to be improved. Here, we show that amino acids linked to CdTe QDs significantly increased the targeted transfer efficiency and biological safety in the invertebrate model Bombyx mori. Compared with bare QDs530, the transfer efficiency of Ala- and Gly-conjugated QDs (QDs530-Ala and QDs530-Gly) in circulatory system increased by 2.6 ± 0.3 and 1.5 ± 0.3 times, and increased by 7.8 ± 0.9 and 2.9 ± 0.2 times in target tissue silk glands, respectively, after 24 h of QDs exposure. Meanwhile, the amount of conjugated QDs decreased by (68.4 ± 4.4)% and (46.7 ± 9.1)% in the non-target tissue fat body, and the speed at which they entered non-target circulating blood cells significantly decreased. The resultant QDs530-Ala revealed a better structural integrity in tissues and a longer retention time in hemolymph than that of QDs530 after exposure via the dorsal vessel. On the other hand, QDs530-Ala significantly reduced the toxicity to hemocytes, silk gland, and fat body, and reduced the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tissues.

Graphene-embedded 3D TiO2 inverse opal electrodes for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells: morphological characteristics and photocurrent enhancement.

PubMed

Kim, Hye-Na; Yoo, Haemin; Moon, Jun Hyuk

2013-05-21

We demonstrated the preparation of graphene-embedded 3D inverse opal electrodes for use in DSSCs. The graphene was incorporated locally into the top layers of the inverse opal structures and was embedded into the TiO2 matrix via post-treatment of the TiO2 precursors. DSSCs comprising the bare and 1-5 wt% graphene-incorporated TiO2 inverse opal electrodes were compared. We observed that the local arrangement of graphene sheets effectively enhanced electron transport without significantly reducing light harvesting by the dye molecules. A high efficiency of 7.5% was achieved in DSSCs prepared with the 3 wt% graphene-incorporated TiO2 inverse opal electrodes, constituting a 50% increase over the efficiencies of DSSCs prepared without graphene. The increase in efficiency was mainly attributed to an increase in J(SC), as determined by the photovoltaic parameters and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis.

Toward large-scale solar energy systems with peak concentrations of 20,000 suns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kribus, Abraham

1997-10-01

The heliostat field plays a crucial role in defining the achievable limits for central receiver system efficiency and cost. Increasing system efficiency, thus reducing the reflective area and system cost, can be achieved by increasing the concentration and the receiver temperature. The concentration achievable in central receiver plants, however, is constrained by current heliostat technology and design practices. The factors affecting field performance are surface and tracking errors, astigmatism, shadowing, blocking and dilution. These are geometric factors that can be systematically treated and reduced. We present improvements in collection optics and technology that may boost concentration (up to 20,000 peak), achievable temperature (2,000 K), and efficiency in solar central receiver plants. The increased performance may significantly reduce the cost of solar energy in existing applications, and enable solar access to new ultra-high-temperature applications, such as: future gas turbines approaching 60% combined cycle efficiency; high-temperature thermo-chemical processes; and gas-dynamic processes.

Development of a kolanut peeling device.

PubMed

Kareem, I; Owolarafe, O K; Ajayi, O A

2014-10-01

A kolanut peeling machine was designed, constructed and evaluated for the postharvest processing of the seed. The peeling machine consists of a standing frame, peeling unit and hopper. The peeling unit consists of a special paddle, which mixes the kolanut, rubs them against one another and against the wall of the barrel and also conveys the kolanut to the outlet. The performance of the kolanut peeling machine was evaluated for its peeling efficiency at different moisture content (53.0, 57.6, 61.4 % w.b.) and speeds of operation of the machine. The result of the analysis of variance shows that the main factors and their interaction had significant effects (p < 0.05) on the peeling efficiency of the machine. The result also shows that the peeling efficiency of the machine increased as the moisture content increase and decreased with increase in machine speed. The highest efficiency of the machine was 60.3 % at a moisture content of 61.4 % w.b. and speed of 40 rpm.

Higher energy efficient homes are associated with increased risk of doctor diagnosed asthma in a UK subpopulation.

PubMed

Sharpe, Richard A; Thornton, Christopher R; Nikolaou, Vasilis; Osborne, Nicholas J

2015-02-01

The United Kingdom (UK) has one of the highest prevalence of asthma in the world, which represents a significant economic and societal burden. Reduced ventilation resulting from increased energy efficiency measures acts as a modifier for mould contamination and risk of allergic diseases. To our knowledge no previous study has combined detailed asset management property and health data together to assess the impact of household energy efficiency (using the UK Government's Standard Assessment Procedure) on asthma outcomes in an adult population residing in social housing. Postal questionnaires were sent to 3867 social housing properties to collect demographic, health and environmental information on all occupants. Detailed property data, residency periods, indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) and household energy efficiency ratings were also investigated. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and confidence intervals while allowing for clustering of individuals coming from the same location. Eighteen percent of our target social housing population were recruited into our study. Adults had a mean age of 59 (SD±17.3) years and there was a higher percentage of female (59%) and single occupancy (58%) respondents. Housing demographic characteristics were representative of the target homes. A unit increase in household Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating was associated with a 2% increased risk of current asthma, with the greatest risk in homes with SAP >71. We assessed exposure to mould and found that the presence of a mouldy/musty odour was associated with a two-fold increased risk of asthma (OR 2.2 95%; CI 1.3-3.8). A unit increase in SAP led to a 4-5% reduction in the risk of visible mould growth and a mouldy/musty odour. In contrast to previous research, we report that residing in energy efficient homes may increase the risk of adult asthma. We report that mould contamination increased the risk of asthma, which is in agreement with existing knowledge. Exposure to mould contamination could not fully explain the association between increased energy efficiency and asthma. Our findings may be explained by increased energy efficiency combined with the provision of inadequate heating, ventilation, and increased concentrations of other biological, chemical and physical contaminants. This is likely to be modified by a complex interaction between occupant behaviours and changes to the built environment. Our findings may also be confounded by our response rate, demographic and behavioural differences between those residing in low versus high energy efficient homes, and use of self-reported exposures and outcomes. Energy efficiency may increase the risk of current adult asthma in a population residing in social housing. This association was not significantly modified by the presence of visible mould growth, although further research is needed to investigate the interaction between other demographic and housing characteristic risk factors, especially the impact of fuel poverty on indoor exposures and health outcomes. A multidisciplinary approach is required to assess the interaction between energy efficiency measures and fuel poverty behaviours on health outcomes prior to the delivery of physical interventions aimed at improving the built environment. Policy incentives are required to address fuel poverty issues alongside measures to achieve SAP ratings of 71 or greater, which must be delivered with the provision of adequate heating and ventilation strategies to minimise indoor dampness. Changes in the built environment without changes in behaviour of domicile residents may lead to negative health outcomes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Step-by-Step Heating of Dye Solution for Efficient Solar Energy Harvesting in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shah, Syed Afaq Ali; Sayyad, Muhammad Hassan; Abdulkarim, Salem; Qiao, Qiquan

2018-05-01

A step-by-step heat treatment was applied to ruthenium-based N719 dye solution for its potential application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effects were analyzed and compared with standard untreated devices. A significant increase in short circuit current density was observed by employing a step-by-step heating method for dye solution in DSSCs. This increase of J sc is attributed to the enhancement in dye adsorption by the surface of the semiconductor and the higher number of charge carriers generated. DSSCs fabricated by a heated dye solution have achieved an overall power conversion efficiency of 8.41% which is significantly higher than the efficiency of 7.31% achieved with DSSCs fabricated without heated dye. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and capacitance voltage studies were performed to understand the better performance of the device fabricated with heated dye. Furthermore, transient photocurrent and transient photovoltage measurements were also performed to gain an insight into interfacial charge carrier recombinations.

Does restructuring hospitals result in greater efficiency?--An empirical test using diachronic data.

PubMed

Braithwaite, Jeffrey; Westbrook, Mary T; Hindle, Donald; Iedema, Rick A; Black, Deborah A

2006-02-01

Hospitals are being restructured more frequently. Increased cost efficiency is the usual justification given for such changes. All 20 major teaching hospitals in Australia's two most populous states were investigated by classifying each over a 5-6 year period in terms of their cost efficiency (average cost per case weighted by Australian diagnosis-related group [AN-DRG] data and adjusted for inflation) and structure, categorized as traditional-professional (TP), clinical-divisional (CD), or clinical-institute (CI). In all, 12 hospitals changed structure during the study period. There was slight evidence that CD structures were more efficient than TP structures but this was not supported by other evidence. There were no significant differences in efficiency in the first or second years following changes from either TP to CD or TP to CI structures. All four hospitals changing from CD to CI structure became significantly less efficient. This may be due to frequency rather than type of change as they were the only hospitals that implemented two structural changes. Hospitals that changed or did not change structure were similar in efficiency at the beginning and at the end of the study period, in overall efficiency during the period, and in trends toward efficiency over time. The findings challenge those who advocate restructuring hospitals on the grounds of improving cost efficiency.

Effect of steam addition on cycle performance of simple and recuperated gas turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyle, R. J.

1979-01-01

Results are presented for the cycle efficiency and specific power of simple and recuperated gas turbine cycles in which steam is generated and used to increase turbine flow. Calculations showed significant improvements in cycle efficiency and specific power by adding steam. The calculations were made using component efficiencies and loss assumptions typical of stationary powerplants. These results are presented for a range of operating temperatures and pressures. Relative heat exchanger size and the water use rate are also examined.

Psidium guajava as a bioaccumulator of nickel around an oil refinery, southern Brazil.

PubMed

Trindade Perry, Carolina; Divan, Armando Molina; Raya Rodriguez, Maria Teresa; Lúcia Atz, Vera

2010-05-01

To evaluate the potential of Psidium guajava as a biological accumulator of air pollutants, saplings were exposed at nine sites receiving atmospheric emissions from an oil refinery (five within, four outside the industrial area) and another reference site located at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 27 km from the refinery. Exposures lasted about 3 months each, coincided with the seasons, and totaled five exposures between 2005 and 2006. The following parameters were evaluated: dry weight of leaves, stems, and roots, leaf area, rate of relative height increase, Ni and S contents, maximum assimilation rate, and carboxylation efficiency invivo. P. guajava was found to be an efficient accumulator of Ni, since highly significant differences were observed (P<0.001) between sites within the industrial area and the reference site for all periods of exposure and a significant negative correlation between distance from emission source and Ni content. The S content showed significant differences (P<0.05) only at sites within the industrial area for two exposures. The dry weight, leaf area, rate of relative height increase, maximum assimilation rate, and carboxylation efficiency did not present significant differences for any period of exposure. In view of the above, we conclude that P. guajava is a good bioaccumulator for Ni. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving phosphorus uptake and wheat productivity by phosphoric acid application in alkaline calcareous soils.

PubMed

Akhtar, Muhammad; Yaqub, Muhammad; Naeem, Asif; Ashraf, Muhammad; Hernandez, Vicente Espinosa

2016-08-01

Low phosphorus (P) efficiency from existing granular fertilisers necessitates searching for efficient alternatives to improve wheat productivity in calcareous soil. Multi-location trials have shown that phosphoric acid (PA) produced 16% higher wheat grain over commercial P fertilisers, i.e. diammonium phosphate (DAP) and triple superphosphate (TSP). Methods of P application significantly influenced grain yield and the efficiency of methods was observed in the order: PA placement below seed > PA, DAP or TSP fertigation > DAP or TSP broadcast. The sub-surface application of PA produced highest grain yields (mean of all rates), i.e. 4669, 4158 and 3910 kg ha(-1) in Bagh, Bhalwal and Shahpur soil series, respectively. Phosphoric acid at 66 kg P2 O5 ha(-1) was found more effective in increasing gain yield over that of control. Trend in grain P uptake was found similar to that observed for grain yield. Maximum P uptake by grain was recorded at the highest P rate and the lowest at zero P. The significant increase in P uptake with P rates was generally related to the increase in yield rather than its concentration in grain. Phosphorus agronomic efficiency (PAE) and phosphorus recovery efficiency (PRE) were found higher at lower P rate (44 kg P2 O5 ha(-1) ) and decreased with P application. However, PA applied by the either method resulted in higher PAE and PRE compared to DAP and TSP. Phosphoric acid is suggested as an efficient alternative to commercial granular P fertilisers for wheat production in alkaline calcareous soils. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Coal-Powered Electric Generating Unit Efficiency and Reliability Dialogue: Summary Report

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

Taylor, Emmanuel

Coal continues to play a critical role in powering the Nation’s electricity generation, especially for baseload power plants. With aging coal generation assets facing decreased performance due to the state of the equipment, and with challenges exacerbated by the current market pressures on the coal sector, there are opportunities to advance early-stage technologies that can retrofit or replace equipment components. These changes will eventually result in significant improvements in plant performance once further developed and deployed by industry. Research and development in areas such as materials, fluid dynamics, fuel properties and preparation characteristics, and a new generation of plant controlsmore » can lead to new components and systems that can help improve the efficiency and reliability of coal-fired power plants significantly, allowing these assets to continue to provide baseload power. Coal stockpiles at electricity generation plants are typically large enough to provide 30 to 60 days of power prior to resupply—significantly enhancing the stability and reliability of the U.S. electricity sector. Falling prices for non-dispatchable renewable energy and mounting environmental regulations, among other factors, have stimulated efforts to improve the efficiency of these coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs). In addition, increased reliance on natural gas and non-dispatchable energy sources has spurred efforts to further increase the reliability of coal EGUs. The Coal Powered EGU Efficiency and Reliability Dialogue brought together stakeholders from across the coal EGU industry to discuss methods for improvement. Participants at the event reviewed performance-enhancing innovations in coal EGUs, discussed the potential for data-driven management practices to increase efficiency and reliability, investigated the impacts of regulatory compliance on coal EGU performance, and discussed upcoming challenges for the coal industry. This report documents the key findings and research suggestions discussed at the event. Discussions at the workshop will aid DOE in developing a set of distinct initiatives that can be pursued by government and industry to realize promising technological pursuits. DOE plans to use the results of the Dialogue coupled with ongoing technical analysis of efficiency opportunities within the coal-fired fleet, and additional studies to develop a comprehensive strategy for capitalizing on thermal efficiency improvements. Expected Power Plant Efficiency Improvements include developing cost-effective, efficient, and reliable technologies for boilers, turbines, and sensors and controls to improve the reliability and efficiency of existing coal-based power plants. The Office of Fossil Energy at DOE plans to work with industry to develop knowledge pertaining to advanced technologies and systems that industry can subsequently develop. These technologies and systems will increase reliability, add operational flexibility and improve efficiency, thereby providing more robust power generation infrastructure. The following table lists the research suggestions and questions for further investigation that were identified by participants in each session of the dialogue.« less

Identification of sequence motifs significantly associated with antisense activity.

PubMed

McQuisten, Kyle A; Peek, Andrew S

2007-06-07

Predicting the suppression activity of antisense oligonucleotide sequences is the main goal of the rational design of nucleic acids. To create an effective predictive model, it is important to know what properties of an oligonucleotide sequence associate significantly with antisense activity. Also, for the model to be efficient we must know what properties do not associate significantly and can be omitted from the model. This paper will discuss the results of a randomization procedure to find motifs that associate significantly with either high or low antisense suppression activity, analysis of their properties, as well as the results of support vector machine modelling using these significant motifs as features. We discovered 155 motifs that associate significantly with high antisense suppression activity and 202 motifs that associate significantly with low suppression activity. The motifs range in length from 2 to 5 bases, contain several motifs that have been previously discovered as associating highly with antisense activity, and have thermodynamic properties consistent with previous work associating thermodynamic properties of sequences with their antisense activity. Statistical analysis revealed no correlation between a motif's position within an antisense sequence and that sequences antisense activity. Also, many significant motifs existed as subwords of other significant motifs. Support vector regression experiments indicated that the feature set of significant motifs increased correlation compared to all possible motifs as well as several subsets of the significant motifs. The thermodynamic properties of the significantly associated motifs support existing data correlating the thermodynamic properties of the antisense oligonucleotide with antisense efficiency, reinforcing our hypothesis that antisense suppression is strongly associated with probe/target thermodynamics, as there are no enzymatic mediators to speed the process along like the RNA Induced Silencing Complex (RISC) in RNAi. The independence of motif position and antisense activity also allows us to bypass consideration of this feature in the modelling process, promoting model efficiency and reducing the chance of overfitting when predicting antisense activity. The increase in SVR correlation with significant features compared to nearest-neighbour features indicates that thermodynamics alone is likely not the only factor in determining antisense efficiency.

Efficiency determinants and capacity issues in Brazilian for-profit hospitals.

PubMed

Araújo, Cláudia; Barros, Carlos P; Wanke, Peter

2014-06-01

This paper reports on the use of different approaches for assessing efficiency of a sample of major Brazilian for-profit hospitals. Starting out with the bootstrapping technique, several DEA estimates were generated, allowing the use of confidence intervals and bias correction in central estimates to test for significant differences in efficiency levels and input-decreasing/output-increasing potentials. The findings indicate that efficiency is mixed in Brazilian for-profit hospitals. Opportunities for accommodating future demand appear to be scarce and strongly dependent on particular conditions related to the accreditation and specialization of a given hospital.

Urban runoff treatment using nano-sized iron oxide coated sand with and without magnetic field applying

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Increase of impervious surfaces in urban area followed with increases in runoff volume and peak flow, leads to increase in urban storm water pollution. The polluted runoff has many adverse impacts on human life and environment. For that reason, the aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of nano iron oxide coated sand with and without magnetic field in treatment of urban runoff. In present work, synthetic urban runoff was treated in continuous separate columns system which was filled with nano iron oxide coated sand with and without magnetic field. Several experimental parameters such as heavy metals, turbidity, pH, nitrate and phosphate were controlled for investigate of system efficiency. The prepared column materials were characterized with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) instruments. SEM and EDXA analyses proved that the sand has been coated with nano iron oxide (Fe3O4) successfully. The results of SEM and EDXA instruments well demonstrate the formation of nano iron oxide (Fe3O4) on sand particle. Removal efficiency without magnetic field for turbidity; Pb, Zn, Cd and PO4 were observed to be 90.8%, 73.3%, 75.8%, 85.6% and 67.5%, respectively. When magnetic field was applied, the removal efficiency for turbidity, Pb, Zn, Cd and PO4 was increased to 95.7%, 89.5%, 79.9%, 91.5% and 75.6% respectively. In addition, it was observed that coated sand and magnetic field was not able to remove NO3 ions. Statistical analyses of data indicated that there was a significant difference between removals of pollutants in two tested columns. Results of this study well demonstrate the efficiency of nanosized iron oxide-coated sand in treatment of urban runoff quality; upon 75% of pollutants could be removed. In addition, in the case of magnetic field system efficiency can be improved significantly. PMID:24360061

Evaluation of plant growth regulators to increase nickel phytoextraction by Alyssum species.

PubMed

Cabello-Conejo, M I; Centofanti, T; Kidd, P S; Prieto-Fernández, A; Chaney, R L

2013-01-01

Recent studies have shown that application of phytohormones to shoots of Alyssum murale increased biomass production but did not increase Ni shoot concentration. Increased biomass and Ni phytoextraction efficiency is useful to achieve economically viable phytomining. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of two types of phytohormones on the Ni phytoextraction capacity of four Alyssum species. Two different commercially available phytohormones (Cytokin and Promalin) based on cytokinins and/or gibberellins were applied on shoot biomass of four Ni hyperaccumulating Alyssum species (A. corsicum, A. malacitanum, A. murale, and A. pintodasilvae). Cytokin was applied in two concentrations and promalin in one concentration. The application of phytohormones had no clear positive effect on biomass production, Ni accumulation and Ni phytoextraction efficiency in the studied Alyssum species. A. malacitanum was the only species in which a significantly negative effect of these treatments was observed (in Ni uptake). A slightly positive response to promalin treatment was observed in the biomass production and Ni phytoextraction efficiency of A. corsicum. Although this effect was not significant it does indicate a potential application of these approaches to improve phytoextraction ability. Further studies will be needed to identify the most adequate phytohormone treatment as well as the appropriate concentrations and application times.

Performance Indicators for Public Spending Efficiency in Primary and Secondary Education. OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 546

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutherland, Douglas; Price, Robert; Joumard, Isabelle, Nicq, Chantal

2007-01-01

This paper assesses the potential to raise public spending efficiency in the primary and secondary education sector. Resource availability per pupil has increased significantly over the past decade in a number of countries; often in attempting to exploit the link between educational attainment and growth. However, available evidence reveals only a…

Modulated method for efficient, narrow-bandwidth, laser Compton X-ray and gamma-ray sources

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

Barty, Christopher P. J.

A method of x-ray and gamma-ray generation via laser Compton scattering uses the interaction of a specially-formatted, highly modulated, long duration, laser pulse with a high-frequency train of high-brightness electron bunches to both create narrow bandwidth x-ray and gamma-ray sources and significantly increase the laser to Compton photon conversion efficiency.

Method for efficient, narrow-bandwidth, laser compton x-ray and gamma-ray sources

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

Barty, Christopher P. J.

A method of x-ray and gamma-ray generation via laser Compton scattering uses the interaction of a specially-formatted, highly modulated, long duration, laser pulse with a high-frequency train of high-brightness electron bunches to both create narrow bandwidth x-ray and gamma-ray sources and significantly increase the laser to Compton photon conversion efficiency.

Bursting at the Seams: Financing and Planning for Rising Enrollments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCord, Michael

1997-01-01

Using existing and new facilities more efficiently could accommodate increased student enrollment while producing significant savings in capital and operating costs. Ontario's Ministry of Education has identified 10 ways to increase facilities utilization, including innovative scheduling, year- round schooling, varied attendance plans, offsite…

Sugarcane Fertilizer Recommendations for the 2008 Crop Year

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Louisiana sugarcane producers continue to face challenges as they attempt to maximize profits and increase production efficiency. This year yet another challenge has been added through the significant increase in the cost of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers. Due to these i...

A Brief History of Airborne Self-Spacing Concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a history of seven of the more significant airborne and airborne-assisted aircraft spacing concepts that have been developed and evaluated during the past 40 years. The primary focus of the earlier concepts was on enhancing airport terminal area productivity and reducing air traffic controller workload. The more recent efforts were designed to increase runway throughput through improved aircraft spacing precision at landing. The latest concepts are aimed at supporting more fuel efficient and lower community noise operations while maintaining or increasing runway throughput efficiency.

Energy conservation through more efficient lighting.

PubMed

Maya, J; Grossman, M W; Lagushenko, R; Waymouth, J F

1984-10-26

The efficiency of a mercury-rare gas electrical discharge, which forms the basis of a fluorescent lamp, can be increased about 5 percent simply by increasing the concentration of mercury-196 from 0.146 percent (natural) to about 3 percent. These findings can be implemented immediately without any significant change in the process of manufacturing of this widely used source of illumination, provided that mercury-196 can be obtained economically. The potential energy savings for the United States are estimated to be worth in excess of $200 million per year.

Environmental policy and technological change: The effects of economic incentives and direct regulation on energy-saving innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newell, Richard G., Jr.

Over the long run, the impacts of environmental policies will be greatly affected by the influence these policies have on the rate and direction of technological change. In particular, the roles played by energy prices and product regulation in energy-saving technology innovation are exceptionally important considerations in modeling climate change and evaluating alternative policy options. We analyze the effects of energy prices and energy-efficiency regulations on the menu of air conditioner and water heater models available on the market over a period of more than three decades, measuring their innovation in terms of improvements in the products' underlying characteristics. Through estimation of a series of "characteristics transformation surfaces," we find that during less than four decades, substantial innovation in these products reduced the total capital and operating costs of air conditioning by one-half and water heating by more than one-fifth. Although the overall rate of innovation in these products appears to be independent of energy prices and regulations, the evidence suggests that the direction of innovation may be responsive to energy price changes. This would imply that energy price increases induced innovation in a direction that lowered the capital cost tradeoffs inherent in producing more energy-efficient products. The evidence supporting "regulation-induced" changes in these tradeoffs is much weaker. Our estimates indicate that about one- to two-fifths of the energy-efficiency improvements in these products from 1973 to 1993 were associated with historical changes in energy prices. We also find that this responsiveness to price changes increased substantially after product labeling requirements came into effect, and that minimum efficiency standards had a significant positive effect on average efficiency levels. Nonetheless, a sizeable portion of historical efficiency improvements in these technologies is associated with the products' overall rate of innovation. Looking forward, we estimate that energy taxes of 10 to 30 percent of retail prices could significantly increase the energy efficiency of the product menu. We predict that such taxes would lead to additional efficiency increases in air conditioners of 6 to 26 percent. We conclude that the price-induced component of energy-efficiency innovation should not be ignored when assessing alternative climate change policies.

Effects of milk casein-derived peptides on absolute oxyhaemoglobin concentrations in the prefrontal area and on work efficiency after mental stress loading in male students.

PubMed

Nakamura, H; Iwamoto, M; Ogata, T; Washida, K; Sekine, K; Takase, M; Park, B J; Morikawa, T; Miyazaki, Y

2008-01-01

This study examined the influence of milk casein-derived peptides on cerebral activity after mental stress loading. In a crossover study, 16 male students were given a drink containing peptides (peptide group), or water (control group) before stress loading. The oxyhaemoglobin (HbO(2)) concentration in the prefrontal area of the brain and work efficiency were measured as indicators of cerebral activity and differences in these parameters were examined according to type A or type B personality. Type A behaviour was defined as: aggression-hostility, hard-driving-time-urgency and speed-power, whereas type B behaviour did not have these characteristics. Peptide intake resulted in a significant increase in both HbO(2) concentration and work efficiency, whilst a similar increase was not seen in the control group. When divided into type A or type B personality, the changes in HbO(2) concentration for the control group differed significantly in the right prefrontal area. Moreover, in type A subjects the HbO(2) concentration in the right prefrontal area following intake was significantly different between the peptide and control groups.

Measuring the efficiency of Palestinian public hospitals during 2010-2015: an application of a two-stage DEA method.

PubMed

Sultan, Wasim I M; Crispim, José

2018-05-29

While health needs and expenditure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are growing, the international donations are declining and the economic situation is worsening. The purpose of this paper is twofold, to evaluate the productive efficiency of public hospitals in West Bank and to study contextual factors contributing to efficiency differences. This study examined technical efficiency among 11 public hospitals in West Bank from 2010 through 2015 targeting a total of 66 observations. Nationally representative data were extracted from the official annual health reports. We applied input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models to estimate efficiency scores. To elaborate further on performance, we used Tobit regression to identify contextual factors whose impact on inefficient performance is statistically significant. Despite the increase in efficiency mean scores by 4% from 2010 to 2015, findings show potential savings of 14.5% of resource consumption without reducing the volume of the provided services. The significant Tobit model showed four predictors explaining the inefficient performance of a hospital (p <  0.01) are: bed occupancy rate (BOR); the outpatient-inpatient ratio (OPIPR); hospital's size (SIZE); and the availability of primary healthcare centers within the hospital's catchment area (PRC). There is a strong effect of OPIPR on efficiency differences between hospitals: A one unit increase in OPIPR will lead a decrease of 19.7% in the predicted inefficiency level holding all other factors constant. To date, no previous studies have examined the efficiency of public hospitals in the OPT. Our work identified their efficiency levels for potential improvements and the determinants of efficient performance. Based on the measurement of efficiency, the generated information may guide hospitals' managers, policymakers, and international donors improving the performance of the main national healthcare provider. The scope of this study is limited to public hospitals in West Bank. For a better understanding of the Palestinian market, further research on private hospitals and hospitals in Gaza Strip will be useful.

Milk production and energy efficiency of Holstein and Jersey-Holstein crossbred dairy cows offered diets containing grass silage.

PubMed

Xue, B; Yan, T; Ferris, C F; Mayne, C S

2011-03-01

Eight Holstein and 8 Jersey-Holstein crossbred dairy cows (all primiparous) were used in a repeated 2 (genotype) × 2 (concentrate level) factorial design study involving a total of 4 periods (each of 6-wk duration), designed to examine the effect of cross-breeding on the efficiency of milk production and energy use. The 4 periods began at 5, 11, 27, and 33 wk of lactation, respectively. Animals were offered a completely mixed diet containing grass silage and concentrates, with the level of concentrate in the diet either 30 or 70% of dry matter (DM). During the final 10 d of each period, ration digestibility and energy use was measured, the latter in indirect open-circuit respiration calorimeters. No significant interaction existed between cow genotype and dietary concentrate level for feed intake, milk production, or any of the energy use parameters measured. Across the 2 genotypes, total DM intake, milk yield, and milk protein and lactose concentrations increased with increasing dietary concentrate level. Thus, cows offered the high-concentrate diet had a higher gross energy (GE) intake, and a higher energy output in feces, urine, milk as heat, and a higher metabolizable energy (ME) intake as a proportion of GE intake and as a proportion of digestible energy intake. Across the 2 levels of concentrates, the Jersey-Holstein cows had a significantly higher total DM intake and body condition score, and produced milk with higher fat, protein, and energy concentrations, compared with those of the Holstein cows. In addition, the Jersey-Holstein cows had a significantly higher GE intake and energy output in urine, methane, and milk. However, crossbreeding had no significant effect on energy digestibility or metabolizability, energy partitioning between milk and body tissue, or the efficiency of ME use for lactation. Relating ME intake to milk energy output and heat production indicated that crossbreeding did not influence ME requirement for maintenance or energy efficiencies. The energy metabolism data were also used to compare energy efficiencies between "early" (data pooled for the first 2 periods) and "late" (data pooled for the second 2 periods) stages of lactation. Stage of lactation had no effect on energy digestibility or metabolizability, whereas increasing stage of lactation increased the rate of energy partitioning into body tissue and reduced the rate of energy partitioning into milk, irrespective of cow genotype. In conclusion, crossbreeding of Holstein dams with Jersey sires had no adverse effects on the overall production efficiency of Holstein dairy cows in terms of milk production, efficiency of ME use for lactation, and energy partitioning between milk and body tissue. Copyright © 2011 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Effects of nitrogen management on maize nitrogen utilization and residual nitrate nitrogen in soil under maize/soybean and maize/sweet potato relay strip intercropping systems].

PubMed

Wang, Xiao-Chun; Yang, Wen-Yu; Deng, Xiao-Yan; Zhang, Qun; Yong, Tai-Wen; Liu, Wei-Guo; Yang, Feng; Mao, Shu-Ming

2014-10-01

A large amount of nitrogen (N) fertilizers poured into the fields severely pollute the environment. Reasonable application of N fertilizer has always been the research hotpot. The effects of N management on maize N utilization and residual nitrate N in soil under maize/soybean and maize/ sweet potato relay strip intercropping systems were reported in a field experiment in southwest China. It was found that maize N accumulation, N harvest index, N absorption efficiency, N contribution proportion after the anthesis stage in maize/soybean relay strip intercropping were increased by 6.1%, 5.4%, 4.3%, and 15.1% than under maize/sweet potato with an increase of 22.6% for maize yield after sustainable growing of maize/soybean intercropping system. Nitrate N accumulation in the 0-60 cm soil layer was 12.9% higher under maize/soybean intercropping than under maize/sweet potato intercropping. However, nitrate N concentration in the 60-120 cm soil layer when intercropped with soybean decreased by 10.3% than when intercropped with sweet potato, indicating a decrease of N leaching loss. Increasing of N application rate enhanced N accumulation of maize and decreased N use efficiency and significantly increased nitrate concentration in the soil profile except in the 60-100 cm soil layer, where no significant difference was observed with nitrogen application rate at 0 to 270 kg · hm(-2). Further application of N fertilizer significantly enhanced nitrate leaching loss. Postponing N application increased nitrate accumulation in the 60-100 cm soil layer. The results suggested that N application rates and ratio of base to top dressing had different influences on maize N concentration and nitrate N between maize/soybean and maize/sweet potato intercropping. Maize N concentration in the late growing stage, N harvest index and N use efficiency under maize/soybean intercropping increased (with N application rate at 180-270 kg · hm(-2) and ratio of base to top dressing = 3:2:5) and decreased nitrate leaching loss with yield reaching 7757 kg · hm(-2) on average. However, for maize/sweet potato, N concentration and use efficiency and maize yield increased significantly with N application rate at 180 kg · hm(-2) and ratio of base to top dressing = 5:5 than that under other treatments with yield reaching 6572 kg · hm(-2). Under these circumstances, it would be possible to realize maize high yield, high efficiency and safety of N man- agement under maize/soybean and maize/sweet potato relay strip intercropping systems.

Thrust Augmented Nozzle for a Hybrid Rocket with a Helical Fuel Port

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Joel H.

A thrust augmented nozzle for hybrid rocket systems is investigated. The design lever-ages 3-D additive manufacturing to embed a helical fuel port into the thrust chamber of a hybrid rocket burning gaseous oxygen and ABS plastic as propellants. The helical port significantly increases how quickly the fuel burns, resulting in a fuel-rich exhaust exiting the nozzle. When a secondary gaseous oxygen flow is injected into the nozzle downstream of the throat, all of the remaining unburned fuel in the plume spontaneously ignites. This secondary reaction produces additional high pressure gases that are captured by the nozzle and significantly increases the motor's performance. Secondary injection and combustion allows a high expansion ratio (area of the nozzle exit divided by area of the throat) to be effective at low altitudes where there would normally be significantly flow separation and possibly an embedded shock wave due. The result is a 15 percent increase in produced thrust level with no loss in engine efficiency due to secondary injection. Core flow efficiency was increased significantly. Control tests performed using cylindrical fuel ports with secondary injection, and helical fuel ports without secondary injection did not exhibit this performance increase. Clearly, both the fuel-rich plume and secondary injection are essential features allowing the hybrid thrust augmentation to occur. Techniques for better design optimization are discussed.

Interactions Between Peptide and Preservatives: Effects on Peptide Self-Interactions and Antimicrobial Efficiency In Aqueous Multi-Dose Formulations.

PubMed

Heljo, P; Ross, A; Zarraga, I E; Pappenberger, A; Mahler, H-C

2015-10-01

Antimicrobial preservatives are known to interact with proteins and potentially affect their stability in aqueous solutions. In this systematic study, the interactions of a model peptide with three commonly used preservatives, benzyl alcohol, phenol and m-cresol, were evaluated. The impact on peptide oligomerization was studied using GC-MALS, SEC-MALS and DLS, antimicrobial efficiency of different formulations were studied using the Ph. Eur. antimicrobial efficacy test, and the molecular adsorption of preservative molecules on reversible peptide oligomers was monitored using NMR. The hydrodynamic radius and molar mass of the peptide oligomers was shown to clearly increase in the presence of m-cresol but less significantly with phenol and benzyl alcohol. The increase in size was most likely caused by peptide self-interactions becoming more attractive, leading to reversible oligomerization. On the other hand, increasing the concentration of peptide in multi-dose formulations led to reduced molecular mobility and decreased antimicrobial efficacy of all preservatives. Peptide-preservative interactions not only affect peptide self-interactions, but also antimicrobial efficiency of the preservatives and are thus of significant relevance. Adsorption of preservatives on oligomeric states of peptides is proposed as a mechanism to explain this reduced antimicrobial efficacy.

Changes in antioxidants potential, secondary metabolites and plant hormones induced by different fungicides treatment in cotton plants.

PubMed

Mohamed, Heba Ibrahim; Akladious, Samia Ageeb

2017-10-01

The use of fungicides for an effective control of plant diseases has become crucial in the last decades in the agriculture system. Seeds of cotton plants were treated with systemic and contact fungicides to study the efficiency of seed dressing fungicides in controlling damping off caused by Rhizoctonia solani under greenhouse conditions and its effect on plant growth and metabolism. The results showed that Mon-cut showed the highest efficiency (67.99%) while each of Tondro and Hemixet showed the lowest efficiency (31.99%) in controlling damping off. Rhizolex T, Mon-cut and Tondro fungicides caused significant decrease in plant height, dry weight of plant, phytohormones, photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, soluble proteins, total free amino acids but caused significant increases in total phenols, flavonoids, antioxidant enzymes, ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione, MDA and hydrogen peroxide as compared with untreated plants. On the other hand, the other fungicides (Maxim, Hemixet and Flosan) increased all the above recorded parameters as compared with untreated plants. Our results indicated that the fungicides application could be a potential tool to increase plant growth, the antioxidative defense mechanisms and decreased infection with plant diseases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Treatment of acrylate wastewater by electrocatalytic reduction process].

PubMed

Yu, Li-Na; Song, Yu-Dong; Zhou, Yue-Xi; Zhu, Shu-Quan; Zheng, Sheng-Zhi; Ll, Si-Min

2011-10-01

High-concentration acrylate wastewater was treated by an electrocatalytic reduction process. The effects of the cation exchange membrane (CEM) and cathode materials on acrylate reduction were investigated. It indicated that the acrylate could be reduced to propionate acid efficiently by the electrocatalytic reduction process. The addition of CEM to separator with the cathode and anode could significantly improve current efficiency. The cathode materials had significant effect on the reduction of acrylate. The current efficiency by Pd/Nickel foam, was greater than 90%, while those by nickel foam, the carbon fibers and the stainless steel decreased successively. Toxicity of the wastewater decreased considerably and methane production rate in the biochemical methane potential (BMP) test increased greatly after the electrocatalytic reduction process.

Review of Evaluation, Measurement and Verification Approaches Used to Estimate the Load Impacts and Effectiveness of Energy Efficiency Programs

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

Messenger, Mike; Bharvirkar, Ranjit; Golemboski, Bill

Public and private funding for end-use energy efficiency actions is expected to increase significantly in the United States over the next decade. For example, Barbose et al (2009) estimate that spending on ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs in the U.S. could increase frommore » $3.1 billion in 2008 to $$7.5 and 12.4 billion by 2020 under their medium and high scenarios. This increase in spending could yield annual electric energy savings ranging from 0.58% - 0.93% of total U.S. retail sales in 2020, up from 0.34% of retail sales in 2008. Interest in and support for energy efficiency has broadened among national and state policymakers. Prominent examples include {approx}$$18 billion in new funding for energy efficiency programs (e.g., State Energy Program, Weatherization, and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants) in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Increased funding for energy efficiency should result in more benefits as well as more scrutiny of these results. As energy efficiency becomes a more prominent component of the U.S. national energy strategy and policies, assessing the effectiveness and energy saving impacts of energy efficiency programs is likely to become increasingly important for policymakers and private and public funders of efficiency actions. Thus, it is critical that evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) is carried out effectively and efficiently, which implies that: (1) Effective program evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) methodologies and tools are available to key stakeholders (e.g., regulatory agencies, program administrators, consumers, and evaluation consultants); and (2) Capacity (people and infrastructure resources) is available to conduct EM&V activities and report results in ways that support program improvement and provide data that reliably compares achieved results against goals and similar programs in other jurisdictions (benchmarking). The National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (2007) presented commonly used definitions for EM&V in the context of energy efficiency programs: (1) Evaluation (E) - The performance of studies and activities aimed at determining the effects and effectiveness of EE programs; (2) Measurement and Verification (M&V) - Data collection, monitoring, and analysis associated with the calculation of gross energy and demand savings from individual measures, sites or projects. M&V can be a subset of program evaluation; and (3) Evaluation, Measurement, and Verification (EM&V) - This term is frequently seen in evaluation literature. EM&V is a catchall acronym for determining both the effectiveness of program designs and estimates of load impacts at the portfolio, program and project level. This report is a scoping study that assesses current practices and methods in the evaluation, measurement and verification (EM&V) of ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs, with a focus on methods and practices currently used for determining whether projected (ex-ante) energy and demand savings have been achieved (ex-post). M&V practices for privately-funded energy efficiency projects (e.g., ESCO projects) or programs where the primary focus is greenhouse gas reductions were not part of the scope of this study. We identify and discuss key purposes and uses of current evaluations of end-use energy efficiency programs, methods used to evaluate these programs, processes used to determine those methods; and key issues that need to be addressed now and in the future, based on discussions with regulatory agencies, policymakers, program administrators, and evaluation practitioners in 14 states and national experts in the evaluation field. We also explore how EM&V may evolve in a future in which efficiency funding increases significantly, innovative mechanisms for rewarding program performance are adopted, the role of efficiency in greenhouse gas mitigation is more closely linked, and programs are increasingly funded from multiple sources often with multiple program administrators and intended to meet multiple purposes.« less

Effect of increasing energy cost on arm coordination in elite sprint swimmers.

PubMed

Komar, J; Leprêtre, P M; Alberty, M; Vantorre, J; Fernandes, R J; Hellard, P; Chollet, D; Seifert, L

2012-06-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in stroke parameters, motor organization and swimming efficiency with increasing energy cost in aquatic locomotion. Seven elite sprint swimmers performed a 6×300-m incremental swimming test. Stroke parameters (speed, stroke rate and stroke length), motor organization (arm stroke phases and arm coordination index), swimming efficiency (swimming speed squared and hand speed squared) and stroke index were calculated from aerial and underwater side-view cameras. The energy cost of locomotion was assessed by measuring oxygen consumption and blood lactate. Results showed that the increase in energy cost of locomotion was correlated to an increase in the index of coordination and stroke rate, and a decrease in stroke length (p<.05). Furthermore, indicators of swimming efficiency and stroke index did not change significantly with the speed increments (p<.05), indicating that swimmers did not decrease their efficiency despite the increase in energy cost. In parallel, an increase in the index of coordination IdC and stroke rate were observed, along with a decrease in stroke length, stroke index and hand speed squared with each increment, revealing an adaptation to the fatigue within the 300m. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The efficacy of using exogenous enzymes cocktail on production, egg quality, egg nutrients and blood metabolites of laying hens fed distiller's dried grains with solubles.

PubMed

Abd El-Hack, M E; Chaudhry, M T; Mahrose, K M; Noreldin, A; Emam, M; Alagawany, M

2018-04-01

An experiment was performed using 120 Hisex Brown laying hens for evaluating the effects of different inclusion levels of corn distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as a replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with or without enzyme cocktail on performance, egg quality, egg nutrients and blood metabolites in laying hens through 22-42 weeks of age. A 4 × 2 factorial design experiment was performed including four substitution levels of DDGS (0, 250, 500 and 750 g/kg respectively) and two enzyme cocktail levels (0 and 250 mg/kg diet). The used enzyme in this study "Gallazyme" composed of xylanase, Trichoderma longibrachiatum (600 units/g), protease, Bacillus subtilis (8,000 units/g) and amylase and Bacillus amyloliquofaciens (800 units/g). The control diet showed the best feed efficiency followed by the intermediate levels of DDGS. The lowest value of feed efficiency was found in the group fed the highest level of DDGS. Enzyme addition improved feed efficiency and decreased laying rate. Increasing DDGS levels was associated with albumin and shell thickness increases. Dietary DDGS depressed all egg components except the organic matter which maximised in enzyme-treated groups. Increasing DDGS level was accompanied by increase in yolk cholesterol and total lipids. No significant impacts were detected with enzymes supplementation on yolk lipids profile. Excepting serum calcium and phosphorous, all serum constituents increased with increasing level of DDGS. Using enzyme markedly depressed serum ammonia by 15.02% and increased calcium by 6.44% compared with enzyme-free diets. Interaction between DDGS and enzyme was significant on most of studied parameters. It could be concluded that using enzyme cocktail in DDGS-based diets may improve feed efficiency and egg quality, in addition to lowering blood ammonia and increasing blood calcium. It is recommended to substitute SBM by DDGS up to 500 g/kg diet. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Application of Freezing and Thawing in Apple (Malus domestica) Juice Extraction.

PubMed

Nadulski, Rafał; Kobus, Zbigniew; Wilczyński, Kamil; Zawiślak, Kazimierz; Grochowicz, Józef; Guz, Tomasz

2016-09-28

The paper presents the results of the research on the impact of enzymatic liquefaction, freezing and thawing on the efficiency of juice pressure extraction from apple pulp and quality of the obtained juices. The research was conducted using three types of pretreatment prior the pressing: crushing and enzymatic liquefaction in temperature of 25 °C, crushing and enzymatic liquefaction in temperature of 45 °C and crushing followed by freezing and thawing of the pulp. The study included three varieties of apples. The juice was obtained using a laboratory basket press. It was determined that the pretreatment of the pulp as well as the varietal characteristics of the fruits have a significant impact on the efficiency of the pressure extraction process. The enzymatic treatment of the pulp, irrespective of the temperature at which it was conducted, significantly increased the efficiency of the process. No effect of the temperature (25 or 45 °C) of enzymatic treatment on the efficiency of the pressure extraction process was found. Pretreatment of the pulp based on freezing and thawing contributes to the increase of efficiency of pressing in the case of two apple cultivars, that is, Idared and Red Delicious. It was showed that total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, the soluble solids content and juice acidity (pH) depend on the pretreatment of the pulp and the varietal characteristics of apples. Following the application of pretreatment of the pulp, an increase was observed in the content of polyphenols and in the antioxidant activity of the juices obtained. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

Systems Biology Analysis Merging Phenotype, Metabolomic and Genomic Data Identifies Non-SMC Condensin I Complex, Subunit G (NCAPG) and Cellular Maintenance Processes as Major Contributors to Genetic Variability in Bovine Feed Efficiency

PubMed Central

Widmann, Philipp; Reverter, Antonio; Weikard, Rosemarie; Suhre, Karsten; Hammon, Harald M.; Albrecht, Elke; Kuehn, Christa

2015-01-01

Feed efficiency is a paramount factor for livestock economy. Previous studies had indicated a substantial heritability of several feed efficiency traits. In our study, we investigated the genetic background of residual feed intake, a commonly used parameter of feed efficiency, in a cattle resource population generated from crossing dairy and beef cattle. Starting from a whole genome association analysis, we subsequently performed combined phenotype-metabolome-genome analysis taking a systems biology approach by inferring gene networks based on partial correlation and information theory approaches. Our data about biological processes enriched with genes from the feed efficiency network suggest that genetic variation in feed efficiency is driven by genetic modulation of basic processes relevant to general cellular functions. When looking at the predicted upstream regulators from the feed efficiency network, the Tumor Protein P53 (TP53) and Transforming Growth Factor beta 1 (TGFB1) genes stood out regarding significance of overlap and number of target molecules in the data set. These results further support the hypothesis that TP53 is a major upstream regulator for genetic variation of feed efficiency. Furthermore, our data revealed a significant effect of both, the Non-SMC Condensin I Complex, Subunit G (NCAPG) I442M (rs109570900) and the Growth /differentiation factor 8 (GDF8) Q204X (rs110344317) loci, on residual feed intake and feed conversion. For both loci, the growth promoting allele at the onset of puberty was associated with a negative, but favorable effect on residual feed intake. The elevated energy demand for increased growth triggered by the NCAPG 442M allele is obviously not fully compensated for by an increased efficiency in converting feed into body tissue. As a consequence, the individuals carrying the NCAPG 442M allele had an additional demand for energy uptake that is reflected by the association of the allele with increased daily energy intake as observed in our study. PMID:25875852

Using learning curves on energy-efficient technologies to estimate future energy savings and emission reduction potentials in the U.S. iron and steel industry

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

Karali, Nihan; Park, Won Young; McNeil, Michael A.

Increasing concerns on non-sustainable energy use and climate change spur a growing research interest in energy efficiency potentials in various critical areas such as industrial production. This paper focuses on learning curve aspects of energy efficiency measures in the U.S iron and steel sector. A number of early-stage efficient technologies (i.e., emerging or demonstration technologies) are technically feasible and have the potential to make a significant contribution to energy saving and CO 2 emissions reduction, but fall short economically to be included. However, they may also have the cost effective potential for significant cost reduction and/or performance improvement in themore » future under learning effects such as ‘learning-by-doing’. The investigation is carried out using ISEEM, a technology oriented, linear optimization model. We investigated how steel demand is balanced with/without the availability learning curve, compared to a Reference scenario. The retrofit (or investment in some cases) costs of energy efficient technologies decline in the scenario where learning curve is applied. The analysis also addresses market penetration of energy efficient technologies, energy saving, and CO 2 emissions in the U.S. iron and steel sector with/without learning impact. Accordingly, the study helps those who use energy models better manage the price barriers preventing unrealistic diffusion of energy-efficiency technologies, better understand the market and learning system involved, predict future achievable learning rates more accurately, and project future savings via energy-efficiency technologies with presence of learning. We conclude from our analysis that, most of the existing energy efficiency technologies that are currently used in the U.S. iron and steel sector are cost effective. Penetration levels increases through the years, even though there is no price reduction. However, demonstration technologies are not economically feasible in the U.S. iron and steel sector with the current cost structure. In contrast, some of the demonstration technologies are adapted in the mid-term and their penetration levels increase as the prices go down with learning curve. We also observe large penetration of 225kg pulverized coal injection with the presence of learning.« less

Inhibition of class IIb histone deacetylase significantly improves cloning efficiency in mice.

PubMed

Ono, Tetsuo; Li, Chong; Mizutani, Eiji; Terashita, Yukari; Yamagata, Kazuo; Wakayama, Teruhiko

2010-12-01

Since the first mouse clone was produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer, the success rate of cloning in mice has been extremely low. Some histone deacetylase inhibitors, such as trichostatin A and scriptaid, have improved the full-term development of mouse clones significantly, but the mechanisms allowing for this are unclear. Here, we found that two other specific inhibitors, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid and oxamflatin, could also reduce the rate of apoptosis in blastocysts, improve the full-term development of cloned mice, and increase establishment of nuclear transfer-generated embryonic stem cell lines significantly without leading to obvious abnormalities. However, another inhibitor, valproic acid, could not improve cloning efficiency. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, oxamflatin, trichostatin A, and scriptaid are inhibitors for classes I and IIa/b histone deacetylase, whereas valproic acid is an inhibitor for classes I and IIa, suggesting that inhibiting class IIb histone deacetylase is an important step for reprogramming mouse cloning efficiency.

Effect of azimuthal diversion rail on an ATON-type Hall thruster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhang; Liqiu, Wei; Liang, Han; Yongjie, Ding; Daren, Yu

2017-03-01

A newly designed azimuthal diversion rail (ADR) is studied and used to enhance the ionization process in an ATON-type Hall thruster. The diversion rail efficiently reduces the neutral flow axial velocity, and hence, increases the resistance time of atoms in the discharge channel of the Hall thruster. Thrust performances, in terms of thrust, anode efficiency and ion beam divergence, are found to be improved because of the application of the diversion rail, especially at low mass flow rate conditions. Experiment results reveal that the ADR increases the mass utilization under insufficient mass flow rate operating conditions. The design of the ADR broadens the efficient operating range of Hall thrusters and has significant contribution to multi-mode Hall thruster development.

Technical and scale efficiency of public community hospitals in Eritrea: an exploratory study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Eritrean gross national income of Int$610 per capita is lower than the average for Africa (Int$1620) and considerably lower than the global average (Int$6977). It is therefore imperative that the country’s resources, including those specifically allocated to the health sector, are put to optimal use. The objectives of this study were (a) to estimate the relative technical and scale efficiency of public secondary level community hospitals in Eritrea, based on data generated in 2007, (b) to estimate the magnitudes of output increases and/or input reductions that would have been required to make relatively inefficient hospitals more efficient, and (c) to estimate using Tobit regression analysis the impact of institutional and contextual/environmental variables on hospital inefficiencies. Methods A two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is used to estimate efficiency of hospitals and to explain the inefficiencies. In the first stage, the efficient frontier and the hospital-level efficiency scores are first estimated using DEA. In the second stage, the estimated DEA efficiency scores are regressed on some institutional and contextual/environmental variables using a Tobit model. In 2007 there were a total of 20 secondary public community hospitals in Eritrea, nineteen of which generated data that could be included in the study. The input and output data were obtained from the Ministry of Health (MOH) annual health service activity report of 2007. Since our study employs data that are five years old, the results are not meant to uncritically inform current decision-making processes, but rather to illustrate the potential value of such efficiency analyses. Results The key findings were as follows: (i) the average constant returns to scale technical efficiency score was 90.3%; (ii) the average variable returns to scale technical efficiency score was 96.9%; and (iii) the average scale efficiency score was 93.3%. In 2007, the inefficient hospitals could have become more efficient by either increasing their outputs by 20,611 outpatient visits and 1,806 hospital discharges, or by transferring the excess 2.478 doctors (2.85%), 9.914 nurses and midwives (0.98%), 9.774 laboratory technicians (9.68%), and 195 beds (10.42%) to primary care facilities such as health centres, health stations, and maternal and child health clinics. In the Tobit regression analysis, the coefficient for OPDIPD (outpatient visits as a proportion of inpatient days) had a negative sign, and was statistically significant; and the coefficient for ALOS (average length of stay) had a positive sign, and was statistically significant at 5% level of significance. Conclusions The findings from the first-stage analysis imply that 68% hospitals were variable returns to scale technically efficient; and only 42% hospitals achieved scale efficiency. On average, inefficient hospitals could have increased their outpatient visits by 5.05% and hospital discharges by 3.42% using the same resources. Our second-stage analysis shows that the ratio of outpatient visits to inpatient days and average length of inpatient stay are significantly correlated with hospital inefficiencies. This study shows that routinely collected hospital data in Eritrea can be used to identify relatively inefficient hospitals as well as the sources of their inefficiencies. PMID:23497525

Fabrication of Sb₂S₃ Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Embedded Photoelectrodes of Ag Nanowires-Au Nanoparticles Composite.

PubMed

Kim, Kang-Pil; Hwang, Dae-Kue; Woo, Sung-Ho; Kim, Dae-Hwan

2018-09-01

The Ag nanowire (NW) + Au nanoparticle (NP)-embedded TiO2 photoelectrodes were adopted for conventional planar TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells to improve the cell efficiency. Compared to conventional planar TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells, the Ag NW + Au NP/TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells exhibited an improvement of approximately 40% in the cell efficiency due to the significant increase in both Jsc and Voc. These enhanced Jsc and Voc were attributed to the increased surface area, charge-collection efficiency, and light absorption by embedding the Ag NWs + Au NPs composite. The Ag NW + Au NP/TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells showed the highest efficiency of 2.17%, demonstrating that the Ag NW + Au NP-embedded TiO2 photoelectrode was a suitable photoelectrode structure to improve the power conversion efficiency in the Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells.

Radon safety in terms of energy efficiency classification of buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasilyev, A.; Yarmoshenko, I.; Zhukovsky, M.

2017-06-01

According to the results of survey in Ekaterinburg, Russia, indoor radon concentrations above city average level have been found in each of the studied buildings with high energy efficiency class. Measures to increase energy efficiency were confirmed to decrease the air exchange rate and accumulation of high radon concentrations indoors. Despite of recommendations to use mechanical ventilation with heat recovery as the main scenario for reducing elevated radon concentrations in energy-efficient buildings, the use of such systems did not show an obvious advantage. In real situation, mechanical ventilation system is not used properly both in the automatic and manual mode, which does not give an obvious advantage over natural ventilation in the climate of the Middle Urals in Ekaterinburg. Significant number of buildings with a high class of energy efficiency and built using modern space-planning decisions contributes to an increase in the average radon concentration. Such situation contradicts to “as low as reasonable achievable” principle of the radiation protection.

Increasing water use efficiency along the C3 to C4 evolutionary pathway: a stomatal optimization perspective.

PubMed

Way, Danielle A; Katul, Gabriel G; Manzoni, Stefano; Vico, Giulia

2014-07-01

C4 photosynthesis evolved independently numerous times, probably in response to declining atmospheric CO2 concentrations, but also to high temperatures and aridity, which enhance water losses through transpiration. Here, the environmental factors controlling stomatal behaviour of leaf-level carbon and water exchange were examined across the evolutionary continuum from C3 to C4 photosynthesis at current (400 μmol mol(-1)) and low (280 μmol mol(-1)) atmospheric CO2 conditions. To this aim, a stomatal optimization model was further developed to describe the evolutionary continuum from C3 to C4 species within a unified framework. Data on C3, three categories of C3-C4 intermediates, and C4 Flaveria species were used to parameterize the stomatal model, including parameters for the marginal water use efficiency and the efficiency of the CO2-concentrating mechanism (or C4 pump); these two parameters are interpreted as traits reflecting the stomatal and photosynthetic adjustments during the C3 to C4 transformation. Neither the marginal water use efficiency nor the C4 pump strength changed significantly from C3 to early C3-C4 intermediate stages, but both traits significantly increased between early C3-C4 intermediates and the C4-like intermediates with an operational C4 cycle. At low CO2, net photosynthetic rates showed continuous increases from a C3 state, across the intermediates and towards C4 photosynthesis, but only C4-like intermediates and C4 species (with an operational C4 cycle) had higher water use efficiencies than C3 Flaveria. The results demonstrate that both the marginal water use efficiency and the C4 pump strength increase in C4 Flaveria to improve their photosynthesis and water use efficiency compared with C3 species. These findings emphasize that the advantage of the early intermediate stages is predominantly carbon based, not water related. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

[Effects of long-term isolation and anticipation of significant event on sleep: results of the project "Mars-520"].

PubMed

Zavalko, I M; Rasskazova, E I; Gordeev, S A; Palatov, S Iu; Kovrov, G V

2013-01-01

The purpose of the research was to study effect of long-term isolation on night sleep. The data were collected during international ground simulation of an interplanetary manned flight--"Mars-500". The polysomnographic recordings of six healthy men were performed before, four times during and after 520-days confinement. During the isolation sleep efficiency and delta-latency decreased, while sleep latency increased. Post-hoc analysis demonstrate significant differences between background and the last (1.5 months before the end of the experiment) measure during isolation. Frequency of nights with low sleep efficiency rose on the eve of the important for the crew events (simulation of Mars landing and the end of the confinement). Two weeks after the landing simulation, amount of the nights with a low sleep efficiency significantly decreased. Therefore, anticipation of significant event under condition of long-term isolation might result in sleep worsening in previously healthy men, predominantly difficulties getting to sleep.

VALUING REDUCTIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SOURCES OF INFERTILITY RISK USING THE EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD FRAMEWORK

EPA Science Inventory

There is an increasing body evidence suggesting that a broad range of pollutants have the potential to alter human endocrine systems. One disturbing consequence of exposures to these endocrine disruptors is that they may significantly increase the incidence of infertility in exp...

Development of an attached growth reactor for NH₄-N removal at a drinking water supply system in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

PubMed

Khanitchaidecha, Wilawan; Shakya, Maneesha; Nakano, Yuichi; Tanaka, Yasuhiro; Kazama, Futaba

2012-01-01

Higher concentrations of ammonium (NH(4)-N) and iron (Fe) than a standard for drinking are typical characteristics of groundwater in the study area. To remove NH(4)-N and Fe, the drinking water supply system in this study consists of a series of treatment units (i.e., aeration and sedimentation, filtration, and chlorination); however, NH(4)-N in treated water is higher than a standard for drinking (i.e., <1.5 mg NH(4)-N/L). The objective of this study, therefore, is to develop an attached growth system containing a fiber carrier for reducing NH(4)-N concentration within a safe level in the treated water. To avoid the need of air supply for nitrification, groundwater was continuously dripped through the reactor. It made the system simple operation and energy efficient. Effects of reactor design (reactor length and carrier area) were studied to achieve a high NH(4)-N removal efficiency. In accordance with raw groundwater characteristics in the area, effects of low inorganic carbon (IC) and phosphate (PO(4)-P) and high Fe on the removal efficiency were also investigated. The results showed a significant increase in NH(4)-N removal efficiency with reactor length and carrier area. A low IC and PO(4)-P had no effect on NH(4)-N removal, whereas a high Fe decreased the efficiency significantly. The first 550 days operation of a pilot-scale reactor installed in the drinking water supply system showed a gradual increase in the efficiency, reaching to 95-100%, and stability in the performance even with increased flow rate from 210 to 860 L/day. The high efficiency of the present work was indicated because only less than 1 mg of NH(4)-N/L was left over in the treated water.

Effect of repeated simulated clinical use and sterilization on the cutting efficiency and flexibility of Hyflex CM nickel-titanium rotary files.

PubMed

Seago, Scott T; Bergeron, Brian E; Kirkpatrick, Timothy C; Roberts, Mark D; Roberts, Howard W; Himel, Van T; Sabey, Kent A

2015-05-01

Recent nickel-titanium manufacturing processes have resulted in an alloy that remains in a twinned martensitic phase at operating temperature. This alloy has been shown to have increased flexibility with added tolerance to cyclic and torsional fatigue. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of repeated simulated clinical use and sterilization on cutting efficiency and flexibility of Hyflex CM rotary files. Cutting efficiency was determined by measuring the load required to maintain a constant feed rate while instrumenting simulated canals. Flexibility was determined by using a 3-point bending test. Files were autoclaved after each use according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Files were tested through 10 simulated clinical uses. For cutting efficiency, mean data were analyzed by using multiple factor analysis of variance and the Dunnett post hoc test (P < .05). For flexibility, mean data were analyzed by using Levene's Test of Equality of Error and a general linear model (P < .05). No statistically significant decrease in cutting efficiency was noted in groups 2, 5, 6, and 7. A statistically significant decrease in cutting efficiency was noted in groups 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10. No statistically significant decrease in flexibility was noted in groups 2, 3, and 7. A statistically significant decrease in flexibility was noted in groups 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Repeated simulated clinical use and sterilization showed no effect on cutting efficiency through 1 use and no effect on flexibility through 2 uses. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Patient satisfaction and masticatory efficiency of single implant-retained mandibular overdentures using the stud and magnetic attachments.

PubMed

Cheng, Tao; Sun, Guifeng; Huo, Jingyu; He, Xiaoji; Wang, Yining; Ren, Yan-Fang

2012-11-01

To study patient satisfaction and masticatory efficiency of single implant-retained mandibular overdentures using the stud and magnetic attachments in a randomized clinical trial with a crossover design. Patients received a single implant placed in the midline of the mandible and either a stud (Locator) or a magnetic (Magfit) attachment, assigned at random. Patient satisfaction, including patient comfort, speech, chewing ability and retention, and masticatory efficiency measured by chewing peanuts, were assessed before and 3 months after attachment insertion. Patient satisfaction and masticatory efficiency were evaluated again 3 months after insertion of the alternate attachment bodies. The outcomes were compared before and after insertion of the attachments and between the two types of attachments using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Patient overall satisfaction, comfort, speech, chewing ability, and retention improved significantly after insertion of both types of attachment bodies (p<0.05). Masticatory efficiencies also increased in both the Locator and the Magfit groups (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in patient overall satisfaction, comfort, speech, and retention between the two types of attachments (p>0.05). The Locator attachments performed better in perceived chewing ability than the Magfit (p<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in masticatory efficiency between the two attachment types (p>0.05). Clinical outcomes were significantly improved in single implant-retained mandibular overdentures using either the Locator or the Magfit magnetic attachments. There was no difference in masticatory efficiency between the two attachment types. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pressurized liquid extraction of diesel and air particulate standard reference materials: effect of extraction temperature and pressure.

PubMed

Schantz, Michele M; McGaw, Elizabeth; Wise, Stephen A

2012-10-02

Four particulate matter Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were used to evaluate the effect of solvent, number of static cycles and static times, pressure, and temperature when using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitrated-PAHs. The four materials used in the study were SRM 1648a Urban Particulate Matter, SRM 1649b Urban Dust, SRM 1650b Diesel Particulate Matter, and SRM 2975 Diesel Particulate Matter (Industrial Forklift). The results from the study indicate that the choice of solvent, dichloromethane compared to toluene and toluene/methanol mixtures, had little effect on the extraction efficiency. With three to five extraction cycles, increasing the extraction time for each cycle from 5 to 30 min had no significant effect on the extraction efficiency. The differences in extraction efficiency were not significant (with over 95% of the differences being <10%) when the pressure was increased from 13.8 to 20.7 MPa. The largest increase in extraction efficiency occurred for selected PAHs when the temperature of extraction was increased from 100 to 200 °C. At 200 °C naphthalene, biphenyl, fluorene, dibenzothiophene, and anthracene show substantially higher mass fractions (>30%) than when extracted at 100 °C in all the SRMs studied. For SRM 2975, large increases (>100%) are also observed for some other PAHs including benz[a]anthracene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[e]pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene, and benzo[b]chrysene when extracted at the higher temperatures; however, similar trends were not observed for the other diesel particulate sample, SRM 1650b. The results are discussed in relation to the use of the SRMs for evaluating analytical methods.

Impact of groundwater markets in India on water use efficiency: a data envelopment analysis approach.

PubMed

Manjunatha, A V; Speelman, S; Chandrakanth, M G; Van Huylenbroeck, G

2011-11-01

In the hard rock areas of India, overdraft of groundwater has led to negative externalities. It increased costs of groundwater irrigation and caused welfare losses. At the same time informal groundwater markets are slowly emerging and are believed to improve water distribution and to increase water use efficiency in the irrigation sector. These claims are evaluated in this study. For this purpose data was collected from a sample containing three different groups of water users: water sellers, water buyers and a control group of non-traders. First the socio-economic characteristics of these groups are compared. Then the efficiency of water use of the three groups is studied using Data Envelopment Analysis. The results indicate that groundwater markets provide resource poor farmers access to irrigation water, giving them the opportunity to raise their productivity. Water buyers are furthermore shown to be most efficient in their water use, while water sellers are also shown to be more efficient than the control group. The differences in efficiency between the groups are statistically significant. The demonstrated potential of groundwater markets to improve the efficiency of water use and to increase equity in resource access should be taken into account by the Indian government when deciding on their attitude towards the emerging groundwater markets. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficiency of C3 and C4 Plant Derived-Biochar for Cd Mobility, Nutrient Cycling and Microbial Biomass in Contaminated Soil.

PubMed

Bashir, Saqib; Shaaban, Muhammad; Mehmood, Sajid; Zhu, Jun; Fu, Qingling; Hu, Hongqing

2018-06-01

Biochar is considered a novel soil amendment to reduce metal mobility, but its influence on soil chemical and biochemical properties is not fully understood. In the present study, biochar derived from rice straw (RSB), rice hull (RHB), and maize stover (MSB) was used to evaluate comparative efficiency on Cd mobility and soil biochemical properties. Ammonium nitrate extractable Cd significantly decreased among all the applied biochar types and application rates. The European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) technique showed significant decrease in acid-soluble Cd by 24%-32%, 19%-23%, and 22%-27% for RSB, RHB, and MSB, respectively at the 1.5% and 3% rate. However, the concentration of Cd in the residual increased by 38%, 35% and 36% for RSB, RHB and MSB, respectively at a 3% application rate. Soil microbial biomass (C and N) and inorganic nitrogen forms (NH 4 and NO 3 ) significantly increased among all biochar applications. Overall, RSB demonstrated positive results as soil amendments for Cd immobilization, increasing soil nutrient availability, and enhancing soil microbial biomass.

Ergonomics and simulation-based approach in improving facility layout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abad, Jocelyn D.

2018-02-01

The use of the simulation-based technique in facility layout has been a choice in the industry due to its convenience and efficient generation of results. Nevertheless, the solutions generated are not capable of addressing delays due to worker's health and safety which significantly impact overall operational efficiency. It is, therefore, critical to incorporate ergonomics in facility design. In this study, workstation analysis was incorporated into Promodel simulation to improve the facility layout of a garment manufacturing. To test the effectiveness of the method, existing and improved facility designs were measured using comprehensive risk level, efficiency, and productivity. Results indicated that the improved facility layout generated a decrease in comprehensive risk level and rapid upper limb assessment score; an increase of 78% in efficiency and 194% increase in productivity compared to existing design and thus proved that the approach is effective in attaining overall facility design improvement.

Different methods to fabricate efficient planar perovskite solar cells based on solution-processing Nb2O5 as electron transporting layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Heng; Yang, Jian; Pu, Bingxue; Zhang, Haiyan; Niu, Xiaobin

2018-01-01

Organo-lead perovskites as light harvesters have represented a hot field of research on high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. Previous approaches to increasing the solar cell efficiency have focused on optimization of the morphology of perovskite film. In fact, the electron transporting layer (ETL) also has a significant impact on solar cell performance. Herein, we introduce a facile and low temperature solution-processing method to deposit Nb2O5 film as ETL for PSCs. Based on Nb2O5 ETL, we investigate the effect of the annealing time for the perovskite films via different solution processing, relating it to the perovskite film morphology and its influence on the device working mechanisms. These results shed light on the origin of photovoltaic performance voltage in perovskite solar cells, and provide a path to further increase their efficiency.

A Survey of Architectural Techniques For Improving Cache Power Efficiency

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

Mittal, Sparsh

Modern processors are using increasingly larger sized on-chip caches. Also, with each CMOS technology generation, there has been a significant increase in their leakage energy consumption. For this reason, cache power management has become a crucial research issue in modern processor design. To address this challenge and also meet the goals of sustainable computing, researchers have proposed several techniques for improving energy efficiency of cache architectures. This paper surveys recent architectural techniques for improving cache power efficiency and also presents a classification of these techniques based on their characteristics. For providing an application perspective, this paper also reviews several real-worldmore » processor chips that employ cache energy saving techniques. The aim of this survey is to enable engineers and researchers to get insights into the techniques for improving cache power efficiency and motivate them to invent novel solutions for enabling low-power operation of caches.« less

Effects of frequency on gross efficiency and performance in roller ski skating.

PubMed

Leirdal, S; Sandbakk, O; Ettema, G

2013-06-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of frequency on efficiency and performance during G3 roller ski skating. Eight well-trained male cross-country skiers performed three submaximal 5-min speeds (10, 13, and 16 km/h) and a time-to-exhaustion (TTE) performance (at 20 km/h) using the G3 skating technique using freely chosen, high, and low frequency at all four speeds. All tests were done using roller skis on a large treadmill at 5% incline. Gross efficiency (GE) was calculated as power divided by metabolic rate. Power was calculated as the sum of power against frictional forces and power against gravity. Metabolic rate was calculated from oxygen consumption and blood lactate concentration. Freely chosen frequency increased from 60 to 70 strokes/min as speed increased from 10 to 20 km/h. GE increased with power. At high power (20 km/h performance test), both efficiency and performance were significantly reduced by high frequency. In regard to choice of frequency during G3 roller ski skating, cross-country skiers seems to be self-optimized both in relation to energy saving (efficiency) and performance (TTE). © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Efficient extraction of vaccines formulated in aluminum hydroxide gel by including surfactants in the extraction buffer

PubMed Central

Zhu, Daming; Huang, Shuhui; McClellan, Holly; Dai, Weili; Syed, Najam R; Gebregeorgis, Elizabeth; Mullen, Gregory E. D.; Long, Carole; Martin, Laura B.; Narum, David; Duffy, Patrick; Miller, Louis H.; Saul, Allan

2011-01-01

Efficient antigen extraction from vaccines formulated on aluminum hydroxide gels is a critical step for the evaluation of the quality of vaccines following formulation. It has been shown in our laboratory that the efficiency of antigen extraction from vaccines formulated on Alhydrogel decreased significantly with increased storage time. To increase antigen extraction efficiency, the present study determined the effect of surfactants on antigen recovery from vaccine formulations. The Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) formulated on Alhydrogel and stored at 2-8 °C for three years was used as a model in this study. The AMA1 on Alhydrogel was extracted in the presence or absence of 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or 20 mM cetylpyridinium chloride in the extraction buffer (0.60 M citrate, 0.55 M phosphate, pH 8.5) using our standard antigen extraction protocols. Extracted AMA1 antigen was analyzed by 4-20% Tris-glycine SDS-PAGE followed by silver staining or western blotting. The results showed that inclusion of SDS or cetylpyridinium chloride in extraction buffer increased the antigen recovery dramatically and can be used for efficient characterization of Alhydrogel vaccines. PMID:22107848

High Temperature Concentrated Solar Power Using Liquid Metal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henry, Asegun

One of the most attractive ways to try and reduce the cost of concentrated solar power (CSP) is to increase the system efficiency and the biggest loss in the system occurs in the conversion of heat to electricity via heat engine. Heat engines that utilize turbomachinery currently operate near their thermodynamic limitations and thus one of the only ways to improve heat engine efficiency is to increase the turbine inlet temperature. Significant effort is being devoted to the development of supercritical CO2 heat engines, but the most efficient heat engines are combined cycles, which reach efficiencies as high as 60%. However, such heat engines require turbine inlet temperatures ~1300-1500C, which is far beyond what is currently feasible with the state of the art molten salt infrastructure. In working towards the development of a system that can operate in the 1300-1500C temperature range, the most significant challenges lie in the materials and forming functional and reliable components out of new materials. One of the most attractive options from a cost and heat transfer perspective is to use liquid metals, such as tin and aluminum-silicon alloys along with a ceramic based infrastructure. This talk will overview ongoing efforts in the Atomistic Simulation and Energy (ASE) research group at Georgia Tech to develop prototype components such as an efficient high temperature cavity receiver, pumps and valves that can make a liquid metal based CSP infrastructure realizable.

Identification of barriers and research opportunities to improve the effective and efficient application of adjunct UVC surface disinfection in healthcare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinello, Richard A.; Miller, Shelly L.; Fabian, M. Patricia; Peccia, Jordan

2018-02-01

Healthcare associated infections (HAI) affect approximately 1 of every 25 hospitalized patients, lead to substantial morbidity and mortality, degrade patient experience and are costly. Risks for HAI are multifactorial and it is known that microbial contamination of the healthcare environment increases risk for HAI. Portable ultraviolet-C (UVC) surface disinfection as an adjunct to standard hospital disinfection has been shown to decrease both surface microbial contamination and HAI. However, there remain significant gaps in the understanding of the efficient and effective application of UVC in healthcare. Specific barriers identified are: 1) the variability in size, shape, and surface materials of hospital rooms as well as the presence of medical devices and furniture, which impacts the amount of UVC energy delivered to surfaces and its disinfection efficiency; 2) the significant resources needed to acquire and efficiently use UVC equipment and achieve the desired patient benefits- a particular challenge for complex healthcare facilities with limited operating margins; and 3) the lack of implementation guidance and industry standard methods for measuring the UVC output and antimicrobial effects from the multiple commercial UVC options available. An improved understanding of the efficient and effective use of UVC surface disinfection in healthcare and the implementation of standard device industry metrics may lead to increased use and decrease the burden of HAI.

Accomplishments in Photovoltaic Manufacturing R&D | Photovoltaic Research |

Science.gov Websites

made that significantly reduced the cost of solar modules while increasing their reliability and -area efficiency. Manufacturing Processes Half the cost of producing a solar module is incurred in wafer project partners marked significant progress in module cost reduction. A few notable examples follow

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

Rau, E. I.; Orlikovskiy, N. A.; Ivanova, E. S.

A new highly efficient design for semiconductor detectors of intermediate-energy electrons (1-50 keV) for application in scanning electron microscopes is proposed. Calculations of the response function of advanced detectors and control experiments show that the efficiency of the developed devices increases on average twofold, which is a significant positive factor in the operation of modern electron microscopes in the mode of low currents and at low primary electron energies.

Enhanced ambient stability of efficient perovskite solar cells by employing a modified fullerene cathode interlayer

DOE PAGES

Zhu, Zonglong; Chueh, Chu -Chen; Lin, Francis; ...

2016-03-22

A novel fullerene cathode interlayer is employed to facilitate the fabrication of stable and efficient perovskite solar cells. Here, this modified fullerene surfactant significantly increases air stability of the derived devices due to its hydrophobic characteristics to enable 80% of the initial PCE to be retained after being exposed in ambient condition with 20% relative humidity for 14 days.

A combination of selected mapping and clipping to increase energy efficiency of OFDM systems

PubMed Central

Lee, Byung Moo; Rim, You Seung

2017-01-01

We propose an energy efficient combination design for OFDM systems based on selected mapping (SLM) and clipping peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction techniques, and show the related energy efficiency (EE) performance analysis. The combination of two different PAPR reduction techniques can provide a significant benefit in increasing EE, because it can take advantages of both techniques. For the combination, we choose the clipping and SLM techniques, since the former technique is quite simple and effective, and the latter technique does not cause any signal distortion. We provide the structure and the systematic operating method, and show the various analyzes to derive the EE gain based on the combined technique. Our analysis show that the combined technique increases the EE by 69% compared to no PAPR reduction, and by 19.34% compared to only using SLM technique. PMID:29023591

Banana peel reductant for leaching medium grade manganese ore in sulfuric acid solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aripin, H.; Joni, I. Made; Busaeri, Nundang; Usrah, Ifkar; Sudiana, I. Nyoman; Sabchevski, Svilen

2017-03-01

In this investigation, manganese has been produced from medium grade manganese ore from Karangnunggal mine (West Java, Indonesia). The effects of weighed amount of banana peels on the structural and leaching properties have been studied. The material's properties have been characterized on the basis of the experimental data obtained using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. It has been found that an increase of the weighed amount of banana peels up to 4 g leads to an increase of the leaching efficiency of manganese from manganese ore. Above 4 g, however, the leaching efficiency does not change significantly. The analysis based on the interpretation of both XRD patterns and FTIR spectrum allows one to explain the increase in the leaching efficiencies of manganese by the reduction of MnO2 minerals and by the removal of hemicelluloses groups of banana peel in the samples.

Pricing for scarcity? An efficiency analysis of increasing block tariffs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monteiro, Henrique; Roseta-Palma, Catarina

2011-06-01

Water pricing schedules often contain significant nonlinearities, such as the increasing block tariff (IBT) structure that is abundantly applied for residential users. The IBT is frequently supported as a good tool for achieving the goals of equity, water conservation, and revenue neutrality but seldom has been grounded on efficiency justifications. In particular, existing literature on water pricing establishes that although efficient schedules will depend on demand and supply characteristics, IBT cannot usually be recommended. In this paper, we consider whether the explicit inclusion of scarcity considerations can strengthen the appeal of IBT. Results show that when both demand and costs react to climate factors, increasing marginal prices may come about as a response to a combination of water scarcity and customer heterogeneity. We derive testable conditions and then illustrate their application through an estimation of Portuguese residential water demand. We show that the recommended tariff schedule hinges crucially on the choice of functional form for demand.

Stacbeam 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, L. R.; Vonroos, A.

1985-04-01

An investigation being conducted by Astro Aerospace Corporation (Astro) for Jet Propulsion Laboratory in which efficient structures for geosynchronous spacecraft solar arrays are being developed is discussed. Recent developments in solar blanket technology, including the introduction of ultrathin (50 micrometer) silicon solar cells with conversion efficiencies approaching 15 percent, have resulted in a significant increase in blanket specific power. System specific power depends not only on blanket mass but also on the masses of the support structure and deployment mechanism. These masses must clearly be reduced, not only to minimize launch weight, but also to increase array natural frequency. The solar array system natural frequency should be kept high in order to reduce the demands on the attitude control system. This goal is approached by decreasing system mass, by increasing structural stiffness, and by partitioning the blanket. As a result of this work, a highly efficient structure for deploying a solar array was developed.

Altering histone acetylation status in donor cells with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid does not affect dog cloning efficiency.

PubMed

Kim, Min Jung; Oh, Hyun Ju; Kim, Geon A; Suh, Han Na; Jo, Young Kwang; Choi, Yoo Bin; Kim, Dong Hoon; Han, Ho Jae; Lee, Byeong Chun

2015-10-15

Although dog cloning technology has been applied to conservation of endangered canids, propagation of elite dogs, and production of transgenic dogs, the efficiency of cloning is still very low. To help overcome this problem, we evaluated the effect of treating donor cells with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on dog cloning efficiency. Relative messenger RNA expressions of the bax1/bcl2 ratio and Dnmt1 in fibroblasts treated with different concentrations (0, 1, 10, 50 μM) of SAHA and durations (0, 20, 44 hours) were compared. Treatment with 1 μM for 20 hours showed significantly lower bax1/bcl2 and Dnmt1 transcript abundance. Acetylation of H3K9 was significantly increased after SAHA treatment, but H4K5, H4K8 and H4K16 were not changed. After SCNT using control or donor cells treated with SAHA, a total of 76 and 64 cloned embryos were transferred to seven and five recipients, respectively. Three fetuses were diagnosed in both control and SAHA-treated groups by ultrasonography 29 days after the embryo transfer, but there was no significant difference in the pregnancy rate (4.2% vs. 4.3%). In conclusion, although SAHA treatment as used in this study significantly decreased bax1/bcl2 and Dnmt1 transcripts of donor nuclei, as well as increased H3 acetylation, it was not enough to increase in vivo developmental competence of cloned dog embryos. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Facing the future: the effects of the impending financial drought on NHS finances and how UK radiology services can contribute to expected efficiency savings

PubMed Central

Grant, L; Appleby, J; Griffin, N; Adam, A; Gishen, P

2012-01-01

The recent turmoil within the banking sector has led to the development of the most significant recession since the “great depression” of the 1930s. Although the coalition government has promised to “guarantee that health spending increases in real terms in each year of Parliament”, this may still not be enough to meet future needs over the coming years due to increasing demand and cost pressures. The expected mismatch between actual National Health Service (NHS) funding post-2011 and that required to satisfy increasing demand has been estimated by the Department of Health to require efficiency savings representing up to one-fifth of the overall NHS budget. This paper explains the reasons behind the anticipated slowdown in the growth of real NHS funding, and how, as a discipline, radiology can increase the efficiency of the services it provides in anticipation of future financial austerity within the NHS. PMID:22167516

A Fuel-Efficient Conflict Resolution Maneuver for Separation Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowe, Aisha Ruth; Santiago, Confesor

2012-01-01

Automated separation assurance algorithms are envisioned to play an integral role in accommodating the forecasted increase in demand of the National Airspace System. Developing a robust, reliable, air traffic management system involves safely increasing efficiency and throughput while considering the potential impact on users. This experiment seeks to evaluate the benefit of augmenting a conflict detection and resolution algorithm to consider a fuel efficient, Zero-Delay Direct-To maneuver, when resolving a given conflict based on either minimum fuel burn or minimum delay. A total of twelve conditions were tested in a fast-time simulation conducted in three airspace regions with mixed aircraft types and light weather. Results show that inclusion of this maneuver has no appreciable effect on the ability of the algorithm to safely detect and resolve conflicts. The results further suggest that enabling the Zero-Delay Direct-To maneuver significantly increases the cumulative fuel burn savings when choosing resolution based on minimum fuel burn while marginally increasing the average delay per resolution.

Swimming mechanics and propulsive efficiency in the chambered nautilus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neil, Thomas R.; Askew, Graham N.

2018-02-01

The chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) encounters severe environmental hypoxia during diurnal vertical movements in the ocean. The metabolic cost of locomotion (Cmet) and swimming performance depend on how efficiently momentum is imparted to the water and how long on-board oxygen stores last. While propulsive efficiency is generally thought to be relatively low in jet propelled animals, the low Cmet in Nautilus indicates that this is not the case. We measured the wake structure in Nautilus during jet propulsion swimming, to determine their propulsive efficiency. Animals swam with either an anterior-first or posterior-first orientation. With increasing swimming speed, whole cycle propulsive efficiency increased during posterior-first swimming but decreased during anterior-first swimming, reaching a maximum of 0.76. The highest propulsive efficiencies were achieved by using an asymmetrical contractile cycle in which the fluid ejection phase was relatively longer than the refilling phase, reducing the volume flow rate of the ejected fluid. Our results demonstrate that a relatively high whole cycle propulsive efficiency underlies the low Cmet in Nautilus, representing a strategy to reduce the metabolic demands in an animal that spends a significant part of its daily life in a hypoxic environment.

Reducing the efficiency-stability-cost gap of organic photovoltaics with highly efficient and stable small molecule acceptor ternary solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baran, Derya; Ashraf, Raja Shahid; Hanifi, David A.; Abdelsamie, Maged; Gasparini, Nicola; Röhr, Jason A.; Holliday, Sarah; Wadsworth, Andrew; Lockett, Sarah; Neophytou, Marios; Emmott, Christopher J. M.; Nelson, Jenny; Brabec, Christoph J.; Amassian, Aram; Salleo, Alberto; Kirchartz, Thomas; Durrant, James R.; McCulloch, Iain

2017-03-01

Technological deployment of organic photovoltaic modules requires improvements in device light-conversion efficiency and stability while keeping material costs low. Here we demonstrate highly efficient and stable solar cells using a ternary approach, wherein two non-fullerene acceptors are combined with both a scalable and affordable donor polymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), and a high-efficiency, low-bandgap polymer in a single-layer bulk-heterojunction device. The addition of a strongly absorbing small molecule acceptor into a P3HT-based non-fullerene blend increases the device efficiency up to 7.7 +/- 0.1% without any solvent additives. The improvement is assigned to changes in microstructure that reduce charge recombination and increase the photovoltage, and to improved light harvesting across the visible region. The stability of P3HT-based devices in ambient conditions is also significantly improved relative to polymer:fullerene devices. Combined with a low-bandgap donor polymer (PBDTTT-EFT, also known as PCE10), the two mixed acceptors also lead to solar cells with 11.0 +/- 0.4% efficiency and a high open-circuit voltage of 1.03 +/- 0.01 V.

Effects of meal size, clutch, and metabolism on the energy efficiencies of juvenile Burmese pythons, Python molurus.

PubMed

Cox, Christian L; Secor, Stephen M

2007-12-01

We explored meal size and clutch (i.e., genetic) effects on the relative proportion of ingested energy that is absorbed by the gut (apparent digestive efficiency), becomes available for metabolism and growth (apparent assimilation efficiency), and is used for growth (production efficiency) for juvenile Burmese pythons (Python molurus). Sibling pythons were fed rodent meals equaling 15%, 25%, and 35% of their body mass and individuals from five different clutches were fed rodent meals equaling 25% of their body mass. For each of 11-12 consecutive feeding trials, python body mass was recorded and feces and urate of each snake was collected, dried, and weighed. Energy contents of meals (mice and rats), feces, urate, and pythons were determined using bomb calorimetry. For siblings fed three different meal sizes, growth rate increased with larger meals, but there was no significant variation among the meal sizes for any of the calculated energy efficiencies. Among the three meal sizes, apparent digestive efficiency, apparent assimilation efficiency, and production efficiency averaged 91.0%, 84.7%, and 40.7%, respectively. In contrast, each of these energy efficiencies varied significantly among the five different clutches. Among these clutches production efficiency was negatively correlated with standard metabolic rate (SMR). Clutches containing individuals with low SMR were therefore able to allocate more of ingested energy into growth.

High-Columbic-Efficiency Lithium Battery Based on Silicon Particle Materials.

PubMed

Zhang, Junying; Zhang, Chunqian; Wu, Shouming; Zhang, Xu; Li, Chuanbo; Xue, Chunlai; Cheng, Buwen

2015-12-01

Micro-sized polycrystalline silicon particles were used as anode materials of lithium-ion battery. The columbic efficiency of the first cycle reached a relatively high value of 91.8 % after prelithiation and increased to 99 % in the second cycle. Furthermore, columbic efficiency remained above 99 % for up to 280+ cycles. The excellent performances of the batteries were the results of the use of a proper binder to protect the electrode from cracking and the application of a suitable conductive agent to provide an efficient conductive channel. The good performance was also significantly attributed to the electrolyte in the packaging process.

Efficiency of photochemical stages of photosynthesis in purple bacteria (a critical survey).

PubMed

Borisov, A Yu

2014-03-01

Based on currently available data, the energy transfer efficiency in the successive photophysical and photochemical stages has been analyzed for purple bacteria. This analysis covers the stages starting from migration of the light-induced electronic excitations from the bulk antenna pigments to the reaction centers up to irreversible stage of the electron transport along the transmembrane chain of cofactors-carriers. Some natural factors are revealed that significantly increase the rates of efficient processes in these stages. The influence on their efficiency by the "bottleneck" in the energy migration chain is established. The overall quantum yield of photosynthesis in these stages is determined.

Fiber-coupling efficiency for free-space optical communication through atmospheric turbulence.

PubMed

Dikmelik, Yamaç; Davidson, Frederic M

2005-08-10

High-speed free-space optical communication systems have recently used fiber-optic components. The received laser beam in such a system must be coupled into a single-mode fiber at the input of the receiver module. However, propagation through atmospheric turbulence degrades the spatial coherence of a laser beam and limits the fiber-coupling efficiency. We numerically evaluate the fiber-coupling efficiency for laser light distorted by atmospheric turbulence. We also investigate the use of a coherent fiber array as a receiver structure and find that a coherent fiber array that consists of seven subapertures would significantly increase the fiber-coupling efficiency.

More crop per drop - Increasing input efficiency in sprinkler irrigated potatoes.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostka, Stan; Fang, Lisa; Ren, Haiqin; Glucksman, Robert; Gadd, Nick

2014-05-01

Water scarcity, climate change, and population growth are significant global challenges for producing sufficient food, fiber, and fuel in the 21st century. Feeding an increasingly hungry world necessitates innovative strategies and technologies to maximize crop production outputs while simultaneously increasing crop water productivity. In the 20th century, major advances in precision irrigation enabled producers to increase productivity while more efficiently applying water to crops. While pressurized irrigation systems can deliver water effectively to the soil surface, the efficiency of rootzone delivery may be compromised by intrinsic heterogeneities in soil wetting characteristics related to organic matter, biofilms, and hydrophobic coatings on soil particles and aggregates. Efficiently delivering applied irrigation water throughout the soil matrix is critical to increasing crop productivity. We propose that management of soil water access by surfactants is a viable management option to maintain or increase yields under deficit irrigation. Potato yield and tuber quality under sprinkler irrigation were evaluated under standard production practices or with the inclusion of an aqueous nonionic surfactant formulation (10 wt% alkoxylated polyols and 7% glucoethers) applied at 10L ha-1 between emergence and tuberization. Crop responses from multi-year evaluations conducted on irrigated potatoes in Idaho (USA) were compared to multi-year on farm grower evaluations in Australia and China. Surfactant treatment resulted in statistically significant increases in yield (+5%) and US No. 1 grades (+8%) while reducing culls (-10%) in trials conducted in Idaho, USA. Similar responses were observed in commercial grower evaluations conducted in Australia (+8% total yield, +18% mean tuber weight) and in China in 2011 (+8% total yield and +18% premium, -12% culls). Under diverse production conditions, a single application of the surfactant formulation improved crop water productivity in water stressed environments. Results from these trials support our hypothesis that surfactants may be a viable management practice to improve crop water productivity in a water stressed environments.

Convection Enhances Mixing in the Southern Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sohail, Taimoor; Gayen, Bishakhdatta; Hogg, Andrew McC.

2018-05-01

Mixing efficiency is a measure of the energy lost to mixing compared to that lost to viscous dissipation. In a turbulent stratified fluid the mixing efficiency is often assumed constant at η = 0.2, whereas with convection it takes values closer to 1. The value of mixing efficiency when both stratified shear flow and buoyancy-driven convection are active remains uncertain. We use a series of numerical simulations to determine the mixing efficiency in an idealized Southern Ocean model. The model is energetically closed and fully resolves convection and turbulence such that mixing efficiency can be diagnosed. Mixing efficiency decreases with increasing wind stress but is enhanced by turbulent convection and by large thermal gradients in regions with a strongly stratified thermocline. Using scaling theory and the model results, we predict an overall mixing efficiency for the Southern Ocean that is significantly greater than 0.2 while emphasizing that mixing efficiency is not constant.

Effect of salt on turbulent drag reduction of xanthan gum.

PubMed

Hong, Cheng Hai; Choi, Hyoung Jin; Zhang, Ke; Renou, Frederic; Grisel, Michel

2015-05-05

The turbulent flow of an aqueous KCl solution driven by a rotating disc in a closed chamber showed significant drag reduction (DR) when a small amount of xanthan gum (XG) was added. The effects of the experimental parameters (XG and KCl concentrations, and time) on the drag reduction efficiency were examined. While the DR efficiency of XG decreased with increasing salt (KCl) concentration, the time-dependent DR efficiency was found to be fitted well using Brostow model equation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lightweight, Light-Trapped, Thin GaAs Solar Cells for Spacecraft Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-10-05

improve the efficiency of this type of cell. 2 The high efficiency and light weight of the cover glass supported GaAs solar cell can have a significant...is a 3-mil cover glass and 1-mil silicone adhesive on the front surface of the GaAs solar cell. Power Output 3000 400 -{ 2400 { N 300 S18200 W/m2...the ultra-thin, light-trapped GaAs solar ceill 3. Incorporate light trapping. 0 external quantum efficiency at 850 nm increased by 5.2% 4. Develop

High quantum efficiency and low dark count rate in multi-layer superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

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

Jafari Salim, A., E-mail: ajafaris@uwaterloo.ca; Eftekharian, A.; University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1

In this paper, we theoretically show that a multi-layer superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) is capable of approaching characteristics of an ideal SNSPD in terms of the quantum efficiency, dark count, and band-width. A multi-layer structure improves the performance in two ways. First, the potential barrier for thermally activated vortex crossing, which is the major source of dark counts and the reduction of the critical current in SNSPDs is elevated. In a multi-layer SNSPD, a vortex is made of 2D-pancake vortices that form a stack. It will be shown that the stack of pancake vortices effectively experiences a larger potentialmore » barrier compared to a vortex in a single-layer SNSPD. This leads to an increase in the experimental critical current as well as significant decrease in the dark count rate. In consequence, an increase in the quantum efficiency for photons of the same energy or an increase in the sensitivity to photons of lower energy is achieved. Second, a multi-layer structure improves the efficiency of single-photon absorption by increasing the effective optical thickness without compromising the single-photon sensitivity.« less

Critical parameters in the production of ceramic pot filters for household water treatment in developing countries.

PubMed

Soppe, A I A; Heijman, S G J; Gensburger, I; Shantz, A; van Halem, D; Kroesbergen, J; Wubbels, G H; Smeets, P W M H

2015-06-01

The need to improve the access to safe water is generally recognized for the benefit of public health in developing countries. This study's objective was to identify critical parameters which are essential for improving the performance of ceramic pot filters (CPFs) as a point-of-use water treatment system. Defining critical production parameters was also relevant to confirm that CPFs with high-flow rates may have the same disinfection capacity as pots with normal flow rates. A pilot unit was built in Cambodia to produce CPFs under controlled and constant conditions. Pots were manufactured from a mixture of clay, laterite and rice husk in a small-scale, gas-fired, temperature-controlled kiln and tested for flow rate, removal efficiency of bacteria and material strength. Flow rate can be increased by increasing pore sizes and by increasing porosity. Pore sizes were increased by using larger rice husk particles and porosity was increased with larger proportions of rice husk in the clay mixture. The main conclusions: larger pore size decreases the removal efficiency of bacteria; higher porosity does not affect the removal efficiency of bacteria, but does influence the strength of pots; flow rates of CPFs can be raised to 10-20 L/hour without a significant decrease in bacterial removal efficiency.

Influence of the revision of surgical fee schedule on surgeons' productivity in Japan: A cohort analysis of 7602 surgical procedures in 2013-2016.

PubMed

Nakata, Yoshinori; Watanabe, Yuichi; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Yoshimura, Tatsuya; Otake, Hiroshi; Sawa, Tomohiro

2018-02-01

The goal of this study is to evaluate the pure impact of the revision of surgical fee schedule on surgeons' productivity. We collected data from the surgical procedures performed by the surgeons working in Teikyo University Hospital from 1 April through 30 September in 2013-2016. We employed non-radial and non-oriented Malmquist model. We defined the decision-making unit as a surgeon with the highest academic rank in surgery. Inputs were defined as (1) the number of doctors who assisted surgery and (2) the time of surgical operation. The output was defined as the surgical fee for each surgery. We focused on the revisions in 2014 and 2016. We first calculated each surgeon's natural logarithms of the changes in productivity, technique and efficiency in 2013-2014, in 2014-2015 and in 2015-2016. Then, we subtracted the changes in 2014-2015 from the changes in 2013-2014 and in 2015-2016. We analyzed 62 surgeons who performed 7602 surgical procedures. The productivity changes were not significantly different from 0. Their efficiency change was significantly greater than 0, while their technical change was smaller than 0 in revision 2014. Their efficiency change was significantly smaller than 0, while their technical change was greater than 0 in revision 2016 (p < 0.05). This finding suggests that we could increase overall productivity through revision if we could increase both efficiency and technique.

Behavior of microorganisms in drinking water treatment by inductively coupled plasma system: Case study in ground water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desmiarti, Reni; Hazmi, Ariadi; Martynis, Munas; Sutopo, Ulung Muhammad; Li, Fusheng

2018-02-01

Pathogenic bacteria, such as total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC) and other coliforms (OC), were removed from groundwater by inductively coupled plasma system treatment in continuous flow experiments. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of flowrate and frequency on the behavior of microorganisms in drinking water treatment using inductively coupled plasma system (ICPS). The results showed that after 120 minutes of ICPS treatment, the removal efficiency with respect to TC, FC and OC decreased with increasing flowrate. The removal efficiency of FC was achieved at 100% in all runs. Compared to FC, the removal efficiencies with respect to TC and FC were lower than those with respect to TC and OC in the following order: FC >OC> TC. The disinfection yield of TC and OC significantly increased when the removal efficiency increased. The electromagnetic flux varied from 8.08±0.46 to 10.54±0.19 W/cm2. The results in the present work can be used to design a new technology for drinking water treatment to remove all pathogenic bacteria without using hazardous chemicals.

Experimental investigation of the influence of internal frames on the vibroacoustic behavior of a stiffened cylindrical shell using wavenumber analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, V.; Maxit, L.; Renou, Y.; Audoly, C.

2017-09-01

The understanding of the influence of non-axisymmetric internal frames on the vibroacoustic behavior of a stiffened cylindrical shell is of high interest for the naval or aeronautic industries. Several numerical studies have shown that the non-axisymmetric internal frame can increase the radiation efficiency significantly in the case of a mechanical point force. However, less attention has been paid to the experimental verification of this statement. That is why this paper proposes to compare the radiation efficiency estimated experimentally for a stiffened cylindrical shell with and without internal frames. The experimental process is based on scanning laser vibrometer measurements of the vibrations on the surface of the shell. A transform of the vibratory field in the wavenumber domain is then performed. It allows estimating the far-field radiated pressure with the stationary phase theorem. An increase of the radiation efficiency is observed in the low frequencies. Analysis of the velocity field in the physical and wavenumber spaces allows highlighting the coupling of the circumferential orders at the origin of the increase in the radiation efficiency.

Efficient Direct Lineage Reprogramming of Fibroblasts into Induced Cardiomyocytes Using Nanotopographical Cues.

PubMed

Yoo, Junsang; Chang, Yujung; Kim, Hongwon; Baek, Soonbong; Choi, Hwan; Jeong, Gun-Jae; Shin, Jaein; Kim, Hongnam; Kim, Byung-Soo; Kim, Jongpil

2017-03-01

Induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) generated via direct lineage reprogramming offer a novel therapeutic target for the study and treatment of cardiac diseases. However, the efficiency of iCM generation is significantly low for therapeutic applications. Here, we show an efficient direct conversion of somatic fibroblasts into iCMs using nanotopographic cues. Compared with flat substrates, the direct conversion of fibroblasts into iCMs on nanopatterned substrates resulted in a dramatic increase in the reprogramming efficiency and maturation of iCM phenotypes. Additionally, enhanced reprogramming by substrate nanotopography was due to changes in the activation of focal adhesion kinase and specific histone modifications. Taken together, these results suggest that nanotopographic cues can serve as an efficient stimulant for direct lineage reprogramming into iCMs.

Turgidity-dependent petiole flexibility enables efficient water use by a tree subjected to water stress.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Rodriguez, David; Cournède, Paul-Henry; de Langre, Emmanuel

2016-06-07

Water stress is a major cause of tree mortality. In response to drought, leaves wilt due to an increase in petiole flexibility. We present an analytical model coupling petiole mechanics, thermal balance, and xylem hydraulics to investigate the role of petiole flexibility in protecting a tree from water stress. Our model suggests that turgidity-dependent petiole flexibility can significantly attenuate the minimal xylem pressure and thus reduce the risk of cavitation. Moreover, we show that petiole flexibility increases water use efficiency by trees under water stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of medium components and culture conditions in Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 spore production.

PubMed

Posada-Uribe, Luisa F; Romero-Tabarez, Magally; Villegas-Escobar, Valeska

2015-10-01

Bacillus subtilis spores have important biotechnological applications; however, achieving both, high spore cell densities and sporulation efficiencies in fermentation, is poorly reported. In this study, medium components and culture conditions were optimized with different statistical methods to increase spore production of the plant growth promoting rhizobacteria B. subtilis EA-CB0575. Key medium components were determined with Plackett-Burman (PB) design, and the optimum concentration levels of two components (glucose, MgSO4·7H2O) were optimized with a full factorial and central composite design, achieving 1.37 × 10(9) CFU/mL of spore cell density and 93.5 % of sporulation efficiency in shake flask. The optimized medium was used to determine the effect of culture conditions on spore production at bioreactor level, finding that maintaining pH control did not affect significantly spore production, while the interaction of agitation and aeration rates had a significant effect on spore cell density. The overall optimization generated a 17.2-fold increase in spore cell density (8.78 × 10(9) CFU/mL) and 1.9-fold increase in sporulation efficiency (94.2 %) compared to that of PB design. These results indicate the potential of B. subtilis EA-CB0575 to produce both, high spore cell densities and sporulation efficiencies, with very low nutrient requirements and short incubation period which can represent savings of process production.

High coupling efficiency of foam spherical hohlraum driven by 2ω laser light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yao-Hua; Lan, Ke; Zheng, Wanguo; Campbell, E. M.

2018-02-01

The majority of solid state laser facilities built for laser fusion research irradiate targets with third harmonic light (0.35 μm) up-converted from the fundamental Nd wavelength at 1.05 μm. The motivation for this choice of wavelength is improved laser-plasma coupling. Significant disadvantages to this choice of wavelength are the reduced damage threshold of optical components and the efficiency of energy conversion to third harmonic light. Both these issues are significantly improved if second harmonic (0.53 μm) radiation is used, but theory and experiments have shown lower optical to x-ray energy conversion efficiency and increased levels of laser-plasma instabilities, resulting in reduced laser-target coupling. In this letter, we propose to use a 0.53 μm laser for the laser ignition facilities and use a low density foam wall to increase the coupling efficiency from the laser to the capsule and present two-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of 0.53 μm laser light irradiating an octahedral-spherical hohlraum with a low density foam wall. The simulations show that the reduced optical depth of the foam wall leads to an increased laser-light conversion into thermal x-rays and about 10% higher radiation flux on the capsule than that achieved with 0.35 μm light irradiating a solid density wall commonly used in laser indirect drive fusion research. The details of the simulations and their implications and suggestions for wavelength scaling coupled with innovative hohlraum designs will be discussed.

[Copper recovery from artificial bioleaching lixivium of waste printed circuit boards].

PubMed

Cheng, Dan; Zhu, Neng-Wu; Wu, Ping-Xiao; Zou, Ding-Hui; Xing, Yi-Jia

2014-04-01

The key step to realize metal recovery from bioleaching solutions is the recovery of copper from bioleaching lixivium of waste printed circuit boards in high-grade form. The influences of cathode material, current density, initial pH and initial copper ion concentration on the efficiency and energy consumption of copper recovery from artificial bioleaching lixivium under condition of constant current were investigated using an electro-deposition approach. The results showed that the larger specific surface area of the cathode material (carbon felt) led to the higher copper recovery efficiency (the recovery efficiencies of the anode and the cathode chambers were 96.56% and 99.25%, respectively) and the smaller the total and unit mass product energy consumption (the total and unit mass product energy consumptions were 0.022 kW x h and 15.71 kW x h x kg(-1), respectively). The copper recovery efficiency and energy consumption increased with the increase of current density. When the current density was 155.56 mA x cm(-2), the highest copper recovery efficiencies in the anode and cathode chambers reached 98.51% and 99.37%, respectively. Accordingly, the highest total and unit mass product energy consumptions were 0.037 kW x h and 24.34 kW x h x kg(-1), respectively. The copper recovery efficiency was also significantly affected by the initial copper ion concentration. The increase of the initial copper ion concentration would lead to faster decrease of copper ion concentration, higher total energy consumption, and lower unit mass product consumption. However, the initial pH had no significant effect on the copper recovery efficiency. Under the optimal conditions (carbon felt for cathode materials, current density of 111.11 mA x cm(-2), initial pH of 2.0, and initial copper ion concentration of 10 g x L(-1)), the copper recovery efficiencies of the anode and cathode chambers were 96.75% and 99.35%, and the total and unit mass product energy consumptions were 0.021 kW x h and 14.61 kW x h x kg(-1), respectively. The deposited copper on the cathode material was fascicularly distributed and no oxygen was detected.

Examining the Variability of Sleep Patterns during Treatment for Chronic Insomnia: Application of a Location-Scale Mixed Model.

PubMed

Ong, Jason C; Hedeker, Donald; Wyatt, James K; Manber, Rachel

2016-06-15

The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel statistical technique called the location-scale mixed model that can be used to analyze the mean level and intra-individual variability (IIV) using longitudinal sleep data. We applied the location-scale mixed model to examine changes from baseline in sleep efficiency on data collected from 54 participants with chronic insomnia who were randomized to an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; n = 19), an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBTI; n = 19), or an 8-week self-monitoring control (SM; n = 16). Sleep efficiency was derived from daily sleep diaries collected at baseline (days 1-7), early treatment (days 8-21), late treatment (days 22-63), and post week (days 64-70). The behavioral components (sleep restriction, stimulus control) were delivered during late treatment in MBTI. For MBSR and MBTI, the pre-to-post change in mean levels of sleep efficiency were significantly larger than the change in mean levels for the SM control, but the change in IIV was not significantly different. During early and late treatment, MBSR showed a larger increase in mean levels of sleep efficiency and a larger decrease in IIV relative to the SM control. At late treatment, MBTI had a larger increase in the mean level of sleep efficiency compared to SM, but the IIV was not significantly different. The location-scale mixed model provides a two-dimensional analysis on the mean and IIV using longitudinal sleep diary data with the potential to reveal insights into treatment mechanisms and outcomes. © 2016 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Increasing operating room efficiency through electronic medical record analysis.

PubMed

Attaallah, A F; Elzamzamy, O M; Phelps, A L; Ranganthan, P; Vallejo, M C

2016-05-01

We used electronic medical record (EMR) analysis to determine errors in operating room (OR) time utilisation. Over a two year period EMR data of 44,503 surgical procedures was analysed for OR duration, on-time, first case, and add-on time performance, within 19 surgical specialties. Maximal OR time utilisation at our institution could have saved over 302,620 min or 5,044 hours of OR efficiency over a two year period. Most specialties (78.95%) had inaccurately scheduled procedure times and therefore used the OR more than their scheduled allotment time. Significant differences occurred between the mean scheduled surgical durations (101.38 ± 87.11 min) and actual durations (108.18 ± 102.27 min; P < 0.001). Significant differences also occurred between the mean scheduled add-on durations (111.4 ± 75.5 min) and the actual add-on scheduled durations (118.6 ± 90.1 minutes; P < 0.001). EMR quality improvement analysis can be used to determine scheduling error and bias, in order to improve efficiency and increase OR time utilisation.

Coapplication of Chicken Litter Biochar and Urea Only to Improve Nutrients Use Efficiency and Yield of Oryza sativa L. Cultivation on a Tropical Acid Soil

PubMed Central

Maru, Ali; Haruna, Osumanu Ahmed; Charles Primus, Walter

2015-01-01

The excessive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in sustaining high rice yields due to N dynamics in tropical acid soils not only is economically unsustainable but also causes environmental pollution. The objective of this study was to coapply biochar and urea to improve soil chemical properties and productivity of rice. Biochar (5 t ha−1) and different rates of urea (100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% of recommended N application) were evaluated in both pot and field trials. Selected soil chemical properties, rice plants growth variables, nutrient use efficiency, and yield were determined using standard procedures. Coapplication of biochar with 100% and 75% urea recommendation rates significantly increased nutrients availability (especially P and K) and their use efficiency in both pot and field trials. These treatments also significantly increased rice growth variables and grain yield. Coapplication of biochar and urea application at 75% of the recommended rate can be used to improve soil chemical properties and productivity and reduce urea use by 25%. PMID:26273698

Electrochemical Evaluations of Fractal Microelectrodes for Energy Efficient Neurostimulation.

PubMed

Park, Hyunsu; Takmakov, Pavel; Lee, Hyowon

2018-03-12

Advancements in microfabrication has enabled manufacturing of microscopic neurostimulation electrodes with smaller footprint than ever possible. The smaller electrodes can potentially reduce tissue damage and allow better spatial resolution for neural stimulation. Although electrodes of any shape can easily be fabricated, substantial effort have been focused on identification and characterization of new materials and surface morphology for efficient charge injection, while maintaining simple circular or rectangular Euclidean electrode geometries. In this work we provide a systematic electrochemical evaluation of charge injection capacities of serpentine and fractal-shaped platinum microelectrodes and compare their performance with traditional circular microelectrodes. Our findings indicate that the increase in electrode perimeter leads to an increase in maximum charge injection capacity. Furthermore, we found that the electrode geometry can have even more significant impact on electrode performance than having a larger perimeter for a given surface area. The fractal-shaped microelectrodes, despite having smaller perimeter than other designs, demonstrated superior charge injection capacity. Our results suggest that electrode design can significantly affect both Faradaic and non-Faradaic electrochemical processes, which may be optimized to enable a more energy efficient design for neurostimulation.

Scaling of surface-plasma reactors with a significantly increased energy density for NO conversion.

PubMed

Malik, Muhammad Arif; Xiao, Shu; Schoenbach, Karl H

2012-03-30

Comparative studies revealed that surface plasmas developing along a solid-gas interface are significantly more effective and energy efficient for remediation of toxic pollutants in air than conventional plasmas propagating in air. Scaling of the surface plasma reactors to large volumes by operating them in parallel suffers from a serious problem of adverse effects of the space charges generated at the dielectric surfaces of the neighboring discharge chambers. This study revealed that a conductive foil on the cathode potential placed between the dielectric plates as a shield not only decoupled the discharges, but also increased the electrical power deposited in the reactor by a factor of about forty over the electrical power level obtained without shielding and without loss of efficiency for NO removal. The shield had no negative effect on efficiency, which is verified by the fact that the energy costs for 50% NO removal were about 60 eV/molecule and the energy constant, k(E), was about 0.02 L/J in both the shielded and unshielded cases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Effects of phosphorus fertilization on yield of winter wheat and utilization of soil nitrogen].

PubMed

Xing, Dan; Li, Shu-wen; Xia, Bo; Wen, Hong-da

2015-02-01

In order to evaluate the threshold of phosphorus (P) application rate and improve the utilization efficiency of fertilizers in Baoding region of Hebei Province, a field experiment was conducted to examine the impacts of P fertilization on wheat yield, soil NO(3-)-N and nitrogen use efficiency. Results showed that, compared with the CK (P0), all treatments with P application (P1, 120 kg · hm(-2); P2, 240 kg · hm(-2) and P3, 480 kg · hm(-2)) increased the plant height, flag leaf areas and total leaf areas per plant of winter wheat, which was conducive to the accumulation of photosynthetic products. In addition, P application increased the spike number, kernels per spike and yield of winter wheat but slightly decreased the grain mass per 1000 seeds. Of the P-fertilized treatments, P2 had the highest wheat yield of 6102 kg · hm(-2), which was similar to P1 but significantly greater than those of P0 and P3. Furthermore, P fertilization reduced the NO(3-)-N content in top soil layer although the total accumulation of NO3- was still rather high. The N grain production efficiencies (GPE(N)) and N uptake efficiencies (UE(N)) of P1 and P2 were similar but greater than the other treatments. The use efficiency (UR(P)) , agronomic efficiency (AE(P)) and partial productivity of P fertilizer (PFP(P)) in P1 were significantly greater than P2 and P3. In conclusion, the P application rate of 120 kg · hm(-2) (P1) in this study could be an appropriate threshold in Baoding, Hebei, from the aspects of wheat yield, nitrogen and phosphate use efficiencies and accumulation of soil NO3-.

Triplet Tellurophene-Based Acceptors for Organic Solar Cells.

PubMed

Yang, Lei; Gu, Wenxing; Lv, Lei; Chen, Yusheng; Yang, Yufei; Ye, Pan; Wu, Jianfei; Hong, Ling; Peng, Aidong; Huang, Hui

2018-01-22

Triplet materials have been employed to achieve high-performing organic solar cells (OSCs) by extending the exciton lifetime and diffusion distances, while the triplet non-fullerene acceptor materials have never been reported for bulk heterojunction OSCs. Herein, for the first time, three triplet molecular acceptors based on tellurophene with different degrees of ring fusing were designed and synthesized for OSCs. Significantly, these molecules have long exciton lifetime and diffusion lengths, leading to efficient power conversion efficiency (7.52 %), which is the highest value for tellurophene-based OSCs. The influence of the extent of ring fusing on molecular geometry and OSCs performance was investigated to show the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) continuously increased along with increasing the extent of ring fusing. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Life cycle energy efficiency and environmental impact assessment of bioethanol production from sweet potato based on different production modes

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jun; Jia, Chunrong; Wu, Yi; Xi, Beidou; Wang, Lijun; Zhai, Youlong

2017-01-01

The bioethanol is playing an increasingly important role in renewable energy in China. Based on the theory of circular economy, integration of different resources by polygeneration is one of the solutions to improve energy efficiency and to reduce environmental impact. In this study, three modes of bioethanol production were selected to evaluate the life cycle energy efficiency and environmental impact of sweet potato-based bioethanol. The results showed that, the net energy ratio was greater than 1 and the value of net energy gain was positive in the three production modes, in which the maximum value appeared in the circular economy mode (CEM). The environment emission mainly occurred to bioethanol conversion unit in the conventional production mode (CPM) and the cogeneration mode (CGM), and eutrophication potential (EP) and global warming potential (GWP) were the most significant environmental impact category. While compared with CPM and CGM, the environmental impact of CEM significantly declined due to increasing recycling, and plant cultivation unit mainly contributed to EP and GWP. And the comprehensive evaluation score of environmental impact decreased by 73.46% and 23.36%. This study showed that CEM was effective in improving energy efficiency, especially in reducing the environmental impact, and it provides a new method for bioethanol production. PMID:28672044

Life cycle energy efficiency and environmental impact assessment of bioethanol production from sweet potato based on different production modes.

PubMed

Zhang, Jun; Jia, Chunrong; Wu, Yi; Xia, Xunfeng; Xi, Beidou; Wang, Lijun; Zhai, Youlong

2017-01-01

The bioethanol is playing an increasingly important role in renewable energy in China. Based on the theory of circular economy, integration of different resources by polygeneration is one of the solutions to improve energy efficiency and to reduce environmental impact. In this study, three modes of bioethanol production were selected to evaluate the life cycle energy efficiency and environmental impact of sweet potato-based bioethanol. The results showed that, the net energy ratio was greater than 1 and the value of net energy gain was positive in the three production modes, in which the maximum value appeared in the circular economy mode (CEM). The environment emission mainly occurred to bioethanol conversion unit in the conventional production mode (CPM) and the cogeneration mode (CGM), and eutrophication potential (EP) and global warming potential (GWP) were the most significant environmental impact category. While compared with CPM and CGM, the environmental impact of CEM significantly declined due to increasing recycling, and plant cultivation unit mainly contributed to EP and GWP. And the comprehensive evaluation score of environmental impact decreased by 73.46% and 23.36%. This study showed that CEM was effective in improving energy efficiency, especially in reducing the environmental impact, and it provides a new method for bioethanol production.

Design of Organic Solar Cells as a Function of Radiative Quantum Efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godefroid, Blaise; Kozyreff, Gregory

2017-09-01

We study the radiative decay, or fluorescence, of excitons in organic solar cells as a function of its geometrical parameters. Contrary to their nonradiative counterpart, fluorescence losses strongly depend on the environment. By properly tuning the thicknesses of the buffer layers between the active regions of the cell and the electrodes, the exciton lifetime and, hence, the exciton diffusion length can be increased. The importance of this phenomenon depends on the radiative quantum efficiency, which is the fraction of the exciton decay that is intrinsically due to fluorescence. Besides this effect, interferences within the cell control the efficiency of sunlight injection into the active layers. The optimal cell design must rely on a consideration of these two aspects. By properly managing fluorescence losses, one can significantly improve the cell performance. To demonstrate this fact, we use realistic material parameters inspired from literature data and obtain an increase of power-conversion efficiency from 11.3% to 12.7%. Conversely, not to take into account the strong dependence of fluorescence on the environment may lead to a suboptimal cell design and a degradation of cell performance. The presence of radiative losses, however small, significantly changes the optimal set of thicknesses. We illustrate the latter situation with experimental material data.

Learning to assign binary weights to binary descriptor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Zhoudi; Wei, Zhenzhong; Zhang, Guangjun

2016-10-01

Constructing robust binary local feature descriptors are receiving increasing interest due to their binary nature, which can enable fast processing while requiring significantly less memory than their floating-point competitors. To bridge the performance gap between the binary and floating-point descriptors without increasing the computational cost of computing and matching, optimal binary weights are learning to assign to binary descriptor for considering each bit might contribute differently to the distinctiveness and robustness. Technically, a large-scale regularized optimization method is applied to learn float weights for each bit of the binary descriptor. Furthermore, binary approximation for the float weights is performed by utilizing an efficient alternatively greedy strategy, which can significantly improve the discriminative power while preserve fast matching advantage. Extensive experimental results on two challenging datasets (Brown dataset and Oxford dataset) demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

[Effect of long-term application of NPK fertilizer on maize yield and yellow soil nutrients sustainability in Guizhou, China].

PubMed

Liu, Yan Ling; Li, Yu; Zhang, Ya Rong; Huang, Xing Cheng; Zhang, Wen An; Jiang, Tai Ming

2017-11-01

A long-term fertilization field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizer on maize relative yield, yield-increasing effect and the changes of nutrients in yellow soil in Guizhou Province. Five fertilizer combinations were evaluated, including balanced fertilization (NPK) and nutrient deficiency treatments (N, NK, NP, and PK). The maize relative yield, contribution efficiency of N, P, K fertilizer application, sustainability index of soil N, P, K nutrients, and other indicators were measured. The results revealed that the balanced fertilization (NPK) significantly increased maize yield, and the average yield under each treatment ranked as: NPK>NP>NK>PK>CK. The contribution efficiency and agronomic efficiency of N, P, K fertilizer application was N>P>K. The fertilization dependence was ranked as: combined application of N, P and K>N>P>K. But in the lack of P treatment (NK), the maize relative yield significantly decreased at a speed of 1.4% per year, with the contribution efficiency and fertilization dependence of applied P significantly increasing at a speed of 2.3% per year and 1.4% per year, respectively. Over time, the effect of P fertilizer on maize yield gradually became equal to that of N fertilizer. The pH and soil organic matter content were the lowest in the P-lack treatment (NK), while they were higher in the N-lack treatment (PK). The application of chemical P significantly improved the sustainability index of soil P, but the application of chemical N and K did not significantly change the sustainability index of soil N and K nutrients compared to the N- and K-lack treatments, respectively. In summary, the use of balanced fertilizer application is critical for achieving high maize yield in typical yellow soil regions in Guizhou Province. P and N fertilizers are equally important for improving maize yield, and long-term application of unbalanced chemical fertilizer, especially the lack of P, would not benefit the sustainable use of nutrients in yellow soil.

Relationship between the prognostic value of ventilatory efficiency and age in patients with heart failure.

PubMed

Kato, Yuko; Suzuki, Shinya; Uejima, Tokuhisa; Semba, Hiroaki; Nagayama, Osamu; Hayama, Etsuko; Arita, Takuto; Yagi, Naoharu; Kano, Hiroto; Matsuno, Shunsuke; Otsuka, Takayuki; Oikawa, Yuji; Kunihara, Takashi; Yajima, Junji; Yamashita, Takeshi

2018-05-01

Background Ventilatory efficiency decreases with age. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance and cut-off value of the minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO 2 ) slope according to age in patients with heart failure. Methods and results We analysed 1501 patients with heart failure from our observational cohort who performed maximal symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing and separated them into three age groups (≤55 years, 56-70 years and ≥71 years) in total and according to the three ejection fraction categories defined by European Society of Cardiology guidelines. The endpoint was set as heart failure events, hospitalisation for heart failure or death from heart failure. The VE/VCO 2 slope increased with age. During the median follow-up period of 4 years, 141 heart failure (9%) events occurred. In total, univariate Cox analyses showed that the VE/VCO 2 slope (cont.) was significantly related to heart failure events, while on multivariate analysis, the prognostic significance of the VE/VCO 2 slope (cont.) was poor, accompanied by a significant interaction with age ( P < 0.0001). The cut-off value of the VE/VCO 2 slope increased with the increase in age in not only the total but also the sub-ejection fraction categories. Multivariate analyses with a stepwise method adjusted for estimated glomerular filtration rate, peak oxygen consumption, atrial fibrillation and brain natriuretic peptide, showed that the predictive value of the binary VE/VCO 2 slope separated by the cut-off value varied according to age. There was a tendency for the prognostic significance to increase with age irrespective of ejection fraction. Conclusion The prognostic significance and cut-off value of the VE/VCO 2 slope may increase with advancing age.

Advanced Power Electronics Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwarze, Gene E.

2004-01-01

This paper will give a description and status of the Advanced Power Electronics Materials and Components Technology program being conducted by the NASA Glenn Research Center for future aerospace power applications. The focus of this research program is on the following: 1) New and/or significantly improved dielectric materials for the development of power capacitors with increased volumetric efficiency, energy density, and operating temperature. Materials being investigated include nanocrystalline and composite ceramic dielectrics and diamond-like carbon films; 2) New and/or significantly improved high frequency, high temperature, low loss soft magnetic materials for the development of transformers/inductors with increased power/energy density, electrical efficiency, and operating temperature. Materials being investigated include nanocrystalline and nanocomposite soft magnetic materials; 3) Packaged high temperature, high power density, high voltage, and low loss SiC diodes and switches. Development of high quality 4H- and 6H- SiC atomically smooth substrates to significantly improve device performance is a major emphasis of the SiC materials program; 4) Demonstration of high temperature (> 200 C) circuits using the components developed above.

Prospects of target nanostructuring for laser proton acceleration

PubMed Central

Lübcke, Andrea; Andreev, Alexander A.; Höhm, Sandra; Grunwald, Ruediger; Ehrentraut, Lutz; Schnürer, Matthias

2017-01-01

In laser-based proton acceleration, nanostructured targets hold the promise to allow for significantly boosted proton energies due to strong increase of laser absorption. We used laser-induced periodic surface structures generated in-situ as a very fast and economic way to produce nanostructured targets capable of high-repetition rate applications. Both in experiment and theory, we investigate the impact of nanostructuring on the proton spectrum for different laser–plasma conditions. Our experimental data show that the nanostructures lead to a significant enhancement of absorption over the entire range of laser plasma conditions investigated. At conditions that do not allow for efficient laser absorption by plane targets, i.e. too steep plasma gradients, nanostructuring is found to significantly enhance the proton cutoff energy and conversion efficiency. In contrast, if the plasma gradient is optimized for laser absorption of the plane target, the nanostructure-induced absorption increase is not reflected in higher cutoff energies. Both, simulation and experiment point towards the energy transfer from the laser to the hot electrons as bottleneck. PMID:28290479

Prospects of target nanostructuring for laser proton acceleration.

PubMed

Lübcke, Andrea; Andreev, Alexander A; Höhm, Sandra; Grunwald, Ruediger; Ehrentraut, Lutz; Schnürer, Matthias

2017-03-14

In laser-based proton acceleration, nanostructured targets hold the promise to allow for significantly boosted proton energies due to strong increase of laser absorption. We used laser-induced periodic surface structures generated in-situ as a very fast and economic way to produce nanostructured targets capable of high-repetition rate applications. Both in experiment and theory, we investigate the impact of nanostructuring on the proton spectrum for different laser-plasma conditions. Our experimental data show that the nanostructures lead to a significant enhancement of absorption over the entire range of laser plasma conditions investigated. At conditions that do not allow for efficient laser absorption by plane targets, i.e. too steep plasma gradients, nanostructuring is found to significantly enhance the proton cutoff energy and conversion efficiency. In contrast, if the plasma gradient is optimized for laser absorption of the plane target, the nanostructure-induced absorption increase is not reflected in higher cutoff energies. Both, simulation and experiment point towards the energy transfer from the laser to the hot electrons as bottleneck.

Prospects of target nanostructuring for laser proton acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lübcke, Andrea; Andreev, Alexander A.; Höhm, Sandra; Grunwald, Ruediger; Ehrentraut, Lutz; Schnürer, Matthias

2017-03-01

In laser-based proton acceleration, nanostructured targets hold the promise to allow for significantly boosted proton energies due to strong increase of laser absorption. We used laser-induced periodic surface structures generated in-situ as a very fast and economic way to produce nanostructured targets capable of high-repetition rate applications. Both in experiment and theory, we investigate the impact of nanostructuring on the proton spectrum for different laser-plasma conditions. Our experimental data show that the nanostructures lead to a significant enhancement of absorption over the entire range of laser plasma conditions investigated. At conditions that do not allow for efficient laser absorption by plane targets, i.e. too steep plasma gradients, nanostructuring is found to significantly enhance the proton cutoff energy and conversion efficiency. In contrast, if the plasma gradient is optimized for laser absorption of the plane target, the nanostructure-induced absorption increase is not reflected in higher cutoff energies. Both, simulation and experiment point towards the energy transfer from the laser to the hot electrons as bottleneck.

[Utilization rate of fertilizer N and dynamic changes of soil NO3(-)-N in summer maize field in semi-humid area of Northwest China].

PubMed

Fan, Ya-ning; Li, Shi-qing; Li, Sheng-xiu

2008-04-01

A field experiment on manual loessial soil was conducted to study the dynamic changes of NO3(-)-N in soil profile, utilization rate of fertilizer N, and relationships between N application rate and soil residual N accumulation during the growth period of summer maize under different N application rates (0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 kg hm(-2)). The results showed that in the whole growth period of summer maize, the NO3(-)-N concentration in the soil profile was the highest in 0-20 cm layer, and increased with increasing N application rate. The NO3(-)-N concentration in 0-60 cm soil layer changed significantly, but no significant change was observed in 60-100 cm soil layer. In the growth season of summer maize, soil NO3(-)-N accumulation presented a fluctuated decreasing trend due to the N uptake by crop and the precipitation. The N utilization rate (NUR) increased with increasing N application rate when the application rate was less than 135 kg hm(-2), but tended to decrease when the application rate exceeded 135 kg hm(-2). With the increase of N application rate, the N agronomy efficiency (NAE) decreased but the N physiology efficiency (NPE) increased. There was a significant positive correlation between soil residual N accumulation and N application rate (R2 = 0.957**, n = 5). The grain yield under N application was significantly higher than that without N application (P <0.05), and there existed a significant positive correlation between grain yield and N application rate (R2 = 0.934**, n = 5). In our experiment, the optimal application rate of fertilizer N was 135 kg hm(-2), which could harmonize the relationship between economic benefits and environment.

An Evaluation of the Consumer Costs and Benefits of Energy Efficiency Resource Standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lessans, Mark D.

Of the modern-day policies designed to encourage energy efficiency, one with a significant potential for impact is that of Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS). EERS policies place the responsibility for meeting an efficiency target on the electric and gas utilities, typically setting requirements for annual reductions in electricity generation or gas distribution to customers as a percentage of sales. To meet these requirements, utilities typically implement demand-side management (DSM) programs, which encourage energy efficiency at the customer level through incentives and educational initiatives. In Maryland, a statewide EERS has provided for programs which save a significant amount of energy, but is ultimately falling short in meeting the targets established by the policy. This study evaluates residential DSM programs offered by Pepco, a utility in Maryland, for cost-effectiveness. However, unlike most literature on the topic, analysis focuses on the costs-benefit from the perspective of the consumer, and not the utility. The results of this study are encouraging: the majority of programs analyzed show that the cost of electricity saved, or levelized cost of saved energy (LCSE), is less expensive than the current retail cost of electricity cost in Maryland. A key goal of this study is to establish a metric for evaluating the consumer cost-effectiveness of participation in energy efficiency programs made available by EERS. In doing so, the benefits of these programs can be effectively marketed to customers, with the hope that participation will increase. By increasing consumer awareness and buy-in, the original goals set out through EERS can be realized and the policies can continue to receive support.

Research of an emergency medical system for mass casualty incidents in Shanghai, China: a system dynamics model.

PubMed

Yu, Wenya; Lv, Yipeng; Hu, Chaoqun; Liu, Xu; Chen, Haiping; Xue, Chen; Zhang, Lulu

2018-01-01

Emergency medical system for mass casualty incidents (EMS-MCIs) is a global issue. However, China lacks such studies extremely, which cannot meet the requirement of rapid decision-support system. This study aims to realize modeling EMS-MCIs in Shanghai, to improve mass casualty incident (MCI) rescue efficiency in China, and to provide a possible method of making rapid rescue decisions during MCIs. This study established a system dynamics (SD) model of EMS-MCIs using the Vensim DSS program. Intervention scenarios were designed as adjusting scales of MCIs, allocation of ambulances, allocation of emergency medical staff, and efficiency of organization and command. Mortality increased with the increasing scale of MCIs, medical rescue capability of hospitals was relatively good, but the efficiency of organization and command was poor, and the prehospital time was too long. Mortality declined significantly when increasing ambulances and improving the efficiency of organization and command; triage and on-site first-aid time were shortened if increasing the availability of emergency medical staff. The effect was the most evident when 2,000 people were involved in MCIs; however, the influence was very small under the scale of 5,000 people. The keys to decrease the mortality of MCIs were shortening the prehospital time and improving the efficiency of organization and command. For small-scale MCIs, improving the utilization rate of health resources was important in decreasing the mortality. For large-scale MCIs, increasing the number of ambulances and emergency medical professionals was the core to decrease prehospital time and mortality. For super-large-scale MCIs, increasing health resources was the premise.

Static magnetic field reduced exogenous oligonucleotide uptake by spermatozoa using magnetic nanoparticle gene delivery system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katebi, Samira; Esmaeili, Abolghasem; Ghaedi, Kamran

2016-03-01

Spermatozoa could introduce exogenous oligonucleotides of interest to the oocyte. The most important reason of low efficiency of sperm mediated gene transfer (SMGT) is low uptake of exogenous DNA by spermatozoa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of static magnetic field on exogenous oligonucleotide uptake of spermatozoa using magnetofection method. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) associated with the labeled oligonucleotides were used to increase the efficiency of exogenous oligonucleotide uptake by rooster spermatozoa. We used high-field/high-gradient magnet (NdFeB) to enhance and accelerate exogenous DNA sedimentation at the spermatozoa surface. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to measure viability and percentage of exogenous oligonucleotide uptake by sperm. Flow cytometry analysis showed a significant increase in exogenous oligonucleotide uptake by rooster spermatozoa (P<0.001) when spermatozoa were incubated in exogenous oligonucleotide solution and MNPs. However, by applying static magnetic field during magnetofection method, a significant decrease in exogenous oligonucleotide uptake was observed (P<0.05). Findings of this study showed that MNPs were effective to increase exogenous oligonucleotide uptake by rooster spermatozoa; however unlike others studies, static magnetic field, was not only ineffective to enhance exogenous oligonucleotide uptake by rooster spermatozoa but also led to reduction in efficiency of magnetic nanoparticles in gene transfer.

Influence of earthworm Eisenia fetida on Iris pseudacorus's photosynthetic characteristics, evapotranspiration losses and purifying capacity in constructed wetland systems.

PubMed

Xu, Defu; Li, Yingxue; Fan, Xiaolong; Guan, Yidong; Fang, Hua; Zhao, Xiaoli

2013-01-01

Four constructed wetland systems were studied to investigate the effects of adding Eisenia fetida on the purifying capacity of constructed wetlands. Addition of E. fetida increased the photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr) and chlorophyll meter value of leaves of Iris pseudacorus L. in the constructed wetlands by 16, 35 and 7%, respectively. Compared with the substrate only system, evapotranspiration losses were increased by 8, 48 and 56% for the wetland systems with substrate and E. fetida, with substrate and I. pseudacorus, and with substrate, I. pseudacorus and E. fetida, respectively. Addition of E. fetida to the substrate only and substrate and plant wetland systems decreased the substrate bulk density by 3 and 6%, respectively. The addition of E. fetida to the system with substrate and plants increased the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (CODMn), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus by 5, 7 and 22%, respectively. Evapotranspiration losses were significantly positively correlated with the removal efficiency of CODMn (P < 0.01). The significantly negative correlation between the removal efficiency TN and bulk density was found (P < 0.05). Therefore, E. fetida could stimulate I. pseudacorus growth and improve the substrate bulk density in the constructed wetland, resulting in enhanced purifying capacity.

Increasing Flexibility in Energy Code Compliance: Performance Packages

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

Hart, Philip R.; Rosenberg, Michael I.

Energy codes and standards have provided significant increases in building efficiency over the last 38 years, since the first national energy code was published in late 1975. The most commonly used path in energy codes, the prescriptive path, appears to be reaching a point of diminishing returns. As the code matures, the prescriptive path becomes more complicated, and also more restrictive. It is likely that an approach that considers the building as an integrated system will be necessary to achieve the next real gains in building efficiency. Performance code paths are increasing in popularity; however, there remains a significant designmore » team overhead in following the performance path, especially for smaller buildings. This paper focuses on development of one alternative format, prescriptive packages. A method to develop building-specific prescriptive packages is reviewed based on a multiple runs of prototypical building models that are used to develop parametric decision analysis to determines a set of packages with equivalent energy performance. The approach is designed to be cost-effective and flexible for the design team while achieving a desired level of energy efficiency performance. A demonstration of the approach based on mid-sized office buildings with two HVAC system types is shown along with a discussion of potential applicability in the energy code process.« less

Efficient Steplike Carrier Multiplication in Percolative Networks of Epitaxially Connected PbSe Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Kulkarni, Aditya; Evers, Wiel H; Tomić, Stanko; Beard, Matthew C; Vanmaekelbergh, Daniel; Siebbeles, Laurens D A

2018-01-23

Carrier multiplication (CM) is a process in which a single photon excites two or more electrons. CM is of interest to enhance the efficiency of a solar cell. Until now, CM in thin films and solar cells of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) has been found at photon energies well above the minimum required energy of twice the band gap. The high threshold of CM strongly limits the benefits for solar cell applications. We show that CM is more efficient in a percolative network of directly connected PbSe NCs. The CM threshold is at twice the band gap and increases in a steplike fashion with photon energy. A lower CM efficiency is found for a solid of weaker coupled NCs. This demonstrates that the coupling between NCs strongly affects the CM efficiency. According to device simulations, the measured CM efficiency would significantly enhance the power conversion efficiency of a solar cell.

Developmental change of visuo-spatial working memory in children: quantitative evaluation through an Advanced Trail Making Test.

PubMed

Kokubo, Naomi; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Kobayashi, Tomoka; Ohta, Hidenobu; Kajimoto, Osami; Kaga, Makiko

2012-11-01

The present study aimed to investigate the developmental change in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory (VSWM) in typically developed children using a specially designed Advanced Trail Making Test for children (ATMT-C). We developed a new method for evaluating VSWM efficiency in children using a modified version ATMT to suit their shorter sustained attention. The ATMT-C consists of two parts; a number-based ATMT and a hiragana (Japanese phonogram)-based ATMT, both employing symbols familiar to young children. A total of 94 healthy participants (6-28 years of age) were enrolled in this study. A non-linear developmental change of VSWM efficiency was observed in the results from the ATMT-C. In the number-based ATMT, children under 8 years of age showed a relatively rapid increase in VSWM efficiency while older children (9-12 years) had a more gradual increase in VSWM efficiency. Results from the hiragana-based ATMT-C showed a slightly delayed increase pattern in VSWM efficiency compared to the pattern from the number-based ATMT. There were no significant differences in VSWM efficiency for gender, handedness and test order. VSWM in children gradually matures in a non steady-state manner and there is an important stage for VSWM maturation before reaching 12 years of age. VSWM efficiency may also vary depending on developmental condition of its cognitive subsystems. Copyright © 2012 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Financing and Regulating Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Gerald

2005-01-01

Australia has made significant changes in the ways it regulates and funds vocational education and training (VET), with increased emphasis on competition to promote efficient delivery of the type of programs that students and employers want. National, state and territory governments have increased the role of employers by basing nationally…

Improving IMRT delivery efficiency using intensity limits during inverse planning.

PubMed

Coselmon, Martha M; Moran, Jean M; Radawski, Jeffrey D; Fraass, Benedick A

2005-05-01

Inverse planned intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) fields can be highly modulated due to the large number of degrees of freedom involved in the inverse planning process. Additional modulation typically results in a more optimal plan, although the clinical rewards may be small or offset by additional delivery complexity and/or increased dose from transmission and leakage. Increasing modulation decreases delivery efficiency, and may lead to plans that are more sensitive to geometrical uncertainties. The purpose of this work is to assess the use of maximum intensity limits in inverse IMRT planning as a simple way to increase delivery efficiency without significantly affecting plan quality. Nine clinical cases (three each for brain, prostate, and head/neck) were used to evaluate advantages and disadvantages of limiting maximum intensity to increase delivery efficiency. IMRT plans were generated using in-house protocol-based constraints and objectives for the brain and head/neck, and RTOG 9406 dose volume objectives in the prostate. Each case was optimized at a series of maximum intensity ratios (the product of the maximum intensity and the number of beams divided by the prescribed dose to the target volume), and evaluated in terms of clinical metrics, dose-volume histograms, monitor units (MU) required per fraction (SMLC and DMLC delivery), and intensity map variation (a measure of the beam modulation). In each site tested, it was possible to reduce total monitor units by constraining the maximum allowed intensity without compromising the clinical acceptability of the plan. Monitor unit reductions up to 38% were observed for SMLC delivery, while reductions up to 29% were achieved for DMLC delivery. In general, complicated geometries saw a smaller reduction in monitor units for both delivery types, although DMLC delivery required significantly more monitor units in all cases. Constraining the maximum intensity in an inverse IMRT plan is a simple way to improve delivery efficiency without compromising plan objectives.

Comprehensive efficiency analysis of supercomputer resource usage based on system monitoring data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamaeva, A. A.; Shaykhislamov, D. I.; Voevodin, Vad V.; Zhumatiy, S. A.

2018-03-01

One of the main problems of modern supercomputers is the low efficiency of their usage, which leads to the significant idle time of computational resources, and, in turn, to the decrease in speed of scientific research. This paper presents three approaches to study the efficiency of supercomputer resource usage based on monitoring data analysis. The first approach performs an analysis of computing resource utilization statistics, which allows to identify different typical classes of programs, to explore the structure of the supercomputer job flow and to track overall trends in the supercomputer behavior. The second approach is aimed specifically at analyzing off-the-shelf software packages and libraries installed on the supercomputer, since efficiency of their usage is becoming an increasingly important factor for the efficient functioning of the entire supercomputer. Within the third approach, abnormal jobs – jobs with abnormally inefficient behavior that differs significantly from the standard behavior of the overall supercomputer job flow – are being detected. For each approach, the results obtained in practice in the Supercomputer Center of Moscow State University are demonstrated.

Potential use and the energy conversion efficiency analysis of fermentation effluents from photo and dark fermentative bio-hydrogen production.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhiping; Li, Yameng; Zhang, Huan; He, Chao; Zhang, Quanguo

2017-12-01

Effluent of bio-hydrogen production system also can be adopted to produce methane for further fermentation, cogeneration of hydrogen and methane will significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency. Platanus Orientalis leaves were taken as the raw material for photo- and dark-fermentation bio-hydrogen production. The resulting concentrations of acetic, butyric, and propionic acids and ethanol in the photo- and dark-fermentation effluents were 2966mg/L and 624mg/L, 422mg/L and 1624mg/L, 1365mg/L and 558mg/L, and 866mg/L and 1352mg/L, respectively. Subsequently, we calculated the energy conversion efficiency according to the organic contents of the effluents and their energy output when used as raw material for methane production. The overall energy conversion efficiencies increased by 15.17% and 22.28%, respectively, when using the effluents of photo and dark fermentation. This two-step bio-hydrogen and methane production system can significantly improve the energy conversion efficiency of anaerobic biological treatment plants. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Effects of +Gx load on energy metabolism of brain tissue in rats].

PubMed

Wu, Bin; Xie, Bao-sheng; You, Guang-xing; Liu, Xing-hua; Lu, Sheng-qiang; Huang, Wei-fen

2002-12-01

Objective. To observe the changes of energy metabolism of brain tissue in rats under +Gx loads, and to explore its possible role in changes of brain function and work efficiency induced by +Gx stress. Method. Forty-five male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, +5 Gx, +10 Gx, +15 Gx and +20 Gx group. Each group was exposed to the corresponding G value for 3 min. After that, cortical adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and lactic acid (LA) content, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity were measured. Result. Compared with the control group, the cortical (LA) content increased significantly after +5 Gx, +10 Gx, +15 Gx and +20 Gx exposure (P<0.01). Cortical ADP content and ratio of ADP/AMP and AMP/ATP increased significantly after +10 Gx, +15 Gx and +20 Gx exposure (P<0.01), whereas ATP content, energy charge and LDH activity decreased significantly (P<0.05 or 0.01). Cortical AMP content increased significantly after +15 Gx and +20 Gx exposure (P<0.05 and 0.01). Conclusion. It is suggested that +Gx load can result in obvious depression of brain energy metabolism, which could be an important reason for the change of brain function and work efficiency induced by +Gx stress.

Interactions between CO2 enhancement and N addition on net primary productivity and water-use efficiency in a mesocosm with multiple subtropical tree species.

PubMed

Yan, Junhua; Zhang, Deqiang; Liu, Juxiu; Zhou, Guoyi

2014-07-01

Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) enhancement (eCO2 ) and N addition (aN) have been shown to increase net primary production (NPP) and to affect water-use efficiency (WUE) for many temperate ecosystems, but few studies have been made on subtropical tree species. This study compared the responses of NPP and WUE from a mesocosm composing five subtropical tree species to eCO2 (700 ppm), aN (10 g N m(-2) yr(-1) ) and eCO2 × aN using open-top chambers. Our results showed that mean annual ecosystem NPP did not changed significantly under eCO2 , increased by 56% under aN and 64% under eCO2 × aN. Ecosystem WUE increased by 14%, 55%, and 61% under eCO2 , aN and eCO2 × aN, respectively. We found that the observed responses of ecosystem WUE were largely driven by the responses of ecosystem NPP. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant interactions between eCO2 and aN on ecosystem NPP (P = 0.731) or WUE (P = 0.442). Our results showed that increasing N deposition was likely to have much stronger effects on ecosystem NPP and WUE than increasing CO2 concentration for the subtropical forests. However, different tree species responded quite differently. aN significantly increased annual NPP of the fast-growing species (Schima superba). Nitrogen-fixing species (Ormosia pinnata) grew significantly faster only under eCO2 × aN. eCO2 had no effects on annual NPP of those two species but significantly increased annual NPP of other two species (Castanopsis hystrix and Acmena acuminatissima). Differential responses of the NPP among different tree species to eCO2 and aN will likely have significant implications on the species composition of subtropical forests under future global change. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Silica-Assisted Nucleation of Polymer Foam Cells with Nanoscopic Dimensions: Impact of Particle Size, Line Tension, and Surface Functionality

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Core–shell nanoparticles consisting of silica as core and surface-grafted poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as shell with different diameters were prepared and used as heterogeneous nucleation agents to obtain CO2-blown poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposite foams. PDMS was selected as the shell material as it possesses a low surface energy and high CO2-philicity. The successful synthesis of core–shell nanoparticles was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The cell size and cell density of the PMMA micro- and nanocellular materials were determined by scanning electron microscopy. The cell nucleation efficiency using core–shell nanoparticles was significantly enhanced when compared to that of unmodified silica. The highest nucleation efficiency observed had a value of ∼0.5 for nanoparticles with a core diameter of 80 nm. The particle size dependence of cell nucleation efficiency is discussed taking into account line tension effects. Complete engulfment by the polymer matrix of particles with a core diameter below 40 nm at the cell wall interface was observed corresponding to line tension values of approximately 0.42 nN. This line tension significantly increases the energy barrier of heterogeneous nucleation and thus reduces the nucleation efficiency. The increase of the CO2 saturation pressure to 300 bar prior to batch foaming resulted in an increased line tension length. We observed a decrease of the heterogeneous nucleation efficiency for foaming after saturation with CO2 at 300 bar, which we attribute to homogenous nucleation becoming more favorable at the expense of heterogeneous nucleation in this case. Overall, it is shown that the contribution of line tension to the free energy barrier of heterogeneous foam cell nucleation must be considered to understand foaming of viscoelastic materials. This finding emphasizes the need for new strategies including the use of designer nucleating particles to enhance the foam cell nucleation efficiency. PMID:28980799

Silica-Assisted Nucleation of Polymer Foam Cells with Nanoscopic Dimensions: Impact of Particle Size, Line Tension, and Surface Functionality.

PubMed

Liu, Shanqiu; Eijkelenkamp, Rik; Duvigneau, Joost; Vancso, G Julius

2017-11-01

Core-shell nanoparticles consisting of silica as core and surface-grafted poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as shell with different diameters were prepared and used as heterogeneous nucleation agents to obtain CO 2 -blown poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposite foams. PDMS was selected as the shell material as it possesses a low surface energy and high CO 2 -philicity. The successful synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The cell size and cell density of the PMMA micro- and nanocellular materials were determined by scanning electron microscopy. The cell nucleation efficiency using core-shell nanoparticles was significantly enhanced when compared to that of unmodified silica. The highest nucleation efficiency observed had a value of ∼0.5 for nanoparticles with a core diameter of 80 nm. The particle size dependence of cell nucleation efficiency is discussed taking into account line tension effects. Complete engulfment by the polymer matrix of particles with a core diameter below 40 nm at the cell wall interface was observed corresponding to line tension values of approximately 0.42 nN. This line tension significantly increases the energy barrier of heterogeneous nucleation and thus reduces the nucleation efficiency. The increase of the CO 2 saturation pressure to 300 bar prior to batch foaming resulted in an increased line tension length. We observed a decrease of the heterogeneous nucleation efficiency for foaming after saturation with CO 2 at 300 bar, which we attribute to homogenous nucleation becoming more favorable at the expense of heterogeneous nucleation in this case. Overall, it is shown that the contribution of line tension to the free energy barrier of heterogeneous foam cell nucleation must be considered to understand foaming of viscoelastic materials. This finding emphasizes the need for new strategies including the use of designer nucleating particles to enhance the foam cell nucleation efficiency.

Increasing the Cost-efficiency of the DSN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Statman, Joseph I.; Berner, Jeff B.

2008-01-01

JPL has operated the Deep Space Network (DSN) on behalf of NASA since the 1960's. Over the last two decades, the DSN budget has generally declined in real-year dollars while the aging assets required more attention, and the missions became more complex. As a result, the budget has been increasingly consumed by Operations and Maintenance (O and M), significantly reducing the funding wedge available for technology investment and for enhancing the DSN capability and capacity. Responding to this budget squeeze, the DSN launched an effort to improve the cost-efficiency of the O and M. In this paper we: Analyze the components of O&M. We note for example that, for the DSN, less than 20% of the staff engage in the traditional human-in-front-a-console role, so any effort to increase the cost efficiency must go beyond reducing the number of "Real-time operators." Explain the underlying organizational and cultural structures. Any cost-efficiency activities changes either accept, or carefully modify these structures. For example, the DSN O&M is based on the concept that there are three nearly identical antenna complexes separated by approximately 1200 in latitude and that each antenna complex is operated by a different contractor (driven by international agreements). Explore planned changes in the customer interface, e.g. web-based automated scheduling, and the processes required for a transition. Changes have to be evaluated in the larger end-to-end context, e.g. do the changes provide a net cost-efficiency for the DSN and the missions, or do they merely shift cost from the DSN to the missions. Consider possible significant changes in real-time pass management, e.g. full-remoting of operations, and lights-dim operations, while maintaining (or improving) the performance metrics of the DSN. Investigate how procedural and administrative changes could increase cost-efficiency, in conjunction with changes in the customer interfaces and real-time pass management. Examples would be handling of inter-governmental agreements, improved sharing of resources with other agencies, and better use of commercial (rather than government) resources

Environmental Compatible Nursery Production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Amending bark substrates with clay significantly increases water use efficiency and decreases phosphorus leaching from containers. Best results were achieved with a small particle 24-48 sieved clay that was heat treated at 1472)º F (800º C)....

Research notes : nighttime illumination of work zone flaggers.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-05-01

As daytime traffic demands increase, nighttime construction and maintenance work is becoming more prevalent. The effective and efficient illumination of flaggers in these work zones is a significant concern . Insufficient light levels, disabling glar...

Histone deacetylase inhibitor significantly improved the cloning efficiency of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.

PubMed

Huang, Yongye; Tang, Xiaochun; Xie, Wanhua; Zhou, Yan; Li, Dong; Yao, Chaogang; Zhou, Yang; Zhu, Jianguo; Lai, Liangxue; Ouyang, Hongsheng; Pang, Daxin

2011-12-01

Valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inbibitor, has been shown to generate inducible pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from mouse and human fibroblasts with a significant higher efficiency. Because successful cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) undergoes a full reprogramming process in which the epigenetic state of a differentiated donor nuclear is converted into an embryonic totipotent state, we speculated that VPA would be useful in promoting cloning efficiency. Therefore, in the present study, we examined whether VPA can promote the developmental competence of SCNT embryos by improving the reprogramming state of donor nucleus. Here we report that 1 mM VPA for 14 to 16 h following activation significantly increased the rate of blastocyst formation of porcine SCNT embryos constructed from Landrace fetal fibroblast cells compared to the control (31.8 vs. 11.4%). However, we found that the acetylation level of Histone H3 lysine 14 and Histone H4 lysine 5 and expression level of Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4 was not significantly changed between VPA-treated and -untreated groups at the blastocyst stage. The SCNT embryos were transferred to 38 surrogates, and the cloning efficiency in the treated group was significantly improved compared with the control group. Taken together, we have demonstrated that VPA can improve both in vitro and in vivo development competence of porcine SCNT embryos.

Efficient biprediction decision scheme for fast high efficiency video coding encoding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sang-hyo; Lee, Seung-ho; Jang, Euee S.; Jun, Dongsan; Kang, Jung-Won

2016-11-01

An efficient biprediction decision scheme of high efficiency video coding (HEVC) is proposed for fast-encoding applications. For low-delay video applications, bidirectional prediction can be used to increase compression performance efficiently with previous reference frames. However, at the same time, the computational complexity of the HEVC encoder is significantly increased due to the additional biprediction search. Although a some research has attempted to reduce this complexity, whether the prediction is strongly related to both motion complexity and prediction modes in a coding unit has not yet been investigated. A method that avoids most compression-inefficient search points is proposed so that the computational complexity of the motion estimation process can be dramatically decreased. To determine if biprediction is critical, the proposed method exploits the stochastic correlation of the context of prediction units (PUs): the direction of a PU and the accuracy of a motion vector. Through experimental results, the proposed method showed that the time complexity of biprediction can be reduced to 30% on average, outperforming existing methods in view of encoding time, number of function calls, and memory access.

A systematic review on the efficiency of cerium-impregnated activated carbons for the removal of gas-phase, elemental mercury from flue gas.

PubMed

Sowlat, Mohammad Hossein; Kakavandi, Babak; Lotfi, Saeedeh; Yunesian, Masud; Abdollahi, Mohammad; Rezaei Kalantary, Roshanak

2017-05-01

In the present systematic review, we aimed to collect and analyze all the relevant evidence on the efficiency of cerium-impregnated versus virgin-activated carbons (ACs) for the removal of gas-phase elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants and to assess the effect of different calcination and operational parameters on their efficiency. A total of eight relevant papers (out of 1193 hits produced by the search) met the eligibility criteria and were included in the study. Results indicated that the Hg 0 adsorption capacity of cerium-impregnated ACs is significantly higher than that of virgin ACs, depending highly on the impregnation and operational parameters. It was noticed that although cerium-impregnated ACs possessed smaller surface areas and pore volumes, their Hg 0 removal efficiencies were still higher than their virgin counterparts. An increased Hg 0 removal efficiency was in general found by increasing the operational adsorption temperature as high as 150-170 °C. Studies also indicated that NO, SO 2 , and HCl have promoting impacts on the Hg 0 removal efficiency of Ce-impregnated ACs, while H 2 O has an inhibitory effect.

Experimental investigation of air pressure affecting filtration performance of fibrous filter sheet.

PubMed

Xu, Bin; Yu, Xiao; Wu, Ya; Lin, Zhongping

2017-03-01

Understanding the effect of air pressure on their filtration performance is important for assessing the effectiveness of fibrous filters under different practical circumstances. The effectiveness of three classes of air filter sheets were investigated in laboratory-based measurements at a wide range of air pressures (60-130 KPa). The filtration efficiency was found most sensitive to the air pressure change at smaller particle sizes. As the air pressure increased from 60 to 130 KPa, significant decrease in filtration efficiency (up to 15%) and increase in pressure drop (up to 90 Pa) were observed. The filtration efficiency of the filter sheet with largest fiber diameter and smallest solid volume fraction was affected most, while the pressure drop of the filter sheet with smallest fiber diameter and largest solid volume fraction was affected most. The effect of air pressure on the filtration efficiency was slightly larger at greater filter face air velocity. However, the effect of air pressure on the pressure drop was negligible. The filtration efficiency and pressure drop were explicitly expressed as functions of the air pressure. Two coefficients were empirically derived and successfully accounted for the effects of air pressure on filtration efficiency and pressure drop.

Effects of the Discharge Parameters on the Efficiency and Stability of Ambient Metastable-Induced Desorption Ionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaotian; Chen, Chilai; Liu, Youjiang; Wang, Hongwei; Zhang, Lehua; Kong, Deyi; Mario, Chavarria

2015-12-01

Ionization efficiency is an important factor for ion sources in mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry. Using helium as the discharge gas, acetone as the sample, and high-field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) as the ion detection method, this work investigates in detail the effects of discharge parameters on the efficiency of ambient metastable-induced desorption ionization (AMDI) at atmospheric pressure. The results indicate that the discharge power and gas flow rate are both significantly correlated with the ionization efficiency. Specifically, an increase in the applied discharge power leads to a rapid increase in the ionization efficiency, which gradually reaches equilibrium due to ion saturation. Moreover, when the discharge voltage is fixed at 2.1 kV, a maximum efficiency can be achieved at the flow rate of 9.0 m/s. This study provides a foundation for the design and application of AMDI for on-line detection with mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry. supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61374016), the Changzhou Science and Technology Support Program, China (No. CE20120081) and the External Cooperation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. GJHZ1218)

Epileptic seizures as condensed sleep: an analysis of network dynamics from electroencephalogram signals.

PubMed

Gast, Heidemarie; Müller, Markus; Rummel, Christian; Roth, Corinne; Mathis, Johannes; Schindler, Kaspar; Bassetti, Claudio L

2014-06-01

Both deepening sleep and evolving epileptic seizures are associated with increasing slow-wave activity. Larger-scale functional networks derived from electroencephalogram indicate that in both transitions dramatic changes of communication between brain areas occur. During seizures these changes seem to be 'condensed', because they evolve more rapidly than during deepening sleep. Here we set out to assess quantitatively functional network dynamics derived from electroencephalogram signals during seizures and normal sleep. Functional networks were derived from electroencephalogram signals from wakefulness, light and deep sleep of 12 volunteers, and from pre-seizure, seizure and post-seizure time periods of 10 patients suffering from focal onset pharmaco-resistant epilepsy. Nodes of the functional network represented electrical signals recorded by single electrodes and were linked if there was non-random cross-correlation between the two corresponding electroencephalogram signals. Network dynamics were then characterized by the evolution of global efficiency, which measures ease of information transmission. Global efficiency was compared with relative delta power. Global efficiency significantly decreased both between light and deep sleep, and between pre-seizure, seizure and post-seizure time periods. The decrease of global efficiency was due to a loss of functional links. While global efficiency decreased significantly, relative delta power increased except between the time periods wakefulness and light sleep, and pre-seizure and seizure. Our results demonstrate that both epileptic seizures and deepening sleep are characterized by dramatic fragmentation of larger-scale functional networks, and further support the similarities between sleep and seizures. © 2013 European Sleep Research Society.

Smart LED allocation scheme for efficient multiuser visible light communication networks.

PubMed

Sewaiwar, Atul; Tiwari, Samrat Vikramaditya; Chung, Yeon Ho

2015-05-18

In a multiuser bidirectional visible light communication (VLC), a large number of LEDs or an LED array needs to be allocated in an efficient manner to ensure sustainable data rate and link quality. Moreover, in order to support an increasing or decreasing number of users in the network, the LED allocation is required to be performed dynamically. In this paper, a novel smart LED allocation scheme for efficient multiuser VLC networks is presented. The proposed scheme allocates RGB LEDs to multiple users in a dynamic and efficient fashion, while satisfying illumination requirements in an indoor environment. The smart LED array comprised of RGB LEDs is divided into sectors according to the location of the users. The allocated sectors then provide optical power concentration toward the users for efficient and reliable data transmission. An algorithm for the dynamic allocation of the LEDs is also presented. To verify its effective resource allocation feature of the proposed scheme, simulations were performed. It is found that the proposed smart LED allocation scheme provides the effect of optical beamforming toward individual users, thereby increasing the collective power concentration of the optical signals on the desirable users and resulting in significantly increased data rate, while ensuring sufficient illumination in a multiuser VLC environment.

A study of subsurface wastewater infiltration systems for distributed rural sewage treatment.

PubMed

Qin, Wei; Dou, Junfeng; Ding, Aizhong; Xie, En; Zheng, Lei

2014-08-01

Three types of subsurface wastewater infiltration systems (SWIS) were developed to study the efficiency of organic pollutant removal from distributed rural sewage under various conditions. Of the three different layered substrate systems, the one with the greatest amount of decomposed cow dung (5%) and soil (DCDS) showed the highest removal efficiency with respect to total nitrogen (TN), where the others showed no significant difference. The TN removal efficiency was increased with an increasing filling height of DCDS. Compared with the TN removal efficiency of 25% in the system without DCDS, the removal efficiency of the systems in which DCDS filled half and one fourth of the height was increased by 72% and 31%, respectively. Based on seasonal variations in the discharge of the typical rural family, the SWIS were run at three different hydraulic loads of 6.5, 13 and 20 cm/d. These results illustrated that SWIS could perform well at any of the given hydraulic loads. The results of trials using different inlet configurations showed that the effluent concentration of the contaminants in the system operating a multiple-inlet mode was much lower compared with the system operated under single-inlet conditions. The effluent concentration ofa pilot-scale plant achieved the level III criteria specified by the Surface Water Quality Standard at the initial stage.

Comparative Analysis of the Symbiotic Efficiency of Medicago truncatula and Medicago sativa under Phosphorus Deficiency

PubMed Central

Sulieman, Saad; Schulze, Joachim; Tran, Lam-Son Phan

2013-01-01

Phosphorus (P)-deficiency is a major abiotic stress that limits legume growth in many types of soils. The relationship between Medicago and Sinorhizobium, is known to be affected by different environmental conditions. Recent reports have shown that, in combination with S. meliloti 2011, Medicago truncatula had a lower symbiotic efficiency than Medicago sativa. However, little is known about how Medicago–Sinorhizobium is affected by P-deficiency at the whole-plant level. The objective of the present study was to compare and characterize the symbiotic efficiency of N2 fixation of M. truncatula and M. sativa grown in sand under P-limitation. Under this condition, M. truncatula exhibited a significantly higher rate of N2 fixation. The specific activity of the nodules was much higher in M. truncatula in comparison to M. sativa, partially as a result of an increase in electron allocation to N2versus H+. Although the main organic acid, succinate, exhibited a strong tendency to decrease under P-deficiency, the more efficient symbiotic ability observed in M. truncatula coincided with an apparent increase in the content of malate in its nodules. Our results indicate that the higher efficiency of the M. truncatula symbiotic system is related to the ability to increase malate content under limited P-conditions. PMID:23459233

[Effects of ridge and furrow rain harvesting with supplemental irrigation on winter wheat photosynthetic characteristics, yield and water use efficiency in Guanzhong irrigation district].

PubMed

Zhang, Yu; Han, Qing-fang; Cheng, Xue-feng; Yang, Shan-shan; Jia, Zhi-kuan; Ding, Rui-xia; Ren, Xiao-long; Nie, Jun-feng

2015-05-01

A field experiment was conducted to determine the regulation of crop photosynthesis and output and water saving effect under ridge and furrow rain harvesting with supplemental irrigation in Guanzhong irrigation district. The experiment was set with 5 treatments with irrigation at returning green stage, and the widths of both ridge and furrow being 60 cm. T1, T2 and T3 were in the ridge and furrow rain harvesting planting pattern, with the irrigation volumes being 0, 375 and 750 m3 · hm(-2) respectively, T4 was flat planting with irrigation (border irrigation) of 750 m3 · hm(-2) and CK was flat planting without irrigation. Effects on winter wheat photosynthetic organs, photosynthetic rate, yield and water use efficiency, etc. were tested. The results showed that compared with T4, T1, T2 and T3 treatments increased the grain yield by 2.8%, 9.6% and 18.9%, improved the harvest index by 2.0% to 8.5%, advanced the flag leaf chlorophyll content by 41.9% to 64.4% significantly, and improved the 0-40 cm layer soil moisture content by 0.1%-4.6% during the whole growth period. Photosynthetic rates at the flowering and filling stages also increased by 22.3% to 54.2% and -4.3% to 67.2%, respectively. Total water use efficiencies (WUEy) were 17.9%, 10.4% and 15.4% higher than that of T4, and 69.3%, 58.6% and 65.7% higher than that of CK (P < 0.05), respectively, and enhanced precipitation utilization efficiency ( PUE ) by 94.3%-124.5% than CK. Leaf areas of T2 and T3 treatments at each growth stage were significantly higher than that of T4 and CK, irrigation water use efficiencies (IUE) were 119.1% and 18.8% higher than that of T4, respectively. Therefore, it was concluded that ridge and furrow rain harvesting cultivation could maintain higher grain yield than border irrigation without irrigation or with irrigation reduction by 50%. The utilization efficiency of irrigation water under the condition of irrigation reduction by 50% was improved significantly, and the ridge and furrow rain harvesting could significantly improve whole cropland water use efficiency in the year of less rainfall.

Effects of simultaneous and optimized sequential cardiac resynchronization therapy on myocardial oxidative metabolism and efficiency.

PubMed

Christenson, Stuart D; Chareonthaitawee, Panithaya; Burnes, John E; Hill, Michael R S; Kemp, Brad J; Khandheria, Bijoy K; Hayes, David L; Gibbons, Raymond J

2008-02-01

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can improve left ventricular (LV) hemodynamics and function. Recent data suggest the energy cost of such improvement is favorable. The effects of sequential CRT on myocardial oxidative metabolism (MVO(2)) and efficiency have not been previously assessed. Eight patients with NYHA class III heart failure were studied 196 +/- 180 days after CRT implant. Dynamic [(11)C]acetate positron emission tomography (PET) and echocardiography were performed after 1 hour of: 1) AAI pacing, 2) simultaneous CRT, and 3) sequential CRT. MVO(2) was calculated using the monoexponential clearance rate of [(11)C]acetate (k(mono)). Myocardial efficiency was expressed in terms of the work metabolic index (WMI). P values represent overall significance from repeated measures analysis. Global LV and right ventricular (RV) MVO(2) were not significantly different between pacing modes, but the septal/lateral MVO(2) ratio differed significantly with the change in pacing mode (AAI pacing = 0.696 +/- 0.094 min(-1), simultaneous CRT = 0.975 +/- 0.143 min(-1), and sequential CRT = 0.938 +/- 0.189 min(-1); overall P = 0.001). Stroke volume index (SVI) (AAI pacing = 26.7 +/- 10.4 mL/m(2), simultaneous CRT = 30.6 +/- 11.2 mL/m(2), sequential CRT = 33.5 +/- 12.2 mL/m(2); overall P < 0.001) and WMI (AAI pacing = 3.29 +/- 1.34 mmHg*mL/m(2)*10(6), simultaneous CRT = 4.29 +/- 1.72 mmHg*mL/m(2)*10(6), sequential CRT = 4.79 +/- 1.92 mmHg*mL/m(2)*10(6); overall P = 0.002) also differed between pacing modes. Compared with simultaneous CRT, additional changes in septal/lateral MVO(2), SVI, and WMI with sequential CRT were not statistically significant on post hoc analysis. In this small selected population, CRT increases LV SVI without increasing MVO(2), resulting in improved myocardial efficiency. Additional improvements in LV work, oxidative metabolism, and efficiency from simultaneous to sequential CRT were not significant.

The efficiency of a new hydrodynamic cavitation pilot system on Artemia salina cysts and natural population of copepods and bacteria under controlled mesocosm conditions.

PubMed

Cvetković, Martina; Grego, Mateja; Turk, Valentina

2016-04-15

A study of the efficiency of hydrodynamic cavitation and separation was carried out to evaluate an innovative, environmentally safe and acceptable system for ballast water treatment for reducing the risk of introducing non-native species worldwide. Mesocosm experiments were performed to assess the morphological changes and viability of zooplankton (copepods), Artemia salina cysts, and the growth potential of marine bacteria after the hydrodynamic cavitation treatment with a different number of cycles. Our preliminary results confirmed the significant efficiency of the treatment since more than 98% of the copepods and A. salina cysts were damaged, in comparison with the initial population. The efficiency increased with the number of the hydrodynamic cavitation cycles, or in combination with a separation technique for cysts. There was also a significant decrease in bacterial abundance and growth rate, compared to the initial number and growth potential. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Mechanical Activation Treatment on the Recovery of Vanadium from Converter Slag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Junyi; Huang, Qingyun; Lv, Xuewei; Bai, Chenguang

2017-10-01

The high roasting temperature and low leaching efficiency of vanadium from vanadium-bearing converter slag are regarded as the main factors significantly influencing the application of calcification roasting-acid leaching processes in the cleaner production of vanadium. In this study, a mechanical activation treatment was performed to enhance the extraction of vanadium from converter slag. The enhancement effects obtained from mechanical activation were comprehensively evaluated through indices such as the roasting temperature and leaching efficiency. The effects of mechanical activation time, roasting temperature, leaching temperature, solid to liquid ratio, particle size, and acid concentration on the leaching efficiency were investigated. Microstructure morphology and elemental analyses of the raw materials and leaching residue were also investigated using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the mechanical activation significantly decreased the optimum roasting temperature from 1173 K to 1073 K (900 °C to 800 °C) and increased the leaching efficiency from 86.0 to 90.9 pct.

Efficiency and cross-correlation in equity market during global financial crisis: Evidence from China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Pengcheng; Li, Daye; Li, Shuo

2016-02-01

Using one minute high-frequency data of the Shanghai Composite Index (SHCI) and the Shenzhen Composite Index (SZCI) (2007-2008), we employ the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and the detrended cross correlation analysis (DCCA) with rolling window approach to observe the evolution of market efficiency and cross-correlation in pre-crisis and crisis period. Considering the fat-tail distribution of return time series, statistical test based on shuffling method is conducted to verify the null hypothesis of no long-term dependence. Our empirical research displays three main findings. First Shanghai equity market efficiency deteriorated while Shenzhen equity market efficiency improved with the advent of financial crisis. Second the highly positive dependence between SHCI and SZCI varies with time scale. Third financial crisis saw a significant increase of dependence between SHCI and SZCI at shorter time scales but a lack of significant change at longer time scales, providing evidence of contagion and absence of interdependence during crisis.

Optical designs for improved solar cell performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosten, Emily Dell

The solar resource is the most abundant renewable resource on earth, yet it is currently exploited with relatively low efficiencies. To make solar energy more affordable, we can either reduce the cost of the cell or increase the efficiency with a similar cost cell. In this thesis, we consider several different optical approaches to achieve these goals. First, we consider a ray optical model for light trapping in silicon microwires. With this approach, much less material can be used, allowing for a cost savings. We next focus on reducing the escape of radiatively emitted and scattered light from the solar cell. With this angle restriction approach, light can only enter and escape the cell near normal incidence, allowing for thinner cells and higher efficiencies. In Auger-limited GaAs, we find that efficiencies greater than 38% may be achievable, a significant improvement over the current world record. To experimentally validate these results, we use a Bragg stack to restrict the angles of emitted light. Our measurements show an increase in voltage and a decrease in dark current, as less radiatively emitted light escapes. While the results in GaAs are interesting as a proof of concept, GaAs solar cells are not currently made on the production scale for terrestrial photovoltaic applications. We therefore explore the application of angle restriction to silicon solar cells. While our calculations show that Auger-limited cells give efficiency increases of up to 3% absolute, we also find that current amorphous silicion-crystalline silicon heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) cells give significant efficiency gains with angle restriction of up to 1% absolute. Thus, angle restriction has the potential for unprecedented one sun efficiencies in GaAs, but also may be applicable to current silicon solar cell technology. Finally, we consider spectrum splitting, where optics direct light in different wavelength bands to solar cells with band gaps tuned to those wavelengths. This approach has the potential for very high efficiencies, and excellent annual power production. Using a light-trapping filtered concentrator approach, we design filter elements and find an optimal design. Thus, this thesis explores silicon microwires, angle restriction, and spectral splitting as different optical approaches for improving the cost and efficiency of solar cells.

Environmental sustainability of bioethanol produced from sweet sorghum stem on saline-alkali land.

PubMed

Wang, Mingxin; Pan, Xinxing; Xia, Xunfeng; Xi, Beidou; Wang, Lijun

2015-01-01

Life cycle assessment was conducted to evaluate the energy efficiency and environmental impacts of a bioethanol production system that uses sweet sorghum stem on saline-alkali land as feedstock. The system comprises a plant cultivation unit, a feedstock transport unit, and a bioethanol conversion unit, with 1000L of bioethanol as a functional unit. The net energy ratio is 3.84, and the net energy gain is 17.21MJ/L. Agrochemical production consumes 76.58% of the life cycle fossil energy. The category with the most significant impact on the environment is eutrophication, followed by acidification, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity, human toxicity, and global warming. Allocation method, waste recycling approach, and soil salinity significantly influence the results. Using vinasse to produce pellet fuel for steam generation significantly improves energy efficiency and decreases negative environmental impacts. Promoting reasonable management practices to alleviate saline stress and increasing agrochemical utilization efficiency can further improve environmental sustainability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Vitamin and mineral supplements in the diet of military personnel: effect on the balance of iron, copper and manganese, immune reactivity and physical work-capacity].

PubMed

Zaĭtseva, I P; Nosolodin, V V; Zaĭtsev, O N; Gladkikh, I P; Koznienko, I V; Beliakov, R A; Arshinov, N P

2012-03-01

Conducted with the participation of 50 students of military educational study the effect of various vitamin and mineral complexes for the provision by the body naturally iron, copper and manganese on the immune and physical status. Found that diets enriched BMV was accompanied by a significant delay in the micro-elements, mainly iron, which indicates a deficiency of these bioelements in chickens Santo during the summer. Under the influence of vitamin-mineral complexes significantly increased rates of natural and specific immunity. As the delay increases significantly increased iron medical indicators of immunological reaction efficiency and physical performance.

The AMOS cell - An improved metal-semiconductor solar cell. [Antireflection coated Metal Oxide Semiconductor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stirn, R. J.; Yeh, Y.-C. M.

1975-01-01

A new fabrication process is being developed which significantly improves the efficiency of metal-semiconductor solar cells. The resultant effect, a marked increase in the open-circuit voltage, is produced by the addition of an interfacial layer oxide on the semiconductor. Cells using gold on n-type gallium arsenide have been made in small areas (0.17 sq cm) with conversion efficiencies of 15% in terrestrial sunlight.

Seamless Insert-Plasmid Assembly at High Efficiency and Low Cost

PubMed Central

Benoit, Roger M.; Ostermeier, Christian; Geiser, Martin; Li, Julia Su Zhou; Widmer, Hans; Auer, Manfred

2016-01-01

Seamless cloning methods, such as co-transformation cloning, sequence- and ligation-independent cloning (SLIC) or the Gibson assembly, are essential tools for the precise construction of plasmids. The efficiency of co-transformation cloning is however low and the Gibson assembly reagents are expensive. With the aim to improve the robustness of seamless cloning experiments while keeping costs low, we examined the importance of complementary single-stranded DNA ends for co-transformation cloning and the influence of single-stranded gaps in circular plasmids on SLIC cloning efficiency. Most importantly, our data show that single-stranded gaps in double-stranded plasmids, which occur in typical SLIC protocols, can drastically decrease the efficiency at which the DNA transforms competent E. coli bacteria. Accordingly, filling-in of single-stranded gaps using DNA polymerase resulted in increased transformation efficiency. Ligation of the remaining nicks did not lead to a further increase in transformation efficiency. These findings demonstrate that highly efficient insert-plasmid assembly can be achieved by using only T5 exonuclease and Phusion DNA polymerase, without Taq DNA ligase from the original Gibson protocol, which significantly reduces the cost of the reactions. We successfully used this modified Gibson assembly protocol with two short insert-plasmid overlap regions, each counting only 15 nucleotides. PMID:27073895

Deficiency in clonogenic endometrial mesenchymal stem cells in obese women with reproductive failure--a pilot study.

PubMed

Murakami, Keisuke; Bhandari, Harish; Lucas, Emma S; Takeda, Satoru; Gargett, Caroline E; Quenby, Siobhan; Brosens, Jan J; Tan, Bee K

2013-01-01

The mechanisms of obesity associated reproductive complications remain poorly understood. Endometrial mesenchymal stem-cells are critical for cyclic renewal and uterine function. Recently, W5C5(+) cells, with high clonogenicity, capable of producing endometrial stroma in vivo, have been described. We sought to investigate the abundance and cloning efficiency of W5C5(+) and W5C5(-) endometrial cells in relation to Body Mass Index, age and reproductive outcome. W5C5(+) and W5C5(-) cells were purified from mid-luteal endometrial biopsies (n = 54) by magnetic bead separation and subjected to in vitro colony-forming assays. First trimester pregnancy losses were significantly higher in obese subjects (n = 12) compared to overweight (n = 20) and subjects with normal Body Mass Index (n = 22) (P<0.05, P<0.01, respectively). W5C5(+) cells (%) were significantly lower in obese subjects compared to subjects with normal Body Mass Index (P<0.05). W5C5(+) cloning efficiency was significantly lower in obese subjects compared to overweight and subjects with normal Body Mass Index (P<0.05, respectively). W5C5(-) cloning efficiency was significantly lower in obese subjects compared to subjects with normal Body Mass Index (P<0.05). Body Mass Index was significantly negatively correlated with W5C5(+) cloning efficiency and W5C5(-) cloning efficiency (P<0.01, respectively), and positively correlated with first trimester loss (P<0.01). We found no significant results with age (P>0.05). Our observations suggest that the regenerative capacity and plasticity of the endometrium of obese women is suboptimal, which in turn may account for the increased risk of reproductive complications associated with obesity.

Mechanical efficiency of high versus moderate intensity aerobic exercise in coronary heart disease patients: A randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Villelabeitia-Jaureguizar, Koldobika; Vicente-Campos, Davinia; Berenguel Senen, Alejandro; Verónica Hernández Jiménez, Verónica; Lorena Ruiz Bautista, Lorena; Barrios Garrido-Lestache, María Elvira; López Chicharro, Jose

2018-05-10

Mechanical efficiency (ME) refers to the ability of an individual to transfer energy consumed by external work. A decreased ME, could represent an increased energy cost during exercise and may, therefore, be limited in terms of physical activity. This study aimed to compare the influence of two different exercise protocols: moderate continuous training (MCT) versus high intensity interval training (HIIT), as part of a cardiac rehabilitation program on ME values among coronary patients. 110 coronary patients were assigned to either HIIT or MCT groups for 8 weeks. Incremental exercise tests in a cycle ergometer were performed to obtain VO₂peak. Net energy expenditure (EE) and ME were obtained at intensities corresponding to the first (VT₁) and second (VT₂) ventilatory thresholds, and at VO₂peak. Both exercise programs significantly increase VO₂peak with a higher increase in the HIIT group (2.96 ± 2.33 mL/kg/min vs. 3.88 ± 2.40 mL/kg/min, for patients of the MCT and HIIT groups respectively, p < 0.001). The ME at VO₂peak and VT₂ only significantly increased in the HIIT group. At VT₁, ME significantly increased in both groups, with a greater increase in the HIIT group (2.20 ± 6.25% vs. 5.52 ± 5.53%, for patients of the MCT and HIIT groups respectively, p < 0.001). The application of HIIT to patients with chronic ischemic heart disease of low risk resulted in a greater improvement in VO₂peak and in ME at VT₁, than when MCT was applied. Moreover, only the application of HIIT brought about a significant increase in ME at VT₂ and at VO₂peak.

All optical OFDM transmission for passive optical networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kachare, Nitin; Ashik T., J.; Bai, K. Kalyani; Kumar, D. Sriram

2017-06-01

This paper demonstrates the idea of data transmission at a very higher rate (Tbits/s) through optical fibers in a passive optical network using the most efficient data transmission technique widely used in wireless communication that is orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. With an increase in internet users, data traffic has also increased significantly and the current dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems may not support the next generation passive optical networks (PONs) requirements. The approach discussed in this paper allows to increase the downstream data rate per user and extend the standard single-mode fiber reach for future long-haul applications. All-optical OFDM is a promising solution for terabit per second capable single wavelength transmission, with high spectral efficiency and high tolerance to chromatic dispersion.

Energy-efficiency increase of reinforced concrete columns with recessed working fittings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muradyan, Viktor; Mailyan, Dmitry; Lyapin, Alexander; Chubarov, Valery

2017-10-01

One of the most important ways of increasing the energy-efficiency of the construction industry is the reduction of the material capacity of structures and labour intensity of their manufacturing. Since manufacturing of reinforced concrete structures requires considerable financial and energy expenses, then reduction of technological cycle operations is sure to be the urgent task today. It is well known, that in the recessed reinforced concrete elements the transverse reinforcement is fixed for the purpose of ensuring the longitudinal rods fixity. Besides, the thickness of the protective layer, as a rule, is taken the minimum. The authors proposed to increase the protective layer, and that will reduce the amount of transverse reinforcement rods significantly and will make the technological process of structures manufacturing easier.

Trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency in stroke rehabilitation.

PubMed

Koh, Gerald Choon-Huat; Chen, Cynthia; Cheong, Angela; Choo, Tai Bee; Pui, Choi Kwok; Phoon, Fong Ngan; Ming, Chan Kin; Yeow, Tan Boon; Petrella, Robert; Thind, Amardeep; Koh, David; Seng, Chia Kee

2012-12-01

Most stroke research has studied rehabilitation effectiveness and rehabilitation efficiency separately and not investigated the potential trade-offs between these two indices of rehabilitation. To determine whether there is a trade-off between independent factors of rehabilitation effectiveness and rehabilitation efficiency. Using a retrospective cohort study design, we studied all stroke patients (n = 2810) from two sub-acute rehabilitation hospitals from 1996 to 2005, representing 87·5% of national bed-years during the same period. Independent predictors of poorer rehabilitation effectiveness and log rehabilitation efficiency were • older age • race-ethnicity • caregiver availability • ischemic stroke • longer time to admission • dementia • admission Barthel Index score, and • length of stay. Rehabilitation effectiveness was lower in females, and the gender differences were significantly lower in those aged ≤70 years (β -4·7 (95% confidence interval -7·4 to -2·0)). There were trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency with respect to admission Barthel Index score and length of stay. An increase of 10 in admission Barthel Index score predicted an increase of 3·6% (95% confidence interval 3·2-4·0) in effectiveness but a decrease of 0·04 (95% confidence interval -0·05 to -0·02) in log efficiency (a reduction of efficiency by 1·0 per 30 days). An increase in log length of stay by 1 (length of stay of 2·7 days) predicted an increase of 8·0% (95% confidence interval 5·7-10·3) in effectiveness but a decrease of 0·82 (95% confidence interval -0·90 to -0·74) in log efficiency (equivalent to a reduction in efficiency by 2·3 per 30 days). For optimal rehabilitation effectiveness and rehabilitation efficiency, the admission Barthel Index score was 30-62 and length of stay was 37-41 days. There are trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency during inpatient sub-acute stroke rehabilitation with respect to admission functional status and length of stay. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2011 World Stroke Organization.

Evaluating Siebens Domain Management Model for inpatient rehabilitation to increase functional independence and discharge rate to home in geriatric patients.

PubMed

Kushner, David S; Peters, Kenneth M; Johnson-Greene, Doug

2015-07-01

To evaluate the Siebens Domain Management Model (SDMM) for geriatric inpatient rehabilitation (IR) to increase functional independence and dispositions to home. Before and after study. IR facility. During 2010 (preintervention), 429 patients aged ≥75 years who were on average admitted to IR 8.2 days postacute care, and during 2012 (postintervention), 524 patients aged ≥75 years who were on average admitted to IR 5.5 days postacute care. Case-mix group (CMG) comorbidity tier severity, preadmission living setting, and living support were similar in both groups. The SDMM involving weekly adjustments of IR care focused on potential barriers to discharge home. FIM efficiency, length of stay (LOS), and disposition rates to community/home, acute care, and long-term care (LTC) to compare pre-/postintervention facility data and comparison of facility to national CMG-adjusted data from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation for both years (2010/2012). Pre-/postintervention group admission FIM scores were similar (t=2.96, P<.003), but the preintervention group had on average 2.6 days greater LOS during IR and greater time to onset of IR (8.2 vs 5.5d) from acute care. Preintervention FIM efficiency was 2.1, whereas postintervention FIM efficiency was 2.76, a significant difference (t=4.1, P<.0001). There were significantly more discharges to the community in the postintervention group (74.4%) than the preintervention group (58.5%, χ(2)=26.2, P<.0001). There were significantly fewer patients discharged to LTC in the postintervention group (χ(2)=30.47, P<.0001). The preintervention group did not significantly differ from the 2010 national data, but the postintervention group significantly differed from the 2012 national data for both greater FIM efficiency (t=-5.5, P<.0001) and greater discharge to community (χ(2)=34, P<.0001). LOS decreased by 2.6 days in the postintervention group compared with the preintervention group, whereas LOS decreased by only 0.6 days nationally from 2010 to 2012, a significant difference with postintervention LOS lower than the national data (t=31.1, P<.0001). Use of the SDMM during IR in geriatric patients is associated with increased functional independence and discharges to home/community and reduced institutionalization. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Significant performance enhancement of inverted organic light-emitting diodes by using ZnIx as a hole-blocking layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Chuan-Hui; Zhang, Bi-Long; Sun, Chao; Li, Ruo-Xuan; Wang, Yuan; Tian, Wen-Ming; Zhao, Chun-Yi; Jin, Sheng-Ye; Liu, Wei-Feng; Luo, Ying-Min; Du, Guo-Tong; Cong, Shu-Lin

2017-06-01

A highly efficient inverted organic light emitting diode using 1.0 nm-thick ZnIx as a hole-blocking layer is developed. We fabricate devices with the configuration ITO/ZnIx (1.0 nm)/Alq3 (50 nm)/NPB (50 nm)/MoO3 (6.0 nm)/Al (100 nm). The deposition of a ZnIx layer increases the maximum luminance by two orders of magnitude from 13.4 to 3566.1 cd/m2. In addition, the maximum current efficiency and power efficiency are increased by three orders of magnitude, and the turn-on voltage to reach 1 cd/m2 decreases from 13 to 8 V. The results suggest that the electron injection efficiency is not improved by introducing a ZnIx layer. Instead, the improved device performance originates from the strong hole-blocking ability of ZnIx. This work indicates that layered materials may lead to novel applications in optoelectronic devices.

Competition among Turkish hospitals and its effect on hospital efficiency and service quality.

PubMed

Torun, Nazan; Celik, Yusuf; Younis, Mustafa Z

2013-01-01

The level of competition among hospitals in Turkey was analyzed for the years 1990 through 2006 using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). Multiple and simple regression analyses were run to observe the development of competition among hospitals over this period of time, to examine likely determinants of competition, and to calculate the effects of competition on efficiency and quality in individual hospitals. This study found that the level of competition among hospitals in Turkey has increased throughout the years. Also, competition has had a positive effect on the efficiency of hospitals; however, it did not have a significant positive effect on their quality. Moreover, there are important differences in the level of competition among hospitals that vary according to the geographical region, the type of ownership, and the type of hospital. This study is one of the first to evaluate the effects of health policies on competition as well as the effects of increasing competition on hospital quality and efficiency in Turkey.

Stabilizing Gas Bearings In Free-Piston Machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhar, Manmohan

1995-01-01

Gas bearings and clearance seals between pistons and cylinders in free-piston machines designed to reduce undesired dynamic forces and torques on pistons, gas bearings, and cylinders. Circumferential grooves and drain galleries added to piston or cylinder in improved design. Provides stabilization without significant reduction in length of seal, or significant increase in leakage and consequent reduction of efficiency.

Pluronic Microemulsions as Nanoreservoirs for Extraction of Bupivacaine from Normal Saline

PubMed Central

Varshney, Manoj; Morey, Timothy E.; Shah, Dinesh O.; Flint, Jason A.; Moudgil, Brij M.; Seubert, Christoph N.

2013-01-01

We hypothesized that custom-designed microemulsions would effectively scavenge compounds from bulk media. Pluronic-based oil-in-water microemulsions were synthesized that efficiently reduced the free concentration of the local anesthetic bupivacaine in 0.9% NaCl. Both the molecular nature and concentration of the constituents in the microemulsions significantly affected extraction efficiencies. Pluronic F127-based microemulsions extracted bupivacaine more efficiently than microemulsions synthesized using other Pluronic surfactants (L44, L62, L64, F77, F87, F88, P104). Extraction was markedly increased by addition of fatty acid sodium salts due to greater oil/water interface area, increased columbic interaction between bupivacaine and fatty acids sodium salt, and greater surface activity. These data suggest that oil-in-water microemulsions may be an effective agent to treat cardiotoxicity caused by bupivacaine or other lipophilic drugs. PMID:15099093

78 FR 12381 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

... computer technology that permitted more efficient, and increasingly paperless, distribution of proxy... requires ongoing technology support, services and maintenance, and is a significant part of the total cost...

Progress of Multi-Beam Long Trace-Profiler Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gubarev, Mikhail; Kilaru, Kiranmayee; Merthe, Daniel J.; Kester, Thomas; McKinney, Wayne R.; Takacs, Peter Z.; Yashchuk, Valeriy V.

2012-01-01

The multi-beam long trace profiler (LTP) under development at NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center[1] is designed to increase the efficiency of metrology of replicated X-ray optics. The traditional LTP operates on a single laser beam that scans along the test surface to detect the slope errors. While capable of exceptional surface slope accuracy, the LTP single beam scanning has slow measuring speed. As metrology constitutes a significant fraction of the time spent in optics production, an increase in the efficiency of metrology helps in decreasing the cost of fabrication of the x-ray optics and in improving their quality. Metrology efficiency can be increased by replacing the single laser beam with multiple beams that can scan a section of the test surface at a single instance. The increase in speed with such a system would be almost proportional to the number of laser beams. A collaborative feasibility study has been made and specifications were fixed for a multi-beam long trace profiler. The progress made in the development of this metrology system is presented.

Perspective for Fibre-Hybrid Composites in Wind Energy Applications

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Increasing the efficiency of wind turbines will be vital for the wind energy sector to continue growing. The drive for increased efficiency is pushing turbine manufacturers to shift from glass fibre composite blades towards carbon/glass fibre-hybrid composite blades. This shift brings significant challenges in terms of optimising the design and understanding the failure of these new blade materials. This review therefore surveys the literature on fibre-hybrid composites, with an emphasis on aspects that are relevant for turbine blade materials. The literature on tensile, flexural, compressive, and fatigue performance is critically assessed and areas for future research are identified. Numerical simulations of fibre-hybrid composites have reached a reasonable maturity for tensile failure, but significant progress is required for flexural, compressive, and fatigue failure. Fatigue failure of fibre-hybrid composites in particular, requires more careful attention from both a modelling and experimental point of view. PMID:29117126

Extended Performance 8-cm Mercury Ion Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mantenieks, M. A.

1981-01-01

A slightly modified 8-cm Hg ion thruster demonstrated significant increase in performance. Thrust was increased by almost a factor of five over that of the baseline thruster. Thruster operation with various three grid ion optics configurations; thruster performance as a function of accelerator grid open area, cathode baffle, and cathode orifice size; and a life test of 614 hours at a beam current of 250 mA (17.5 mN thrust) are discussed. Highest thruster efficiency was obtained with the smallest open area accelerator grid. The benefits in efficiency from the low neutral loss grids were mitigated, however, by the limitation such grids place on attainable ion beam current densities. The thruster components suffered negligible weight losses during a life test, which indicated that operation of the 8-cm thruster at extended levels of thrust and power is possible with no significant loss of lifetime.

Statewide Implementation of Parenting with Love and Limits Among Youth with Co-Existing Internalizing and Externalizing Functional Impairments Reduces Return to Service Rates and Treatment Costs.

PubMed

Sterrett-Hong, Emma M; Karam, Eli; Kiaer, Lynn

2017-09-01

Many community mental health (CMH) systems contain inefficiencies, contributing to unmet need for services among youth. Using a quasi-experimental research design, we examined the implementation of an adapted structural-strategic family intervention, Parenting with Love and Limits, in a state CMH system to increase efficiency of services to youth with co-existing internalizing and externalizing functional impairments (PLL n = 296; Treatment-As-Usual n = 296; 54% male; 81% Caucasian). Youth receiving PLL experienced shorter treatment durations and returned to CMH services at significantly lower rates than youth receiving treatment-as-usual. They also demonstrated significant decreases in internalizing and externalizing symptoms over time. Findings lay the foundation for further examination of the role of an adapted structural-strategic family treatment in increasing the efficiency of CMH systems.

Perspective for Fibre-Hybrid Composites in Wind Energy Applications.

PubMed

Swolfs, Yentl

2017-11-08

Increasing the efficiency of wind turbines will be vital for the wind energy sector to continue growing. The drive for increased efficiency is pushing turbine manufacturers to shift from glass fibre composite blades towards carbon/glass fibre-hybrid composite blades. This shift brings significant challenges in terms of optimising the design and understanding the failure of these new blade materials. This review therefore surveys the literature on fibre-hybrid composites, with an emphasis on aspects that are relevant for turbine blade materials. The literature on tensile, flexural, compressive, and fatigue performance is critically assessed and areas for future research are identified. Numerical simulations of fibre-hybrid composites have reached a reasonable maturity for tensile failure, but significant progress is required for flexural, compressive, and fatigue failure. Fatigue failure of fibre-hybrid composites in particular, requires more careful attention from both a modelling and experimental point of view.

In-vitro studies of enteric coated diclofenac sodium-carboxymethylcellulose microspheres.

PubMed

Arica, B; Arica, M Y; Kaş, H S; Hincal, A A; Hasirci, V

1996-01-01

MIcrospheres containing diclofenac sodium (DS) were prepared using carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as the main support material (1.0, 2.0, 3.0% (w/v)) and aluminum chloride as the crosslinker. Drug to polymer ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 were used to obtain a range of microspheres. The microspheres were then coated with an enteric coating material, Eudragit S-100, efficiency, % yield value, particle sizes an in-vitro dissolution behaviour were investigated. The surface of the enteric coated microspheres seemed to be all covered with Eudragit S-100 from scanning electron microscopy observation. It was also observed that increasing the CMC concentration led to an increase in the encapsulation efficiency, % yield value and particle size and decreased the release rate. Eudragit S-100 coating did not significantly alter the size but the release rate was significantly lower even when the lower concentration solution was used.

Long-term field phytoextraction of zinc/cadmium contaminated soil by Sedum plumbizincicola under different agronomic strategies.

PubMed

Deng, Lin; Li, Zhu; Wang, Jie; Liu, Hongyan; Li, Na; Wu, Longhua; Hu, Pengjie; Luo, Yongming; Christie, Peter

2016-01-01

In two long-term field experiments the zinc (Zn)/cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator Sedum plumbizincicola (S. plumbizincicola) was examined to optimize the phytoextraction of metal contaminated soil by two agronomic strategies of intercropping with maize (Zea mays) and plant densities. Soil total Zn and Cd concentrations decreased markedly after long-term phytoextraction. But shoot biomass and Cd and Zn concentrations showed no significant difference with increasing remediation time. In the intercropping experiment the phytoremediation efficiency in the treatment "S. plumbizincicola intercropped with maize" was higher than in S. plumbizincicola monocropping, and Cd concentrations of corn were below the maximum national limit. In the plant density experiment the phytoremediation efficiency increased with increasing plant density and 440,000 plants ha(-1) gave the maximum rate. These results indicated that S. plumbizincicola at an appropriate planting density and intercropped with maize can achieve high remediation efficiency to contaminated soil without affecting the cereal crop productivity. This cropping system combines adequate agricultural production with soil heavy metal phytoextraction.

[Effect of soil preparation and fertilization on foliage and shoot growth of Ginkgo biloba and its medicine content].

PubMed

He, Binghui; Zhong, Zhangcheng

2004-06-01

The study showed that the efficiency of various treatments in improving the height growth of Ginkgo biloba was organic fertilizer plus intercropping > soil preparation by blasting plus intercropping > organic fertilizer > soil preparation by blasting > intercropping, and the height growth increased by 14.5%, 8.6%, 5.7%, 3.2% and 0, respectively. The efficiency of the treatments in improving new shoot growth was organic fertilizer plus intercropping > soil preparation by blasting plus intercropping > intercropping > organic fertilizer > soil preparation by blasting, and the new shoot growth increased by 58.1%, 36.6%, 33.1%, 30.2% and 14.0%, respectively. Soil preparation, organic fertilization and intercropping had no different effect on the number of long shoots, but their effect on the numbers of short shoots and leaves was significantly different. The most efficient treatment in improving the medicine content was organic fertilization plus intercropping. Compared with control, the content of quercetin and rutin in Ginkgo biloba leaves increased by 420% and 220%, respectively.

Empirical Study on Total Factor Productive Energy Efficiency in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region-Analysis based on Malmquist Index and Window Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qiang; Ding, Shuai; An, Jingwen

2017-12-01

This paper studies the energy efficiency of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and to finds out the trend of energy efficiency in order to improve the economic development quality of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Based on Malmquist index and window analysis model, this paper estimates the total factor energy efficiency in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region empirically by using panel data in this region from 1991 to 2014, and provides the corresponding political recommendations. The empirical result shows that, the total factor energy efficiency in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region increased from 1991 to 2014, mainly relies on advances in energy technology or innovation, and obvious regional differences in energy efficiency to exist. Throughout the window period of 24 years, the regional differences of energy efficiency in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region shrank. There has been significant convergent trend in energy efficiency after 2000, mainly depends on the diffusion and spillover of energy technologies.

The influence of small-scale interlayer heterogeneity on DDT removal efficiency for flushing technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xingwei; Chen, Jiajun

2017-06-01

With an aim to investigate the influence of small-scale interlayer heterogeneity on DDT removal efficiency, batch test including surfactant-stabilized foam flushing and solution flushing were carried out. Two man-made heterogeneous patterns consisting of coarse and fine quartz sand were designed to reveal the influencing mechanism. Moreover, the removal mechanism and the corresponding contribution by foam flushing were quantitatively studied. Compared with surfactant solution flushing, the DDT removal efficiency by surfactant-stabilized foam flushing increased by 9.47% and 11.28% under heterogeneous patterns 1 and 2, respectively. The DDT removal contributions of improving sweep efficiency for heterogeneous patterns 1 and 2 by foam flushing were 40.82% and 45.98%, and the contribution of dissolving capacity were 59.18% and 54.02%, respectively. The dissolving capacity of DDT played a major role in DDT removal efficiency by foam flushing under laboratory conditions. And the DDT removal contribution of significant improving sweep efficiency was higher than that of removal decline caused by weak solubilizing ability of foam film compared with solution flushing. The obtained results indicated that the difference of DDT removal efficiency by foam flushing was decreased under two different heterogeneous patterns with the increase of the contribution of improving foam flushing sweep efficiency. It suggested that foam flushing can reduce the disturbance from interlayer heterogeneity in remediating DDT contaminated heterogeneous medium.

Evaluation of high-perimeter electrode designs for deep brain stimulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howell, Bryan; Grill, Warren M.

2014-08-01

Objective. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for movement disorders and a promising therapy for treating epilepsy and psychiatric disorders. Despite its clinical success, complications including infections and mis-programing following surgical replacement of the battery-powered implantable pulse generator adversely impact the safety profile of this therapy. We sought to decrease power consumption and extend battery life by modifying the electrode geometry to increase stimulation efficiency. The specific goal of this study was to determine whether electrode contact perimeter or area had a greater effect on increasing stimulation efficiency. Approach. Finite-element method (FEM) models of eight prototype electrode designs were used to calculate the electrode access resistance, and the FEM models were coupled with cable models of passing axons to quantify stimulation efficiency. We also measured in vitro the electrical properties of the prototype electrode designs and measured in vivo the stimulation efficiency following acute implantation in anesthetized cats. Main results. Area had a greater effect than perimeter on altering the electrode access resistance; electrode (access or dynamic) resistance alone did not predict stimulation efficiency because efficiency was dependent on the shape of the potential distribution in the tissue; and, quantitative assessment of stimulation efficiency required consideration of the effects of the electrode-tissue interface impedance. Significance. These results advance understanding of the features of electrode geometry that are important for designing the next generation of efficient DBS electrodes.

Estimating moisture content of tree-length roundwood

Treesearch

Alexander Clark; Richard F. Daniels

2000-01-01

The green weight of southern pine tree-length roundwood delivered to the pulp mill is generally known. However, for optimum mill efficiency it is desirable to know dry weight. The moisture content of tree-length pine logs is quite variable. The moisture content of pine tree-length logs increases significantly with increasing stem height. Moisture content also varies...

Heat Shock-Enhanced Conjugation Efficiency in Standard Campylobacter jejuni Strains

PubMed Central

Zeng, Ximin; Ardeshna, Devarshi

2015-01-01

Campylobacter jejuni, the leading bacterial cause of human gastroenteritis in the United States, displays significant strain diversity due to horizontal gene transfer. Conjugation is an important horizontal gene transfer mechanism contributing to the evolution of bacterial pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance. It has been observed that heat shock could increase transformation efficiency in some bacteria. In this study, the effect of heat shock on C. jejuni conjugation efficiency and the underlying mechanisms were examined. With a modified Escherichia coli donor strain, different C. jejuni recipient strains displayed significant variation in conjugation efficiency ranging from 6.2 × 10−8 to 6.0 × 10−3 CFU per recipient cell. Despite reduced viability, heat shock of standard C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and 81-176 strains (e.g., 48 to 54°C for 30 to 60 min) could dramatically enhance C. jejuni conjugation efficiency up to 1,000-fold. The phenotype of the heat shock-enhanced conjugation in C. jejuni recipient cells could be sustained for at least 9 h. Filtered supernatant from the heat shock-treated C. jejuni cells could not enhance conjugation efficiency, which suggests that the enhanced conjugation efficiency is independent of secreted substances. Mutagenesis analysis indicated that the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats system and the selected restriction-modification systems (Cj0030/Cj0031, Cj0139/Cj0140, Cj0690c, and HsdR) were dispensable for heat shock-enhanced conjugation in C. jejuni. Taking all results together, this study demonstrated a heat shock-enhanced conjugation efficiency in standard C. jejuni strains, leading to an optimized conjugation protocol for molecular manipulation of this organism. The findings from this study also represent a significant step toward elucidation of the molecular mechanism of conjugative gene transfer in C. jejuni. PMID:25911489

Heat Shock-Enhanced Conjugation Efficiency in Standard Campylobacter jejuni Strains.

PubMed

Zeng, Ximin; Ardeshna, Devarshi; Lin, Jun

2015-07-01

Campylobacter jejuni, the leading bacterial cause of human gastroenteritis in the United States, displays significant strain diversity due to horizontal gene transfer. Conjugation is an important horizontal gene transfer mechanism contributing to the evolution of bacterial pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance. It has been observed that heat shock could increase transformation efficiency in some bacteria. In this study, the effect of heat shock on C. jejuni conjugation efficiency and the underlying mechanisms were examined. With a modified Escherichia coli donor strain, different C. jejuni recipient strains displayed significant variation in conjugation efficiency ranging from 6.2 × 10(-8) to 6.0 × 10(-3) CFU per recipient cell. Despite reduced viability, heat shock of standard C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and 81-176 strains (e.g., 48 to 54°C for 30 to 60 min) could dramatically enhance C. jejuni conjugation efficiency up to 1,000-fold. The phenotype of the heat shock-enhanced conjugation in C. jejuni recipient cells could be sustained for at least 9 h. Filtered supernatant from the heat shock-treated C. jejuni cells could not enhance conjugation efficiency, which suggests that the enhanced conjugation efficiency is independent of secreted substances. Mutagenesis analysis indicated that the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats system and the selected restriction-modification systems (Cj0030/Cj0031, Cj0139/Cj0140, Cj0690c, and HsdR) were dispensable for heat shock-enhanced conjugation in C. jejuni. Taking all results together, this study demonstrated a heat shock-enhanced conjugation efficiency in standard C. jejuni strains, leading to an optimized conjugation protocol for molecular manipulation of this organism. The findings from this study also represent a significant step toward elucidation of the molecular mechanism of conjugative gene transfer in C. jejuni. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Corticosterone administration and dietary glucose supplementation enhance fat accumulation in broiler chickens.

PubMed

Jiang, K J; Jiao, H C; Song, Z G; Yuan, L; Zhao, J P; Lin, H

2008-09-01

1. The effects of exogenous corticosterone administration and glucose supplementation on energy intake, lipid metabolism and fat deposition of broiler chickens were investigated. 2. A total of 144 three-d-old male chickens were randomly assigned to one of the following 4 treatments for 7 d: a low energy diet (10.9 MJ ME/kg, 200 g/kg CP) with or without corticosterone (30 mg/kg diet) and drinking water supplemented with glucose (80 g/l) or saccharine (2 g/l, control). 3. Body weight (BW) gain and breast and thigh muscle yields (% body mass) were all significantly decreased by corticosterone treatment. The relative cumulative feed intake (RCFI) and relative ME intake (RMEI), rather than the feed (FI) or ME intake (MEI) were increased by corticosterone administration. Both feed efficiency (FE) and caloric efficiency (CE) were decreased by corticosterone administration. Corticosterone administration had no obvious effect on water consumption. 4. Glucose supplementation had no influence on BW gain and breast and thigh muscle yield (as % of body mass). FI or RCFI was decreased while MEI or RMEI was increased by glucose supplementation. FE was improved by glucose treatment, whereas CE was reduced. 5. Liver weight and abdominal, cervical and thigh fat deposits were all significantly increased by either corticosterone or glucose treatment. 6. Plasma concentrations of glucose, urate, triglyceride, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), very low density lipoprotein and insulin were all significantly increased by corticosterone treatment. Glucose supplementation had no obvious influence on any of the measured plasma parameters except for NEFA, which were significantly increased. 7. Lipoprotein lipase activities in either cervical or abdominal adipose tissues, rather than in thigh fat tissue, were significantly elevated by either glucose or corticosterone treatment.

Separate and combined effects of exercise training and weight loss on exercise efficiency and substrate oxidation.

PubMed

Amati, Francesca; Dubé, John J; Shay, Chris; Goodpaster, Bret H

2008-09-01

Perturbations in body weight have been shown to affect energy expenditure and efficiency during physical activity. The separate effects of weight loss and exercise training on exercise efficiency or the proportion of energy derived from fat oxidation during physical activity, however, are not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the separate and combined effects of exercise training and weight loss on metabolic efficiency, economy (EC), and fat oxidation during steady-state moderate submaximal exercise. Sixty-four sedentary older (67 +/- 0.5 yr) overweight to obese (30.7 +/- 0.4 kg/m(2)) volunteers completed 4 mo of either diet-induced weight loss (WL; n = 11), exercise training (EX; n = 36), or the combination of both interventions (WLEX; n = 17). Energy expenditure, gross efficiency (GE), EC, and proportion of energy expended from fat (EF) were determined during a 1-h submaximal (50% of peak aerobic capacity) cycle ergometry exercise before the intervention and at the same absolute work rate after the intervention. We found that EX increased GE by 4.7 +/- 2.2%. EC was similarly increased by 4.2 +/- 2.1% by EX. The addition of concomitant WL to EX (WLEX) resulted in greater increases in GE (9.0 +/- 3.3%) compared with WL alone but not compared with EX alone. These effects remained after adjusting for changes in lean body mass. The proportion of energy derived from fat during the bout of moderate exercise increased with EX and WLEX but not with WL. From these findings, we conclude that exercise training, either alone or in combination with weight loss, increases both exercise efficiency and the utilization of fat during moderate physical activity in previously sedentary, obese older adults. Weight loss alone, however, significantly improves neither efficiency nor utilization of fat during exercise.

Diffuse radiation increases global ecosystem-level water-use efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moffat, A. M.; Reichstein, M.; Cescatti, A.; Knohl, A.; Zaehle, S.

2012-12-01

Current environmental changes lead not only to rising atmospheric CO2 levels and air temperature but also to changes in air pollution and thus the light quality of the solar radiation reaching the land-surface. While rising CO2 levels are thought to enhance photosynthesis and closure of stomata, thus leading to relative water savings, the effect of diffuse radiation on transpiration by plants is less clear. It has been speculated that the stimulation of photosynthesis by increased levels of diffuse light may be counteracted by higher transpiration and consequently water depletion and drought stress. Ultimately, in water co-limited systems, the overall effect of diffuse radiation will depend on the sensitivity of canopy transpiration versus photosynthesis to diffuse light, i.e. whether water-use efficiency changes with relative levels of diffuse light. Our study shows that water-use efficiency increases significantly with higher fractions of diffuse light. It uses the ecosystem-atmosphere gas-exchange observations obtained with the eddy covariance method at 29 flux tower sites. In contrast to previous global studies, the analysis is based directly on measurements of diffuse radiation. Its effect on water-use efficiency was derived by analyzing the multivariate response of carbon and water fluxes to radiation and air humidity using a purely empirical approach based on artificial neural networks. We infer that per unit change of diffuse fraction the water-use efficiency increases up to 40% depending on diffuse fraction levels and ecosystem type. Hence, in regions with increasing diffuse radiation positive effects on primary production are expected even under conditions where water is co-limiting productivity.

Oropharyngeal dysphagia in preschool children with cerebral palsy: oral phase impairments.

PubMed

Benfer, Katherine A; Weir, Kelly A; Bell, Kristie L; Ware, Robert S; Davies, Peter S W; Boyd, Roslyn N

2014-12-01

This study aimed to document the prevalence and patterns of oral phase oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD) in preschool children with cerebral palsy (CP), and its association with mealtime duration, frequency and efficiency. Cross-sectional population-based cohort study of 130 children diagnosed with CP at 18-36 months ca (mean = 27.4 months, 81 males) and 40 children with typical development (mean = 26.2, 18 males). Functional abilities of children with CP were representative of a population sample (GMFCS I = 57, II = 15, III = 23, IV = 12, V = 23). Oral phase impairment was rated from video using the Dyspahgia Disorders Survey, Schedule for Oral Motor Impairment, and Pre-Speech Assessment Scale. Parent-report was collected on a feeding questionnaire. Mealtime frequency, duration and efficiency were calculated from a three day weighed food record completed by parents. Gross motor function was classified using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Overall, 93.8% of children had directly assessed oral phase impairments during eating or drinking, or in controlling saliva (78.5% with modified cut-points). Directly assessed oral phase impairments were associated with declining gross motor function, with children from GMFCS I having a 2-fold increased likelihood of oral phase impairment compared to the children with TD (OR = 2.0, p = 0.18), and all children from GMFCS II-V having oral phase impairments. Difficulty biting (70%), cleaning behaviours (70%) and chewing (65%) were the most common impairments on solids, and difficulty sipping from a cup (60%) for fluids. OPD severity and GMFCS were not related to mealtime frequency, duration or efficiency, although children on partial tube feeds had significantly reduced mealtime efficiency. Oral phase impairments were common in preschool children with CP, with severity increasing stepwise with declining gross motor function. The prevalence and severity of oral phase impairments were significantly greater for most tasks when compared to children with typical development, even for those with mild CP. Children who were partially tube fed had significantly lower feeding efficiency, so this could be a useful early indicator of children needing supplementation to their nutrition (through increasing energy density of foods/fluids, or tube feeds). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-Efficiency Nitride-Base Photonic Crystal Light Sources

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

James Speck; Evelyn Hu; Claude Weisbuch

2010-01-31

The research activities performed in the framework of this project represent a major breakthrough in the demonstration of Photonic Crystals (PhC) as a competitive technology for LEDs with high light extraction efficiency. The goals of the project were to explore the viable approaches to manufacturability of PhC LEDS through proven standard industrial processes, establish the limits of light extraction by various concepts of PhC LEDs, and determine the possible advantages of PhC LEDs over current and forthcoming LED extraction concepts. We have developed three very different geometries for PhC light extraction in LEDs. In addition, we have demonstrated reliable methodsmore » for their in-depth analysis allowing the extraction of important parameters such as light extraction efficiency, modal extraction length, directionality, internal and external quantum efficiency. The information gained allows better understanding of the physical processes and the effect of the design parameters on the light directionality and extraction efficiency. As a result, we produced LEDs with controllable emission directionality and a state of the art extraction efficiency that goes up to 94%. Those devices are based on embedded air-gap PhC - a novel technology concept developed in the framework of this project. They rely on a simple and planar fabrication process that is very interesting for industrial implementation due to its robustness and scalability. In fact, besides the additional patterning and regrowth steps, the process is identical as that for standard industrially used p-side-up LEDs. The final devices exhibit the same good electrical characteristics and high process yield as a series of test standard LEDs obtained in comparable conditions. Finally, the technology of embedded air-gap patterns (PhC) has significant potential in other related fields such as: increasing the optical mode interaction with the active region in semiconductor lasers; increasing the coupling of the incident light into the active region of solar cells; increasing the efficiency of the phosphorous light conversion in white light LEDs etc. In addition to the technology of embedded PhC LEDs, we demonstrate a technique for improvement of the light extraction and emission directionality for existing flip-chip microcavity (thin) LEDs by introducing PhC grating into the top n-contact. Although, the performances of these devices in terms of increase of the extraction efficiency are not significantly superior compared to those obtained by other techniques like surface roughening, the use of PhC offers some significant advantages such as improved and controllable emission directionality and a process that is directly applicable to any material system. The PhC microcavity LEDs have also potential for industrial implementation as the fabrication process has only minor differences to that already used for flip-chip thin LEDs. Finally, we have demonstrated that achieving good electrical properties and high fabrication yield for these devices is straightforward.« less

Tailored Lighting Intervention for Persons with Dementia and Caregivers Living at Home

PubMed Central

Figueiro, Mariana G.; Hunter, Claudia M.; Higgins, Patricia; Hornick, Thomas; Jones, Geoffrey E.; Plitnick, Barbara; Brons, Jennifer; Rea, Mark S.

2016-01-01

Objectives Light therapy has shown promise as a nonpharmacological treatment to help regulate abnormal sleep-wake patterns and associated behavioral issues prevalent among individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD). The present study investigated the effectiveness of a lighting intervention designed to increase circadian stimulation during the day using light sources that have high short-wavelength content and high light output. Methods Thirty-five persons with ADRD and 34 caregivers completed the 11-week study. During week 1, subjective questionnaires were administered to the study participants. During week 2, baseline data were collected using Daysimeters and actigraphs. Researchers installed the lighting during week 3, followed by 4 weeks of the tailored lighting intervention. During the last week of the lighting intervention, Daysimeter, actigraph and questionnaire data were again collected. Three weeks after the lighting intervention was removed, a third data collection (post-intervention assessment) was performed. Results The lighting intervention significantly increased circadian entrainment, as measured by phasor magnitude and sleep efficiency, as measured by actigraphy data, and significantly reduced symptoms of depression in the participants with ADRD. The caregivers also exhibited an increase in circadian entrainment during the lighting intervention; a seasonal effect of greater sleep efficiency and longer sleep duration was also found for caregivers. Conclusions An ambient lighting intervention designed to increase daytime circadian stimulation can be used to increase sleep efficiency in persons with ADRD and their caregivers, and may also be effective for other populations such as healthy older adults with sleep problems, adolescents, and veterans with traumatic brain injury. PMID:27066526

Current Practices in Efficiency Financing: An Overview for State and Local Governments

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

Leventis, Greg; Fadrhonc, Emily Martin; Kramer, Chris

In recent years there has been significant growth in the size and sheer number of energy efficiency financing programs. The term “energy efficiency financing” refers to debt or debt-like products that support the installation of energy efficiency measures by allowing costs to be spread over time. The implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) led to a proliferation of energy efficiency financing programs, which was followed in subsequent years by the launch of green banks in several states and the ramp up of other ratepayer-supported financing initiatives in various jurisdictions. These activities have brought increased attention to energymore » efficiency financing as an area of programmatic interest. Yet the propagation of various types of financing in a growing number of markets may have also left some policymakers and program administrators with questions as to what categories of products and programs are best suited for their situation.« less

Long-Term Effects of Red- and Blue-Light Emitting Diodes on Leaf Anatomy and Photosynthetic Efficiency of Three Ornamental Pot Plants

PubMed Central

Zheng, Liang; Van Labeke, Marie-Christine

2017-01-01

Light quality critically affects plant development and growth. Development of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) enables the use of narrow band red and/or blue wavelengths as supplementary lighting in ornamental production. Yet, long periods under these wavelengths will affect leaf morphology and physiology. Leaf anatomy, stomatal traits, and stomatal conductance, leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf), and photosynthetic efficiency were investigated in three ornamental pot plants, namely Cordyline australis (monocot), Ficus benjamina (dicot, evergreen leaves), and Sinningia speciosa (dicot, deciduous leaves) after 8 weeks under LED light. Four light treatments were applied at 100 μmol m−2 s−1 and a photoperiod of 16 h using 100% red (R), 100% blue (B), 75% red with 25% blue (RB), and full spectrum white light (W), respectively. B and RB resulted in a greater maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and quantum efficiency (ΦPSII) in all species compared to R and W and this correlated with a lower biomass under R. B increased the stomatal conductance compared with R. This increase was linked to an increasing stomatal index and/or stomatal density but the stomatal aperture area was unaffected by the applied light quality. Leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) was not significantly affected by the applied light qualities. Blue light increased the leaf thickness of F. benjamina, and a relative higher increase in palisade parenchyma was observed. Also in S. speciosa, increase in palisade parenchyma was found under B and RB, though total leaf thickness was not affected. Palisade parenchyma tissue thickness was correlated to the leaf photosynthetic quantum efficiency (ΦPSII). In conclusion, the role of blue light addition in the spectrum is essential for the normal anatomical leaf development which also impacts the photosynthetic efficiency in the three studied species. PMID:28611818

Temperature Control of Hypertensive Rats during Moderate Exercise in Warm Environment.

PubMed

Campos, Helton O; Leite, Laura H R; Drummond, Lucas R; Cunha, Daise N Q; Coimbra, Cândido C; Natali, Antônio J; Prímola-Gomes, Thales N

2014-09-01

The control of body temperature in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) subjected to exercise in warm environment was investigated. Male SHR and Wistar rats were submitted to moderate exercise in temperate (25°C) and warm (32°C) environments while body and tail skin temperatures, as well as oxygen consumption, were registered. Total time of exercise, workload performed, mechanical efficiency and heat storage were determined. SHR had increased heat production and body temperature at the end of exercise, reduced mechanical efficiency and increased heat storage (p < 0.05). Furthermore, these rats also showed a more intense and faster increase in body temperature during moderate exercise in the warm environment (p < 0.05). The lower mechanical efficiency seen in SHR was closely correlated with their higher body temperature at the point of fatigue in warm environment (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that SHR exhibit significant differences in body temperature control during moderate exercise in warm environment characterized by increased heat production and heat storage during moderate exercise in warm environment. The combination of these responses result in aggravated hyperthermia linked with lower mechanical efficiency. Key PointsThe practice of physical exercise in warm environment has gained importance in recent decades mainly because of the progressive increases in environmental temperature;To the best of our knowledge, these is the first study to analyze body temperature control of SHR during moderate exercise in warm environment;SHR showed increased heat production and heat storage that resulted in higher body temperature at the end of exercise;SHR showed reduced mechanical efficiency;These results demonstrate that when exercising in a warm environment the hypertensive rat exhibit differences in temperature control.

Actigraphic sleep measures and diet quality in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sueño ancillary study.

PubMed

Mossavar-Rahmani, Yasmin; Weng, Jia; Wang, Rui; Shaw, Pamela A; Jung, Molly; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Castañeda, Sheila F; Gallo, Linda C; Gellman, Marc D; Qi, Qibin; Ramos, Alberto R; Reid, Kathryn J; Van Horn, Linda; Patel, Sanjay R

2017-12-01

Using a cross-sectional probability sample with actigraphy data and two 24-h dietary recalls, we quantified the association between sleep duration, continuity, variability and timing with the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 diet quality score and its components in 2140 Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos participants. The Alternative Healthy Eating Index diet quality-2010 score ranges from 0 to 110, with higher scores indicating greater adherence to the dietary guidelines and lower risk from major chronic disease. None of the sleep measures was associated with total caloric intake as assessed using dietary recalls. However, both an increase in sleep duration and sleep efficiency were associated with healthier diet quality. Each standard deviation increase in sleep duration (1.05 h) and sleep efficiency (4.99%) was associated with a 0.30 point increase and 0.28 point increase, respectively, in the total Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 score. The component of Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 most strongly associated with longer sleep duration was increased nuts and legumes intake. The components of Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 most strongly associated with higher sleep efficiency were increased whole fruit intake and decreased sodium intake. Both longer sleep duration and higher sleep efficiency were significantly associated with better diet quality among US Hispanic/Latino adults. The dietary components most strongly associated with sleep duration and sleep efficiency differed, suggesting potentially independent mechanisms by which each aspect of sleep impacts dietary choices. Longitudinal research is needed to understand the directionality of these identified relationships and the generalizability of these data across other ethnic groups. © 2017 European Sleep Research Society.

Research of an emergency medical system for mass casualty incidents in Shanghai, China: a system dynamics model

PubMed Central

Liu, Xu; Chen, Haiping; Xue, Chen

2018-01-01

Objectives Emergency medical system for mass casualty incidents (EMS-MCIs) is a global issue. However, China lacks such studies extremely, which cannot meet the requirement of rapid decision-support system. This study aims to realize modeling EMS-MCIs in Shanghai, to improve mass casualty incident (MCI) rescue efficiency in China, and to provide a possible method of making rapid rescue decisions during MCIs. Methods This study established a system dynamics (SD) model of EMS-MCIs using the Vensim DSS program. Intervention scenarios were designed as adjusting scales of MCIs, allocation of ambulances, allocation of emergency medical staff, and efficiency of organization and command. Results Mortality increased with the increasing scale of MCIs, medical rescue capability of hospitals was relatively good, but the efficiency of organization and command was poor, and the prehospital time was too long. Mortality declined significantly when increasing ambulances and improving the efficiency of organization and command; triage and on-site first-aid time were shortened if increasing the availability of emergency medical staff. The effect was the most evident when 2,000 people were involved in MCIs; however, the influence was very small under the scale of 5,000 people. Conclusion The keys to decrease the mortality of MCIs were shortening the prehospital time and improving the efficiency of organization and command. For small-scale MCIs, improving the utilization rate of health resources was important in decreasing the mortality. For large-scale MCIs, increasing the number of ambulances and emergency medical professionals was the core to decrease prehospital time and mortality. For super-large-scale MCIs, increasing health resources was the premise. PMID:29440876

Enhanced efficiency of biological excess sludge hydrolysis under anaerobic digestion by additional enzymes.

PubMed

Yang, Qi; Luo, Kun; Li, Xiao-ming; Wang, Dong-bo; Zheng, Wei; Zeng, Guang-ming; Liu, Jing-jin

2010-05-01

In this investigation, the effects of commercial enzyme preparation containing alpha amylase and neutral protease on hydrolysis of excess sludge and the kinetic analysis of hydrolysis process were evaluated. The results indicated that amylase treatment displayed higher hydrolysis efficiency than that of protease. VSS reduction greatly increased to 39.70% for protease and 54.24% for amylase at the enzyme dosage of 6% (w/w), respectively. The hydrolysis rate of sludge improved with temperature increasing from 40 to 50 degrees Celsius, which could be well described by the amended Arrhenius equation. Mixed-enzyme had great impact on sludge solubilisation than single enzyme. The mixture of two enzymes (protease:amylase=1:3) resulted in optimum hydrolysis efficiency, the efficiency of solids hydrolysis increased from 10% (control test) to 68.43% at the temperature of 50 degrees Celsius. Correspondingly, the concentration of reducing sugar and NH(4)(+)-N improved about 377% and 201%, respectively. According to the kinetic analysis of enzymatic hydrolysis process, VSS solubilisation process within prior 4 h followed first-order kinetics. Compared with control test, the hydrolysis rate improved significantly at 50 degrees Celsius when either single enzyme or mixed-enzyme was added. Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Efficiency of the Inertia Friction Welding Process and Its Dependence on Process Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senkov, O. N.; Mahaffey, D. W.; Tung, D. J.; Zhang, W.; Semiatin, S. L.

2017-07-01

It has been widely assumed, but never proven, that the efficiency of the inertia friction welding (IFW) process is independent of process parameters and is relatively high, i.e., 70 to 95 pct. In the present work, the effect of IFW parameters on process efficiency was established. For this purpose, a series of IFW trials was conducted for the solid-state joining of two dissimilar nickel-base superalloys (LSHR and Mar-M247) using various combinations of initial kinetic energy ( i.e., the total weld energy, E o), initial flywheel angular velocity ( ω o), flywheel moment of inertia ( I), and axial compression force ( P). The kinetics of the conversion of the welding energy to heating of the faying sample surfaces ( i.e., the sample energy) vs parasitic losses to the welding machine itself were determined by measuring the friction torque on the sample surfaces ( M S) and in the machine bearings ( M M). It was found that the rotating parts of the welding machine can consume a significant fraction of the total energy. Specifically, the parasitic losses ranged from 28 to 80 pct of the total weld energy. The losses increased (and the corresponding IFW process efficiency decreased) as P increased (at constant I and E o), I decreased (at constant P and E o), and E o (or ω o) increased (at constant P and I). The results of this work thus provide guidelines for selecting process parameters which minimize energy losses and increase process efficiency during IFW.

A comparative study of coagulation, granular- and powdered-activated carbon for the removal of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate in drinking water treatment.

PubMed

Pramanik, Biplob Kumar; Pramanik, Sagor Kumar; Suja, Fatihah

2015-01-01

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are persistent organic pollutants in the environment and their occurrence causes toxicological effects on humans. We examined different conventional coagulant treatments such as alum, ferric chloride and polyaluminium chloride in removing these compounds. These were then compared with a natural coagulant (Moringa oleifera). We also investigated the powdered-activated carbon (PAC) and granular-activated carbon (GAC) for removing these compounds. At an initial dose of 5 mg/L, polyaluminium chloride led to a higher reduction of PFOS/PFOA compared with alum which in turn was higher than ferric. The removal efficiency increased with the increase in coagulant dose and decrease in pH. M. oleifera was very effective in reducing PFOS and PFOA than conventional coagulants, with a reduction efficiencies of 65% and 72%, respectively, at a dose of 30 mg/L. Both PAC and GAC were very effective in reducing these compounds than coagulations. PAC led to a higher reduction in PFOS and PFOA than GAC due to its greater surface area and shorter internal diffusion distances. The addition of PAC (10 min contact time) with coagulation (at 5 mg/L dosage) significantly increased the removal efficiency, and the maximum removal efficiency was for M. oleifera with 98% and 94% for PFOS and PFOA, respectively. The reduction efficiency of PFOS/PFOA was reduced with the increase in dissolved organic concentration due to the adsorption competition between organic molecules and PFOS/PFOA.

Response surface methodology approach for the optimisation of adsorption of hydrolysed polyacrylamide from polymer-flooding wastewater onto steel slag: a good option of waste mitigation.

PubMed

Zhu, Mijia; Yao, Jun; Qin, Zhonghai; Lian, Luning; Zhang, Chi

2017-08-01

Wastewater produced from polymer flooding in oil production features high viscosity and chemical oxygen demand because of the residue of high-concentration polymer hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM). In this study, steel slag, a waste from steel manufacturing, was studied as a low-cost adsorbent for HPAM in wastewater. Optimisation of HPAM adsorption by steel slag was performed with a central composite design under response surface methodology (RSM). Results showed that the maximum removal efficiency of 89.31% was obtained at an adsorbent dosage of 105.2 g/L, contact time of 95.4 min and pH of 5.6. These data were strongly correlated with the experimental values of the RSM model. Single and interactive effect analysis showed that HPAM removal efficiency increased with increasing adsorbent dosage and contact time. Efficiency increased when pH was increased from 2.6 to 5.6 and subsequently decreased from 5.6 to 9.3. It was observed that removal efficiency significantly increased (from 0% to 86.1%) at the initial stage (from 0 min to 60 min) and increased gradually after 60 min with an adsorbent dosage of 105.2 g/L, pH of 5.6. The adsorption kinetics was well correlated with the pseudo-second-order equation. Removal of HPAM from the studied water samples indicated that steel slag can be utilised for the pre-treatment of polymer-flooding wastewater.

Novel Application of a Reverse Triage Protocol Providing Increased Access to Care in an Outpatient, Primary Care Clinic Setting.

PubMed

Sacino, Amanda N; Shuster, Jonathan J; Nowicki, Kamil; Carek, Peter J; Wegman, Martin P; Listhaus, Alyson; Gibney, Joseph M; Chang, Ku-Lang

2016-02-01

As the number of patients with access to care increases, outpatient clinics will need to implement innovative strategies to maintain or enhance clinic efficiency. One viable alternative involves reverse triage. A reverse triage protocol was implemented during a student-run free clinic. Each patient's chief complaint(s) were obtained at the beginning of the clinic session and ranked by increasing complexity. "Complexity" was defined as the subjective amount of time required to provide a full, thorough evaluation of a patient. Less complex cases were prioritized first since they could be expedited through clinic processing and allow for more time and resources to be dedicated to complex cases. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize and summarize the data obtained. Categorical variables were analyzed using chi-square. A time series analysis of the outcome versus centered time in weeks was also conducted. The average number of patients seen per clinic session increased by 35% (9.5 versus 12.8) from pre-implementation of the reverse triage protocol to 6 months after the implementation of the protocol. The implementation of a reverse triage in an outpatient setting significantly increased clinic efficiency as noted by a significant increase in the number of patients seen during a clinic session.

Interventions to increase physician efficiency and comfort with an electronic health record system.

PubMed

Jalota, L; Aryal, M R; Mahmood, M; Wasser, T; Donato, A

2015-01-01

To determine comfort when using the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and increase in documentation efficiency after an educational intervention for physicians to improve their transition to a new EHR. This study was a single-center randomized, parallel, non-blinded controlled trial of real-time, focused educational interventions by physician peers in addition to usual training in the intervention arm compared with usual training in the control arm. Participants were 44 internal medicine physicians and residents stratified to groups using a survey of comfort with electronic media during rollout of a system-wide EHR and order entry system. Outcomes were median time to complete a progress note, notes completed after shift, and comfort with EHR at 20 and 40 shifts. In the intervention group, 73 education sessions averaging 14.4 (SD: 7.7) minutes were completed with intervention group participants, who received an average of 3.47 (SD: 2.1) interventions. Intervention group participants decreased their time to complete a progress note more quickly than controls over 30 shifts (p < 0.001) and recorded significantly fewer progress notes after scheduled duty hours (77 versus 292, p < 0.001). Comfort with EHRs increased significantly in both groups from baseline but did not differ significantly by group. Intervention group participants felt that the intervention was more helpful than their standard training (3.47 versus 1.95 on 4-point scale). Physicians teaching physicians during clinical work improved physician efficiency but not comfort with EHRs. More study is needed to determine best methods to assist those most challenged with new EHR rollouts.

Immunobiological Activity of Synthetically Prepared Immunodominant Galactomannosides Structurally Mimicking Aspergillus Galactomannan

PubMed Central

Paulovičová, Ema; Paulovičová, Lucia; Hrubiško, Martin; Krylov, Vadim B.; Argunov, Dmitry A.; Nifantiev, Nikolay E.

2017-01-01

The study is oriented at the in vitro evaluation of the immunobiological activity and efficacy of synthetically prepared isomeric pentasaccharides representing fragments of Aspergillus fumigatus cell-wall galactomannan and containing β-(1→5)-linked tetragalactofuranoside chain attached to O-6 (GM-1) or O-3 (GM-2) of a spacer-armed mannopyranoside residue. These compounds were studied as biotinylated conjugates which both demonstrated immunomodulatory activities on the RAW 264.7 cell line murine macrophages as in vitro innate immunity cell model. Immunobiological studies revealed time- and concentration-dependent efficient immunomodulation. The proliferation of RAW 264.7 macrophages was induced at higher concentration (100 µg/mL) of studied glycoconjugates and longer exposure (48 h), with more pronounced efficacy for GM-1. The increase of proliferation followed the previous increase of IL-2 production. The cytokine profile of the macrophages treated with the glycoconjugates was predominantly pro-inflammatory Th1 type with significant increase of TNFα, IL-6, and IL-12 release for both glycoconjugates. The RAW 264.7 macrophages production of free radicals was not significantly affected by glycoconjugates stimulation. The phagocytic activity of RAW 264.7 cells was reduced following GM-1 treatment and was significantly increased after 24 h stimulation with GM-2, contrary to 48 h stimulation. Moreover, the synthetically prepared galactomannoside derivatives have been evaluated as efficient serodiagnostic antigens recognized by specific Ig isotypes, and significant presence of specific IgM antibodies in serum of patients suffering from vulvovaginitis was observed. PMID:29081774

Effects of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) on preparation and characteristics of plasmid DNA-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles.

PubMed

Zhu, L; Xie, S; Dong, Z; Wang, X; Wang, Y; Zhou, W

2011-09-01

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was used as a polymeric emulsifier to encapsulate plasmid DNA into hydrogenated castor oil (HCO)-solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) by w/o/w double emulsion and solvent evaporation techniques. The effects of PLGA on the preparation, characteristics and transfection efficiency of DNA-loaded SLN were studied. The results showed that PLGA was essential to form the primary w/o emulsion and the stability of the emulsion was enhanced with the increase of PLGA content. DNA-loaded SLN were spherical with smooth surfaces. The SLN had a negative charge in weak acid and alkaline environment but acquired a positive charge in acidic pH and the cationisation capacity of the SLN increased with the increase of PLGA/HCO ratio. Agarose gel electrophoresis demonstrated that the majority of the DNA maintained its structural integrity after preparation and being extracted or released from DNA-loaded SLN. When PLGA/HCO ratio increased from 5 to 15%, the encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity and transfection efficiency of the nanoparticles increased significantly, whereas the changes of particle size and polydispersity index were insignificant. Cytotoxicity study in cell culture demonstrated that the SLN was not toxic.

Polyaniline as a new type of hole-transporting material to significantly increase the solar water splitting performance of BiVO4 photoanodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaojun; Ye, Kai-Hang; Yu, Xiang; Zhu, Jiaqian; Zhu, Yi; Zhang, Yuanming

2018-07-01

Polyaniline (PANI), with its low cost, chemical stability and high conductivity, is used as a hole transporting layer to fabricate NiOOH/PANI/BiVO4 (NPB) photoanode, of which the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance is significantly enhanced. The remarkable water oxidation photocurrent of NPB photoanode achieves 3.31 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE under AM 1.5G solar light irradiation, which is greatly increased compared with that of pristine BiVO4 (0.89 mA cm-2 under the same condition). The maximal incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency achieves 83.3% at 430 nm at 1.23 V vs. RHE and the maximal applied bias photo-to-current efficiency reaches 1.20% at 0.68 V vs. RHE, which are nearly five and ten times higher than that of pristine BiVO4 photoanode, respectively. This NPB photoanode exhibits excellent stability with about 97.22% Faraday efficiency after PEC water splitting for 3 h. The exciting results demonstrate that PANI shows great potential as a hole-transporting layer for photoanode and NPB is an efficient and stable photoanode material with a great potential application in PEC water splitting. Overall, this work provides an excellent reference on designing and fabricating photoanode materials for the future.

Relative importance of impervious area, drainage density, width function, and subsurface storm drainage on flood runoff from an urbanized catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogden, Fred L.; Raj Pradhan, Nawa; Downer, Charles W.; Zahner, Jon A.

2011-12-01

The literature contains contradictory conclusions regarding the relative effects of urbanization on peak flood flows due to increases in impervious area, drainage density and width function, and the addition of subsurface storm drains. We used data from an urbanized catchment, the 14.3 km2 Dead Run watershed near Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and the physics-based gridded surface/subsurface hydrologic analysis (GSSHA) model to examine the relative effect of each of these factors on flood peaks, runoff volumes, and runoff production efficiencies. GSSHA was used because the model explicitly includes the spatial variability of land-surface and hydrodynamic parameters, including subsurface storm drains. Results indicate that increases in drainage density, particularly increases in density from low values, produce significant increases in the flood peaks. For a fixed land-use and rainfall input, the flood magnitude approaches an upper limit regardless of the increase in the channel drainage density. Changes in imperviousness can have a significant effect on flood peaks for both moderately extreme and extreme storms. For an extreme rainfall event with a recurrence interval in excess of 100 years, imperviousness is relatively unimportant in terms of runoff efficiency and volume, but can affect the peak flow depending on rainfall rate. Changes to the width function affect flood peaks much more than runoff efficiency, primarily in the case of lower density drainage networks with less impermeable area. Storm drains increase flood peaks, but are overwhelmed during extreme rainfall events when they have a negligible effect. Runoff in urbanized watersheds with considerable impervious area shows a marked sensitivity to rainfall rate. This sensitivity explains some of the contradictory findings in the literature.

Effect of DHA supplementation on digestible starch utilization by rainbow trout.

PubMed

Tapia-Salazar, M; Bureau, W; Panserat, S; Corraze, G; Bureau, D P

2006-01-01

Rainbow trout has a limited ability to utilize digestible carbohydrates efficiently. Trout feeds generally contain high levels of DHA, a fatty acid known to inhibit a number of glycolytic and lipogenic enzymes in animals. A study was conducted to determine whether carbohydrate utilization by rainbow trout might be affected by dietary DHA level. Two low-carbohydrate (<4 % digestible carbohydrate) basal diets were formulated to contain 1 (adequate) or 4 (excess) g/100 g DHA diet respectively. The two basal diets were diluted with increasing levels of digestible starch (0 %, 10 %, 20 % and 30 %, respectively) to produce eight diets. These diets were fed to fish for 12 weeks at 15 degrees C according to a pair-fed protocol that consisted of feeding the same amount of basal diet but different amounts of starch. Live weight, N and lipid gains, hepatic glycogen and plasma glucose values significantly increased, whereas feed efficiency (gain:feed) significantly decreased, with increasing starch intake (P<0.05). The retention efficiency of N (N gain/digestible N intake) improved with starch supplementation but was not affected by DHA level (P>0.05). Starch increased the activity of glucokinase, pyruvate kinase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and fatty acid synthase (P<0.05) but did not affect hexokinase and malic enzyme activity. DHA had no effect on growth but increased plasma glucose and reduced carcass lipid and liver glycogen contents (P<0.05). Glycolytic and lipogenic enzymes were not affected by DHA level, except for pyruvate kinase, which was reduced by increasing DHA level. These results suggest only a marginal effect of dietary DHA on the ability of fish to utilize carbohydrate.

Effects of temperature, algae biomass and ambient nutrient on the absorption of dissolved nitrogen and phosphate by Rhodophyte Gracilaria asiatica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Rongbin; Liu, Liming; Wang, Aimin; Wang, Yongqiang

2013-03-01

Gracilaria asiatica, being highly efficient in nutrient absorption, is cultivated in sea cucumber ponds to remove nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate. It was cultured in a laboratory simulating field conditions, and its nutrient absorption was measured to evaluate effects of environmental conditions. Ammonia nitrogen (AN), nitrate nitrogen (NN), total inorganic nitrogen (TIN), and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) uptake rate and removal efficiency were determined in a 4×2 factorial design experiment in water temperatures ( T) at 15°C and 25°C, algae biomass (AB) at 0.5 g/L and 1.0 g/L, total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) at 30 μmol/L and 60 μmol/L, and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) at 3 and 6 μmol/L. AB and ambient TIN or SRP levels significantly affected uptake rate and removal efficiency of AN, NN, TIN, and SRP ( P< 0.001). G. asiatica in AB of 0.5 g/L showed higher uptake rate and lower removal efficiency relative to that with AB of 1.0 g/L. Nitrogen and phosphorus uptake rate rose with increasing ambient nutrient concentrations; nutrient removal efficiency decreased at higher environmental nutrient concentrations. The algae preferred to absorb AN to NN. Uptake rates of AN, NN, and SRP were significantly affected by temperature ( P < 0.001); uptake rate was higher for the 25°C group than for the 15°C group at the initial experiment stage. Only the removal efficiency of AN and SRP showed a significant difference between the two temperature groups ( P< 0.01). The four factors had significant interactive effects on absorption of N and P, implying that G. asiatica has great bioremedial potential in sea cucumber culture ponds.

Experimental study of the influence of flow passage subtle variation on mixed-flow pump performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bing, Hao; Cao, Shuliang

2014-05-01

In the mixed-flow pump design, the shape of the flow passage can directly affect the flow capacity and the internal flow, thus influencing hydraulic performance, cavitation performance and operation stability of the mixed-flow pump. However, there is currently a lack of experimental research on the influence mechanism. Therefore, in order to analyze the effects of subtle variations of the flow passage on the mixed-flow pump performance, the frustum cone surface of the end part of inlet contraction flow passage of the mixed-flow pump is processed into a cylindrical surface and a test rig is built to carry out the hydraulic performance experiment. In this experiment, parameters, such as the head, the efficiency, and the shaft power, are measured, and the pressure fluctuation and the noise signal are also collected. The research results suggest that after processing the inlet flow passage, the head of the mixed-flow pump significantly goes down; the best efficiency of the mixed-flow pump drops by approximately 1.5%, the efficiency decreases more significantly under the large flow rate; the shaft power slightly increases under the large flow rate, slightly decreases under the small flow rate. In addition, the pressure fluctuation amplitudes on both the impeller inlet and the diffuser outlet increase significantly with more drastic pressure fluctuations and significantly lower stability of the internal flow of the mixed-flow pump. At the same time, the noise dramatically increases. Overall speaking, the subtle variation of the inlet flow passage leads to a significant change of the mixed-flow pump performance, thus suggesting a special attention to the optimization of flow passage. This paper investigates the influence of the flow passage variation on the mixed-flow pump performance by experiment, which will benefit the optimal design of the flow passage of the mixed-flow pump.

Thin-window high-efficiency position sensitive proportional counter for the vacuum flat crystal spectrometers on the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory electron beam ion trap (abstract)

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

Brown, G. V.; Beiersdorfer, P.; Goddard, R.

2001-01-01

We have mounted 1 {mu}m thick aluminized polyimide windows onto the position sensitive proportional counters employed by the wide-band flat crystal spectrometers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory electron beam ion trap experiment. The aluminized polyimide, supported by thin wires across the short axis of the window, is used to isolate the detection chamber of the proportional counters, which operate at a pressure of 760 Torr, from the vacuum chamber of the spectrometer. The windows are modified versions of those developed for the proportional counters which were used during ground calibration of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The transmission properties ofmore » these windows are, therefore, well known. The increased transmission efficiency of the polyimide windows relative to the 4 {mu}m thick polypropylene window material previously employed by our proportional counters has extended the useful range of the spectrometer from roughly 20 to 30 Aa at energies below the carbon edge, as well as increasing detection efficiency at wavelengths beyond the carbon edge. Using an octadecyl hydrogen maleate crystal with 2d=63.5Aa, we demonstrate the increased wavelength coverage by measuring the resonance, intercombination, and forbidden lines in helium-like NVII in two different density regimes. The thin polyimide windows have also increased the efficiency of the spectrometers entire wavelength range. To demonstrate the increased efficiency we compare the FeXVII spectrum in the 15--17 Aa band measured with the 1 {mu}m aluminized polyimide windows to the 4 {mu}m aluminized polypropylene windows. The comparison shows an average increase in efficiency of {approx}40%. The polyimide windows have a significantly lower leak rate than the polypropylene windows making it possible to achieve approximately an order of magnitude lower pressure in the spectrometer vacuum chamber which reduces the gas load on the trap region.« less

[Analysis of health self-management for diabetes self-efficacy].

PubMed

Liu, Yalan; Ding, Xianbin; Jiang, Yi; Zhang, Chunhua; Mao, Deqiang; Shen, Zhuozhi; Qi, Li; Lü, Xiaoyan; Lu, Junjia; Wang, Tingting

2015-08-01

To evaluate the effect of health self-management on self-efficiency of diabetes patients.
 A total of 184 eligible and voluntary diabetes patients were recruited for 6 consecutive weeks of knowledge and skills intervention, and interviewed with questionnaire by diabetes self-efficacy scale (DSES) before and after the intervention. The changes in self-efficiency were compared with two paired sample McNemar test.
 After the intervention, the total scores of self-efficiency on diet, medication, blood sugar monitoring, foot care and complications management were all increased significantly compared with those before the intervention (P<0.05).
 The intervention model of health self-management for self-efficiency in diabetes patients is effective, and the quality of patients' life can be improved.

Technology Development for High Efficiency Optical Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farr, William H.

2012-01-01

Deep space optical communications is a significantly more challenging operational domain than near Earth space optical communications, primarily due to effects resulting from the vastly increased range between transmitter and receiver. The NASA Game Changing Development Program Deep Space Optical Communications Project is developing four key technologies for the implementation of a high efficiency telecommunications system that will enable greater than 10X the data rate of a state-of-the-art deep space RF system (Ka-band) for similar transceiver mass and power burden on the spacecraft. These technologies are a low mass spacecraft disturbance isolation assembly, a flight qualified photon counting detector array, a high efficiency flight laser amplifier and a high efficiency photon counting detector array for the ground-based receiver.

Effect of contaminant concentration on aerobic microbial mineralization of DCE and VC in stream-bed sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradley, P.M.; Chapelle, F.H.

1998-01-01

Discharge of DCE and VC to an aerobic surface water system simultaneously represents a significant environmental concern and, potentially, a non-engineered opportunity for efficient contaminant bioremediation. The potential for bioremediation, however, depends on the ability of the stream-bed microbial community to efficiently and completely degrade DCE and VC over a range of contaminant concentrations. The purposes of the studies reported here were to assess the potential for aerobic DCE and VC mineralization by stream-bed microorganisms and to evaluate the effects of DCE and VC concentrations on the apparent rates of aerobic mineralization. Bed-sediment microorganisms indigenous to a creek, where DCE-contaminated groundwater continuously discharges, demonstrated rapid mineralization of DCE and VC under aerobic conditions. Over 8 days, the recovery of [1,2-14C]DCE radioactivity as 14CO2 ranged from 17% to 100%, and the recovery of [1,2- 14C]VC radioactivity as 14CO2 ranged from 45% to 100%. Rates of DCE and VC mineralization increased significantly with increasing contaminant concentration, and the response of apparent mineralization rates to changes in DCE and VC concentrations was adequately described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics.Discharge of DCE and VC to an aerobic surface water system simultaneously represents a significant environmental concern and, potentially, a non-engineered opportunity for efficient contaminant bioremediation. The potential for bioremediation, however, depends on the ability of the stream-bed microbial community to efficiently and completely degrade DCE and VC over a range of contaminant concentrations. The purposes of the studies reported here were to assess the potential for aerobic DCE and VC mineralization by stream-bed microorganisms and to evaluate the effects of DCE and VC concentrations on the apparent rates of aerobic mineralization. Bed-sediment microorganisms indigenous to a creek, where DCE-contaminated groundwater continuously discharges, demonstrated rapid mineralization of DCE and VC under aerobic conditions. Over 8 days, the recovery of [1,2-14C]DCE radioactivity as 14CO2 ranged from 17% to 100%, and the recovery of [1,2-14C]VC radioactivity as 14CO2 ranged from 45% to 100%. Rates of DCE and VC mineralization increased significantly with increasing contaminant concentration, and the response of apparent mineralization rates to changes in DCE and VC concentrations was adequately described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics.

Highly Efficient and Uniform 1 cm2 Perovskite Solar Cells with an Electrochemically Deposited NiOx Hole-Extraction Layer.

PubMed

Park, Ik Jae; Kang, Gyeongho; Park, Min Ah; Kim, Ju Seong; Seo, Se Won; Kim, Dong Hoe; Zhu, Kai; Park, Taiho; Kim, Jin Young

2017-06-22

Given that the highest certified conversion efficiency of the organic-inorganic perovskite solar cell (PSC) already exceeds 22 %, which is even higher than that of the polycrystalline silicon solar cell, the significance of new scalable processes that can be utilized for preparing large-area devices and their commercialization is rapidly increasing. From this perspective, the electrodeposition method is one of the most suitable processes for preparing large-area devices because it is an already commercialized process with proven controllability and scalability. Here, a highly uniform NiO x layer prepared by electrochemical deposition is reported as an efficient hole-extraction layer of a p-i-n-type planar PSC with a large active area of >1 cm 2 . It is demonstrated that the increased surface roughness of the NiO x layer, achieved by controlling the deposition current density, facilitates the hole extraction at the interface between perovskite and NiO x , and thus increases the fill factor and the conversion efficiency. The electrochemically deposited NiO x layer also exhibits extremely uniform thickness and morphology, leading to highly efficient and uniform large-area PSCs. As a result, the p-i-n-type planar PSC with an area of 1.084 cm 2 exhibits a stable conversion efficiency of 17.0 % (19.2 % for 0.1 cm 2 ) without showing hysteresis effects. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Highly Efficient and Uniform 1 cm 2 Perovskite Solar Cells with an Electrochemically Deposited NiO x Hole-Extraction Layer

DOE PAGES

Park, Ik Jae; Kang, Gyeongho; Park, Min Ah; ...

2017-05-10

Here, given that the highest certified conversion efficiency of the organic-inorganic perovskite solar cell (PSC) already exceeds 22%, which is even higher than that of the polycrystalline silicon solar cell, the significance of new scalable processes that can be utilized for preparing large-area devices and their commercialization is rapidly increasing. From this perspective, the electrodeposition method is one of the most suitable processes for preparing large-area devices because it is an already commercialized process with proven controllability and scalability. Here, a highly uniform NiO x layer prepared by electrochemical deposition is reported as an efficient hole-extraction layer of a p-i-n-typemore » planar PSC with a large active area of >1 cm 2. It is demonstrated that the increased surface roughness of the NiO x layer, achieved by controlling the deposition current density, facilitates the hole extraction at the interface between perovskite and NiO x, and thus increases the fill factor and the conversion efficiency. The electrochemically deposited NiO x layer also exhibits extremely uniform thickness and morphology, leading to highly efficient and uniform large-area PSCs. As a result, the p-i-n-type planar PSC with an area of 1.084 cm 2 exhibits a stable conversion efficiency of 17.0% (19.2% for 0.1 cm 2) without showing hysteresis effects.« less

Effects of biochar on enhanced nutrient use efficiency of green bean, Vigna radiata L.

PubMed

Prapagdee, Songkrit; Tawinteung, Nukoon

2017-04-01

Biochar is the carbonized material produced from biomass and is used in several environmental applications. The biochar characteristics depend on the carbonization conditions and feedstock. The suitability of a given biochar for soil improvement depends on the biochar characteristics, soil properties, and target plants. Biochar has been applied at 1-20% (w/w) in the soil, but currently there is a lack of information on what type and concentration of biochar are most suitable for a specific plant and soil quality. Too much biochar will reduce plant growth because of the high alkalinity of biochar, which will cause long-term soil alkalinity. In contrast, too little biochar might be insufficient to enhance plant productivity. In this study, a suitable concentration of cassava stem (an abundant agricultural waste in Thailand) biochar produced at 350 °C was evaluated for green bean (Vigna radiata L.) growth from germination to seed production in pots over 8 weeks. The soil fertility was increased with increasing biochar concentration. At 5% (w/w) biochar, the soil fertility and plant growth were significantly enhanced, while 10% (w/w) biochar significantly enhanced bean growth and bean pod production. The increased biochar concentration in the soil significantly increased the soil total nitrogen and extractable potassium (K) levels but did not affect the amount of available phosphorous. Biochar at 10% (w/w) significantly induced the accumulation of K in the stems, leaves, nut shells, and roots but not in nut seeds. Moreover, biochar not only increased the K concentration in soil but also increased the plant nutrient use efficiency of K, which is important for plant growth. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Effects of the microbubble shell physicochemical properties on ultrasound-mediated drug delivery to the brain.

PubMed

Wu, Shih-Ying; Chen, Cherry C; Tung, Yao-Sheng; Olumolade, Oluyemi O; Konofagou, Elisa E

2015-08-28

Lipid-shelled microbubbles have been used in ultrasound-mediated drug delivery. The physicochemical properties of the microbubble shell could affect the delivery efficiency since they determine the microbubble mechanical properties, circulation persistence, and dissolution behavior during cavitation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the shell effects on drug delivery efficiency in the brain via blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening in vivo using monodisperse microbubbles with different phospholipid shell components. The physicochemical properties of the monolayer were varied by using phospholipids with different hydrophobic chain lengths (C16, C18, and C24). The dependence on the molecular size and acoustic energy (both pressure and pulse length) were investigated. Our results showed that a relatively small increase in the microbubble shell rigidity resulted in a significant increase in the delivery of 40-kDa dextran, especially at higher pressures. Smaller (3kDa) dextran did not show significant difference in the delivery amount, suggesting that the observed shell effect was molecular size-dependent. In studying the impact of acoustic energy on the shell effects, it was found that they occurred most significantly at pressures causing microbubble destruction (450kPa and 600kPa); by increasing the pulse length to deliver the 40-kDa dextran, the difference between C16 and C18 disappeared while C24 still achieved the highest delivery efficiency. These indicated that the acoustic energy could be used to modulate the shell effects. The acoustic cavitation emission revealed the physical mechanisms associated with different shells. Overall, lipid-shelled microbubbles with long hydrophobic chain length could achieve high delivery efficiency for larger molecules especially with high acoustic energy. Our study, for the first time, offered evidence directly linking the microbubble monolayer shell with their efficacy for drug delivery in vivo. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Effects of drought stress on growth and water use efficiency of two medicinal plants].

PubMed

Chen, Ping; Meng, Ping; Zhang, Jin-Song; He, Chun-Xia; Jia, Chang-Rong; Li, Jian-Zhong

2014-05-01

Growth characteristics, stable carbon isotope discrimination (Delta13C), water use efficiency (WUE), and their correlation of Cassia obtusifolia and Isatis indigotica were measured at three soil water levels, i. e., 30%, 50% and 75% of field water holding capacity (FWHC), and at three growth stages. The growth indices of the two medicinal plants at 75% of FWHC were higher than those at 30% and 50% of FWHC, suggesting that the two medicinal plants could obtain high production under sufficient moisture condition. The Delta13C(A) (aboveground biomass-based Delta13C) and Delta13C(T) (total biomass-based Delta13C) decreased, and the WUE(A) (aboveground biomass-based WUE) and WUE(T) (total biomass-based WUE) of C. obtusifolia and I. indigotica increased with the increasing degree of drought stress. The growth indices of the two medicinal plants had little difference in the different water treatments, which indicated that the two medicinal plants were insensitive to drought stress. Water use efficiency of I. indigotica had significant negative relationships with aboveground biomass and total biomass, while that of C. obtusifolia had a significant positive correlation with the root/shoot ratio.

Mechanism of gene transfection by polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers modified with ornithine residues.

PubMed

Kumar, Ajay; Yellepeddi, Venkata K; Vangara, Kiran K; Strychar, Kevin B; Palakurthi, Srinath

2011-11-01

The aim of this study was to prepare and investigate the mechanism of uptake of the dendriplexes prepared with ornithine-conjugated polyamidoamine (PAMAM) G4 dendrimers. Ornithine-conjugated PAMAMG4 dendrimers were prepared by Fmoc synthesis. A comparative transfection study in NCI H157G cells and polyamine transport-deficient cell line NCI H157R was performed to confirm the role of the polyamine transporter system (PAT) in the dendriplex uptake. Transfection efficiency significantly increased with increase in generation number and extent of ornithine conjugation. Transfection efficiency of the PAMAMG4-ORN60 dendrimers significantly decreased in presence of excess of ornithine (P < 0.05) and paraquat (P < 0.01) but not of PAMAMG4 dendrimers. Transfection efficiency of PAMAMG4-ORN60 was significantly low in NCI H157R (31.66 ± 3.95%, RFU: 17.87 ± 1.34) as compared to NCI H157G cell line (63.07 ± 6.8%, relative fluorescence units (RFU): 23.28 ± 0.66). Results indicate the role of PAT in addition to charge-mediated endocytosis in the internalization of ornithine-conjugated PAMAMG4 dendrimers. Cytotoxicity analysis (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay) in human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK) 293T cells showed that the dendriplexes were non-toxic at N/P 10.

Efficiently Identifying Significant Associations in Genome-wide Association Studies

PubMed Central

Eskin, Eleazar

2013-01-01

Abstract Over the past several years, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated hundreds of genes in common disease. More recently, the GWAS approach has been utilized to identify regions of the genome that harbor variation affecting gene expression or expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs). Unlike GWAS applied to clinical traits, where only a handful of phenotypes are analyzed per study, in eQTL studies, tens of thousands of gene expression levels are measured, and the GWAS approach is applied to each gene expression level. This leads to computing billions of statistical tests and requires substantial computational resources, particularly when applying novel statistical methods such as mixed models. We introduce a novel two-stage testing procedure that identifies all of the significant associations more efficiently than testing all the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In the first stage, a small number of informative SNPs, or proxies, across the genome are tested. Based on their observed associations, our approach locates the regions that may contain significant SNPs and only tests additional SNPs from those regions. We show through simulations and analysis of real GWAS datasets that the proposed two-stage procedure increases the computational speed by a factor of 10. Additionally, efficient implementation of our software increases the computational speed relative to the state-of-the-art testing approaches by a factor of 75. PMID:24033261

Removal of elemental Mercury from flue gas using wheat straw chars modified by K2FeO4 reagent.

PubMed

Zhou, Jianfei; Liu, Yangxian; Pan, Jianfeng

2017-12-01

In this article, wheat straw (WS) char, a common agricultural waste and renewable biomass, was pyrolyzed and then modified by K 2 FeO 4 reagent to develop an efficient sorbent for removal of Hg 0 from flue gas. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, scanning electron microscopy with energy spectrum and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to characterize the sorbents. The effects of K 2 FeO 4 loading, reaction temperature, Hg 0 inlet concentration and concentrations of gas mixtures O 2 , NO and SO 2 in flue gas on Hg 0 removal were investigated in a fixed-bed reactor. The results show that K 2 FeO 4 -impregnation can improve pore structure of WS char and produce new active sites, which significantly enhance Hg 0 removal. Increasing Hg 0 inlet concentration significantly decreases Hg 0 removal efficiency. O 2 in flue gas promotes Hg 0 oxidation by replenishing the oxygen groups on the surface of modified chars. The presence of NO obviously promotes Hg 0 removal since it can oxidize Hg 0 to Hg(NO 3 ) 2 . SO 2 in flue gas significantly decreases Hg 0 removal efficiency due to the competition adsorption between SO 2 and Hg 0 . The increase in reaction temperature has a dual impact on Hg 0 removal.

Research on the technical requirements standards of high efficiency precipitator in power industries for assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Huang; Ling, Lin; Jun, Guo; Jianguo, Li; Yongzhong, Wang

2017-11-01

Facing the increasingly severe situation of air pollution, China are now positively promoting the evaluation of high efficiency air pollution control equipments and the research of the relative national standards. This paper showed the significance and the effect of formulating the technical requirements of high efficiency precipitator equipments for assessment national standards in power industries as well as the research thoughts and principle of these standards. It introduce the qualitative and quantitative evaluation requirements of high efficiency precipitators using in power industries and the core technical content such as testing, calculating, evaluation methods and so on. The implementation of a series of national standards is in order to lead and promote the production and application of high efficiency precipitator equipments in the field of the prevention of air pollution in national power industries.

Influence of Sub-Surface Irrigation on Soil Conditions and Water Irrigation Efficiency in a Cherry Orchard in a Hilly Semi-Arid Area of Northern China

PubMed Central

Peng, Gao; Bing, Wang; Guangcan, Zhang

2013-01-01

Sub-surface irrigation (SUI) is a new water-saving irrigation technology. To explore the influence of SUI on soil conditions in a cherry orchard and its water-saving efficiency, experiments were conducted from 2009 to 2010 using both SUI and flood irrigation (FLI) and different SUI quotas in hilly semi-arid area of northern China. The results demonstrated the following: 1) The bulk density of the soil under SUI was 6.8% lower than that of soil under FLI (P<0.01). The total soil porosity, capillary porosity and non-capillary porosity of soils using SUI were 11.7% (P<0.01), 8.7% (P<0.01) and 43.8% (P<0.01) higher than for soils using FLI. 2) The average soil temperatures at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm of soil depth using SUI were 1.7, 1.1, 0.7, 0.4 and 0.3°C higher than those for FLI, specifically, the differences between the surface soil layers were more significant. 3) Compared with FLI, the average water-saving efficiency of SUI was 55.6%, and SUI increased the irrigation productivity by 7.9-12.3 kg m-3 ha-1. 4) The soil moisture of different soil layers using SUI increased with increases in the irrigation quotas, and the soil moisture contents under SUI were significantly higher in the 0-20 cm layer and in the 21-50 cm layer than those under FLI (P<0.01). 5) The average yields of cherries under SUI with irrigation quotas of 80-320 m3 ha-1 were 8.7%-34.9% higher than those in soil with no irrigation (CK2). The average yields of cherries from soils using SUI were 4.5%-12.2% higher than using FLI. It is appropriate to irrigate 2-3 times with 230 m3 ha-1 per application using SUI in a year with normal rainfall. Our findings indicated that SUI could maintain the physical properties, greatly improve irrigation water use efficiency, and significantly increase fruit yields in hilly semi-arid areas of northern China. PMID:24039986

Increased coronary blood flow and cardiac contractile efficiency with intraaortic balloon counterpulsation in a porcine model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

PubMed

Gelsomino, Sandro; Lucà, Fabiana; Renzulli, Attilio; Rubino, Antonino S; Romano, Salvatore Mario; van der Veen, Frederik H; Carella, Rocco; Maessen, Joseph G; Gensini, Gian Franco; Lorusso, Roberto

2011-01-01

The evaluation of the impact of intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) on postischemic coronary perfusion and myocardial contractile impairment has been so far limited to early reperfusion phase. Therefore, we analyzed the 24-hour effects of IABP on coronary blood flow (CBF) and left ventricular performance in an animal model of acute myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Healthy swine (n = 20) underwent 120-minute ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery followed by 24 hours of reperfusion. We randomly assigned the animals to have IABP placed in the descending aorta 5 minutes after reperfusion onset (n = 10) or to undergo no implantation (n = 10). We measured CBF, coronary resistance, cardiac cycle efficiency (CCE), and maximal pressure/time ratio before ischemia was induced and at 30 minutes and 1, 6, 12, and 24 hours after reperfusion began. During diastole, CBF was significantly increased in IABP compared with baseline and controls at all time points (all p < 0.001). This was also true during systole in IABP only for the first hour after reperfusion began. Additionally, both CCE and pressure/time ratio were significantly increased in IABP compared with baseline at 30 minutes and 1 hour after reperfusion began (p < 0.001). IABP was associated with enhanced CBF and cardiac efficiency in a model of acute ischemic-reperfusion injury.

The use of information technology to enhance patient safety and nursing efficiency.

PubMed

Lee, Tso-Ying; Sun, Gi-Tseng; Kou, Li-Tseng; Yeh, Mei-Ling

2017-10-23

Issues in patient safety and nursing efficiency have long been of concern. Advancing the role of nursing informatics is seen as the best way to address this. The aim of this study was to determine if the use, outcomes and satisfaction with a nursing information system (NIS) improved patient safety and the quality of nursing care in a hospital in Taiwan. This study adopts a quasi-experimental design. Nurses and patients were surveyed by questionnaire and data retrieval before and after the implementation of NIS in terms of blood drawing, nursing process, drug administration, bar code scanning, shift handover, and information and communication integration. Physiologic values were easier to read and interpret; it took less time to complete electronic records (3.7 vs. 9.1 min); the number of errors in drug administration was reduced (0.08% vs. 0.39%); bar codes reduced the number of errors in blood drawing (0 vs. 10) and transportation of specimens (0 vs. 0.42%); satisfaction with electronic shift handover increased significantly; there was a reduction in nursing turnover (14.9% vs. 16%); patient satisfaction increased significantly (3.46 vs. 3.34). Introduction of NIS improved patient safety and nursing efficiency and increased nurse and patient satisfaction. Medical organizations must continually improve the nursing information system if they are to provide patients with high quality service in a competitive environment.

Decapitation improves the efficiency of Cd phytoextraction by Celosia argentea Linn.

PubMed

Liu, Jie; Zhang, Xuehong; Mo, Lingyun; Yao, Shiyin; Wang, Yixuan

2017-08-01

The effect of decapitation on enhancing plant growth and Cd accumulation in Celosia argentea Linn. was evaluated using a pot experiment. Decapitation significantly enhanced the growth of C. argentea. The numbers of branch and leaf in the decapitated plants (DP) were significantly higher than those in undecapitated plants (UDP, p < 0.05). Decapitation increased the biomass by 75%-105% for roots, 108%-152% for stems, and 80%-107% for leaves. Although the transpiration and photosynthesis rates were not significantly different between DP and UPD, decapitation significantly increased the total leaf area and total transpiration per plant (p < 0.05). The higher total transpiration per plant resulted in a higher leaf Cd concentration in DP. DP accumulated Cd in shoots (197, 275, and 425 μg plant -1 ) that were 2.5-2.8 times higher than UDP (78, 108, and 152 μg plant -1 ), with the soils containing 1, 5, and 10 mg kg -1 Cd. Results suggested that decapitation is a novel and convenient method to improve the phytoextraction efficiency of C. argentea in Cd contaminated soils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in nitrogen budget and potential risk to the environment over 20years (1990-2010) in the agroecosystems of the Haihe Basin, China.

PubMed

Zheng, Mengmeng; Zheng, Hua; Wu, Yingxia; Xiao, Yi; Du, Yihua; Xu, Weihua; Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiaoke; Ouyang, Zhiyun

2015-02-01

The nitrogen balance can serve as an indicator of the risk to the environment of nitrogen loss from agricultural land. To investigate the temporal and spatial changes in agricultural nitrogen application and its potential threat to the environment of the Haihe Basin in China, we used a database of county-level agricultural statistics to calculate agricultural nitrogen input, output, surplus intensity, and use efficiency. Chemical fertilizer nitrogen input increased by 51.7% from 1990 to 2000 and by 37.2% from 2000 to 2010, concomitant with increasing crop yields. Simultaneously, the nitrogen surplus intensity increased by 53.5% from 1990 to 2000 and by 16.5% from 2000 to 2010, presenting a continuously increased environmental risk. Nitrogen use efficiency decreased from 0.46 in 1990 to 0.42 in 2000 and remained constant at 0.42 in 2010, partly due to fertilizer composition and type improvement. This level indicates that more than half of nitrogen inputs are lost in agroecosystems. Our results suggest that although the improvement in fertilizer composition and types has partially offset the decrease in nitrogen use efficiency, the environmental risk has still increased gradually over the past 20 years, along with the increase in crop yields and nitrogen application. It is important to achieve a better nitrogen balance through more effective management to significantly reduce the environmental risk, decrease nitrogen surplus intensity, and increase nitrogen use efficiency without sacrificing crop yields. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Valuing Residential Energy Efficiency in Two Alaska Real Estate Markets: A Hedonic Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pride, Dominique J.

Alaska households have high home energy consumption and expenditures. Improving the energy efficiency of the housing stock can reduce home energy consumption, thereby reducing home energy expenditures and CO2 emissions. Improving the energy efficiency of a home may also increase its transaction price if the energy efficiency improvements are capitalized into the value of the home. The relationship between energy efficiency and transaction prices in the Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska residential real estate markets is examined. Using a hedonic pricing framework and difference-in-differences analysis, the impact of the Alaska Home Energy Rebate program on the transaction prices of single-family homes in the Fairbanks and Anchorage housing markets from 2008 through 2015 is examined. The results indicate that compared to homes that did not complete the program, homes that completed the program sell for a statistically significant price premium between 15.1% and 15.5% in the Fairbanks market and between 5% and 11% in the Anchorage market. A hedonic pricing framework is used to relate energy efficiency ratings and transaction prices of homes in the Fairbanks and Anchorage residential real estate markets from 2008 through 2015. The results indicate that homes with above-average energy efficiency ratings sell for a statistically significant price premium between 6.9% and 17.5% in the Fairbanks market and between 1.8% and 6.0% in the Anchorage market.

[Ideas and methods on efficient screening of traditional medicines for anti-osteoporosis activity based on M-Act/Tox integrated evaluation using zebrafish].

PubMed

Wang, Mo; Ling, Jie; Chen, Ying; Song, Jie; Sun, E; Shi, Zi-Qi; Feng, Liang; Jia, Xiao-Bin; Wei, Ying-Jie

2017-11-01

The increasingly apparent liver injury problems of bone strengthening Chinese medicines have brought challenges for clinical application, and it is necessary to consider both effectiveness and safety in screening anti-osteoporosis Chinese medicines. Metabolic transformation is closely related to drug efficacy and toxicity, so it is significant to comprehensively consider metabolism-action/toxicity(M-Act/Tox) for screening anti-osteoporosis Chinese medicines. The current evaluation models and the number of compounds(including metabolites) severely restrict efficient screening in vivo. By referring to previous relevant research and domestic and abroad literature, zebrafish M-Act/Tox integrative method was put forward for efficiently screening anti-osteoporosis herb medicines, which has organically integrated zebrafish metabolism model, osteoporosis model and toxicity evaluation method. This method can break through the bottleneck and blind spots that trace compositions can't achieve efficient and integrated in vivo evaluation, and realize both efficient and comprehensive screening on anti-osteoporosis traditional medicines based on in vivo process taking both safety and effectiveness into account, which is significant to accelerate discovery of effective and safe innovative traditional Chinese medicines for osteoporosis. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Efficiency improvement of GaN-on-silicon thin-film light-emitting diodes with optimized via-like n-electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Bo; Deng, Biao; Fu, Yi; Liu, Le Gong; Li, Zeng Cheng; Feng, Mei Xin; Zhao, Han Min; Sun, Qian

2017-07-01

This work reports a significant improvement in efficiency by optimizing the via-like n-electrode architecture design of a GaN-based thin-film LED grown on a 6-inch silicon substrate. The external quantum efficiency of the as-fabricated 1.1 mm × 1.1 mm via-thin-film LED chip at 350 mA was increased by 11.3% compared to that of a vertical thin-film LED chip with a conventional finger-like n-electrode. Detailed analysis of encapsulation gain and false color emission patterns illustrated that the significantly improved LED performance was due to enhanced light extraction efficiency and more uniform current spreading, both of which can be attributed to the optimized via-thin-film chip structure. Minimizing the light loss at the periphery of the Ag mirror was demonstrated to be a critical factor for improving light extraction, rather than simply replacing the finger-like n-electrodes with via-like ones. After encapsulation, the median blue lamp power and the wall-plug efficiency of the via-thin-film LED at 350 mA reached 659 mW and 63.7%, respectively.

Characterizing Synergistic Water and Energy Efficiency at the Residential Scale Using a Cost Abatement Curve Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stillwell, A. S.; Chini, C. M.; Schreiber, K. L.; Barker, Z. A.

2015-12-01

Energy and water are two increasingly correlated resources. Electricity generation at thermoelectric power plants requires cooling such that large water withdrawal and consumption rates are associated with electricity consumption. Drinking water and wastewater treatment require significant electricity inputs to clean, disinfect, and pump water. Due to this energy-water nexus, energy efficiency measures might be a cost-effective approach to reducing water use and water efficiency measures might support energy savings as well. This research characterizes the cost-effectiveness of different efficiency approaches in households by quantifying the direct and indirect water and energy savings that could be realized through efficiency measures, such as low-flow fixtures, energy and water efficient appliances, distributed generation, and solar water heating. Potential energy and water savings from these efficiency measures was analyzed in a product-lifetime adjusted economic model comparing efficiency measures to conventional counterparts. Results were displayed as cost abatement curves indicating the most economical measures to implement for a target reduction in water and/or energy consumption. These cost abatement curves are useful in supporting market innovation and investment in residential-scale efficiency.

Dissolved nutrients and atrazine removal by column-scale monophasic and biphasic rain garden model systems.

PubMed

Yang, Hanbae; McCoy, Edward L; Grewal, Parwinder S; Dick, Warren A

2010-08-01

Rain gardens are bioretention systems that have the potential to reduce peak runoff flow and improve water quality in a natural and aesthetically pleasing manner. We compared hydraulic performance and removal efficiencies of nutrients and atrazine in a monophasic rain garden design versus a biphasic design at a column-scale using simulated runoff. The biphasic rain garden was designed to increase retention time and removal efficiency of runoff pollutants by creating a sequence of water saturated to unsaturated conditions. We also evaluated the effect of C substrate availability on pollutant removal efficiency in the biphasic rain garden. Five simulated runoff events with various concentrations of runoff pollutants (i.e. nitrate, phosphate, and atrazine) were applied to the monophasic and biphasic rain gardens once every 5d. Hydraulic performance was consistent over the five simulated runoff events. Peak flow was reduced by approximately 56% for the monophasic design and 80% for the biphasic design. Both rain garden systems showed excellent removal efficiency of phosphate (89-100%) and atrazine (84-100%). However, significantly (p<0.001) higher removal of nitrate was observed in the biphasic (42-63%) compared to the monophasic rain garden (29-39%). Addition of C substrate in the form of glucose increased removal efficiency of nitrate significantly (p<0.001), achieving up to 87% removal at a treatment C/N ratio of 2.0. This study demonstrates the importance of retention time, environmental conditions (i.e. saturated/unsaturated conditions), and availability of C substrate for bioremediation of pollutants, especially nitrates, in rain gardens. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determining cutting efficiency of nickel-titanium coronal flaring instruments used in lateral action.

PubMed

Peters, O A; Morgental, R D; Schulze, K A; Paqué, F; Kopper, P M P; Vier-Pelisser, F V

2014-06-01

To develop a method to evaluate the cutting behaviour of nickel-titanium (NiTi) coronal flaring instruments. BioRaCe BR0 (BR), HyFlex CM 1 (HY), ProFile OS No. 2 (PF) and ProTaper Sx (PT) instruments were used in simulated coronal flaring using a lateral action against bovine dentine blocks, at 250 and 500 rpm. Cutting efficiency was assessed by three methods: first, areas of notches produced by instruments were directly measured under a stereomicroscope. Second, dentine specimens were then analysed by surface profilometry to determine the maximum cutting depth and finally by microcomputed tomography to assess the volume of removed dentine. Data were compared using parametric tests with the significance level set at 0.05. For all three methods, HY and PF were the most and the least cutting-efficient instruments, respectively (P < 0.05). Significant differences were detected between 250 and 500 rpm for HY and PT (area); for BR, HY and PT (depth); and for BR and HY (volume). There were strong positive correlations between the results obtained with those three different methods with r-values ranging from 0.81 to 0.92. Measuring the amount of material removed in a specific time under stereomicroscopy is a simple and rational way to assess the cutting behaviour of NiTi rotary instruments in lateral action. HyFlex, manufactured with thermomechanically treated NiTi wire, was the most efficient instrument, and increased rotational speed was associated with increased cutting efficiency. © 2013 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of E-learning on primigravida women's satisfaction and awareness concerning prenatal care.

PubMed

Mohamadirizi, Soheila; Bahadoran, Parvin; Fahami, Fariba

2014-01-01

E-learning, in addition to promotion of patients' level of awareness, causes a more efficient way to increase patient-personnel interaction and provision of patients' educational content. In a quasi-experimental study, 100 primigravida women, referring to Navab Safavi health care center affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, were selected through convenient sampling. The subjects received education via E-learning or booklet education methods for four weeks. Questionnaire of satisfaction with the awareness of prenatal care was completed by both groups before and 4-6 weeks after education. Data were analyzed by student t-test and paired t-test through SPSS with a significance level of P < 0.05. No significant difference was noted between scores of satisfaction and awareness in both groups before education, while a significant difference was observed four weeks after intervention (P = 0.004). There was a significant difference between scores of satisfaction and awareness after intervention in both groups (P = 0.001, P = 0.034). Satisfaction and awareness scores increased by 169% and 123%, and 61% and 37% in the E-learning and control groups, respectively (P = 0.034). E-learning can cause an increase in the level of primigravida women's satisfaction and awareness. Therefore, conducting such education, as an efficient learning method, is recommended as it needs less time, has lower costs, and does not need any special equipment.

Effect of E-learning on primigravida women's satisfaction and awareness concerning prenatal care

PubMed Central

Mohamadirizi, Soheila; Bahadoran, Parvin; Fahami, Fariba

2014-01-01

Background: E-learning, in addition to promotion of patients’ level of awareness, causes a more efficient way to increase patient-personnel interaction and provision of patients’ educational content. Materials and Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, 100 primigravida women, referring to Navab Safavi health care center affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, were selected through convenient sampling. The subjects received education via E-learning or booklet education methods for four weeks. Questionnaire of satisfaction with the awareness of prenatal care was completed by both groups before and 4-6 weeks after education. Data were analyzed by student t-test and paired t-test through SPSS with a significance level of P < 0.05. Results: No significant difference was noted between scores of satisfaction and awareness in both groups before education, while a significant difference was observed four weeks after intervention (P = 0.004). There was a significant difference between scores of satisfaction and awareness after intervention in both groups (P = 0.001, P = 0.034). Satisfaction and awareness scores increased by 169% and 123%, and 61% and 37% in the E-learning and control groups, respectively (P = 0.034). Conclusions: E-learning can cause an increase in the level of primigravida women's satisfaction and awareness. Therefore, conducting such education, as an efficient learning method, is recommended as it needs less time, has lower costs, and does not need any special equipment. PMID:24741653

Efficient Steplike Carrier Multiplication in Percolative Networks of Epitaxially Connected PbSe Nanocrystals

DOE PAGES

Kulkarni, Aditya; Evers, Wiel H.; Tomic, Stanko; ...

2017-12-14

Here, carrier multiplication (CM) is a process in which a single photon excites two or more electrons. CM is of interest to enhance the efficiency of a solar cell. Until now, CM in thin films and solar cells of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) has been found at photon energies well above the minimum required energy of twice the band gap. The high threshold of CM strongly limits the benefits for solar cell applications. We show that CM is more efficient in a percolative network of directly connected PbSe NCs. The CM threshold is at twice the band gap and increases inmore » a steplike fashion with photon energy. A lower CM efficiency is found for a solid of weaker coupled NCs. This demonstrates that the coupling between NCs strongly affects the CM efficiency. According to device simulations, the measured CM efficiency would significantly enhance the power conversion efficiency of a solar cell.« less

Semiconducting lithium indium diselenide: Charge-carrier properties and the impacts of high flux thermal neutron irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamm, Daniel S.; Rust, Mikah; Herrera, Elan H.; Matei, Liviu; Buliga, Vladimir; Groza, Michael; Burger, Arnold; Stowe, Ashley; Preston, Jeff; Lukosi, Eric D.

2018-06-01

This paper reports on the charge carrier properties of several lithium indium diselenide (LISe) semiconductors. It was found that the charge collection efficiency of LISe was improved after high flux thermal neutron irradiation including the presence of a typically unobservable alpha peak from hole-only collection. Charge carrier trap energies of the irradiated sample were measured using photo-induced current transient spectroscopy. Compared to previous studies of this material, no significant differences in trap energies were observed. Through trap-filled limited voltage measurements, neutron irradiation was found to increase the density of trap states within the bulk of the semiconductor, which created a polarization effect under alpha exposure but not neutron exposure. Further, the charge collection efficiency of the irradiated sample was higher (14-15 fC) than that of alpha particles (3-5 fC), indicating that an increase in hole signal contribution resulted from the neutron irradiation. Finally, it was observed that significant charge loss takes place near the point of generation, producing a significant scintillation response and artificially inflating the W-value of all semiconducting LISe crystals.

Improving quality and patient satisfaction in a pediatric resident continuity clinic through advanced access scheduling.

PubMed

Tuli, Sanjeev Y; Thompson, Lindsay A; Ryan, Kathleen A; Srinivas, Ganga L; Fillipps, Donald J; Young, Christopher M; Tuli, Sonal S

2010-06-01

To evaluate the impact of advanced access scheduling in a pediatric residency clinic on resident and patient satisfaction, medical education, practice quality, and efficiency. Residents were assigned to either the advanced access template (10 appointments available to patients and 2 physician overbooks) or the prior template (5 available and 8 overbooks). Outcomes included resident and patient satisfaction, appointment availability, and continuity of care and clinic costs. Patient satisfaction improved in 7 areas (P < .001). Residents in either template did not report an impact on medical education experiences. Significant increases were realized with appointment availability and the number of patients seen. Continuity also increased as the overflow/acute visits decreased (P < .001). Overall costs per visit decreased 22%. Because of the significant improvements in access, continuity, and efficiency, all residents were switched to the advanced access template after completion of the study. Improvement in access to the primary physician has a significant impact on patient satisfaction with health care delivery. This model optimizes the limited time that residents have in continuity clinic, and it has implications for health care delivery quality improvement.

Efficient conjugate gradient algorithms for computation of the manipulator forward dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fijany, Amir; Scheid, Robert E.

1989-01-01

The applicability of conjugate gradient algorithms for computation of the manipulator forward dynamics is investigated. The redundancies in the previously proposed conjugate gradient algorithm are analyzed. A new version is developed which, by avoiding these redundancies, achieves a significantly greater efficiency. A preconditioned conjugate gradient algorithm is also presented. A diagonal matrix whose elements are the diagonal elements of the inertia matrix is proposed as the preconditioner. In order to increase the computational efficiency, an algorithm is developed which exploits the synergism between the computation of the diagonal elements of the inertia matrix and that required by the conjugate gradient algorithm.

Thermoelectric efficiency enhanced in a quantum dot with polarization leads, spin-flip and external magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Hui; Niu, Peng-Bin; Zhang, Chao; Xu, Wei-Ping; Li, Zhi-Jian; Nie, Yi-Hang

2018-03-01

We theoretically study the thermoelectric transport properties in a quantum dot system with two ferromagnetic leads, the spin-flip scattering and the external magnetic field. The results show that the spin polarization of the leads strongly influences thermoelectric coefficients of the device. For the parallel configuration the peak of figure of merit increases with the increase of polarization strength and non-collinear configuration trends to destroy the improvement of figure of merit induced by lead polarization. While the modulation of the spin-flip scattering on the figure of merit is effective only in the absence of external magnetic field or small magnetic field. In terms of improving the thermoelectric efficiency, the external magnetic field plays a more important role than spin-flip scattering. The thermoelectric efficiency can be significantly enhanced by the magnetic field for a given spin-flip scattering strength.

Efficient, full-spectrum, long-lived, non-toxic microwave lamp for plant growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maclennan, Donald A.; Turner, Brian P.; Dolan, James T.; Ury, Michael G.; Gustafson, Paul

1994-01-01

Fusion Systems Corporation has developed a mercury-free, low infrared, efficient microwave lamp using a benign sulfur based fill optimized for visible light. Our literature search and discussions with researchers directed us to enhance the bulbs red output. We have demonstrated a photosynthetic efficacy of over 2 micro-moles per microwave joule which corresponds to over 1.3 micro-moles per joule at the power main. Recent work has shown we can make additional increases in overall system efficiency. During the next two years, we expect to demonstrate a system capable of producing more than 1.5 micro-moles/joule measured at the power main with significantly less IR than alternative lamp systems. We determined optimal plant growth light requirements via a literature search and researcher input. We surveyed candidate lamp fill materials to be used in combination with sulfur and explored several methods of increasing photosynthetic efficacy.

High annealing temperature induced rapid grain coarsening for efficient perovskite solar cells.

PubMed

Cao, Xiaobing; Zhi, Lili; Jia, Yi; Li, Yahui; Cui, Xian; Zhao, Ke; Ci, Lijie; Ding, Kongxian; Wei, Jinquan

2018-08-15

Thermal annealing plays multiple roles in fabricating high quality perovskite films. Generally, it might result in large perovskite grains by elevating annealing temperature, but might also lead to decomposition of perovskite. Here, we study the effects of annealing temperature on the coarsening of perovskite grains in a temperature range from 100 to 250 °C, and find that the coarsening rate of the perovskite grain increase significantly with the annealing temperature. Compared with the perovskite films annealed at 100 °C, high quality perovskite films with large columnar grains are obtained by annealing perovskite precursor films at 250 °C for only 10 s. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of best solar cell increased from 12.35% to 16.35% due to its low recombination rate and high efficient charge transportation in solar cells. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Inferring Biological Structures from Super-Resolution Single Molecule Images Using Generative Models

PubMed Central

Maji, Suvrajit; Bruchez, Marcel P.

2012-01-01

Localization-based super resolution imaging is presently limited by sampling requirements for dynamic measurements of biological structures. Generating an image requires serial acquisition of individual molecular positions at sufficient density to define a biological structure, increasing the acquisition time. Efficient analysis of biological structures from sparse localization data could substantially improve the dynamic imaging capabilities of these methods. Using a feature extraction technique called the Hough Transform simple biological structures are identified from both simulated and real localization data. We demonstrate that these generative models can efficiently infer biological structures in the data from far fewer localizations than are required for complete spatial sampling. Analysis at partial data densities revealed efficient recovery of clathrin vesicle size distributions and microtubule orientation angles with as little as 10% of the localization data. This approach significantly increases the temporal resolution for dynamic imaging and provides quantitatively useful biological information. PMID:22629348

A Simple Method to Increase the Transduction Efficiency of Single-Stranded Adeno-Associated Virus Vectors In Vitro and In Vivo

PubMed Central

Ma, Wenqin; Li, Baozheng; Ling, Chen; Jayandharan, Giridhara R.; Byrne, Barry J.

2011-01-01

Abstract We have recently shown that co-administration of conventional single-stranded adeno-associated virus 2 (ssAAV2) vectors with self-complementary (sc) AAV2-protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) vectors leads to a significant increase in the transduction efficiency of ssAAV2 vectors in human cells in vitro as well as in murine hepatocytes in vivo. In the present study, this strategy has been further optimized by generating a mixed population of ssAAV2-EGFP and scAAV2-PP5 vectors at a 10:1 ratio to achieve enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgene expression at approximately 5- to 10-fold higher efficiency, both in vitro and in vivo. This simple coproduction method should be adaptable to any ssAAV serotype vector containing transgene cassettes that are too large to be encapsidated in scAAV vectors. PMID:21219084

Control of nitromethane photoionization efficiency with shaped femtosecond pulses.

PubMed

Roslund, Jonathan; Shir, Ofer M; Dogariu, Arthur; Miles, Richard; Rabitz, Herschel

2011-04-21

The applicability of adaptive femtosecond pulse shaping is studied for achieving selectivity in the photoionization of low-density polyatomic targets. In particular, optimal dynamic discrimination (ODD) techniques exploit intermediate molecular electronic resonances that allow a significant increase in the photoionization efficiency of nitromethane with shaped near-infrared femtosecond pulses. The intensity bias typical of high-photon number, nonresonant ionization is accounted for by reference to a strictly intensity-dependent process. Closed-loop adaptive learning is then able to discover a pulse form that increases the ionization efficiency of nitromethane by ∼150%. The optimally induced molecular dynamics result from entry into a region of parameter space inaccessible with intensity-only control. Finally, the discovered pulse shape is demonstrated to interact with the molecular system in a coherent fashion as assessed from the asymmetry between the response to the optimal field and its time-reversed counterpart.

Hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric system for concentrated solar energy conversion: Experimental realization and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beeri, Ofer; Rotem, Oded; Hazan, Eden; Katz, Eugene A.; Braun, Avi; Gelbstein, Yaniv

2015-09-01

An experimental demonstration of the combined photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric conversion of concentrated sunlight (with concentration factor, X, up to ˜300) into electricity is presented. The hybrid system is based on a multi-junction PV cell and a thermoelectric generator (TEG). The latter increases the electric power of the system and dissipates some of the excessive heat. For X ≤ 200, the system's maximal efficiency, ˜32%, was mostly due to the contribution from the PV cell. With increasing X and system temperature, the PV cell's efficiency decreased while that of the TEG increased. Accordingly, the direct electrical contribution of the TEG started to dominate in the total system power, reaching ˜20% at X ≈ 290. Using a simple steady state finite element modeling, the cooling effect of the TEG on the hybrid system's efficiency was proved to be even more significant than its direct electrical contribution for high solar concentrations. As a result, the total efficiency contribution of the TEG reached ˜40% at X ≈ 200. This suggests a new system optimization concept that takes into account the PV cell's temperature dependence and the trade-off between the direct electrical generation and cooling capabilities of the TEG. It is shown that the hybrid system has a real potential to exceed 50% total efficiency by using more advanced PV cells and TE materials.

Conversion Characteristics and Production Evaluation of Styrene/o-Xylene Mixtures Removed by DBD Pretreatment

PubMed Central

Jiang, Liying; Zhu, Runye; Mao, Yubo; Chen, Jianmeng; Zhang, Liang

2015-01-01

The combination of chemical oxidation methods with biotechnology to removal recalcitrant VOCs is a promising technology. In this paper, the aim was to identify the role of key process parameters and biodegradability of the degradation products using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor, which provided the fundamental data to evaluate the possibilities of the combined system. Effects of various technologic parameters like initial concentration of mixtures, residence time and relative humidity on the decomposition and the degradation products were examined and discussed. It was found that the removal efficiency of mixed VOCs decreased with increasing initial concentration. The removal efficiency reached the maximum value as relative humidity was approximately 40%–60%. Increasing the residence time resulted in increasing the removal efficiency and the order of destruction efficiency of VOCs followed the order styrene > o-xylene. Compared with the single compounds, the removal efficiency of styrene and o-xylene in the mixtures of VOCs decreased significantly and o-xylene decreased more rapidly. The degradation products were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the main compounds detected were O3, COx and benzene ring derivatives. The biodegradability of mixed VOCs was improved and the products had positive effect on biomass during plasma application, and furthermore typical results indicated that the biodegradability and biotoxicity of gaseous pollutant were quite depending on the specific input energy (SIE). PMID:25629961

Neuromodulating Attention and Mind-Wandering Processes with a Single Session Real Time EEG.

PubMed

Gonçalves, Óscar F; Carvalho, Sandra; Mendes, Augusto J; Leite, Jorge; Boggio, Paulo S

2018-06-01

Our minds are continuously alternating between external attention (EA) and mind wandering (MW). An appropriate balance between EA and MW is important for promoting efficient perceptual processing, executive functioning, decision-making, auto-biographical memory, and creativity. There is evidence that EA processes are associated with increased activity in high-frequency EEG bands (e.g., SMR), contrasting with the dominance of low-frequency bands during MW (e.g., Theta). The aim of the present study was to test the effects of two distinct single session real-time EEG (rtEEG) protocols (SMR up-training/Theta down-training-SMR⇑Theta⇓; Theta up-training/SMR down-training-Theta⇑SMR⇓) on EA and MW processes. Thirty healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two rtEEG training protocols (SMR⇑Theta⇓; Theta⇑SMR⇓). Before and after the rtEEG training, participants completed the attention network task (ANT) along with several MW measures. Both training protocols were effective in increasing SMR (SMR⇑Theta⇓) and theta (Theta⇑SMR⇓) amplitudes but not in decreasing the amplitude of down-trained bands. There were no significant effects of the rtEEG training in either EA or MW measures. However, there was a significant positive correlation between post-training SMR increases and the use of deliberate MW (rather than spontaneous) strategies. Additionally, for the Theta⇑SMR⇓ protocol, increase in post-training Theta amplitude was significantly associated with a decreased efficiency in the orientation network.

Improving Plant Nitrogen Use Efficiency through Alteration of Amino Acid Transport Processes1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Perchlik, Molly

2017-01-01

Improving the efficiency of nitrogen (N) uptake and utilization in plants could potentially increase crop yields while reducing N fertilization and, subsequently, environmental pollution. Within most plants, N is transported primarily as amino acids. In this study, pea (Pisum sativum) plants overexpressing AMINO ACID PERMEASE1 (AAP1) were used to determine if and how genetic manipulation of amino acid transport from source to sink affects plant N use efficiency. The modified plants were grown under low, moderate, or high N fertilization regimes. The results showed that, independent of the N nutrition, the engineered plants allocate more N via the vasculature to the shoot and seeds and produce more biomass and higher seed yields than wild-type plants. Dependent on the amount of N supplied, the AAP1-overexpressing plants displayed improved N uptake or utilization efficiency, or a combination of the two. They also showed significantly increased N use efficiency in N-deficient as well as in N-rich soils and, impressively, required half the amount of N to produce as many fruits and seeds as control plants. Together, these data support that engineering N allocation from source to sink presents an effective strategy to produce crop plants with improved productivity as well as N use efficiency in a range of N environments. PMID:28733388

A Leaf-Inspired Luminescent Solar Concentrator for Energy-Efficient Continuous-Flow Photochemistry.

PubMed

Cambié, Dario; Zhao, Fang; Hessel, Volker; Debije, Michael G; Noël, Timothy

2017-01-19

The use of solar light to promote chemical reactions holds significant potential with regard to sustainable energy solutions. While the number of visible light-induced transformations has increased significantly, the use of abundant solar light has been extremely limited. We report a leaf-inspired photomicroreactor that constitutes a merger between luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) and flow photochemistry to enable green and efficient reactions powered by solar irradiation. This device based on fluorescent dye-doped polydimethylsiloxane collects sunlight, focuses the energy to a narrow wavelength region, and then transports that energy to embedded microchannels where the flowing reactants are converted. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[Photosynthetic gas exchange and water utilization of flag leaf of spring wheat with bunch sowing and field plastic mulching below soil on semi-arid rain-fed area.

PubMed

Yang, Wen Xiong; Liu, Na; Liu, Xiao Hua; Zhang, Xue Ting; Wang, Shi Hong; Yuan, Jun Xiu; Zhang, Xu Cheng

2016-07-01

Based on the field experiment which was conducted in Dingxi County of Gansu Province, and involved in the three treatments: (1) plastic mulching on entire land with soil coverage and bunching (PMS), (2) plastic mulching on entire land and bunching (PM), and (3) direct bunching without mulching (CK). The parameters of SPAD values, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic gas exchange parameters, as well as leaf area index (LAI), yield, evapotranspiration, and water use efficiency in flag leaves of spring wheat were recorded and analyzed from 2012 to 2013 continuously. The results showed that SPAD values of wheat flag leaves increased in PMS by 10.0%-21.5% and 3.2%-21.6% compared to PM and CK in post-flowering stage, respectively. The maximum photochemical efficiency (F v /F m ) , actual photochemical efficiency (Φ PS 2 ) of photosystem 2 (PS2), and photochemical quenching coefficient (q P ) of PMS were higher than those of PM and CK, the maximum increment values were 6.1%, 9.6% and 30.9% as compared with PM, and significant differences were observed in filling stage (P＜0.05). The values of q N in PMS were lowest among the three treatments, and it decreased significantly by 23.8% and 15.4% in heading stage in 2012 and 2013 respectively, as compared with PM. The stoma conductance (g s ) of wheat flag leaves in PMS was higher than that of PM and CK, with significant difference being observed in filling stage, and it increased by 17.1% and 21.1% in 2012 and 2013 respectively, as compared with PM. The transpiration rate (T r ), net photosynthetic rate (P n ), and leaf instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE i ) except heading stage in 2013 of PMS increased by 5.4%-16.7%, 11.2%-23.7%, and 5.6%-7.2%, respectively, as compared with PM, and significant difference of WUE i was observed in flowering stage in 2012. The leaf area index (LAI) of PMS was higher than that of PM and CK, especially, it differed significantly in seasonal drought of 2013. Consequently, the PMS increased the SPAD values in flag leaves of spring wheat, and the capacity of flag leaves for photo energy assimilation and photosynthetic gas exchange were enhanced, caused more photosynthetic energy flowing into photochemical process, as well as decreased the heat dissipation, resulted in the increment of P n and WUE i . Based on the higher P n and LAI, the yield and WUE of PMS increased.

Increased Heat Transport in Ultra-hot Jupiter Atmospheres through H2 Dissociation and Recombination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, Taylor J.; Cowan, Nicolas B.

2018-04-01

A new class of exoplanets is beginning to emerge: planets with dayside atmospheres that resemble stellar atmospheres as most of their molecular constituents dissociate. The effects of the dissociation of these species will be varied and must be carefully accounted for. Here we take the first steps toward understanding the consequences of dissociation and recombination of molecular hydrogen (H2) on atmospheric heat recirculation. Using a simple energy balance model with eastward winds, we demonstrate that H2 dissociation/recombination can significantly increase the day–night heat transport on ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs): gas giant exoplanets where significant H2 dissociation occurs. The atomic hydrogen from the highly irradiated daysides of UHJs will transport some of the energy deposited on the dayside toward the nightside of the planet where the H atoms recombine into H2; this mechanism bears similarities to latent heat. Given a fixed wind speed, this will act to increase the heat recirculation efficiency; alternatively, a measured heat recirculation efficiency will require slower wind speeds after accounting for H2 dissociation/recombination.

GaAs core--shell nanowires for photovoltaic applications.

PubMed

Czaban, Josef A; Thompson, David A; LaPierre, Ray R

2009-01-01

We report the use of Te as an n-type dopant in GaAs core-shell p-n junction nanowires for use in photovoltaic devices. Te produced significant change in the morphology of GaAs nanowires grown by the vapor-liquid-solid process in a molecular beam epitaxy system. The increase in radial growth of nanowires due to the surfactant effect of Te had a significant impact on the operating characteristics of photovoltaic devices. A decrease in solar cell efficiency occurred when the Te-doped GaAs growth duration was increased.

Does the combination of biochar and clinoptilolite enhance nutrient recovery from the liquid fraction of biogas digestate?

PubMed

Kocatürk-Schumacher, Nazlı Pelin; Zwart, Kor; Bruun, Sander; Brussaard, Lijbert; Jensen, Lars Stoumann

2017-05-01

Concentrating nutrients on biochar and clinoptilolite and subsequently using the nutrient-enriched sorbents as a fertiliser could be an alternative way to manage nutrients in digestate. In this study, we investigated the use of biochar and clinoptilolite columns in removing ammonium, potassium, orthophosphate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the liquid fraction of digestate. Our objectives were to investigate the effect of the initial loading ratio between liquid and biochar on nutrient removal, and to investigate the effect of combining biochar with clinoptilolite on nutrient and DOC removal efficiency. Increasing the initial loading ratios increased nutrient concentrations on biochar to 8.61 mg NH 4 -N g -1 , 1.95 mg PO 4 -P g -1 and 13.01 mg DOC g -1 , but resulted in decreasing removal efficiencies. The combination of biochar and clinoptilolite resulted in improved ammonium, potassium and DOC removal efficiencies compared to biochar alone, but did not significantly change PO 4 -P removal efficiencies. Removal efficiencies with combined sorbents were up to 67% for ammonium, 58% for DOC and 58% for potassium. Clinoptilolite showed higher removal efficiencies compared to biochar alone, and combining clinoptilolite with biochar improved only total P removal efficiency. Concentrating nutrients with clinoptilolite and biochar may be an option when both sorbents are available at low cost.

[Multilevel analysis of the technical efficiency of hospitals in the Spanish National Health System by property and type of management].

PubMed

Pérez-Romero, Carmen; Ortega-Díaz, M Isabel; Ocaña-Riola, Ricardo; Martín-Martín, José Jesús

2018-05-11

To analyze technical efficiency by type of property and management of general hospitals in the Spanish National Health System (2010-2012) and identify hospital and regional explanatory variables. 230 hospitals were analyzed combining data envelopment analysis and fixed effects multilevel linear models. Data envelopment analysis measured overall, technical and scale efficiency, and the analysis of explanatory factors was performed using multilevel models. The average rate of overall technical efficiency of hospitals without legal personality is lower than hospitals with legal personality (0.691 and 0.876 in 2012). There is a significant variability in efficiency under variable returns (TE) by direct, indirect and mixed forms of management. The 29% of the variability in TE es attributable to the Region. Legal personality increased the TE of the hospitals by 11.14 points. On the other hand, most of the forms of management (different to those of the traditional hospitals) increased TE in varying percentages. At regional level, according to the model considered, insularity and average annual income per household are explanatory variables of TE. Having legal personality favours technical efficiency. The regulatory and management framework of hospitals, more than public or private ownership, seem to explain technical efficiency. Regional characteristics explain the variability in TE. Copyright © 2018 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Effect of end reflections on conversion efficiency of coaxial relativistic backward wave oscillator

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

Teng, Yan; Chen, Changhua; Sun, Jun

2015-11-07

This paper theoretically investigates the effect of end reflections on the operation of the coaxial relativistic backward wave oscillator (CRBWO). It is found that the considerable enhancement of the end reflection at one end increases the conversion efficiency, but excessively large end reflections at both ends weaken the asynchronous wave-beam interaction and thus reduce the conversion efficiency. Perfect reflection at the post end significantly improves the interaction between the electron beam and the asynchronous harmonic so that the conversion efficiency is notably increased. Based on the theoretical research, the diffraction-CRBWO with the generated microwave diffracted and output through the frontmore » end of the coaxial slow wave structure cavity is proposed. The post end is conductively closed to provide the perfect reflection. This promotes the amplitude and uniformity of the longitudinal electric field on the beam transmission line and improves the asynchronous wave-beam interaction. In numerical simulations under the diode voltage and current of 450 kV and 5.84 kA, microwave generation with the power of 1.45 GW and the conversion efficiency of 55% are obtained at the frequency of 7.45 GHz.« less

Parabens abatement from surface waters by electrochemical advanced oxidation with boron doped diamond anodes.

PubMed

Domínguez, Joaquín R; Muñoz-Peña, Maria J; González, Teresa; Palo, Patricia; Cuerda-Correa, Eduardo M

2016-10-01

The removal efficiency of four commonly-used parabens by electrochemical advanced oxidation with boron-doped diamond anodes in two different aqueous matrices, namely ultrapure water and surface water from the Guadiana River, has been analyzed. Response surface methodology and a factorial, composite, central, orthogonal, and rotatable (FCCOR) statistical design of experiments have been used to optimize the process. The experimental results clearly show that the initial concentration of pollutants is the factor that influences the removal efficiency in a more remarkable manner in both aqueous matrices. As a rule, as the initial concentration of parabens increases, the removal efficiency decreases. The current density also affects the removal efficiency in a statistically significant manner in both aqueous matrices. In the water river aqueous matrix, a noticeable synergistic effect on the removal efficiency has been observed, probably due to the presence of chloride ions that increase the conductivity of the solution and contribute to the generation of strong secondary oxidant species such as chlorine or HClO/ClO - . The use of a statistical design of experiments made it possible to determine the optimal conditions necessary to achieve total removal of the four parabens in ultrapure and river water aqueous matrices.

Experimental investigation on the performance, gaseous and particulate emissions of a methanol fumigated diesel engine.

PubMed

Cheng, C H; Cheung, C S; Chan, T L; Lee, S C; Yao, C D

2008-01-15

Experiments were conducted on a 4-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine with fumigation methanol injected into the air intake of each cylinder. The fumigation methanol was injected to top up 10%, 20% and 30% of the power output under different engine operating conditions. The effects of fumigation methanol on engine performance, gaseous emissions and particulate emission were investigated. The experimental results show that there is a decrease in the brake thermal efficiency when fumigation methanol is applied, except at the highest load of 0.67 MPa. At low loads, the brake thermal efficiency decreases with increase in fumigation methanol; but at high loads, it increases with increase in fumigation methanol. The fumigation method results in a significant increase in hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) emissions. The concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) is significantly reduced except at close to full load condition. There is also a reduction in the smoke opacity and the particulate matter (PM) mass concentration. For the submicron particles, the total number of particles decreases at low and medium loads but increases at high loads. In all cases, there is a shift of the particles towards smaller geometrical mean diameter, especially at high loads. The increase in nano-sized particles and the increase in NO(2) emission could have serious impact on human health.

Liquefaction Of Coal With Surfactant And Disposable Catalyst

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hickey, Gregory S.; Sharma, Pramod K.

1996-01-01

Fuels derived from coal more competitive with petroleum products. Improved coal-liquefaction process exploits synergistic effects of disposable iron oxide catalyst and cheap anionic surfactant. Efficiency of conversion achieved in significantly higher than efficiencies obtained with addition of either surfactant or catalyst alone. No costly pretreatment necessary, and increase in conversion achieved under processing conditions milder than those used heretofore in liquefaction of coal. Quality of distillates obtained after liquefaction in process expected superior to distillates obtained after liquefaction by older techniques.

A Metamaterial-Inspired Approach to RF Energy Harvesting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fowler, Clayton; Zhou, Jiangfeng

2016-03-01

We demonstrate an RF energy harvesting rectenna design based on a metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA). With the embedded Schottky diodes, the rectenna converts captured RF energy to DC currents. The Fabry-Perot cavity resonance of the MPA greatly improves the amount of energy captured and hence improves the rectification efficiency. Furthermore, the FP resonance exhibits a high Q-factor and significantly increases the voltage across the Schottky diodes. This leads to a factor of 16 improvement of RF-DC conversion efficiency at ambient intensity level.

A Metamaterial-Inspired Approach to RF Energy Harvesting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fowler, Clayton; Zhou, Jiangfeng

We demonstrate an RF energy harvesting rectenna design based on a metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA). With the embedded Schottky diodes, the rectenna converts captured RF energy to DC currents. The Fabry-Perot cavity resonance of the MPA greatly improves the amount of energy captured and hence improves the rectification efficiency. Furthermore, the FP resonance exhibits high Q-factor and significantly increases the voltage across the Schottky diodes. This leads to a factor of 16 improvement of RF-DC conversion efficiency at ambient intensity level.

Improving efficiency of polystyrene concrete production with composite binders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lesovik, R. V.; Ageeva, M. S.; Lesovik, G. A.; Sopin, D. M.; Kazlitina, O. V.; Mitrokhina, A. A.

2018-03-01

According to leading marketing researchers, the construction market in Russia and CIS will continue growing at a rapid rate; this applies not only to a large-scale major construction, but to a construction of single-family houses and small-scale industrial facilities as well. Due to this, there are increased requirements for heat insulation of the building enclosures and a significant demand for efficient walling materials with high thermal performance. All these developments led to higher requirements imposed on the equipment that produces such materials.

Study on effect of mixing mechanism by the transverse gaseous injection flow in scramjet engine with variable parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Siddhita; Pandey, K. M.

2018-04-01

In scramjet engine the mixing mechanism of fuel and atmospheric air is very complicated, because the fuel have time in milliseconds for mixing with atmospheric air in combustion chamber having supersonic speed. Mixing efficiency of fuel and atmospheric air depends on mainly these parameters: Aspect ratio of injector, vibration amplitude, shock type, number of injector, jet to transverse flow momentum flux ratio, injector geometry, injection angle, molecular weight, incoming air stream angle, jet to transverse flow pressure ratio, spacing variation, mass flow rate of fuel etc. here is a very brief study of these parameters from previously done research on these parameters for the improvement of mixing efficiency. The mixing process have the significant role for the working of engine, and mixing between the atmospheric air and the jet fuel is significant factor for improving the overall thrust of the engine. The results obtained by study of papers are obtained by the 3D-Reynolds Average-Nervier-Stokes(RANS) equations along with the 2-equation k-ω shear-stress-transport (SST) turbulence model. Engine having multi air jets have 60% more mixing efficiency than single air jet, thus if the jets are increased, the mixing efficiency of engine can also be increased up to 150% by changing jet from 1 to 16. When using delta shape of injector the mixing efficiency is inversely proportional to the pressure ratio. When the fuel is injected inside the combustor from the top and bottom walls of the engine efficiency of mixing in reacting zone is higher than the single wall injection and in comparison to parallel flow, the transverse type flow is better as the atmospheric air jet can penetrate smoothly in the fuel jets and mixes well in less time. Hence this study of parameters and their effects on mixing can enhance the efficiency of mixing in engine.

Reduced irrigation increases the water use efficiency and productivity of winter wheat-summer maize rotation on the North China Plain.

PubMed

Wang, Yunqi; Zhang, Yinghua; Zhang, Rui; Li, Jinpeng; Zhang, Meng; Zhou, Shunli; Wang, Zhimin

2018-03-15

The groundwater table has fallen sharply over the last 30years on the North China Plain, resulting in a shortage of water for winter wheat irrigation. Reducing irrigation may be an important strategy to maintain agricultural sustainability in the region; however, few studies have evaluated the transition from conventional irrigation management practices to reduced irrigation management practices in the winter wheat-summer maize rotation system. Here, we compare the yield, water consumption, and water use efficiency of winter wheat-summer maize rotation under conventional irrigation and reduced irrigation on the North China Plain from 2012 to 2015. Reducing irrigation decreased the yield but increased the water use efficiency and significantly advanced the harvest date of winter wheat. As a result, the summer maize sowing date advanced significantly, and the flowering date subsequently advanced 2-8days, thus extending the summer maize grain-filling stage. Therefore, the yield and water use efficiency of summer maize were higher under reduced irrigation than conventional irrigation, which compensated for the winter wheat yield loss under reduced irrigation. In addition, under reduced irrigation from 2012 to 2015, the yield and water use efficiency advantage of the winter wheat-summer maize rotation ranged from 0.0 to 9.7% and from 4.1 to 14.7%, respectively, and water consumption and irrigated water decreased by 20-61mm and 150mm, respectively, compared to conventional irrigation. Overall, the reduced irrigation management practice involving no irrigation after sowing winter wheat, and sowing summer maize on June 7 produced the most favorable grain yield with superb water use efficiency in the winter wheat-summer maize rotation. This study indicates that reducing irrigation could be an efficient means to cope with water resource shortages while maintaining crop production sustainability on the North China Plain. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Carrots and Sticks: A Comprehensive Business Model for the Successful Achievement of Energy Efficiency Resource Standards Environmental Energy Technologies DivisionMarch 2011

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

Satchwell, Andrew; Cappers, Peter; Goldman, Charles

2011-03-22

Energy efficiency resource standards (EERS) are a prominent strategy to potentially achieve rapid and aggressive energy savings goals in the U.S. As of December 2010, twenty-six U.S. states had some form of an EERS with savings goals applicable to energy efficiency (EE) programs paid for by utility customers. The European Union has initiated a similar type of savings goal, the Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive, where it is being implemented in some countries through direct partnership with regulated electric utilities. U.S. utilities face significant financial disincentives under traditional regulation which affects the interest of shareholders and managers inmore » aggressively pursuing cost-effective energy efficiency. Regulators are considering some combination of mandated goals ('sticks') and alternative utility business model components ('carrots' such as performance incentives) to align the utility's business and financial interests with state and federal energy efficiency public policy goals. European countries that have directed their utilities to administer EE programs have generally relied on non-binding mandates and targets; in the U.S., most state regulators have increasingly viewed 'carrots' as a necessary condition for successful achievement of energy efficiency goals and targets. In this paper, we analyze the financial impacts of an EERS on a large electric utility in the State of Arizona using a pro-forma utility financial model, including impacts on utility earnings, customer bills and rates. We demonstrate how a viable business model can be designed to improve the business case while retaining sizable ratepayer benefits. Quantifying these concerns and identifying ways they can be addressed are crucial steps in gaining the support of major stakeholder groups - lessons that can apply to other countries looking to significantly increase savings targets that can be achieved from their own utility-administered EE programs.« less

Voluntary medical male circumcision scale-up in Nyanza, Kenya: evaluating technical efficiency and productivity of service delivery.

PubMed

Omondi Aduda, Dickens S; Ouma, Collins; Onyango, Rosebella; Onyango, Mathews; Bertrand, Jane

2015-01-01

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) service delivery is complex and resource-intensive. In Kenya's context there is still paucity of information on resource use vis-à-vis outputs as programs scale up. Knowledge of technical efficiency, productivity and potential sources of constraints is desirable to improve decision-making. To evaluate technical efficiency and productivity of VMMC service delivery in Nyanza in 2011/2012 using data envelopment analysis. Comparative process evaluation of facilities providing VMMC in Nyanza in 2011/2012 using output orientated data envelopment analysis. Twenty one facilities were evaluated. Only 1 of 7 variables considered (total elapsed operation time) significantly improved from 32.8 minutes (SD 8.8) in 2011 to 30 minutes (SD 6.6) in 2012 (95%CI = 0.0350-5.2488; p = 0.047). Mean scale technical efficiency significantly improved from 91% (SD 19.8) in 2011 to 99% (SD 4.0) in 2012 particularly among outreach compared to fixed service delivery facilities (CI -31.47959-4.698508; p = 0.005). Increase in mean VRS technical efficiency from 84% (SD 25.3) in 2011 and 89% (SD 25.1) in 2012 was not statistically significant. Benchmark facilities were #119 and #125 in 2011 and #103 in 2012. Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) at fixed facilities declined by 2.5% but gained by 4.9% at outreach ones by 2012. Total factor productivity improved by 83% (p = 0.032) in 2012, largely due to progress in technological efficiency by 79% (p = 0.008). Significant improvement in scale technical efficiency among outreach facilities in 2012 was attributable to accelerated activities. However, ongoing pure technical inefficiency requires concerted attention. Technological progress was the key driver of service productivity growth in Nyanza. Incorporating service-quality dimensions and using stepwise-multiple criteria in performance evaluation enhances comprehensiveness and validity. These findings highlight site-level resource use and sources of variations in VMMC service productivity, which are important for program planning.

Examining the Variability of Sleep Patterns during Treatment for Chronic Insomnia: Application of a Location-Scale Mixed Model

PubMed Central

Ong, Jason C.; Hedeker, Donald; Wyatt, James K.; Manber, Rachel

2016-01-01

Study Objectives: The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel statistical technique called the location-scale mixed model that can be used to analyze the mean level and intra-individual variability (IIV) using longitudinal sleep data. Methods: We applied the location-scale mixed model to examine changes from baseline in sleep efficiency on data collected from 54 participants with chronic insomnia who were randomized to an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; n = 19), an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBTI; n = 19), or an 8-week self-monitoring control (SM; n = 16). Sleep efficiency was derived from daily sleep diaries collected at baseline (days 1–7), early treatment (days 8–21), late treatment (days 22–63), and post week (days 64–70). The behavioral components (sleep restriction, stimulus control) were delivered during late treatment in MBTI. Results: For MBSR and MBTI, the pre-to-post change in mean levels of sleep efficiency were significantly larger than the change in mean levels for the SM control, but the change in IIV was not significantly different. During early and late treatment, MBSR showed a larger increase in mean levels of sleep efficiency and a larger decrease in IIV relative to the SM control. At late treatment, MBTI had a larger increase in the mean level of sleep efficiency compared to SM, but the IIV was not significantly different. Conclusions: The location-scale mixed model provides a two-dimensional analysis on the mean and IIV using longitudinal sleep diary data with the potential to reveal insights into treatment mechanisms and outcomes. Citation: Ong JC, Hedeker D, Wyatt JK, Manber R. Examining the variability of sleep patterns during treatment for chronic insomnia: application of a location-scale mixed model. J Clin Sleep Med 2016;12(6):797–804. PMID:26951414

Power loss and right ventricular efficiency in patients after tetralogy of Fallot repair with pulmonary insufficiency: clinical implications.

PubMed

Fogel, Mark A; Sundareswaran, Kartik S; de Zelicourt, Diane; Dasi, Lakshmi P; Pawlowski, Tom; Rome, Jack; Yoganathan, Ajit P

2012-06-01

To quantify right ventricular output power and efficiency and correlate these to ventricular function in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot. This might aid in determining the optimal timing for pulmonary valve replacement. We reviewed the cardiac catheterization and magnetic resonance imaging data of 13 patients with tetralogy of Fallot (age, 22 ± 17 years). Using pressure and flow measurements in the main pulmonary artery, cardiac output and regurgitation fraction, right ventricular (RV) power output, loss, and efficiency were calculated. The RV function was evaluated using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. The RV systolic power was 1.08 ± 0.62 W, with 20.3% ± 8.6% power loss owing to 41% ± 14% pulmonary regurgitation (efficiency, 79.7% ± 8.6%; 0.84 ± 0.73 W), resulting in a net cardiac output of 4.24 ± 1.82 L/min. Power loss correlated significantly with the indexed RV end-diastolic and end-systolic volume (R = 0.78, P = .002 and R = 0.69, P = .009, respectively). The normalized RV power output had a significant negative correlation with RV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (both R = -0.87, P = .002 and R = -0.68, P = .023, respectively). A rapid decrease occurred in the RV power capacity with an increasing RV volume, with the curve flattening out at an indexed RV end-diastolic and end-systolic volume threshold of 139 mL/m(2) and 75 mL/m(2), respectively. Significant power loss is present in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot and pulmonary regurgitation. A rapid decrease in efficiency occurs with increasing RV volume, suggesting that pulmonary valve replacement should be done before the critical value of 139 mL/m(2) and 75 mL/m(2) for the RV end-diastolic and end-systolic volume, respectively, to preserve RV function. Copyright © 2012 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

How to help woody plants to overcome drought stress?-a control study of four tree species in Northwest China.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaozhen; Zhang, Shuoxin

2010-05-01

Water is essential for plants and involves most physical and chemical processes within their lifecycles. Drought stress is a crucial limiting factor for plant growth and production. 48% of the land in China is arid and semi-arid, and non-irrigated land occupies approximately 51.9% of the total cultivated areas. Therefore, studies on plant drought resistant mechanisms have great significance for improving water use efficiency and thus increasing productivity of economical plants. Prior research has shown that the application of nitrogenous fertilizer affects the drought-resistant characteristics of plants. This study aimed to reveal the effect of nitrogenous fertilizer on physiological aspects and its impact on the drought resistance of four tree species (Robinia pseudoacacia L., Ligustrum lucidum Ait., Acer truncatum Bge. and Ulmus pumila L. ) in northwest China. Three levels of nitrogen fertilization (46% N based of urea adjusted to: 5g/15g soil, 15g/15g soil and 25g/15g soil) and an additional control study were applied to 2-year-old well-grown seedlings under drought conditions (30% field moisture capacity). Stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and net photosynthetic rate were measured by a LI-6400 photosynthesis system, while water use efficiency was calculated from net photosynthesis rate and transpiration rate. The results revealed that as the amount of urea applied was raised, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and net photosynthetic rate decreased significantly, and thus water use efficiency significantly increased. It is therefore concluded that the application of nitrogenous fertilizer regulated physiological parameters by reducing stomata conductance to improve water use efficiency. In addition, among the four tree species, U. pumila had the maximum value of water use efficiency under the same drought condition. The outcome of this study provides a guided option for forest management in arid and semi-arid areas of northwest China.

[Efficiency of teeth local anesthesia by articaine-containing formulation with adrenaline and clonidine in pediatric dentistry].

PubMed

Mel'nikova, A V; Shugaĭlov, I A; Garus, Ia N

2014-01-01

The study evaluated duration and depth of the local infiltration anesthesia by articaine with different combinations of epinephrine and clonidine : articaine (4%) + epinephrine (1: 200 000), articaine (4%) + clonidine (1:100 000), articaine (4%) + epinephrine (1:200 000) + clonidine (1:100 000), articaine (4%) + epinephrine (1: 400 000) + clonidine (1:100, 000) in pediatric dental practice. It was revealed that the replacement of the vasoconstrictor epinephrine on clonidine associated with reduced depth and duration of analgesia. This increased efficiency is provided by inclusion of epinephrine (1:200 000), and clonidine (1:100 000) into anesthetic solution, which provided statistically significant increase in depth and duration of anesthesia.

Enhancing surface plasmon leakage at the metal/semiconductor interface: towards increased light outcoupling efficiency in organic optoelectronics.

PubMed

Kohl, Jesse; Pantina, Joseph A; O'Carroll, Deirdre M

2014-04-07

The light outcoupling efficiency of organic light-emitting optoelectronic devices is severely limited by excitation of tightly bound surface plasmon polaritons at the metal electrodes. We present a theoretical study of an organic semiconductor-silver-SiO(2) waveguide and demonstrate that by simple tuning of metal film thickness and the emission regime of the organic semiconductor, a significant fraction of surface plasmon polariton mode amplitude is leaked into the active semiconductor layer, thereby decreasing the amount of optical energy trapped by the metal. At visible wavelengths, mode leakage increases by factors of up to 3.8 and 88 by tuning metal film thickness and by addition of gain, respectively.

A photoelectric amplifier as a dye detector

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ebel, Wesley J.

1962-01-01

A dye detector, based on a modified photoelectric amplifier, has been planned, built, and tested. It was designed to record automatically the time of arrival of fluorescein dye at predetermined points in a stream system. Laboratory tests and stream trials proved the instrument to be efficient. Small changes in color can be detected in turbid or clear water. The unit has been used successfully for timing intervals of more than 17 hours; significant savings of time and manpower have resulted. Replacement of the clock, included in the original device, with a recording milliammeter increases the efficiency of the unit by contin,!ously recording changes in turbidity. The addition of this component would increase the cost from $75 to approximately $105.

High-dose neutron detector project update

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

Menlove, Howard Olsen; Henzlova, Daniela

These are the slides for a progress review meeting by the sponsor. This is an update on the high-dose neutron detector project. In summary, improvements in both boron coating and signal amplification have been achieved; improved boron coating materials and procedures have increased efficiency by ~ 30-40% without the corresponding increase in the detector plate area; low dead-time via thin cell design (~ 4 mm gas gaps) and fast amplifiers; prototype PDT 8” pod has been received and testing is in progress; significant improvements in efficiency and stability have been verified; use commercial PDT 10B design and fabrication to obtainmore » a faster path from the research to practical high-dose neutron detector.« less

Gas separation using ultrasound and light absorption

DOEpatents

Sinha, Dipen N [Los Alamos, NM

2012-07-31

An apparatus and method for separating a chosen gas from a mixture of gases having no moving parts and utilizing no chemical processing is described. The separation of particulates from fluid carriers thereof has been observed using ultrasound. In a similar manner, molecular species may be separated from carrier species. It is also known that light-induced drift may separate light-absorbing species from carrier species. Therefore, the combination of temporally pulsed absorption of light with ultrasonic concentration is expected to significantly increase the efficiency of separation by ultrasonic concentration alone. Additionally, breaking the spatial symmetry of a cylindrical acoustic concentrator decreases the spatial distribution of the concentrated particles, and increases the concentration efficiency.

Do Cues Matter? Highly Inductive Settlement Cues Don't Ensure High Post-Settlement Survival in Sea Urchin Aquaculture

PubMed Central

Mos, Benjamin; Cowden, Kenneth L.; Nielsen, Shaun J.; Dworjanyn, Symon A.

2011-01-01

Increasing settlement and post-settlement survival during the critical transition from planktonic larvae to benthic juveniles will increase efficiency for sea urchin aquaculture. This study investigated the effects of temperature and settlement cues on the settlement and post-settlement survival of the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla during this phase. The current commercial methodology, which utilises natural biofilm settlement plates, was tested and resulted in low settlement (<2%) and poor post-settlement survival (<1% of settled urchins). In laboratory trials, settlement was high and unaffected by temperatures between 24 and 30°C, but significantly decreased at 33°C. Development of spines, however, was significantly affected by temperatures over 29°C. Mirroring this result, post-settlement survival was optimal between 24–28°C. In laboratory assays, the macroalgae Sargassum linearifolium and Corallina officinalis, and seawater conditioned with these algae, induced significantly higher settlement (>90%) than a natural biofilm (∼25%). The addition of macroalgae-conditioned seawater to natural biofilm significantly increased settlement rates (>85%). Mixed consortia and single strains of bacteria isolated from macroalgae, biofilms and adult conspecifics all induced significant settlement, but at significantly lower rates than macroalgae. No evidence was found that higher rates of settlement to bacteria on macroalgae were generated by a cofactor from the macroalgae. Age of bacterial cultures, culturing bacteria on solid and liquid media and concentration of nutrients in cultures had little effect on settlement rates. Finally, macroalgae-conditioned seawater combined with natural biofilm settlement plates induced significantly higher settlement than to the biofilm plates alone in a commercial scale trial. However, high post-settlement mortality resulted in equivalent survival between treatments after 25 days. This study highlights that settlement studies should extend to post-settlement survival, which remains poor for T. gratilla and is a significant obstacle to increasing efficiency for aquaculture. PMID:22162755

Enhancing soybean photosynthetic CO2 assimilation using a cyanobacterial membrane protein, ictB.

PubMed

Hay, William T; Bihmidine, Saadia; Mutlu, Nedim; Hoang, Khang Le; Awada, Tala; Weeks, Donald P; Clemente, Tom E; Long, Stephen P

2017-05-01

Soybean C 3 photosynthesis can suffer a severe loss in efficiency due to photorespiration and the lack of a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) such as those present in other plant species or cyanobacteria. Transgenic soybean (Glycine max cv. Thorne) plants constitutively expressing cyanobacterial ictB (inorganic carbon transporter B) gene were generated using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Although more recent data suggest that ictB does not actively transport HCO3-/CO 2 , there is nevertheless mounting evidence that transformation with this gene can increase higher plant photosynthesis. The hypothesis that expression of the ictB gene would improve photosynthesis, biomass production and seed yield in soybean was tested, in two independent replicated greenhouse and field trials. Results showed significant increases in photosynthetic CO 2 uptake (A net ) and dry mass in transgenic relative to wild type (WT) control plants in both the greenhouse and field trials. Transgenic plants also showed increased photosynthetic rates and biomass production during a drought mimic study. The findings presented herein demonstrate that ictB, as a single-gene, contributes to enhancement in various yield parameters in a major commodity crop and point to the significant role that biotechnological approaches to increasing photosynthetic efficiency can play in helping to meet increased global demands for food. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Changes in the physiological parameters, fatty acid metabolism, and SCD activity and expression in juvenile GIFT tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) reared at three different temperatures.

PubMed

Ma, X Y; Qiang, J; He, J; Gabriel, N N; Xu, P

2015-08-01

We evaluated the effects of rearing temperature on the composition of fatty acids and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) activity and gene expression in GIFT (genetically improved farmed tilapia) tilapia. Three triplicate groups of fish were reared for 40 days at 22, 28, or 34 °C. At the end of the trial, the final body weight of juveniles reared at 28 °C was higher than that of fish reared at 22 or 34 °C. Feed intake, feed efficiency, and the protein efficiency ratio were also higher at 28 °C. The fatty acid composition of muscle tissue differed significantly (P < 0.05) among the treatment groups. The content of SFA decreased with decreasing temperature, whereas the UFA content increased. We observed high levels of PUFA, particularly n-3 PUFAs, in fish reared at the lower temperature. Rearing at low temperature significantly (P < 0.05) increased the expression and activity of the SCD gene. Increased SCD activity and gene expression can increase the biosynthesis of MUFAs in GIFT tilapia muscle. Additionally, cold acclimation can decrease the content of TC and TG in GIFT tilapia, which can help increase cold tolerance.

The influence of small-scale interlayer heterogeneity on DDT removal efficiency for flushing technology.

PubMed

Wang, Xingwei; Chen, Jiajun

2017-06-01

With an aim to investigate the influence of small-scale interlayer heterogeneity on DDT removal efficiency, batch test including surfactant-stabilized foam flushing and solution flushing were carried out. Two man-made heterogeneous patterns consisting of coarse and fine quartz sand were designed to reveal the influencing mechanism. Moreover, the removal mechanism and the corresponding contribution by foam flushing were quantitatively studied. Compared with surfactant solution flushing, the DDT removal efficiency by surfactant-stabilized foam flushing increased by 9.47% and 11.28% under heterogeneous patterns 1 and 2, respectively. The DDT removal contributions of improving sweep efficiency for heterogeneous patterns 1 and 2 by foam flushing were 40.82% and 45.98%, and the contribution of dissolving capacity were 59.18% and 54.02%, respectively. The dissolving capacity of DDT played a major role in DDT removal efficiency by foam flushing under laboratory conditions. And the DDT removal contribution of significant improving sweep efficiency was higher than that of removal decline caused by weak solubilizing ability of foam film compared with solution flushing. The obtained results indicated that the difference of DDT removal efficiency by foam flushing was decreased under two different heterogeneous patterns with the increase of the contribution of improving foam flushing sweep efficiency. It suggested that foam flushing can reduce the disturbance from interlayer heterogeneity in remediating DDT contaminated heterogeneous medium. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Environmental Conditions on Tropical Deep Convective Systems Observed from the TRMM Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Bing; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Minnis, Patrick; Chambers, Lin H.; Xu, Kuan-Man; Hu, Yongxiang; Fan, Tai-Fang

2005-01-01

This study uses measurements of radiation and cloud properties taken between January and August 1998 by three Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) instruments, the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) scanner, the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), and the Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS), to evaluate the variations of tropical deep convective systems (DCS) with sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation. This study finds that DCS precipitation efficiency increases with SST at a rate of approx. 2%/K. Despite increasing rainfall efficiency, the cloud areal coverage rises with SST at a rate of about 7%/K in the warm tropical seas. There, the boundary layer moisture supply for deep convection and the moisture transported to the upper troposphere for cirrus-anvil cloud formation increase by approx. 6.3%/K and approx. 4.0%/K, respectively. The changes in cloud formation efficiency, along with the increased transport of moisture available for cloud formation, likely contribute to the large rate of increasing DCS areal coverage. Although no direct observations are available, the increase of cloud formation efficiency with rising SST is deduced indirectly from measurements of changes in the ratio of DCS ice water path and boundary layer water vapor amount with SST. Besides the cloud areal coverage, DCS cluster effective sizes also increase with precipitation. Furthermore, other cloud properties, such as cloud total water and ice water paths, increase with SST. These changes in DCS properties will produce a negative radiative feedback for the earth's climate system due to strong reflection of shortwave radiation by the DCS. These results significantly differ from some previous hypothesized dehydration scenarios for warmer climates, and have great potential in testing current cloud-system resolving models and convective parameterizations of general circulation models.

Innovative Double Bypass Engine for Increased Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manoharan, Sanjivan

Engines continue to grow in size to meet the current thrust requirements of the civil aerospace industry. Large engines pose significant transportation problems and require them to be split in order to be shipped. Thus, large amounts of time have been spent in researching methods to increase thrust capabilities while maintaining a reasonable engine size. Unfortunately, much of this research has been focused on increasing the performance and efficiencies of individual components while limited research has been done on innovative engine configurations. This thesis focuses on an innovative engine configuration, the High Double Bypass Engine, aimed at increasing fuel efficiency and thrust while maintaining a competitive fan diameter and engine length. The 1-D analysis was done in Excel and then compared to the results from Numerical Propulsion Simulation System (NPSS) software and were found to be within 4% error. Flow performance characteristics were also determined and validated against their criteria.

Efficiency of the Lung Flute for sputum induction in patients with presumed pulmonary tuberculosis.

PubMed

Sakashita, Kentaro; Fujita, Akira; Takamori, Mikio; Nagai, Takayuki; Matsumoto, Tomoshige; Saito, Takefumi; Nakagawa, Taku; Ogawa, Kenji; Shigeto, Eriko; Nakatsumi, Yasuto; Goto, Hajime; Mitarai, Satoshi

2018-04-01

High quality sputum helps increase the sensitivity of the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. To evaluate the efficiency of the acoustic device (Lung Flute; LF) in sputum induction compared with the conventional method, hypertonic saline inhalation (HSI). In this crossover study, patients with presumed pulmonary tuberculosis submitted 3 consecutive sputa: the first sputum without induction and the second and third ones using LF and HSI. We compared the efficiency of the 2 induction methods. Sixty-four participants were eligible. Thirty-five (54.6%) patients had negative smears on the first sputum without induction. Among those patients, 25.7% and 22.9% patients were smear-positive after using LF and HSI, respectively (P = .001). The positive conversion rate was not significantly different between the methods. The first samples without induction yielded 65.7% positive cultures, whereas 71.4% and 77.1% of the samples from LF and HSI were positive, respectively (P = .284). Similar results were observed in the nucleic acid amplification test [no induction (60.0%), LF (72.0%) and HSI (60.0%); P = .341]. In 29 smear-positive patients on the first sputum without induction, we observed no significant increase in smear grade, culture yield and nucleic acid amplification test positivity with either method. LF tended to induce fewer adverse events; desaturation (3.1% vs 11.1%; P = .082) and throat pain (1.5% vs 9.5%; P = .057). LF showed significantly fewer total adverse events (15.8% vs 34.9%; P = .023). Our study showed LF had similar sputum induction efficiency to HSI with relatively fewer complications. © 2017 The Authors. The Clinical Respiratory Journal Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pattern-based integer sample motion search strategies in the context of HEVC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maier, Georg; Bross, Benjamin; Grois, Dan; Marpe, Detlev; Schwarz, Heiko; Veltkamp, Remco C.; Wiegand, Thomas

2015-09-01

The H.265/MPEG-H High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard provides a significant increase in coding efficiency compared to its predecessor, the H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) standard, which however comes at the cost of a high computational burden for a compliant encoder. Motion estimation (ME), which is a part of the inter-picture prediction process, typically consumes a high amount of computational resources, while significantly increasing the coding efficiency. In spite of the fact that both H.265/MPEG-H HEVC and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC standards allow processing motion information on a fractional sample level, the motion search algorithms based on the integer sample level remain to be an integral part of ME. In this paper, a flexible integer sample ME framework is proposed, thereby allowing to trade off significant reduction of ME computation time versus coding efficiency penalty in terms of bit rate overhead. As a result, through extensive experimentation, an integer sample ME algorithm that provides a good trade-off is derived, incorporating a combination and optimization of known predictive, pattern-based and early termination techniques. The proposed ME framework is implemented on a basis of the HEVC Test Model (HM) reference software, further being compared to the state-of-the-art fast search algorithm, which is a native part of HM. It is observed that for high resolution sequences, the integer sample ME process can be speed-up by factors varying from 3.2 to 7.6, resulting in the bit-rate overhead of 1.5% and 0.6% for Random Access (RA) and Low Delay P (LDP) configurations, respectively. In addition, the similar speed-up is observed for sequences with mainly Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) content while trading off the bit rate overhead of up to 5.2%.

Significant Improvement in Cloning Efficiency of an Inbred Miniature Pig by Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Treatment after Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer1

PubMed Central

Zhao, Jianguo; Ross, Jason W.; Hao, Yanhong; Spate, Lee D.; Walters, Eric M.; Samuel, Melissa S.; Rieke, August; Murphy, Clifton N.; Prather, Randall S.

2009-01-01

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) miniature pig was developed specifically for xenotransplantation and has been extensively used as a large-animal model in many other biomedical experiments. However, the cloning efficiency of this pig is very low (<0.2%), and this has been an obstacle to the promising application of these inbred swine genetics for biomedical research. It has been demonstrated that increased histone acetylation in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos, by applying a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor such as trichostatin A (TSA), significantly enhances the developmental competence in several species. However, some researchers also reported that TSA treatment had various detrimental effects on the in vitro and in vivo development of the SCNT embryos. Herein, we report that treatment with 500 nM 6-(1,3-dioxo-1H, 3H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid hydroxyamide (termed scriptaid), a novel HDAC inhibitor, significantly enhanced the development of SCNT embryos to the blastocyst stage when NIH inbred fetal fibroblast cells (FFCs) were used as donors compared with the untreated group (21% vs. 9%, P < 0.05). Scriptaid treatment resulted in eight pregnancies from 10 embryo transfers (ETs) and 14 healthy NIH miniature pigs from eight litters, while no viable piglets (only three mummies) were obtained from nine ETs in the untreated group. Thus, scriptaid dramatically increased the cloning efficiency when using inbred genetics from 0.0% to 1.3%. In contrast, scriptaid treatment decreased the blastocyst rate in in vitro fertilization embryos (from 37% to 26%, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the extremely low cloning efficiency in the NIH miniature pig may be caused by its inbred genetic background and can be improved by alteration of genomic histone acetylation patterns. PMID:19386991

Significant improvement in cloning efficiency of an inbred miniature pig by histone deacetylase inhibitor treatment after somatic cell nuclear transfer.

PubMed

Zhao, Jianguo; Ross, Jason W; Hao, Yanhong; Spate, Lee D; Walters, Eric M; Samuel, Melissa S; Rieke, August; Murphy, Clifton N; Prather, Randall S

2009-09-01

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) miniature pig was developed specifically for xenotransplantation and has been extensively used as a large-animal model in many other biomedical experiments. However, the cloning efficiency of this pig is very low (<0.2%), and this has been an obstacle to the promising application of these inbred swine genetics for biomedical research. It has been demonstrated that increased histone acetylation in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos, by applying a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor such as trichostatin A (TSA), significantly enhances the developmental competence in several species. However, some researchers also reported that TSA treatment had various detrimental effects on the in vitro and in vivo development of the SCNT embryos. Herein, we report that treatment with 500 nM 6-(1,3-dioxo-1H, 3H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid hydroxyamide (termed scriptaid), a novel HDAC inhibitor, significantly enhanced the development of SCNT embryos to the blastocyst stage when NIH inbred fetal fibroblast cells (FFCs) were used as donors compared with the untreated group (21% vs. 9%, P < 0.05). Scriptaid treatment resulted in eight pregnancies from 10 embryo transfers (ETs) and 14 healthy NIH miniature pigs from eight litters, while no viable piglets (only three mummies) were obtained from nine ETs in the untreated group. Thus, scriptaid dramatically increased the cloning efficiency when using inbred genetics from 0.0% to 1.3%. In contrast, scriptaid treatment decreased the blastocyst rate in in vitro fertilization embryos (from 37% to 26%, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the extremely low cloning efficiency in the NIH miniature pig may be caused by its inbred genetic background and can be improved by alteration of genomic histone acetylation patterns.

Noninvasive, targeted gene therapy for acute spinal cord injury using LIFU-mediated BDNF-loaded cationic nanobubble destruction.

PubMed

Song, Zhaojun; Ye, Yongjie; Zhang, Zhi; Shen, Jieliang; Hu, Zhenming; Wang, Zhigang; Zheng, Jiazhuang

2018-02-12

Various gene delivery systems have been widely studied for the acute spinal cord injury (SCI) treatment. In the present study, a novel type of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-loaded cationic nanobubbles (CNBs) conjugated with MAP-2 antibody (mAb MAP-2 /BDNF/CNBs) was prepared to provide low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU)-targeted gene therapy. In vitro experiments, the ultrasound-targeted tranfection to BDNF overexpressioin in neurons and efficiently inhibition neuronal apoptosis have been demonstrated, and the elaborately designed mAb MAP-2 /BDNF/CNBs can specifically target to the neurons. Furthermore, in a acute SCI rat model, LIFU-mediated mAb MAP-2 /BDNF/CNBs transfection significantly increased BDNF expression, attenuated histological injury, decreased neurons loss, inhibited neuronal apoptosis in injured spinal cords, and increased BBB scores in SCI rats. LIFU-mediated mAb MAP-2 /BDNF/CNBs destruction significantly increase transfection efficiency of BDNF gene both in vitro and in vivo, and has a significant neuroprotective effect on the injured spinal cord. Therefore, the combination of LIFU irradiation and gene therapy through mAb MAP-2 /BDNF/CNBs can be considered as a novel non-invasive and targeted treatment for gene therapy of SCI. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-Efficiency Food Production in a Renewable Energy Based Micro-Grid Power System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David; Meiners, Dennis

2016-01-01

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) systems can be used to produce high-quality, desirable food year round, and the fresh produce can positively contribute to the health and well being of residents in communities with difficult supply logistics. While CEA has many positive outcomes for a remote community, the associated high electric demands have prohibited widespread implementation in what is typically already a fully subscribed power generation and distribution system. Recent advances in CEA technologies as well as renewable power generation, storage, and micro-grid management are increasing system efficiency and expanding the possibilities for enhancing community supporting infrastructure without increasing demands for outside supplied fuels. We will present examples of how new lighting, nutrient delivery, and energy management and control systems can enable significant increases in food production efficiency while maintaining high yields in CEA. Examples from Alaskan communities where initial incorporation of renewable power generation, energy storage and grid management techniques have already reduced diesel fuel consumption for electric generation by more than 40% and expanded grid capacity will be presented. We will discuss how renewable power generation, efficient grid management to extract maximum community service per kW, and novel energy storage approaches can expand the food production, water supply, waste treatment, sanitation and other community support services without traditional increases of consumable fuels supplied from outside the community. These capabilities offer communities with a range of choices to enhance their communities. The examples represent a synergy of technology advancement efforts to develop sustainable community support systems for future space-based human habitats and practical implementation of infrastructure components to increase efficiency and enhance health and well being in remote communities today and tomorrow.

High-Efficiency Food Production in a Renewable Energy Based Micro-Grid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David L.

2017-01-01

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) systems can be used to produce high-quality, desirable food year round, and the fresh produce can positively contribute to the health and well being of residents in communities with difficult supply logistics. While CEA has many positive outcomes for a remote community, the associated high electric demands have prohibited widespread implementation in what is typically already a fully subscribed power generation and distribution system. Recent advances in CEA technologies as well as renewable power generation, storage, and micro-grid management are increasing system efficiency and expanding the possibilities for enhancing community supporting infrastructure without increasing demands for outside supplied fuels. We will present examples of how new lighting, nutrient delivery, and energy management and control systems can enable significant increases in food production efficiency while maintaining high yields in CEA.Examples from Alaskan communities where initial incorporation of renewable power generation, energy storage and grid management techniques have already reduced diesel fuel consumption for electric generation by more than 40 and expanded grid capacity will be presented. We will discuss how renewable power generation, efficient grid management to extract maximum community service per kW, and novel energy storage approaches can expand the food production, water supply, waste treatment, sanitation and other community support services without traditional increases of consumable fuels supplied from outside the community. These capabilities offer communities with a range of choices to enhance their communities. The examples represent a synergy of technology advancement efforts to develop sustainable community support systems for future space-based human habitats and practical implementation of infrastructure components to increase efficiency and enhance health and well-being in remote communities today and tomorrow.

Synergetic effects of DA-6/GA₃ with EDTA on plant growth, extraction and detoxification of Cd by Lolium perenne.

PubMed

He, Shanying; Wu, Qiuling; He, Zhenli

2014-12-01

Research is needed to improve efficiency of phytoextraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils. A pot experiment was carried out to study the effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs) (diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate (C18H33NO8, DA-6) and gibberellic acid 3 (C19H22O6, GA3)) and/or EDTA on Cd extraction, subcellular distribution and chemical forms in Lolium perenne. The addition of EDTA or PGRs significantly enhanced Cd extraction efficiency (P<0.05), with the decreasing order of: 1 μM DA-6>10 μM DA-6>10 μM GA3>2.5 mmol kg(-1) EDTA>other treatments of PGR alone. PGRs+EDTA resulted in a further increase in Cd extraction efficiency, with EDTA+1 μM DA-6 being the most efficient. At the subcellular level, about 44-57% of Cd was soluble fraction, 18-44% in cell walls, and 12-25% in cellular organelles fraction. Chemical speciation analysis showed that 40-54% of Cd was NaCl extractable, 7-23% HAc extractable, followed by other fractions. EDTA increased the proportions of Cd in soluble and cellular organelles fraction, as well as the metal migration in shoot; therefore, the toxicity to plant increased and plant growth was inhibited. Conversely, PGRs fixed more Cd in cell walls and reduced Cd migration in shoot; thus, metal toxicity was reduced. In addition, PGRs promoted plant biomass growth significantly (P<0.05), with 1 μM DA-6 being the most effective. A combination of DA-6/GA3 with EDTA can alleviate the adverse effect of EDTA on plant growth, and the treatment of EDTA+1 μM DA-6 appears to be optimal for improving the remediation efficiency of L. perenne for Cd contaminated soil. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Balance between salt stress and endogenous hormones influence dry matter accumulation in Jerusalem artichoke.

PubMed

Shao, Tianyun; Li, Lingling; Wu, Yawen; Chen, Manxia; Long, Xiaohua; Shao, Hongbo; Liu, Zhaopu; Rengel, Zed

2016-10-15

Salinity is one of the most serious environmental stresses limiting agricultural production. Production of Jerusalem artichoke on saline land is strategically important for using saline land resources. The interaction between plant hormones and salinity stress in governing Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) growth is unclear. Jerusalem artichoke (variety Nanyu-1) was grown under variable salinity stress in the field, and a role of endogenous hormones [zeatin (ZT), auxins (IAA), gibberellins (GA3) and abscisic acid (ABA)] in regulating sugar and dry matter accumulation in tubers was characterized. Under mild salt stress (≤2.2gNaClkg(-1) soil), Nanyu-1 grew well with no significant alteration of dry matter distribution to stems and tubers. In contrast, under moderate salt stress (2.7gNaClkg(-1) soil), the distribution to stem decreased and to tubers decreased significantly. Mild salt stress induced sugar accumulation in tubers at the beginning of the tuber-expansion period, but significantly inhibited (i) transfer of non-reducing sugars to tubers, and (ii) polymerization and accumulation of fructan during the tuber-expansion stage. Under different salinity stress, before the stolon growth, the ratio of IAA/ABA in leaves increased significantly and that of GA3/ABA increased slightly; during tuber development, these ratios continued to decrease and reached the minimum late in the tuber-expansion period. While, salt stress inhibited (i) underground dry matter accumulation, (ii) tuber dry matter accumulation efficiency, (iii) transport of non-reducing sugars to tubers, and (iv) fructan accumulation efficiency during the tuber-expansion period; these effects were accompanied by significantly decreased tuber yield with an increase in salinity. With soil salinity increasing, the synthesis of IAA and GA3 was inhibited in leaves and tubers, while ABA synthesis was stimulated. In brief, tuber yield would significantly decreased with the increase of salinity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of numerical techniques for integration of stiff ordinary differential equations arising in combustion chemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Radhakrishnan, K.

1984-01-01

The efficiency and accuracy of several algorithms recently developed for the efficient numerical integration of stiff ordinary differential equations are compared. The methods examined include two general-purpose codes, EPISODE and LSODE, and three codes (CHEMEQ, CREK1D, and GCKP84) developed specifically to integrate chemical kinetic rate equations. The codes are applied to two test problems drawn from combustion kinetics. The comparisons show that LSODE is the fastest code currently available for the integration of combustion kinetic rate equations. An important finding is that an interactive solution of the algebraic energy conservation equation to compute the temperature does not result in significant errors. In addition, this method is more efficient than evaluating the temperature by integrating its time derivative. Significant reductions in computational work are realized by updating the rate constants (k = at(supra N) N exp(-E/RT) only when the temperature change exceeds an amount delta T that is problem dependent. An approximate expression for the automatic evaluation of delta T is derived and is shown to result in increased efficiency.

Labor productivity, perceived effectiveness, and sustainability of innovative projects.

PubMed

Makai, Peter; Cramm, Jane M; van Grotel, Marloes; Nieboer, Anna P

2014-01-01

To assess labor productivity, perceived effectiveness, and sustainability of a national quality program that sought to stimulate efficiency gains through increased labor productivity while maintaining quality through implementing small-scale innovation projects. Longitudinal measures of labor productivity and quality were collected at baseline and after completion of the innovation projects. Perceived effectiveness and sustainability (measured by routinization) were assessed cross-sectionally after project completion. This study was conducted in The Netherlands. Ninety-eight improvement projects in long-term care organizations. A national quality program to stimulate innovative approaches in long-term care. Labor productivity, perceived effectiveness, and sustainability were the main outcome measures. Labor productivity data were available for only 37 (38%) of the 98 projects, 33 (89%) of which demonstrated significantly improved efficiency. Perceived effectiveness was significantly associated with sustainability (0.29; p < .05), but not labor productivity. To achieve sustainability in long-term care, developers of innovative projects must collect better quality information on efficiency gains in terms of labor productivity and focus more on efficiency improvement. More research is necessary to explore relationships between labor productivity, perceived effectiveness, and sustainability. © 2012 National Association for Healthcare Quality.

Simple Retrofit High-Efficiency Natural Gas Water Heater Field Test

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

Schoenbauer, Ben

High-performance water heaters are typically more time consuming and costly to install in retrofit applications, making high performance water heaters difficult to justify economically. However, recent advancements in high performance water heaters have targeted the retrofit market, simplifying installations and reducing costs. Four high efficiency natural gas water heaters designed specifically for retrofit applications were installed in single-family homes along with detailed monitoring systems to characterize their savings potential, their installed efficiencies, and their ability to meet household demands. The water heaters tested for this project were designed to improve the cost-effectiveness and increase market penetration of high efficiency watermore » heaters in the residential retrofit market. The retrofit high efficiency water heaters achieved their goal of reducing costs, maintaining savings potential and installed efficiency of other high efficiency water heaters, and meeting the necessary capacity in order to improve cost-effectiveness. However, the improvements were not sufficient to achieve simple paybacks of less than ten years for the incremental cost compared to a minimum efficiency heater. Significant changes would be necessary to reduce the simple payback to six years or less. Annual energy savings in the range of $200 would also reduce paybacks to less than six years. These energy savings would require either significantly higher fuel costs (greater than $1.50 per therm) or very high usage (around 120 gallons per day). For current incremental costs, the water heater efficiency would need to be similar to that of a heat pump water heater to deliver a six year payback.« less

Disrupted Brain Functional Organization in Epilepsy Revealed by Graph Theory Analysis.

PubMed

Song, Jie; Nair, Veena A; Gaggl, Wolfgang; Prabhakaran, Vivek

2015-06-01

The human brain is a complex and dynamic system that can be modeled as a large-scale brain network to better understand the reorganizational changes secondary to epilepsy. In this study, we developed a brain functional network model using graph theory methods applied to resting-state fMRI data acquired from a group of epilepsy patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls. A brain functional network model was constructed based on resting-state functional connectivity. A minimum spanning tree combined with proportional thresholding approach was used to obtain sparse connectivity matrices for each subject, which formed the basis of brain networks. We examined the brain reorganizational changes in epilepsy thoroughly at the level of the whole brain, the functional network, and individual brain regions. At the whole-brain level, local efficiency was significantly decreased in epilepsy patients compared with the healthy controls. However, global efficiency was significantly increased in epilepsy due to increased number of functional connections between networks (although weakly connected). At the functional network level, there were significant proportions of newly formed connections between the default mode network and other networks and between the subcortical network and other networks. There was a significant proportion of decreasing connections between the cingulo-opercular task control network and other networks. Individual brain regions from different functional networks, however, showed a distinct pattern of reorganizational changes in epilepsy. These findings suggest that epilepsy alters brain efficiency in a consistent pattern at the whole-brain level, yet alters brain functional networks and individual brain regions differently.

Feeding different dietary protein to energy ratios to Holstein heifers: effects on growth performance, blood metabolites and rumen fermentation parameters.

PubMed

Dong, L F; Zhang, W B; Zhang, N F; Tu, Y; Diao, Q Y

2017-02-01

Eighteen Chinese Holstein heifers average age 230 ± 14 days were allocated to 1 of 3 dietary crude protein (CP) to metabolizable energy (ME) ratios to examine the effects on growth performance, blood metabolites and rumen fermentation parameters with 90-days experiment. Three different dietary CP:ME ratios were targeted based on the formulation of dietary CP contents of 10.85%, 12.78% and 14.63% on dry matter (DM) basis with similar ME contents (10.42 MJ/kg DM), which were categorized as low, medium and high dietary CP:ME ratios. The actual CP:ME ratios obtained in this study significantly increased from low to high CP:ME ratio groups with a value of 10.59, 11.83 and 13.38 g/MJ respectively. Elevated CP:ME ratios significantly increased CP intake (kg/day) and feed efficiency (FE) which was defined as dry matter intake as a proportion of average daily gain (ADG), whereas little difference was observed in body weight (kg), ADG (kg/day), DM intake (kg/day) and ME intake (MJ/day) among the three different CP:ME ratio groups. Increasing dietary CP to ME ratios significantly increased CP digestibility, whereas digestibility of DM and gross energy remained constant in the current experiment. Blood urea nitrogen and insulin-like growth factor-1 linearly increased with increasing dietary CP:ME ratios. There was significantly dietary treatment effect on rumen fermentation parameters including acetate, propionate, butyrate and total volatile fatty acids. Therefore, this study indicated that increasing dietary CP levels with similar energy content contributed to increased protein intake and its digestibility, as well as FE. Holstein heifers between 200 and 341 kg subjected to 13.38 dietary CP:ME ratio showed improved feed efficiency, nutrient digestibility, some blood metabolites and rumen fermentation characteristics for 0.90 kg/day rate of gain. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

[Effects of reduced N application rate on yield and nutrient uptake and utilization in maize-soybean relay strip intercropping system].

PubMed

Yong, Tai-Wen; Liu, Xiao-Ming; Wen-Yu, Liu; Su, Ben-Ying; Song, Chun; Yang, Feng; Wang, Xiao-Chun; Yang, Wen-Yu

2014-02-01

A field experiment with three N application rates (0, 180, 240 N kg x hm(-2), representing zero, reduced and conventional N application, respectively) and three planting patterns (maize monoculture, soybean monoculture and maize-soybean relay strip intercropping) was conducted to reveal the effects of cropping patterns and N application rates on yield, nutrient uptake and nitrogen use efficiency of maize and soybean. The results showed that the grain yield, N, P and K uptake and harvest index of the intercropped maize reduced slightly compared with the monoculture maize, however these indices of the intercropped soybean increased significantly compared with the monoculture. With the increase in nitrogen fertilizer application, the excellence of relay strip intercropping was weakened in the maize-soybean intercropping system. The grain yield, economic coefficient, N, P and K uptake, harvest index, N agronomy efficiency and N uptake efficiency of maize and soybean increased significantly at the reduced nitrogen rate (180 N kg x hm(-2)), but the rate of soil N contribution declined, compared with the conventional rate of N application by local farmers (240 N kg x hm(-2)). In the reduced nitrogen rate treatment, total soil N and P contents of the maize strip reduced, whereas the total soil N, P and K contents of soybean strip and the total K content of maize strip increased compared with the zero N application treatment. With the reduced N application, the annual total grain yield, N, P and K uptake of above-ground biomass in the maize-soybean relay strip intercropping system were higher than in the monoculture, and the land equivalent ratio (LER) was 2.28. N uptake efficiency of maize in the relay strip intercropping system was 20.2% higher than in the maize monoculture, and the index of soybean was 30.5% lower than in the monoculture. The rate of soil N contribution in the relay strip intercropping system was 20.0% and 8.8% lower than in the maize and soybean monoculture, respectively. The reduced N application in the maize-soybean relay strip intercropping system was helpful to promote annual grain yield and improve N utilization efficiency.

Active optimal control strategies for increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aljoaba, Sharif Zidan Ahmad

Energy consumption has increased drastically during the last century. Currently, the worldwide energy consumption is about 17.4 TW and is predicted to reach 25 TW by 2035. Solar energy has emerged as one of the potential renewable energy sources. Since its first physical recognition in 1887 by Adams and Day till nowadays, research in solar energy is continuously developing. This has lead to many achievements and milestones that introduced it as one of the most reliable and sustainable energy sources. Recently, the International Energy Agency declared that solar energy is predicted to be one of the major electricity production energy sources by 2035. Enhancing the efficiency and lifecycle of photovoltaic (PV) modules leads to significant cost reduction. Reducing the temperature of the PV module improves its efficiency and enhances its lifecycle. To better understand the PV module performance, it is important to study the interaction between the output power and the temperature. A model that is capable of predicting the PV module temperature and its effects on the output power considering the individual contribution of the solar spectrum wavelengths significantly advances the PV module edsigns toward higher efficiency. In this work, a thermoelectrical model is developed to predict the effects of the solar spectrum wavelengths on the PV module performance. The model is characterized and validated under real meteorological conditions where experimental temperature and output power of the PV module measurements are shown to agree with the predicted results. The model is used to validate the concept of active optical filtering. Since this model is wavelength-based, it is used to design an active optical filter for PV applications. Applying this filter to the PV module is expected to increase the output power of the module by filtering the spectrum wavelengths. The active filter performance is optimized, where different cutoff wavelengths are used to maximize the module output power. It is predicted that if the optimized active optical filter is applied to the PV module, the module efficiency is predicted to increase by about 1%. Different technologies are considered for physical implementation of the active optical filter.

Effects of Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen Process on Global Black Carbon Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, L.

2016-12-01

In mixed-phase clouds, the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen (WBF) process (ice crystals may grow while water drops evaporate, thereby releasing black carbon (BC) particles into the interstitial air) slows down wet scavenging of BC. Rimming (snowflakes fall and collect cloud water drops and the BC in them along their pathways), in contrast, results in more efficient wet scavenging. We systematically investigate the effects of WBF on BC scavenging efficiency, surface BCair, deposition flux, concentration in snow, and washout ratio using a global 3D chemical transport model. We differentiate riming- vs WBF-dominated in-cloud scavenging based on liquid water content and temperature. Specifically, we relate WBF to either temperature or ice mass fraction in mixed-phase clouds. We find that at Jungfraujoch, Switzerland and Abisko, Sweden, where WBF dominates, the discrepancies of simulated BC scavenging efficiency and washout ratio are significantly reduced (from a factor of 3 to 10% and from a factor of 4-5 to a factor of two). However, at Zeppelin, Norway, where riming dominates, simulation of BC scavenging efficiency, BCair, and washout ratio become worse (relative to observations) when WBF is included. There is thus an urgent need for extensive observations to distinguish and characterize riming- versus WBF-dominated aerosol scavenging in mixed-phase clouds and the associated BC scavenging efficiency. We find the reduction resulting from WBF to global BC scavenging efficiency varies substantially, from 8% in the tropics to 76% in the Arctic. The resulting annual mean BCair increases by up to 156% at high altitudes and at northern high latitudes. Overall, WBF halves the model-observation discrepancy (from -65% to -30%) of BCair across North America, Europe, China and the Arctic. Globally WBF increases BC burden from 0.22 to 0.29-0.35 mg m-2 yr-1, which partially explains the gap between observed and previous model simulated BC burdens over land (Bond et al., 2013). In addition, WBF significantly increases BC lifetime from 5.7 days to 8 days. We find that WBF decreases BCsnow at mid-latitudes (by 15%) but increases it in the Arctic (by 26%) while improving model comparisons with observations. In addition, WBF dramatically reduces the model-observation discrepancy of washout ratios in winter (from a factor of 16 to 4).

The use and re-use of unsustainable groundwater for irrigation: A global budget

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

Grogan, Danielle S.; Wisser, Dominik; Prusevich, Alex

Depletion of groundwater aquifers across the globe has become a significant concern, as groundwater is an important and often unsustainable source of irrigation water. Simultaneously, the field of water resource management has seen a lively debate over the concepts and metrics used to assess the downstream re-use of agricultural runoff, with most studies focusing on surface water balances. Here, we bring these two lines of research together, recognizing that depletion of aquifers leads to large amounts of groundwater entering surface water storages and flows by way of agricultural runoff. While it is clear that groundwater users will be impacted bymore » reductions in groundwater availability, there is a major gap in our understanding of potential impacts downstream of groundwater pumping locations. We find that the volume of unsustainable groundwater that is re-used for irrigation following runoff from agricultural systems is nearly as large as the volume initially extracted from reservoirs for irrigation. Basins in which the volume of irrigation water re-used is equal to or greater than the volume of water initially used (which is possible due to multiple re-use of the same water) contain 33 million hectares of irrigated land and are home to 1.3 billion people. Some studies have called for increasing irrigation efficiency as a solution to water shortages. We find that with 100% irrigation efficiency, global demand for unsustainable groundwater is reduced by 52%, but not eliminated. In many basins, increased irrigation efficiency leads to significantly decreased river low flows; increasing irrigation efficiency to 70% globally decreases total surface water supplies by ~600 km 3 yr –1. Lastly, these findings illustrate that estimates of aquifer depletion alone underestimate the importance of unsustainable groundwater to sustaining surface water systems and irrigated agriculture.« less

The use and re-use of unsustainable groundwater for irrigation: A global budget

DOE PAGES

Grogan, Danielle S.; Wisser, Dominik; Prusevich, Alex; ...

2017-03-08

Depletion of groundwater aquifers across the globe has become a significant concern, as groundwater is an important and often unsustainable source of irrigation water. Simultaneously, the field of water resource management has seen a lively debate over the concepts and metrics used to assess the downstream re-use of agricultural runoff, with most studies focusing on surface water balances. Here, we bring these two lines of research together, recognizing that depletion of aquifers leads to large amounts of groundwater entering surface water storages and flows by way of agricultural runoff. While it is clear that groundwater users will be impacted bymore » reductions in groundwater availability, there is a major gap in our understanding of potential impacts downstream of groundwater pumping locations. We find that the volume of unsustainable groundwater that is re-used for irrigation following runoff from agricultural systems is nearly as large as the volume initially extracted from reservoirs for irrigation. Basins in which the volume of irrigation water re-used is equal to or greater than the volume of water initially used (which is possible due to multiple re-use of the same water) contain 33 million hectares of irrigated land and are home to 1.3 billion people. Some studies have called for increasing irrigation efficiency as a solution to water shortages. We find that with 100% irrigation efficiency, global demand for unsustainable groundwater is reduced by 52%, but not eliminated. In many basins, increased irrigation efficiency leads to significantly decreased river low flows; increasing irrigation efficiency to 70% globally decreases total surface water supplies by ~600 km 3 yr –1. Lastly, these findings illustrate that estimates of aquifer depletion alone underestimate the importance of unsustainable groundwater to sustaining surface water systems and irrigated agriculture.« less

Analysis of water and nitrogen use efficiency for maize (Zea mays L.) grown on soft rock and sand compound soil.

PubMed

Wang, Huanyuan; Han, Jichang; Tong, Wei; Cheng, Jie; Zhang, Haiou

2017-06-01

Maize was grown on compound soils constituted from mixtures of soft rock and sand at different ratios, and water use efficiency (WUE), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency (FNUE) were quantified. The data were used to assist in designing strategies for optimizing water and nitrogen management practices for maize on the substrates used. Maize was sown in composite soil prepared at three ratios of soft rock and sand (1:1, 1:2 and 1:5 v/v) in Mu Us Sandy Land, Yuyang district, Yulin city, China. Yields, amount of drainage, nitrogen (N) leaching, WUE and NUE were calculated. Then a water and nitrogen management model (WNMM) was calibrated and validated. No significant difference in evapotranspiration of maize was found among compound soils with soft rock/sand ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:5, while water drainage increased significantly with increasing soft rock/sand ratio. WUE increased to 1.30 kg m -3 in compound soil with 1:2 soft rock/sand ratio. Nitrogen leaching and ammonia volatilization were the main reason for nitrogen loss, and N reduction mainly relied on crop uptake. NUE and FNUE could reach 33.1 and 24.9 kg kg -1 N respectively. Water drainage and nitrogen leaching occurred mostly during heavy rainfall or irrigation. Through a scenario analysis of different rainfall types, water and fertilizer management systems were formulated each year. This study shows that soft rock plays a key role in improving the WUE, NUE and FNUE of maize. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

The use and re-use of unsustainable groundwater for irrigation: a global budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grogan, Danielle S.; Wisser, Dominik; Prusevich, Alex; Lammers, Richard B.; Frolking, Steve

2017-03-01

Depletion of groundwater aquifers across the globe has become a significant concern, as groundwater is an important and often unsustainable source of irrigation water. Simultaneously, the field of water resource management has seen a lively debate over the concepts and metrics used to assess the downstream re-use of agricultural runoff, with most studies focusing on surface water balances. Here, we bring these two lines of research together, recognizing that depletion of aquifers leads to large amounts of groundwater entering surface water storages and flows by way of agricultural runoff. While it is clear that groundwater users will be impacted by reductions in groundwater availability, there is a major gap in our understanding of potential impacts downstream of groundwater pumping locations. We find that the volume of unsustainable groundwater that is re-used for irrigation following runoff from agricultural systems is nearly as large as the volume initially extracted from reservoirs for irrigation. Basins in which the volume of irrigation water re-used is equal to or greater than the volume of water initially used (which is possible due to multiple re-use of the same water) contain 33 million hectares of irrigated land and are home to 1.3 billion people. Some studies have called for increasing irrigation efficiency as a solution to water shortages. We find that with 100% irrigation efficiency, global demand for unsustainable groundwater is reduced by 52%, but not eliminated. In many basins, increased irrigation efficiency leads to significantly decreased river low flows; increasing irrigation efficiency to 70% globally decreases total surface water supplies by ∽600 km3 yr-1. These findings illustrate that estimates of aquifer depletion alone underestimate the importance of unsustainable groundwater to sustaining surface water systems and irrigated agriculture.

Is irrigation water price an effective leverage for water management? An empirical study in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Qing; Wu, Feng; Zhang, Qian

Serious water scarcity, low water-use efficiency, and over-exploitation of underground water have hindered socio-economic development and led to environmental degradation in the Heihe River basin, northwestern China. Price leveraging is an important tool in water demand management, and it is considered to be effective in promoting water conservation and improving water use efficiency on the premise that water demand is elastic. In the present study, we examine whether price is an effective and applicable instrument for restraining the increasing demand for agricultural irrigation water in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin and how will it affect farmers' decisions on irrigation and crop structure. Specifically, the price elasticity of agricultural water demand was estimated based on the irrigation water demand function. The results show that the agricultural irrigation water price is statistically significant, but its elasticity is very low under current low water price. Price leverage cannot play a significant role in the context of the current pricing regime and farmers' response to price increase is intrinsically weak. To create incentives for conserving water and improving irrigation efficiency, price mechanism should be accompanied with clearly defined and legally enforceable water rights, restricted water quota measures, and reform of water authorities and water-user associations. Furthermore, increases of surface irrigation water price may lead to the over-withdrawal of groundwater, consequently, effective groundwater licensing and levying must take place to limit the total volume of groundwater withdrawal. In all, improving irrigation efficiency through better management and the adoption of water-saving technologies is the ultimate way to deal with the challenges facing irrigated agriculture in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin.

Induction-heating MOCVD reactor with significantly improved heating efficiency and reduced harmful magnetic coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Kuang-Hui; Alotaibi, Hamad S.; Sun, Haiding; Lin, Ronghui; Guo, Wenzhe; Torres-Castanedo, Carlos G.; Liu, Kaikai; Valdes-Galán, Sergio; Li, Xiaohang

2018-04-01

In a conventional induction-heating III-nitride metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor, the induction coil is outside the chamber. Therefore, the magnetic field does not couple with the susceptor well, leading to compromised heating efficiency and harmful coupling with the gas inlet and thus possible overheating. Hence, the gas inlet has to be at a minimum distance away from the susceptor. Because of the elongated flow path, premature reactions can be more severe, particularly between Al- and B-containing precursors and NH3. Here, we propose a structure that can significantly improve the heating efficiency and allow the gas inlet to be closer to the susceptor. Specifically, the induction coil is designed to surround the vertical cylinder of a T-shaped susceptor comprising the cylinder and a top horizontal plate holding the wafer substrate within the reactor. Therefore, the cylinder coupled most magnetic field to serve as the thermal source for the plate. Furthermore, the plate can block and thus significantly reduce the uncoupled magnetic field above the susceptor, thereby allowing the gas inlet to be closer. The results show approximately 140% and 2.6 times increase in the heating and susceptor coupling efficiencies, respectively, as well as a 90% reduction in the harmful magnetic flux on the gas inlet.

Advancing the Adverse Outcome Pathway Framework - an International Horizon Scanning Approach

EPA Science Inventory

The ability of scientists to conduct whole organism toxicity tests to understand chemical safety has been significantly outpaced by the rapid synthesis of new chemicals. Therefore, to increase efficiencies in chemical risk assessment, scientists are turning to mechanistic-based ...

Using Black Light to Find Jack-Pine Budworm Egg Masses

Treesearch

Daniel T. Jennings

1968-01-01

Jack pine foliage infested with jack-pine budworm egg masses was examined under two kinds of light -- black light and a combination of natural and fluorescent light. Black light significantly increased the accuracy of count but not the efficiency of examination.

Tomographic Image Compression Using Multidimensional Transforms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villasenor, John D.

1994-01-01

Describes a method for compressing tomographic images obtained using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance (MR) by applying transform compression using all available dimensions. This takes maximum advantage of redundancy of the data, allowing significant increases in compression efficiency and performance. (13 references) (KRN)

Influence parameters of impact grinding mills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoeffl, K.; Husemann, K.; Goldacker, H.

1984-01-01

Significant parameters for impact grinding mills were investigated. Final particle size was used to evaluate grinding results. Adjustment of the parameters toward increased charge load results in improved efficiency; however, it was not possible to define a single, unified set to optimum grinding conditions.

How Funding Instability Affects Army Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

rocket motor, aerodynamic vane controls, and inertial guidance to navigate to an intercept point. Shortly before arrival at the intercept point, the...responsiveness. Significant features of the C-17 include: super-critical wing design and winglets to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency and

ADVANCED COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN DOSE MODELING: APPLICATION OF COMPUTATIONAL BIOPHYSICAL TRANSPORT, COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY

EPA Science Inventory

Computational toxicology (CompTox) leverages the significant gains in computing power and computational techniques (e.g., numerical approaches, structure-activity relationships, bioinformatics) realized over the last few years, thereby reducing costs and increasing efficiency i...

Impact of the New Abbott mPLUS Feature on Clinical Laboratory Efficiencies of Abbott RealTime Assays for Detection of HIV-1, Hepatitis C Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae

PubMed Central

Jones, Sara; Wiesneth, Russ; Barry, Cathy; Webb, Erika; Belova, Larissa; Dolan, Peggy; Ho, Shiaolan; Abravaya, Klara; Cloherty, Gavin

2013-01-01

Diagnostic laboratories are under increasing pressure to improve and expand their services. Greater flexibility in sample processing is a critical factor that can improve the time to results while reducing reagent waste, making laboratories more efficient and cost-effective. The introduction of the Abbott mPLUS feature, with the capacity for extended use of amplification reagents, significantly increases the flexibility of the m2000 platform and enables laboratories to customize their workflows based on sample arrival patterns. The flexibility in sample batch size offered by mPLUS enables significant reductions in processing times. For hepatitis B virus tests, a reduction in sample turnaround times of up to 30% (105 min) was observed for batches of 12 samples compared with those for batches of 24 samples; for Chlamydia trachomatis/Neisseria gonorrhoeae tests, the ability to run batches of 24 samples reduced the turnaround time by 83% (54 min) compared with that for batches of 48 samples. Excellent correlations between mPLUS and m2000 standard condition results were observed for all RealTime viral load assays evaluated in this study, with correlation r values of 0.998 for all assays tested. For the qualitative RealTime C. trachomatis/N. gonorrhoeae assay, the overall agreements between the two conditions tested were >98% for C. trachomatis and 100% for N. gonorrhoeae. Comparable precision results were observed for the two conditions tested for all RealTime assays. The enhanced mPLUS capability provides clinical laboratories with increased efficiencies to meet increasingly stringent turnaround time requirements without increased costs associated with discarding partially used amplification reagents. PMID:24088850

Impact of the New Abbott mPLUS feature on clinical laboratory efficiencies of abbott RealTime assays for detection of HIV-1, Hepatitis C Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

PubMed

Lucic, Danijela; Jones, Sara; Wiesneth, Russ; Barry, Cathy; Webb, Erika; Belova, Larissa; Dolan, Peggy; Ho, Shiaolan; Abravaya, Klara; Cloherty, Gavin

2013-12-01

Diagnostic laboratories are under increasing pressure to improve and expand their services. Greater flexibility in sample processing is a critical factor that can improve the time to results while reducing reagent waste, making laboratories more efficient and cost-effective. The introduction of the Abbott mPLUS feature, with the capacity for extended use of amplification reagents, significantly increases the flexibility of the m2000 platform and enables laboratories to customize their workflows based on sample arrival patterns. The flexibility in sample batch size offered by mPLUS enables significant reductions in processing times. For hepatitis B virus tests, a reduction in sample turnaround times of up to 30% (105 min) was observed for batches of 12 samples compared with those for batches of 24 samples; for Chlamydia trachomatis/Neisseria gonorrhoeae tests, the ability to run batches of 24 samples reduced the turnaround time by 83% (54 min) compared with that for batches of 48 samples. Excellent correlations between mPLUS and m2000 standard condition results were observed for all RealTime viral load assays evaluated in this study, with correlation r values of 0.998 for all assays tested. For the qualitative RealTime C. trachomatis/N. gonorrhoeae assay, the overall agreements between the two conditions tested were >98% for C. trachomatis and 100% for N. gonorrhoeae. Comparable precision results were observed for the two conditions tested for all RealTime assays. The enhanced mPLUS capability provides clinical laboratories with increased efficiencies to meet increasingly stringent turnaround time requirements without increased costs associated with discarding partially used amplification reagents.

The impact of introducing intensity modulated radiotherapy into routine clinical practice.

PubMed

Miles, Elizabeth A; Clark, Catharine H; Urbano, M Teresa Guerrero; Bidmead, Margaret; Dearnaley, David P; Harrington, Kevin J; A'Hern, Roger; Nutting, Christopher M

2005-12-01

Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) at the Royal Marsden Hospital London was introduced in July 2001. Treatment delivery was dynamic using a single-phase technique. Concerns were raised regarding increased clinical workload due to introduction of new technology. The potential increased use of resources was assessed. IMRT patient selection was within guidelines of clinical trials and included patients undergoing prostate plus pelvic lymph node (PPN) irradiation and head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment. Patient planning, quality assurance and treatment times were collected for an initial IMRT patient group. A comparative group of patients with advanced HNC undergoing two- or three-phase conventional radiotherapy, requiring matched photon and electron fields, were also timed. The median overall total planning time for IMRT was greater for HNC patients compared to the PPN cohort. For HNC the overall IMRT planning time was significantly longer than for conventional. The median treatment time for conventional two- or three-phase HNC treatments, encompassing similar volumes to those treated with IMRT, was greater than that for the IMRT HNC patient cohort. A reduction in radiographer man hours per patient of 4.8h was recorded whereas physics time was increased by 4.9h per patient. IMRT currently increases overall planning time. Additional clinician input is required for target volume localisation. Physics time is increased, a significant component of this being patient specific QA. Radiographer time is decreased. For HNC a single phase IMRT treatment has proven to be more efficient than a multiple phase conventional treatment. IMRT has been integrated smoothly and efficiently into the existing treatment working day. This preliminary study suggests that IMRT could be a routine treatment with efficient use of current radiotherapy resources.

Post-weaning voluntary exercise exerts long-term moderation of adiposity in males but not in females in an animal model of early-onset obesity.

PubMed

Schroeder, Mariana; Shbiro, Liat; Gelber, Vered; Weller, Aron

2010-04-01

Given the alarming increase in childhood, adolescent and adult obesity there is an imperative need for understanding the early factors affecting obesity and for treatments that may help prevent or at least moderate it. Exercise is frequently considered as an effective treatment for obesity however the empirical literature includes many conflicting findings. In the present study, we used the OLETF rat model of early-onset hyperphagia-induced obesity to examine the influence of early exercise on peripheral adiposity-related parameters in both males and females. Rats were provided voluntary access to running wheels from postnatal day (PND) 22 until PND45. We examined fat pad weight (brown, retroperitoneal, inguinal and epididymal); inguinal adipocyte size and number; and leptin, adiponectin, corticosterone and creatinine levels. We also examined body weight, feeding efficiency and spontaneous intake. Early voluntary exercise reduced intake, adiposity and leptin in the OLETF males following a sharp reduction in adipocyte size despite a significant increase in fat cell number. Exercising males from the lean LETO control strain presented stable intake, but reduced body fat, feeding efficiency and increased plasma creatinine, suggesting an increment in muscle mass. OLETF females showed reduced feeding efficiency and liver fat, and a significant increase in brown fat. Exercising LETO control females increased intake, body weight and creatinine, but no changes in body fat. Overall, OLETF rats presented higher adiponectin levels than controls in both basal and post-exercise conditions. The results suggest an effective early time frame, when OLETF males can be successfully "re-programmed" through voluntary exercise; in OLETF females the effect is much more moderate. Findings expose sex-dependent peripheral mechanisms in coping with energy challenges. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Information architecture for a planetary 'exploration web'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamarra, N.; McVittie, T.

2002-01-01

'Web services' is a common way of deploying distributed applications whose software components and data sources may be in different locations, formats, languages, etc. Although such collaboration is not utilized significantly in planetary exploration, we believe there is significant benefit in developing an architecture in which missions could leverage each others capabilities. We believe that an incremental deployment of such an architecture could significantly contribute to the evolution of increasingly capable, efficient, and even autonomous remote exploration.

Collection of ultrafine diesel particulate matter (DPM) in cylindrical single-stage wet electrostatic precipitators.

PubMed

Saiyasitpanich, Phirun; Keener, Tim C; Lu, Mingming; Khang, Soon-Jai; Evans, Douglas E

2006-12-15

Long-term exposures to diesel particulate matter (DPM) emissions are linked to increasing adverse human health effects due to the potential association of DPM with carcinogenicity. Current diesel vehicular particulate emission regulations are based solely upon total mass concentration, albeit it is the submicrometer particles that are highly respirable and the most detrimental to human health. In this study, experiments were performed with a tubular single-stage wet electrostatic precipitator (wESP) to evaluate its performance for the removal of number-based DPM emissions. A nonroad diesel generator utilizing a low sulfur diesel fuel (500 ppmw) operating under varying load conditions was used as a stationary DPM emission source. An electrical low-pressure impactor (ELPI) was used to quantify the number concentration distributions of diesel particles in the diluted exhaust gas at each tested condition. The wESP was evaluated with respect to different operational control parameters such as applied voltage, gas residence time, etc., to determine their effect on overall collection efficiency, as well as particle size dependent collection efficiency. The results show that the total DPM number concentrations in the untreated diesel exhaust are in the magnitude of approximately108/cm(3) at all engine loads with the particle diameter modes between 20 and 40 nm. The measured collection efficiency of the wESP operating at 70 kV based on total particle numbers was 86% at 0 kW engine load and the efficiency decreased to 67% at 75 kW due to a decrease in gas residence time and an increase in particle concentrations. At a constant wESP voltage of 70 kV and at 75 kW engine load, the variation of gas residence time within the wESP from approximately 0.1 to approximately 0.4 s led to a substantial increase in the collection efficiency from 67% to 96%. In addition, collection efficiency was found to be directly related to the applied voltage, with increasing collection efficiency measured for increases in applied voltage. The collection efficiency based on particle size had a minimum for sizes between 20 and 50 nm, but at optimal wESP operating conditions it was possible to remove over 90% of all particle sizes. A comparison of measured and calculated collection efficiencies reveals that the measured values are significantly higher than the predicted values based on the well-known Deutsch equation.

What factors affect the productivity and efficiency of physician practices?

PubMed

Sunshine, Jonathan H; Hughes, Danny R; Meghea, Cristian; Bhargavan, Mythreyi

2010-02-01

Increasing the productivity and efficiency of physician practices could help relieve the rapid growth of US healthcare costs and the expected physician shortage. Radiology practices are an attractive specific focus for research on practices' productivity and efficiency because they are home to many purportedly productivity-enhancing operational technologies. This affords an opportunity to study the effect of production technology on physicians' output. As well, radiology is a leader in the general movement of physicians out of very small practices. And imaging is by the fastest-growing category of physician expenditure. Using data from 2003 to 2007 surveys of radiologists, we estimate a stochastic frontier model to study the effects of practice characteristics, such as work hours, practice size, and output mix, and technologies used in work production, on practices' productivity and efficiency. At the mean, the elasticities of output with respect to practice size and annual hours worked per full-time physician were 0.73 and 0.51, respectively. Some production technologies increase productivity by 15% to 20%; others generate no increase. Using "nighthawks"--ie, contracting out after-hours work to external firms that consolidate workflow--significantly increases practice efficiency. The general US trend toward larger practice size is unlikely to relieve cost or physician shortage pressures. The actual effect of purportedly productivity-enhancing operational technologies needs to be carefully evaluated before they are widely adopted. As the recently-developed innovations of nighthawks and hospitalists show, practices should give more attention to a possible choice to "buy," rather than "make," part of their output.

Impact of the reduction of anaesthesia turnover time on operating room efficiency.

PubMed

Sokolovic, E; Biro, P; Wyss, P; Werthemann, C; Haller, U; Spahn, D; Szucs, T

2002-08-01

We investigated whether an increase in anaesthesia staffing to permit induction of anaesthesia before the previous case had ended ('overlapping') would increase overall efficiency in the operating room. Hitherto, the average duration of operating sessions was too long, thus impeding the timely commencement of physicians' ward duties. The investigation was designed as a prospective, non-randomized, interrupted time-series analysis divided into three phases: (a) a baseline of 3.5 months, (b) a 2.5 month intervention phase, in which anaesthesia staffing was increased by one attending physician and one nurse, and (c) a further 2 months under baseline conditions. Data focussed on process management were collected from operating room staff, anaesthesia personnel and surgeons using a structured questionnaire collected daily during the entire study. Turnover time between consecutive operations decreased from 65 to 52 min per operation (95% CI: 9; 17; P = 0.0001). Operating room occupancy increased from 4:28 to 5:27 h day-1 (95% CI: 50; 68; P = 0.005). The surgeons began their work on the ward 35 min (95% CI: 30; 40) later than before the intervention and their overtime increased from 22:36 to 139:50 h. The time between surgical operations decreased significantly. Increased operating room efficiency owing to overlapping induction of anaesthesia allows more intense scheduling of operations. Thus, physicians and nurses can be released to spend more time with their patients in the ward. Improving the efficiency of the operating room alone is insufficient to improve human resource management at all levels of a surgical clinic.

Industrial perspectives on earth abundant, multinary thin film photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haight, Richard; Gershon, Talia; Gunawan, Oki; Antunez, Priscilla; Bishop, Douglas; Seog Lee, Yun; Gokmen, Tayfun; Sardashti, Kasra; Chagarov, Evgueni; Kummel, Andrew

2017-03-01

The most efficient earth abundant, non-toxic thin film multelemental PV devices are fabricated from Cu, Zn, Sn, S and Se, with the chemical formula of Cu2ZnSn(S x Se1-x )4 (CZTS,Se). This material has enjoyed relatively rapid increases in efficiency from its inception to its present-day power conversion efficiency of 12.6%. But further increases in efficiency have been hampered by the inability to substantially increase Voc, the open circuit voltage. In this review article we will discuss the fundamentals of this important kesterite material including methods of film growth, post growth processing and device fabrication. Detailed studies of the properties of CZTS,Se including chemical, structural and electronic as well as full device electrical characterization have been performed in an effort to coax out the critical issues that limit performance. These experimental studies, enhanced by density functional theory calculations have pointed to fundamental bulk point defects, such as Cu-Zn antisites, and clusters of defects, as the primary culprits in limiting Voc increases. Improvements in device performance through grain boundary passivation and interface modifications are described. Exfoliation of functioning solar cells to expose the back surface along with engineering of new back contacts designed to impose electrostatic fields that drive electron-hole separation and increase Voc are discussed. A parallel route to increasing device performance by alloying Ag with CZTS,Se in order to inhibit Cu-Zn antisite defect formation has shown significant improvement in material properties. Finally, applications of high S (and hence higher Voc) CZTS,Se based devices to energy harvesting for ‘Internet-of-Things’ devices is discussed.

Energy 101: Energy Efficient Data Centers

ScienceCinema

None

2018-04-16

Data centers provide mission-critical computing functions vital to the daily operation of top U.S. economic, scientific, and technological organizations. These data centers consume large amounts of energy to run and maintain their computer systems, servers, and associated high-performance components—up to 3% of all U.S. electricity powers data centers. And as more information comes online, data centers will consume even more energy. Data centers can become more energy efficient by incorporating features like power-saving "stand-by" modes, energy monitoring software, and efficient cooling systems instead of energy-intensive air conditioners. These and other efficiency improvements to data centers can produce significant energy savings, reduce the load on the electric grid, and help protect the nation by increasing the reliability of critical computer operations.

Serotonin (5-HT)2A/2C receptor agonist (2,5-dimethoxy-4-idophenyl)-2-aminopropane hydrochloride (DOI) improves voiding efficiency in the diabetic rat.

PubMed

Tu, Hongjian; Cao, Nailong; Gu, Baojun; Si, Jiemin; Chen, Zhong; Andersson, Karl-Erik

2015-07-01

To examine the effects of the serotonin (5-HT)2A/2C receptor agonist (2,5-dimethoxy-4-idophenyl)-2-aminopropane hydrochloride (DOI) on micturition in rats with diabetes mellitus (DM). Female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 16) were divided into two groups: rats with Type 1 DM and age-matched control rats. DM was induced by i.p. injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg) and detailed cystometrogram (CMG) studies were performed 8 weeks post-injection in all rats under urethane anaesthesia. The selective 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin was administered after each DOI dose-response curve was plotted. All drugs were administered i.v. Compared with controls, comprehensive urodynamic studies showed that DM rats had a higher bladder capacity and post-void residual urine volume (PVR), and a markedly lower voiding efficiency. In DM rats, DOI (0.01-0.3 mg/kg) induced significant dose-dependent increases in micturition volume and reductions in PVR, resulting in greater voiding efficiency. CMG measurements showed a dose-dependent increase in high-frequency oscillation (HFO) activity, evidenced by an increased duration of HFOs per voiding. This correlated with the improved voiding efficiency. Ketanserin (0.1 mg/kg) partially or completely reversed the DOI-induced changes. The HFOs observed in the present study seem to correlate with external urethral sphincter bursting activity during voiding. Bladder voiding efficiency was reduced in DM rats. The 5-HT2A receptor agonist can enhance HFO activity and improves voiding efficiency, and so may represent a new strategy to improve voiding efficiency after DM in experimental studies. © 2014 The Authors BJU International © 2014 BJU International Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Efficiently-cooled plasmonic amorphous silicon solar cells integrated with a nano-coated heat-pipe plate

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yinan; Du, Yanping; Shum, Clifford; Cai, Boyuan; Le, Nam Cao Hoai; Chen, Xi; Duck, Benjamin; Fell, Christopher; Zhu, Yonggang; Gu, Min

2016-01-01

Solar photovoltaics (PV) are emerging as a major alternative energy source. The cost of PV electricity depends on the efficiency of conversion of light to electricity. Despite of steady growth in the efficiency for several decades, little has been achieved to reduce the impact of real-world operating temperatures on this efficiency. Here we demonstrate a highly efficient cooling solution to the recently emerging high performance plasmonic solar cell technology by integrating an advanced nano-coated heat-pipe plate. This thermal cooling technology, efficient for both summer and winter time, demonstrates the heat transportation capability up to ten times higher than those of the metal plate and the conventional wickless heat-pipe plates. The reduction in temperature rise of the plasmonic solar cells operating under one sun condition can be as high as 46%, leading to an approximate 56% recovery in efficiency, which dramatically increases the energy yield of the plasmonic solar cells. This newly-developed, thermally-managed plasmonic solar cell device significantly extends the application scope of PV for highly efficient solar energy conversion. PMID:27113558

Efficiently-cooled plasmonic amorphous silicon solar cells integrated with a nano-coated heat-pipe plate.

PubMed

Zhang, Yinan; Du, Yanping; Shum, Clifford; Cai, Boyuan; Le, Nam Cao Hoai; Chen, Xi; Duck, Benjamin; Fell, Christopher; Zhu, Yonggang; Gu, Min

2016-04-26

Solar photovoltaics (PV) are emerging as a major alternative energy source. The cost of PV electricity depends on the efficiency of conversion of light to electricity. Despite of steady growth in the efficiency for several decades, little has been achieved to reduce the impact of real-world operating temperatures on this efficiency. Here we demonstrate a highly efficient cooling solution to the recently emerging high performance plasmonic solar cell technology by integrating an advanced nano-coated heat-pipe plate. This thermal cooling technology, efficient for both summer and winter time, demonstrates the heat transportation capability up to ten times higher than those of the metal plate and the conventional wickless heat-pipe plates. The reduction in temperature rise of the plasmonic solar cells operating under one sun condition can be as high as 46%, leading to an approximate 56% recovery in efficiency, which dramatically increases the energy yield of the plasmonic solar cells. This newly-developed, thermally-managed plasmonic solar cell device significantly extends the application scope of PV for highly efficient solar energy conversion.

Efficiently-cooled plasmonic amorphous silicon solar cells integrated with a nano-coated heat-pipe plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yinan; Du, Yanping; Shum, Clifford; Cai, Boyuan; Le, Nam Cao Hoai; Chen, Xi; Duck, Benjamin; Fell, Christopher; Zhu, Yonggang; Gu, Min

2016-04-01

Solar photovoltaics (PV) are emerging as a major alternative energy source. The cost of PV electricity depends on the efficiency of conversion of light to electricity. Despite of steady growth in the efficiency for several decades, little has been achieved to reduce the impact of real-world operating temperatures on this efficiency. Here we demonstrate a highly efficient cooling solution to the recently emerging high performance plasmonic solar cell technology by integrating an advanced nano-coated heat-pipe plate. This thermal cooling technology, efficient for both summer and winter time, demonstrates the heat transportation capability up to ten times higher than those of the metal plate and the conventional wickless heat-pipe plates. The reduction in temperature rise of the plasmonic solar cells operating under one sun condition can be as high as 46%, leading to an approximate 56% recovery in efficiency, which dramatically increases the energy yield of the plasmonic solar cells. This newly-developed, thermally-managed plasmonic solar cell device significantly extends the application scope of PV for highly efficient solar energy conversion.

High-efficiency, radiation-resistant GaAs space cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bertness, K. A.; Ristow, M. Ladle; Grounner, M.; Kuryla, M. S.; Werthen, J. G.

1991-01-01

Although many GaAs solar cells are intended for space applicatons, few measurements of cell degradation after radiation are available, particularly for cells with efficiencies exceeding 20 percent (one-sun, AMO). Often the cell performance is optimized for the highest beginning-of-life (BOL) efficiency, despite the unknown effect of such design on end-of-life (EOL) efficiencies. The results of a study of the radiation effects on p-n GaAs cells are presented. The EOL efficiency of GaAs space cell can be increased by adjusting materials growth parameters, resulting in a demonstration of 16 percent EOL efficiency at one-sun, AMO. Reducing base doping levels to below 3 x 10(exp 17)/cu m and decreasing emitter thickness to 0.3 to 0.5 micron for p-n cells led to significant improvements in radiation hardness as measured by EOL/BOL efficiency ratios for irradiation of 10(exp -15)/sq cm electrons at 1 MeV. BOL efficiency was not affected by changes in emitter thickness but did improve with lower base doping.

Methodology for modeling the microbial contamination of air filters.

PubMed

Joe, Yun Haeng; Yoon, Ki Young; Hwang, Jungho

2014-01-01

In this paper, we propose a theoretical model to simulate microbial growth on contaminated air filters and entrainment of bioaerosols from the filters to an indoor environment. Air filter filtration and antimicrobial efficiencies, and effects of dust particles on these efficiencies, were evaluated. The number of bioaerosols downstream of the filter could be characterized according to three phases: initial, transitional, and stationary. In the initial phase, the number was determined by filtration efficiency, the concentration of dust particles entering the filter, and the flow rate. During the transitional phase, the number of bioaerosols gradually increased up to the stationary phase, at which point no further increase was observed. The antimicrobial efficiency and flow rate were the dominant parameters affecting the number of bioaerosols downstream of the filter in the transitional and stationary phase, respectively. It was found that the nutrient fraction of dust particles entering the filter caused a significant change in the number of bioaerosols in both the transitional and stationary phases. The proposed model would be a solution for predicting the air filter life cycle in terms of microbiological activity by simulating the microbial contamination of the filter.

Robotics Scoping Study to Evaluate Advances in Robotics Technologies that Support Enhanced Efficiencies for Yucca Mountain Repository Operations

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

T. Burgess; M. Noakes; P. Spampinato

This paper presents an evaluation of robotics and remote handling technologies that have the potential to increase the efficiency of handling waste packages at the proposed Yucca Mountain High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository. It is expected that increased efficiency will reduce the cost of operations. The goal of this work was to identify technologies for consideration as potential projects that the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Office of Science and Technology International Programs, could support in the near future, and to assess their ''payback'' value. The evaluation took into account the robotics and remote handling capabilitiesmore » planned for incorporation into the current baseline design for the repository, for both surface and subsurface operations. The evaluation, completed at the end of fiscal year 2004, identified where significant advantages in operating efficiencies could accrue by implementing any given robotics technology or approach, and included a road map for a multiyear R&D program for improvements to remote handling technology that support operating enhancements.« less

Correlation between Thermodynamic Efficiency and Ecological Cyclicity for Thermodynamic Power Cycles

PubMed Central

Layton, Astrid; Reap, John; Bras, Bert; Weissburg, Marc

2012-01-01

A sustainable global community requires the successful integration of environment and engineering. In the public and private sectors, designing cyclical (“closed loop”) resource networks increasingly appears as a strategy employed to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. Patterning industrial networks on ecological ones has been shown to provide significant improvements at multiple levels. Here, we apply the biological metric cyclicity to 28 familiar thermodynamic power cycles of increasing complexity. These cycles, composed of turbines and the like, are scientifically very different from natural ecosystems. Despite this difference, the application results in a positive correlation between the maximum thermal efficiency and the cyclic structure of the cycles. The immediate impact of these findings results in a simple method for comparing cycles to one another, higher cyclicity values pointing to those cycles which have the potential for a higher maximum thermal efficiency. Such a strong correlation has the promise of impacting both natural ecology and engineering thermodynamics and provides a clear motivation to look for more fundamental scientific connections between natural and engineered systems. PMID:23251638

Intelligence related upper alpha desynchronization in a semantic memory task.

PubMed

Doppelmayr, M; Klimesch, W; Hödlmoser, K; Sauseng, P; Gruber, W

2005-07-30

Recent evidence shows that event-related (upper) alpha desynchronization (ERD) is related to cognitive performance. Several studies observed a positive, some a negative relationship. The latter finding, interpreted in terms of the neural efficiency hypothesis, suggests that good performance is associated with a more 'efficient', smaller extent of cortical activation. Other studies found that ERD increases with semantic processing demands and that this increase is larger for good performers. Studies supporting the neural efficiency hypothesis used tasks that do not specifically require semantic processing. Thus, we assume that the lack of semantic processing demands may at least in part be responsible for the reduced ERD. In the present study we measured ERD during a difficult verbal-semantic task. The findings demonstrate that during semantic processing, more intelligent (as compared to less intelligent) subjects exhibited a significantly larger upper alpha ERD over the left hemisphere. We conclude that more intelligent subjects exhibit a more extensive activation in a semantic processing system and suggest that divergent findings regarding the neural efficiency hypotheses are due to task specific differences in semantic processing demands.

An extended cost potential field cellular automata model considering behavior variation of pedestrian flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Fang; Li, Xingli; Kuang, Hua; Bai, Yang; Zhou, Huaguo

2016-11-01

The original cost potential field cellular automata describing normal pedestrian evacuation is extended to study more general evacuation scenarios. Based on the cost potential field function, through considering the psychological characteristics of crowd under emergencies, the quantitative formula of behavior variation is introduced to reflect behavioral changes caused by psychology tension. The numerical simulations are performed to investigate the effects of the magnitude of behavior variation, the different pedestrian proportions with different behavior variation and other factors on the evacuation efficiency and process in a room. The spatiotemporal dynamic characteristic during the evacuation process is also discussed. The results show that compared with the normal evacuation, the behavior variation under an emergency does not necessarily lead to the decrease of the evacuation efficiency. At low density, the increase of the behavior variation can improve the evacuation efficiency, while at high density, the evacuation efficiency drops significantly with the increasing amplitude of the behavior variation. In addition, the larger proportion of pedestrian affected by the behavior variation will prolong the evacuation time.

Entropic and near-field improvements of thermoradiative cells

DOE PAGES

Hsu, Wei -Chun; Tong, Jonathan K.; Liao, Bolin; ...

2016-10-13

A p-n junction maintained at above ambient temperature can work as a heat engine, converting some of the supplied heat into electricity and rejecting entropy by interband emission. Such thermoradiative cells have potential to harvest low-grade heat into electricity. By analyzing the entropy content of different spectral components of thermal radiation, we identify an approach to increase the efficiency of thermoradiative cells via spectrally selecting long-wavelength photons for radiative exchange. Furthermore, we predict that the near-field photon extraction by coupling photons generated from interband electronic transition to phonon polariton modes on the surface of a heat sink can increase themore » conversion efficiency as well as the power generation density, providing more opportunities to efficiently utilize terrestrial emission for clean energy. An ideal InSb thermoradiative cell can achieve a maximum efficiency and power density up to 20.4% and 327 Wm -2, respectively, between a hot source at 500 K and a cold sink at 300 K. Furthermore, sub-bandgap and non-radiative losses will significantly degrade the cell performance.« less

Entropic and Near-Field Improvements of Thermoradiative Cells

PubMed Central

Hsu, Wei-Chun; Tong, Jonathan K.; Liao, Bolin; Huang, Yi; Boriskina, Svetlana V.; Chen, Gang

2016-01-01

A p-n junction maintained at above ambient temperature can work as a heat engine, converting some of the supplied heat into electricity and rejecting entropy by interband emission. Such thermoradiative cells have potential to harvest low-grade heat into electricity. By analyzing the entropy content of different spectral components of thermal radiation, we identify an approach to increase the efficiency of thermoradiative cells via spectrally selecting long-wavelength photons for radiative exchange. Furthermore, we predict that the near-field photon extraction by coupling photons generated from interband electronic transition to phonon polariton modes on the surface of a heat sink can increase the conversion efficiency as well as the power generation density, providing more opportunities to efficiently utilize terrestrial emission for clean energy. An ideal InSb thermoradiative cell can achieve a maximum efficiency and power density up to 20.4% and 327 Wm−2, respectively, between a hot source at 500 K and a cold sink at 300 K. However, sub-bandgap and non-radiative losses will significantly degrade the cell performance. PMID:27734902

The effects of van der Waals attractions on cloud droplet growth by coalescence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Jan R.; Davis, Robert H.

1990-01-01

The inclusion of van der Waals attractions in the interaction between cloud droplets has been recently shown to significantly increase the collision efficiencies of the smaller droplets. In the current work, these larger values for the collision efficiencies are used in a population dynamics model of the droplet size distribution evolution with time, in hopes of at least partially resolving the long-standing paradox in cloud microphysics that predicted rates of the onset of precipitation are generally much lower than those which are observed. Evolutions of several initial cloud droplet spectra have been tracked in time. Size evolutions are compared as predicted from the use of collision efficiencies computed using two different models to allow for droplet-droplet contact: one which considers slip flow effects only, and one which considers the combined effects of van der Waals forces and slip flow. The rate at which the droplet mass density function shifts to larger droplet sizes is increased by typically 20-25 percent, when collision efficiencies which include van der Waals forces are used.

Economic efficiency in fish farming: hope for agro-allied industries in Niagara

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kareem, R. O.; Dipeolu, A. O.; Aromolaran, A. B.; Williams, S. B.

2008-02-01

The challenge to increase the efficiency in food production level in Nigeria appears to be more urgent now than it has ever been in the history of the country. This is in view of the rapidly increasing population, the imminent decline in international economic and food aid and the need to conserve foreign exchange earnings through the production of raw materials to feed the growing industrial sector calls for urgent attention. The study was carried out in Ogun State. The descriptive statistics was used to determine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. The stochastic frontiers production analysis was applied to estimate the technical, allocative efficiency and economic efficiency among the fish farmers in the state. The results of economic efficiency revealed that fish farming is economically efficient with a range of between 55% and 84% efficiency level suggesting a favourable hope for the agro-allied industry such as poultry and cottage industries etc in the state. The result of hypothesis of inefficiency sources models showed that years of experience of fish farmers is significant at 1% probability level indicating the factor contributing to the fish farming experience in the state. Thus, the efficiency is due to the fact that farmers are experienced and fairly educated. On the basis of findings, policy is suggested to be directed towards the encouragement of entrepreneurs in fish farming in the state by providing enabling environment like credit facilities, public enlightenment programme and provision of social amenities like feeder roads, pipe-born water etc and given the fact that an increase in the level of formal education variable leads to less inefficiency, government policy should be focused on adopting the best technology (e.g. fast growing species and equipment) so as to improve the level of efficiency and investment which shall eventually lead to growth in output of fish farming and a lead to the establishment of agro-allied industries in the state.

Hypochlorhydria-induced calcium malabsorption does not affect fracture healing but increases post-traumatic bone loss in the intact skeleton.

PubMed

Haffner-Luntzer, Melanie; Heilmann, Aline; Heidler, Verena; Liedert, Astrid; Schinke, Thorsten; Amling, Michael; Yorgan, Timur Alexander; Vom Scheidt, Annika; Ignatius, Anita

2016-11-01

Efficient calcium absorption is essential for skeletal health. Patients with impaired gastric acidification display low bone mass and increased fracture risk because calcium absorption is dependent on gastric pH. We investigated fracture healing and post-traumatic bone turnover in mice deficient in Cckbr, encoding a gastrin receptor that affects acid secretion by parietal cells. Cckbr-/- mice display hypochlorhydria, calcium malabsorption, and osteopenia. Cckbr-/- and wildtype (WT) mice received a femur osteotomy and were fed either a standard or calcium-enriched diet. Healed and intact bones were assessed by biomechanical testing, histomorphometry, micro-computed tomography, and quantitative backscattering. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) serum levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Fracture healing was unaffected in Cckbr-/- mice. However, Cckbr-/- mice displayed increased calcium mobilization from the intact skeleton during bone healing, confirmed by significantly elevated PTH levels and osteoclast numbers compared to WT mice. Calcium supplementation significantly reduced secondary hyperparathyroidism and bone resorption in the intact skeleton in both genotypes, but more efficiently in WT mice. Furthermore, calcium administration improved bone healing in WT mice, indicated by significantly increased mechanical properties and bone mineral density of the fracture callus, whereas it had no significant effect in Cckbr-/- mice. Therefore, under conditions of hypochlorhydria-induced calcium malabsorption, calcium, which is essential for callus mineralization, appears to be increasingly mobilized from the intact skeleton in favor of fracture healing. Calcium supplementation during fracture healing prevented systemic calcium mobilization, thereby maintaining bone mass and improving fracture healing in healthy individuals whereas the effect was limited by gastric hypochlorhydria. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:1914-1921, 2016. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research Published by by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A short-stay unit for thyroidectomy patients increases discharge efficiency.

PubMed

Vrabec, Sara; Oltmann, Sarah C; Clark, Nicholas; Chen, Herbert; Sippel, Rebecca S

2013-09-01

Patients traditionally recover overnight on a general surgery ward after a thyroidectomy; however, these units often lack the efficiency and focus for rapid discharge, which is the goal of a short-stay (SS) unit. Using an SS unit for thyroidectomy patients, who are often discharged in <24 h, may reduce the duration of hospital stay and subsequently decrease associated costs and increase hospital bed and resource availability. A retrospective review of 400 patients undergoing thyroidectomy at a single academic hospital. We analyzed postoperative discharge information and hospital cost data. Adult patients who stayed a single night in the hospital were included. We compared patients staying on a designated SS unit versus a general surgery (GS) ward. A total of 223 patients were admitted to SS, and 177 to GS. Trends of admission location were blocked based on time period, with most patients per time period going to the same location. Discharge times were significantly quicker for patients admitted to SS (P < 0.001). A total of 70% of SS patients were discharged before noon, versus 40% of GS patients (P < 0.001). Many variances were identified to account for these differences. Direct costs were significantly lower with SS, owing to savings in pharmacy, recovery room, and nursing expenses (all P < 0.01). A designated short-stay hospital unit is an effective model for increasing the efficiency of discharge for thyroidectomy patients compared with those admitted to a general surgery ward. It also serves to increase bed availability, which decreases hospital cost and may improve patient flow. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-speed and high-efficiency travelling wave single-photon detectors embedded in nanophotonic circuits

PubMed Central

Pernice, W.H.P.; Schuck, C.; Minaeva, O.; Li, M.; Goltsman, G.N.; Sergienko, A.V.; Tang, H.X.

2012-01-01

Ultrafast, high-efficiency single-photon detectors are among the most sought-after elements in modern quantum optics and quantum communication. However, imperfect modal matching and finite photon absorption rates have usually limited their maximum attainable detection efficiency. Here we demonstrate superconducting nanowire detectors atop nanophotonic waveguides, which enable a drastic increase of the absorption length for incoming photons. This allows us to achieve high on-chip single-photon detection efficiency up to 91% at telecom wavelengths, repeatable across several fabricated chips. We also observe remarkably low dark count rates without significant compromise of the on-chip detection efficiency. The detectors are fully embedded in scalable silicon photonic circuits and provide ultrashort timing jitter of 18 ps. Exploiting this high temporal resolution, we demonstrate ballistic photon transport in silicon ring resonators. Our direct implementation of a high-performance single-photon detector on chip overcomes a major barrier in integrated quantum photonics. PMID:23271658

Does multi-functionality affect technical efficiency? A non-parametric analysis of the Scottish dairy industry.

PubMed

Barnes, A P

2006-09-01

Recent policy changes within the Common Agricultural Policy have led to a shift from a solely production-led agriculture towards the promotion of multi-functionality. Conversely, the removal of production-led supports would indicate that an increased concentration on production efficiencies would seem a critical strategy for a country's future competitiveness. This paper explores the relationship between the 'multi-functional' farming attitude desired by policy makers and its effect on technical efficiency within Scottish dairy farming. Technical efficiency scores are calculated by applying the non-parametric data envelopment analysis technique and then measured against causes of inefficiency. Amongst these explanatory factors is a constructed score of multi-functionality. This research finds that, amongst other factors, a multi-functional attitude has a significant positive effect on technical efficiency. Consequently, this seems to validate the promotion of a multi-functional approach to farming currently being championed by policy-makers.

Industrial Energy Efficiency Practices in Indonesia: Lesson Learned from Astra Green Energy (AGen) Award

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telaga, A. S.; Hartanto, I. D.

2017-03-01

Many countries have used award system to promote energy efficiency practices in industry. The award system has been found to have significant impact to increase energy conservation and sustainability adoption in companies. Astra International (AI) as a holding company of more than 200 companies also organised Astra green energy (AGen) award to all affiliated companies (AFFCO) in Astra group. The event has been used to share energy efficiency best practices among AFFCO in Astra group. AFFCOs of Astra International are among the biggest and the leader in their industrial sectors Therefore, analyses from AFFO’s energy efficiency case studies represents current practices in Indonesia industrial sectors. Analyses are divided into industry, building, and renewable energy. The results from analyses found that AFFCOs already aware of energy conservation and have implemented projects to promote energy efficiency. However, the AFFCOs do not optimally use monitoring data for energy reduction.

A novel technique based on in vitro oocyte injection to improve CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in zebrafish

PubMed Central

Xie, Shao-Lin; Bian, Wan-Ping; Wang, Chao; Junaid, Muhammad; Zou, Ji-Xing; Pei, De-Sheng

2016-01-01

Contemporary improvements in the type II clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system offer a convenient way for genome editing in zebrafish. However, the low efficiencies of genome editing and germline transmission require a time-intensive and laborious screening work. Here, we reported a method based on in vitro oocyte storage by injecting oocytes in advance and incubating them in oocyte storage medium to significantly improve the efficiencies of genome editing and germline transmission by in vitro fertilization (IVF) in zebrafish. Compared to conventional methods, the prior micro-injection of zebrafish oocytes improved the efficiency of genome editing, especially for the sgRNAs with low targeting efficiency. Due to high throughputs, simplicity and flexible design, this novel strategy will provide an efficient alternative to increase the speed of generating heritable mutants in zebrafish by using CRISPR/Cas9 system. PMID:27680290

Effect of co-crystallization on singlet fission efficiency in pentacene derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaopeng; Sanders, Samuel; Campos, Luis; Sfeir, Matthew; Marom, Noa

Singlet fission (SF), the conversion of one singlet exciton into two triplet excitons, may lead to a twofold increase in the efficiency of organic photovoltaics. Since SF has been observed in crystalline pentacene, this material has drawn interest both experimentally and theoretically. Recently, it has been shown that SF efficiency in rubrene may be improved by modifying the crystal packing. Here, we study the effect of co-crystallization with small molecule H-bond donors on SF efficiency in pentacene derivatives. Five co-crystals are synthetized and their photoluminescence (PL) and absorption spectra are measured. First-principles calculations based on many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) are then employed to study their excitonic properties. By combining experiment and theory, we demonsrate that excitonic properties, including singlet-triplet gaps, exciton binding energies, and exciton localization, are significantly modulated in pentacene co-crystals. Consequently, co-crystallization becomes an effective strategy for improving SF efficiency in molecular crystals of organic semiconductors.

Evaluating phytoextraction efficiency of two high-biomass crops after soil amendment and inoculation with rhizobacterial strains.

PubMed

Vanessa, Álvarez-López; Ángeles, Prieto-Fernández; Sergio, Roiloa; Beatriz, Rodríguez-Garrido; Rolf, Herzig; Markus, Puschenreiter; Susan, Kidd Petra

2017-03-01

We evaluated the effect of compost amendment and/or bacterial inoculants on the growth and metal accumulation of Salix caprea (clone BOKU 01 AT-004) and Nicotiana tabacum (in vitro-bred clone NBCu10-8). Soil was collected from an abandoned Pb/Zn mine and rhizobacterial inoculants were previously isolated from plants growing at the same site. Plants were grown in untreated or compost-amended (5% w/w) soil and were inoculated with five rhizobacterial strains. Non-inoculated plants were also established as a control. Compost addition increased the shoot DW yield of N. tabacum but not S. caprea, while it decreased soil metal availability and lowered shoot Cd/Zn concentrations in tobacco plants. Compost amendment enhanced the shoot Cd/Zn removal due to the growth promotion of N. tabacum or to the increase in metal concentration in S. caprea leaves. Bacterial inoculants increased photosynthetic efficiency (particularly in N. tabacum) and sometimes modified soil metal availability, but this did not lead to a significant increase in Cd/Zn removal. Compost amendment was more effective in improving the Cd and Zn phytoextraction efficiency than bioaugmentation.

Influence of liquid and gas flow rates on sulfuric acid mist removal from air by packed bed tower

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The possible emission of sulfuric acid mists from a laboratory scale, counter-current packed bed tower operated with a caustic scrubbing solution was studied. Acid mists were applied through a local exhaust hood. The emissions from the packed bed tower were monitored in three different categories of gas flow rate as well as three liquid flow rates, while other influencing parameters were kept almost constant. Air sampling and sulfuric acid measurement were carried out iso-kinetically using USEPA method 8. The acid mists were measured by the barium-thorin titration method. According to the results when the gas flow rate increased from 10 L/s to 30 L/s, the average removal efficiency increased significantly (p < 0.001) from 76.8 ± 1.8% to 85.7 ± 1.2%. Analysis of covariance method followed by Tukey post-hoc test of 92 tests did not show a significant change in removal efficiency between liquid flow rates of 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 L/min (p = 0.811). On the other hand, with fixed pressure loss across the tower, by increasing the liquid/gas (L/G) mass ratio, the average removal efficiency decreased significantly (p = 0.001) from 89.9% at L/G of <2 to 83.1% at L/G of 2–3 and further to 80.2% at L/G of >3, respectively. L/G of 2–3 was recommended for designing purposes of a packed tower for sulfuric acid mists and vapors removal from contaminated air stream. PMID:23369487

Simulation of subsurface storage and recovery of treated effluent injected in a saline aquifer, St. Petersburg, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yobbi, D.K.

1996-01-01

The potential for subsurface storage and recovery of treated effluent into the uppermost producing zone (zone A) of the Upper Floridan aquifer in St. Petersburg, Florida, is being studied by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of St. Petersburg and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. A measure of the success of this practice is the recovery efficiency, or the quantity of water relative to the quantity injected, that can be recovered before the water that is withdrawn fails to meet water-quality standards. The feasibility of this practice will depend upon the ability of the injected zone to receive, store, and discharge the injected fluid. A cylindrical model of ground-water flow and solute transport, incorporating available data on aquifer properties and water quality, was developed to determine the relation of recovery efficiency to various aquifer and fluid properties that could prevail in the study area. The reference case for testing was a base model considered representative of the saline aquifer underlying St. Petersburg. Parameter variations in the tests represent possible variations in aquifer conditions in the area. The model also was used to study the effect of various cyclic injection and withdrawal schemes on the recovery efficiency of the well and aquifer system. A base simulation assuming 15 days of injection of effluent at a rate of 1.0 million gallons per day and 15 days of withdrawal at a rate of 1.0 million gallons per day was used as reference to compare changes in various hydraulic and chemical parameters on recovery efficiency. A recovery efficiency of 20 percent was estimated for the base simulation. For practical ranges of hydraulic and fluid properties that could prevail in the study area, the model analysis indicates that (1) the greater the density contrast between injected and resident formation water, the lower the recovery efficiency, (2) recovery efficiency decreases significantly as dispersion increases, (3) high formation permeability favors low recovery efficiencies, and (4) porosity and anisotropy have little effect on recovery efficiencies. In several hypothetical tests, the recovery efficiency fluctuated between about 4 and 76 percent. The sensitivity of recovery efficiency to variations in the rate and duration of injection (0.25, 0.50, 1.0, and 2.0 million gallons per day) and withdrawal cycles (60, 180, and 365 days) was determined. For a given operational scheme, recovery efficiency increased as the injection and withdrawal rate is increased. Model results indicate that recovery efficiencies of between about 23 and 37 percent can be obtained for different subsurface storage and recovery schemes. Five successive injection, storage, and recovery cycles can increase the recovery efficiency to about 46 to 62 percent. There is a larger rate of increase at smaller rates than at larger rates. Over the range of variables studied, recovery efficiency improved with successive cycles, increasing rapidly during initial cycles tyhen more slowly at later cycles. The operation of a single well used for subsurface storage and recovery appears to be technically feasible under moderately favorable conditions; however, the recovery efficiency is higly dependent upon local physical and operational parameters. A combination of hydraulic, chemical, and operational parameters that minimize dispersion and buoyancy flow, maximizes recovery efficiency. Recovery efficiency was optimal where resident formation water density and permeabilities were relatively similar and low.

"Knife to skin" time is a poor marker of operating room utilization and efficiency in cardiac surgery.

PubMed

Luthra, Suvitesh; Ramady, Omar; Monge, Mary; Fitzsimons, Michael G; Kaleta, Terry R; Sundt, Thoralf M

2015-06-01

Markers of operation room (OR) efficiency in cardiac surgery are focused on "knife to skin" and "start time tardiness." These do not evaluate the middle and later parts of the cardiac surgical pathway. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate knife to skin time as an efficiency marker in cardiac surgery. We looked at knife to skin time, procedure time, and transfer times in the cardiac operational pathway for their correlation with predefined indices of operational efficiency (Index of Operation Efficiency - InOE, Surgical Index of Operational Efficiency - sInOE). A regression analysis was performed to test the goodness of fit of the regression curves estimated for InOE relative to the times on the operational pathway. The mean knife to skin time was 90.6 ± 13 minutes (23% of total OR time). The mean procedure time was 282 ± 123 minutes (71% of total OR time). Utilization efficiencies were highest for aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting and least for complex aortic procedures. There were no significant procedure-specific or team-specific differences for standard procedures. Procedure times correlated the strongest with InOE (r = -0.98, p < 0.01). Compared to procedure times, knife to skin is not as strong an indicator of efficiency. A statistically significant linear dependence on InOE was observed with "procedure times" only. Procedure times are a better marker of OR efficiency than knife to skin in cardiac cases. Strategies to increase OR utilization and efficiency should address procedure times in addition to knife to skin times. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Analysis of foreign experience of usage of automation systems of medication distribution in prevention and treatment facilities].

PubMed

Miroshnichenko, Iu V; Umarov, S Z

2012-12-01

One of the ways of increase of effectiveness and safety of patients medication supplement is the use of automated systems of distribution, through which substantially increases the efficiency and safety of patients' medication supplement, achieves significant economy of material and financial resources for medication assistance and possibility of systematical improvement of its accessibility and quality.

Black plastic mulch combined with summer cover crop increases the yield and water use efficiency of apple tree on the rainfed Loess Plateau

PubMed Central

Zheng, Wei; Wen, Meijuan; Zhao, Zhiyuan; Liu, Jie; Wang, Zhaohui; Li, Ziyan

2017-01-01

Water deficit significantly limits dryland rainfed fruit production, so increasing water conservation is crucial for improving fruit productivity in arid and semiarid areas. In this study, we tested two treatments in an apple orchard: 1) PC treatment comprising black plastic mulch (BPM) (in-row) with weed control (inter-row); 2) and PGC treatment comprising BPM (in-row) combined with a summer cover crop (inter-row) of rape (Brassica campestris L.), which was sown in mid-June and was living from July to September. Under PGC, the inter-row soil water storage increased by 17.9% and 11.5% compared with PC after the harvest in 2013 and 2014, respectively, but there was no significant increase in 2015. The evapotranspiration (ET) from the inter-row areas during the cover crop period was lower under PGC than PC in 2013 (19.6%), 2014 (11.3%), and 2015 (13.3%). However, the differences in the total ET from the inter-row areas between the two treatments were not obvious, and the total ET from in-row areas was higher under PGC than PC due to the increased water uptake by apple trees under PGC. The apple yield, water use efficiency during the cover crop period (WUEg) and total water use efficiency (WUE) fluctuated during the experimental years. Compared with PC, the apple yield increased by 14.1%, 18.8%, and 26.7% under PGC in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. In addition, the WUEg was 26.4%, 24.7%, and 32.7% higher under PGC compared with PC in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Thus, the WUE under PGC was 13.8% and 11.7% higher than that under PC in 2013 and 2014, respectively, but the difference was not significant in 2015 (p = 0.0527). Thus, BPM combined with a summer cover crop is recommended for decreasing the summer ET and promoting apple production in rainfed dryland areas where the rainy season is usually the hot season. PMID:28957428

Efficient hybrid metrology for focus, CD, and overlay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tel, W. T.; Segers, B.; Anunciado, R.; Zhang, Y.; Wong, P.; Hasan, T.; Prentice, C.

2017-03-01

In the advent of multiple patterning techniques in semiconductor industry, metrology has progressively become a burden. With multiple patterning techniques such as Litho-Etch-Litho-Etch and Sidewall Assisted Double Patterning, the number of processing step have increased significantly and therefore, so as the amount of metrology steps needed for both control and yield monitoring. The amount of metrology needed is increasing in each and every node as more layers needed multiple patterning steps, and more patterning steps per layer. In addition to this, there is that need for guided defect inspection, which in itself requires substantially denser focus, overlay, and CD metrology as before. Metrology efficiency will therefore be cruicial to the next semiconductor nodes. ASML's emulated wafer concept offers a highly efficient method for hybrid metrology for focus, CD, and overlay. In this concept metrology is combined with scanner's sensor data in order to predict the on-product performance. The principle underlying the method is to isolate and estimate individual root-causes which are then combined to compute the on-product performance. The goal is to use all the information available to avoid ever increasing amounts of metrology.

Enhanced light extraction from a GaN-based green light-emitting diode with hemicylindrical linear grating structure.

PubMed

Jin, Yuanhao; Yang, Fenglei; Li, Qunqing; Zhu, Zhendong; Zhu, Jun; Fan, Shoushan

2012-07-02

Significant enhancement in the light output from GaN-based green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was achieved with a hemicylindrical grating structure on the top layer of the diodes. The grating structure was first optimized by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, which showed that the profile of the grating structure was critical for light extraction efficiency. It was found that the transmission efficiency of the 530 nm light emitted from the inside of the GaN LED increased for incidence angles between 23.58° and 60°. Such a structure was fabricated by electron-beam lithography and an etching method. The light output power from the LED was increased approximately 4.7 times compared with that from a conventional LED. The structure optimization is the key to the great increase in transmission efficiency. Furthermore, the light emitted from the edge of the LED units could be collected and extracted by the grating structures in adjacent LED units, thus enhancing the performance of the whole LED chip.

[Effects of fertilizer application on water consumption characteristics and yield of potato cultured under ridge-furrow and whole filed plastic mulching in rain-fed area.

PubMed

Yu, Xian Feng; Zhang, Xu Cheng; Wang, Hong Li; Ma, Yi Fan; Hou, Hui Zhi; Fang, Yan Jie

2016-03-01

Chemical fertilizer reduction and organic manure substitution are the useful methods to increase potato water-and nutrient use efficiency, which is cultured under ridge-furrow and whole soil surface mulched by plastic film in semiarid rain-fed area. A 4-year field experiment was carried out from 2011 to 2014 with three treatments: 1) traditional chemical fertilizer application (F), 2) chemical nitrogen fertilizer reduced by 25% and dressing at flowering stage (DF), and 3) chemical nitrogen fertilizer reduced by 50% and organic manure substitution (OF). The soil moisture and potato yield were investigated, and seasonal water consumption, water use efficiency (WUE) were calculated to study the regulations of different nutrient management methods on potato water use process, as well as its effects on potato tuber yield and WUE. The results showed that soil water storage in potato flowering stage was the highest under DF treatment, but there were no significant difference among these three treatments. The depth of soil water depletion in DF and OF showed an increasing trend at post-flowering stage. Potato water consumption decreased significantly at pre-flowering stage, but increased by 36.2%, 23.2%, 24.8% and 19.0% respectively at post-flowering stage in 2011-2014 under DF treatment, as compared with those under F treatment. OF treatment increased potato water consumption by 20.7% and 16.3% than that under F treatment at post-flowering stage from 2011 to 2012, respectively, but exerted no significant effect at pre-flowering stage. Compared with F, DF increased potato tuber yield averagely by 2595.1 kg·hm -2 from 2012 to 2014 and significantly increased the WUE by 14.4% and 6.3% in 2013 and 2014, respectively; OF significantly increased potato tuber yield averagely by 2945 kg·hm -2 tuber yield in 4 experimental years and WUE was significantly higher than that under F from 2012 to 2014. It was indicated that both DF and OF could regulate water consumption between pre-flowering and post-flowering stages, and increase potato tuber yield and WUE. OF showed more significant effects than DF on the increment of tuber yield and WUE.

Polymers for Improving the In Vivo Transduction Efficiency of AAV2 Vectors

PubMed Central

Moulay, Gilles; Boutin, Sylvie; Masurier, Carole; Scherman, Daniel; Kichler, Antoine

2010-01-01

Background Adeno-associated virus has attracted great attention as vehicle for body-wide gene delivery. However, for the successful treatment of a disease such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy infusion of very large amounts of vectors is required. This not only raises questions about the technical feasibility of the large scale production but also about the overall safety of the approach. One way to overcome these problems would be to find strategies able to increase the in vivo efficiency. Methodology Here, we investigated whether polymers can act as adjuvants to increase the in vivo efficiency of AAV2. Our strategy consisted in the pre-injection of polymers before intravenous administration of mice with AAV2 encoding a murine secreted alkaline phosphatase (mSeAP). The transgene expression, vector biodistribution and tissue transduction were studied by quantification of the mSeAP protein and real time PCR. The injection of polyinosinic acid and polylysine resulted in an increase of plasmatic mSeAP of 2- and 12-fold, respectively. Interestingly, polyinosinic acid pre-injection significantly reduced the neutralizing antibody titer raised against AAV2. Conclusions Our results show that the pre-injection of polymers can improve the overall transduction efficiency of systemically administered AAV2 and reduce the humoral response against the capsid proteins. PMID:21203395

Changes in the Mg profile and in dislocations induced by high temperature annealing of blue LEDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meneghini, M.; Trivellin, N.; Berti, M.; Cesca, T.; Gasparotto, A.; Vinattieri, A.; Bogani, F.; Zhu, D.; Humphreys, C. J.; Meneghesso, G.; Zanoni, E.

2013-03-01

The efficiency of the injection and recombination processes in InGaN/GaN LEDs is governed by the properties of the active region of the devices, which strongly depend on the conditions used for the growth of the epitaxial material. To improve device quality, it is very important to understand how the high temperatures used during the growth process can modify the quality of the epitaxial material. With this paper we present a study of the modifications in the properties of InGaN/GaN LED structures induced by high temperature annealing: thermal stress tests were carried out at 900 °C, in nitrogen atmosphere, on selected samples. The efficiency and the recombination dynamics were evaluated by photoluminescence measurements (both integrated and time-resolved), while the properties of the epitaxial material were studied by Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) and Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) channeling measurements. Results indicate that exposure to high temperatures may lead to: (i) a significant increase in the photoluminescence efficiency of the devices; (ii) a decrease in the parasitic emission bands located between 380 nm and 400 nm; (iii) an increase in carrier lifetime, as detected by time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. The increase in device efficiency is tentatively ascribed to an improvement in the crystallographic quality of the samples.

Highly efficient micellar extraction of toxic picric acid into novel ionic liquid: Effect of parameters, solubilization isotherm, evaluation of thermodynamics and design parameters.

PubMed

Bhatt, Darshak R; Maheria, Kalpana C; Parikh, Jigisha K

2015-12-30

A simple and new approach in cloud point extraction (CPE) method was developed for removal of picric acid (PA) by the addition of N,N,N,N',N',N'-hexaethyl-ethane-1,2-diammonium dibromide ionic liquid (IL) in non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114 (TX-114). A significant increase in extraction efficiency was found upon the addition of dicationic ionic liquid (DIL) at both nearly neutral and high acidic pH. The effects of different operating parameters such as pH, temperature, time, concentration of surfactant, PA and DIL on extraction of PA were investigated and optimum conditions were established. The extraction mechanism was also proposed. A developed Langmuir isotherm was used to compute the feed surfactant concentration required for the removal of PA up to an extraction efficiency of 90%. The effects of temperature and concentration of surfactant on various thermodynamic parameters were examined. It was found that the values of ΔG° increased with temperature and decreased with surfactant concentration. The values of ΔH° and ΔS° increased with surfactant concentration. The developed approach for DIL mediated CPE has proved to be an efficient and green route for extraction of PA from water sample. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Assessment and comparison of hospital operating efficiency under different management systems].

PubMed

2017-06-18

To assess and analyze the operation efficiency of 8 commission general public hospitals managed directly by National Health and Family Planning Commission and 8 municipal general hospitals managed directly by Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals in Beijing and to provide suggestions on improving service capacity and designing relevant health policy. Input and output data of 8 commission hospitals and 8 municipal hospitals were obtained from Beijing Direct-Reported Health Statistics data from 2011 to 2014. Data envelopment analysis was used as the hospital operation efficiency measurement tool. The CCR and BCC models were built to calculate technical efficiency (TE), pure technical efficiency (PTE), scale efficiency (SE) and the status of scale efficiency of 16 hospitals in 2011 and 2014; the Malmquist index model was built to analyze the total factor productivity change (TFPC), technological change (TC), technical efficiency change, pure technical efficiency change and scale efficiency change of the 16 hospitals from 2011 to 2014. In 2011, the TE, PTE and SE of the commission hospitals were higher than those of the municipal hospitals, and the TEs of the commission hospitals and the municipal hospitals were 0.918 and 0.873 respectively. In 2014, the TE, PTE and SE of commission hospitals were lower than those of the municipal hospitals, and the TE of the commission hospitals and the municipal hospitals were 0.906 and 0.951, respectively, which was contrary to the results in 2011. According to the Malmquist index model, the average of TFPC of the municipal hospitals was larger than that of the commission hospitals, the former increased 5.9% and the latter increased 2.8% per year; the average of TC was greater than the one in both the municipal hospitals and the commission hospitals, with a growth of 3.2% and 2.9% per year, respectively; the average growth of PTE in the commission hospitals was lower than that of the municipal hospitals, and the average descent of SE in the commission hospitals was larger than that in the municipal hospitals. There are significant differences in the operation efficiency between different management systems and the main factors associated with operation efficiency are the technological and management level. Given scale efficiency status and macroeconomic medical policies, the commission hospitals and the municipal hospitals require further adjusting the distribution of medical resources, and it is of great significance for all the commission hospitals and the municipal hospitals to improve the management level and resource integration capability.

Manipulating Planting Density and Nitrogen Fertilizer Application to Improve Yield and Reduce Environmental Impact in Chinese Maize Production

PubMed Central

Xu, Cailong; Huang, Shoubing; Tian, Beijing; Ren, Jianhong; Meng, Qingfeng; Wang, Pu

2017-01-01

Relatively low nitrogen (N) efficiency and heavy environmental costs caused by excessive N fertilizer applications with outdated fertilization techniques are current cultivation production problems with maize among smallholders in North China Plain. Although many studies have examined agronomical strategies for improving yields and N use, the integrated effects of these measures and the associated environmental costs are not well understood. We conducted a 2-year field study with two densities (67,500 plants ha-1, which was similar to local farmers’ practices, and 90,000 plants ha-1) and three N rates (0, 180, and 360 kg ha-1, the rate local farmers’ commonly apply) to test the integrated effects for maize production at Wuqiao experimental station in North China Plain. The higher planting density produced significant increases in grain yield (GY), N use efficiency (NUE), agronomic N efficiency (AEN), and N partial productivity (PFPN) by 6.6, 3.9, 24.7, and 8.8%, respectively; in addition, N2O emission and greenhouse gas intensity decreased by 7.3 and 4.3%, respectively. With a lower N application rate, from 360 to 180 kg ha-1, GY was unchanged, and NUE, AEN, and PFPN all significantly increased by 6.2, 96.0, and 98.7%, respectively; in addition, N2O emission and greenhouse gas intensity decreased by 61.5 and 46.2%, respectively. The optimized N rate (180 kg N ha-1) for the 90,000 plants ha-1 treatment achieved the highest yield with only 50% of the N fertilizer input commonly employed by local farmers’ (360 kg N ha-1), which contributed to the increased N-uptake and N-transfer capacity. Therefore, our study demonstrated that agronomical methods such as increasing planting density with reasonable N application could be useful to obtain higher GY along with efficient N management to help lower environmental costs of maize production. PMID:28747925