Slew Cranes in Shipyards: A Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

yard in Germany and one in Malaysia , carried out the corrosion preventive shot blasting and repainting recommended by the manufacturers. The general...the guidance of Osha (USA) or VBG-9 (W. Germany) — it is up to. the operator, however, to use the crane safely. In ensuring operator safety, an owner

76 FR 56683 - Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Revisions to Safety and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-14

... implementation of SEMS programs, and establishing requirements for reporting unsafe working conditions. In... be under investigation, the event further illustrates the importance of ensuring safe operations on... safer and with appropriate protections for workers and the environment. BOEMRE may consider further...

SRNL Atmospheric Technologies Group

ScienceCinema

Viner, Brian; Parker, Matthew J.

2018-01-16

The Savannah River National Laboratory, Atmospheric Technologies Group, conducts a best-in class Applied Meteorology Program to ensure the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site is operated safely and complies with stringent environmental regulations.

Rail transportation : Federal Railroad Administration's safety programs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-05-20

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) enforces federal railroad safety statutes under a delegation of authority from the Secretary of Transportation. FRA's mission is to protect railroad employees and the public by ensuring the safe operation of frei...

76 FR 63858 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Trent River, New Bern, NC

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-14

... River Bridge Runs. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position to ensure safe..., Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Neuse River Bridge Run... River, mile 0.0, at New Bern, NC. The route of the three Neuse River Bridge Run races cross the bridge...

77 FR 19957 - OPSAIL 2012 Virginia, Port of Hampton Roads, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-03

... penalties up to $40,000 or face criminal prosecution. We recommend that vessel operators visiting the Port... regulations are designed to ensure such transit is conducted in a safe and orderly fashion. Small Entities...

Systems Modeling for Crew Core Body Temperature Prediction Postlanding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cross, Cynthia; Ochoa, Dustin

2010-01-01

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, NASA s latest crewed spacecraft project, presents many challenges to its designers including ensuring crew survivability during nominal and off nominal landing conditions. With a nominal water landing planned off the coast of San Clemente, California, off nominal water landings could range from the far North Atlantic Ocean to the middle of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. For all of these conditions, the vehicle must provide sufficient life support resources to ensure that the crew member s core body temperatures are maintained at a safe level prior to crew rescue. This paper will examine the natural environments, environments created inside the cabin and constraints associated with post landing operations that affect the temperature of the crew member. Models of the capsule and the crew members are examined and analysis results are compared to the requirement for safe human exposure. Further, recommendations for updated modeling techniques and operational limits are included.

Research the Mechanism of Land Subsidence in Typical Area, Beijing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, H.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, R.; Gu, Z.

2014-12-01

In recently years, the subsidence develop rapidly in Beijing. It can not be ignored the influence of the security of major project. Beijing Singapore city is located at the junction of Daxing and Hebei. The per captia water resources is 190m3.,far below the internationally safety limit 1000m3. The region is the dryland water resource and continued extraction groundwater caused land subsidence issue become increasingly prominent. With the Beijing Singapore city put into use, the amount of water shortages must further seriously and land subsidence subsidence area must be further increased. Therefore, monitor the land subsidence of Beijing Singapore city area and research its settlement mechanism, it is so important to ensure the safe operation of Beijing Singapore city . Explore the soil and water coupling mechanism of Beijing Singapore citya during land subsidence process, and optimize groundwater extraction program to ensure the safe operation of Beijing's second largest airport.

77 FR 62266 - Proposed Extension of Existing Information Collection; Daily Inspection of Surface Coal Mines...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-12

... conducting an on shift examination for hazardous conditions, mine operators better ensure a safe working environment for the miners and a reduction in accidents. II. Desired Focus of Comments The Mine Safety and... (30 CFR 77.1713) requires coal mine operators to conduct examinations of each active working area of...

Technology Development for Hydrogen Propellant Storage and Transfer at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert; Starr, Stanley; Krenn, Angela; Captain, Janine; Williams, Martha

2016-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a major user of liquid hydrogen. In particular, NASA's John F. Kennedy (KSC) Space Center has operated facilities for handling and storing very large quantities of liquid hydrogen (LH2) since the early 1960s. Safe operations pose unique challenges and as a result NASA has invested in technology development to improve operational efficiency and safety. This paper reviews recent innovations including methods of leak and fire detection and aspects of large storage tank health and integrity. We also discuss the use of liquid hydrogen in space and issues we are addressing to ensure safe and efficient operations should hydrogen be used as a propellant derived from in-situ volatiles.

Less than severe worst case accidents

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

Sanders, G.A.

1996-08-01

Many systems can provide tremendous benefit if operating correctly, produce only an inconvenience if they fail to operate, but have extreme consequences if they are only partially disabled such that they operate erratically or prematurely. In order to assure safety, systems are often tested against the most severe environments and accidents that are considered possible to ensure either safe operation or safe failure. However, it is often the less severe environments which result in the ``worst case accident`` since these are the conditions in which part of the system may be exposed or rendered unpredictable prior to total system failure.more » Some examples of less severe mechanical, thermal, and electrical environments which may actually be worst case are described as cautions for others in industries with high consequence operations or products.« less

The design and implementation of on-line monitoring system for UHV compact shunt capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Weiliang; Ni, Xuefeng; Lin, Hao; Jiang, Shengbao

2017-08-01

Because of the large capacity and compact structure of the UHV compact shunt capacitor, it is difficult to take effective measures to detect and prevent the faults. If the fault capacitor fails to take timely maintenance, it will pose a threat to the safe operation of the system and the life safety of the maintenance personnel. The development of UHV compact shunt capacitor on-line monitoring system can detect and record the on-line operation information of UHV compact shunt capacitors, analyze and evaluate the early fault warning signs, find out the fault capacitor or the capacitor with fault symptom, to ensure safe and reliable operation of the system.

Air traffic control : role of FAA's modernization program in reducing delays and congestion

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-05-10

The National Airspace System (NAS) is a complex collection of systems, procedures, facilities, aircraft, and people. Because these components are interconnected and interdependent, they must work together as one system to ensure safe operations. The ...

Social Institutions and Nuclear Energy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinberg, Alvin M.

1972-01-01

Nuclear technologists can offer an all but infinite source of relatively cheap and clean energy" but society must decide whether the price of eternal vigilance needed to ensure proper and safe operation of its nuclear energy system" is worth the benefits. (Author/AL)

Combined truck routing and driver scheduling problems under hours of service regulations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-20

Regardless of changing variants, hours-of-service (HOS) regulations are intended to help truck drivers ensure get adequate rest and perform safe operations. The new HOS regulations, however, may lead to substantial cost increases for regional common ...

33 CFR 127.1315 - Preliminary transfer inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) WATERFRONT FACILITIES WATERFRONT FACILITIES HANDLING LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS AND LIQUEFIED HAZARDOUS GAS Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Operations § 127.1315 Preliminary... capacity of each storage tank to or from which LHG will be transferred, to ensure that it is safe for...

14 CFR 417.7 - Public safety responsibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 417.7 Section 417.7 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... safety responsibility. A launch operator is responsible for ensuring the safe conduct of a licensed...

14 CFR 417.7 - Public safety responsibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Public safety responsibility. 417.7 Section 417.7 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... safety responsibility. A launch operator is responsible for ensuring the safe conduct of a licensed...

Columbus safety and reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longhurst, F.; Wessels, H.

1988-10-01

Analyses carried out to ensure Columbus reliability, availability, and maintainability, and operational and design safety are summarized. Failure modes/effects/criticality is the main qualitative tool used. The main aspects studied are fault tolerance, hazard consequence control, risk minimization, human error effects, restorability, and safe-life design.

An overview of safety assessment, regulation, and control of hazardous material use at NREL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, B. P.; Crandall, R. S.; Moskowitz, P. D.; Fthenakis, V. M.

1992-12-01

This paper summarizes the methodology we use to ensure the safe use of hazardous materials at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). First, we analyze the processes and the materials used in those processes to identify the hazards presented. Then we study federal, state, and local regulations and apply the relevant requirements to our operations. When necessary, we generate internal safety documents to consolidate this information. We design research operations and support systems to conform to these requirements. Before we construct the systems, we perform a semiquantitative risk analysis on likely accident scenarios. All scenarios presenting an unacceptable risk require system or procedural modifications to reduce the risk. Following these modifications, we repeat the risk analysis to ensure that the respective accident scenarios present an acceptable risk. Once all risks are acceptable, we conduct an operational readiness review (ORR). A management-appointed panel performs the ORR ensuring compliance with all relevant requirements. After successful completion of the ORR, operations can begin.

Aviation safety : information on FAA's data on operational errors at air traffic control towers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-09-23

A fundamental principle of aviation safety is the need to maintain adequate separation between aircraft and to ensure that aircraft maintain a safe distance from terrain, obstructions, and airspace that is not designated for routine air travel. Air t...

49 CFR 383.113 - Required skills.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... inspected to ensure a safe operating condition of each part, including: (i) Engine compartment; (ii) Cab/engine start; (iii) Steering; (iv) Suspension; (v) Brakes; (vi) Wheels; (vii) Side of vehicle; (viii... they will activate in emergency situations; (iv) With the engine running, make sure that the system...

49 CFR 383.113 - Required skills.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... inspected to ensure a safe operating condition of each part, including: (i) Engine compartment; (ii) Cab/engine start; (iii) Steering; (iv) Suspension; (v) Brakes; (vi) Wheels; (vii) Side of vehicle; (viii... they will activate in emergency situations; (iv) With the engine running, make sure that the system...

49 CFR 383.113 - Required skills.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... inspected to ensure a safe operating condition of each part, including: (i) Engine compartment; (ii) Cab/engine start; (iii) Steering; (iv) Suspension; (v) Brakes; (vi) Wheels; (vii) Side of vehicle; (viii... they will activate in emergency situations; (iv) With the engine running, make sure that the system...

Minimizing user delay and crash potential through highway work zone planning.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

Lane closures due to highway work zones introduce many challenges to ensuring smooth traffic operations and a : safe environment for drivers and workers. In addition, merging has been found to be one of the most stressful : aspects of driving and a m...

Burn Rate Modification with Carborane Polymers

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-01

test, ARDEC electrostatic discharge test, and DSC analysis of the small-scale runs were performed to ensure the products were safe to handle. Once...Accessions Division 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Ste 0944 Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6218 GIDEP Operations Center P.O. Box 8000 Corona , CA

49 CFR 383.113 - Required skills.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... inspected to ensure a safe operating condition of each part, including: (i) Engine compartment; (ii) Cab/engine start; (iii) Steering; (iv) Suspension; (v) Brakes; (vi) Wheels; (vii) Side of vehicle; (viii... they will activate in emergency situations; (iv) With the engine running, make sure that the system...

International Space Station Configuration Analysis and Integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anchondo, Rebekah

2016-01-01

Ambitious engineering projects, such as NASA's International Space Station (ISS), require dependable modeling, analysis, visualization, and robotics to ensure that complex mission strategies are carried out cost effectively, sustainably, and safely. Learn how Booz Allen Hamilton's Modeling, Analysis, Visualization, and Robotics Integration Center (MAVRIC) team performs engineering analysis of the ISS Configuration based primarily on the use of 3D CAD models. To support mission planning and execution, the team tracks the configuration of ISS and maintains configuration requirements to ensure operational goals are met. The MAVRIC team performs multi-disciplinary integration and trade studies to ensure future configurations meet stakeholder needs.

Integrating weather and geotechnical monitoring data for assessing the stability of large scale surface mining operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steiakakis, Chrysanthos; Agioutantis, Zacharias; Apostolou, Evangelia; Papavgeri, Georgia; Tripolitsiotis, Achilles

2016-01-01

The geotechnical challenges for safe slope design in large scale surface mining operations are enormous. Sometimes one degree of slope inclination can significantly reduce the overburden to ore ratio and therefore dramatically improve the economics of the operation, while large scale slope failures may have a significant impact on human lives. Furthermore, adverse weather conditions, such as high precipitation rates, may unfavorably affect the already delicate balance between operations and safety. Geotechnical, weather and production parameters should be systematically monitored and evaluated in order to safely operate such pits. Appropriate data management, processing and storage are critical to ensure timely and informed decisions. This paper presents an integrated data management system which was developed over a number of years as well as the advantages through a specific application. The presented case study illustrates how the high production slopes of a mine that exceed depths of 100-120 m were successfully mined with an average displacement rate of 10- 20 mm/day, approaching an almost slow to moderate landslide velocity. Monitoring data of the past four years are included in the database and can be analyzed to produce valuable results. Time-series data correlations of movements, precipitation records, etc. are evaluated and presented in this case study. The results can be used to successfully manage mine operations and ensure the safety of the mine and the workforce.

Inter Annual Variability of the California Current System and Associated Biochemical Characteristics from Prolonged Data Series

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

onto the eastern north Pacific circulation has been studied for years, the effect of El Nino Modoki in the region is still unclear. The CCS is...ready for combat. The main mission of Third Fleet is to provide safe, effective , relevant training to ensure Sailors have the essential skills to...Fleet. Understanding our environment and ocean currents with in the CCS improves the Navy’s ability to practice operating safely and effectively along

75 FR 64348 - BOEMRE Information Collection Activity: 1010-0182, Increased Safety Measures for Energy...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-19

... No. BOEM-2010-0052] BOEMRE Information Collection Activity: 1010-0182, Increased Safety Measures for... the likelihood of blowouts, loss of well control, fires, spillages, physical obstruction to other... subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. These events highlight the importance of ensuring safe operations...

Building a model-based decision support system for solving vehicle routing and driver scheduling problems under hours of service regulations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-27

"In principle, hours-of-service (HOS) regulations are intended to help truck drivers ensure get adequate rest and perform safe operations. The new HOS regulations, however, may lead to substantial cost increases for regional common carriers which hav...

A Guide to Safe Field Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-01-01

be dangerous depending on the type of insect and your reaction to their sting or bite. Stinging insects, which include honey bees , killer bees ...and operational policies of the WRD to ensure that (1) their activities avoid or minimize personal injury to the employee, coworkers, or anyone in...assignments with minimal chance of personal injury or infringement on the rights of others. However, once you have received training and have been

Software solutions manage the definition, operation, maintenance and configuration control of the National Ignition Facility

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

Dobson, D; Churby, A; Krieger, E

2011-07-25

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world's largest laser composed of millions of individual parts brought together to form one massive assembly. Maintaining control of the physical definition, status and configuration of this structure is a monumental undertaking yet critical to the validity of the shot experiment data and the safe operation of the facility. The NIF business application suite of software provides the means to effectively manage the definition, build, operation, maintenance and configuration control of all components of the National Ignition Facility. State of the art Computer Aided Design software applications are used to generate a virtualmore » model and assemblies. Engineering bills of material are controlled through the Enterprise Configuration Management System. This data structure is passed to the Enterprise Resource Planning system to create a manufacturing bill of material. Specific parts are serialized then tracked along their entire lifecycle providing visibility to the location and status of optical, target and diagnostic components that are key to assessing pre-shot machine readiness. Nearly forty thousand items requiring preventive, reactive and calibration maintenance are tracked through the System Maintenance & Reliability Tracking application to ensure proper operation. Radiological tracking applications ensure proper stewardship of radiological and hazardous materials and help provide a safe working environment for NIF personnel.« less

Wedge gate valves selecting essentials in pipeline systems designing based on permissible operation parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakirnichnaya, M. M.; Kulsharipov, I. M.

2017-10-01

Wedge gate valves are widely used at the fuel and energy complex enterprises. The pipeline valves manufacturers indicate the safe operation resource according to the current regulatory and technical documentation. In this case, the resource value of the valve body strength calculation results is taken into consideration as the main structural part. However, it was determined that the wedge gate valves fail before the assigned resource due to the occurrence of conditions under which the wedge breaks in the hooks and, accordingly, the sealing integrity is not ensured. In this regard, it became necessary to assess the conditions under which the resource should be assigned not only to the valve body, but also to take into account the wedge durability. For this purpose, wedge resource calculations were made using the example of ZKL2 250-25 and ZKL2 300-25 valves using the ABAQUS software package FE-SAFE module under the technological parameters influence on the basis of their stressstrain state calculation results. Operating conditions, under which the wedge resource value is lower than the one set by the manufacturer, were determined. A technique for limiting the operating parameters for ensuring the wedge durability during the wedge gate valve assigned resource is proposed.

The United States Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program - Over 151 Million Miles Safely Steamed on Nuclear Power

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

None, None

NNSA’s third mission pillar is supporting the U.S. Navy’s ability to protect and defend American interests across the globe. The Naval Reactors Program remains at the forefront of technological developments in naval nuclear propulsion and ensures a commanding edge in warfighting capabilities by advancing new technologies and improvements in naval reactor performance and reliability. In 2015, the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program pioneered advances in nuclear reactor and warship design – such as increasing reactor lifetimes, improving submarine operational effectiveness, and reducing propulsion plant crewing. The Naval Reactors Program continued its record of operational excellence by providing the technical expertise requiredmore » to resolve emergent issues in the Nation’s nuclear-powered fleet, enabling the Fleet to safely steam more than two million miles. Naval Reactors safely maintains, operates, and oversees the reactors on the Navy’s 82 nuclear-powered warships, constituting more than 45 percent of the Navy’s major combatants.« less

Constraint-based semi-autonomy for unmanned ground vehicles using local sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Sterling J.; Karumanchi, Sisir B.; Johnson, Bryan; Perlin, Victor; Rohde, Mitchell; Iagnemma, Karl

2012-06-01

Teleoperated vehicles are playing an increasingly important role in a variety of military functions. While advantageous in many respects over their manned counterparts, these vehicles also pose unique challenges when it comes to safely avoiding obstacles. Not only must operators cope with difficulties inherent to the manned driving task, but they must also perform many of the same functions with a restricted field of view, limited depth perception, potentially disorienting camera viewpoints, and significant time delays. In this work, a constraint-based method for enhancing operator performance by seamlessly coordinating human and controller commands is presented. This method uses onboard LIDAR sensing to identify environmental hazards, designs a collision-free path homotopy traversing that environment, and coordinates the control commands of a driver and an onboard controller to ensure that the vehicle trajectory remains within a safe homotopy. This system's performance is demonstrated via off-road teleoperation of a Kawasaki Mule in an open field among obstacles. In these tests, the system safely avoids collisions and maintains vehicle stability even in the presence of "routine" operator error, loss of operator attention, and complete loss of communications.

Research on station management in subway operation safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yiman

2017-10-01

The management of subway station is an important part of the safe operation of urban subway. In order to ensure the safety of subway operation, it is necessary to study the relevant factors that affect station management. In the protection of subway safety operations on the basis of improving the quality of service, to promote the sustained and healthy development of subway stations. This paper discusses the influencing factors of subway operation accident and station management, and analyzes the specific contents of station management security for subway operation, and develops effective suppression measures. It is desirable to improve the operational quality and safety factor for subway operations.

The challenges of sustainable access to safe drinking water in rural areas of developing countries: case of Zawtar El-Charkieh, Southern Lebanon.

PubMed

Massoud, May A; Al-Abady, Abdolmonim; Jurdi, Mey; Nuwayhid, Iman

2010-06-01

Adequate and safe water is important for human health and well-being, economic production, and sustainable development. Failure to ensure the safety of drinking water may expose the community to the risk of outbreaks of waterborne and infectious diseases. Although drinking water is a basic human right, many people do not have access to safe and adequate drinking water or proper sanitation facilities. The authors conducted a study to assess the quantity, cost, continuity, coverage, and quality of drinking water in the village of Zawtar El-Charkieh, Lebanon. Their aim was to identify the challenges of sustainable access to safe drinking water in order to determine the short-term management actions and long-term strategies to improve water quality. Results revealed that contamination of the source, absence of any disinfection method or insufficient dose, poor maintenance operations, and aging of the networks are significant factors contributing to water contamination during the storage and distribution process. Establishing a comprehensive drinking water system that integrates water supply, quality, and management as well as associated educational programs in order to ensure the safety and sustainability of drinking water supplies is essential.

76 FR 61750 - Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms (Aerial Lifts); Extension of the Office of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-05

...] Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms (Aerial Lifts); Extension of the Office of... requirement contained in the Standard on Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms (Aerial Lifts... by ensuring that aerial lifts are in safe operating condition. DATES: Comments must be submitted...

78 FR 69118 - Information Collection Activities: General; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-18

... human, marine, and coastal environments; to ensure the public a fair and equitable return on the... ``operations in the [O]uter Continental Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by well trained personnel... subsoil and seabed, or other occurrences which may cause damage to the environment or to property or...

76 FR 49662 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Grassy Sound Channel, Middle Township, NJ

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-11

... accommodate racers in ``The Wild Half'' half marathon. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position to ensure safe passage for the half marathon racers. DATES: This deviation is effective... Sound Channel, mile 1.0, at Middle Township, NJ. The route of ``The Wild Half'' half marathon crosses...

49 CFR Appendix C to Part 236 - Safety Assurance Criteria and Processes

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... system (all its elements including hardware and software) must be designed to assure safe operation with... unsafe errors in the software due to human error in the software specification, design, or coding phases... (hardware or software, or both) are used in combination to ensure safety. If a common mode failure exists...

14 CFR 25.33 - Propeller speed and pitch limits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Propeller speed and pitch limits. 25.33... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight General § 25.33 Propeller speed and pitch limits. (a) The propeller speed and pitch must be limited to values that will ensure- (1) Safe operation...

78 FR 78396 - Manlifts; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-26

... for developing information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses...' risk of death or serious injury by ensuring that manlifts are in safe operating condition. Periodic...; and any ``skip'' on the up or down run when mounting a step (indicating worn gears). A certification...

Instructions included? Make safety training part of medical device procurement process.

PubMed

Keller, James P

2010-04-01

Before hospitals embrace new technologies, it's important that medical personnel agree on how best to use them. Likewise, hospitals must provide the support to operate these sophisticated devices safely. With this in mind, it's wise for hospitals to include medical device training in the procurement process. Moreover, purchasing professionals can play a key role in helping to increase the amount of user training for medical devices and systems. What steps should you take to help ensure that new medical devices are implemented safely? Here are some tips.

Evolution of the Hubble Space Telescope Safing Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pepe, Joyce; Myslinski, Michael

2006-01-01

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was launched on April 24 1990, with an expected lifespan of 15 years. Central to the spacecraft design was the concept of a series of on-orbit shuttle servicing missions permitting astronauts to replace failed equipment, update the scientific instruments and keep the HST at the forefront of astronomical discoveries. One key to the success of the Hubble mission has been the robust Safing systems designed to monitor the performance of the observatory and to react to keep the spacecraft safe in the event of equipment anomaly. The spacecraft Safing System consists of a range of software tests in the primary flight computer that evaluate the performance of mission critical hardware, safe modes that are activated when the primary control mode is deemed inadequate for protecting the vehicle, and special actions that the computer can take to autonomously reconfigure critical hardware. The HST Safing System was structured to autonomously detect electrical power system, data management system, and pointing control system malfunctions and to configure the vehicle to ensure safe operation without ground intervention for up to 72 hours. There is also a dedicated safe mode computer that constantly monitors a keep-alive signal from the primary computer. If this signal stops, the safe mode computer shuts down the primary computer and takes over control of the vehicle, putting it into a safe, low-power configuration. The HST Safing system has continued to evolve as equipment has aged, as new hardware has been installed on the vehicle, and as the operation modes have matured during the mission. Along with the continual refinement of the limits used in the safing tests, several new tests have been added to the monitoring system, and new safe modes have been added to the flight software. This paper will focus on the evolution of the HST Safing System and Safing tests, and the importance of this evolution to prolonging the science operations of the telescope.

Rational use of medicines in older adults: Can we do better during clinical development?

PubMed

Saeed, M A; Vlasakakis, G; Della Pasqua, O

2015-05-01

There is an evidence gap to ensuring safe/effective use of medicines in older adults. Generating clinical data in these patients poses ethical and operational challenges, yielding results that may not be generalizable to the overall population. Modeling and simulation (M&S) is proposed as a basis for assessing the impact of age-related changes and their clinical implications. M&S can be used in conjunction with bridging and extrapolation to ensure the selection of appropriate dose(s)/regimen(s) in this population. © 2015 ASCPT.

Examination of Frameworks for Safe Integration of Intelligent Small UAS into the NAS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Logan, Michael J.

2012-01-01

This paper discusses a proposed framework for the safe integration of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). The paper briefly examines the potential uses of sUAS to build an understanding of the location and frequency of potential future flight operations based on the future applications of the sUAS systems. The paper then examines the types of systems that would be required to meet the application-level demand to determine "classes" of platforms and operations. A framework for categorization of the "intelligence" level of the UAS is postulated for purposes of NAS integration. Finally, constraints on the intelligent systems are postulated to ensure their ease of integration into the NAS.

Cost effective launch operations of the SSME

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klatt, F. P.

1985-01-01

The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) represents the beginning of reusable rocket engine operations in the space transportation system (STS). Steps taken to reduce the overall cost of flight operations of the SSME by improving turnaround operations, extending the life of the engine, and improving the cost effectiveness of overhaul operations at the Canoga Park home plant are described. Ground certification testing to ensure safe launch operations is described, as well as certification extension testing that leads to a service life equivalent to 40 flights. The proven flight record of the SSME, which has demonstrated the utility of the SSME as a key component of America's space transportation system, is discussed.

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

Roger Lew; Ronald L. Boring; Thomas A. Ulrich

Operators of critical processes, such as nuclear power production, must contend with highly complex systems, procedures, and regulations. Developing human-machine interfaces (HMIs) that better support operators is a high priority for ensuring the safe and reliable operation of critical processes. Human factors engineering (HFE) provides a rich and mature set of tools for evaluating the performance of HMIs, but the set of tools for developing and designing HMIs is still in its infancy. Here we propose that Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is well suited for many roles in the research and development of HMIs for process control.

The Problems of Ensure of Safe Labor Conditions on Workplaces for Adhesive Bonding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciecińska, Barbara; Homik, Wojciech

2016-06-01

In the performance a variety of technological operations a human may come into contact with a variety of factors causing deterioration of safety at work. As an example of which is described in article, adhesive bonding operations are requiring use of specific chemicals, which are adhesives. They are produced on the basis of a variety of compounds, often hazardous to human health. Furthermore, adhesive bonding requires a series of preparatory operations such as degreasing or surface preparation with a specific structure and roughness and auxiliary operations such as measurement of the wettability of surface. In this paper are described examples of risks occurring during adhesive bonding, it is a simple way to estimate the risks associated with the performance of operations. The examples of the determination by the producers of chemicals are described which are used in adhesive bonding and fragment of international chemical safety card (ICSC), as a source of information important to the workplace organization and ensuring safety during adhesive bonding.

Aviation System Capacity Program Terminal Area Productivity Project: Ground and Airborne Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giulianetti, Demo J.

2001-01-01

Ground and airborne technologies were developed in the Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) project for increasing throughput at major airports by safely maintaining good-weather operating capacity during bad weather. Methods were demonstrated for accurately predicting vortices to prevent wake-turbulence encounters and to reduce in-trail separation requirements for aircraft approaching the same runway for landing. Technology was demonstrated that safely enabled independent simultaneous approaches in poor weather conditions to parallel runways spaced less than 3,400 ft apart. Guidance, control, and situation-awareness systems were developed to reduce congestion in airport surface operations resulting from the increased throughput, particularly during night and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). These systems decreased runway occupancy time by safely and smoothly decelerating the aircraft, increasing taxi speed, and safely steering the aircraft off the runway. Simulations were performed in which optimal trajectories were determined by air traffic control (ATC) and communicated to flight crews by means of Center TRACON Automation System/Flight Management System (CTASFMS) automation to reduce flight delays, increase throughput, and ensure flight safety.

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for FY 2016

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

Hallbert, Bruce Perry; Thomas, Kenneth David

2015-10-01

Reliable instrumentation, information, and control (II&C) systems technologies are essential to ensuring safe and efficient operation of the U.S. light water reactor (LWR) fleet. These technologies affect every aspect of nuclear power plant (NPP) and balance-of-plant operations. In 1997, the National Research Council conducted a study concerning the challenges involved in modernization of digital instrumentation and control systems in NPPs. Their findings identified the need for new II&C technology integration.

Environmental projects. Volume 6: Environmental assessment. New 34-meter antenna at Venus site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kushner, L.

1988-01-01

The Jet Propulsion Lab has proposed replacing the 26-meter antenna at the Venus Station of the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex with a new 34-meter antenna. An environmental impact assessment of this proposed change is presented. It is concluded that the proposed antenna and its operation would not result in significant adverse impacts to the physical or human environment. It will, however, be necessary to manage electromagnetic transmissions from the antenna in such a manner as to ensure safe operation.

Implementation of improved underbalanced drilling in AbuDhabi onshore field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alhammadi, Adel Mohammed

Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) is considering Underbalanced Drilling (UBD) as a means to develop lower permeability units in its fields. In addition to productivity and recovery gains, ADCO also expects reservoir characterization benefits from UBD. Reservoir screening studies were carried out on all of ADCO's reservoirs to determine their applicability for UBD. The primary business benefits of UBD were determined to be reservoir characterization, damage Mitigation, and rate of Penetration "ROP" Improvement. Apart from the primary benefits, some of the secondary benefits of UBD that were identified beforehand included rig performance. Since it's a trial wells, the challenge was to drill these wells safely, efficiently and of course meeting well objectives. Many operators worldwide drill these well in underbalanced mode but complete it overbalanced. In our case the plan was to drill and complete these wells in underbalanced condition. But we had to challenge most operators and come up with special and unique casing hanger design to ensure well control barriers exists while fishing the control line of the Downhole Deployment Valve "DDV". After intensive studies and planning, the hanger was designed as per our recommendations and found to be effective equipment that optimized the operational time and the cost as well. This report will provide better understanding of UBD technique in general and shade on the special designed casing hanger compared to conventional or what's most used worldwide. Even thought there were some issues while running the casing hanger prior drilling but managed to capture the learning's from each well and re-modified the hanger and come up with better deign for the future wells. Finally, the new design perform a good performance of saving the operation time and assisting the project to be done in a safe and an easy way without a major impact on the well cost. This design helped to drill and complete these wells safely with requirement to kill the wells and this ensured least reservoir damage.

The confusion in complying with good manufacturing practice requirements in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jali, Mohd Bakri; Ghani, Maaruf Abdul; Nor, Norazmir Md

2016-11-01

Food manufacturing operations need to fulfil regulatory requirements related to hygiene and good manufacturing practices (GMP) to successfully market their products as safe and quality products. GMP based on its ten elements used as guidelines to ensure control over biological, chemical and physical hazards. This study aims to investigate the confusion for design and facilities elements among food industries. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques are used as systematic tools. Design and facilities elements lay a firm foundation for good manufacturing practice to ensure food hygiene and should be used in conjunction with each specific code of hygiene practice and guidelines.

Training for laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy.

PubMed

Kuroki, Tamotsu; Fujioka, Hikaru

2018-05-10

In recent years, laparoscopic procedures have developed rapidly, and the reports of laparoscopic pancreatic resection including laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) have increased in number. Although LPD is a complex procedure with high mortality, the training system for LPD remains unestablished. Ensuring patient safety is extremely important, even in challenging surgeries such a LPD. At present, several tools have been developed for surgical education to ensure patient safety preoperatively, such as video learning, virtual reality simulators, and cadaver training. Although LPD is reported as a safe and feasible choice, LPD is still a challenging operation. An LPD training system should be established with a board-certified system.

Procedure-Authoring Tool Improves Safety on Oil Rigs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2014-01-01

Dark, cold, and dangerous environments are plentiful in space and on Earth. To ensure safe operations in difficult surroundings, NASA relies heavily on procedures written well ahead of time. Houston-based TRACLabs Inc. worked with Ames Research Center through the SBIR program to create an electronic procedure authoring tool, now used by NASA and companies in the oil and gas industry.

Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Institutions of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Safe and Healthy Students, US Department of Education, 2013

2013-01-01

Our nation's postsecondary institutions are entrusted to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for students, faculty, and staff who live, work, and study on campus. Many of these emergencies occur with little to no warning; therefore, it is critical for institutions of higher education (IHEs) to plan ahead to help ensure the safety and…

Reliability evaluation of oil pipelines operating in aggressive environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magomedov, R. M.; Paizulaev, M. M.; Gebel, E. S.

2017-08-01

In connection with modern increased requirements for ecology and safety, the development of diagnostic services complex is obligatory and necessary enabling to ensure the reliable operation of the gas transportation infrastructure. Estimation of oil pipelines technical condition should be carried out not only to establish the current values of the equipment technological parameters in operation, but also to predict the dynamics of changes in the physical and mechanical characteristics of the material, the appearance of defects, etc. to ensure reliable and safe operation. In the paper, existing Russian and foreign methods for evaluation of the oil pipelines reliability are considered, taking into account one of the main factors leading to the appearance of crevice in the pipeline material, i.e. change the shape of its cross-section, - corrosion. Without compromising the generality of the reasoning, the assumption of uniform corrosion wear for the initial rectangular cross section has been made. As a result a formula for calculation the probability of failure-free operation was formulated. The proposed mathematical model makes it possible to predict emergency situations, as well as to determine optimal operating conditions for oil pipelines.

Analysis of dangerous area of single berth oil tanker operations based on CFD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Lina; Zhu, Faxin; Lu, Jinshu; Wu, Wenfeng; Zhang, Min; Zheng, Hailin

2018-04-01

Based on the single process in the liquid cargo tanker berths in the state as the research object, we analyzed the single berth oil tanker in the process of VOCs diffusion theory, built network model of VOCs diffusion with Gambit preprocessor, set up the simulation boundary conditions and simulated the five detection point sources in specific factors under the influence of VOCs concentration change with time by using Fluent software. We analyzed the dangerous area of single berth oil tanker operations through the diffusion of VOCs, so as to ensure the safe operation of oil tanker.

Inherently Safe and Long-Life Fission Power System for Lunar Outposts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schriener, T. M.; El-Genk, Mohamed S.

Power requirements for future lunar outposts, of 10's to 100's kWe, can be fulfilled using nuclear reactor power systems. In addition to the long life and operation reliability, safety is paramount in all phases, including fabrication and assembly, launch, emplacement below grade on the lunar surface, operation, post-operation decay heat removal and long-term storage and eventual retrieval. This paper introduces the Solid Core-Sectored Compact Reactor (SC-SCoRe) and power system with static components and no single point failures. They ensure reliable continuous operation for ~21 years and fulfill the safety requirements. The SC-SCoRe nominally generates 1.0 MWth at liquid NaK-56 coolant inlet and exit temperatures of 850 K and 900 K and the power system provides 38 kWe at high DC voltage using SiGe thermoelectric (TE) conversion assemblies. In case of a loss of coolant or cooling in a reactor core sector, the power system continues to operate; generating ~4 kWe to the outpost for emergency life support needs. The post-operation storage of the reactor below grade on the lunar surface is a safe and practical choice. The total radioactivity in the reactor drops from ~1 million Ci, immediately at shutdown, to below 164 Ci after 300 years of storage. At such time, the reactor is retrieved safely with no contamination or environmental concerns.

Potential Operating Orbits for Fission Electric Propulsion Systems Driven by the SAFE-400

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houts, Mike; Kos, Larry; Poston, David; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Safety must be ensured during all phases of space fission system design, development, fabrication, launch, operation, and shutdown. One potential space fission system application is fission electric propulsion (FEP), in which fission energy is converted into electricity and used to power high efficiency (Isp greater than 3000s) electric thrusters. For these types of systems it is important to determine which operational scenarios ensure safety while allowing maximum mission performance and flexibility. Space fission systems are essentially nonradioactive at launch, prior to extended operation at high power. Once high power operation begins, system radiological inventory steadily increases as fission products build up. For a given fission product isotope, the maximum radiological inventory is typically achieved once the system has operated for a length of time equivalent to several half-lives. After that time, the isotope decays at the same rate it is produced, and no further inventory builds in. For an FEP mission beginning in Earth orbit, altitude and orbital lifetime increase as the propulsion system operates. Two simultaneous effects of fission propulsion system operation are thus (1) increasing fission product inventory and (2) increasing orbital lifetime. Phrased differently, as fission products build up, more time is required for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Simultaneously, as fission products build up, orbital lifetime increases, providing more time for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Operational constraints required to ensure safety can thus be quantified.

Potential operating orbits for fission electric propulsion systems driven by the SAFE-400

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houts, Mike; Kos, Larry; Poston, David

2002-01-01

Safety must be ensured during all phases of space fission system design, development, fabrication, launch, operation, and shutdown. One potential space fission system application is fission electric propulsion (FEP), in which fission energy is converted into electricity and used to power high efficiency (Isp>3000s) electric thrusters. For these types of systems it is important to determine which operational scenarios ensure safety while allowing maximum mission performance and flexibility. Space fission systems are essentially non-radioactive at launch, prior to extended operation at high power. Once high power operation begins, system radiological inventory steadily increases as fission products build up. For a given fission product isotope, the maximum radiological inventory is typically achieved once the system has operated for a length of time equivalent to several half-lives. After that time, the isotope decays at the same rate it is produced, and no further inventory builds in. For an FEP mission beginning in Earth orbit, altitude and orbital lifetime increase as the propulsion system operates. Two simultaneous effects of fission propulsion system operation are thus (1) increasing fission product inventory and (2) increasing orbital lifetime. Phrased differently, as fission products build up, more time is required for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Simultaneously, as fission products build up, orbital lifetime increases, providing more time for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Operational constraints required to ensure safety can thus be quantified. .

Charting | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Science.gov Websites

Ocean Service provides products, tools, and services to ensure safe passage along our coastal waters ensure safe passage along our coastal waters. LATEST FEATURES // Instrument used for reestablishment of

The development of a computerized maintenance management system at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Treesearch

Francis V. Riedy; Daniel Skelton

1998-01-01

Every asset, old or new, requires maintenance. Buildings, bridges, roads, dams, utilities and grounds; each requires some degree of maintenance to ensure long life cycles and safe operation. Maintenance is science, art and philosophy. It is science since its execution ultimately relies on most of all the sciences; it is art because seemingly identical problems...

76 FR 7091 - Notice of Intent To Require Reporting Forms for Savings and Loan Holding Companies

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-08

... title: Financial Statements for Bank Holding Companies. Agency form number: FR Y-9C, FR Y-9LP, FR Y-9SP... financial statements for the consolidated BHC and the parent holding company only. The FR Y-9 family of... condition to ensure safe and sound operations. The FR Y-9C consists of standardized financial statements...

Pressure system recertification at NASA-Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hudson, C. M.; Ramsey, J. W., Jr.

1983-01-01

Langley Research Center pressure systems are being recertified to ensure safe operation of these systems. The procedures for recertifying these pressure systems are reviewed. Generally, the analysis and inspection requirements outlined in the appropriate national consensus codes are followed. In some instances where the requirements of these codes are not met. The systems are analyzed further, repaired, modified and/or tested to demonstrate their structural integrity.

Nebraska biocontainment unit design and operations.

PubMed

Lenaghan, Patricia A; Schwedhelm, Michelle

2015-06-01

Planning and design of a unique biocontainment unit specifically for care of patients with rare and highly infectious diseases presented an opportunity for nurse leaders to engage staff in crucial groundbreaking decisions. The Magnet® philosophy and framework were used to structure committees with key stakeholders and staff to ensure best and safe practices. Members of the biocontainment unit are engaged in active research and outreach training.

SNL/CA Facilities Management Design Standards Manual

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

Rabb, David; Clark, Eva

2014-12-01

At Sandia National Laboratories in California (SNL/CA), the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities is guided by industry standards, a graded approach, and the systematic analysis of life cycle benefits received for costs incurred. The design of the physical plant must ensure that the facilities are "fit for use," and provide conditions that effectively, efficiently, and safely support current and future mission needs. In addition, SNL/CA applies sustainable design principles, using an integrated whole-building design approach, from site planning to facility design, construction, and operation to ensure building resource efficiency and the health and productivity of occupants. The safetymore » and health of the workforce and the public, any possible effects on the environment, and compliance with building codes take precedence over project issues, such as performance, cost, and schedule.« less

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopardekar, Parimal H.

2016-01-01

Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) Enabling Civilian Low-Altitude Airspace and Unmanned Aircraft System Operations What is the problem? Many beneficial civilian applications of UAS have been proposed, from goods delivery and infrastructure surveillance, to search and rescue, and agricultural monitoring. Currently, there is no established infrastructure to enable and safely manage the widespread use of low-altitude airspace and UAS operations, regardless of the type of UAS. A UAS traffic management (UTM) system for low-altitude airspace may be needed, perhaps leveraging concepts from the system of roads, lanes, stop signs, rules and lights that govern vehicles on the ground today, whether the vehicles are driven by humans or are automated. What system technologies is NASA exploring? Building on its legacy of work in air traffic management for crewed aircraft, NASA is researching prototype technologies for a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system that could develop airspace integration requirements for enabling safe, efficient low-altitude operations. While incorporating lessons learned from the today's well-established air traffic management system, which was a response that grew out of a mid-air collision over the Grand Canyon in the early days of commercial aviation, the UTM system would enable safe and efficient low-altitude airspace operations by providing services such as airspace design, corridors, dynamic geofencing, severe weather and wind avoidance, congestion management, terrain avoidance, route planning and re-routing, separation management, sequencing and spacing, and contingency management. One of the attributes of the UTM system is that it would not require human operators to monitor every vehicle continuously. The system could provide to human managers the data to make strategic decisions related to initiation, continuation, and termination of airspace operations. This approach would ensure that only authenticated UAS could operate in the airspace. In its most mature form, the UTM system could be developed using autonomicity characteristics that include self-configuration, self-optimization and self-protection. The self-configuration aspect could determine whether the operations should continue given the current andor predicted windweather conditions. NASA envisions concepts for two types of possible UTM systems. The first type would be a Portable UTM system, which would move from between geographical areas and support operations such as precision agriculture and disaster relief. The second type of system would be a Persistent UTM system, which would support low-altitude operations and provide continuous coverage for a geographical area. Either system would require persistent communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) coverage to track, ensure, and monitor conformance. What is NASA doing to test the technologies? NASA's near-term goal is the development and demonstration of a possible future UTM system that could safely enable low-altitude airspace and UAS operations. Working alongside many committed government, industry and academic partners, NASA is leading the research, development and testing that is taking place in a series of activities called Technology Capability Levels (TCL), each increasing in complexity. UTM TCL1 concluded field testing in August 2015 and is undergoing additional testing at an FAA site.

Unmanned aerial vehicles in construction and worker safety.

PubMed

Howard, John; Murashov, Vladimir; Branche, Christine M

2018-01-01

Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military, recreational, public, and commercial uses have expanded significantly in recent years. In the construction industry, UAVs are used primarily for monitoring of construction workflow and job site logistics, inspecting construction sites to assess structural integrity, and for maintenance assessments. As is the case with other emerging technologies, occupational safety assessments of UAVs lag behind technological advancements. UAVs may create new workplace hazards that need to be evaluated and managed to ensure their safe operation around human workers. At the same time, UAVs can perform dangerous tasks, thereby improving workplace safety. This paper describes the four major uses of UAVs, including their use in construction, the potential risks of their use to workers, approaches for risk mitigation, and the important role that safety and health professionals can play in ensuring safe approaches to the their use in the workplace. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Airspace Complexity and its Application in Air Traffic Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sridhar, Banavar; Chatterji, Gano; Sheth, Kapil; Edwards, Thomas (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

The United States Air Traffic Management (ATM) system provides services to enable safe, orderly and efficient aircraft operations within the airspace over the continental United States and over large portions of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico. It consists of two components, Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Traffic Flow Management (TFM). The ATC function ensures that the aircraft within the airspace are separated at all times while the TFM function organizes the aircraft into a flow pattern to ensure their safe and efficient movement. In order to accomplish the ATC and TFM functions, the airspace over United States is organized into 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs). The Center airspace is stratified into low-altitude, high-altitude and super-high altitude groups of Sectors. Each vertical layer is further partitioned into several horizontal Sectors. A typical ARTCC airspace is partitioned into 20 to 80 Sectors. These Sectors are the basic control units within the ATM system.

Optimization of shared autonomy vehicle control architectures for swarm operations.

PubMed

Sengstacken, Aaron J; DeLaurentis, Daniel A; Akbarzadeh-T, Mohammad R

2010-08-01

The need for greater capacity in automotive transportation (in the midst of constrained resources) and the convergence of key technologies from multiple domains may eventually produce the emergence of a "swarm" concept of operations. The swarm, which is a collection of vehicles traveling at high speeds and in close proximity, will require technology and management techniques to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable vehicle interactions. We propose a shared autonomy control approach, in which the strengths of both human drivers and machines are employed in concert for this management. Building from a fuzzy logic control implementation, optimal architectures for shared autonomy addressing differing classes of drivers (represented by the driver's response time) are developed through a genetic-algorithm-based search for preferred fuzzy rules. Additionally, a form of "phase transition" from a safe to an unsafe swarm architecture as the amount of sensor capability is varied uncovers key insights on the required technology to enable successful shared autonomy for swarm operations.

A Unique BSL-3 Cryo-Electron Microscopy Laboratory at UTMB

PubMed Central

Sherman, Michael B.; Freiberg, Alexander N.; Razmus, Dennis; Yazuka, Shintaro; Koht, Craig; Hilser, Vincent J.; Lemon, Stanley M.; Brocard, Anne-Sophie; Zimmerman, Dee; Chiu, Wah; Watowich, Stanley J.; Weaver, Scott C.

2010-01-01

This article describes a unique cryo-electron microscopy (CryoEM) facility to study the three-dimensional organization of viruses at biological safety level 3 (BSL-3). This facility, the W. M. Keck Center for Virus Imaging, has successfully operated for more than a year without incident and was cleared for select agent studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Standard operating procedures for the laboratory were developed and implemented to ensure its safe and efficient operation. This facility at the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston, TX) is the only such BSL-3 CryoEM facility approved for select agent research. PMID:21852942

Cognitive engineering models in space systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Christine M.

1992-01-01

NASA space systems, including mission operations on the ground and in space, are complex, dynamic, predominantly automated systems in which the human operator is a supervisory controller. The human operator monitors and fine-tunes computer-based control systems and is responsible for ensuring safe and efficient system operation. In such systems, the potential consequences of human mistakes and errors may be very large, and low probability of such events is likely. Thus, models of cognitive functions in complex systems are needed to describe human performance and form the theoretical basis of operator workstation design, including displays, controls, and decision support aids. The operator function model represents normative operator behavior-expected operator activities given current system state. The extension of the theoretical structure of the operator function model and its application to NASA Johnson mission operations and space station applications is discussed.

Prognostics Applied to Electric Propulsion UAV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goebel, Kai; Saha, Bhaskar

2013-01-01

Health management plays an important role in operations of UAV. If there is equipment malfunction on critical components, safe operation of the UAV might possibly be compromised. A technology with particular promise in this arena is equipment prognostics. This technology provides a state assessment of the health of components of interest and, if a degraded state has been found, it estimates how long it will take before the equipment will reach a failure threshold, conditional on assumptions about future operating conditions and future environmental conditions. This chapter explores the technical underpinnings of how to perform prognostics and shows an implementation on the propulsion of an electric UAV. A particle filter is shown as the method of choice in performing state assessment and predicting future degradation. The method is then applied to the batteries that provide power to the propeller motors. An accurate run-time battery life prediction algorithm is of critical importance to ensure the safe operation of the vehicle if one wants to maximize in-air time. Current reliability based techniques turn out to be insufficient to manage the use of such batteries where loads vary frequently in uncertain environments.

Criticality Safety Evaluations on the Use of 200-gram Pu Mass Limit for RHWM Waste Storage Operations

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

Chou, P

This work establishes the criticality safety technical basis to increase the fissile mass limit from 120 grams to 200 grams for Type A 55-gallon drums and their equivalents. Current RHWM fissile mass limit is 120 grams Pu for Type A 55-gallon containers and their equivalent. In order to increase the Type A 55-gallon drum limit to 200 grams, a few additional criticality safety control requirements are needed on moderators, reflectors, and array controls to ensure that the 200-gram Pu drums remain criticality safe with inadvertent criticality remains incredible. The purpose of this work is to analyze the use of 200-grammore » Pu drum mass limit for waste storage operations in Radioactive and Hazardous Waste Management (RHWM) Facilities. In this evaluation, the criticality safety controls associated with the 200-gram Pu drums are established for the RHWM waste storage operations. With the implementation of these criticality safety controls, the 200-gram Pu waste drum storage operations are demonstrated to be criticality safe and meet the double-contingency-principle requirement per DOE O 420.1.« less

Review of performance, medical, and operational data on pilot aging issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoklosa, J. H.

1992-01-01

An extensive review of the literature and studies relating to performance, medical, operational, and legal data regarding pilot aging issues was performed in order to determine what evidence there is, if any, to support mandatory pilot retirement. Popular misconceptions about aging, including the failure to distinguish between the normal aging process and disease processes that occur more frequently in older individuals, continue to contribute to much of the misunderstanding and controversy that surround this issue. Results: Review of medical data related to the pilot aging issue indicate that recent improvement in medical diagnostics and treatment technology have made it possible to identify to a high degree individuals who are at risk for developing sudden incapacitating illness and for treating those with disqualifying medical conditions. Performance studies revealed that after controlling for the presence of disease states, older pilots are able to perform as well as younger pilots on many performance tasks. Review of accident data showed that older, healthy pilots do not have higher accident rates than younger pilots, and indeeed, evidence suggests that older pilots have an advantage in the cockpit due to higher experience levels. The Man-Machine-Mission-Environment interface of factors can be managed through structured, supervised, and enhanced operations, maintenance, flight reviews, and safety procedures in order to ensure safe and productive operations by reducing the margin of error and by increasing the margin of safety. Conclusions: There is no evidence indicating any specific age as an arbitrary cut-off point for pilots to perform their fight duties. A combination of regular medical screening, performance evaluation, enhanced operational maintenance, and safety procedures can most effectively ensure a safe pilot population than can a mandatory retirement policy based on arbitrary age restrictions.

Reevaluation of needlescopic surgery.

PubMed

Tagaya, Nobumi; Kubota, Keiichi

2012-01-01

Although the use of single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) has spread rapidly, most procedures employ additional needlescopic instruments to ensure safety and shorten the operation time. Therefore, on the basis of results obtained in our department, the present study was conducted to reevaluate the current state of needlescopic surgery (NS) to improve the cosmetic results and postoperative quality of life of patients and to reduce cost and degree of stress on surgeons. Between May 1998 and February 2011, we performed NS in 202 patients. The diagnoses included gallbladder diseases in 151 patients, spontaneous pneumothorax in 11, thyroid tumor and axillary lymph node metastases in 10 patients each, splenic cyst and appendicitis in 4 patients each, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and postoperative abdominal wall hernia in 3 patients each, primary aldosteronism and hepatic cyst in 2 patients each, and adhesional bowel obstruction and gastric stromal tumor in 1 patient each. Under general anesthesia, one 12-mm and tow or three 2- or 3-mm ports were introduced into the operative field. The specimen was retrieved via the 12-mm wound using a plastic bag. The operations were completed in all patients without the need to convert to an open procedure. In 8 (5.3%) of the 151 cholecystectomies, a change to 5-mm instruments was required. There were no perioperative complications. Pertinent technical points included avoidance of direct organ mobilization to minimize injury, rotation of the operating table and utilization of organ gravity to create a better operative field, minimum use of needlescope to ensure safe maneuvering, and improvement of the bi-hand technique. NS is a safe and feasible procedure that allows experienced surgeons to achieve minimally invasive surgery with low morbidity, without the need to convert to a conventional or open procedure.

Exploring the safe and just operating space in an inhomogeneous world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barfuss, Wolfram; Beronov, Boyan; Wiedermann, Marc; Donges, Jonathan

2015-04-01

The Anthropocene has become reality during the 20th century, implying that our species is pressuring the Earth's ecosystems on a global scale. In the meantime, the challenge of eradicating poverty has not yet ceased to exist. Effectively dealing with these issues requires us to better understand the driving forces, feedback loops and tipping elements in the whole Earth system, constituted by natural and social components. To take a step forward in this direction, we refine an existing conceptual coevolutionary model of social and ecological domains (COPAN:EXPLOIT) by introducing inhomogeneities in the properties of local renewable resource stocks that are abstracted from real-world data. We then propose an analytical framework, 'the safe and just space'- plot, which aligns with the current debate on how to simultaneously stay within planetary boundaries (Rockström et al., 2009) and at the same time ensure that social foundations are met (Raworth, 2012). This plot presents a practical tool for jointly studying global socio-ecological models as well as real-world observations. First results from comparing the model outputs with real-world data indicate that the current state of the world is neither particularly safe nor particularly just. References: Rockström, Johan, et al. "A safe operating space for humanity." Nature 461.7263 (2009): 472-475. Raworth, Kate. "A safe and just space for humanity: can we live within the doughnut?" Oxfam Discussion Papers (2012): 1-26.

Integrated approaches to academic anaesthesia - the Cambridge experience.

PubMed

Menon, D K; Wheeler, D W; Wilkins, I A; Phillips, P D; Fletcher, S J; Penfold, N W; Smith, H L; Gupta, A K; Matta, B F

2004-08-01

There is mounting concern about the pressures experienced by University Departments of Anaesthesia, which, if lost, could threaten undergraduate peri-operative medicine teaching, development of critical appraisal skills among anaesthetists, and the future of coherent research programs. We have addressed these problems by establishing a foundation course in scientific methods and research techniques (the Cambridge SMART Course), complemented by competitive, fully funded, 12-month academic trainee attachments. Research conducted during academic attachments has been published and used to underpin substantive grant applications allowing work towards higher degrees. Following the attachment, a flexible scheme ensures safe reintroduction to clinical training. Research at consultant level is facilitated by encouraging applications for Clinician Scientist Fellowships, and by ensuring that the University Department champions, legitimises and validates the allocation of research time within the new consultant contract. We believe that these are important steps in safeguarding research and teaching in anaesthesia, critical care and peri-operative medicine.

Human Factors Engineering and testing for a wearable, long duration ultrasound system self-applied by an end user.

PubMed

Taggart, Rebecca; Langer, Matthew D; Lewis, George K

2014-01-01

One of the major challenges in the design of a new class of medical device is ensuring that the device will have a safe and effective user interface for the intended users. Human Factors Engineering addresses these concerns through direct study of how a user interacts with newly designed devices with unique features. In this study, a novel long duration, low intensity therapeutic ultrasound device is tested by 20 end users representative of the intended user population. Over 90% of users were able to operate the device successfully. The therapeutic ultrasound device was found to be reasonably safe and effective for the intended users, uses, and use environments.

Safe pill-dispensing.

PubMed

Testa, Massimiliano; Pollard, John

2007-01-01

Each patient is supplied with a smart-card containing a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) chip storing a unique identification code. The patient places the Smart-card on a pill-dispenser unit containing an RFID reader. The RFID chip is read and the code sent to a Base-station via a wireless Bluetooth link. A database containing both patient details and treatment information is queried at the Base-station using the RFID as the search key. The patient's treatment data (i.e., drug names, quantities, time, etc.) are retrieved and sent back to the pill-dispenser unit via Bluetooth. Appropriate quantities of the required medications are automatically dispensed, unless the patient has already taken his/her daily dose. Safe, confidential communication and operation is ensured.

Radioactive waste management in a hospital.

PubMed

Khan, Shoukat; Syed, At; Ahmad, Reyaz; Rather, Tanveer A; Ajaz, M; Jan, Fa

2010-01-01

Most of the tertiary care hospitals use radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Safe disposal of the radioactive waste is a vital component of the overall management of the hospital waste. An important objective in radioactive waste management is to ensure that the radiation exposure to an individual (Public, Radiation worker, Patient) and the environment does not exceed the prescribed safe limits. Disposal of Radioactive waste in public domain is undertaken in accordance with the Atomic Energy (Safe disposal of radioactive waste) rules of 1987 promulgated by the Indian Central Government Atomic Energy Act 1962. Any prospective plan of a hospital that intends using radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures needs to have sufficient infrastructural and manpower resources to keep its ambient radiation levels within specified safe limits. Regular monitoring of hospital area and radiation workers is mandatory to assess the quality of radiation safety. Records should be maintained to identify the quality and quantity of radioactive waste generated and the mode of its disposal. Radiation Safety officer plays a key role in the waste disposal operations.

Vapor-Compression Heat Pumps for Operation Aboard Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruemmele, Warren; Ungar, Eugene; Cornwell, John

2006-01-01

Vapor-compression heat pumps (including both refrigerators and heat pumps) of a proposed type would be capable of operating in microgravity and would be safe to use in enclosed environments like those of spacecraft. The designs of these pumps would incorporate modifications of, and additions to, vapor-compression cycles of heat pumps now used in normal Earth gravitation, in order to ensure efficiency and reliability during all phases of operation, including startup, shutdown, nominal continuous operation, and peak operation. Features of such a design might include any or all of the following: (1) Configuring the compressor, condenser, evaporator, valves, capillary tubes (if any), and controls to function in microgravitation; (2) Selection of a working fluid that satisfies thermodynamic requirements and is safe to use in a closed crew compartment; (3) Incorporation of a solenoid valve and/or a check valve to prevent influx of liquid to the compressor upon startup (such influx could damage the compressor); (4) Use of a diode heat pipe between the cold volume and the evaporator to limit the influx of liquid to the compressor upon startup; and (5) Use of a heated block to vaporize any liquid that arrives at the compressor inlet.

241-AY Double Shell Tanks (DST) Integrity Assessment Report

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

JENSEN, C.E.

1999-09-21

This report presents the results of the integrity assessment of the 241-AY double-shell tank farm facility located in the 200 East Area of the Hanford Site. The assessment included the design evaluation and integrity examinations of the tanks and concluded that the facility is adequately designed, is compatible with the waste, and is fit for use. Recommendations including subsequent examinations. are made to ensure the continued safe operation of the tanks.

76 FR 57044 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for “Ensuring Safe Transitions From Hospital to Home”

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-15

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Announcement of Requirements and Registration for... Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The ``Ensuring Safe Transitions... discharged patients to take charge of their health care during transitions of places of care. Innovative...

[SAFE: Making Your Children Safer on Public Playgrounds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Donna; Hudson, Susan D.

This collection of nine leaflets from the National Program for Playground Safety addresses the active role parents and other adults should take in ensuring playground safety for children. Four leaflets, each focusing on a topic related to a letter in the word "safe," provide suggestions to ensure playground safety. Leaflet…

Research on prognostics and health management of underground pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Guangdi; Yang, Meng; Yang, Fan; Ni, Na

2018-04-01

With the development of the city, the construction of the underground pipeline is more and more complex, which has relation to the safety and normal operation of the city, known as "the lifeline of the city". First of all, this paper introduces the principle of PHM (Prognostics and Health Management) technology, then proposed for fault diagnosis, prognostics and health management in view of underground pipeline, make a diagnosis and prognostics for the faults appearing in the operation of the underground pipeline, and then make a health assessment of the whole underground pipe network in order to ensure the operation of the pipeline safely. Finally, summarize and prospect the future research direction.

Analysis of older adults' domestic kitchen storage practices in the United Kingdom: identification of risk factors associated with listeriosis.

PubMed

Evans, Ellen W; Redmond, Elizabeth C

2015-04-01

Increased listeriosis incidence among older adults (≥ 60 years) has been reported internationally, with many cases reported to be sporadic and associated with ready-to-eat (RTE) food products with extended refrigerated shelf life. Given that the home kitchen is recognized as a significant location where foodborne illnesses are acquired, it is important that consumers implement safe food practices to minimize risks. This is crucial for vulnerable consumers, such as older adults. Consumer food safety recommendations in the United Kingdom to reduce the risk of listeriosis at home include (i) following "use-by" dates on unopened prepacked RTE food products, (ii) consuming RTE food products within 2 days of opening, and (iii) ensuring the safe operating temperatures of domestic refrigerators (≤ 5 °C). This study utilized observation, self-reporting, and microbiological analysis to determine actual food storage practices to identify behavioral risk factors. A domestic kitchen survey was conducted in older adult (≥ 60 years) consumers' domestic kitchens (n = 100) in South Wales, United Kingdom. Forty-one percent of foods in home refrigerators were beyond the use-by date, of which 11% were unopened RTE food products commonly associated with listeriosis. Sixty-six percent of opened RTE foods had been or were intended to be stored beyond the recommended 2 days after opening. Older adults failed to ensure safe refrigeration temperatures, with 50% of central storage and 85% of door storage areas operating at temperatures >5 °C. Older refrigerators operated at significantly (P < 0.05) higher temperatures. Given that Listeria monocytogenes was isolated in 2% of kitchens, these findings suggest that storage malpractices may have a greater effect on the potential risk of listeriosis than its presence alone. The study has determined that many older adults fail to adhere to recommendations and subject RTE foods associated with L. monocytogenes to prolonged storage at unsafe temperatures which may render food unsafe for consumption.

Safehold Attitude Determination Approach for GPM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitzpatrick, Henry; DeWeese, Keith

2012-01-01

Spacecraft sating designs generally have minimal goals with loose pointing requirements. Safe pointing orientations for three-axis stabilized spacecraft are usually chosen to put the spacecraft into a thermally safe and power-positive orientation. In addition, safe mode designs are required to be simple and reliable. This simplicity lends itself to the usage of analog sun sensors, because digital sun sensors will add unwanted complexity to the safe hold mode. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission Core Observatory will launch into lower earth orbit (LEO) at an inclination of 65 degrees. The GPM instrument suite consists of an active radar system and a passive microwave imager to provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow. The complexity and precision of these instruments along with the operational constraints of the mission result in tight pointing requirements during all phases of the mission. To ensure the instruments are not damaged during spacecraft safing, thermal constraints dictate that the solar pointing orientation must be maintained to better than 6.5 degrees. This requirement is outside the capabilities of a typical analog sun sensor suite, primarily due to the effects of Earth's albedo. To ensure mission success, a new analog sensor, along with the appropriate algorithms, is needed. This paper discusses the design issues involving albedo effects on spacecraft pointing and the development of a simple, low-cost analog sensor and algorithm that will address the needs of the GPM mission. In addition, the algorithms are designed to be easily integrated into the existing attitude determination software by using common interfaces. The sensor design is based on a heritage, commercial off-the-shelf analog sun sensors with a limited field-of-view to reduce the effects of Earth's albedo. High fidelity simulation results are presented that demonstrate the efficacy of the design.

High-Temperature Fluid-Wall Reactor Technology Research, Test and Evaluation Performed at Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, MS, for the USAF Installation/Restoration Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

under field conditions. Sampling and analytical laboratory activities were performed by Ecology and Environment, Inc., and California Analytical...the proposed AER3 test conditions. All test samples would be obtained onsite by Ecology and Environment, Inc., of Buffalo, New York, and sent to...ensuring its safe operation. Ecology and Environment performed onsite verification sampling. This activity was coordinated with the Huber project team

Automated Transfer Vehicle Proximity Flight Safety Overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornier, Dominique; Berthelier, David; Requiston, Helene; Zekri, Eric; Chase, Richard

2005-12-01

The European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is an unmanned transportation spacecraft designed to contribute to the logistic servicing of the ISS. The ATV will be launched by ARIANE 5 and, after phasing and rendezvous maneuvers, it autonomously docks to the International Space Station (ISS).The ATV control is nominally handled by the Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) function using computers, software, sensors and actuators. During rendezvous operations, in order to cover the extreme situations where the GNC function fails to ensure a safe trajectory with respect to the ISS, a segregated Proximity Flight Safety (PFS) function is activated : this function will initiate a collision avoidance maneuver which will place the ATV on a trajectory ensuring safety with respect to the ISS. The PFS function relies on segregated computers, the Monitoring and Safing Units (MSUs) running specific software, on four dedicated thrusters, on dedicated batteries and on specific interfaces with ATV gyrometers.The PFS function being the ultimate protection to ensure ISS safety in case of ATV malfunction, specific rules have been applied to its implementation, in particular for the development of the MSU software, which is critical since any failure of this software may result in catastrophic consequences.This paper provides an overview of the ATV Proximity Flight Safety function. After a short description of the overall ATV avionics architecture and its rationale, the second part of the paper presents more details on the PFS function both in terms of hardware and software implementation. The third part of the paper is dedicated to the MSU software validation method that is specific considering its criticality. The last part of the paper provides information on the different operations related to the use of the PFS function during an ATV flight.

Direct coupling of pulsed radio frequency and pulsed high power in novel pulsed power system for plasma immersion ion implantation.

PubMed

Gong, Chunzhi; Tian, Xiubo; Yang, Shiqin; Fu, Ricky K Y; Chu, Paul K

2008-04-01

A novel power supply system that directly couples pulsed high voltage (HV) pulses and pulsed 13.56 MHz radio frequency (rf) has been developed for plasma processes. In this system, the sample holder is connected to both the rf generator and HV modulator. The coupling circuit in the hybrid system is composed of individual matching units, low pass filters, and voltage clamping units. This ensures the safe operation of the rf system even when the HV is on. The PSPICE software is utilized to optimize the design of circuits. The system can be operated in two modes. The pulsed rf discharge may serve as either the seed plasma source for glow discharge or high-density plasma source for plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). The pulsed high-voltage glow discharge is induced when a rf pulse with a short duration or a larger time interval between the rf and HV pulses is used. Conventional PIII can also be achieved. Experiments conducted on the new system confirm steady and safe operation.

Refurbishment of one-person regenerative air revitalization system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Ferolyn T.

1989-01-01

Regenerative processes for the revitalization of spacecraft atmospheres and reclamation of waste waters are essential for making long-term manned space missions a reality. Processes studied include: static feed water electrolysis for oxygen generation, Bosch carbon dioxide reduction, electrochemical carbon dioxide concentration, vapor compression distillation water recovery, and iodine monitoring. The objectives were to: provide engineering support to Marshall Space Flight Center personnel throughout all phases of the test program, e.g., planning through data analysis; fabricate, test, and deliver to Marshall Space Flight Center an electrochemical carbon dioxide module and test stand; fabricate and deliver an iodine monitor; evaluate the electrochemical carbon dioxide concentrator subsystem configuration and its ability to ensure safe utilization of hydrogen gas; evaluate techniques for recovering oxygen from a product oxygen and carbon dioxide stream; and evaluate the performance of an electrochemical carbon dioxide concentrator module to operate without hydrogen as a method of safe haven operation. Each of the tasks were related in that all focused on providing a better understanding of the function, operation, and performance of developmental pieces of environmental control and life support system hardware.

Medicines optimisation: priorities and challenges.

PubMed

Kaufman, Gerri

2016-03-23

Medicines optimisation is promoted in a guideline published in 2015 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Four guiding principles underpin medicines optimisation: aim to understand the patient's experience; ensure evidence-based choice of medicines; ensure medicines use is as safe as possible; and make medicines optimisation part of routine practice. Understanding the patient experience is important to improve adherence to medication regimens. This involves communication, shared decision making and respect for patient preferences. Evidence-based choice of medicines is important for clinical and cost effectiveness. Systems and processes for the reporting of medicines-related safety incidents have to be improved if medicines use is to be as safe as possible. Ensuring safe practice in medicines use when patients are transferred between organisations, and managing the complexities of polypharmacy are imperative. A medicines use review can help to ensure that medicines optimisation forms part of routine practice.

Nonappropriated Fund Employees: Development of Revised NAF (Nonappropriated Fund) Employee Appraisal Form.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-07-01

practices to ensure the health and well-being of self and co- workers . NAF 15 22. [MANAGERIAL ABILITY] The employee demonstrates the ability to plan...ABILITY] 21. The employee uses safe work practices to ensure the health and "- well-being of self and co- workers . [SAFETY MINDEDNESS] 22. The employee ...5 Outstanding COL COL APPRAISAL ITEMS 2 19. The employee uses safe work practices to ensure the health and well-being of self and co- workers . [SAFETY

Teach Children Pedestrian Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faber, Marilyn M.

1997-01-01

Provides advice on teaching children safe pedestrian and bicycling skills to reduce accidents caused by mistakes made in crossing streets. Provides an interactive safe-walker's story, tips for walking safely, step-by-step instructions for safe street crossing, bicycle safety information, a quiz for safe biking, and guidelines to ensure a proper…

Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Airborne Science) Robert Rivera

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-05-14

Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Robert Rivera during the preparation and execution of the Global Hawk airborne missions under NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

[Operating Room Nurses' Experiences of Securing for Patient Safety].

PubMed

Park, Kwang Ok; Kim, Jong Kyung; Kim, Myoung Sook

2015-10-01

This study was done to evaluate the experience of securing patient safety in hospital operating rooms. Experiential data were collected from 15 operating room nurses through in-depth interviews. The main question was "Could you describe your experience with patient safety in the operating room?". Qualitative data from the field and transcribed notes were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory methodology. The core category of experience with patient safety in the operating room was 'trying to maintain principles of patient safety during high-risk surgical procedures'. The participants used two interactional strategies: 'attempt continuous improvement', 'immersion in operation with sharing issues of patient safety'. The results indicate that the important factors for ensuring the safety of patients in the operating room are manpower, education, and a system for patient safety. Successful and safe surgery requires communication, teamwork and recognition of the importance of patient safety by the surgical team.

The sensing and perception subsystem of the NASA research telerobot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, B.; Gennery, D. B.; Bon, B.; Litwin, T.

1987-01-01

A useful space telerobot for on-orbit assembly, maintenance, and repair tasks must have a sensing and perception subsystem which can provide the locations, orientations, and velocities of all relevant objects in the work environment. This function must be accomplished with sufficient speed and accuracy to permit effective grappling and manipulation. Appropriate symbolic names must be attached to each object for use by higher-level planning algorithms. Sensor data and inferences must be presented to the remote human operator in a way that is both comprehensible in ensuring safe autonomous operation and useful for direct teleoperation. Research at JPL toward these objectives is described.

Laser Safety Method For Duplex Open Loop Parallel Optical Link

DOEpatents

Baumgartner, Steven John; Hedin, Daniel Scott; Paschal, Matthew James

2003-12-02

A method and apparatus are provided to ensure that laser optical power does not exceed a "safe" level in an open loop parallel optical link in the event that a fiber optic ribbon cable is broken or otherwise severed. A duplex parallel optical link includes a transmitter and receiver pair and a fiber optic ribbon that includes a designated number of channels that cannot be split. The duplex transceiver includes a corresponding transmitter and receiver that are physically attached to each other and cannot be detached therefrom, so as to ensure safe, laser optical power in the event that the fiber optic ribbon cable is broken or severed. Safe optical power is ensured by redundant current and voltage safety checks.

Chapter 5, "License Renewal and Aging Management for Continued Service

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

Naus, Dan J

As of August 2011, there were 104 commercial nuclear power reactors licensed to operate in 31 states in the United States. Initial operating licenses in the United States are granted for a period of 40 years. In order to help assure an adequate energy supply, the USNRC has established a timely license renewal process and clear requirements that are needed to ensure safe plant operation for an extended plant life. The principals of license renewal and the basic requirements that address license renewal are identified as well as additional sources of guidance that can be utilized as part of themore » license renewal process. Aging management program inspections and operating experience related to the concrete and steel containment structures are provided. Finally, several lessons learned are provided based on containment operating experience.« less

Inherently Safe Fission Power System for Lunar Outposts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schriener, Timothy M.; El-Genk, Mohamed S.

2013-09-01

This paper presents the Solid Core-Sectored Compact Reactor (SC-SCoRe) and power system for future lunar outposts. The power system nominally provides 38 kWe continuously for 21 years, employs static components and has no single point failures in reactor cooling or power generation. The reactor core has six sectors, each has a separate pair of primary and secondary loops with liquid NaK-56 working fluid, thermoelectric (TE) power conversion and heat-pipes radiator panels. The electromagnetic (EM) pumps in the primary and secondary loops, powered with separate TE power units, ensure operation reliability and passive decay heat removal from the reactor after shutdown. The reactor poses no radiological concerns during launch, and remains sufficiently subcritical, with the radial reflector dissembled, when submerged in wet sand and the core flooded with seawater, following a launch abort accident. After 300 years of storage below grade on the Moon, the total radioactivity in the post-operation reactor drops below 164 Ci, a low enough radioactivity for a recovery and safe handling of the reactor.

Unintended consequences of regulating drinking water in rural Canadian communities: examples from Atlantic Canada.

PubMed

Kot, Megan; Castleden, Heather; Gagnon, Graham A

2011-09-01

Studies that explore social capital and political will [corrected] in the context of safe drinking water provision in [corrected] Canada are limited. This paper presents findings from a study that examines the capacity of rural Canadian communities to attain regulatory compliance for drinking water. Interviews were conducted with water operators and managers in ten rural communities across Atlantic Canada to identify the burden of compliance arising from the implementation of, and adherence to, drinking water regulations. This research identifies the operator as being particularly burdened by regulatory compliance, often resulting in negative consequences including job stress and a strained relationship with the community they serve. Findings indicate that while regulations are vital to ensuring safe drinking water, not all communities have the resources in place to rise to the challenge of compliance. As a result, some communities are being negatively impacted by these regulations, rather than benefit from their intended positive effect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Management of the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle Using a Goal-Oriented Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braman, Julia M. B.; Wagner, David A.

2010-01-01

Safe human exploration in space missions requires careful management of limited resources such as breathable air and stored electrical energy. Daily activities for astronauts must be carefully planned with respect to such resources, and usage must be monitored as activities proceed to ensure that they can be completed while maintaining safe resource margins. Such planning and monitoring can be complex because they depend on models of resource usage, the activities being planned, and uncertainties. This paper describes a system - and the technology behind it - for energy management of the NASA-Johnson Space Center's Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicles (SEV), that provides, in an onboard advisory mode, situational awareness to astronauts and real-time guidance to mission operators. This new capability was evaluated during this year's Desert RATS (Research and Technology Studies) planetary exploration analog test in Arizona. This software aided ground operators and crew members in modifying the day s activities based on the real-time execution of the plan and on energy data received from the rovers.

Interpreting Space-Mission LET Requirements for SEGR in Power MOSFETs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Ladbury, Ray; Goldsman, Neil; Kim, Hak; Batchelor, David; Phan, Anthony

2010-01-01

Single-event gate rupture (SEGR) is a potentially catastrophic failure mechanism of power MOSFETs biased in the off-state. In part due to the severity of-SEGR consequences and in part due to the difficulty of accurated SEGR rate estimation, SEGR mitigation me1hodologies emphasize risk avoidance, using heavy-ion accelerator testing to define safe operating conditions for a surface-incident linear energy transfer {LET). This "safe-operating area" (SOA) within which the device may be biased without experiencing SEGR is then often derated by a prescribed factor to ensure low risk of SEGR. Although research in 1996 indicated that such LET-based SEGR hardness requiremen1s could provide false assurance of safe operation unless one also considered· ion energy], most mission SEGR requirements are still specified in terms of surface-incident LET. Moreover, terrestrial SEGR tests at a given surface-incident LET are limited by the small number of ion species and energies available at heavy-ion accelerators. In comparison, the on-orbit radiation environment is composed of all of the naturally-occurring elements with peak fluxes at nearly GeV/nucleon energies. The primary objective of this study is to examine whether typical derating of high-energy heavy-ion accelerator test data bounds the risk for SEGR from higher-energy on-orbit ions with the mission LET requirement.

Airport Traffic Conflict Detection and Resolution Algorithm Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Denise R.; Chartrand, Ryan C.; Wilson, Sara R.; Commo, Sean A.; Otero, Sharon D.; Barker, Glover D.

2012-01-01

A conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) concept for the terminal maneuvering area (TMA) was evaluated in a fast-time batch simulation study at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center. The CD&R concept is being designed to enhance surface situation awareness and provide cockpit alerts of potential conflicts during runway, taxi, and low altitude air-to-air operations. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the performance of aircraft-based CD&R algorithms in the TMA, as a function of surveillance accuracy. This paper gives an overview of the CD&R concept, simulation study, and results. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concept for the year 2025 and beyond envisions the movement of large numbers of people and goods in a safe, efficient, and reliable manner [1]. NextGen will remove many of the constraints in the current air transportation system, support a wider range of operations, and provide an overall system capacity up to three times that of current operating levels. Emerging NextGen operational concepts [2], such as four-dimensional trajectory based airborne and surface operations, equivalent visual operations, and super density arrival and departure operations, require a different approach to air traffic management and as a result, a dramatic shift in the tasks, roles, and responsibilities for the flight deck and air traffic control (ATC) to ensure a safe, sustainable air transportation system.

Vibration analysis in reciprocating compressors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kacani, V.

2017-08-01

This paper presents the influence of modelling on the mechanical natural frequencies, the effect of inertia loads on the structure vibration, the impact of the crank gear damping on speed fluctuation to ensure a safe operation and increasing the reliability of reciprocating compressors. In this paper it is shown, that conventional way of modelling is not sufficient. For best results it is required to include the whole system (bare block, frame, coupling, main driver, vessels, pipe work, etc.) in the model (see results in Table 1).

Methodology to identify risk-significant components for inservice inspection and testing

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

Anderson, M.T.; Hartley, R.S.; Jones, J.L. Jr.

1992-08-01

Periodic inspection and testing of vital system components should be performed to ensure the safe and reliable operation of Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear processing facilities. Probabilistic techniques may be used to help identify and rank components by their relative risk. A risk-based ranking would allow varied DOE sites to implement inspection and testing programs in an effective and cost-efficient manner. This report describes a methodology that can be used to rank components, while addressing multiple risk issues.

Online Cable Tester and Rerouter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Mark; Medelius, Pedro

2012-01-01

Hardware and algorithms have been developed to transfer electrical power and data connectivity safely, efficiently, and automatically from an identified damaged/defective wire in a cable to an alternate wire path. The combination of online cable testing capabilities, along with intelligent signal rerouting algorithms, allows the user to overcome the inherent difficulty of maintaining system integrity and configuration control, while autonomously rerouting signals and functions without introducing new failure modes. The incorporation of this capability will increase the reliability of systems by ensuring system availability during operations.

Radioactive Waste Management in A Hospital

PubMed Central

Khan, Shoukat; Syed, AT; Ahmad, Reyaz; Rather, Tanveer A.; Ajaz, M; Jan, FA

2010-01-01

Most of the tertiary care hospitals use radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Safe disposal of the radioactive waste is a vital component of the overall management of the hospital waste. An important objective in radioactive waste management is to ensure that the radiation exposure to an individual (Public, Radiation worker, Patient) and the environment does not exceed the prescribed safe limits. Disposal of Radioactive waste in public domain is undertaken in accordance with the Atomic Energy (Safe disposal of radioactive waste) rules of 1987 promulgated by the Indian Central Government Atomic Energy Act 1962. Any prospective plan of a hospital that intends using radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures needs to have sufficient infrastructural and manpower resources to keep its ambient radiation levels within specified safe limits. Regular monitoring of hospital area and radiation workers is mandatory to assess the quality of radiation safety. Records should be maintained to identify the quality and quantity of radioactive waste generated and the mode of its disposal. Radiation Safety officer plays a key role in the waste disposal operations. PMID:21475524

Curved diamond-crystal spectrographs for x-ray free-electron laser noninvasive diagnostics.

PubMed

Terentyev, Sergey; Blank, Vladimir; Kolodziej, Tomasz; Shvyd'ko, Yuri

2016-12-01

We report on the manufacturing and X-ray tests of bent diamond-crystal X-ray spectrographs, designed for noninvasive diagnostics of the X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) spectra in the spectral range from 5 to 15 keV. The key component is a curved, 20-μm thin, single crystalline diamond triangular plate in the (110) orientation. The radius of curvature can be varied between R = 0.6 m and R = 0.1 m in a controlled fashion, ensuring imaging in a spectral window of up to 60 eV for ≃8 keV X-rays. All of the components of the bending mechanism (about 10 parts) are manufactured from diamond, thus ensuring safe operations in intense XFEL beams. The spectrograph is transparent to 88% for 5-keV photons and to 98% for 15-keV photons. Therefore, it can be used for noninvasive diagnostics of the X-ray spectra during XFEL operations.

Curved diamond-crystal spectrographs for x-ray free-electron laser noninvasive diagnostics

DOE PAGES

Terentyev, Sergey; Blank, Vladimir; Kolodziej, Tomasz; ...

2016-12-29

Here, we report on the manufacturing and X-ray tests of bent diamond-crystal X-ray spectrographs, designed for noninvasive diagnostics of the X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) spectra in the spectral range from 5 to 15 keV. The key component is a curved, 20-µm thin, single crystalline diamond triangular plate in the (110) orientation. The radius of curvature can be varied between R = 0.6 m and R = 0.1 m in a controlled fashion, ensuring imaging in a spectral window of up to 60 eV for ' 8 keV X-rays. All of the components of the bending mechanism (about 10 parts) aremore » manufactured from diamond, thus ensuring safe operations in intense XFEL beams. The spectrograph is transparent to 88% for 5-keV photons, and to 98% for 15-keV photons. Therefore, it can be used for noninvasive diagnostics of the X-ray spectra during XFEL operations.« less

Curved diamond-crystal spectrographs for x-ray free-electron laser noninvasive diagnostics

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

Terentyev, Sergey; Blank, Vladimir; Kolodziej, Tomasz

Here, we report on the manufacturing and X-ray tests of bent diamond-crystal X-ray spectrographs, designed for noninvasive diagnostics of the X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) spectra in the spectral range from 5 to 15 keV. The key component is a curved, 20-µm thin, single crystalline diamond triangular plate in the (110) orientation. The radius of curvature can be varied between R = 0.6 m and R = 0.1 m in a controlled fashion, ensuring imaging in a spectral window of up to 60 eV for ' 8 keV X-rays. All of the components of the bending mechanism (about 10 parts) aremore » manufactured from diamond, thus ensuring safe operations in intense XFEL beams. The spectrograph is transparent to 88% for 5-keV photons, and to 98% for 15-keV photons. Therefore, it can be used for noninvasive diagnostics of the X-ray spectra during XFEL operations.« less

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Tank Overfill Safety Advisory

Science.gov Websites

rises above set safe levels. However, even if conditions result in a fuel release, an ignition source vehicle tanks are all equipped with PRDs to ensure safe levels of LPG pressure in the tanks, and we are practices for OPDs to ensure they work properly. The US DOE Clean Cities (DOE-CC) program is working with

Ecological and socio-demographic differences in maternal care services in Nepal

PubMed Central

Singh, Rajvir

2015-01-01

Background. Nepal is set to achieve MDG-5 goals by end of 2015. However, maternal health parameters will remain way below those of developed countries. This study was conducted to assess the factors contributing to utilization of ANC and safe delivery services with the aim of furthering overall maternal health parameters in Nepal. Material and Methods. Using survey data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011, socio-economic and demographic factors associated with the utilization of ANC and safe delivery services among women aged 15–49 years who gave births during the last three years preceding the survey are examined. Data was segregated into three ecological zones: Mountain, Hill and Terai zones for univariate analyses. Data from all three zones was then pooled for univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses of Antenatal Care and Safe Delivery services in Nepal. Results and Conclusion. The analyses show that rural place of residence is at a disadvantage in receiving ANC (OR, 0.8; 95% CI [0.7–0.9]) and ensuring safe delivery (OR, 0.6; 95% CI [0.5–0.7]). Woman’s education, husband’s education and wealth quintile are significant factors in ensuring ANC and safe delivery services. Further, the analyses show that Budh/Muslim/Kirat/Christians are at a significant disadvantage in ensuring safe delivery (OR, 0.8; 95% CI [0.7–0.9]) as compared with Hindus. Though ecological zones lost their significance in receiving ANC, women in the Terai region are at a significant advantage in ensuring safe delivery (OR, 1.7; 95% CI [1.2–2.1]). Recommendation. Segregated targets should be set for the different ecological zones for further improvement in maternal mortality rates in Nepal. PMID:26355429

Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rios, Joseph

2016-01-01

Currently, there is no established infrastructure to enable and safely manage the widespread use of low-altitude airspace and UAS flight operations. Given this, and understanding that the FAA faces a mandate to modernize the present air traffic management system through computer automation and significantly reduce the number of air traffic controllers by FY 2020, the FAA maintains that a comprehensive, yet fully automated UAS traffic management (UTM) system for low-altitude airspace is needed. The concept of UTM is to begin by leveraging concepts from the system of roads, lanes, stop signs, rules and lights that govern vehicles on the ground today. Building on its legacy of work in air traffic management (ATM), NASA is working with industry to develop prototype technologies for a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system that would evolve airspace integration procedures for enabling safe, efficient low-altitude flight operations that autonomously manage UAS operating in an approved low-altitude airspace environment. UTM is a cloud-based system that will autonomously manage all traffic at low altitudes to include UASs being operated beyond visual line of sight of an operator. UTM would thus enable safe and efficient flight operations by providing fully integrated traffic management services such as airspace design, corridors, dynamic geofencing, severe weather and wind avoidance, congestion management, terrain avoidance, route planning re-routing, separation management, sequencing spacing, and contingency management. UTM removes the need for human operators to continuously monitor aircraft operating in approved areas. NASA envisions concepts for two types of UTM systems. The first would be a small portable system, which could be moved between geographical areas in support of operations such as precision agriculture and public safety. The second would be a Persistent system, which would support low-altitude operations in an approved area by providing continuous automated coverage. Both would require persistent communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) coverage to track, ensure, and monitor conformance. UTM is creating an airspace management tool that allows the ATM system to accommodate the number of UAS that will operate in the low altitude airspace. The analogy is just because we have a car, whether its autonomous or someone is driving, does not diminish the need for a road or road signs or rules of the road.

SAVY-4000 Surveillance and Life Extension Program Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Report

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

Stone, Timothy A.; Blair, Michael W.; Weis, Eric

2014-03-03

The Packaging Surveillance Program section of the DOE M441.1-1 /sup>1, Nuclear Material Packaging Manual (DOE, 2008) requires DOE contractors to “ensure that a surveillance program is established and implemented to ensure the nuclear material storage package continues to meet its design criteria.” In order to ensure continuing safe storage of nuclear material and the maximization of risk reduction, TA-55 has established a Surveillance Program to ensure storage container integrity for operations within its specified design life. The LANL SAVY-4000 Field Surveillance Plan2 defines the near-term field surveillance plan for SAVY-4000 containers as required by the Manual. A long-term surveillance planmore » will be established based on the results of the first several years of surveillance and the results of the lifetime extension studies as defined in the Accelerated Aging Plan3. This report details progress in positioning the Surveillance Program for successful implementation in FY14 and status of the Design Life Extension Program in terms of its implementation and data collection for FY13.« less

Shift manager workload assessment - A case study

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

Berntson, K.; Kozak, A.; Malcolm, J. S.

2006-07-01

In early 2003, Bruce Power restarted two of its previously laid up units in the Bruce A generating station, Units 3 and 4. However, due to challenges relating to the availability of personnel with active Shift Manager licenses, an alternate shift structure was proposed to ensure the safe operation of the station. This alternate structure resulted in a redistribution of responsibility, and a need to assess the resulting changes in workload. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited was contracted to perform a workload assessment based on the new shift structure, and to provide recommendations, if necessary, to ensure Shift Managers hadmore » sufficient resources available to perform their required duties. This paper discusses the performance of that assessment, and lessons learned as a result of the work performed during the Restart project. (authors)« less

Towards a damage tolerance philosophy for composite materials and structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Brien, T. Kevin

1990-01-01

A damage-threshold/fail-safe approach is proposed to ensure that composite structures are both sufficiently durable for economy of operation, as well as adequately fail-safe or damage tolerant for flight safety. Matrix cracks are assumed to exist throughout the off-axis plies. Delamination onset is predicted using a strain energy release rate characterization. Delamination growth is accounted for in one of three ways: either analytically, using delamination growth laws in conjunction with strain energy release rate analyses incorporating delamination resistance curves; experimentally, using measured stiffness loss; or conservatively, assuming delamination onset corresponds to catastrophic delamination growth. Fail-safety is assessed by accounting for the accumulation of delaminations through the thickness. A tension fatigue life prediction for composite laminates is presented as a case study to illustrate how this approach may be implemented. Suggestions are made for applying the damage-threshold/fail-safe approach to compression fatigue, tension/compression fatigue, and compression strength following low velocity impact.

Towards a damage tolerance philosophy for composite materials and structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Obrien, T. Kevin

1988-01-01

A damage-threshold/fail-safe approach is proposed to ensure that composite structures are both sufficiently durable for economy of operation, as well as adequately fail-safe or damage tolerant for flight safety. Matrix cracks are assumed to exist throughout the off-axis plies. Delamination onset is predicted using a strain energy release rate characterization. Delamination growth is accounted for in one of three ways: either analytically, using delamination growth laws in conjunction with strain energy release rate analyses incorporating delamination resistance curves; experimentally, using measured stiffness loss; or conservatively, assuming delamination onset corresponds to catastrophic delamination growth. Fail-safety is assessed by accounting for the accumulation of delaminations through the thickness. A tension fatigue life prediction for composite laminates is presented as a case study to illustrate how this approach may be implemented. Suggestions are made for applying the damage-threshold/fail-safe approach to compression fatigue, tension/compression fatigue, and compression strength following low velocity impact.

Protecting computer-based medical devices: defending against viruses and other threats.

PubMed

2005-07-01

The increasing integration of computer hardware has exposed medical devices to greater risks than ever before. More and more devices rely on commercial off-the-shelf software and operating systems, which are vulnerable to the increasing proliferation of viruses and other malicious programs that target computers. Therefore, it is necessary for hospitals to take steps such as those outlined in this article to ensure that their computer-based devices are made safe and continue to remain safe in the future. Maintaining the security of medical devices requires planning, careful execution, and a commitment of resources. A team should be created to develop a process for surveying the security status of all computerized devices in the hospital and making sure that patches and other updates are applied as needed. These patches and updates should be approved by the medical system supplier before being implemented. The team should consider using virtual local area networks to isolate susceptible devices on the hospital's network. All security measures should be carefully documented, and the documentation should be kept up-to-date. Above all, care must be taken to ensure that medical device security involves a collaborative, supportive partnership between the hospital's information technology staff and biomedical engineering personnel.

Succession of bacterial and fungal communities within biofilms of a chlorinated drinking water distribution system.

PubMed

Douterelo, I; Fish, K E; Boxall, J B

2018-09-15

Understanding the temporal dynamics of multi-species biofilms in Drinking Water Distribution Systems (DWDS) is essential to ensure safe, high quality water reaches consumers after it passes through these high surface area reactors. This research studied the succession characteristics of fungal and bacterial communities under controlled environmental conditions fully representative of operational DWDS. Microbial communities were observed to increase in complexity after one month of biofilm development but they did not reach stability after three months. Changes in cell numbers were faster at the start of biofilm formation and tended to decrease over time, despite the continuing changes in bacterial community composition. Fungal diversity was markedly less than bacterial diversity and had a lag in responding to temporal dynamics. A core-mixed community of bacteria including Pseudomonas, Massillia and Sphingomonas and the fungi Acremonium and Neocosmopora were present constantly and consistently in the biofilms over time and conditions studied. Monitoring and managing biofilms and such ubiquitous core microbial communities are key control strategies to ensuring the delivery of safe drinking water via the current ageing DWDS infrastructure. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

One Engine Inoperative (OEI) and Autorotation For Heavy Lift Rotorcraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Tom

2012-01-01

Federal Aviation Administration will certainly require the Heavy Lift Rotorcraft to be operated under Category A performance and operations requirements. Because of the weight, no operation will be allowed except Category A according to FAA Part 29.1(c). This means that any where along the flight path, the aircraft must be able to land safely following an engine failure or continue flight. A repeatable flight profile must be developed and executed to ensure that the aircraft can be safely landed or flown away depending on its location on the flight profile. This means that there will be no Height-Velocity testing required as is currently required for Part 29 Category B. Since all the configurations shown to date are different than existing rotorcraft, each type would have to develop their individual requirements under existing special conditions FAA Part 21.17(b). This means the FAA will take the opportunity to negotiate additional requirements or change requirements to ensure safety. For example, since the tiltrotor did not fit normal rotorcraft category, new rules were negotiated between the applicant and the FAA. As a result of this negotiation, performance requirements for Category A were increased. The rules were written in terms of guaranteed performance instead of Category A requirements. Detailed discussion will follow later. The proposed tiltrotor would likely follow along with the current tiltrotor rules with the possibility of increase Category A performance requirements. Compounding with addition of wing and auxiliary thrust to both the tandem and coaxial rotor would result in new special condition aircraft. To my knowledge, no compound tandem or compound coaxial rotor has ever been certified by FAA.

The End-To-End Safety Verification Process Implemented to Ensure Safe Operations of the Columbus Research Module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arndt, J.; Kreimer, J.

2010-09-01

The European Space Laboratory COLUMBUS was launched in February 2008 with NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis. Since successful docking and activation this manned laboratory forms part of the International Space Station(ISS). Depending on the objectives of the Mission Increments the on-orbit configuration of the COLUMBUS Module varies with each increment. This paper describes the end-to-end verification which has been implemented to ensure safe operations under the condition of a changing on-orbit configuration. That verification process has to cover not only the configuration changes as foreseen by the Mission Increment planning but also those configuration changes on short notice which become necessary due to near real-time requests initiated by crew or Flight Control, and changes - most challenging since unpredictable - due to on-orbit anomalies. Subject of the safety verification is on one hand the on orbit configuration itself including the hardware and software products, on the other hand the related Ground facilities needed for commanding of and communication to the on-orbit System. But also the operational products, e.g. the procedures prepared for crew and ground control in accordance to increment planning, are subject of the overall safety verification. In order to analyse the on-orbit configuration for potential hazards and to verify the implementation of the related Safety required hazard controls, a hierarchical approach is applied. The key element of the analytical safety integration of the whole COLUMBUS Payload Complement including hardware owned by International Partners is the Integrated Experiment Hazard Assessment(IEHA). The IEHA especially identifies those hazardous scenarios which could potentially arise through physical and operational interaction of experiments. A major challenge is the implementation of a Safety process which owns quite some rigidity in order to provide reliable verification of on-board Safety and which likewise provides enough flexibility which is desired by manned space operations with scientific objectives. In the period of COLUMBUS operations since launch already a number of lessons learnt could be implemented especially in the IEHA that allow to improve the flexibility of on-board operations without degradation of Safety.

Supporting the future nuclear workforce with computer-based procedures

DOE PAGES

Oxstrand, Johanna; Le Blanc, Katya

2016-05-01

Here we see that computer-based tools have dramatically increased ease and efficiency of everyday tasks. Gone are the days of paging through a paper catalog, transcribing product numbers, and calculating totals. Today, a consumer can find a product online with a simple search engine, and then purchase it in a matter of a few clicks. Paper catalogs have their place, but it is hard to imagine life without on-line shopping sites. All tasks conducted in a nuclear power plant are guided by procedures, which helps ensure safe and reliable operation of the plants. One prominent goal of the nuclear industrymore » is to minimize the risk of human errors. To achieve this goal one has to ensure tasks are correctly and consistently executed. This is partly achieved by training and by a structured approach to task execution, which is provided by procedures and work instructions. Procedures are used in the nuclear industry to direct workers' actions in a proper sequence. The governing idea is to minimize the reliance on memory and choices made in the field. However, the procedure document may not contain sufficient information to successfully complete the task. Therefore, the worker might have to carry additional documents such as turnover sheets, operation experience, drawings, and other procedures to the work site. The nuclear industry is operated with paper procedures like paper catalogs of the past. A field worker may carry a large stack of documents needed to complete a task to the field. Even though the paper process has helped keep the industry safe for decades, there are limitations to using paper. Paper procedures are static (i.e., the content does not change after the document is printed), difficult to search, and rely heavily on the field worker’s situational awareness and ability to consistently meet the high expectation of human performance excellence. With computer-based procedures (CBPs) that stack of papers may be reduced to the size of a small tablet or even a smart phone. Instead of manually matching equipment identification numbers listed in the procedure with the number on the physical equipment the field worker can simply scan a barcode to ensure the correct valve is opened while simultaneously creating a record. Instead of navigating through a maze of cross-references, CBPs enable intelligent work path navigation which accounts for past decisions and observation, thereby enabling more efficient and safe task completion.« less

Supporting the future nuclear workforce with computer-based procedures

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

Oxstrand, Johanna; Le Blanc, Katya

Here we see that computer-based tools have dramatically increased ease and efficiency of everyday tasks. Gone are the days of paging through a paper catalog, transcribing product numbers, and calculating totals. Today, a consumer can find a product online with a simple search engine, and then purchase it in a matter of a few clicks. Paper catalogs have their place, but it is hard to imagine life without on-line shopping sites. All tasks conducted in a nuclear power plant are guided by procedures, which helps ensure safe and reliable operation of the plants. One prominent goal of the nuclear industrymore » is to minimize the risk of human errors. To achieve this goal one has to ensure tasks are correctly and consistently executed. This is partly achieved by training and by a structured approach to task execution, which is provided by procedures and work instructions. Procedures are used in the nuclear industry to direct workers' actions in a proper sequence. The governing idea is to minimize the reliance on memory and choices made in the field. However, the procedure document may not contain sufficient information to successfully complete the task. Therefore, the worker might have to carry additional documents such as turnover sheets, operation experience, drawings, and other procedures to the work site. The nuclear industry is operated with paper procedures like paper catalogs of the past. A field worker may carry a large stack of documents needed to complete a task to the field. Even though the paper process has helped keep the industry safe for decades, there are limitations to using paper. Paper procedures are static (i.e., the content does not change after the document is printed), difficult to search, and rely heavily on the field worker’s situational awareness and ability to consistently meet the high expectation of human performance excellence. With computer-based procedures (CBPs) that stack of papers may be reduced to the size of a small tablet or even a smart phone. Instead of manually matching equipment identification numbers listed in the procedure with the number on the physical equipment the field worker can simply scan a barcode to ensure the correct valve is opened while simultaneously creating a record. Instead of navigating through a maze of cross-references, CBPs enable intelligent work path navigation which accounts for past decisions and observation, thereby enabling more efficient and safe task completion.« less

76 FR 38463 - SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act: Minimum Licensing Standards and Oversight Responsibilities

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-30

... Parts 30 and 3400 SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act: Minimum Licensing Standards and Oversight... No. FR-5271-F-03] RIN 2502-A170 SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act: Minimum Licensing Standards and... pursuant to the Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act or Act), to ensure...

Data Sharing to Improve Close Approach Monitoring and Safety of Flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Joseph; DalBello, Richard; Hope, Dean; Wauthier, Pascal; Douglas, Tim; Inghram, Travis

2009-03-01

Individual satellite operators have done a good job of developing the internal protocols and procedures to ensure the safe operation of their fleets. However, data sharing among operators for close approach monitoring is conducted in an ad-hoc manner during relocations, and there is currently no standardized agreement among operators on the content, format, and distribution protocol for data sharing. Crowding in geostationary orbit, participation by new commercial actors, government interest in satellite constellations, and highly maneuverable spacecraft all suggest that satellite operators will need to begin a dialogue on standard communication protocols and procedure to improve situation awareness. We will give an overview of the current best practices among different operators for close approach monitoring and discuss the concept of an active data center to improve data sharing, conjunction monitoring, and avoidance among satellite operators. We will also report on the progress and lessons learned from a Data Center prototype conducted by several operators over a one year period.

Report of a workshop on ensuring sustainable access to safe blood in developing countries: International Blood Safety Forum, March 24, 2017.

PubMed

Katz, Louis M; Donnelly, John J; Gresens, Christopher J; Holmberg, Jerry A; MacPherson, James; Zacharias, Peter J K; Stanley, Jean; Bales, Christine

2018-05-01

On March 24, 2017, more than 90 experts in blood safety and international development from blood centers, industry, government, and international and nongovernmental organizations gathered in Arlington, Virginia, for the Third International Blood Safety Forum, cosponsored by America's Blood Centers and Global Healing. This report summarizes presentations and major conclusions. The meeting explored ways to increase access to affordable, safe blood for low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) in an era when funding from the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund has been redirected from preventing the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to diagnosing and treating the 25 million-plus people living with HIV in LMICs. More effective management systems must be developed to improve cost recovery for blood. While blood systems become more sustainable, continued investment is required to keep them operating. The traditional model of large grants from bilateral and multilateral donors will need to be supplemented (or replaced) with public-private partnerships and nongovernmental investment. A continued emphasis on quality is fundamental. Blood systems must build quality programs, based on accepted standards, including hospitals, clinics, and rural health care providers to ensure proper and safe use of blood. Proposals to resolve health care inequities between LMICs and high-income countries (HICs) must include helping LMICs to define sustainable national policies and practices for blood availability and utilization to suit local contexts. The blood safety lexicon should be revised to include availability, accessibility, and affordability of safe blood and blood products as the goal of all blood safety initiatives. © 2018 AABB.

Impact of Underwater Explosions on Concrete Bridge Foundations

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

www.theconstructioncivil.org/ [16] M. Aggour, A. Hachichi and M. Mayer, “Nondestructive evaluation of timber bridge piles,” in Proceedings of a Session a Structure Congress...detonation must be executed a safe distance from any critical infrastructure to ensure the survivability of the structure . This thesis implements...be executed a safe distance from any critical infrastructure to ensure the survivability of the structure . This thesis implements the Dynamic System

Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Airborne Science) Matthew Berry

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-05

Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Matthew Berry during the preparation and execution of flight tests in support of aeronautics research. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/ http://www.nasa.gov/

Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Aeronautics) Brian Griffin

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-10-17

Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Brian Griffin during the preparation and execution of flight tests in support of aeronautics research. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/ http://www.nasa.gov/

77 FR 40628 - Draft Safe Harbor Agreement and Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the Tres...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-10

...-FF02ENEH00] Draft Safe Harbor Agreement and Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the Tres... permit application and the associated draft Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA). DATES: Comment Period: To ensure... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, participating property owners voluntarily undertake...

Continuity of operations planning in college athletic programs: The case for incorporating Federal Emergency Management Guidelines.

PubMed

Hall, Stacey A; Allen, Brandon L; Phillips, Dennis

2016-01-01

College athletic departments have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for student-athletes; however, most colleges do not have a crisis management plan that includes procedures for displaced student-athletes or alternate facilities to perform athletic events. Continuity of operations planning ensures athletic programs are equipped to maintain essential functions during, or shortly after, a disruption of operations due to possible hazards. Previous studies have identified a lack of emergency preparedness and continuity planning in college athletic departments. The purpose of this article is to illustrate in detail one approach to disaster planning for college athletic departments, namely the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continuity of operations framework. By adhering to FEMA guidelines and promoting a best practices model, athletic programs can effectively plan to address potential hazards, as well as protect the organization's brand, image, and financial sustainability after a crisis event.

Stardust Entry: Landing and Population Hazards in Mission Planning and Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desai, P.; Wawrzyniak, G.

2006-01-01

The 385 kg Stardust mission was launched on Feb 7, 1999 on a mission to collect samples from the tail of comet Wild 2 and from interplanetary space. Stardust returned to Earth in the early morning of January 15, 2006. The sample return capsule landed in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) southwest of Salt Lake City. Because Stardust was landing on Earth, hazard analysis was required by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, UTTR, and the Stardust Project to ensure the safe return of the landing capsule along with the safety of people, ground assets, and aircraft. This paper focuses on the requirements affecting safe return of the capsule and safety of people on the ground by investigating parameters such as probability of impacting on UTTR, casualty expectation, and probability of casualty. This paper introduces the methods for the calculation of these requirements and shows how they affected mission planning, site selection, and mission operations. By analyzing these requirements before and during entry it allowed for the selection of a robust landing point that met all of the requirements during the actual landing event.

School-Based Health Centers Make Sense: Ensuring All Kids Have Access to the Health Care They Need to Be Healthy and Safe, and to Do Their Best in School. Issue Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Children Now, 2014

2014-01-01

School-based health centers (SBHCs) are an innovative and effective way to address California's severe health care access problem among children. By providing critical health care services to kids in school, SBHCs ensure children get the medical, mental health, and dental care they need to be healthy and safe, and to support their ability to…

Conducting Research on the International Space Station Using the EXPRESS Rack Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Sean W.; Lake, Robert E.

2014-01-01

EXPRESS Racks provide capability for payload access to ISS resources. The successful on-orbit operations and versatility of the EXPRESS Rack has facilitated the operations of many scientific areas, with the promise of continued payload support for years to come. EXPRESS Racks are currently deployed in the US Lab, Columbus and JEM. Process improvements and enhancements continue to improve the accommodations and make the integration and operations process more efficient. Payload Integration Managers serve as the primary interface between the ISS Program and EXPRESS Payload Developers. EXPRESS Project coordinates across multiple functional areas and organizations to ensure integrated EXPRESS Rack and subrack products and hardware are complete, accurate, on time, safe, and certified for flight. NASA is planning to expand the EXPRESS payload capacity by developing new Basic Express Racks expected to be on ISS in 2018.

Modelling operations and security of cloud systems using Z-notation and Chinese Wall security policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Srijita; Sengupta, Anirban; Mazumdar, Chandan

2016-11-01

Enterprises are increasingly using cloud computing for hosting their applications. Availability of fast Internet and cheap bandwidth are causing greater number of people to use cloud-based services. This has the advantage of lower cost and minimum maintenance. However, ensuring security of user data and proper management of cloud infrastructure remain major areas of concern. Existing techniques are either too complex, or fail to properly represent the actual cloud scenario. This article presents a formal cloud model using the constructs of Z-notation. Principles of the Chinese Wall security policy have been applied to design secure cloud-specific operations. The proposed methodology will enable users to safely host their services, as well as process sensitive data, on cloud.

Food safety in a nuclear crisis: The role of the veterinarian.

PubMed

Waltner-Toews, D

1990-05-01

Veterinarians are integrally involved in the maintenance of a safe and sufficient food supply; this involvement may be put to the test when a crisis - particularly a nuclear crisis - occurs. Few people can be said to be experts in how to ensure a safe food supply in a nuclear crisis. However, a working knowledge of radionuclides and how they behave in the food system, and the ability to identify high-risk foods and high-risk consumers in a crisis situation should be a part of the education of all veterinarians. In this paper I review those features of postdisaster radionuclide contamination of the food chain most relevant to veterinary activities in ensuring a safe food supply.

Human Spaceflight Safety for the Next Generation on Orbital Space Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mango, Edward J.

2011-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Commercial Crew Program (CCP) has been chartered to facilitate the development of a United States (U.S.) commercial crew space transportation capability with the goal of achieving safe, reliable, and cost effective access to and from low Earth orbit (LEO) and the International Space Station (ISS) as soon as possible. Once the capability is matured and is available to the Government and other customers, NASA expects to purchase commercial services to meet its ISS crew rotation and emergency return objectives. The primary role of the CCP is to enable and ensure safe human spaceflight and processes for the next generation of earth orbital space systems. The architecture of the Program delineates the process for investment performance in safe orbital systems, Crew Transportation System (CTS) certification, and CTS Flight Readiness. A series of six technical documents build up the architecture to address the top-level CTS requirements and standards. They include Design Reference Missions, with the near term focus on ISS crew services, Certification and Service Requirements, Technical Management Processes, and Technical and Operations Standards Evaluation Processes.

HiCAT Software Infrastructure: Safe hardware control with object oriented Python

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moriarty, Christopher; Brooks, Keira; Soummer, Remi

2018-01-01

High contrast imaging for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HiCAT) is a testbed designed to demonstrate coronagraphy and wavefront control for segmented on-axis space telescopes such as envisioned for LUVOIR. To limit the air movements in the testbed room, software interfaces for several different hardware components were developed to completely automate operations. When developing software interfaces for many different pieces of hardware, unhandled errors are commonplace and can prevent the software from properly closing a hardware resource. Some fragile components (e.g. deformable mirrors) can be permanently damaged because of this. We present an object oriented Python-based infrastructure to safely automate hardware control and optical experiments. Specifically, conducting high-contrast imaging experiments while monitoring humidity and power status along with graceful shutdown processes even for unexpected errors. Python contains a construct called a “context manager” that allows you define code to run when a resource is opened or closed. Context managers ensure that a resource is properly closed, even when unhandled errors occur. Harnessing the context manager design, we also use Python’s multiprocessing library to monitor humidity and power status without interrupting the experiment. Upon detecting a safety problem, the master process sends an event to the child process that triggers the context managers to gracefully close any open resources. This infrastructure allows us to queue up several experiments and safely operate the testbed without a human in the loop.

Optimization of constellation jettisoning regards to short term collision risks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handschuh, D.-DA.-A.; Bourgeois, E.

2018-04-01

The space debris problematic is directly linked to the in-orbit collision risk between artificial satellites. With the increase of the space constellation projects, a multiplication of multi-payload launches should occur. In the specific cases where many satellites are injected into orbit with the same launcher upper stage, all these objects will be placed on similar orbits, very close one from each other, at a specific moment where their control capabilities will be very limited. Under this hypothesis, it is up to the launcher operator to ensure that the simultaneous in-orbit injection is safe enough to guarantee the non-collision risk between all the objects under a ballistic hypothesis eventually considering appropriate uncertainties. The purpose of the present study is to find optimized safe separation conditions to limit the in-orbit collision risk following the injection of many objects on very close orbits in a short-delay mission.

Batteries for electric road vehicles.

PubMed

Goodenough, John B; Braga, M Helena

2018-01-15

The dependence of modern society on the energy stored in a fossil fuel is not sustainable. An immediate challenge is to eliminate the polluting gases emitted from the roads of the world by replacing road vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine with those powered by rechargeable batteries. These batteries must be safe and competitive in cost, performance, driving range between charges, and convenience. The competitive performance of an electric car has been demonstrated, but the cost of fabrication, management to ensure safety, and a short cycle life have prevented large-scale penetration of the all-electric road vehicle into the market. Low-cost, safe all-solid-state cells from which dendrite-free alkali-metal anodes can be plated are now available; they have an operating temperature range from -20 °C to 80 °C and they permit the design of novel high-capacity, high-voltage cathodes providing fast charge/discharge rates. Scale-up to large multicell batteries is feasible.

Regulative recovery in the sea urchin embryo and the stabilizing role of fail-safe gene network wiring

PubMed Central

Smith, Joel; Davidson, Eric H.

2009-01-01

Design features that ensure reproducible and invariant embryonic processes are major characteristics of current gene regulatory network models. New cis-regulatory studies on a gene regulatory network subcircuit activated early in the development of the sea urchin embryo reveal a sequence of encoded “fail-safe” regulatory devices. These ensure the maintenance of fate separation between skeletogenic and nonskeletogenic mesoderm lineages. An unexpected consequence of the network design revealed in the course of these experiments is that it enables the embryo to “recover” from regulatory interference that has catastrophic effects if this feature is disarmed. A reengineered regulatory system inserted into the embryo was used to prove how this system operates in vivo. Genomically encoded backup control circuitry thus provides the mechanism underlying a specific example of the regulative development for which the sea urchin embryo has long been famous. PMID:19822764

Multiagent Flight Control in Dynamic Environments with Cooperative Coevolutionary Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knudson, Matthew D.; Colby, Mitchell; Tumer, Kagan

2014-01-01

Dynamic flight environments in which objectives and environmental features change with respect to time pose a difficult problem with regards to planning optimal flight paths. Path planning methods are typically computationally expensive, and are often difficult to implement in real time if system objectives are changed. This computational problem is compounded when multiple agents are present in the system, as the state and action space grows exponentially. In this work, we use cooperative coevolutionary algorithms in order to develop policies which control agent motion in a dynamic multiagent unmanned aerial system environment such that goals and perceptions change, while ensuring safety constraints are not violated. Rather than replanning new paths when the environment changes, we develop a policy which can map the new environmental features to a trajectory for the agent while ensuring safe and reliable operation, while providing 92% of the theoretically optimal performance

On the relation between friction losses and pressure pulsations caused by Rotor Stator interaction on the Francis-99 turbine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Østby, Petter T. K.; Tore Billdal, Jan; Haugen, Bjørn; Dahlhaug, Ole Gunnar

2017-01-01

High head Francis runners are subject to pressure pulsations caused by rotor stator interaction. To ensure safe operation of such turbines, it is important to be able to predict these pulsations. For turbine manufacturers it is often a dilemma whether to perform very advanced and time consuming CFD calculations or to rely on simpler calculations to save development time. This paper tries to evaluate simplifications of the CFD model while still capturing the RSI phenomena and ensuring that the calculation does not underpredict the pressure amplitudes. The effects which turbulence modeling, wall friction, viscosity and mesh have on the pressure amplitudes will be investigated along with time savings with each simplification. The hypothesis is that rotor stator interaction is manly driven by inviscid flow and can therefore be modeled by the Euler equations.

A 5 kA pulsed power supply for inductive and plasma loads in large volume plasma device.

PubMed

Srivastava, P K; Singh, S K; Sanyasi, A K; Awasthi, L M; Mattoo, S K

2016-07-01

This paper describes 5 kA, 12 ms pulsed power supply for inductive load of Electron Energy Filter (EEF) in large volume plasma device. The power supply is based upon the principle of rapid sourcing of energy from the capacitor bank (2.8 F/200 V) by using a static switch, comprising of ten Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs). A suitable mechanism is developed to ensure equal sharing of current and uniform power distribution during the operation of these IGBTs. Safe commutation of power to the EEF is ensured by the proper optimization of its components and by the introduction of over voltage protection (>6 kV) using an indigenously designed snubber circuit. Various time sequences relevant to different actions of power supply, viz., pulse width control and repetition rate, are realized through optically isolated computer controlled interface.

A 5 kA pulsed power supply for inductive and plasma loads in large volume plasma device

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

Srivastava, P. K., E-mail: pkumar@ipr.res.in; Singh, S. K.; Sanyasi, A. K.

This paper describes 5 kA, 12 ms pulsed power supply for inductive load of Electron Energy Filter (EEF) in large volume plasma device. The power supply is based upon the principle of rapid sourcing of energy from the capacitor bank (2.8 F/200 V) by using a static switch, comprising of ten Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs). A suitable mechanism is developed to ensure equal sharing of current and uniform power distribution during the operation of these IGBTs. Safe commutation of power to the EEF is ensured by the proper optimization of its components and by the introduction of over voltagemore » protection (>6 kV) using an indigenously designed snubber circuit. Various time sequences relevant to different actions of power supply, viz., pulse width control and repetition rate, are realized through optically isolated computer controlled interface.« less

Multiagent Flight Control in Dynamic Environments with Cooperative Coevolutionary Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colby, Mitchell; Knudson, Matthew D.; Tumer, Kagan

2014-01-01

Dynamic environments in which objectives and environmental features change with respect to time pose a difficult problem with regards to planning optimal paths through these environments. Path planning methods are typically computationally expensive, and are often difficult to implement in real time if system objectives are changed. This computational problem is compounded when multiple agents are present in the system, as the state and action space grows exponentially with the number of agents in the system. In this work, we use cooperative coevolutionary algorithms in order to develop policies which control agent motion in a dynamic multiagent unmanned aerial system environment such that goals and perceptions change, while ensuring safety constraints are not violated. Rather than replanning new paths when the environment changes, we develop a policy which can map the new environmental features to a trajectory for the agent while ensuring safe and reliable operation, while providing 92% of the theoretically optimal performance.

Development of the Space Station Freedom Environmental Health System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richard, Elizabeth E.; Russo, Dane

1990-01-01

The Environmental Health System (EHS), a subsystem of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Crew Health Care System, was established to ensure that crewmembers will have a safe and healthy environment in which to live and work. EHS is comprised of six subsystems: Microbiology, Toxicology, Water Quality, Radiological Health, Vibroacoustics, and Barothermal Physiology. Each subsystem contributes to the overall functions of the EHS including environmental planning, environmental monitoring, environmental monitoring, environmental health assessments, and operations support. The EHS will provide hardware for monitoring the air, water, and internal surfaces of Freedom, including capabilities for inflight sample collection, processing, and analysis. The closed environment of SSF, and its dependence on recycled air and water, will necessitate a reliable monitoring system to alert crewmembers if contamination levels exceed the maximum allowable limits established to ensure crew health and safety. This paper describes the functions and hardware design status of the EHS.

Determining navigability of terrain using point cloud data.

PubMed

Cockrell, Stephanie; Lee, Gregory; Newman, Wyatt

2013-06-01

This paper presents an algorithm to identify features of the navigation surface in front of a wheeled robot. Recent advances in mobile robotics have brought about the development of smart wheelchairs to assist disabled people, allowing them to be more independent. These robots have a human occupant and operate in real environments where they must be able to detect hazards like holes, stairs, or obstacles. Furthermore, to ensure safe navigation, wheelchairs often need to locate and navigate on ramps. The algorithm is implemented on data from a Kinect and can effectively identify these features, increasing occupant safety and allowing for a smoother ride.

Building and Maintaining Organizational Infrastructure to Attain Clinical Excellence.

PubMed

Lebak, Kelly; Lane, Jason; Taus, Richard; Kim, Hansol; Stecker, Michael S; Hall, Michael; Lane-Fall, Meghan B; Weiss, Mark S

2017-12-01

Active maintenance of highly functional teams is critical to ensuring safe, efficient patient care in the non-operating room anesthesia (NORA) suite. In addition to developing collaborative relationships and patient care protocols, individual and team training is needed. For anesthesiologists, this training must begin during residency. The training should be supplemented with continuing education in this field for providers who find themselves working in the NORA space. As NORA continues to grow, robust NORA-specific quality assurance and improvement programs will empower anesthesiologists with the tools they need to best care for these patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Risk management in international manned space program operations.

PubMed

Seastrom, J W; Peercy, R L; Johnson, G W; Sotnikov, B J; Brukhanov, N

2004-02-01

New, innovative joint safety policies and requirements were developed in support of the Shuttle/Mir program, which is the first phase of the International Space Station program. This work has resulted in a joint multinational analysis culminating in joint certification for mission readiness. For these planning and development efforts, each nation's risk programs and individual safety practices had to be integrated into a comprehensive and compatible system that reflects the joint nature of the endeavor. This paper highlights the major incremental steps involved in planning and program integration during development of the Shuttle/Mir program. It traces the transition from early development to operational status and highlights the valuable lessons learned that apply to the International Space Station program (Phase 2). Also examined are external and extraneous factors that affected mission operations and the corresponding solutions to ensure safe and effective Shuttle/Mir missions. c2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Policies and practices pertaining to the selection, qualification requirements, and training programs for nuclear-reactor operating personnel at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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

Culbert, W.H.

1985-10-01

This document describes the policies and practices of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) regarding the selection of and training requirements for reactor operating personnel at the Laboratory's nuclear-reactor facilities. The training programs, both for initial certification and for requalification, are described and provide the guidelines for ensuring that ORNL's research reactors are operated in a safe and reliable manner by qualified personnel. This document gives an overview of the reactor facilities and addresses the various qualifications, training, testing, and requalification requirements stipulated in DOE Order 5480.1A, Chapter VI (Safety of DOE-Owned Reactors); it is intended to be in compliancemore » with this DOE Order, as applicable to ORNL facilities. Included also are examples of the documentation maintained amenable for audit.« less

Automated telescope for variability studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesh, S.; Baliyan, K. S.; Chandra, S.; Joshi, U. C.; Kalyaan, A.; Mathur, S. N.

PRL has installed a 50 cm telescope at Mt Abu, Gurushikhar. The backend instrument consists of a 1K × 1K EMCCD camera with standard UBVRI filters and also has polarization measurement capability using a second filter wheel with polaroid sheets oriented at different position angles. This 50 cm telescope observatory is operated in a robotic mode with different methods of scheduling of the objects being observed. This includes batch mode, fully manual as well as fully autonomous mode of operation. Linux based command line as well as GUI software are used entirely in this observatory. This talk will present the details of the telescope and associated instruments and auxiliary facilities for weather monitoring that were developed in house to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the telescope. The facility has been in use for a couple of years now and various objects have been observed. Some of the interesting results will also be presented.

Design and control strategy for a hybrid green energy system for mobile telecommunication sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okundamiya, Michael S.; Emagbetere, Joy O.; Ogujor, Emmanuel A.

2014-07-01

The rising energy costs and carbon footprint of operating mobile telecommunication sites in the emerging world have increased research interests in green technology. The intermittent nature of most green energy sources creates the problem of designing the optimum configuration for a given location. This study presents the design analysis and control strategy for a cost effective and reliable operation of the hybrid green energy system (HGES) for GSM base transceiver station (BTS) sites in isolated regions. The design constrains the generation and distribution of power to reliably satisfy the energy demand while ensuring safe operation of the system. The overall process control applies the genetic algorithm-based technique for optimal techno-economic sizing of system's components. The process simulation utilized meteorological data for 3 locations (Abuja, Benin City and Sokoto) with varying climatic conditions in Nigeria. Simulation results presented for green GSM BTS sites are discussed and compared with existing approaches.

Condition of Safe Environment Creation in Preschool Educational Institutions and Its Development Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braslauskiene, Rasa; Vismantiene, Reda; Thorsteinsson, Gisli

2010-01-01

Educators should attempt to create a common and solid strategy in preschool educational institutions in order to sufficiently ensure a safe social environment of children. A research examining health and safety issues in Lithuanian preschools was carried out in Klaipeda. The aim of this paper was to analyse the conditions of safe environment…

Strategies and challenges for safe injection practice in developing countries.

PubMed

Gyawali, Sudesh; Rathore, Devendra Singh; Shankar, P Ravi; Kumar, Kc Vikash

2013-01-01

Injection is one of the important health care procedures used globally to administer drugs. Its unsafe use can transmit various blood borne pathogens. This article aims to review the history and status of injection practices, its importance, interventions and the challenges for safe injection practice in developing countries. The history of injections started with the discovery of syringe in the early nineteenth century. Safe injection practice in developed countries was initiated in the early twentieth century but has not received adequate attention in developing countries. The establishment of "Safe Injection Global Network (SIGN)" was an milestone towards safe injection practice globally. In developing countries, people perceive injection as a powerful healing tool and do not hesitate to pay more for injections. Unsafe disposal and reuse of contaminated syringe is common. Ensuring safe injection practice is one of the greatest challenges for healthcare system in developing countries. To address the problem, interventions with active involvement of a number of stakeholders is essential. A combination of educational, managerial and regulatory strategies is found to be effective and economically viable. Rational and safe use of injections can save many lives but unsafe practice threatens life. Safe injection practice is crucial in developing countries. Evidence based interventions, with honest commitment and participation from the service provider, recipient and community with aid of policy makers are required to ensure safe injection practice.

Strategies and challenges for safe injection practice in developing countries

PubMed Central

Gyawali, Sudesh; Rathore, Devendra Singh; Shankar, P Ravi; Kumar, KC Vikash

2013-01-01

Injection is one of the important health care procedures used globally to administer drugs. Its unsafe use can transmit various blood borne pathogens. This article aims to review the history and status of injection practices, its importance, interventions and the challenges for safe injection practice in developing countries. The history of injections started with the discovery of syringe in the early nineteenth century. Safe injection practice in developed countries was initiated in the early twentieth century but has not received adequate attention in developing countries. The establishment of “Safe Injection Global Network (SIGN)” was an milestone towards safe injection practice globally. In developing countries, people perceive injection as a powerful healing tool and do not hesitate to pay more for injections. Unsafe disposal and reuse of contaminated syringe is common. Ensuring safe injection practice is one of the greatest challenges for healthcare system in developing countries. To address the problem, interventions with active involvement of a number of stakeholders is essential. A combination of educational, managerial and regulatory strategies is found to be effective and economically viable. Rational and safe use of injections can save many lives but unsafe practice threatens life. Safe injection practice is crucial in developing countries. Evidence based interventions, with honest commitment and participation from the service provider, recipient and community with aid of policy makers are required to ensure safe injection practice. PMID:23662018

Ensuring the security and availability of a hospital wireless LAN system.

PubMed

Hanada, Eisuke; Kudou, Takato; Tsumoto, Shusaku

2013-01-01

Wireless technologies as part of the data communication infrastructure of modern hospitals are being rapidly introduced. Even though there are concerns about problems associated with wireless communication security, the demand is remarkably large. Herein we discuss security countermeasures that must be taken and issues concerning availability that must be considered to ensure safe hospital/business use of wireless LAN systems, referring to the procedures introduced at a university hospital. Security countermeasures differ according to their purpose, such as preventing illegal use or ensuring availability, both of which are discussed. The main focus of the availability discussion is on signal reach, electromagnetic noise elimination, and maintaining power supply to the network apparatus. It is our hope that this information will assist others in their efforts to ensure safe implementation of wireless LAN systems, especially in hospitals where they have the potential to greatly improve information sharing and patient safety.

Automated Vehicle Policy and Regulation: A State Perspective Workshop: Summary

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

Young, Stanley E.; Levine, Aaron

2016-06-01

A workshop held on May 18, 2016, at the University of Maryland focused on key principles that should govern state policy decisions intended to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles (AVs). The patchwork approach taken by early state adopters had primarily addressed only testing of these vehicles. As uncertainties in technology and business models play out, and in the absence of more suitable policies and regulations, states are relying on laws created for conventional vehicles to govern AV operations. The workshop addressed these challenges with three panel discussions that examined the underpinnings of policy development, factors affecting policy decisions,more » and the ultimate impact of AVs in a number of areas, including economic competitiveness; quality of mobility, particularly for disabled community; and energy use and emissions.« less

Activation Levels, Handling, and Storage of Activated Components in the Target Hall at FRIB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgobiani, D.; Bennett, R.; Bollen, G.; Kostin, M.; Ronningen, R.

2018-06-01

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is a major new scientific user facility under construction in the United States for nuclear science research with beams of rare isotopes. 400 kW beam operations with heavy ions ranging from oxygen to uranium will create a high radiation environment for many components, particularly for the beam line components located in the target hall, where approximately 100 kW of beam power are dissipated in the target and another 300 kW are dissipated in the beam dump. Detailed studies of the component activation, their remote handling, storage, and transport, have been performed to ensure safe operation levels in this environment. Levels of activation are calculated for the beam line components within the FRIB target hall.

Safety in the operating theatre--a transition to systems-based care.

PubMed

Weiser, Thomas G; Porter, Michael P; Maier, Ronald V

2013-03-01

All surgeons want the best, safest care for their patients, but providing this requires the complex coordination of multiple disciplines to ensure that all elements of care are timely, appropriate, and well organized. Quality-improvement initiatives are beginning to lead to improvements in the quality of care and coordination amongst teams in the operating room. As the population ages and patients present with more complex disease pathology, the demands for efficient systematization will increase. Although evidence suggests that postoperative mortality rates are declining, there is substantial room for improvement. Multiple quality metrics are used as surrogates for safe care, but surgical teams--including surgeons, anaesthetists, and nurses--must think beyond these simple interventions if they are to effectively communicate and coordinate in the face of increasing demands.

Comparative Study of Standards for Grid-Connected Wind Power Plant in China and the U.S.

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

Gao, Wenzhong; Tian, Tian; Muljadi, Eduard

2015-10-06

The rapid deployment of wind power has made grid integration and operational issues focal points in industry discussions and research. Compliance with grid connection standards for wind power plants (WPP) is crucial to ensuring the safe and stable operation of the electric power grid. The standards for grid-connected WPPs in China and the United States are compared in this paper to facilitate further improvements to the standards and enhance the development of wind power equipment. Detailed analyses in power quality, low-voltage ride-through capability, active power control, reactive power control, voltage control, and wind power forecasting are provided to enhance themore » understanding of grid codes in the two largest markets of wind power.« less

Fluid check valve has fail-safe feature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaul, L. C.

1965-01-01

Check valve ensures unidirectional fluid flow and, in case of failure, vents the downstream fluid to the atmosphere and gives a positive indication of malfunction. This dual valve consists of a master check valve and a fail-safe valve.

Prepare to protect: Operating and maintaining a tornado safe room.

PubMed

Herseth, Andrew; Goldsmith-Grinspoon, Jennifer; Scott, Pataya

2017-06-01

Operating and maintaining a tornado safe room can be critical to the effective continuity of business operations because a firm's most valuable asset is its people. This paper describes aspects of operations and maintenance (O&M) for existing tornado safe rooms as well as a few planning and design aspects that affect the ultimate operation of a safe room for situations where a safe room is planned, but not yet constructed. The information is based on several Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room publications that provide guidance on emergency management and operations, as well as the design and construction of tornado safe rooms.

Integration of vertical and in-seam horizontal well production analyses with stochastic geostatistical algorithms to estimate pre-mining methane drainage efficiency from coal seams: Blue Creek seam, Alabama

PubMed Central

Karacan, C. Özgen

2015-01-01

Coal seam degasification and its efficiency are directly related to the safety of coal mining. Degasification activities in the Black Warrior basin started in the early 1980s by using vertical boreholes. Although the Blue Creek seam, which is part of the Mary Lee coal group, has been the main seam of interest for coal mining, vertical wellbores have also been completed in the Pratt, Mary Lee, and Black Creek coal groups of the Upper Pottsville formation to degasify multiple seams. Currently, the Blue Creek seam is further degasified 2–3 years in advance of mining using in-seam horizontal boreholes to ensure safe mining. The studied location in this work is located between Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties in Alabama and was degasified using 81 vertical boreholes, some of which are still active. When the current long mine expanded its operation into this area in 2009, horizontal boreholes were also drilled in advance of mining for further degasification of only the Blue Creek seam to ensure a safe and a productive operation. This paper presents an integrated study and a methodology to combine history matching results from vertical boreholes with production modeling of horizontal boreholes using geostatistical simulation to evaluate spatial effectiveness of in-seam boreholes in reducing gas-in-place (GIP). Results in this study showed that in-seam wells' boreholes had an estimated effective drainage area of 2050 acres with cumulative production of 604 MMscf methane during ~2 years of operation. With horizontal borehole production, GIP in the Blue Creek seam decreased from an average of 1.52 MMscf to 1.23 MMscf per acre. It was also shown that effective gas flow capacity, which was independently modeled using vertical borehole data, affected horizontal borehole production. GIP and effective gas flow capacity of coal seam gas were also used to predict remaining gas potential for the Blue Creek seam. PMID:26435557

Integration of vertical and in-seam horizontal well production analyses with stochastic geostatistical algorithms to estimate pre-mining methane drainage efficiency from coal seams: Blue Creek seam, Alabama.

PubMed

Karacan, C Özgen

2013-07-30

Coal seam degasification and its efficiency are directly related to the safety of coal mining. Degasification activities in the Black Warrior basin started in the early 1980s by using vertical boreholes. Although the Blue Creek seam, which is part of the Mary Lee coal group, has been the main seam of interest for coal mining, vertical wellbores have also been completed in the Pratt, Mary Lee, and Black Creek coal groups of the Upper Pottsville formation to degasify multiple seams. Currently, the Blue Creek seam is further degasified 2-3 years in advance of mining using in-seam horizontal boreholes to ensure safe mining. The studied location in this work is located between Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties in Alabama and was degasified using 81 vertical boreholes, some of which are still active. When the current long mine expanded its operation into this area in 2009, horizontal boreholes were also drilled in advance of mining for further degasification of only the Blue Creek seam to ensure a safe and a productive operation. This paper presents an integrated study and a methodology to combine history matching results from vertical boreholes with production modeling of horizontal boreholes using geostatistical simulation to evaluate spatial effectiveness of in-seam boreholes in reducing gas-in-place (GIP). Results in this study showed that in-seam wells' boreholes had an estimated effective drainage area of 2050 acres with cumulative production of 604 MMscf methane during ~2 years of operation. With horizontal borehole production, GIP in the Blue Creek seam decreased from an average of 1.52 MMscf to 1.23 MMscf per acre. It was also shown that effective gas flow capacity, which was independently modeled using vertical borehole data, affected horizontal borehole production. GIP and effective gas flow capacity of coal seam gas were also used to predict remaining gas potential for the Blue Creek seam.

Relative receiver autonomous integrity monitoring for future GNSS-based aircraft navigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gratton, Livio Rafael

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has enabled reliable, safe, and practical aircraft positioning for en-route and non-precision phases of flight for more than a decade. Intense research is currently devoted to extending the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including GPS, to precision approach and landing operations. In this context, this work is focused on the development, analysis, and verification of the concept of Relative Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RRAIM) and its potential applications to precision approach navigation. RRAIM fault detection algorithms are developed, and associated mathematical bounds on position error are derived. These are investigated as possible solutions to some current key challenges in precision approach navigation, discussed below. Augmentation systems serving continent-size areas (like the Wide Area Augmentation System or WAAS) allow certain precision approach operations within the covered region. More and better satellites, with dual frequency capabilities, are expected to be in orbit in the mid-term future, which will potentially allow WAAS-like capabilities worldwide with a sparse ground station network. Two main challenges in achieving this goal are (1) ensuring that navigation fault detection functions are fast enough to alert worldwide users of hazardously misleading information, and (2) minimizing situations in which navigation is unavailable because the user's local satellite geometry is insufficient for safe position estimation. Local augmentation systems (implemented at individual airports, like the Local Area Augmentation System or LAAS) have the potential to allow precision approach and landing operations by providing precise corrections to user-satellite range measurements. An exception to these capabilities arises during ionospheric storms (caused by solar activity), when hazardous situations can exist with residual range errors several orders of magnitudes higher than nominal. Until dual frequency civil GPS signals are available, the ability to provide integrity during ionospheric storms, without excessive loss of availability is a major challenge. For all users, with or without augmentation, some situations cause short duration losses of satellites in view. Two examples are aircraft banking during turns and ionospheric scintillation. The loss of range signals can translate into gaps in good satellite geometry, and the resulting challenge is to ensure navigation continuity by bridging these gaps, while simultaneously maintaining high integrity. It is shown that the RRAIM methods developed in this research can be applied to mitigate each of these obstacles to safe and reliable precision aircraft navigation.

Safety analysis report for the use of hazardous production materials in photovoltaic applications at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Volume 2, Appendices

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

Crandall, R.S.; Nelson, B.P.; Moskowitz, P.D.

1992-07-01

To ensure the continued safety of SERI`s employees, the community, and the environment, NREL commissioned an internal audit of its photovoltaic operations that used hazardous production materials (HPMS). As a result of this audit, NREL management voluntarily suspended all operations using toxic and/or pyrophoric gases. This suspension affected seven laboratories and ten individual deposition systems. These activities are located in Building 16, which has a permitted occupancy of Group B, Division 2 (B-2). NREL management decided to do the following. (1) Exclude from this SAR all operations which conformed, or could easily be made to conform, to B-2 Occupancy requirements.more » (2) Include in this SAR all operations that could be made to conform to B-2 Occupancy requirements with special administrative and engineering controls. (3) Move all operations that could not practically be made to conform to B-2 occupancy requirements to alternate locations. In addition to the layered set of administrative and engineering controls set forth in this SAR, a semiquantitative risk analysis was performed on 30 various accident scenarios. Twelve presented only routine risks, while 18 presented low risks. Considering the demonstrated safe operating history of NREL in general and these systems specifically, the nature of the risks identified, and the layered set of administrative and engineering controls, it is clear that this facility falls within the DOE Low Hazard Class. Each operation can restart only after it has passed an Operational Readiness Review, comparing it to the requirements of this SAR, while subsequent safety inspections will ensure future compliance. This document contains the appendices to the NREL safety analysis report.« less

Full-Scaled Advanced Systems Testbed: Ensuring Success of Adaptive Control Research Through Project Lifecycle Risk Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pavlock, Kate M.

2011-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dryden Flight Research Center completed flight testing of adaptive controls research on the Full-Scale Advance Systems Testbed (FAST) in January of 2011. The research addressed technical challenges involved with reducing risk in an increasingly complex and dynamic national airspace. Specific challenges lie with the development of validated, multidisciplinary, integrated aircraft control design tools and techniques to enable safe flight in the presence of adverse conditions such as structural damage, control surface failures, or aerodynamic upsets. The testbed is an F-18 aircraft serving as a full-scale vehicle to test and validate adaptive flight control research and lends a significant confidence to the development, maturation, and acceptance process of incorporating adaptive control laws into follow-on research and the operational environment. The experimental systems integrated into FAST were designed to allow for flexible yet safe flight test evaluation and validation of modern adaptive control technologies and revolve around two major hardware upgrades: the modification of Production Support Flight Control Computers (PSFCC) and integration of two, fourth-generation Airborne Research Test Systems (ARTS). Post-hardware integration verification and validation provided the foundation for safe flight test of Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion and Model Reference Aircraft Control adaptive control law experiments. To ensure success of flight in terms of cost, schedule, and test results, emphasis on risk management was incorporated into early stages of design and flight test planning and continued through the execution of each flight test mission. Specific consideration was made to incorporate safety features within the hardware and software to alleviate user demands as well as into test processes and training to reduce human factor impacts to safe and successful flight test. This paper describes the research configuration, experiment functionality, overall risk mitigation, flight test approach and results, and lessons learned of adaptive controls research of the Full-Scale Advanced Systems Testbed.

Mission concept and autonomy considerations for active Debris removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Susanne; Pirzkall, Christoph; Fiedler, Hauke; Förstner, Roger

2016-12-01

Over the last 60 years, Space Debris has become one of the main challenges for the safe operation of satellites in low Earth orbit. To address this threat, guidelines that include a limited debris release during normal operations, minimization of the potential for on-orbit break-ups and post mission disposal have begun to be implemented. However, for the long-term, the amount of debris will still increase due to fragments created by collisions of objects in space. The active removal of space debris of at least five large objects per years is therefore recommended, but not yet included in those guidelines. Even though various technical concepts have been developed over the last years, the question on how to make them reliable and safe or how to finance such mission has not been answered. This paper addresses the first two topics. With Space Debris representing an uncooperative and possibly tumbling target, close proximity becomes absolutely critical, especially when an uninterrupted connection to the ground station is not ensured. This paper therefore defines firstly a mission to remove at least five large objects and secondly introduces a preliminary autonomy concept fitted for this mission.

REGULATED CONTAMINANTS IN DRINKING WATER

EPA Science Inventory

Safe drinking water is critical to protecting human health. More than 260 million Americans rely on the safety of tap water provided by water systems that comply with national drinking water standards. EPA's strategy for ensuring safe drinking water includes four key elements, ...

Labor Standards and Safety Division, Alaska Department of Labor

Science.gov Websites

Deborah Kelly, Director The mission of Labor Standards and Safety is to ensure safe and legal working of state and federal standards, and by training employers and employees to follow safe and healthful

Toward a Safety Risk-Based Classification of Unmanned Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2016-01-01

There is a trend of growing interest and demand for greater access of unmanned aircraft (UA) to the National Airspace System (NAS) as the ongoing development of UA technology has created the potential for significant economic benefits. However, the lack of a comprehensive and efficient UA regulatory framework has constrained the number and kinds of UA operations that can be performed. This report presents initial results of a study aimed at defining a safety-risk-based UA classification as a plausible basis for a regulatory framework for UA operating in the NAS. Much of the study up to this point has been at a conceptual high level. The report includes a survey of contextual topics, analysis of safety risk considerations, and initial recommendations for a risk-based approach to safe UA operations in the NAS. The next phase of the study will develop and leverage deeper clarity and insight into practical engineering and regulatory considerations for ensuring that UA operations have an acceptable level of safety.

Optical coherence tomography for nondestructive evaluation of fuel rod degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renshaw, Jeremy B.; Jenkins, Thomas P.; Buckner, Benjamin D.; Friend, Brian

2015-03-01

Nuclear power plants regularly inspect fuel rods to ensure safe and reliable operation. Excessive corrosion can cause fuel failures which can have significant repercussions for the plant, including impacts on plant operation, worker exposure to radiation, and the plant's INPO rating. While plants typically inspect for fuel rod corrosion using eddy current techniques, these techniques have known issues with reliability in the presence of tenacious, ferromagnetic crud layers that can deposit during operation, and the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) inspection results can often be in error by a factor of 2 or 3. For this reason, alternative measurement techniques, such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), have been evaluated that are not sensitive to the ferromagnetic nature of the crud. This paper demonstrates that OCT has significant potential to characterize the thickness of crud layers that can deposit on the surfaces of fuel rods during operation. Physical trials have been performed on simulated crud samples, and the resulting data show an apparent correlation between the crud layer thickness and the OCT signal.

Stabilization and reconstruction operations: the role of the US Army Veterinary Corps.

PubMed

Smith, John C

2007-01-01

Stabilization and reconstruction operations in failed or failing states are vital to US security interests. These operations require a bottom-up approach, focusing on the population as the strategic center of gravity. This bottom-up approach must address the population's basic needs, as defined by Dr Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and provide a long-term means of self-sufficiency, rather than creating an "aid dependent economy." Focusing operations on agricultural projects provides relief from donor dependency, stimulates economic growth, and thwarts the power of spoilers. US Army Veterinary Corps personnel provide essential services ensuring the procurement of safe and wholesome subsistence and provision of medical care to government-owned animals. Veterinary Corps officers are also uniquely qualified to design and implement agricultural stabilization and reconstruction programs in conjunction with host-state ministries and agencies across the full range of military operations. Early, sustained engagement by veterinarians stimulates agricultural productivity, improves animal and human health, directly supports the population's hierarchy of needs on all levels, and accelerates stabilization operations by reducing the population's susceptibility to spoilers.

Working with cognitively impaired drivers: legal issues for mental health professionals to consider.

PubMed

Love, Christopher M; Welsh, Robert K; Knabb, Joshua J; Scott, Sheryn T; Brokaw, David W

2008-01-01

Mental health professionals are gatekeepers of patient confidentiality. Yet, confidentiality held too strictly, by allowing a potentially dangerous driver to assume control of a car, endangers society. Recent court cases have mandated that mental health professionals must warn those who may be potentially harmed by patients. In spite of this, disagreements linger as to whether it is the responsibility of governmental agencies or mental health professionals to decide who is unfit to operate a vehicle because of cognitive impairment. This article addresses the legally relevant considerations when working with cognitively compromised individuals who operate a motor vehicle. Legal issues surrounding confidentiality, patient rights, foreseeable risk, and the duty to warn and protect are presented in order to understand their relationship to recent court rulings. The impact on the mental health care industry includes not only concerns about increased insurance premiums or costs due to alleged negligence or litigation expenses secondary to failure to ensure the safety of an impaired client under their care. Mental health care providers are aware that the welfare of clients with impairment to cognitive decision making ability may require unique considerations for safety such as ensuring safe and appropriate transportation.

Get out of the office and on to the ward.

PubMed

Keogh, Kat

2014-07-15

The draft NMC code spells out what is expected of nurses in leadership roles, including ensuring concerns are listened to and putting patient care first. Managers must also ensure staff have the skills, knowledge and competence for safe practice.

Regulatory Considerations to Ensure Clean and Safe Drinking Water

EPA Science Inventory

Federal drinking water regulations are based on risk assessment of human health effects and research conducted on source water, treatment technologies, residuals, and distribution systems. The book chapter summarizes the role that EPA research plays in ensuring pure drinking wat...

The Role of Schools and their Capabilities to Ensure Safe Sheltering During a Storm

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

and security aspects include establishing a safe environment in a confined space. While absent from Florida’s 2016 Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan...offer a safe environment for sheltering, and new building codes have been created for this purpose. The northern school districts in Texas sit in...Special Feature 2: Building a Safe and Secure Educational Environment ,” accessed January 15, 2017, http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/hpab201201

Probabilistic characterization of wind turbine blades via aeroelasticity and spinning finite element formulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velazquez, Antonio; Swartz, R. Andrew

2012-04-01

Wind energy is an increasingly important component of this nation's renewable energy portfolio, however safe and economical wind turbine operation is a critical need to ensure continued adoption. Safe operation of wind turbine structures requires not only information regarding their condition, but their operational environment. Given the difficulty inherent in SHM processes for wind turbines (damage detection, location, and characterization), some uncertainty in conditional assessment is expected. Furthermore, given the stochastic nature of the loading on turbine structures, a probabilistic framework is appropriate to characterize their risk of failure at a given time. Such information will be invaluable to turbine controllers, allowing them to operate the structures within acceptable risk profiles. This study explores the characterization of the turbine loading and response envelopes for critical failure modes of the turbine blade structures. A framework is presented to develop an analytical estimation of the loading environment (including loading effects) based on the dynamic behavior of the blades. This is influenced by behaviors including along and across-wind aero-elastic effects, wind shear gradient, tower shadow effects, and centrifugal stiffening effects. The proposed solution includes methods that are based on modal decomposition of the blades and require frequent updates to the estimated modal properties to account for the time-varying nature of the turbine and its environment. The estimated demand statistics are compared to a code-based resistance curve to determine a probabilistic estimate of the risk of blade failure given the loading environment.

24 CFR 761.23 - Grantee performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... Operation Safe Home, Operation Weed and Seed, and the Safe Neighborhoods Action Program operating in the... emanating from other anti-crime and anti-drug programs, such as Operation Safe Home, Operation Weed and Seed...

24 CFR 761.23 - Grantee performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Operation Safe Home, Operation Weed and Seed, and the Safe Neighborhoods Action Program operating in the... emanating from other anti-crime and anti-drug programs, such as Operation Safe Home, Operation Weed and Seed...

24 CFR 761.23 - Grantee performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Operation Safe Home, Operation Weed and Seed, and the Safe Neighborhoods Action Program operating in the... emanating from other anti-crime and anti-drug programs, such as Operation Safe Home, Operation Weed and Seed...

Design of high precision temperature control system for TO packaged LD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Enji; Luo, Baoke; Zhuang, Bin; He, Zhengquan

2017-10-01

Temperature is an important factor affecting the performance of TO package LD. In order to ensure the safe and stable operation of LD, a temperature control circuit for LD based on PID technology is designed. The MAX1978 and an external PID circuit are used to form a control circuit that drives the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) to achieve control of temperature and the external load can be changed. The system circuit has low power consumption, high integration and high precision,and the circuit can achieve precise control of the LD temperature. Experiment results show that the circuit can achieve effective and stable control of the laser temperature.

Electrostatic Evaluation of the Propellant Handlers Ensemble

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hogue, Michael D.; Calle, Carlos I.; Buhler, Charles

2006-01-01

The Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble (SCAPE) used in propellant handling at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has recently completed a series of tests to determine its electrostatic properties of the coverall fabric used in the Propellant Handlers Ensemble (PHE). Understanding these electrostatic properties are fundamental to ensuring safe operations when working with flammable rocket propellants such as hydrazine, methyl hydrazine, and unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine. These tests include surface resistivity, charge decay, triboelectric charging, and flame incendivity. In this presentation, we will discuss the results of these tests on the current PHE as well as new fabrics and materials being evaluated for the next generation of PHE.

Space Shuttle Orbiter auxiliary power unit status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reck, M.; Loken, G.; Horton, J.; Lukens, W.; Scott, W.; Baughman, J.; Bauch, T.

1991-01-01

An overview of the United States Space Shuttle Orbiter APU, which provides power to the Orbiter vehicle hydraulic system, is presented. Three complete APU systems, each with its own separate fuel system, supply power to three dedicated hydraulic systems. These in turn provide power to all Orbiter vehicle critical flight functions including launch, orbit, reentry, and landing. The basic APU logic diagram is presented. The APU includes a hydrazine-powered turbine that drives a hydraulic pump and various accessories through a high-speed gearbox. The APU also features a sophisticated thermal management system designed to ensure safe and reliable operation in the various launch, orbit, reentry, and landing environments.

Facilities and Infrastructure FY 2017 Budget At-A-Glance

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

None

2016-03-01

The Facilities and Infrastructure Program includes EERE’s capital investments, operations and maintenance, and site-wide support of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It is the nation’s only national laboratory with a primary mission dedicated to the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of energy efficiency, renewable energy and related technologies. EERE is NREL’s steward, primary client and sponsor of NREL’s designation as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. The Facilities and Infrastructure (F&I) budget maintains NREL’s research and support infrastructure, ensures availability for EERE’s use, and provides a safe and secure workplace for employees.

Share the Sky: Concepts and Technologies That Will Shape Future Airspace Use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballin, Mark G.; Cotton, William; Kopardekar, Parimal

2011-01-01

The airspace challenge for the United States is to protect national sovereignty and ensure the safety and security of those on the ground and in the air, while at the same time ensuring the efficiency of flight, reducing the costs involved, protecting the environment, and protecting the freedom of access to the airspace. Many visions of the future NAS hold a relatively near-term perspective, focusing on existing uses of the airspace and assuming that new uses will make up a small fraction of total use. In the longer term, the skies will be filled with diverse and amazing new air vehicles filling our societal needs. Anticipated new vehicles include autonomous air vehicles acting both independently and in coordinated groups, unpiloted cargo carriers, and large numbers of personal air vehicles and small-scale point-to-point transports. These vehicles will enable new capabilities that have the potential to increase societal mobility, transport freight at lower cost and with lower environmental impact, improve the study of the Earth s atmosphere and ecosystem, and increase societal safety and security by improving or drastically lowering the cost of critical services such as firefighting, emergency medical evacuation, search and rescue, border and neighborhood surveillance, and the inspection of our infrastructure. To ensure that uses of the airspace can continue to grow for the benefit of all, a new paradigm for operations is needed: equitably and safely sharing the airspace. This paper is an examination of such a vision, concentrating on the operations of all types of air vehicles and future uses of the National Airspace. Attributes of a long-term future airspace system are provided, emerging operations technologies are described, and initial steps in research and development are recommended.

Infectious Mononucleosis: Ensuring a Safe Return to Sport.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacKnight, John M.

2002-01-01

Clinical properties of infectious mononucleosis include prolonged fatigue, spleen enlargement and fragility, and risk for spleen rupture. Sports medicine practitioners must recognize and manage these clinical features and promote safe, timely return of athletes to sports. Safeguarding against splenic injury and minimizing the duration of…

Transportation vision for 2030 : ensuring personal freedom and economic vitality for a nation on the move

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

The transportation system in 2030 will be: : Safe, Less Congested: Free all of us to make daily decisions, confident that people : and goods will reach their destinations safely and on time. : Economically Competitive: Strengthen Americas leadersh...

Safe use of chemicals for sterilization in healthcare.

PubMed

Warburton, P Richard

2012-01-01

Chemical sterilization is necessary for temperature sensitive items that cannot be sterilized with steam. These chemical sterilants are by their nature hazardous; otherwise, they would not function well. Modern sterilizers and associated equipment are designed so that these chemicals can be used safely. Whether through mechanical failure, wear and tear, or user error, leaks do sometimes occur. The maximum chemical exposure is determined by OSHA permissible exposure limits, if available, and if not available, employers should use recognized standards. Employers have a duty to ensure safe work environment and take appropriate action to mitigate potential risks. Employers should therefore assess the hazards of the chemicals used, the potential modes for leakage, means for identifying leaks and the risk of exposure of employees. Ideally, work practices should be developed by healthcare facilities so that sterile processing employees know what to do in case of a chemical leak or spill, and how to safely use these chemicals to ensure their own, and patient safety.

Numerical studies on the performance of a flow distributor in tank

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

Shin, Soo Jai, E-mail: shinsoojai@kaeri.re.kr; Kim, Young In; Ryu, Seungyeob

2015-03-10

Flow distributors are generally observed in several nuclear power plants. During core make-up tank (CMT) injection into the reactor, the condensation and thermal stratification are observed in the CMT, and rapid condensation disturbs the injection operation. To reduce the condensation phenomena in the tank, CMT was equipped with a flow distributor. The optimal design of the flow distributor is very important to ensure the structural integrity the CMT and its safe operation during certain transient or accident conditions. In the present study, we numerically investigated the performance of a flow distributor in tank with different shape factors such as themore » total number of holes, pitch-to-hole diameter ratios, diameter of the hole, and the area ratios. These data will contribute to a design of the flow distributor.« less

Cybersecurity Awareness in the Power Grid

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

Scholtz, Jean; Franklin, Lyndsey; Le Blanc, Katya L.

2016-07-10

We report on a series of interviews and observations conducted with control room dispatchers in a bulk electrical system. These dispatchers must react quickly to incidents as they happen in order to ensure the reliability and safe operation of the power grid. They do not have the time to evaluate incidents for signs of cyber-attack as part of their initial response. Cyber-attack detection involves multiple personnel from a variety of roles at both local and regional levels. Smart grid technology will improve detection and defense capabilities of the future grid, however, the current infrastructure remains a mixture of old andmore » new equipment which will continue to operate for some time. Thus, research still needs to focus on strategies for the detection of malicious activity on current infrastructure as well as protection and remediation.« less

Digging up the Dirt.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knuffman, Susan M.

1997-01-01

Explores ways of maintaining school floors and carpeting that ensure students and staff are comfortable, safe, and healthy. Carpet maintenance for high- to low-traffic areas and cleaning procedures are examined, as are ways maintenance staff can work together to help ensure a successful flooring-maintenance plan. (GR)

Fault-tolerant battery system employing intra-battery network architecture

DOEpatents

Hagen, Ronald A.; Chen, Kenneth W.; Comte, Christophe; Knudson, Orlin B.; Rouillard, Jean

2000-01-01

A distributed energy storing system employing a communications network is disclosed. A distributed battery system includes a number of energy storing modules, each of which includes a processor and communications interface. In a network mode of operation, a battery computer communicates with each of the module processors over an intra-battery network and cooperates with individual module processors to coordinate module monitoring and control operations. The battery computer monitors a number of battery and module conditions, including the potential and current state of the battery and individual modules, and the conditions of the battery's thermal management system. An over-discharge protection system, equalization adjustment system, and communications system are also controlled by the battery computer. The battery computer logs and reports various status data on battery level conditions which may be reported to a separate system platform computer. A module transitions to a stand-alone mode of operation if the module detects an absence of communication connectivity with the battery computer. A module which operates in a stand-alone mode performs various monitoring and control functions locally within the module to ensure safe and continued operation.

Research on Taxiway Path Optimization Based on Conflict Detection

PubMed Central

Zhou, Hang; Jiang, Xinxin

2015-01-01

Taxiway path planning is one of the effective measures to make full use of the airport resources, and the optimized paths can ensure the safety of the aircraft during the sliding process. In this paper, the taxiway path planning based on conflict detection is considered. Specific steps are shown as follows: firstly, make an improvement on A * algorithm, the conflict detection strategy is added to search for the shortest and safe path in the static taxiway network. Then, according to the sliding speed of aircraft, a time table for each node is determined and the safety interval is treated as the constraint to judge whether there is a conflict or not. The intelligent initial path planning model is established based on the results. Finally, make an example in an airport simulation environment, detect and relieve the conflict to ensure the safety. The results indicate that the model established in this paper is effective and feasible. Meanwhile, make comparison with the improved A*algorithm and other intelligent algorithms, conclude that the improved A*algorithm has great advantages. It could not only optimize taxiway path, but also ensure the safety of the sliding process and improve the operational efficiency. PMID:26226485

Research on Taxiway Path Optimization Based on Conflict Detection.

PubMed

Zhou, Hang; Jiang, Xinxin

2015-01-01

Taxiway path planning is one of the effective measures to make full use of the airport resources, and the optimized paths can ensure the safety of the aircraft during the sliding process. In this paper, the taxiway path planning based on conflict detection is considered. Specific steps are shown as follows: firstly, make an improvement on A * algorithm, the conflict detection strategy is added to search for the shortest and safe path in the static taxiway network. Then, according to the sliding speed of aircraft, a time table for each node is determined and the safety interval is treated as the constraint to judge whether there is a conflict or not. The intelligent initial path planning model is established based on the results. Finally, make an example in an airport simulation environment, detect and relieve the conflict to ensure the safety. The results indicate that the model established in this paper is effective and feasible. Meanwhile, make comparison with the improved A*algorithm and other intelligent algorithms, conclude that the improved A*algorithm has great advantages. It could not only optimize taxiway path, but also ensure the safety of the sliding process and improve the operational efficiency.

How Principals Can Help to Ensure Safe Science Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, James A.

1995-01-01

Most schools inadequately protect the health and safety of students involved in science study. Echoing industry standards (and safety records), schools should have safety policies and committees, develop safety orientation programs, make working safely an employment condition, reward good safety performance, inspect and correct, and supply…

78 FR 72748 - Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-03

... safe rail environment by ensuring that affected railroads (Class Is and some Class IIs) address... convey emergency and need-to-know information. The new rule establishes safe, uniform procedures covering... (FRA) and the Surface Transportation Board (STB), working in conjunction with each other, have issued...

Pedestrian evacuation at the subway station under fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao-Xia, Yang; Hai-Rong, Dong; Xiu-Ming, Yao; Xu-Bin, Sun

2016-04-01

With the development of urban rail transit, ensuring the safe evacuation of pedestrians at subway stations has become an important issue in the case of an emergency such as a fire. This paper chooses the platform of line 4 at the Beijing Xuanwumen subway station to study the emergency evacuation process under fire. Based on the established platform, effects of the fire dynamics, different initial pedestrian densities, and positions of fire on evacuation are investigated. According to simulation results, it is found that the fire increases the air temperature and the smoke density, and decreases pedestrians’ visibility and walking velocity. Also, there is a critical initial density at the platform if achieving a safe evacuation within the required 6 minutes. Furthermore, different positions of fire set in this paper have little difference on crowd evacuation if the fire is not large enough. The suggestions provided in this paper are helpful for the subway operators to prevent major casualties. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61322307 and 61233001).

Building quality into medical product software design.

PubMed

Mallory, S R

1993-01-01

The software engineering and quality assurance disciplines are a requisite to the design of safe and effective software-based medical devices. It is in the areas of software methodology and process that the most beneficial application of these disciplines to software development can be made. Software is a product of complex operations and methodologies and is not amenable to the traditional electromechanical quality assurance processes. Software quality must be built in by the developers, with the software verification and validation engineers acting as the independent instruments for ensuring compliance with performance objectives and with development and maintenance standards. The implementation of a software quality assurance program is a complex process involving management support, organizational changes, and new skill sets, but the benefits are profound. Its rewards provide safe, reliable, cost-effective, maintainable, and manageable software, which may significantly speed the regulatory review process and therefore potentially shorten the overall time to market. The use of a trial project can greatly facilitate the learning process associated with the first-time application of a software quality assurance program.

Global operating theatre distribution and pulse oximetry supply: an estimation from reported data.

PubMed

Funk, Luke M; Weiser, Thomas G; Berry, William R; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Merry, Alan F; Enright, Angela C; Wilson, Iain H; Dziekan, Gerald; Gawande, Atul A

2010-09-25

Surgery is an essential part of health care, but resources to ensure the availability of surgical services are often inadequate. We estimated the global distribution of operating theatres and quantified the availability of pulse oximetry, which is an essential monitoring device during surgery and a potential measure of operating theatre resources. We calculated ratios of the number of operating theatres to hospital beds in seven geographical regions worldwide on the basis of profiles from 769 hospitals in 92 countries that participated in WHO's safe surgery saves lives initiative. We used hospital bed figures from 190 WHO member states to estimate the number of operating theatres per 100,000 people in 21 subregions throughout the world. To estimate availability of pulse oximetry, we sent surveys to anaesthesia providers in 72 countries selected to ensure a geographically and demographically diverse sample. A predictive regression model was used to estimate the pulse oximetry need for countries that did not provide data. The estimated number of operating theatres ranged from 1·0 (95% CI 0·9-1·2) per 100,000 people in west sub-Saharan Africa to 25·1 (20·9-30·1) per 100,000 in eastern Europe. High-income subregions all averaged more than 14 per 100,000 people, whereas all low-income subregions, representing 2·2 billion people, had fewer than two theatres per 100,000. Pulse oximetry data from 54 countries suggested that around 77,700 (63,195-95,533) theatres worldwide (19·2% [15·2-23·9]) were not equipped with pulse oximeters. Improvements in public-health strategies and monitoring are needed to reduce disparities for more than 2 billion people without adequate access to surgical care. WHO. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineering of Impulse Mechanism for Mechanical Hander Power Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaevich Drozdov, Anatoliy

2018-03-01

The solution to the problem of human security in cities should be considered on the basis of an integrated and multidisciplinary approach, including issues of security and ecology in the application of technical means used to ensure the viability and development of technocracy. In this regard, an important task is the creation of a safe technique with improved environmental properties with high technological characteristics. This primarily relates to mechanised tool — the division of technological machines with built in engines is that their weight is fully or partially perceived by the operator’s hands, making the flow and control of the car. For this subclass of machines is characterized by certain features: a built-in motor, perception of at least part of their weight by the operator during the work, the implementation of feeding and management at the expense of the muscular power of the operator. Therefore, among the commonly accepted technical and economic characteristics, machines in this case, important ergonomic (ergonomics), regulation of levels which ensures the safety of the operator. To ergonomics include vibration, noise characteristics, mass, and force feeding machine operator. Vibration is a consequence of the dynamism of the system operator machine - processed object (environment) in which the engine energy is redistributed among all the structures, causing their instability. In the machine vibration caused by technological and constructive (transformative mechanisms) unbalance of individual parts of the drive, the presence of technological and design (impact mechanisms) clearances and other reasons. This article describes a new design of impulse mechanism for hander power tools (wrenches, screwdrivers) with enhanced torque. The article substantiates a simulation model of dynamic compression process in an operating chamber during impact, provides simulation results and outlines further lines of research.

U.S. Geological Survey - Virginia Department of Transportation: Bridge scour pilot study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Austin, Samuel H.

2018-02-27

BackgroundCost effective and safe highway bridge designs are required to ensure the long-term sustainability of Virginia’s road systems. The streamflows that, over time, scour streambed sediments from bridge piers inherently affect bridge safety and design costs. To ensure safety, bridge design must anticipate streambed scour at bridge piers over the lifespan of a bridge. Until recently Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidance provided only for scour estimates of granular, noncohesive, highly erosive material yielding overestimates of scour potential in instances when streambed materials offer some resistance to scour. This study seeks to estimate stream power and streambed scour for these more resistive sites, with bridge piers potentially established in cohesive soil or erodible rock. This new knowledge may provide significant construction cost savings while ensuring design and construction of safe highway bridges.

Engineering Software Suite Validates System Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

EDAptive Computing Inc.'s (ECI) EDAstar engineering software tool suite, created to capture and validate system design requirements, was significantly funded by NASA's Ames Research Center through five Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts. These programs specifically developed Syscape, used to capture executable specifications of multi-disciplinary systems, and VectorGen, used to automatically generate tests to ensure system implementations meet specifications. According to the company, the VectorGen tests considerably reduce the time and effort required to validate implementation of components, thereby ensuring their safe and reliable operation. EDASHIELD, an additional product offering from ECI, can be used to diagnose, predict, and correct errors after a system has been deployed using EDASTAR -created models. Initial commercialization for EDASTAR included application by a large prime contractor in a military setting, and customers include various branches within the U.S. Department of Defense, industry giants like the Lockheed Martin Corporation, Science Applications International Corporation, and Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation, as well as NASA's Langley and Glenn Research Centers

Digital computer operation of a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Colley, R.W.

1982-06-29

A method is described for the safe operation of a complex system such as a nuclear reactor using a digital computer. The computer is supplied with a data base containing a list of the safe state of the reactor and a list of operating instructions for achieving a safe state when the actual state of the reactor does not correspond to a listed safe state, the computer selects operating instructions to return the reactor to a safe state.

Digital computer operation of a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Colley, Robert W.

1984-01-01

A method is described for the safe operation of a complex system such as a nuclear reactor using a digital computer. The computer is supplied with a data base containing a list of the safe state of the reactor and a list of operating instructions for achieving a safe state when the actual state of the reactor does not correspond to a listed safe state, the computer selects operating instructions to return the reactor to a safe state.

Ten Fire Safety Tips for Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake, James D.

1999-01-01

Provides 10 basic tips, compiled from the National Fire Protection Association's Life Safety Code 101, to ensure that educational facilities are fire safe. Tips include use of frequent and unexpected fire drills, limiting wall space of student artwork and teaching materials, being alert to preventing arson, planning speedy and safe emergency…

42 CFR 460.72 - Physical environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Physical environment. 460.72 Section 460.72 Public...) PACE Administrative Requirements § 460.72 Physical environment. (a) Space and equipment—(1) Safe design... maintained to provide for the physical safety of participants, personnel, and visitors. (ii) Ensure a safe...

42 CFR 460.72 - Physical environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Physical environment. 460.72 Section 460.72 Public...) PACE Administrative Requirements § 460.72 Physical environment. (a) Space and equipment—(1) Safe design... maintained to provide for the physical safety of participants, personnel, and visitors. (ii) Ensure a safe...

42 CFR 460.72 - Physical environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Physical environment. 460.72 Section 460.72 Public...) PACE Administrative Requirements § 460.72 Physical environment. (a) Space and equipment—(1) Safe design... maintained to provide for the physical safety of participants, personnel, and visitors. (ii) Ensure a safe...

42 CFR 460.72 - Physical environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Physical environment. 460.72 Section 460.72 Public...) PACE Administrative Requirements § 460.72 Physical environment. (a) Space and equipment—(1) Safe design... maintained to provide for the physical safety of participants, personnel, and visitors. (ii) Ensure a safe...

SSWR Water Systems Project 2: Next Steps – Technology Advances

EPA Science Inventory

EPA is responsible for protecting America’s water resources under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and for ensuring that the Nation’s drinking water is safe under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Further, it is the responsibility of EPA to conduct research and analyses t...

77 FR 24556 - Waiver of Acceptable Risk Restriction for Launch and Reentry

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-24

... designed to stimulate efforts by the private sector to demonstrate safe, reliable, and cost-effective space... ensure safe approach and berthing with the International Space Station, utilizing considerable fuel. In... economic growth and entrepreneurial activity through use of the space environment; (2) to encourage the...

78 FR 27392 - Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-10

... Office (AMSO) provides a safe, secure, healthy, and functional workplace environment for CDC staff by... provides the tools needed for workers to be safe, work in a healthy environment, and ensures environmental... Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness (CAJJ); Office of Safety, Health and Environment (CAJP...

78 FR 62309 - Child Health Day, 2013

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-16

... grow up healthy and safe. And we all share an obligation to ensure our youth have the necessary... children feel safe and feel like they belong. Through First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative, we are working to end the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. And thanks to the...

Planning and Designing Safe Facilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seidler, Todd

2006-01-01

Those who manage physical education, athletic, and recreation programs have a number of legal duties that they are expected to carry out. Among these are an obligation to take reasonable precautions to ensure safe programs and facilities for all participants, spectators, and staff. Physical education and sports facilities that are poorly planned,…

46 CFR 58.25-85 - Special requirements for tank vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... (e), (h), (i), and (j); (2) Ensure working access to machinery and controls in the steering-gear compartment (which must include handrails and either gratings or other non-slip surfaces to ensure a safe working environment in case hydraulic fluid leaks); (3) Have two separate and independent steering-gear...

42 CFR 403.742 - Condition of participation: Physical environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... temperature control and appropriate lighting levels to ensure a safe and secure environment. (4) A written... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition of participation: Physical environment... environment. A RNHCI must be designed, constructed, and maintained to ensure the safety of the patients, staff...

Structural Health Monitoring for a Z-Type Special Vehicle

PubMed Central

Yuan, Chaolin; Ren, Liang; Li, Hongnan

2017-01-01

Nowadays there exist various kinds of special vehicles designed for some purposes, which are different from regular vehicles in overall dimension and design. In that case, accidents such as overturning will lead to large economical loss and casualties. There are still no technical specifications to follow to ensure the safe operation and driving of these special vehicles. Owing to the poor efficiency of regular maintenance, it is more feasible and effective to apply real-time monitoring during the operation and driving process. In this paper, the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are used to monitor the safety of a z-type special vehicle. Based on the structural features and force distribution, a reasonable structural health monitoring (SHM) scheme is presented. Comparing the monitoring results with the finite element simulation results guarantees the accuracy and reliability of the monitoring results. Large amounts of data are collected during the operation and driving progress to evaluate the structural safety condition and provide reference for SHM systems developed for other special vehicles. PMID:28587161

Alternative Radioisotopes for Heat and Power Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinsley, T.; Sarsfield, M.; Rice, T.

Production of 238Pu requires considerable facilities including a nuclear reactor and reprocessing plants that are very expensive to build and operate. Thus, a more economical alternative is very attractive to the industry. There are many alternative radioisotopes that exist but few that satisfy the criteria of performance, availability and cost to produce. Any alternative to 238Pu must exist in a chemical form that is compatible with the materials required to safely encapsulate the heat source at the high temperatures of operation and potential launch failure scenarios. The chemical form must also have suitable thermal properties to ensure maximum energy conversion efficiencies when integrated into radioisotope thermoelectric generators over the required mission durations. In addition, the radiation dose must be low enough for operators during production and not so prohibitive that excessive shielding mass is required on the space craft. This paper will focus on the preferred European alternative of 241Am, and the issues that will need to be addressed.

Application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point in the local manufacture of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs).

PubMed

Henry, C Jeya K; Xin, Janice Lim Wen

2014-06-01

The local manufacture of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) is increasing, and there is a need to develop methods to ensure their safe production. We propose the application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles to achieve this goal. The basic principles of HACCP in the production of RUTFs are outlined. It is concluded that the implementation of an HACCP system in the manufacture of RUTFs is not only feasible but also attainable. The introduction of good manufacturing practices, coupled with an effective HACCP system, will ensure that RUTFs are produced in a cost-effective, safe, and hygienic manner.

Challenges of using new and repurposed drugs for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in children.

PubMed

Schaaf, H Simon; Garcia-Prats, Anthony J; McKenna, Lindsay; Seddon, James A

2018-03-01

New and repurposed antituberculosis drugs are urgently needed to more safely and effectively treat multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) in children. Multiple challenges limit timely access to new MDR-TB treatments in children. Areas covered: Diagnosis of MDR-TB in children remains a barrier, with few children with MDR-TB diagnosed and treated. Other barriers to timely access to new and repurposed drugs are discussed, and include delayed initiation of paediatric trials, limited funding for paediatric drug development, fragmented regulatory systems and operational challenges. The status of access to current repurposed and novel drugs is presented. Expert commentary: More timely initiation of paediatric trials is needed and paediatric work should happen and be funded in parallel with each phase of adult trials. Better quality data, increased regulator resources and expertise, harmonization of regulatory requirements across borders/organisations and registration fee waivers would improve registration timelines. Improved diagnosis, recording and reporting will establish better demand. Improved systems for procurement and supply chain management would reduce in-country operational barriers to getting medications to children. The challenges must be addressed to ensure timely and equitable access to new drugs and regimens that are urgently needed for effective, safe and shorter treatment of children with MDR-TB.

Keeping rail on track: preliminary findings on safety culture in Australian rail.

PubMed

Blewett, Verna; Rainbird, Sophia; Dorrian, Jill; Paterson, Jessica; Cattani, Marcus

2012-01-01

'Safety culture' is identified in the literature as a critical element of healthy and safe workplaces. How can rail organizations ensure that consistently effective work health and safety cultures are maintained across the diversity of their operations? This paper reports on research that is currently underway in the Australian rail industry aimed at producing a Model of Best Practice in Safety Culture for the industry. Located in rail organizations dedicated to the mining industry as well as urban rail and national freight operations, the research examines the constructs of organizational culture that impact on the development and maintenance of healthy and safe workplaces. The research uses a multi-method approach incorporating quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups, interviews and document analysis) methods along with a participative process to identify interventions to improve the organization and develop plans for their implementation. The research uses as its analytical framework the 10 Platinum Rules, from the findings of earlier research in the New South Wales (Australia) mining industry, Digging Deeper. Data collection is underway at the time of writing and preliminary findings are presented at this stage. The research method may be adapted for use as a form of organizational review of safety and health in organizational culture.

Current training initiatives at Nuclear Electric plc

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

Fowler, C.D.

1993-01-01

Nuclear Electric, one of the three generating companies to emerge from the demise of the U.K.'s Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), owns and operates the commercial nuclear power stations in England and Wales. The U.K. government proscribed further construction beyond Sizewell B, the United Kingdom's first pressurized water reactor (PWR) station, pending the outcome of a review of the future of nuclear power to be held in 1994. The major challenges facing Nuclear Electric at its formation in 1990 were therefore to demonstrate that nuclear power is safe, economical, and environmentally acceptable and to complete the PWR station under constructionmore » on time and within budget. A significant number of activities were started that were designed to increase output, reduce costs, and ensure that the previous excellent safety standards were maintained. A major activity was to reduce the numbers of staff employed, with a recognition from the outset that this reduction could only be achieved with a significant human resource development program. Future company staff would have to be competent in more areas and more productive. This paper summarizes some of the initiatives currently being pursued throughout the company and the progress toward ensuring that staff with the required competences are available to commission and operate the Sizewell B program in 1994.« less

Configuration Management Plan for K Basins

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

Weir, W.R.; Laney, T.

This plan describes a configuration management program for K Basins that establishes the systems, processes, and responsibilities necessary for implementation. The K Basins configuration management plan provides the methodology to establish, upgrade, reconstitute, and maintain the technical consistency among the requirements, physical configuration, and documentation. The technical consistency afforded by this plan ensures accurate technical information necessary to achieve the mission objectives that provide for the safe, economic, and environmentally sound management of K Basins and the stored material. The configuration management program architecture presented in this plan is based on the functional model established in the DOE Standard, DOE-STD-1073-93,more » {open_quotes}Guide for Operational Configuration Management Program{close_quotes}.« less

Los Alamos National Laboratory emergency management plan. Revision 1

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

Ramsey, G.F.

1998-07-15

The Laboratory has developed this Emergency Management Plan (EMP) to assist in emergency planning, preparedness, and response to anticipated and actual emergencies. The Plan establishes guidance for ensuring safe Laboratory operation, protection of the environment, and safeguarding Department of Energy (DOE) property. Detailed information and specific instructions required by emergency response personnel to implement the EMP are contained in the Emergency Management Plan Implementing Procedure (EMPIP) document, which consists of individual EMPIPs. The EMP and EMPIPs may be used to assist in resolving emergencies including but not limited to fires, high-energy accidents, hazardous material releases (radioactive and nonradioactive), security incidents,more » transportation accidents, electrical accidents, and natural disasters.« less

Using Visualization in Cockpit Decision Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aragon, Cecilia R.

2005-01-01

In order to safely operate their aircraft, pilots must make rapid decisions based on integrating and processing large amounts of heterogeneous information. Visual displays are often the most efficient method of presenting safety-critical data to pilots in real time. However, care must be taken to ensure the pilot is provided with the appropriate amount of information to make effective decisions and not become cognitively overloaded. The results of two usability studies of a prototype airflow hazard visualization cockpit decision support system are summarized. The studies demonstrate that such a system significantly improves the performance of helicopter pilots landing under turbulent conditions. Based on these results, design principles and implications for cockpit decision support systems using visualization are presented.

Short-term electric power demand forecasting based on economic-electricity transmission model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wenfeng; Bai, Hongkun; Liu, Wei; Liu, Yongmin; Wang, Yubin Mao; Wang, Jiangbo; He, Dandan

2018-04-01

Short-term electricity demand forecasting is the basic work to ensure safe operation of the power system. In this paper, a practical economic electricity transmission model (EETM) is built. With the intelligent adaptive modeling capabilities of Prognoz Platform 7.2, the econometric model consists of three industrial added value and income levels is firstly built, the electricity demand transmission model is also built. By multiple regression, moving averages and seasonal decomposition, the problem of multiple correlations between variables is effectively overcome in EETM. The validity of EETM is proved by comparison with the actual value of Henan Province. Finally, EETM model is used to forecast the electricity consumption of the 1-4 quarter of 2018.

Machine Protection with a 700 MJ Beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baer, T.; Schmidt, R.; Wenninger, J.; Wollmann, D.; Zerlauth, M.

After the high luminosity upgrade of the LHC, the stored energy per proton beam will increase by a factor of two as compared to the nominal LHC. Therefore, many damage studies need to be revisited to ensure a safe machine operation with the new beam parameters. Furthermore, new accelerator equipment like crab cavities might cause new failure modes, which are not sufficiently covered by the current machine protection system of the LHC. These failure modes have to be carefully studied and mitigated by new protection systems. Finally the ambitious goals for integrated luminosity delivered to the experiments during the era of HL-LHC require an increase of the machine availability without jeopardizing equipment protection.

Ozone--the latest advance in sterilization of medical devices.

PubMed

Murphy, Lorna

2006-06-01

How many times have procedures in your operating rooms been delayed because the instruments needed were still in the sterilizer? As Perioperative nurses you are likely to be quite familiar with the constant pressure to ensure that scarce instrumentation is available when needed. In 2003, a Canadian company developed a unique sterilization process employing ozone as the sterilizing agent. This technology is a safe, rapid and economical alternative to other low temperature sterilization modalities and may relieve some of the pressure experienced when instruments in short supply are in high demand. This article will discuss the principles of the sterilizer and the cycle and will explore the advantages of using this sterilization technology.

Surgical harvesting of bone graft from the ilium: point of view.

PubMed

Russell, J L; Block, J E

2000-12-01

Autologous bone harvested from the ilium is commonly used as a grafting material in surgical reconstructive and arthrodesis procedures to ensure a satisfactory postoperative outcome. However, operative removal of bone from the iliac crest requires an additional surgical procedure with a distinct set of postoperative complications. We provide a comprehensive literature synthesis of the incidence and severity of complications reported to be associated with this commonly practiced procedure. Most severe complications are rare, but chronic pain at the donor site exceeding three months in duration occurs frequently and can be particularly bothersome to patients. Alternative grafting materials that are safe and effective are sorely needed. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

Optical coherence tomography for nondestructive evaluation of fuel rod degradation

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

Renshaw, Jeremy B., E-mail: jrenshaw@epri.com; Jenkins, Thomas P., E-mail: tjenkins@metrolaserinc.com; Buckner, Benjamin D., E-mail: tjenkins@metrolaserinc.com

Nuclear power plants regularly inspect fuel rods to ensure safe and reliable operation. Excessive corrosion can cause fuel failures which can have significant repercussions for the plant, including impacts on plant operation, worker exposure to radiation, and the plant's INPO rating. While plants typically inspect for fuel rod corrosion using eddy current techniques, these techniques have known issues with reliability in the presence of tenacious, ferromagnetic crud layers that can deposit during operation, and the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) inspection results can often be in error by a factor of 2 or 3. For this reason, alternative measurement techniques, such asmore » Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), have been evaluated that are not sensitive to the ferromagnetic nature of the crud. This paper demonstrates that OCT has significant potential to characterize the thickness of crud layers that can deposit on the surfaces of fuel rods during operation. Physical trials have been performed on simulated crud samples, and the resulting data show an apparent correlation between the crud layer thickness and the OCT signal.« less

Principal Connection/Protecting Your Team

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoerr, Thomas R.

2016-01-01

In this article, Thomas R. Hoerr offers some insights into safe schools that attend not only to the physical safety of students and staff, but the emotional well-being of everyone. With safety, there are no guarantees, but school leaders can work hard to ensure that every student feels safe and comfortable at school, which means embracing all…

Supporting Safe, Secure and Caring Schools in Alberta.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMullen, Dean

Alberta Learning expects all schools to have a safe and caring teaching and learning environment to ensure students have the opportunity to meet the standards of education set by the Minister of Learning. The primary objectives of this manual are to facilitate action that is legally, professionally, and educationally sound; identify and support…

Traps and Treasures: How To Stay Safe and Avoid the Perils of School Construction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Colin A.

2002-01-01

Provides steps school administrators can take to ensure safe construction: stay visible, update students, separate students and construction workers, engage workers in the educational process, monitor student movement, observe construction workers, barricade work areas, watch for stored materials, check emergency exits daily, conduct fire drills,…

Is Your Child's School Really Safe?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monk, James

2002-01-01

Presents a brief quiz for parents to see if their child's school building is taking basic steps to ensure a safe learning environment (e.g., Is the building locked? Are strict guidelines in place when students participate in field trips? Is adult supervision always maintained on playgrounds?). Suggested action plans are included. A sidebar offers…

High-intensity power-resolved radiation imaging of an operational nuclear reactor.

PubMed

Beaumont, Jonathan S; Mellor, Matthew P; Villa, Mario; Joyce, Malcolm J

2015-10-09

Knowledge of the neutron distribution in a nuclear reactor is necessary to ensure the safe and efficient burnup of reactor fuel. Currently these measurements are performed by in-core systems in what are extremely hostile environments and in most reactor accident scenarios it is likely that these systems would be damaged. Here we present a compact and portable radiation imaging system with the ability to image high-intensity fast-neutron and gamma-ray fields simultaneously. This system has been deployed to image radiation fields emitted during the operation of a TRIGA test reactor allowing a spatial visualization of the internal reactor conditions to be obtained. The imaged flux in each case is found to scale linearly with reactor power indicating that this method may be used for power-resolved reactor monitoring and for the assay of ongoing nuclear criticalities in damaged nuclear reactors.

[Usefulness of Laparoscopic Stoma Creation for Unresectable Colorectal Cancer].

PubMed

Ishimoto, Takeshi; Nishida, Tatsurou; Suzuki, Tomoyuki; Osawa, Rumi; Sai, Sojin; Kin, Shuichi; Fujita, Yoshifumi; Suganuma, Yasushi; Shirakata, Shuji; Nomi, Shinhachiro

2018-01-01

Laparoscopic stoma creation enables good visualization of viscera within the abdominal cavity to ensure adequate mobilization of the large intestine. Laparoscopic stoma creation/construction was indicated and performed at our hospital in 7 patients who were diagnosed with unresectable colorectal cancer between July 2015 and May 2017. Duringthe ileostomy procedure, we made a skin incision at the stoma site and performed a single-incision(3-port)laparoscopic surgery. For the colostomy procedure, we made a small incision at the umbilicus and mobilized the large intestine with laparoscopic dissection of any interveningadhesions. Operation time ranged between 34 and 127 minutes, and the volume of intraoperative blood loss was low in all cases. There were no fatal complications related to the operation. Laparoscopic stoma creation can be performed safely and may be useful for staging of malignant colorectal tumors and reducing the risk of complications.

Principles and methods for ensuring safe operation of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korol, Oleg; Kustikova, Yuliya

2018-03-01

The purpose of monitoring the technical condition of high-rise buildings is to prevent possible negative situations leading to significant socio-economic losses by timely warning of the emergence of such situations. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following main tasks, such as: identifying the time and place of origin and development of negative processes that lead to the emergence of an emergency situation; analysis of the possible development of the situation in time; development of management decisions; formation and submission of warning signals; obtaining new knowledge about the operation of the object, the factors of influence on this object, the speed of development of destructive processes. When solving the above problems, an important role is played by constructing an adequate mathematical model of the object, the parameters of which should be calibrated according to the current monitoring results.

Space Shuttle and Space Station Radio Frequency (RF) Exposure Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hwu, Shian U.; Loh, Yin-Chung; Sham, Catherine C.; Kroll, Quin D.

2005-01-01

This paper outlines the modeling techniques and important parameters to define a rigorous but practical procedure that can verify the compliance of RF exposure to the NASA standards for astronauts and electronic equipment. The electromagnetic modeling techniques are applied to analyze RF exposure in Space Shuttle and Space Station environments with reasonable computing time and resources. The modeling techniques are capable of taking into account the field interactions with Space Shuttle and Space Station structures. The obtained results illustrate the multipath effects due to the presence of the space vehicle structures. It's necessary to include the field interactions with the space vehicle in the analysis for an accurate assessment of the RF exposure. Based on the obtained results, the RF keep out zones are identified for appropriate operational scenarios, flight rules and necessary RF transmitter constraints to ensure a safe operating environment and mission success.

Crew Exploration Vehicle Ascent Abort Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davidson, John B., Jr.; Madsen, Jennifer M.; Proud, Ryan W.; Merritt, Deborah S.; Sparks, Dean W., Jr.; Kenyon, Paul R.; Burt, Richard; McFarland, Mike

2007-01-01

One of the primary design drivers for NASA's Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is to ensure crew safety. Aborts during the critical ascent flight phase require the design and operation of CEV systems to escape from the Crew Launch Vehicle and return the crew safely to the Earth. To accomplish this requirement of continuous abort coverage, CEV ascent abort modes are being designed and analyzed to accommodate the velocity, altitude, atmospheric, and vehicle configuration changes that occur during ascent. The analysis involves an evaluation of the feasibility and survivability of each abort mode and an assessment of the abort mode coverage. These studies and design trades are being conducted so that more informed decisions can be made regarding the vehicle abort requirements, design, and operation. This paper presents an overview of the CEV, driving requirements for abort scenarios, and an overview of current ascent abort modes. Example analysis results are then discussed. Finally, future areas for abort analysis are addressed.

Environment-friendly drilling operation technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Huaidong; Jing, Ning; Zhang, Yanna; Huang, Hongjun; Wei, Jun

2017-01-01

Under the circumstance that international safety and environmental standards being more and more stringent, drilling engineering is facing unprecedented challenges, the extensive traditional process flow is no longer accepted, the new safe and environment-friendly process is more suitable to the healthy development of the industry. In 2015, CNPCIC adopted environment-friendly drilling technology for the first time in the Chad region, ensured the safety of well control, at the same time increased the environmental protection measure, reduced the risk of environmental pollution what obtain the ratification from local government. This technology carries out recovery and disposal of crude oil, cuttings and mud without falling on the ground. The final products are used in road and well site construction, which realizes the reutilization of drilling waste, reduces the operating cost, and provides a strong technical support for cost-cutting and performance-increase of drilling engineering under low oil price.

High-intensity power-resolved radiation imaging of an operational nuclear reactor

PubMed Central

Beaumont, Jonathan S.; Mellor, Matthew P.; Villa, Mario; Joyce, Malcolm J.

2015-01-01

Knowledge of the neutron distribution in a nuclear reactor is necessary to ensure the safe and efficient burnup of reactor fuel. Currently these measurements are performed by in-core systems in what are extremely hostile environments and in most reactor accident scenarios it is likely that these systems would be damaged. Here we present a compact and portable radiation imaging system with the ability to image high-intensity fast-neutron and gamma-ray fields simultaneously. This system has been deployed to image radiation fields emitted during the operation of a TRIGA test reactor allowing a spatial visualization of the internal reactor conditions to be obtained. The imaged flux in each case is found to scale linearly with reactor power indicating that this method may be used for power-resolved reactor monitoring and for the assay of ongoing nuclear criticalities in damaged nuclear reactors. PMID:26450669

Supporting the human life-raft in confronting the juggernaut of technology: Jens Rasmussen, 1961-1986.

PubMed

Kant, Vivek

2017-03-01

Jens Rasmussen's contribution to the field of human factors and ergonomics has had a lasting impact. Six prominent interrelated themes can be extracted from his research between 1961 and 1986. These themes form the basis of an engineering epistemology which is best manifested by his abstraction hierarchy. Further, Rasmussen reformulated technical reliability using systems language to enable a proper human-machine fit. To understand the concept of human-machine fit, he included the operator as a central component in the system to enhance system safety. This change resulted in the application of a qualitative and categorical approach for human-machine interaction design. Finally, Rasmussen's insistence on a working philosophy of systems design as being a joint responsibility of operators and designers provided the basis for averting errors and ensuring safe and correct system functioning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aircraft loss-of-control prevention and recovery: A hybrid control strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dongmo, Jean-Etienne Temgoua

The Complexity of modern commercial and military aircrafts has necessitated better protection and recovery systems. With the tremendous advances in computer technology, control theory and better mathematical models, a number of issues (Prevention, Reconfiguration, Recovery, Operation near critical points, ... etc) moderately addressed in the past have regained interest in the aeronautical industry. Flight envelope is essential in all flying aerospace vehicles. Typically, flying the vehicle means remaining within the flight envelope at all times. Operation outside the normal flight regime is usually subject to failure of components (Actuators, Engines, Deflection Surfaces) , pilots's mistakes, maneuverability near critical points and environmental conditions (crosswinds...) and in general characterized as Loss-Of-Control (LOC) because the aircraft no longer responds to pilot's inputs as expected. For the purpose of this work, (LOC) in aircraft is defined as the departure from the safe set (controlled flight) recognized as the maximum controllable (reachable) set in the initial flight envelope. The LOC can be reached either through failure, unintended maneuvers, evolution near irregular points and disturbances. A coordinated strategy is investigated and designed to ensure that the aircraft can maneuver safely in their constraint domain and can also recover from abnormal regime. The procedure involves the computation of the largest controllable (reachable) set (Safe set) contained in the initial prescribed envelope. The problem is posed as a reachability problem using Hamilton-Jacobi Partial Differential Equation (HJ-PDE) where a cost function is set to he minimized along trajectory departing from the given set. Prevention is then obtained by computing the controller which would allow the flight vehicle to remain in the maximum controlled set in a multi-objective set up. Then the recovery procedure is illustrated with a two-point boundary value problem. Once illustrate, a set of control strategies is designed for recovery purpose ranging from nonlinear smooth regulators with Hamilton Jacobi-Hellman (HJB) formulation to the switching controllers with High Order Sliding Mode Controllers (HOSMC). A coordinated strategy known as a high level supervisor is then implemented using the multi-models concept where models operate in specified safe regions of the state space.

Safe handling of antineoplastic drugs.

PubMed

Harrison, B R

1994-07-01

Managers should be aware of the hazardous properties of antineoplastic drugs and of the procedures and equipment commonly recommended to provide a safe working environment for employees, patients, and visitors. Compliance with the many published guidelines should help ensure passage of the inevitable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or Joint Commission inspection. Acute and chronic toxicities of the antineoplastic drugs, the potential for exposure in the workplace, and the basic guidelines for safe handling of these agents are reviewed.

46 CFR 58.25-40 - Arrangement of the steering-gear compartment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., separated from any machinery space; (2) Ensure working access to machinery and controls in the compartment; and (3) Include handrails and either gratings or other non-slip surfaces to ensure a safe working environment if hydraulic fluid leaks. Note: Where practicable, all steering gear should be located in the...

Technical Note: Mobile accelerator guidance using an optical tracker during docking in IOERT procedures.

PubMed

Marinetto, Eugenio; Victores, Juan González; García-Sevilla, Mónica; Muñoz, Mercedes; Calvo, Felipe Ángel; Balaguer, Carlos; Desco, Manuel; Pascau, Javier

2017-10-01

Intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT) involves the delivery of a high radiation dose during tumor resection in a shorter time than other radiation techniques, thus improving local control of tumors. However, a linear accelerator device is needed to produce the beam safely. Mobile linear accelerators have been designed as dedicated units that can be moved into the operating room and deliver radiation in situ. Correct and safe dose delivery is a key concern when using mobile accelerators. The applicator is commonly fixed to the patient's bed to ensure that the dose is delivered to the prescribed location, and the mobile accelerator is moved to dock the applicator to the radiation beam output (gantry). In a typical clinical set-up, this task is time-consuming because of safety requirements and the limited degree of freedom of the gantry. The objective of this study was to present a navigation solution based on optical tracking for guidance of docking to improve safety and reduce procedure time. We used an optical tracker attached to the mobile linear accelerator to track the prescribed localization of the radiation collimator inside the operating room. Using this information, the integrated navigation system developed computes the movements that the mobile linear accelerator needs to perform to align the applicator and the radiation gantry and warns the physician if docking is unrealizable according to the available degrees of freedom of the mobile linear accelerator. Furthermore, we coded a software application that connects all the necessary functioning elements and provides a user interface for the system calibration and the docking guidance. The system could safeguard against the spatial limitations of the operating room, calculate the optimal arrangement of the accelerator and reduce the docking time in computer simulations and experimental setups. The system could be used to guide docking with any commercial linear accelerator. We believe that the docking navigator we present is a major contribution to IOERT, where docking is critical when attempting to reduce surgical time, ensure patient safety and guarantee that the treatment administered follows the radiation oncologist's prescription. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

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

NONE

Nuclear power has safely, reliably, and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 60%) of non-greenhouse-gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. Domestic demand for electrical energy is expected to grow by about 24% from 2013 to 2040 . At the same time, most of the currently operating nuclear power plants will begin reaching the end of their initial 20-year extension to their original 40-year operating license, for a total of 60 years of operation (the oldest commercial plants in the Unitedmore » States reached their 40th anniversary in 2009). Figure E-1 shows projected nuclear energy contribution to the domestic generating capacity for 40- and 60-year license periods. If current operating nuclear power plants do not operate beyond 60 years (and new nuclear plants are not built quickly enough to replace them), the total fraction of generated electrical energy from nuclear power will rapidly decline. That decline will be accelerated if plants are shut down before 60 years of operation. Decisions on extended operation ultimately rely on economic factors; however, economics can often be improved through technical advancements. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's 2010 Research and Development Roadmap (2010 Nuclear Energy Roadmap) organizes its activities around four objectives that ensure nuclear energy remains a compelling and viable energy option for the United States. The four objectives are as follows: 1. Develop technologies and other solutions that can improve the reliability, sustain the safety, and extend the life of the current reactors; 2. Develop improvements in the affordability of new reactors to enable nuclear energy to help meet the Administration's energy security and climate change goals; 3. Develop sustainable nuclear fuel cycles; and 4. Understand and minimize the risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is the primary programmatic activity that addresses Objective 1. This document summarizes the LWRS Program's plans. For the LWRS Program, sustainability is defined as the ability to maintain safe and economic operation of the existing fleet of nuclear power plants for a longer-than-initially-licensed lifetime. It has two facets with respect to long-term operations: (1) manage the aging of plant systems, structures, and components so that nuclear power plant lifetimes can be extended and the plants can continue to operate safely, efficiently, and economically; and (2) provide science-based solutions to the industry to implement technology to exceed the performance of the current labor-intensive business model.« less

Hybrid Composite Coatings for Durable and Efficient Solar Hydrogen Generation under Diverse Operating Conditions

DOE PAGES

Walczak, Karl A.; Segev, Gideon; Larson, David M.; ...

2017-02-17

Safe and practical solar-driven hydrogen generators must be capable of efficient and stable operation under diurnal cycling with full separation of gaseous H 2 and O 2 products. In this paper, a novel architecture that fulfills all of these requirements is presented. The approach is inherently scalable and provides versatility for operation under diverse electrolyte and lighting conditions. The concept is validated using a 1 cm 2 triple-junction photovoltaic cell with its illuminated photocathode protected by a composite coating comprising an organic encapsulant with an embedded catalytic support. The device is compatible with operation under conditions ranging from 1 Mmore » H 2SO 4 to 1 M KOH, enabling flexibility in selection of semiconductor, electrolyte, membrane, and catalyst. Stable operation at a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of >10% is demonstrated under continuous operation, as well as under diurnal light cycling for at least 4 d, with simulated sunlight. Operational characteristics are validated by extended time outdoor testing. A membrane ensures products are separated, with nonexplosive gas streams generated for both alkaline and acidic systems. Finally, analysis of operational characteristics under different lighting conditions is enabled by comparison of a device model to experimental data.« less

Feasibility of hospital-based blood banking: a Tanzanian case study.

PubMed

Jacobs, B; Mercer, A

1999-12-01

The demand for blood transfusion is high in sub-Saharan Africa because of the high prevalence of anaemia and pregnancy related complications, but the practice is estimated to account for 10% of HIV infections in some regions. The main response to this problem by the international donor community is to establish vertically implemented blood transfusion services producing suitable (safe) blood at a cost of US$25-40 per unit. However, the economic sustainability of such interventions is questionable and it is argued here that hospital-based blood transfusion services operating at a basic adequate level are sufficient for low-income African countries. The results of a project aimed at improving such services in Tanzania are presented. The main findings are: (1) the cost per suitable blood unit produced was US$12.4; (2) at an HIV test sensitivity of 93.5% during the study period, discounted financial benefits of the interventions exceeded costs by a factor of between 17.2 and 37.1; (3) the cost per undiscounted year of life saved by use of these interventions was US$2.7-2.8; and (4) safe blood transfusion practices can be assured at an annual cost of US$0.07 per capita. Recommendations are made to ensure safe blood transfusion practices at hospital-based blood banks in Tanzania.

Know Your Client and Know Your Team: A Complexity Inspired Approach to Understanding Safe Transitions in Care

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background. Transitions in care are one of the most important and challenging client safety issues in healthcare. This project was undertaken to gain insight into the practice setting realities for nurses and other health care providers as they manage increasingly complex care transitions across multiple settings. Methods. The Appreciative Inquiry approach was used to guide interviews with sixty-six healthcare providers from a variety of practice settings. Data was collected on participants' experience of exceptional care transitions and opportunities for improving care transitions. Results. Nurses and other healthcare providers need to know three things to ensure safe care transitions: (1) know your client; (2) know your team on both sides of the transfer; and (3) know the resources your client needs and how to get them. Three themes describe successful care transitions, including flexible structures; independence and teamwork; and client and provider focus. Conclusion. Nurses often operate at the margins of acceptable performance, and flexibility with regulation and standards is often required in complex sociotechnical work like care transitions. Priority needs to be given to creating conditions where nurses and other healthcare providers are free to creatively engage and respond in ways that will optimize safe care transitions. PMID:24349770

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Environmental Report 2012

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

Jones, Henry E.; Armstrong, Dave; Blake, Rick G.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a premier research laboratory that is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). As a national security laboratory, LLNL is responsible for ensuring that the nation’s nuclear weapons remain safe, secure, and reliable. The Laboratory also meets other pressing national security needs, including countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and strengthening homeland security, and conducting major research in atmospheric, earth, and energy sciences; bioscience and biotechnology; and engineering, basic science, and advanced technology. The Laboratory is managed and operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security,more » LLC (LLNS), and serves as a scientific resource to the U.S. government and a partner to industry and academia. LLNL operations have the potential to release a variety of constituents into the environment via atmospheric, surface water, and groundwater pathways. Some of the constituents, such as particles from diesel engines, are common at many types of facilities while others, such as radionuclides, are unique to research facilities like LLNL. All releases are highly regulated and carefully monitored. LLNL strives to maintain a safe, secure and efficient operational environment for its employees and neighboring communities. Experts in environment, safety and health (ES&H) support all Laboratory activities. LLNL’s radiological control program ensures that radiological exposures and releases are reduced to as low as reasonably achievable to protect the health and safety of its employees, contractors, the public, and the environment. LLNL is committed to enhancing its environmental stewardship and managing the impacts its operations may have on the environment through a formal Environmental Management System. The Laboratory encourages the public to participate in matters related to the Laboratory’s environmental impact on the community by soliciting citizens’ input on matters of significant public interest and through various communications. The Laboratory also provides public access to information on its ES&H activities. LLNL consists of two sites—an urban site in Livermore, California, referred to as the “Livermore Site,” which occupies 1.3 square miles; and a rural Experimental Test Site, referred to as “Site 300,” near Tracy, California, which occupies 10.9 square miles. In 2012 the Laboratory had a staff of approximately 7000.« less

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Environmental Report 2013

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

Jones, H. E.; Bertoldo, N. A.; Blake, R. G.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a premier research laboratory that is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). As a national security laboratory, LLNL is responsible for ensuring that the nation’s nuclear weapons remain safe, secure, and reliable. The Laboratory also meets other pressing national security needs, including countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and strengthening homeland security, and conducting major research in atmospheric, earth, and energy sciences; bioscience and biotechnology; and engineering, basic science, and advanced technology. The Laboratory is managed and operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security,more » LLC (LLNS), and serves as a scientific resource to the U.S. government and a partner to industry and academia. LLNL operations have the potential to release a variety of constituents into the environment via atmospheric, surface water, and groundwater pathways. Some of the constituents, such as particles from diesel engines, are common at many types of facilities while others, such as radionuclides, are unique to research facilities like LLNL. All releases are highly regulated and carefully monitored. LLNL strives to maintain a safe, secure and efficient operational environment for its employees and neighboring communities. Experts in environment, safety and health (ES&H) support all Laboratory activities. LLNL’s radiological control program ensures that radiological exposures and releases are reduced to as low as reasonably achievable to protect the health and safety of its employees, contractors, the public, and the environment. LLNL is committed to enhancing its environmental stewardship and managing the impacts its operations may have on the environment through a formal Environmental Management System. The Laboratory encourages the public to participate in matters related to the Laboratory’s environmental impact on the community by soliciting citizens’ input on matters of significant public interest and through various communications. The Laboratory also provides public access to information on its ES&H activities. LLNL consists of two sites—an urban site in Livermore, California, referred to as the “Livermore Site,” which occupies 1.3 square miles; and a rural Experimental Test Site, referred to as “Site 300,” near Tracy, California, which occupies 10.9 square miles. In 2013 the Laboratory had a staff of approximately 6,300.« less

A Survey of Measurement, Mitigation, and Verification Field Technologies for Carbon Sequestration Geologic Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, K. K.; Klara, S. M.; Srivastava, R. D.

2004-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's (U.S. DOE's) Carbon Sequestration Program is developing state-of-the-science technologies for measurement, mitigation, and verification (MM&V) in field operations of geologic sequestration. MM&V of geologic carbon sequestration operations will play an integral role in the pre-injection, injection, and post-injection phases of carbon capture and storage projects to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Effective MM&V is critical to the success of CO2 storage projects and will be used by operators, regulators, and stakeholders to ensure safe and permanent storage of CO2. In the U.S. DOE's Program, Carbon sequestration MM&V has numerous instrumental roles: Measurement of a site's characteristics and capability for sequestration; Monitoring of the site to ensure the storage integrity; Verification that the CO2 is safely stored; and Protection of ecosystems. Other drivers for MM&V technology development include cost-effectiveness, measurement precision, and frequency of measurements required. As sequestration operations are implemented in the future, it is anticipated that measurements over long time periods and at different scales will be required; this will present a significant challenge. MM&V sequestration technologies generally utilize one of the following approaches: below ground measurements; surface/near-surface measurements; aerial and satellite imagery; and modeling/simulations. Advanced subsurface geophysical technologies will play a primary role for MM&V. It is likely that successful MM&V programs will incorporate multiple technologies including but not limited to: reservoir modeling and simulations; geophysical techniques (a wide variety of seismic methods, microgravity, electrical, and electromagnetic techniques); subsurface fluid movement monitoring methods such as injection of tracers, borehole and wellhead pressure sensors, and tiltmeters; surface/near surface methods such as soil gas monitoring and infrared sensors and; aerial and satellite imagery. This abstract will describe results, similarities, and contrasts for funded studies from the U.S. DOE's Carbon Sequestration Program including examples from the Sleipner North Sea Project, the Canadian Weyburn Field/Dakota Gasification Plant Project, the Frio Formation Texas Project, and Yolo County Bioreactor Landfill Project. The abstract will also address the following: How are the terms ``measurement,'' ``mitigation''and ``verification'' defined in the Program? What is the U.S. DOE's Carbon Sequestration Program Roadmap and what are the Roadmap goals for MM&V? What is the current status of MM&V technologies?

Environmental Action Guide for New York City Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Advocates for Children of New York, Inc., Long Island City.

The purpose of this guide is to inform parents, advocates, and school personnel about existing laws and resources available to ensure that every child and every school employee has an environmentally safe and healthy school that is clean and in good repair. An environmentally safe and healthy school is one of the principles adopted by the New York…

Early Arrival or Trespassing? Leadership, School Security, and the Right to the School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irby, Decoteau J.; Thomas, Christopher

2013-01-01

School leaders are under constant pressure to ensure that schools are safe and to demonstrate that student safety and discipline are priorities. In many districts, schools rely on local law enforcement, school police, or security personnel to assist with promoting and maintaining safe schools. To encourage school leaders to think critically about…

School Safety and Crisis Planning Considerations for School Psychologists. Crisis Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connolly-Wilson, Christina; Reeves, Melissa

2013-01-01

In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, people across the country are asking if schools in their communities are safe. School psychologists not only play a pivotal role in answering that question, but they can also provide leadership in helping to ensure a safe school climate. A critical component to answering…

ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT U.S. EPA: AN OVERVIEW OF NEW DIRECTIONS

EPA Science Inventory

In virtually every major environmental act, Congress has required that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) ensure not only that the air be safe to breathe, the water safe to drink, and the food supply free of contamination, but also that the environment be protect...

78 FR 77608 - Requirements for Contacts with Federal Credit Unions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-24

... an FCU official, NCUA has no way of ensuring the environment is safe for its employees or conducive to working efficiently and securely. NCUA staff who have conducted on-site contacts in homes have... other FCU contacts occur in a professional and safe setting. \\5\\ Id. 1766(j)(1). \\6\\ Id. 1789(a)(4). 3...

Comparative study of safety and outcomes of single-port access versus conventional laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

PubMed

Kanakala, V; Borowski, D W; Agarwal, A K; Tabaqchali, M A; Garg, D K; Gill, T S

2012-12-01

Single-port access (SPA) offers cosmetic advantages in addition to the well-recognised benefits of conventional multi-port laparoscopic (CL) surgery, and can be carried out using standard straight instruments. We report the outcomes of our early experience with SPA colorectal resections in comparison with CL surgery. We compared the following data, patient characteristics, operating time, morbidity, operative mortality, length of hospital stay and tumour variables, of patients who underwent SPA right, left, sigmoid and total colon resections, as well as high anterior resections and panproctocolectomies, with that of patients who underwent equivalent conventional laparoscopic (CL) operations. The 40 SPA and 78 CL patients studied underwent surgery between February 2008 and September 2011. There was no difference between the SPA and CL operations, as regards the patient's sex (55.0 vs. 62.8% males, p = 0.411), comorbidity (ASA I 10.0 vs. 12.8%; ASA II 57.5 vs. 59.0%; ASA III 32.5 vs. 25.6%; ASA IV 0 vs. 2.6%, p = 0.722) and body mass index (26.2 vs. 28.0 kg/m(2), p = 0.073). However, SPA patients were younger (mean age 54.1 vs. 64.8 years, p = 0.001), and malignancy was a less common indication for surgery (25.0 vs. 71.8%, p < 0.001). There were no conversions to open surgery, and one death occurred in the CL group (1.3%). Mean operating time (162 vs. 170 min, p = 0.547), median post-operative hospital stay (4 vs. 4 days, p = 0.255) and morbidity (7.5 vs. 12.8%, p = 0.538) were comparable. SPA laparoscopic surgery appears safe in the hands of experienced laparoscopic surgeons, with no increase in operating time, length of stay, morbidity and mortality. Selection of patients with indications for surgery for benign disease may be of importance to ensure an oncologically safe initial uptake of SPA colorectal practice.

Farmers' perceptions and concerns: the risks of driving farm vehicles on rural roadways in North Carolina.

PubMed

Luginbuhl, R C; Jones, V C; Langley, R L

2003-11-01

This study focuses on farmers' perceptions of roadway safety and reviews specific and pertinent North Carolina rural road crash data to evaluate their perceptions and concerns. A survey was mailed to 1,357 prospective participants throughout North Carolina. Of these, 656 (48.3%) North Carolina farmers completed and returned the survey. The study revealed that while the majority of respondents took a number of specific safety measures to ensure their safety while driving their tractor on rural roads, most believed that driving their tractor on rural roads was more dangerous than it was five years ago. Few respondents believed that laws governing tractors on rural roads are well known by urban residents. While a majority of the respondents would support a law to mandate the use of a slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblem on the back of slow-moving farm equipment, a majority also believed that a more effective way to mitigate potential crashes would be to ensure that all farm vehicles had blinking or flashing lights, that diamond-shaped caution signs depicting a tractor were posted on roadways with frequent tractor traffic, and that roadway shoulders were created or widened on roads with heavy farm traffic so that tractors could move off the roadway. Only 22% of respondents felt safe driving their tractor on rural roadways in North Carolina. Most respondents felt that the biggest problem with roadway safety was the lack of respect and increased speed of other drivers. Recent data indicate that in crashes involving farm vehicles, citations were issued to 34% of the non-farm vehicle operators and 24% to farm vehicle operators. For those driving non-farm vehicle who were deemed at fault, 66% were cited for failure to reduce speed. For those driving farm vehicles, the most frequent citation involved the lack of safe movement.

International Cooperation of Payload Operations on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melton, Tina; Onken, Jay

2003-01-01

One of the primary goals of the International Space Station (ISS) is to provide an orbiting laboratory to be used to conduct scientific research and commercial products utilizing the unique environment of space. The ISS Program has united multiple nations into a coalition with the objective of developing and outfitting this orbiting laboratory and sharing in the utilization of the resources available. The primary objectives of the real- time integration of ISS payload operations are to ensure safe operations of payloads, to avoid mutual interference between payloads and onboard systems, to monitor the use of integrated station resources and to increase the total effectiveness of ISS. The ISS organizational architecture has provided for the distribution of operations planning and execution functions to the organizations with expertise to perform each function. Each IPP is responsible for the integration and operations of their payloads within their resource allocations and the safety requirements defined by the joint program. Another area of international cooperation is the sharing in the development and on- orbit utilization of unique payload facilities. An example of this cooperation is the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The hardware was developed by ESA and provided to NASA as part of a barter arrangement.

Advanced planning for ISS payload ground processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Page, Kimberly A.

2000-01-01

Ground processing at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the concluding phase of the payload/flight hardware development process and is the final opportunity to ensure safe and successful recognition of mission objectives. Planning for the ground processing of on-orbit flight hardware elements and payloads for the International Space Station is a responsibility taken seriously at KSC. Realizing that entering into this operational environment can be an enormous undertaking for a payload customer, KSC continually works to improve this process by instituting new/improved services for payload developer/owner, applying state-of-the-art technologies to the advanced planning process, and incorporating lessons learned for payload ground processing planning to ensure complete customer satisfaction. This paper will present an overview of the KSC advanced planning activities for ISS hardware/payload ground processing. It will focus on when and how KSC begins to interact with the payload developer/owner, how that interaction changes (and grows) throughout the planning process, and how KSC ensures that advanced planning is successfully implemented at the launch site. It will also briefly consider the type of advance planning conducted by the launch site that is transparent to the payload user but essential to the successful processing of the payload (i.e. resource allocation, executing documentation, etc.) .

ITER's Tokamak Cooling Water System and the the Use of ASME Codes to Comply with French Regulations of Nuclear Pressure Equipment

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

Berry, Jan; Ferrada, Juan J; Curd, Warren

During inductive plasma operation of ITER, fusion power will reach 500 MW with an energy multiplication factor of 10. The heat will be transferred by the Tokamak Cooling Water System (TCWS) to the environment using the secondary cooling system. Plasma operations are inherently safe even under the most severe postulated accident condition a large, in-vessel break that results in a loss-of-coolant accident. A functioning cooling water system is not required to ensure safe shutdown. Even though ITER is inherently safe, TCWS equipment (e.g., heat exchangers, piping, pressurizers) are classified as safety important components. This is because the water is predictedmore » to contain low-levels of radionuclides (e.g., activated corrosion products, tritium) with activity levels high enough to require the design of components to be in accordance with French regulations for nuclear pressure equipment, i.e., the French Order dated 12 December 2005 (ESPN). ESPN has extended the practical application of the methodology established by the Pressure Equipment Directive (97/23/EC) to nuclear pressure equipment, under French Decree 99-1046 dated 13 December 1999, and Order dated 21 December 1999 (ESP). ASME codes and supplementary analyses (e.g., Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) will be used to demonstrate that the TCWS equipment meets these essential safety requirements. TCWS is being designed to provide not only cooling, with a capacity of approximately 1 GW energy removal, but also elevated temperature baking of first-wall/blanket, vacuum vessel, and divertor. Additional TCWS functions include chemical control of water, draining and drying for maintenance, and facilitation of leak detection/localization. The TCWS interfaces with the majority of ITER systems, including the secondary cooling system. U.S. ITER is responsible for design, engineering, and procurement of the TCWS with industry support from an Engineering Services Organization (ESO) (AREVA Federal Services, with support from Northrop Grumman, and OneCIS). ITER International Organization (ITER-IO) is responsible for design oversight and equipment installation in Cadarache, France. TCWS equipment will be fabricated using ASME design codes with quality assurance and oversight by an Agreed Notified Body (approved by the French regulator) that will ensure regulatory compliance. This paper describes the TCWS design and how U.S. ITER and fabricators will use ASME codes to comply with EU Directives and French Orders and Decrees.« less

MSL EDL Entry Guidance using the Entry Terminal Point Controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

The Mars Science Laboratory will be the first Mars mission to attempt a guided entry with the objective of safely delivering the entry vehicle to a survivable parachute deploy state within 10 km of the pre-designated landing site. The Entry Terminal Point Controller guidance algorithm is derived from the final phase Apollo Command Module guidance and, like Apollo, modulates the bank angle to control range based on deviations in range, altitude rate, and drag acceleration from a reference trajectory. For application to Mars landers which must make use of the tenuous Martian atmosphere, it is critical to balance the lift of the vehicle to minimize the range while still ensuring a safe deploy altitude. An overview of the process to generate optimized guidance settings is presented, discussing improvements made over the last four years. Performance tradeoffs between ellipse size and deploy altitude will be presented, along with imposed constraints of entry acceleration and heating. Performance sensitivities to the bank reversal deadbands, heading alignment, attitude initialization error, and atmospheric delivery errors are presented. Guidance settings for contingency operations, such as those appropriate for severe dust storm scenarios, are evaluated.

Botulinum toxin-assisted endoscopic repair of traumatic vocal fold avulsion.

PubMed

Abraham, Rima F; Shapshay, Stanley; Galati, Lisa

2010-09-01

Blunt traumatic laryngeal injury in children often leads to intralaryngeal soft-tissue damage, which can quickly compromise an already small airway. Injuries requiring operative intervention have historically been repaired via open approaches such as thyrotomy and laryngofissure. These approaches carry significant long-term sequelae that can compromise the airway, deglutition, and voice. We describe a safe and effective alternative to open repair that includes the use of a botulinum toxin chemical myotomy to ensure optimal healing. We used this procedure to treat a 13-year-old boy who had experienced a traumatic avulsion of the true vocal folds. Postoperatively, his voice outcome was satisfactory, as evidenced by a marked improvement in his pediatric Voice Handicap Index score. No complication or compromise of the airway or swallowing occurred, and resolution of the botulinum effect was observed by 6 months postoperatively. The endoscopic approach supplemented by botulinum toxin injection avoids scarring and allows for safe postoperative extubation. Compared with open repair, it is associated with a shorter hospital stay and a lower risk of stenosis and fibrosis.

A Biological Safety Cabinet Certification Program: Experiences in Southeast Asia

PubMed Central

Whistler, Toni; Kaewpan, Anek; Blacksell, Stuart D.

2016-01-01

Biological safety cabinets (BSCs) are the primary means of containment used in laboratories worldwide for the safe handling of infectious microorganisms. They provide protection to the laboratory worker and the surrounding environment from pathogens. To ensure the correct functioning of BSCs, they need to be properly maintained beyond the daily care routines of the laboratory. This involves annual maintenance and certification by a qualified technician in accordance to the NSF/American National Standards Institute 49-2014 Biosafety Cabinetry: Design, Construction, Performance, and Field Certification. Service programs can be direct from the manufacturer or through third-party service companies, but in many instances, technicians are not accredited by international bodies, and these services are expensive. This means that a large number of BSCs may not be operating in a safe manner. In this article, we discuss our approach to addressing the lack of trained and qualified personnel in Thailand who can install, maintain, and certify BSCs in a cost-effective and practical manner. We initiated a program to create both local and regional capacity for repair, maintenance, and certification of BSCs and share our experiences with the reader. PMID:27721674

Deep brain transcranial magnetic stimulation using variable "Halo coil" system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Y.; Hadimani, R. L.; Crowther, L. J.; Xu, Z.; Qu, J.; Jiles, D. C.

2015-05-01

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation has the potential to treat various neurological disorders non-invasively and safely. The "Halo coil" configuration can stimulate deeper regions of the brain with lower surface to deep-brain field ratio compared to other coil configurations. The existing "Halo coil" configuration is fixed and is limited in varying the site of stimulation in the brain. We have developed a new system based on the current "Halo coil" design along with a graphical user interface system that enables the larger coil to rotate along the transverse plane. The new system can also enable vertical movement of larger coil. Thus, this adjustable "Halo coil" configuration can stimulate different regions of the brain by adjusting the position and orientation of the larger coil on the head. We have calculated magnetic and electric fields inside a MRI-derived heterogeneous head model for various positions and orientations of the coil. We have also investigated the mechanical and thermal stability of the adjustable "Halo coil" configuration for various positions and orientations of the coil to ensure safe operation of the system.

An update on anesthetics and impact on the brain.

PubMed

Fodale, Vincenzo; Tripodi, Vincenzo F; Penna, Olivia; Famà, Fausto; Squadrito, Francesco; Mondello, Epifanio; David, Antonio

2017-09-01

While anesthetics are indispensable clinical tools and generally considered safe and effective, a growing concern over the potential neurotoxicity of anesthesia or specific anesthetic agents has called into question the safety of general anesthetics, especially when administered at extremes of age. Areas covered: This article reviews and updates research findings on the safety of anesthesia and anesthetics in terms of long-term neurotoxicity, with particular focus on postoperative cognitive dysfunctions, Alzheimer's disease and dementias, developing brain, post-operative depression and autism spectrum disorder. Expert opinion: Exposure to general anesthetics is potentially harmful to the human brain, and the consequent long-term cognitive deficits should be classified as an iatrogenic pathology, and considered a public health problem. The fact that in laboratory and clinical research only certain anesthetic agents and techniques, but not others, appear to be involved, raises the problem on what is the safest and the least safe anesthetic to maximize anesthesia efficiency, avoid occurrence of adverse events, and ensure patient safety. New trends in research are moving toward the theory that neuroinflammation could be the hallmark of, or could have a pivotal role in, several neurological disorders.

A Criteria Standard for Conflict Resolution: A Vision for Guaranteeing the Safety of Self-Separation in NextGen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz, Cesar; Butler, Ricky; Narkawicz, Anthony; Maddalon, Jeffrey; Hagen, George

2010-01-01

Distributed approaches for conflict resolution rely on analyzing the behavior of each aircraft to ensure that system-wide safety properties are maintained. This paper presents the criteria method, which increases the quality and efficiency of a safety assurance analysis for distributed air traffic concepts. The criteria standard is shown to provide two key safety properties: safe separation when only one aircraft maneuvers and safe separation when both aircraft maneuver at the same time. This approach is complemented with strong guarantees of correct operation through formal verification. To show that an algorithm is correct, i.e., that it always meets its specified safety property, one must only show that the algorithm satisfies the criteria. Once this is done, then the algorithm inherits the safety properties of the criteria. An important consequence of this approach is that there is no requirement that both aircraft execute the same conflict resolution algorithm. Therefore, the criteria approach allows different avionics manufacturers or even different airlines to use different algorithms, each optimized according to their own proprietary concerns.

"Watch What You Teach": A First-Year Teacher Refuses to Play It Safe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sieben, Nicole; Wallowitz, Laraine

2009-01-01

In an effort to ensure that students feel "safe" and "comfortable" in the classrooms, English teachers often avoid controversial topics, particularly issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality. The insidious hidden curriculum or the unintended consequences of what they choose to say or not say--teach or not teach--can have as much or more impact…

Laser safety programs in general surgery.

PubMed

Lanzafame, R J

1994-06-01

General surgery represents a speciality where, while any procedure can be performed with lasers, there are no procedures for which the laser is the sine quo non. The general surgeon may perform a variety of procedures with a multitude of laser wavelengths and technologies. Laser safety in general surgery requires a multidisciplinary approach. Effective laser safety requires the oversight of the hospital's "laser usage committee" and "laser safety officer" while providing a workable framework for daily laser use in a variety of clinical scenarios simultaneously. This framework must be user-friendly rather than oppressive. This presentation will describe laser safety at the Rochester General Hospital, a tertiary care, community-based teaching hospital. The safety program incorporates the following components: input to physician credentialing and training, education and in-servicing of nursing and technical personnel, equipment purchase and maintenance, quality assurance, and safety monitoring. The University of Rochester general surgery residency training program mandates laser training during the PGY-2 year. This program stresses the safe use of lasers and provides the basis for graded hands-on experience during the surgical residency. The greatest challenge for laser safety in general surgery centers on the burgeoning field of minimally invasive surgery. Safety assurance must be balanced so as to maintain a safe operating-room environment while ensuring patient safety and the ability to permit the surgery to proceed efficiently. Safety measures for laparoscopic procedures must be sensitive to the needs of the surgical team while not providing confusing signals for the "gallery" observers. This task is critical for the safe operation of lasers in general surgery. Effective laser safety in general surgery requires constant vigilance tempered with sensitivity to the needs of the surgeon and the patient as laser technology and its applications continue to evolve.

29 CFR 1918.86 - Roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) operations (see also § 1918.2, Ro-Ro operations, and § 1918.25).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... simultaneous use of the ramp by vehicles and pedestrians. (d) Ramp maintenance. Ramps shall be properly... ramp inclines safely. (j) Safe speeds. Power driven vehicles used in Ro-Ro operations shall be operated at speeds that are safe for prevailing conditions. (k) Ventilation. Internal combustion engine-driven...

Measurement and evaluation of percolation drainage systems capacity in real conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markovic, G.; Zelenakova, M.

2017-10-01

The drainage system must ensure a safe disposal of the surface water without endangering the buildings and safety of people. Despite the common use of rainwater infiltration facilities, there is still only limited data available evaluating the long-term capacity of such systems especially for underground infiltration facilities. This study presents experimental measurements and evaluation of long-term infiltration efficiency in real conditions and emphasizes the importance of hydrogeological survey. The measurements of infiltration efficiency were applied to an existing percolation drainage system - infiltration shafts. Infiltration shafts were made in year 2007 so that its drainage operation takes more than 8 years. This study was started in 2011 and still continues and presents 5 years measurements of infiltration efficiency for this infiltration facility.

Command and Control Software Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, Michael

2018-01-01

The future of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) depends on its innovation and efficiency in the coming years. With ambitious goals to reach Mars and explore the vast universe, correct steps must be taken to ensure our space program reaches its destination safely. The interns in the Exploration Systems and Operations Division at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have been tasked with building command line tools to ease the process of managing and testing the data being produced by the ground control systems while its recording system is not in use. While working alongside full-time engineers, we were able to create multiple programs that reduce the cost and time it takes to test the subsystems that launch rockets to outer space.

Is Model-Based Development a Favorable Approach for Complex and Safety-Critical Computer Systems on Commercial Aircraft?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2014-01-01

A system is safety-critical if its failure can endanger human life or cause significant damage to property or the environment. State-of-the-art computer systems on commercial aircraft are highly complex, software-intensive, functionally integrated, and network-centric systems of systems. Ensuring that such systems are safe and comply with existing safety regulations is costly and time-consuming as the level of rigor in the development process, especially the validation and verification activities, is determined by considerations of system complexity and safety criticality. A significant degree of care and deep insight into the operational principles of these systems is required to ensure adequate coverage of all design implications relevant to system safety. Model-based development methodologies, methods, tools, and techniques facilitate collaboration and enable the use of common design artifacts among groups dealing with different aspects of the development of a system. This paper examines the application of model-based development to complex and safety-critical aircraft computer systems. Benefits and detriments are identified and an overall assessment of the approach is given.

Designing text-messaging (SMS) in HIV programs: ethics-framed recommendations from the field

PubMed Central

Pérez, Guillermo Martínez; Hwang, Bella; Bygrave, Helen; Venables, Emilie

2015-01-01

Text messages (SMS) are being increasingly integrated into HIV programs across Southern Africa to improve patient adherence, linkage to care and provide psycho-social support. Careful attention needs to be paid to the design of SMS-based interventions for clients of HIV-care services to ensure that any potential harm, such as unwanted disclosure of HIV status, is minimized. In this article we propose a set of best practice recommendations to ensure that any SMS-based intervention considers ethical principles to safeguard safety, autonomy and confidentiality of its targeted HIV-positive beneficiaries. This analysis draws from our operational experience in Southern Africa in the design and conduct of mHealth interventions in the frame of HIV projects. The recommendations, framed in the context of the Belmont Report's three ethical pillars, may contribute to more safely operationalize any SMS service integrated into an HIV program if adopted by mHealth planners and implementers. We encourage actors to report on the ethical and methodological pathways followed when conducting SMS-based innovations to improve the wellbeing and quality provision of HIV-care for their targeted clients. PMID:26421096

FAA bulk technology overview for explosives detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novakoff, Alan K.

1993-04-01

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the leading federal agency responsible for encouraging and fostering the development of a safe, secure, and efficient national airspace system (NAS). Our goal is to establish an operating environment that ensures a threat-free system to preclude acts of terrorism and fatalities. As part of the process to meet this goal, our research and development activities continually search for technologies to ensure aviation security. Recent acts of terrorism against the aviation community have demonstrated an increasing level of sophistication in the design and deployment of explosive devices. In order to prevent the introduction of explosives onto an aircraft they must be detected prior to passenger and baggage loading. The Bulk Detection program is one method of developing a number of technologies that 'see' into and 'alarm' on suspect baggage. These detection devices must be capable of providing this serve with a confidence commensurate with the state-of-the- art available today. This program utilizes the expertise of government agencies, universities and industries working toward constructing their plans and executing their designs to produce the best available equipment.

Design Guidance for Computer-Based Procedures for Field Workers

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

Oxstrand, Johanna; Le Blanc, Katya; Bly, Aaron

Nearly all activities that involve human interaction with nuclear power plant systems are guided by procedures, instructions, or checklists. Paper-based procedures (PBPs) currently used by most utilities have a demonstrated history of ensuring safety; however, improving procedure use could yield significant savings in increased efficiency, as well as improved safety through human performance gains. The nuclear industry is constantly trying to find ways to decrease human error rates, especially human error rates associated with procedure use. As a step toward the goal of improving field workers’ procedure use and adherence and hence improve human performance and overall system reliability, themore » U.S. Department of Energy Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program researchers, together with the nuclear industry, have been investigating the possibility and feasibility of replacing current paper-based procedures with computer-based procedures (CBPs). PBPs have ensured safe operation of plants for decades, but limitations in paper-based systems do not allow them to reach the full potential for procedures to prevent human errors. The environment in a nuclear power plant is constantly changing, depending on current plant status and operating mode. PBPs, which are static by nature, are being applied to a constantly changing context. This constraint often results in PBPs that are written in a manner that is intended to cover many potential operating scenarios. Hence, the procedure layout forces the operator to search through a large amount of irrelevant information to locate the pieces of information relevant for the task and situation at hand, which has potential consequences of taking up valuable time when operators must be responding to the situation, and potentially leading operators down an incorrect response path. Other challenges related to use of PBPs are management of multiple procedures, place-keeping, finding the correct procedure for a task, and relying on other sources of additional information to ensure a functional and accurate understanding of the current plant status (Converse, 1995; Fink, Killian, Hanes, and Naser, 2009; Le Blanc, Oxstrand, and Waicosky, 2012). This report provides design guidance to be used when designing the human-system interaction and the design of the graphical user interface for a CBP system. The guidance is based on human factors research related to the design and usability of CBPs conducted by Idaho National Laboratory, 2012 - 2016.« less

[The global and national context regarding the challenges involved in ensuring adequate access to water for human consumption].

PubMed

Augusto, Lia Giraldo da Silva; Gurgel, Idê Gomes Dantas; Câmara Neto, Henrique Fernandes; de Melo, Carlos Henrique; Costa, André Monteiro

2012-06-01

The scope of this article is to analyze the challenges involved in ensuring access to water for human consumption taking the international and national context into consideration. Based on the UN declaration that access to safe and clean drinking water is a fundamental human right, vulnerabilities are identified that can consist in restrictions to access to adequate supplies. The distribution of water and the population across the planet, pollution, inadequate policies and management lead to environmental injustice. The iniquity of access to water constitutes the contemporary water crisis. From the 1980s onwards, the transnational water market emerged for private control that occurs at three main levels: surface and underground water sources; bottled water; and public water supply services. The conflicts of the multiple uses of water resources, the market and environmental problems have contributed to rendering the health of the population and ecosystems vulnerable. Adequate public policies are essential to ensure the basic human right to access to safe and clean drinking water.

Diamond encapsulated photovoltaics for transdermal power delivery.

PubMed

Ahnood, A; Fox, K E; Apollo, N V; Lohrmann, A; Garrett, D J; Nayagam, D A X; Karle, T; Stacey, A; Abberton, K M; Morrison, W A; Blakers, A; Prawer, S

2016-03-15

A safe, compact and robust means of wireless energy transfer across the skin barrier is a key requirement for implantable electronic devices. One possible approach is photovoltaic (PV) energy delivery using optical illumination at near infrared (NIR) wavelengths, to which the skin is highly transparent. In the work presented here, a subcutaneously implantable silicon PV cell, operated in conjunction with an external NIR laser diode, is developed as a power delivery system. The biocompatibility and long-term biostability of the implantable PV is ensured through the use of an hermetic container, comprising a transparent diamond capsule and platinum wire feedthroughs. A wavelength of 980 nm is identified as the optimum operating point based on the PV cell's external quantum efficiency, the skin's transmission spectrum, and the wavelength dependent safe exposure limit of the skin. In bench-top experiments using an external illumination intensity of 0.7 W/cm(2), a peak output power of 2.7 mW is delivered to the implant with an active PV cell dimension of 1.5 × 1.5 × 0.06 mm(3). This corresponds to a volumetric power output density of ~20 mW/mm(3), significantly higher than power densities achievable using inductively coupled coil-based approaches used in other medical implant systems. This approach paves the way for further ministration of bionic implants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Overview of ion source characterization diagnostics in INTF

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

Bandyopadhyay, M., E-mail: mainak@iter-india.org; Sudhir, Dass; Bhuyan, M.

2016-02-15

INdian Test Facility (INTF) is envisaged to characterize ITER diagnostic neutral beam system and to establish the functionality of its eight inductively coupled RF plasma driver based negative hydrogen ion source and its beamline components. The beam quality mainly depends on the ion source performance and therefore, its diagnostics plays an important role for its safe and optimized operation. A number of diagnostics are planned in INTF to characterize the ion source performance. Negative ions and its cesium contents in the source will be monitored by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and cavity ring down spectroscopy. Plasma near the extraction regionmore » will be studied using standard electrostatic probes. The beam divergence and negative ion stripping losses are planned to be measured using Doppler shift spectroscopy. During initial phase of ion beam characterization, carbon fiber composite based infrared imaging diagnostics will be used. Safe operation of the beam will be ensured by using standard thermocouples and electrical voltage-current measurement sensors. A novel concept, based on plasma density dependent plasma impedance measurement using RF electrical impedance matching parameters to characterize the RF driver plasma, will be tested in INTF and will be validated with OES data. The paper will discuss about the overview of the complete INTF diagnostics including its present status of procurement, experimentation, interface with mechanical systems in INTF, and integration with INTF data acquisition and control systems.« less

Overview of ion source characterization diagnostics in INTF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandyopadhyay, M.; Sudhir, Dass; Bhuyan, M.; Soni, J.; Tyagi, H.; Joshi, J.; Yadav, A.; Rotti, C.; Parmar, Deepak; Patel, H.; Pillai, S.; Chakraborty, A.

2016-02-01

INdian Test Facility (INTF) is envisaged to characterize ITER diagnostic neutral beam system and to establish the functionality of its eight inductively coupled RF plasma driver based negative hydrogen ion source and its beamline components. The beam quality mainly depends on the ion source performance and therefore, its diagnostics plays an important role for its safe and optimized operation. A number of diagnostics are planned in INTF to characterize the ion source performance. Negative ions and its cesium contents in the source will be monitored by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and cavity ring down spectroscopy. Plasma near the extraction region will be studied using standard electrostatic probes. The beam divergence and negative ion stripping losses are planned to be measured using Doppler shift spectroscopy. During initial phase of ion beam characterization, carbon fiber composite based infrared imaging diagnostics will be used. Safe operation of the beam will be ensured by using standard thermocouples and electrical voltage-current measurement sensors. A novel concept, based on plasma density dependent plasma impedance measurement using RF electrical impedance matching parameters to characterize the RF driver plasma, will be tested in INTF and will be validated with OES data. The paper will discuss about the overview of the complete INTF diagnostics including its present status of procurement, experimentation, interface with mechanical systems in INTF, and integration with INTF data acquisition and control systems.

Fire in operating theatres: DaSH-ing to the rescue.

PubMed

Wilson, Liam; Farooq, Omer

2018-01-01

Operating theatres are dynamic environments that require multi professional team interactions. Effective team working is essential for efficient delivery of safe patient care. A fire in the operating theatre is a rare but potentially life threatening event for both patients and staff. A rapid and cohesive response from theatre and allied staff including porters, fire safety officer etc is paramount. We delivered a training session that utilised in situ simulation (simulation in workplace). After conducting needs analysis, learning objectives were agreed. After thorough planning, the date and location of the training session were identified. Contingency plans were put in place to ensure that patient care was not compromised at any point. To ensure success, checklists for faculty were devised and adhered to. A medium fidelity manikin with live monitoring was used. The first part of the scenario involved management of a surgical emergency by theatre staff. The second part involved management of a fire in the operating theatre while an emergency procedure was being undertaken. To achieve maximum learning potential, debriefing was provided immediately after each part of the scenario. A fire safety officer was present as a content expert. Latent errors (hidden errors in the workplace, staff knowledge etc) were identified. Malfunctioning of theatre floor windows and staff unawareness about the location of an evacuation site were some of the identified latent errors. Thorough feedback to address these issues was provided to the participants on the day. A detailed report of the training session was given to the relevant departments. This resulted in the equipment faults being rectified. The training session was a very positive experience and helped not only in improving participants' knowledge, behaviour and confidence but also it made system and environment better equipped.

In the face of increasing subspecialisation, how does the specialty ensure that the management of ENT emergencies is timely, appropriate and safe?

PubMed

Rouhani, M J

2016-06-01

The field of ENT surgery is one of the most varied specialties, with numerous subspecialties and continuing divergence. With this evolution there comes, however, a risk that specialists become de-skilled in certain areas. In the case of ENT emergencies, this can be particularly dangerous. Current guidance from relevant UK professional membership bodies regarding emergency surgery provision was inspected and a literature search was performed to identify studies relating to management of ENT emergencies in the context of increasing subspecialisation. The specialty currently has provisions in place to ensure timely, appropriate and safe management of emergencies, in the form of guidelines and emergency clinics; however, there is scope for improvement of the system.

A Risk Assessment Architecture for Enhanced Engine Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litt, Jonathan S.; Sharp. Lauren M.; Guo, Ten-Huei

2010-01-01

On very rare occasions, in-flight emergencies have occurred that required the pilot to utilize the aircraft's capabilities to the fullest extent possible, sometimes using actuators in ways for which they were not intended. For instance, when flight control has been lost due to damage to the hydraulic systems, pilots have had to use engine thrust to maneuver the plane to the ground and in for a landing. To assist the pilot in these situations, research is being performed to enhance the engine operation by making it more responsive or able to generate more thrust. Enabled by modification of the propulsion control, enhanced engine operation can increase the probability of a safe landing during an inflight emergency. However, enhanced engine operation introduces risk as the nominal control limits, such as those on shaft speed, temperature, and acceleration, are exceeded. Therefore, an on-line tool for quantifying this risk must be developed to ensure that the use of an enhanced control mode does not actually increase the overall danger to the aircraft. This paper describes an architecture for the implementation of this tool. It describes the type of data and algorithms required and the information flow, and how the risk based on engine component lifing and operability for enhanced operation is determined.

Interfacing and Verifying ALHAT Safe Precision Landing Systems with the Morpheus Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carson, John M., III; Hirsh, Robert L.; Roback, Vincent E.; Villalpando, Carlos; Busa, Joseph L.; Pierrottet, Diego F.; Trawny, Nikolas; Martin, Keith E.; Hines, Glenn D.

2015-01-01

The NASA Autonomous precision Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project developed a suite of prototype sensors to enable autonomous and safe precision landing of robotic or crewed vehicles under any terrain lighting conditions. Development of the ALHAT sensor suite was a cross-NASA effort, culminating in integration and testing on-board a variety of terrestrial vehicles toward infusion into future spaceflight applications. Terrestrial tests were conducted on specialized test gantries, moving trucks, helicopter flights, and a flight test onboard the NASA Morpheus free-flying, rocket-propulsive flight-test vehicle. To accomplish these tests, a tedious integration process was developed and followed, which included both command and telemetry interfacing, as well as sensor alignment and calibration verification to ensure valid test data to analyze ALHAT and Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) performance. This was especially true for the flight test campaign of ALHAT onboard Morpheus. For interfacing of ALHAT sensors to the Morpheus flight system, an adaptable command and telemetry architecture was developed to allow for the evolution of per-sensor Interface Control Design/Documents (ICDs). Additionally, individual-sensor and on-vehicle verification testing was developed to ensure functional operation of the ALHAT sensors onboard the vehicle, as well as precision-measurement validity for each ALHAT sensor when integrated within the Morpheus GNC system. This paper provides some insight into the interface development and the integrated-systems verification that were a part of the build-up toward success of the ALHAT and Morpheus flight test campaigns in 2014. These campaigns provided valuable performance data that is refining the path toward spaceflight infusion of the ALHAT sensor suite.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Healthcare Managers to Medical Waste Management and Occupational Safety Practices: Findings from Southeast Nigeria.

PubMed

Anozie, Okechukwu Bonaventure; Lawani, Lucky Osaheni; Eze, Justus Ndulue; Mamah, Emmanuel Johnbosco; Onoh, Robinson Chukwudi; Ogah, Emeka Onwe; Umezurike, Daniel Akuma; Anozie, Rita Onyinyechi

2017-03-01

Awareness of appropriate waste management procedures and occupational safety measures is fundamental to achieving a safe work environment, and ensuring patient and staff safety. This study was conducted to assess the attitude of healthcare managers to medical waste management and occupational safety practices. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 54 hospital administrators in Ebonyi state. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for qualitative data collection and analyzed with SPSS statistics for windows (2011), version 20.0 statistical software (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Two-fifth (40%) of healthcare managers had received training on medical waste management and occupational safety. Standard operating procedure of waste disposal was practiced by only one hospital (1.9%), while 98.1% (53/54) practiced indiscriminate waste disposal. Injection safety boxes were widely available in all health facilities, nevertheless, the use of incinerators and waste treatment was practiced by 1.9% (1/54) facility. However, 40.7% (22/54) and 59.3% (32/54) of respondents trained their staff and organize safety orientation courses respectively. Staff insurance cover was offered by just one hospital (1.9%), while none of the hospitals had compensation package for occupational hazard victims. Over half (55.6%; 30/54) of the respondents provided both personal protective equipment and post exposure prophylaxis for HIV. There was high level of non-compliance to standard medical waste management procedures, and lack of training on occupational safety measures. Relevant regulating agencies should step up efforts at monitoring and regulation of healthcare activities and ensure staff training on safe handling and disposal of hospital waste.

An Analysis of Shuttle Crew Scheduling Violations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bristol, Douglas

2012-01-01

From the early years of the Space Shuttle program, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shuttle crews have had a timeline of activities to guide them through their time on-orbit. Planners used scheduling constraints to build timelines that ensured the health and safety of the crews. If a constraint could not be met it resulted in a violation. Other agencies of the federal government also have scheduling constraints to ensure the safety of personnel and the public. This project examined the history of Space Shuttle scheduling constraints, constraints from Federal agencies and branches of the military and how these constraints may be used as a guide for future NASA and private spacecraft. This was conducted by reviewing rules and violations with regard to human aerospace scheduling constraints, environmental, political, social and technological factors, operating environment and relevant human factors. This study includes a statistical analysis of Shuttle Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) related violations to determine if these were a significant producer of constraint violations. It was hypothesized that the number of SCSC violations caused by EVA activities were a significant contributor to the total number of violations for Shuttle/ISS missions. Data was taken from NASA data archives at the Johnson Space Center from Space Shuttle/ISS missions prior to the STS-107 accident. The results of the analysis rejected the null hypothesis and found that EVA violations were a significant contributor to the total number of violations. This analysis could help NASA and commercial space companies understand the main source of constraint violations and allow them to create constraint rules that ensure the safe operation of future human private and exploration missions. Additional studies could be performed to evaluate other variables that could have influenced the scheduling violations that were analyzed.

Evaluation of Mixed-Mode Data-Link Communications for NextGen 4DT and Equivalent Visual Surface Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Shelton, Kevin J.; Jones, Denise R.; Allamandola, Angela S.; Arthur, Jarvis, J., III; Bailey, Randall E.

2010-01-01

By 2025, U.S. air traffic is predicted to increase 3-fold and may strain the current air traffic management system, which may not be able to accommodate this growth. In response to this challenge, a revolutionary new concept has been proposed for U.S. aviation operations, termed the Next Generation Air Transportation System or NextGen. Many key capabilities are being identified to enable NextGen, including the use of data-link communications. Because NextGen represents a radically different approach to air traffic management and requires a dramatic shift in the tasks, roles, and responsibilities for the flight deck, there are numerous research issues and challenges that must be overcome to ensure a safe, sustainable air transportation system. Flight deck display and crew-vehicle interaction concepts are being developed that proactively investigate and overcome potential technology and safety barriers that might otherwise constrain the full realization of NextGen. The paper describes simulation research examining data-link communications during 4DT and equivalent visual surface operations.

Overview of experimental preparation for the ITER-Like Wall at JET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jet Efda Contributors Brezinsek, S.; Fundamenski, W.; Eich, T.; Coad, J. P.; Giroud, C.; Huber, A.; Jachmich, S.; Joffrin, E.; Krieger, K.; McCormick, K.; Lehnen, M.; Loarer, T.; de La Luna, E.; Maddison, G.; Matthews, G. F.; Mertens, Ph.; Nunes, I.; Philipps, V.; Riccardo, V.; Rubel, M.; Stamp, M. F.; Tsalas, M.

2011-08-01

Experiments in JET with carbon-based plasma-facing components have been carried out in preparation of the ITER-Like Wall with beryllium main chamber and full tungsten divertor. The preparatory work was twofold: (i) development of techniques, which ensure safe operation with the new wall and (ii) provision of reference plasmas, which allow a comparison of operation with carbon and metallic wall. (i) Compatibility with the W divertor with respect to energy loads could be achieved in N2 seeded plasmas at high densities and low temperatures, finally approaching partial detachment, with only moderate confinement reduction of 10%. Strike-point sweeping increases the operational space further by re-distributing the load over several components. (ii) Be and C migration to the divertor has been documented with spectroscopy and QMBs under different plasma conditions providing a database which will allow a comparison of the material transport to remote areas with metallic walls. Fuel retention rates of 1.0-2.0 × 1021 D s-1 were obtained as references in accompanied gas balance studies.

Biogeography-based combinatorial strategy for efficient autonomous underwater vehicle motion planning and task-time management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zadeh, S. M.; Powers, D. M. W.; Sammut, K.; Yazdani, A. M.

2016-12-01

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are capable of spending long periods of time for carrying out various underwater missions and marine tasks. In this paper, a novel conflict-free motion planning framework is introduced to enhance underwater vehicle's mission performance by completing maximum number of highest priority tasks in a limited time through a large scale waypoint cluttered operating field, and ensuring safe deployment during the mission. The proposed combinatorial route-path planner model takes the advantages of the Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO) algorithm toward satisfying objectives of both higher-lower level motion planners and guarantees maximization of the mission productivity for a single vehicle operation. The performance of the model is investigated under different scenarios including the particular cost constraints in time-varying operating fields. To show the reliability of the proposed model, performance of each motion planner assessed separately and then statistical analysis is undertaken to evaluate the total performance of the entire model. The simulation results indicate the stability of the contributed model and its feasible application for real experiments.

Ensuring the Public's Drinking-Water Welfare.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDermott, James H.

1978-01-01

Some questions are answered concerning the justification, intent, and purpose of the Safe Drinking Water Act's regulations. Some points, previously misinterpreted, are placed in clear perspective. (BB)

Emergency end of life operations for CNES remote sensing satellites—Management and operational process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertrand, Régis; Alby, Fernand; Costes, Thierry; Dejoie, Joël; Delmas, Dominique-Roland; Delobette, Damien; Gibek, Isabelle; Gleyzes, Alain; Masson, Françoise; Meyer, Jean-Renaud; Moreau, Agathe; Perret, Lionel; Riclet, François; Ruiz, Hélène; Schiavon, Françoise; Spizzi, Pierre; Viallefont, Pierre; Villaret, Colette

2012-10-01

The French Space Agency (CNES) is currently operating thirteen satellites among which five remote sensing satellites. This fleet is composed of two civilian (SPOT) and three military (HELIOS) satellites and it has been recently completed by the first PLEIADES satellite which is devoted to both civil and military purposes. The CNES operation board decided to appoint a Working Group (WG) in order to anticipate and tackle issues related to the emergency End Of Life (EOL) operations due to unexpected on-board events affecting the satellite. This is of particular interest in the context of the French Law on Space Operations (LSO), entered in force on Dec. 2010, which states that any satellite operator must demonstrate its capability to control the space vehicle whatever the mission phase from the launch up to the EOL. Indeed, after several years in orbit the satellites may be affected by on-board anomalies which could damage the implementation of EOL operations, i.e. orbital manoeuvres or platform disposal. Even if automatic recovery actions ensure autonomous reconfigurations on redundant equipment, i.e. setting for instance the satellite into a safe mode, it is crucial to anticipate the consequences of failures of every equipment and functions necessary for the EOL operations. For this purpose, the WG has focused on each potential anomaly by analysing: its emergency level, as well as the EOL operations potentially inhibited by the failure and the needs of on-board software workarounds… The main contribution of the WG consisted in identifying a particular satellite configuration called "minimal Withdrawal From Service (WFS) configuration". This configuration corresponds to an operational status which involves a redundancy necessary for the EOL operations. Therefore as soon as a satellite reaches this state, a dedicated steering committee is activated and decides of the future of the satellite with respect to three options: a/. the satellite is considered safe and can continue its mission using the redundancy, b/. the EOL operations must be planned within a mid-term period, or c/. the EOL operations must be implemented as soon as possible by the operational teams. The paper describes this management and operational process illustrated with study cases of failures on SPOT and PLEIADES satellites corresponding to various emergency situations.

Computational analysis of aircraft pressure relief doors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schott, Tyler

Modern trends in commercial aircraft design have sought to improve fuel efficiency while reducing emissions by operating at higher pressures and temperatures than ever before. Consequently, greater demands are placed on the auxiliary bleed air systems used for a multitude of aircraft operations. The increased role of bleed air systems poses significant challenges for the pressure relief system to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the aircraft. The core compartment pressure relief door (PRD) is an essential component of the pressure relief system which functions to relieve internal pressure in the core casing of a high-bypass turbofan engine during a burst duct over-pressurization event. The successful modeling and analysis of a burst duct event are imperative to the design and development of PRD's to ensure that they will meet the increased demands placed on the pressure relief system. Leveraging high-performance computing coupled with advances in computational analysis, this thesis focuses on a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study to characterize turbulent flow dynamics and quantify the performance of a core compartment PRD across a range of operating conditions and geometric configurations. The CFD analysis was based on a compressible, steady-state, three-dimensional, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes approach. Simulations were analyzed, and results show that variations in freestream conditions, plenum environment, and geometric configurations have a non-linear impact on the discharge, moment, thrust, and surface temperature characteristics. The CFD study revealed that the underlying physics for this behavior is explained by the interaction of vortices, jets, and shockwaves. This thesis research is innovative and provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of existing and novel PRD geometries over a range of realistic operating conditions representative of a burst duct over-pressurization event. Further, the study provides aircraft manufacturers with valuable insight into the impact that operating conditions and geometric configurations have on PRD performance and how the information can be used to assist future research and development of PRD design.

32 CFR 700.857 - Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... OFFICIAL RECORDS The Commanding Officer Commanding Officers Afloat § 700.857 Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft. (a) The commanding officer is responsible for the safe... Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as appropriate. (d) The Commanding Officer is responsible...

32 CFR 700.857 - Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... OFFICIAL RECORDS The Commanding Officer Commanding Officers Afloat § 700.857 Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft. (a) The commanding officer is responsible for the safe... Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as appropriate. (d) The Commanding Officer is responsible...

32 CFR 700.857 - Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... OFFICIAL RECORDS The Commanding Officer Commanding Officers Afloat § 700.857 Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft. (a) The commanding officer is responsible for the safe... Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as appropriate. (d) The Commanding Officer is responsible...

32 CFR 700.857 - Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... OFFICIAL RECORDS The Commanding Officer Commanding Officers Afloat § 700.857 Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft. (a) The commanding officer is responsible for the safe... Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as appropriate. (d) The Commanding Officer is responsible...

32 CFR 700.857 - Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... OFFICIAL RECORDS The Commanding Officer Commanding Officers Afloat § 700.857 Safe navigation and regulations governing operation of ships and aircraft. (a) The commanding officer is responsible for the safe... Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as appropriate. (d) The Commanding Officer is responsible...

Multi-physics design and analyses of long life reactors for lunar outposts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schriener, Timothy M.

Future human exploration of the solar system is likely to include establishing permanent outposts on the surface of the Moon. These outposts will require reliable sources of electrical power in the range of 10's to 100's of kWe to support exploration and resource utilization activities. This need is best met using nuclear reactor power systems which can operate steadily throughout the long ˜27.3 day lunar rotational period, irrespective of location. Nuclear power systems can potentially open up the entire lunar surface for future exploration and development. Desirable features of nuclear power systems for the lunar surface include passive operation, the avoidance of single point failures in reactor cooling and the integrated power system, moderate operating temperatures to enable the use of conventional materials with proven irradiation experience, utilization of the lunar regolith for radiation shielding and as a supplemental neutron reflector, and safe post-operation decay heat removal and storage for potential retrieval. In addition, it is desirable for the reactor to have a long operational life. Only a limited number of space nuclear reactor concepts have previously been developed for the lunar environment, and these designs possess only a few of these desirable design and operation features. The objective of this research is therefore to perform design and analyses of long operational life lunar reactors and power systems which incorporate the desirable features listed above. A long reactor operational life could be achieved either by increasing the amount of highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel in the core or by improving the neutron economy in the reactor through reducing neutron leakage and parasitic absorption. The amount of fuel in surface power reactors is constrained by the launch safety requirements. These include ensuring that the bare reactor core remains safely subcritical when submerged in water or wet sand and flooded with seawater in the unlikely event of a launch abort accident. Increasing the amount of fuel in the reactor core, and hence its operational life, would be possible by launching the reactor unfueled and fueling it on the Moon. Such a reactor would, thus, not be subject to launch criticality safety requirements. However, loading the reactor with fuel on the Moon presents a challenge, requiring special designs of the core and the fuel elements, which lend themselves to fueling on the lunar surface. This research investigates examples of both a solid core reactor that would be fueled at launch as well as an advanced concept which could be fueled on the Moon. Increasing the operational life of a reactor fueled at launch is exercised for the NaK-78 cooled Sectored Compact Reactor (SCoRe). A multi-physics design and analyses methodology is developed which iteratively couples together detailed Monte Carlo neutronics simulations with 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and thermal-hydraulics analyses. Using this methodology the operational life of this compact, fast spectrum reactor is increased by reconfiguring the core geometry to reduce neutron leakage and parasitic absorption, for the same amount of HEU in the core, and meeting launch safety requirements. The multi-physics analyses determine the impacts of the various design changes on the reactor's neutronics and thermal-hydraulics performance. The option of increasing the operational life of a reactor by loading it on the Moon is exercised for the Pellet Bed Reactor (PeBR). The PeBR uses spherical fuel pellets and is cooled by He-Xe gas, allowing the reactor core to be loaded with fuel pellets and charged with working fluid on the lunar surface. The performed neutronics analyses ensure the PeBR design achieves a long operational life, and develops safe launch canister designs to transport the spherical fuel pellets to the lunar surface. The research also investigates loading the PeBR core with fuel pellets on the Moon using a transient Discrete Element Method (DEM) analysis in lunar gravity. In addition, this research addresses the post-operation storage of the SCoRe and PeBR concepts, below the lunar surface, to determine the time required for the radioactivity in the used fuel to decrease to a low level to allow for its safe recovery. The SCoRe and PeBR concepts are designed to operate at coolant temperatures ≤ 900 K and use conventional stainless steels and superalloys for the structure in the reactor core and power system. They are emplaced below grade on the Moon to take advantage of the regolith as a supplemental neutron reflector and as shielding of the lunar outpost from the reactors' neutron and gamma radiation.

The impact of flying qualities on helicopter operational agility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Padfield, Gareth D.; Lappos, Nick; Hodgkinson, John

1993-01-01

Flying qualities standards are formally set to ensure safe flight and therefore reflect minimum, rather than optimum, requirements. Agility is a flying quality but relates to operations at high, if not maximum, performance. While the quality metrics and test procedures for flying, as covered for example in ADS33C, may provide an adequate structure to encompass agility, they do not currently address flight at high performance. This is also true in the fixed-wing world and a current concern in both communities is the absence of substantiated agility criteria and possible conflicts between flying qualities and high performance. AGARD is sponsoring a working group (WG19) title 'Operational Agility' that deals with these and a range of related issues. This paper is condensed from contributions by the three authors to WG19, relating to flying qualities. Novel perspectives on the subject are presented including the agility factor, that quantifies performance margins in flying qualities terms; a new parameter, based on maneuver acceleration is introduced as a potential candidate for defining upper limits to flying qualities. Finally, a probabilistic analysis of pilot handling qualities ratings is presented that suggests a powerful relationship between inherent airframe flying qualities and operational agility.

On the design of flight-deck procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Degani, Asaf; Wiener, Earl L.

1994-01-01

In complex human-machine systems, operations, training, and standardization depend on a elaborate set of procedures which are specified and mandated by the operational management of the organization. The intent is to provide guidance to the pilots, to ensure a logical, efficient, safe, and predictable means of carrying out the mission objectives. In this report the authors examine the issue of procedure use and design from a broad viewpoint. The authors recommend a process which we call 'The Four P's:' philosophy, policies, procedures, and practices. We believe that if an organization commits to this process, it can create a set of procedures that are more internally consistent, less confusing, better respected by the flight crews, and that will lead to greater conformity. The 'Four-P' model, and the guidelines for procedural development in appendix 1, resulted from cockpit observations, extensive interviews with airline management and pilots, interviews and discussion at one major airframe manufacturer, and an examination of accident and incident reports. Although this report is based on airline operations, we believe that the principles may be applicable to other complex, high-risk systems, such as nuclear power production, manufacturing process control, space flight, and military operations.

VVER Reactor Safety in Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadopoulou, Demetra

2012-02-01

VVER Soviet-designed reactors that operate in Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics have heightened international concern for years due to major safety deficiencies. The governments of countries with VVER reactors have invested millions of dollars toward improving the safety of their nuclear power plants. Most of these reactors will continue to operate for the foreseeable future since they provide urgently-needed electrical power. Given this situation, this paper assesses the radiological consequences of a major nuclear accident in Eastern Europe. The paper also chronicles the efforts launched by the international nuclear community to improve the safety of the reactors and notes the progress made so far through extensive collaborative efforts in Armenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine to reduce the risks of nuclear accidents. Western scientific and technical staff collaborated with these countries to improve the safety of their reactor operations by strengthening the ability of the regulator to perform its oversight function, installing safety equipment and technologies, investing time in safety training, and working diligently to establish an enduring safety culture. Still, continued safety improvement efforts are necessary to ensure safe operating practices and achieve timely phase-out of older plants.

Modernization of existing VVER-1000 surveillance programs

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

Kochkin, V.; Erak, D.; Makhotin, D.

2011-07-01

According to generally accepted world practice, evaluation of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) material behavior during operation is carried out using tests of surveillance specimens. The main objective of the surveillance program consists in insurance of safe RPV operation during the design lifetime and lifetime-extension period. At present, the approaches of pressure vessels residual life validation based on the test results of their surveillance specimens have been developed and introduced in Russia and are under consideration in other countries where vodo-vodyanoi energetichesky reactors- (VVER-) 1000 are in operation. In this case, it is necessary to ensure leading irradiation of surveillancemore » specimens (as compared to the pressure vessel wall) and to provide uniformly irradiated specimen groups for mechanical testing. Standard surveillance program of VVER-1000 has several significant shortcomings and does not meet these requirements. Taking into account program of lifetime extension of VVER-1000 operating in Russia, it is necessary to carry out upgrading of the VVER-1000 surveillance program. This paper studies the conditions of a surveillance specimen's irradiation and upgrading of existing sets to provide monitoring and prognosis of RPV material properties for extension of the reactor's lifetime up to 60 years or more. (authors)« less

Data Analysis and Data-Driven Decision-Making Strategies Implemented by Elementary Teachers in Selected Exited Program Improvement Safe Harbor Schools in Southern California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senger, Karen

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to investigate and describe how elementary teachers in exited Program Improvement-Safe Harbor schools acquire student achievement data through assessments, the strategies and reflections utilized to make sense of the data to improve student achievement, ensure curriculum and instructional goals are aligned,…

Intentions and Results: "A Look Back at the Adoption and Safe Families Act"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urban Institute (NJ1), 2009

2009-01-01

President Clinton signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997, Public Law 105-89 105th Congress, 1st session on November 19, 1997. The ambitious new law aimed to reaffirm the focus on child safety in case decision making and to ensure that children did not languish and grow up in foster care but instead were connected with permanent…

New law on staffing levels will save lives.

PubMed

2016-02-17

Good news about nurse staffing levels can be hard to find, so how fantastic that a protracted campaign in Wales finally paid off last week with the passage of legislation to ensure hospital wards are staffed safely. Next month, the Queen will give royal assent to the Safe Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill, which will save lives, produce better outcomes and enhance the patient experience of care.

A new leadership role for pharmacists: a prescription for change.

PubMed

Burgess, L Hayley; Cohen, Michael R; Denham, Charles R

2010-03-01

Pharmacists can play an important role as leaders to reduce patient safety risks, optimize the safe function of medication management systems, and align pharmacy services with national initiatives that measure and reward quality performance. The objective of this article is to determine the actions that pharmacists can take to create a visible and sustainable safe medication management structure and system in the health care environment. An evidence-based literature search was performed to determine what actions successful pharmacist leaders have taken to improve patient safety. There is a growing number of quality and patient safety standards, as well as measures that focus specifically on medication use and education. Health care organizations must be made aware of the valuable resources that pharmacists provide and of the complexity of medication management. There are steps that pharmacist leaders can take to achieve these goals. The 10 steps that pharmacist leaders can take to create a visible and sustainable safe medication management structure and system are the following: 1. Identify and mitigate medication management risks and hazards to reduce preventable patient harm. 2. Establish pharmacy leadership structures and systems to ensure organizational awareness of medication safety gaps. 3. Support an organizational culture of safe medication use. 4. Ensure evidence-based medication regimens for all patients. 5. Have daily check-in calls/meetings, with the primary focus on significant safety or quality issues. 6. Establish a medication safety committee. 7. Perform medication safety walk-rounds to evaluate medication processes, and request front-line staff ’s input about medication safe practices. 8. Ensure that pharmacy staff engage in teamwork, skill building, and communication training. 9. Engage in readiness planning for implementation of health information technology (HIT). 10. Include medication history-taking and reviews upon entry into the organization; medication counseling and training during the discharge process; and follow-up after the transition to home.

Real-Time Operation of the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suffredini, M. T.

2002-01-01

The International Space Station is on orbit and real-time operations are well underway. Along with the assembly challenges of building and operating the International Space Station , scientific activities are also underway. Flight control teams in three countries are working together as a team to plan, coordinate and command the systems on the International Space Station.Preparations are being made to add the additional International Partner elements including their operations teams and facilities. By October 2002, six Expedition crews will have lived on the International Space Station. Management of real-time operations has been key to these achievements. This includes the activities of ground teams in control centers around the world as well as the crew on orbit. Real-time planning is constantly challenged with balancing the requirements and setting the priorities for the assembly, maintenance, science and crew health functions on the International Space Station. It requires integrating the Shuttle, Soyuz and Progress requirements with the Station. It is also necessary to be able to respond in case of on-orbit anomalies and to set plans and commands in place to ensure the continues safe operation of the Station. Bringing together the International Partner operations teams has been challenging and intensely rewarding. Utilization of the assets of each partner has resulted in efficient solutions to problems. This paper will describe the management of the major real-time operations processes, significant achievements, and future challenges.

Project ADIOS: Aircraft Deployable Ice Observation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gudmundsson, G. H.

2013-12-01

Regions of the Antarctic that are of scientific interest are often too heavily crevassed to enable a plane to land, or permit safe access from a field camp. We have developed an alternative strategy for instrumenting these regions: a sensor that can be dropped from an overflying aircraft. Existing aircraft deployable sensors are not suitable for long term operations in areas where snow accumulates, as they are quickly buried. We have overcome this problem by shaping the sensor like an aerodynamic mast with fins and a small parachute. After being released from the aircraft, the sensor accelerates to 42m/s and stabilizes during a 10s descent. On impact with the snow surface the sensor package buries itself to a depth of 1m then uses the large surface area of the fins to stop it burying further. This leaves a 1.5m mast protruding high above the snow surface to ensure a long operating life. The high impact kinetic energy and robust fin braking mechanism ensure that the design works in both soft and hard snow. Over the past two years we have developed and tested our design with a series of aircraft and wind tunnel tests. Last season we used this deployment strategy to successfully install a network of 31 single band GPS sensors in regions where crevassing has previously prevented science operations: Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, and Scar Inlet, Antarctic Peninsula. This season we intend to expand on this network by deploying a further 25 single and dual band GPS sensors on Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica.

SOFIA: Flying the Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asher, Troy A.; Cumming, Stephen B.

2012-01-01

The primary focus of this paper is how the flight test team for the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) re-cast an extensive developmental test program to meet key milestones while simultaneously ensuring safe certification of the airframe and delivery of an operationally relevant platform, ultimately saving the overall program from financial demise. Following a brief introduction to the observatory and what it is designed to do, SOFIAs planned developmental test program is summarized, including analysis and design philosophy, envelope expansion, model validation and airframe certification. How NASA used lessons learned from other aircraft that employed open cavities in flight is explained as well as how and why the chosen design was selected. The approach to aerodynamic analysis, including bare airframe testing, wind tunnel testing, computational fluid dynamics and finite element modeling proved absolutely critical. Despite a solid analytical foundation, many unknowns remained. History provides several examples of disastrous effects on both systems and flight safety if cavity design is not approached properly. For these reasons, an extensive test plan was developed to ensure a safe and thorough build-up for envelope expansion, airframe certification and early science missions. Unfortunately, as is often the case, because of chronic delays in overall program execution, severe schedule and funding pressures were present. If critical milestones were not met, domestic as well as international funding was in serious jeopardy, and the demise of the entire program loomed large. Concentrating on rigorous model validation, the test team challenged certification requirements, increased test efficiency and streamlined engineering analysis. This resulted in the safe reduction of test point count by 72%, meeting all program milestones and a platform that soundly satisfied all operational science requirements. Results from early science missions are shown and a proof of concept mission for which SOFIA was opportunely positioned is showcased. Success on this time-critical mission to observe a rare astronomical event proved the usefulness of an airborne observatory and the value in waiting for the capability provided by SOFIA. Finally, lessons learned in the test program are presented with emphasis on how lessons from previous aircraft and successful test programs were applied to SOFIA. Effective application of these lessons was crucial to the success of the SOFIA flight test program. SOFIA is an international cooperative program between NASA and the German Space Agency, DLR. It is a 2.5 meter (100-inch) telescope mounted in a Boeing 747SP aircraft used for astronomical observations at altitudes above 35,000 feet. SOFIA will accommodate a host of scientific instruments from the international science community and has a planned operational lifespan of more than 20 years.

Ensuring safe water in post-chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies

PubMed Central

Amar, Praveen Kumar

2010-01-01

Disaster scenarios are dismal and often result in mass displacement and migration of people. In eventuality of emergency situations, people need to be rehabilitated and provided with an adequate supply of drinking water, the most essential natural resource needed for survival, which is often not easily available even during non-disaster periods. In the aftermath of a natural or human-made disaster affecting mankind and livestock, the prime aim is to ensure supply of safe water to reduce the occurrence and spread of water borne disease due to interrupted, poor and polluted water supply. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies augment the dilemma as an additional risk of “contamination” is added. The associated risks posed to health and life should be reduced to as low as reasonably achievable. Maintaining a high level of preparedness is the crux of quick relief and efficient response to ensure continuous supply of safe water, enabling survival and sustenance. The underlying objective would be to educate and train the persons concerned to lay down the procedures for the detection, cleaning, and treatment, purification including desalination, disinfection, and decontamination of water. The basic information to influence the organization of preparedness and execution of relief measures at all levels while maintaining minimum standards in water management at the place of disaster, are discussed in this article. PMID:21829321

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program: Integrated Program Plan

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

None, None

Nuclear power has safely, reliably, and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 60%) of non-greenhouse-gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. Domestic demand for electrical energy is expected to grow by about 24% from 2013 to 2040 . At the same time, most of the currently operating nuclear power plants will begin reaching the end of their initial 20-year extension to their original 40-year operating license, for a total of 60 years of operation (the oldest commercial plants in the Unitedmore » States reached their 40th anniversary in 2009). Figure E-1 shows projected nuclear energy contribution to the domestic generating capacity for 40- and 60-year license periods. If current operating nuclear power plants do not operate beyond 60 years (and new nuclear plants are not built quickly enough to replace them), the total fraction of generated electrical energy from nuclear power will rapidly decline. That decline will be accelerated if plants are shut down before 60 years of operation. Decisions on extended operation ultimately rely on economic factors; however, economics can often be improved through technical advancements. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s 2010 Research and Development Roadmap (2010 Nuclear Energy Roadmap) organizes its activities around four objectives that ensure nuclear energy remains a compelling and viable energy option for the United States. The four objectives are as follows: 1. Develop technologies and other solutions that can improve the reliability, sustain the safety, and extend the life of the current reactors; 2. Develop improvements in the affordability of new reactors to enable nuclear energy to help meet the Administration’s energy security and climate change goals; 3. Develop sustainable nuclear fuel cycles; and 4. Understand and minimize the risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is the primary programmatic activity that addresses Objective 1. This document summarizes the LWRS Program’s plans. For the LWRS Program, sustainability is defined as the ability to maintain safe and economic operation of the existing fleet of nuclear power plants for a longer-than-initially-licensed lifetime. It has two facets with respect to long-term operations: (1) manage the aging of plant systems, structures, and components so that nuclear power plant lifetimes can be extended and the plants can continue to operate safely, efficiently, and economically; and (2) provide science-based solutions to the industry to implement technology to exceed the performance of the current labor-intensive business model.« less

Factors associated with safe delivery service utilization among women in Sheka zone, southwest Ethiopia.

PubMed

Asres, Abyot; Davey, Gail

2015-04-01

Attempts to predict pregnancy and childbirth complications before they occur have not been successful. Provision of safe delivery service for all births is considered to be a critical intervention for ensuring safe motherhood. Hence the aim of the study was to assess factors associated with safe delivery service utilization among women in Sheka Zone South West Ethiopia. A community based comparative cross sectional survey was conducted among 554 women in Sheka Zone from February to March 2008. Data were collected through structured pre-tested questionnaire and entered into Epinfo version 3.3. Analyses were done with SPSS version 13 computer software with which bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were carried out. Mothers who completed at least secondary school were more likely to give birth at health facility than those uneducated (AOR = 3.26, 95 % CI 1.51-7.06). Women with birth order above four were less likely to give birth in a health facility than those with first order births (AOR = 0.21, 95 %CI 0.10-0.43). Women who had encountered problems in their immediate birth and received prenatal care were more likely to give birth at health facilities AOR = 33.78 95 % CI 16.44-69.39) and (AOR = 2.55, 95 % CI 1.05-6.21) respectively. Factors associated with safe delivery service utilization are related to the women's socioeconomic status and obstetric experiences. Consequently promotion of maternal education, prenatal care utilization, information education and communication on obstetric risks and general health service expansion are needed to ensure safe delivery service.

Facilitating the safe use of insulin pens in hospitals through a mentored quality-improvement program.

PubMed

Lutz, Mark F; Haines, Stuart T; Lesch, Christine A; Szumita, Paul M

2016-10-01

Results of the MENTORED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IMPACT PROGRAM℠ (MQIIP) on Ensuring Insulin Pen Safety in Hospitals, which was part of an ASHP educational initiative aimed at ensuring the safe use of insulin pens in hospitals, are described. During this ASHP initiative, which also included continuing-education activities and Web-based resources, distance mentoring by pharmacists with expertise in the safe use of insulin pens was provided to interprofessional teams at 14 hospitals between September 2014 and May 2015. The results of baseline assessments of nursing staff knowledge of insulin pen use, insulin pen storage and labeling audits, and insulin pen injection observations conducted in September and October 2014 were the basis for insulin pen quality-improvement plans. Postintervention data were collected in April and May 2015. Compared with the baseline period, significant improvements in nurses' knowledge of insulin pen use, insulin pen labeling and storage, and insulin pen administration were observed in the postintervention period despite the relatively short time frame for implementation of quality-improvement plans. Program participants are committed to sustaining and building on improvements achieved during the program. The outcome measures described in this report could be adapted by other health systems to identify opportunities to improve the safety of insulin pen use. Focused attention on insulin pen safety through an interprofessional team approach during the MQIIP enabled participating sites to detect potential safety issues based on collected data, develop targeted process changes, document improvements, and identify areas requiring further intervention. A sustained organizational commitment is required to ensure the safe use of insulin pen devices in hospitals. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Safe Practices for Copy and Paste in the EHR

PubMed Central

Lehmann, Christoph U.; Michel, Jeremy; Solomon, Ronni; Possanza, Lorraine; Gandhi, Tejal

2017-01-01

Summary Background Copy and paste functionality can support efficiency during clinical documentation, but may promote inaccurate documentation with risks for patient safety. The Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety was formed to gather data, conduct analysis, educate, and disseminate safe practices for safer care using health information technology (IT). Objective To characterize copy and paste events in clinical care, identify safety risks, describe existing evidence, and develop implementable practice recommendations for safe reuse of information via copy and paste. Methods The Partnership 1) reviewed 12 reported safety events, 2) solicited expert input, and 3) performed a systematic literature review (2010 to January 2015) to identify publications addressing frequency, perceptions/attitudes, patient safety risks, existing guidance, and potential interventions and mitigation practices. Results The literature review identified 51 publications that were included. Overall, 66% to 90% of clinicians routinely use copy and paste. One study of diagnostic errors found that copy and paste led to 2.6% of errors in which a missed diagnosis required patients to seek additional unplanned care. Copy and paste can promote note bloat, internal inconsistencies, error propagation, and documentation in the wrong patient chart. Existing guidance identified specific responsibilities for authors, organizations, and electronic health record (EHR) developers. Analysis of 12 reported copy and paste safety events was congruent with problems identified from the literature review. Conclusion Despite regular copy and paste use, evidence regarding direct risk to patient safety remains sparse, with significant study limitations. Drawing on existing evidence, the Partnership developed four safe practice recommendations: 1) Provide a mechanism to make copy and paste material easily identifiable; 2) Ensure the provenance of copy and paste material is readily available; 3) Ensure adequate staff training and education; 4) Ensure copy and paste practices are regularly monitored, measured, and assessed. PMID:28074211

Safe Practices for Copy and Paste in the EHR. Systematic Review, Recommendations, and Novel Model for Health IT Collaboration.

PubMed

Tsou, Amy Y; Lehmann, Christoph U; Michel, Jeremy; Solomon, Ronni; Possanza, Lorraine; Gandhi, Tejal

2017-01-11

Copy and paste functionality can support efficiency during clinical documentation, but may promote inaccurate documentation with risks for patient safety. The Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety was formed to gather data, conduct analysis, educate, and disseminate safe practices for safer care using health information technology (IT). To characterize copy and paste events in clinical care, identify safety risks, describe existing evidence, and develop implementable practice recommendations for safe reuse of information via copy and paste. The Partnership 1) reviewed 12 reported safety events, 2) solicited expert input, and 3) performed a systematic literature review (2010 to January 2015) to identify publications addressing frequency, perceptions/attitudes, patient safety risks, existing guidance, and potential interventions and mitigation practices. The literature review identified 51 publications that were included. Overall, 66% to 90% of clinicians routinely use copy and paste. One study of diagnostic errors found that copy and paste led to 2.6% of errors in which a missed diagnosis required patients to seek additional unplanned care. Copy and paste can promote note bloat, internal inconsistencies, error propagation, and documentation in the wrong patient chart. Existing guidance identified specific responsibilities for authors, organizations, and electronic health record (EHR) developers. Analysis of 12 reported copy and paste safety events was congruent with problems identified from the literature review. Despite regular copy and paste use, evidence regarding direct risk to patient safety remains sparse, with significant study limitations. Drawing on existing evidence, the Partnership developed four safe practice recommendations: 1) Provide a mechanism to make copy and paste material easily identifiable; 2) Ensure the provenance of copy and paste material is readily available; 3) Ensure adequate staff training and education; 4) Ensure copy and paste practices are regularly monitored, measured, and assessed.

Determining the Probability of Violating Upper-Level Wind Constraints for the Launch of Minuteman Ill Ballistic Missiles At Vandenberg Air Force Base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shafer, Jaclyn A.; Brock, Tyler M.

2013-01-01

The 30th Operational Support Squadron Weather Flight (30 OSSWF) provides comprehensive weather services to the space program at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. One of their responsibilities is to monitor upper-level winds to ensure safe launch operations of the Minuteman Ill ballistic missile. The 30 OSSWF requested the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) analyze VAFB sounding data to determine the probability of violating (PoV) upper-level thresholds for wind speed and shear constraints specific to this launch vehicle, and to develop a graphical user interface (GUI) that will calculate the PoV of each constraint on the day of launch. The AMU suggested also including forecast sounding data from the Rapid Refresh (RAP) model. This would provide further insight for the launch weather officers (LWOs) when determining if a wind constraint violation will occur over the next few hours, and help to improve the overall upper winds forecast on launch day.

Observations of sea ice and icebergs in the western Barents Sea during the winter of 1987

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

Loeset, S.; Carstens, T.

1995-12-31

A multisensor ice data acquisition program for the western Barents Sea was carried out during three field campaigns in the mid winter and fall of 1987. The main purpose of the program was to obtain comprehensive information about the ice in the area at that time. The reasoning was that prior to any oil/gas exploration and production in the Barents Sea, the physical environment has to be quantitatively surveyed in order to ensure safe operations related to human safety, the regular operability and safety of the structure and protection of the environment. Prior to this field investigation program in 1987more » data on sea ice and icebergs for engineering purposes for the western Barents Sea were meager. The present paper highlights some of the findings with emphasis on ice edge speeds, ice edge displacement and ice drift. For icebergs, the paper focuses on population, size distributions and geometric parameters.« less

A novel visual pipework inspection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Summan, Rahul; Jackson, William; Dobie, Gordon; MacLeod, Charles; Mineo, Carmelo; West, Graeme; Offin, Douglas; Bolton, Gary; Marshall, Stephen; Lille, Alexandre

2018-04-01

The interior visual inspection of pipelines in the nuclear industry is a safety critical activity conducted during outages to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of plant. Typically, the video output by a manually deployed probe is viewed by an operator looking to identify and localize surface defects such as corrosion, erosion and pitting. However, it is very challenging to estimate the nature and extent of defects by viewing a large structure through a relatively small field of view. This work describes a new visual inspection system employing photogrammetry using a fisheye camera and a structured light system to map the internal geometry of pipelines by generating a photorealistic, geometrically accurate surface model. The error of the system output was evaluated through comparison to a ground truth laser scan (ATOS GOM Triple Scan) of a nuclear grade split pipe sample (stainless steel 304L, 80mm internal diameter) containing defects representative of the application - the error was found to be submillimeter across the sample.

Office of River Protection Advanced Low-Activity Waste Glass Research and Development Plan

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

Kruger, A. A.; Peeler, D. K.; Kim, D. S.

2015-11-23

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of River Protection (ORP) has initiated and leads an integrated Advanced Waste Glass (AWG) program to increase the loading of Hanford tank wastes in glass while meeting melter lifetime expectancies and process, regulatory, and product performance requirements. The integrated ORP program is focused on providing a technical, science-based foundation for making key decisions regarding the successful operation of the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) facilities in the context of an optimized River Protection Project (RPP) flowsheet. The fundamental data stemming from this program will support development of advanced glass formulations, keymore » product performance and process control models, and tactical processing strategies to ensure safe and successful operations for both the low-activity waste (LAW) and high-level waste vitrification facilities. These activities will be conducted with the objective of improving the overall RPP mission by enhancing flexibility and reducing cost and schedule.« less

Practical ultrasonic transducers for high-temperature applications using bismuth titanate and Ceramabind 830

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Janet L.; Batista, Caio F. G.; Tittmann, Bernhard R.

2018-04-01

Structural health monitoring of large valve bodies in high-temperature environments such as power plants faces several limitations: commercial transducers are not rated for such high temperatures, gel couplants will evaporate, and measurements cannot be made in-situ. To solve this, we have furthered the work of Ledford in applying a practical transducer in liquid form which hardens and air dries directly onto the substrate. The transducer material is a piezoceramic film composed of bismuth titanate and a high-temperature binding agent, Ceramabind 830. The effects of several fabrication conditions were studied to optimize transducer performance and ensure repeatability. These fabrication conditions include humidity, binder ratio, water ratio, substrate roughness, and film thickness. The final product is stable for both reactive and non-reactive substrates, has a quick fabrication time, and has an operating temperature up to the Curie temperature of BIT, 650°C, well beyond the safe operating temperature of PZT (150°C).

An Unusual Complication With the Administration of a Volatile Anesthetic Agent for Status Asthmaticus in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Shutes, Brittany; Frazier, W Joshua; Tobias, Joseph D

2017-07-01

In severe cases of status asthmaticus, when conventional therapies fail, volatile anesthetic agents remain a therapeutic option. When delivered outside of the operating room setting, specialized delivery techniques are needed to ensure the safe and effective use of volatile anesthetic agents. We present a 16-year-old adolescent with status asthmaticus who required the therapeutic administration of the volatile anesthetic agent, sevoflurane, in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Although initially effective in reducing bronchospasm, progressive hypercarbia developed due to defective functioning of the carbon dioxide absorber of the anesthesia machine. This failure occurred as the soda lime compartment filled with water accumulated from circuit humidification and continuous albuterol therapy. The role of volatile anesthetic agents in the treatment of status asthmaticus in the PICU is discussed, options for delivery outside of the operating room presented, and potential problems with delivery reviewed.

Numerical and Experimental Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of A Novel Semi-Submersible Concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Song; Tao, Long-bin; Kou, Yu-feng; Lu, Chao; Sun, Jiang-long

2018-04-01

Multiple Column Platform (MCP) semi-submersible is a newly proposed concept, which differs from the conventional semi-submersibles, featuring centre column and middle pontoon. It is paramount to ensure its structural reliability and safe operation at sea, and a rigorous investigation is conducted to examine the hydrodynamic and structural performance for the novel structure concept. In this paper, the numerical and experimental studies on the hydrodynamic performance of MCP are performed. Numerical simulations are conducted in both the frequency and time domains based on 3D potential theory. The numerical models are validated by experimental measurements obtained from extensive sets of model tests under both regular wave and irregular wave conditions. Moreover, a comparative study on MCP and two conventional semi-submersibles are carried out using numerical simulation. Specifically, the hydrodynamic characteristics, including hydrodynamic coefficients, natural periods and motion response amplitude operators (RAOs), mooring line tension are fully examined. The present study proves the feasibility of the novel MCP and demonstrates the potential possibility of optimization in the future study.

National Tribal Building Codes Summit

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

National Tribal Building Codes summit statement developed to support tribes interested in adopting green and culturally-appropriate building systems to ensure safe, sustainable, affordable, and culturally-appropriate buildings on tribal lands.

Perfusionist

MedlinePlus

... Perfusionists conduct extracorporeal circulation and ensure the safe management of physiologic functions by monitoring the necessary variables. Perfusion (extracorporeal circulation) procedures involve specialized instrumentation and/or advanced life-support techniques and may include a variety ...

Multiple spacecraft configuration designs for coordinated flight missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fumenti, Federico; Theil, Stephan

2018-06-01

Coordinated flight allows the replacement of a single monolithic spacecraft with multiple smaller ones, based on the principle of distributed systems. According to the mission objectives and to ensure a safe relative motion, constraints on the relative distances need to be satisfied. Initially, differential perturbations are limited by proper orbit design. Then, the induced differential drifts can be properly handled through corrective maneuvers. In this work, several designs are surveyed, defining the initial configuration of a group of spacecraft while counteracting the differential perturbations. For each of the investigated designs, focus is placed upon the number of deployable spacecraft and on the possibility to ensure safe relative motion through station keeping of the initial configuration, with particular attention to the required Δ V budget and the constraints violations.

International Space Station Requirement Verification for Commercial Visiting Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garguilo, Dan

2017-01-01

The COTS program demonstrated NASA could rely on commercial providers for safe, reliable, and cost-effective cargo delivery to ISS. The ISS Program has developed a streamlined process to safely integrate commercial visiting vehicles and ensure requirements are met Levy a minimum requirement set (down from 1000s to 100s) focusing on the ISS interface and safety, reducing the level of NASA oversight/insight and burden on the commercial Partner. Partners provide a detailed verification and validation plan documenting how they will show they've met NASA requirements. NASA conducts process sampling to ensure that the established verification processes is being followed. NASA participates in joint verification events and analysis for requirements that require both parties verify. Verification compliance is approved by NASA and launch readiness certified at mission readiness reviews.

Provision of healthcare in a remote base of operations in southern Chad.

PubMed

Hickey, J P

2010-09-01

The Irish Defence Forces maintained a presence in south eastern Chad under the authority of the United Nations Security Council from January 2008 until May 2010, operating in a peace support role as the lead contingent in a multinational battalion. In September 2009 the task of establishing a forward operating base in a remote location within the area of operations was ordered by mission headquarters. Irish and Finnish troops duly deployed and began the task of establishing a safe and secure base from which to operate. This involved securing the location, installing accommodation, electricity, lighting and facilities for ablutions, removing natural hazards, establishing secure communications and ensuring rapid access and egress in the event of hostile contact or emergency. The incidence of disease at this location was low, with the notable exception of a limited outbreak of gastroenteritis. The high standard of engineering work carried out around the camp, especially the latrines, washing facilities and other hygiene measures, significantly contributed to minimising the transmission of infectious disease. The past experiences of the Defence Forces in Congo, Lebanon, East Timor, Eritrea and Liberia have led to a high standard of forward planning and logistical awareness within the organisation which served personnel well in this latest mission. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Operational Experience with Long Duration Wildfire Mapping: UAS Missions Over the Western United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Philip; Cobleigh, Brent; Buoni, Greg; Howell, Kathleen

2008-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Forest Service, and National Interagency Fire Center have developed a partnership to develop and demonstrate technology to improve airborne wildfire imaging and data dissemination. In the summer of 2007, a multi-spectral infrared scanner was integrated into NASA's Ikhana Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) (a General Atomics Predator-B) and launched on four long duration wildfire mapping demonstration missions covering eight western states. Extensive safety analysis, contingency planning, and mission coordination were key to securing an FAA certificate of authorization (COA) to operate in the national airspace. Infrared images were autonomously geo-rectified, transmitted to the ground station by satellite communications, and networked to fire incident commanders within 15 minutes of acquisition. Close coordination with air traffic control ensured a safe operation, and allowed real-time redirection around inclement weather and other minor changes to the flight plan. All objectives of the mission demonstrations were achieved. In late October, wind-driven wildfires erupted in five southern California counties. State and national emergency operations agencies requested Ikhana to help assess and manage the wildfires. Four additional missions were launched over a 5-day period, with near realtime images delivered to multiple emergency operations centers and fire incident commands managing 10 fires.

Procedures in complex systems: the airline cockpit.

PubMed

Degani, A; Wiener, E L

1997-05-01

In complex human-machine systems, successful operations depend on an elaborate set of procedures which are specified by the operational management of the organization. These procedures indicate to the human operator (in this case the pilot) the manner in which operational management intends to have various tasks done. The intent is to provide guidance to the pilots and to ensure a safe, logical, efficient, and predictable (standardized) means of carrying out the objectives of the job. However, procedures can become a hodge-podge. Inconsistent or illogical procedures may lead to noncompliance by operators. Based on a field study with three major airlines, the authors propose a model for procedure development called the "Four P's": philosophy, policies, procedures, and practices. Using this model as a framework, the authors discuss the intricate issue of designing flight-deck procedures, and propose a conceptual approach for designing any set of procedures. The various factors, both external and internal to the cockpit, that must be considered for procedure design are presented. In particular, the paper addresses the development of procedures for automated cockpits--a decade-long, and highly controversial issue in commercial aviation. Although this paper is based on airline operations, we assume that the principles discussed here are also applicable to other high-risk supervisory control systems, such as space flight, manufacturing process control, nuclear power production, and military operations.

Ground controlled robotic assembly operations for Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrish, Joseph C.

1991-01-01

A number of dextrous robotic systems and associated positioning and transportation devices are available on Space Station Freedom (SSF) to perform assembly tasks that would otherwise need to be performed by extravehicular activity (EVA) crewmembers. The currently planned operating mode for these robotic systems during the assembly phase is teleoperation by intravehicular activity (IVA) crewmembers. While this operating mode is less hazardous and expensive than manned EVA operations, and has insignificant control loop time delays, the amount of IVA time available to support telerobotic operations is much less than the anticipated requirements. Some alternative is needed to allow the robotic systems to perform useful tasks without exhausting the available IVA resources; ground control is one such alternative. The issues associated with ground control of SSF robotic systems to alleviate onboard crew time availability constraints are investigated. Key technical issues include the effect of communication time delays, the need for safe, reliable execution of remote operations, and required modifications to the SSF ground and flight system architecture. Time delay compensation techniques such as predictive displays and world model-based force reflection are addressed and collision detection and avoidance strategies to ensure the safety of the on-orbit crew, Orbiter, and SSF are described. Although more time consuming and difficult than IVA controlled teleoperations or manned EVA, ground controlled telerobotic operations offer significant benefits during the SSF assembly phase, and should be considered in assembly planning activities.

Distributed sensor coordination for advanced energy systems

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

Tumer, Kagan

Motivation: The ability to collect key system level information is critical to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of advanced power systems. Recent advances in sensor technology have enabled some level of decision making directly at the sensor level. However, coordinating large numbers of sensors, particularly heterogeneous sensors, to achieve system level objectives such as predicting plant efficiency, reducing downtime or predicting outages requires sophisticated coordination algorithms. Indeed, a critical issue in such systems is how to ensure the interaction of a large number of heterogenous system components do not interfere with one another and lead to undesirable behavior. Objectivesmore » and Contributions: The long-term objective of this work is to provide sensor deployment, coordination and networking algorithms for large numbers of sensors to ensure the safe, reliable, and robust operation of advanced energy systems. Our two specific objectives are to: 1. Derive sensor performance metrics for heterogeneous sensor networks. 2. Demonstrate effectiveness, scalability and reconfigurability of heterogeneous sensor network in advanced power systems. The key technical contribution of this work is to push the coordination step to the design of the objective functions of the sensors, allowing networks of heterogeneous sensors to be controlled. By ensuring that the control and coordination is not specific to particular sensor hardware, this approach enables the design and operation of large heterogeneous sensor networks. In addition to the coordination coordination mechanism, this approach allows the system to be reconfigured in response to changing needs (e.g., sudden external events requiring new responses) or changing sensor network characteristics (e.g., sudden changes to plant condition). Impact: The impact of this work extends to a large class of problems relevant to the National Energy Technology Laboratory including sensor placement, heterogeneous sensor coordination, and sensor network control in advanced power systems. Each application has specific needs, but they all share the one crucial underlying problem: how to ensure that the interactions of a large number of heterogenous agents lead to coordinated system behavior. This proposal describes a new paradigm that addresses that very issue in a systematic way. Key Results and Findings: All milestones have been completed. Our results demonstrate that by properly shaping agent objective functions, we can develop large (up to 10,000 devices) heterogeneous sensor networks with key desirable properties. The first milestone shows that properly choosing agent-specific objective functions increases system performance by up to 99.9% compared to global evaluations. The second milestone shows evolutionary algorithms learn excellent sensor network coordination policies prior to network deployment, and these policies can be refined online once the network is deployed. The third milestone shows the resulting sensor networks networks are extremely robust to sensor noise, where networks with up to 25% sensor noise are capable of providing measurements with errors on the order of 10⁻³. The fourth milestone shows the resulting sensor networks are extremely robust to sensor failure, with 25% of the sensors in the system failing resulting in no significant performance losses after system reconfiguration.« less

A Reload and Startup Plan for and #8233;Conversion of the NIST Research Reactor

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

Diamond, D. J.; Varuttamaseni, A.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology operates a 20 MW research reactor for neutron-based research. The heavy-water moderated and cooled reactor is fueled with high-enriched uranium (HEU) but a program to convert the reactor to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel is underway. Among other requirements, a reload and startup test plan must be submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their approval. The NRC provides guidance for what should be in the plan to ensure that the licensee has sufficient information to operate the reactor safely. Hence, a plan has been generated consisting of two parts.The reload portionmore » of the plan specifies the fuel management whereby initially only two LEU fuel elements are in the core for eight fuel cycles. This is repeated until a point when the optimum approach is to place four fresh LEU elements into the reactor each cycle. This final transition is repeated and after eight cycles the reactor is completely fueled with LEU. By only adding two LEU fuel elements initially, the plan allows for the consumption of HEU fuel elements that are expected to be in storage at the time of conversion and provides additional qualification of production LEU fuel under actual operating conditions. Because the reload is to take place over many fuel cycles, startup tests will be done at different stages of the conversion. The tests, to be compared with calculations to show that the reactor will operate as planned, are the measurement of critical shim arm position and shim arm and regulating rod reactivity worths. An acceptance criterion for each test is specified based on technical specifications that relate to safe operation. Additional tests are being considered that have less safety significance but may be of interest to bolster the validation of analysis tools.« less

A reload and startup plan for conversion of the NIST research reactor

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

D. J. Diamond

The National Institute of Standards and Technology operates a 20 MW research reactor for neutron-based research. The heavy-water moderated and cooled reactor is fueled with high-enriched uranium (HEU) but a program to convert the reactor to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel is underway. Among other requirements, a reload and startup test plan must be submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their approval. The NRC provides guidance for what should be in the plan to ensure that the licensee has sufficient information to operate the reactor safely. Hence, a plan has been generated consisting of two parts. The reloadmore » portion of the plan specifies the fuel management whereby initially only two LEU fuel elements are in the core for eight fuel cycles. This is repeated until a point when the optimum approach is to place four fresh LEU elements into the reactor each cycle. This final transition is repeated and after eight cycles the reactor is completely fueled with LEU. By only adding two LEU fuel elements initially, the plan allows for the consumption of HEU fuel elements that are expected to be in storage at the time of conversion and provides additional qualification of production LEU fuel under actual operating conditions. Because the reload is to take place over many fuel cycles, startup tests will be done at different stages of the conversion. The tests, to be compared with calculations to show that the reactor will operate as planned, are the measurement of critical shim arm position and shim arm and regulating rod reactivity worths. An acceptance criterion for each test is specified based on technical specifications that relate to safe operation. Additional tests are being considered that have less safety significance but may be of interest to bolster the validation of analysis tools.« less

Why We Review Pesticides

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

As required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA periodically reviews existing registered pesticides to ensure they can be used safely, without unreasonable risks to human health and the environment.

49 CFR 176.150 - Radio and radar.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., unloaded, or handled, the responsible person must ensure that all sources of electromagnetic radiation such... are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation from external sources must be stowed at a safe distance...

49 CFR 176.150 - Radio and radar.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., unloaded, or handled, the responsible person must ensure that all sources of electromagnetic radiation such... are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation from external sources must be stowed at a safe distance...

49 CFR 176.150 - Radio and radar.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., unloaded, or handled, the responsible person must ensure that all sources of electromagnetic radiation such... are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation from external sources must be stowed at a safe distance...

49 CFR 176.150 - Radio and radar.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., unloaded, or handled, the responsible person must ensure that all sources of electromagnetic radiation such... are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation from external sources must be stowed at a safe distance...

49 CFR 176.150 - Radio and radar.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., unloaded, or handled, the responsible person must ensure that all sources of electromagnetic radiation such... are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation from external sources must be stowed at a safe distance...

Minor Uses and Grower Resources

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Provides growers, registrants and other interested parties with information on the programs EPA is implementing to ensure safe pesticide tools are available, particularly for those involved in the minor uses of pesticides.

Strategies for Countering Terrorist Safe Havens

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-20

within safe havens, tactical containment, pseudo operations, and surrogate security forces. The thesis draws from four historical case studies to...leadership targeting within safe havens, tactical containment, pseudo operations, and surrogate security forces. The thesis draws from four historical case ...surrogate forces and pseudo operations—provide viable potential options for USSOF to counter the complex problem of safe havens. Overall, the case

Development of a non-tissue adherent neurosurgical patty and an ex vivo testing system to evaluate adherent characteristics.

PubMed

Kinoshita, Manabu; Taniguchi, Mai; Takagaki, Masatoshi; Seike, Nobuhisa; Hashimoto, Naoya; Yoshimine, Toshiki

2015-05-01

Neurosurgical patties are the most frequently used instruments during neurosurgical procedures, and their high performance is required to ensure safe operations. They must offer cushioning, water-absorbing, water-retaining, and non-tissue adherent characteristics. Here, the authors describe a revised neurosurgical patty that is superior in all respects to the conventional patty available in Japan. Patty characteristics were critically and scientifically evaluated using various in vitro assays. Moreover, a novel ex vivo evaluation system focusing on the adherent characteristics of the neurosurgical patty was developed. The proposed assay could provide benchmark data for comparing different neurosurgical patties, offering neurosurgeons objective data on the performance of patties. The newly developed patty was also evaluated in real neurosurgical settings and showed superb performance during various neurosurgical procedures.

Modeling of the ITER-like wide-angle infrared thermography view of JET.

PubMed

Aumeunier, M-H; Firdaouss, M; Travère, J-M; Loarer, T; Gauthier, E; Martin, V; Chabaud, D; Humbert, E

2012-10-01

Infrared (IR) thermography systems are mandatory to ensure safe plasma operation in fusion devices. However, IR measurements are made much more complicated in metallic environment because of the spurious contributions of the reflected fluxes. This paper presents a full predictive photonic simulation able to assess accurately the surface temperature measurement with classical IR thermography from a given plasma scenario and by taking into account the optical properties of PFCs materials. This simulation has been carried out the ITER-like wide angle infrared camera view of JET in comparing with experimental data. The consequences and the effects of the low emissivity and the bidirectional reflectivity distribution function used in the model for the metallic PFCs on the contribution of the reflected flux in the analysis are discussed.

Destructive Single-Event Failures in Diodes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casey, Megan C.; Gigliuto, Robert A.; Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Wilcox, Edward P.; Kim, Hak; Chen, Dakai; Phan, Anthony M.; LaBel, Kenneth A.

2013-01-01

In this summary, we have shown that diodes are susceptible to destructive single-event effects, and that these failures occur along the guard ring. By determining the last passing voltages, a safe operating area can be derived. By derating off of those values, rather than by the rated voltage, like what is currently done with power MOSFETs, we can work to ensure the safety of future missions. However, there are still open questions about these failures. Are they limited to a single manufacturer, a small number, or all of them? Is there a threshold rated voltage that must be exceeded to see these failures? With future work, we hope to answer these questions. In the full paper, laser results will also be presented to verify that failures only occur along the guard ring.

Safety evaluation for packaging (onsite) plutonium recycle test reactor graphite cask

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

Romano, T.

This safety evaluation for packaging (SEP) provides the evaluation necessary to demonstrate that the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor (PRTR) Graphite Cask meets the requirements of WHC-CM-2-14, Hazardous Material Packaging and Shipping, for transfer of Type B, fissile, non-highway route controlled quantities of radioactive material within the 300 Area of the Hanford Site. The scope of this SEP includes risk, shieldling, criticality, and.tiedown analyses to demonstrate that onsite transportation safety requirements are satisfied. This SEP also establishes operational and maintenance guidelines to ensure that transport of the PRTR Graphite Cask is performed safely in accordance with WHC-CM-2-14. This SEP is validmore » until October 1, 1999. After this date, an update or upgrade to this document is required.« less

Collaboration Mechanism for Equipment Instruction of Multiple Energy Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dong; Wang, Tuo; Wang, Qi; Zhang, Zhao; Zhao, Mingyu; Wang, Yinghui

2018-01-01

When multiple energy systems execute optimization instructions simultaneously, and the same equipment is Shared, the instruction conflict may occur. Aiming at the above problems, taking into account the control objectives of each system, the characteristics of different systems, such as comprehensive clean energy, energy efficiency, and peak filling, etc., designed the instruction coordination mechanism for the daemon. This mechanism mainly acts on the main station of the system, and form a final optimization instruction. For some specific scenarios, the collaboration mechanism of unlocking the terminal is supplemented. The mechanism determines the specific execution instructions based on the arrival time of the instruction. Finally, the experiment in Tianjin eco-city shows that this algorithm can meet the instruction and collaboration requirements of multi-energy systems, and ensure the safe operation of the equipment.

A brief review on key technologies in the battery management system of electric vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Kailong; Li, Kang; Peng, Qiao; Zhang, Cheng

2018-04-01

Batteries have been widely applied in many high-power applications, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles, where a suitable battery management system (BMS) is vital in ensuring safe and reliable operation of batteries. This paper aims to give a brief review on several key technologies of BMS, including battery modelling, state estimation and battery charging. First, popular battery types used in EVs are surveyed, followed by the introduction of key technologies used in BMS. Various battery models, including the electric model, thermal model and coupled electro-thermal model are reviewed. Then, battery state estimations for the state of charge, state of health and internal temperature are comprehensively surveyed. Finally, several key and traditional battery charging approaches with associated optimization methods are discussed.

Ensuring safe operation and assessing the condition underground structures by the method of acoustic resonance flaw detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meskhi, Besarion; Pleshko, Mikhail; Buligin, Yuriy; Alexeenko, Lyudmila; Molev, Mikhail

2017-10-01

In the article the main results of theoretical and experimental research in the field of nondestructive testing and forecasting of the geomechanical state of the dome part of transport tunnels. It is shown that for this purpose it is possible to apply the acoustic resonance defectoscopy method. The method of mine measurements consisted in fixing the forced oscillations of a multilayer carbon-rock massif with the shock initiation of a seismoacoustic signal. The excitation and reception of acoustic standing waves were carried out in the lower rock layer. The actual characteristics of the efficiency of the acoustic assessment of the state of the geoenvironment provide the authors the opportunity to recommend the described methodology for mass practical application in the transport tunnels.

Space transportation propulsion application - A development challenge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beichel, Rudi; O'Brien, Charles J.; Taylor, James P.

1989-10-01

This paper presents an approach to achieving a cost-effective vertical takeoff, horizontal landing earth-to-orbit vehicle. The key propulsion system problems are addressed. The approach leads to a near-term rocket-powered single-stage-to-orbit system. A flying test-bed vehicle development program is described which allows the orderly development of vital advanced propulsion system and vehicle structural technology within a reasonable cost. The experimental (X-n) vehicle approach also allows the development of operational procedures that result in airline-type costs to space, and permits concepts, such as heavy-lift flight configurations, to be tested in a stepwise manner. Thrust modulation, instead of gimballed engines, allows a significant weight reduction in the propulsion system. Air-breathing airturborocket engines are used for loiter and landing to ensure safe return to earth.

Six Degrees-of-Freedom Ascent Control for Small-Body Touch and Go

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackmore, Lars James C.

2011-01-01

A document discusses a method of controlling touch and go (TAG) of a spacecraft to correct attitude, while ensuring a safe ascent. TAG is a concept whereby a spacecraft is in contact with the surface of a small body, such as a comet or asteroid, for a few seconds or less before ascending to a safe location away from the small body. The report describes a controller that corrects attitude and ensures that the spacecraft ascends to a safe state as quickly as possible. The approach allocates a certain amount of control authority to attitude control, and uses the rest to accelerate the spacecraft as quickly as possible in the ascent direction. The relative allocation to attitude and position is a parameter whose optimal value is determined using a ground software tool. This new approach makes use of the full control authority of the spacecraft to correct the errors imparted by the contact, and ascend as quickly as possible. This is in contrast to prior approaches, which do not optimize the ascent acceleration.

The medicines refrigerator and the importance of the cold chain in the safe storage of medicines.

PubMed

Hatchett, Richard

2017-10-04

The medicines refrigerator is a common piece of equipment found in clinical areas. It is used to ensure specific medicines are safely stored within a narrow temperature range in line with manufacturers' instructions; this is usually between +2˚C and +8˚C, and ideally +5˚C. Drugs stored in the medicines refrigerator include: vaccines; insulin; chemotherapy drugs; topical preparations, such as some types of eye drops; and other treatments such as glucagon, which is used to manage severe hypoglycaemia. This article reviews the function of the medicines refrigerator and the checks required by healthcare practitioners to ensure that medicines remain safely stored and their effectiveness is maintained. It also outlines the medicines refrigeration procedure known as the 'cold chain', which includes the use of cold boxes or vaccine carriers to maintain the required temperature of medicines during transport from the manufacturer to user, or between healthcare departments. ©2012 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Automated Driving System Architecture to Ensure Safe Delegation of Driving Authority

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

YUN, Sunkil; NISHIMURA, Hidekazu

2016-09-01

In this paper, the architecture of an automated driving system (ADS) is proposed to ensure safe delegation of driving authority between the ADS and a driver. Limitations of the ADS functions may activate delegation of driving authority to a driver. However, it leads to severe consequences in emergency situations where a driver may be drowsy or distracted. To address these issues, first, the concept model for the ADS in the situation for delegation of driving authority is described taking the driver's behaviour and state into account. Second, the behaviour / state of a driver and functional flow / state of ADS and the interactions between them are modelled to understand the context where the ADS requests to delegate the driving authority to a driver. Finally, the proposed architecture of the ADS is verified under the simulations based on the emergency braking scenarios. In the verification process using simulation, we have derived the necessary condition for safe delegation of driving authority is that the ADS should assist s driver even after delegating driving authority to a driver who has not enough capability to regain control of the driving task.

Simple Automatic File Exchange (SAFE) to Support Low-Cost Spacecraft Operation via the Internet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, Paul; Repaci, Max; Sames, David

1998-01-01

Various issues associated with Simple Automatic File Exchange (SAFE) are presented in viewgraph form. Specific topics include: 1) Packet telemetry, Internet IP networks and cost reduction; 2) Basic functions and technical features of SAFE; 3) Project goals, including low-cost satellite transmission to data centers to be distributed via an Internet; 4) Operations with a replicated file protocol; 5) File exchange operation; 6) Ground stations as gateways; 7) Lessons learned from demonstrations and tests with SAFE; and 8) Feedback and future initiatives.

78 FR 35936 - Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-14

... to, laboratory information systems, quality management systems and bioinformatics; (3) ensures a safe working environment in NCIRD laboratories; and (4) collaborates effectively with other centers and offices...

Method of Data storing, collection and aggregation for definition of life-cycle resources of electromechanical equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhukovskiy, Y.; Koteleva, N.

2017-10-01

Analysis of technical and technological conditions for the emergence of emergency situations during the operation of electromechanical equipment of enterprises of the mineral and raw materials complex shows that when developing the basis for ensuring safe operation, it is necessary to take into account not only the technical condition, but also the non-stationary operation of the operating conditions of equipment, and the nonstationarity of operational operating parameters of technological processes. Violations of the operation of individual parts of the machine, not detected in time, can lead to severe accidents at work, as well as to unplanned downtime and loss of profits. That is why, the issues of obtaining and processing Big data obtained during the life cycle of electromechanical equipment, for assessing the current state of the electromechanical equipment used, timely diagnostics of emergency and pre-emergency modes of its operation, estimating the residual resource, as well as prediction the technical state on the basis of machine learning are very important. This article is dedicated to developing the special method of data storing, collection and aggregation for definition of life-cycle resources of electromechanical equipment. This method can be used in working with big data and can allow extracting the knowledge from different data types: the plants’ historical data and the factory historical data. The data of the plants contains the information about electromechanical equipment operation and the data of the factory contains the information about a production of electromechanical equipment.

A Response from Nestle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Thad M.V Jackson, Thelma Y.

1982-01-01

Dedends the use of infant formulas in developing countries and discusses how the Nestle Company is doing all that is reasmnably possible to ensure the safe and effective use of the formula they market. (RM)

Home Improvements Prevent Falls

MedlinePlus

... turn JavaScript on. Feature: Falls and Older Adults Home Improvements Prevent Falls Past Issues / Winter 2014 Table ... and ensure your safety. "Safe-ty-fy" Your Home Some Questions for Your Provider Will my medicines ...

The preparation, mincing and canning of bovine offal (ruminal and intestinal wall) for human consumption.

PubMed

van der Made, H N; van Staden, J J

1975-09-01

The results of a sudy of methods of cleaning and preserving bovine ruminal and intestinal wall by canning are described. Such offal could be converted into a hygienically satisfactory and safe food by laboratory washing and canning, and töe end product had a extended shelf life. Methods are described and suggested as a basis for ensuring safe utilisation of a valuable food product.

The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and Its Role in Providing Access to Safe Drinking Water in the United States.

PubMed

Weinmeyer, Richard; Norling, Annalise; Kawarski, Margaret; Higgins, Estelle

2017-10-01

In 1974, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Safe Drinking Water Act, the first piece of legislation of its kind to provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for overseeing the nation's drinking water supply. The law has proven instrumental in setting standards for ensuring that the US population can access drinking water that is safe. However, the law delegates much of its monitoring requirements to states, creating, at times, a confusing and complicated system of standards that must be adhered to and enforced. Although it has proven valuable in the safety standards it specifies, the law's administration and enforcement poses tremendous challenges. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Gender Identity Disparities in Bathroom Safety and Wellbeing among High School Students.

PubMed

Wernick, Laura J; Kulick, Alex; Chin, Matthew

2017-05-01

By examining the relationship between trans identity, bathroom safety and wellbeing among high school students, this article empirically investigates how educational institutions operate as sites through which gender is negotiated in ways that are consequential for trans youth. We draw cross-sectional survey data, from a multi-school climate survey (n = 1046) conducted in the Midwestern United States, to examine three aspects of high school students' wellbeing: safety at school, self-esteem, and grades. The sample included students in 9th-12th grade who identified as trans (9.2%) and cisgender (41.2% boys, 49.6% girls), as well as LGBQ (21.6%) and heterosexual (78.4%). Most respondents were monoracial white (65.8%), monoracial Black (12.4%), and multiracial (14.1%). Using mediation and moderation linear regression models, we show that feeling safe using school facilities helps to explain widespread inequalities between trans and cisgender students. Based on these results, we suggest that in order to address disparities in educational outcomes between trans and cisgender students, as well as to improve student wellbeing in general, policies and practices need to ensure that all students have the right to safely access bathrooms and school facilities.

NASA safety program activities in support of the Space Exploration Initiatives Nuclear Propulsion program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sawyer, J. C., Jr.

1993-01-01

The activities of the joint NASA/DOE/DOD Nuclear Propulsion Program Technical Panels have been used as the basis for the current development of safety policies and requirements for the Space Exploration Initiatives (SEI) Nuclear Propulsion Technology development program. The Safety Division of the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Quality has initiated efforts to develop policies for the safe use of nuclear propulsion in space through involvement in the joint agency Nuclear Safety Policy Working Group (NSPWG), encouraged expansion of the initial policy development into proposed programmatic requirements, and suggested further expansion into the overall risk assessment and risk management process for the NASA Exploration Program. Similar efforts are underway within the Department of Energy to ensure the safe development and testing of nuclear propulsion systems on Earth. This paper describes the NASA safety policy related to requirements for the design of systems that may operate where Earth re-entry is a possibility. The expected plan of action is to support and oversee activities related to the technology development of nuclear propulsion in space, and support the overall safety and risk management program being developed for the NASA Exploration Program.

50 CFR 218.124 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... safe speed. Release of ordinance through cloud cover is prohibited: Aircraft must be able to see... m) or lower, if safe to do so, and at the slowest safe speed. Firing or range clearance aircraft... speed, if operationally feasible and weather conditions permit. In dual aircraft operations, crews are...

50 CFR 218.124 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... safe speed. Release of ordinance through cloud cover is prohibited: Aircraft must be able to see... m) or lower, if safe to do so, and at the slowest safe speed. Firing or range clearance aircraft... speed, if operationally feasible and weather conditions permit. In dual aircraft operations, crews are...

50 CFR 218.124 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... safe speed. Release of ordinance through cloud cover is prohibited: Aircraft must be able to see... m) or lower, if safe to do so, and at the slowest safe speed. Firing or range clearance aircraft... speed, if operationally feasible and weather conditions permit. In dual aircraft operations, crews are...

50 CFR 218.124 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... safe speed. Release of ordinance through cloud cover is prohibited: Aircraft must be able to see... m) or lower, if safe to do so, and at the slowest safe speed. Firing or range clearance aircraft... speed, if operationally feasible and weather conditions permit. In dual aircraft operations, crews are...

Investigation, Analysis, and Testing of Self-contained Oxygen Generators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keddy, Christopher P.; Haas, Jon P.; Starritt, Larry

2008-01-01

Self Contained Oxygen Generators (SCOGs) have widespread use in providing emergency breathing oxygen in a variety of environments including mines, submarines, spacecraft, and aircraft. These devices have definite advantages over storing of gaseous or liquid oxygen. The oxygen is not generated until a chemical briquette containing a chlorate or perchlorate oxidizer and a solid metallic fuel such as iron is ignited starting a thermal decomposition process allowing gaseous oxygen to be produced. These devices are typically very safe to store, easy to operate, and have primarily only a thermal hazard to the operator that can be controlled by barriers or furnaces. Tens of thousands of these devices are operated worldwide every year without major incident. This report examines the rare case of a SCOG whose behavior was both abnormal and lethal. This particular type of SCOG reviewed is nearly identical to a flight qualified version of SCOG slated for use on manned space vehicles. This Investigative Report is a compilation of a NASA effort in conjunction with other interested parties including military and aerospace to understand the causes of the particular SCOG accident and what preventative measures can be taken to ensure this incident is not repeated. This report details the incident and examines the root causes of the observed SCOG behavior from forensic evidence. A summary of chemical and numerical analysis is provided as a background to physical testing of identical SCOG devices. The results and findings of both small scale and full scale testing are documented on a test-by-test basis along with observations and summaries. Finally, conclusions are presented on the findings of this investigation, analysis, and testing along with suggestions on preventative measures for any entity interested in the safe use of these devices.

Device for timing and power level setting for microwave applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ursu, M.-P.; Buidoş, T.

2016-08-01

Nowadays, the microwaves are widely used for various technological processes. The microwaves are emitted by magnetrons, which have strict requirements concerning power supplies for anode and filament cathodes, intensity of magnetic field, cooling and electromagnetic shielding. The magnetrons do not tolerate any alteration of their required voltages, currents and magnetic fields, which means that their output microwave power is fixed, so the only way to alter the power level is to use time-division, by turning the magnetron on and off by repetitive time patterns. In order to attain accurate and reproducible results, as well as correct and safe operation of the microwave device, all these requirements must be fulfilled. Safe, correct and reproducible operation of the microwave appliance can be achieved by means of a specially built electronic device, which ensures accurate and reproducible exposure times, interlocking of the commands and automatic switch off when abnormal operating conditions occur. This driving device, designed and realized during the completion of Mr.Ursu's doctoral thesis, consists of a quartz time-base, several programmable frequency and duration dividers, LED displays, sensors and interlocking gates. The active and passive electronic components are placed on custom-made PCB's, designed and made by means of computer-aided applications and machines. The driving commands of the electronic device are delivered to the magnetron power supplies by means of optic zero-passing relays. The inputs of the electronic driving device can sense the status of the microwave appliance. The user is able to enter the total exposure time, the division factor that sets the output power level and, as a novelty, the clock frequency of the time divider.

Ensuring Safe Medical Devices for Patients

THOMAS, 112th Congress

Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR

2012-03-15

Senate - 03/15/2012 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Superfund Site Reuse How-To Reports

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The reports on this page provide technical information on how sites with hazardous waste have been safely reused for various purposes, such as recreation, while ensuring that the protectiveness of the remedy is maintained.

30 CFR 280.2 - What is the purpose of this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...: (a) Allow you to conduct prospecting activities or scientific research activities on the OCS in...) Ensure that you carry out prospecting activities or scientific research activities in a safe and...

Endangered Species: Pesticide Restrictions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Our goal is to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats, without placing unnecessary burden on agriculture and pesticide users. Pesticide limitations are developed to ensure safe use of pesticides in order to meet this goal.

Using Dietary Supplements Wisely

MedlinePlus

... T U V W X Y Z Using Dietary Supplements Wisely Share: On This Page Key Points About ... will help ensure coordinated and safe care. About Dietary Supplements Dietary supplements were defined in a law passed ...

Restrictions on Rodenticide Products

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Consumer size products contain one pound of poison bait or less and must include a bait station. Products formulated for pest control professionals also meet certain requirements. Read the product label to ensure safe and effective use.

DAN DORNEY

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-16

CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE LAUNCH VEHICLE FOR NASA'S COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM, DAN DORNEY GUIDES THE TEAM EVALUATING THE VEHICLES CREATED BY INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND ENSURES THE ROCKETS MEET THE REQUIREMENTS TO SAFELY CARRY ASTRONAUTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

Rape (For Teens)

MedlinePlus

... harm than good. Talking about rape in a safe environment with the help and support of a trained professional is the best way to ensure long-term healing. Working through the pain sooner rather than later can ...

76 FR 24491 - Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-02

...) ensures a safe working environment in NCIRD laboratories; (4) collaborates effectively with other centers... diseases strategic prevention priorities; (3) interfaces with other CDC CIOs working in the area of...

About Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

MedlinePlus

... Equipment for Infection Control Questions About Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing ... Print Q1. How do manufacturers ensure personal protective equipment (PPE) is safe and effective? A1. To help ...

Safety assessments and public concern for genetically modified food products: the American view.

PubMed

Harlander, Susan K

2002-01-01

In the relatively short time since their commercial introduction in 1996, genetically modified (GM) crops have been rapidly adopted in the United States GM crops are regulated through a coordinated framework developed in 1992 and administered by three agencies-the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that ensures the products are safe to grow, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that ensures the products are safe for the environment, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that ensures the products are safe to eat. Rigorous food and environmental safety assessments must be completed before GM crops can be commercialized. Fifty-one products have been reviewed by the FDA, including several varieties of corn, soybeans, canola, cotton, rice, sugar beets, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, papaya, and flax. Because FDA considers these crops "substantially equivalent" to their conventional counterparts, no special labeling is required for GM crops in the United States and they are managed as commodities with no segregation or identity preservation. GM crops have thus made their way through commodity distribution channels into thousands of ingredients used in processed foods. It has been estimated that 70% to 85% of processed foods on supermarket shelves in the United States today contain one or more ingredients potentially derived from GM crops. The food industry and retail industry have been monitoring the opinions of their consumers on the GM issue for the past several years. Numerous independent groups have also surveyed consumer concerns about GM foods. The results of these surveys are shared and discussed here.

Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopardekar, Parimal H.

2016-01-01

Flexibility where possible, and structure where necessary. Consider the needs of national security, safe airspace operations, economic opportunities, and emerging technologies. Risk-based approach based on population density, assets on the ground, density of operations, etc. Digital, virtual, dynamic, and as needed UTM services to manage operations.

Risk factors associated with rural water supply failure: A 30-year retrospective study of handpumps on the south coast of Kenya.

PubMed

Foster, Tim; Willetts, Juliet; Lane, Mike; Thomson, Patrick; Katuva, Jacob; Hope, Rob

2018-06-01

An improved understanding of failure risks for water supplies in rural sub-Saharan Africa will be critical to achieving the global goal of safe water for all by 2030. In the absence of longitudinal biophysical and operational data, investigations into water point failure risk factors have to date been limited to cross-sectional research designs. This retrospective cohort study applies survival analysis to identify factors that predict failure risks for handpumps installed on boreholes along the south coast of Kenya from the 1980s. The analysis is based on a unique dataset linking attributes of >300 water points at the time of installation with their operational lifespan over the following decades. Cox proportional hazards and accelerated failure time models suggest water point failure risks are higher and lifespans are shorter when water supplied is more saline, static water level is deeper, and groundwater is pumped from an unconsolidated sand aquifer. The risk of failure also appears to grow as distance to spare part suppliers increases. To bolster the sustainability of rural water services and ensure no community is left behind, post-construction support mechanisms will need to mitigate heterogeneous environmental and geographical challenges. Further studies are needed to better understand the causal pathways that underlie these risk factors in order to inform policies and practices that ensure water services are sustained even where unfavourable conditions prevail. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Test model designs for advanced refractory ceramic materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tran, Huy Kim

1993-01-01

The next generation of space vehicles will be subjected to severe aerothermal loads and will require an improved thermal protection system (TPS) and other advanced vehicle components. In order to ensure the satisfactory performance system (TPS) and other advanced vehicle materials and components, testing is to be performed in environments similar to space flight. The design and fabrication of the test models should be fairly simple but still accomplish test objectives. In the Advanced Refractory Ceramic Materials test series, the models and model holders will need to withstand the required heat fluxes of 340 to 817 W/sq cm or surface temperatures in the range of 2700 K to 3000 K. The model holders should provide one dimensional (1-D) heat transfer to the samples and the appropriate flow field without compromising the primary test objectives. The optical properties such as the effective emissivity, catalytic efficiency coefficients, thermal properties, and mass loss measurements are also taken into consideration in the design process. Therefore, it is the intent of this paper to demonstrate the design schemes for different models and model holders that would accommodate these test requirements and ensure the safe operation in a typical arc jet facility.

Dual-surface dielectric depth detector for holographic millimeter-wave security scanners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMakin, Douglas L.; Keller, Paul E.; Sheen, David M.; Hall, Thomas E.

2009-05-01

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is presently deploying millimeter-wave whole body scanners at over 20 airports in the United States. Threats that may be concealed on a person are displayed to the security operator of this scanner. "Passenger privacy is ensured through the anonymity of the image. The officer attending the passenger cannot view the image, and the officer viewing the image is remotely located and cannot see the passenger. Additionally, the image cannot be stored, transmitted or printed and is deleted immediately after being viewed. Finally, the facial area of the image has been blurred to further ensure privacy." Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) originated research into this novel security technology which has been independently commercialized by L-3 Communications, SafeView, Inc. PNNL continues to perform fundamental research into improved software techniques which are applicable to the field of holographic security screening technology. This includes performing significant research to remove human features from the imagery. Both physical and software imaging techniques have been employed. The physical imaging techniques include polarization diversity illumination and reception, dual frequency implementation, and high frequency imaging at 100 GHz. This paper will focus on a software privacy technique using a dual surface dielectric depth detector method.

Ensuring the Environmental and Industrial Safety in Solid Mineral Deposit Surface Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trubetskoy, Kliment; Rylnikova, Marina; Esina, Ekaterina

2017-11-01

The growing environmental pressure of mineral deposit surface mining and severization of industrial safety requirements dictate the necessity of refining the regulatory framework governing safe and efficient development of underground resources. The applicable regulatory documentation governing the procedure of ore open-pit wall and bench stability design for the stage of pit reaching its final boundary was issued several decades ago. Over recent decades, mining and geomechanical conditions have changed significantly in surface mining operations, numerous new software packages and computer developments have appeared, opportunities of experimental methods of source data collection and processing, grounding of the permissible parameters of open pit walls have changed dramatically, and, thus, methods of risk assessment have been perfected [10-13]. IPKON RAS, with the support of the Federal Service for Environmental Supervision, assumed the role of the initiator of the project for the development of Federal norms and regulations of industrial safety "Rules for ensuring the stability of walls and benches of open pits, open-cast mines and spoil banks", which contribute to the improvement of economic efficiency and safety of mineral deposit surface mining and enhancement of the competitiveness of Russian mines at the international level that is very important in the current situation.

Undergraduate Construction of Optical Tweezers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbell, Lawrence

2012-10-01

I will present a poster on the construction of optical tweezers. This will demonstrate the full process one must go through when working on a research project. First I sifted through the internet for papers and information pertaining to the tweezers. Afterwards I discussed the budget with the lab manager. Next I made purchases, however some items, such as the sample mount, needed to be custom made. These I built in the machine shop. Once the tweezers were operational I spent some time ensuring that the mirrors and lenses were adjusted just right, so that the trap performed at full strength. Finally, I used video data of the Brownian motion of trapped silica microspheres to get a reasonable estimate of the trapping stiffness with such particles. As a general note, all of this was done with the intent of leaving the tweezers for future use by other undergraduates. Because of this extra effort was taken to ensure the tweezers were as safe to use as possible. For this reason a visible LASER was chosen over an infrared LASER, in addition, the LASER was oriented parallel to the surface of the table in order to avoid stray upwards beams.

Safely Enabling Civilian Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace by Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management (UTM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopardekar, Parimal Hemchandra

2015-01-01

Many UAS will operate at lower altitude (Class G, below 2000 feet). There is an urgent need for a system for civilian low-altitude airspace and UAS operations. Stakeholders want to work with NASA to enable safe operations.

Safely Enabling Civilian Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Operations In Low-Altitude Airspace By Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management (UTM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopardekar, Parimal H.

2015-01-01

Many UAS will operate at lower altitude (Class G, below 2000 feet)There is urgent need for a system for civilian low-altitude airspace and UAS operations. Stakeholders want to work with NASA to enable safe operations.

The Role of Structural Dynamics and Testing in the Shuttle Flowliner Crack Investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frady, Gregory P.

2005-01-01

During a normal inspection of the main propulsion system at Kennedy Space Center, small cracks were noticed near a slotted region of a gimbal joint flowliner located just upstream from one of the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME). These small cracks sparked an investigation of the entire Space Shuttle fleet main propulsion feedlines. The investigation was initiated to determine the cause of the small cracks and a repair method that would be needed to return the Shuttle fleet back to operation safely. The cracks were found to be initiated by structural resonance caused by flow fluctuations from the SSME low pressure fuel turbopump interacting with the flowliner. The pump induced backward traveling wakes that excited the liner and duct acoustics which also caused the liner to vibrate in complex mode shapes. The investigation involved an extensive effort by a team of engineers from the NASA civil servant and contractor workforce with the goal to characterize the root cause of the cracking behavior of the fuel side gimbal joint flowliners. In addition to working to identify the root cause, a parallel path was taken to characterize the material properties and fatigue capabilities of the liner material such that the life of the liners could be ascertained. As the characterization of the material and the most probable cause matured, the combination of the two with pump speed restrictions provided a means to return the Shuttle to flight in a safe manner. This paper traces the flowliner investigation results with respect to the structural dynamics analysis, component level testing and hot-fire flow testing on a static testbed. The paper will address the unique aspects of a very complex problem involving backflow from a high performance pump that has never been characterized nor understood to such detail. In addition, the paper will briefly address the flow phenomena that excited the liners, the unique structural dynamic modal characteristics and the variability of SSME operation which has ultimately ensured the safe and reliable operation of the shuttle main engines for each flight.

No moving parts safe & arm apparatus and method with monitoring and built-in-test for optical firing of explosive systems

DOEpatents

Hendrix, J.L.

1995-04-11

A laser initiated ordnance controller apparatus which provides a safe and arm scheme with no moving parts. The safe & arm apparatus provides isolation of firing energy to explosive devices using a combination of polarization isolation and control through acousto-optical deviation of laser energy pulses. The apparatus provides constant monitoring of the systems status and performs 100% built-in-test at any time prior to ordnance ignition without the risk of premature ignition or detonation. The apparatus has a computer controller, a solid state laser, an acousto-optic deflector and RF drive circuitry, built-in-test optics and electronics, and system monitoring capabilities. The optical system is completed from the laser beam power source to the pyrotechnic ordnance through fiber optic cabling, optical splitters and optical connectors. During operation of the apparatus, a command is provided by the computer controller and, simultaneous with laser flashlamp fire, the safe & arm device is opened for approximately 200 microseconds which allows the laser pulse to transmit through the device. The arm signal also energizes the laser power supply and activates the acousto-optical deflector. When the correct fire format command is received, the acousto-optic deflector moves to the selected event channel, and the channel is verified to ensure the system is pointing to the correct position. Laser energy is transmitted through the fiber where an ignitor or detonator designed to be sensitive to optical pulses is fired at the end of the fiber channel. Simultaneous event channels may also be utilized by optically splitting a single event channel. The built-in-test may be performed anytime prior to ordnance ignition. 6 figures.

No moving parts safe & arm apparatus and method with monitoring and built-in-test for optical firing of explosive systems

DOEpatents

Hendrix, James L.

1995-01-01

A laser initiated ordnance controller apparatus which provides a safe and m scheme with no moving parts. The safe & arm apparatus provides isolation of firing energy to explosive devices using a combination of polarization isolation and control through acousto-optical deviation of laser energy pulses. The apparatus provides constant monitoring of the systems status and performs 100% built-in-test at any time prior to ordnance ignition without the risk of premature ignition or detonation. The apparatus has a computer controller, a solid state laser, an acousto-optic deflector and RF drive circuitry, built-in-test optics and electronics, and system monitoring capabilities. The optical system is completed from the laser beam power source to the pyrotechnic ordnance through fiber optic cabling, optical splitters and optical connectors. During operation of the apparatus, a command is provided by the computer controller and, simultaneous with laser flashlamp fire, the safe & arm device is opened for approximately 200 microseconds which allows the laser pulse to transmit through the device. The arm signal also energizes the laser power supply and activates the acousto-optical deflector. When the correct fire format command is received, the acousto-optic deflector moves to the selected event channel, and the channel is verified to ensure the system is pointing to the correct position. Laser energy is transmitted through the fiber where an ignitor or detonator designed to be sensitive to optical pulses is fired at the end of the fiber channel. Simultaneous event channels may also be utilized by optically splitting a single event channel. The built-in-test may be performed anytime prior to ordnance ignition.

78 FR 57319 - Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed Self-Regulatory Guidelines...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-18

...-AB20 Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed Self-Regulatory Guidelines; kidSAFE... proposed self-regulatory guidelines submitted by the kidSAFE Seal Program (``kidSAFE''), owned and operated... part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``kidSAFE Application for Safe Harbor...

Structural fabrication quality as a factor of industrial facilities safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tishkov, E. V.; Kardaev, E. M.; Stolbova, S. Yu; Shishova, O. S.

2018-04-01

In the conditions of industrial facilities high wear degree, it is very important to ensure the possibility of their safe operation in order to avoid various kinds of accidents and catastrophes. As practice shows, industrial plant collapses can occur suddenly under normal operating conditions. Usually, such accidents can take place at different stages of structures life cycle. One of the reasons for this is the initially low quality of reinforced concrete structures fabrication. The article considers the factors contributing to the collapse of reinforced concrete structures of water purification tanks located on the territory of the Omsk Region. The main surveys results on tank structures after collapse with the use of ultrasonic and physical methods of investigation are presented. On the basis of the obtained data analysis, it was found that the main cause of the accidents was the insufficient load-bearing capacity of typical reinforced concrete structures, caused by defects in their fabrication in the factory conditions because of exceeding the standard displacement from the design position of the working reinforcement. Recommendations are given on the identification of defective structures and the prevention of similar accidents when operating similar tanks at manufacturing plants constructed from standard designs.

Data pieces-based parameter identification for lithium-ion battery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Wei; Zou, Yuan; Sun, Fengchun; Hu, Xiaosong; Yu, Yang; Feng, Sen

2016-10-01

Battery characteristics vary with temperature and aging, it is necessary to identify battery parameters periodically for electric vehicles to ensure reliable State-of-Charge (SoC) estimation, battery equalization and safe operation. Aiming for on-board applications, this paper proposes a data pieces-based parameter identification (DPPI) method to identify comprehensive battery parameters including capacity, OCV (open circuit voltage)-Ah relationship and impedance-Ah relationship simultaneously only based on battery operation data. First a vehicle field test was conducted and battery operation data was recorded, then the DPPI method is elaborated based on vehicle test data, parameters of all 97 cells of the battery package are identified and compared. To evaluate the adaptability of the proposed DPPI method, it is used to identify battery parameters of different aging levels and different temperatures based on battery aging experiment data. Then a concept of ;OCV-Ah aging database; is proposed, based on which battery capacity can be identified even though the battery was never fully charged or discharged. Finally, to further examine the effectiveness of the identified battery parameters, they are used to perform SoC estimation for the test vehicle with adaptive extended Kalman filter (AEKF). The result shows good accuracy and reliability.

Oil Based Drilling Fluid Waste: An Overview on Environmentally Persistent Pollutants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddique, Shohel; Kwoffie, Lorraine; Addae-Afoakwa, Kofi; Yates, Kyari; Njuguna, James

2017-05-01

Operational discharges of spent drilling fluid, produced water, and accumulated drill cuttings from oil and gas industry are a continuous point source of environmental pollution. To meet the strict environmental standard for waste disposal, oil and gas industry is facing a numerous challenges in technological development to ensure a clean and safe environment. Oil and gas industry generates a large amount of spent drilling fluid, produced water, and drill cuttings, which are very different in every drilling operation in terms of composition and characterisation. This review article highlights the knowledge gap in identifying the different sources of waste streams in combined drilling waste. This paper also emphasises how different chemicals turn into environmentally significant pollutants after serving great performance in oil and gas drilling operations. For instance, oil based drilling fluid performs excellent in deeper drilling and drilling in the harsh geological conditions, but ended with (produces) a significant amount of persistent toxic pollutants in the environment. This review paper provides an overview on the basic concepts of drilling fluids and their functions, sources and characterisation of drilling wastes, and highlights some environmentally significant elements including different minerals present in drilling waste stream.

Therapeutic advances: Single incision laparoscopic hepatopancreatobiliary surgery

PubMed Central

Chang, Stephen Kin Yong; Lee, Kai Yin

2014-01-01

Single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS) is proposed to be a step towards minimizing the invasiveness of surgery, and has since gained popularity in several surgical sub-specialties including hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. SPLS has since been applied to cholecystectomy, liver resection as well as pancreatectomy for a multitude of pathologies. Benefits of SPLS over conventional multi-incision laparoscopic surgery include improved cosmesis and potentially post-operative pain at specific time periods and extra-umbilical sites. However, it is also associated with longer operating time, increased rate of complications, and increased rate of port-site hernia. There is no significant difference between length of hospital stay. SPLS has a significant learning curve that affects operating time, rate of conversion and rate of complications. In this article, we review the literature on SPLS in hepatobiliary surgery - cholecystectomy, hepatectomy and pancreatectomy, and offer tips on overcoming potential technical obstacles and minimizing the complications when performing SPLS - surgeon position, position of port and instruments, instrument crossing position, standard hand grip vs reverse hand grip, snooker cue guide position, prevention of incisional hernia. SPLS is a promising direction in laparoscopic surgery, and we recommend step-wise progression of applications of SPLS to various hepatopancreatobiliary surgeries to ensure safe adoption of the surgical technique. PMID:25339820

A case of a power failure in the operating room.

PubMed

Yasny, Jeffrey; Soffer, Robert

2005-01-01

In the operating room, safely administering anesthesia amidst a major power failure can instantly present one with a formidable challenge. A case is presented involving a 23-year-old healthy woman who underwent a complex oral and maxillofacial surgery to correct a dentofacial deformity. Three hours into the case and with the patient's maxilla downfractured, the overhead surgical lights blacked out, and there was an apparent loss of the anesthesia machine's ability to function. Providing adequate oxygenation, ventilation, anesthesia levels, monitoring of vital signs, and transportation of the patient were some of the challenges faced, and the response to this unexpected event is recounted. The importance of one's familiarity with an anesthesia machine's backup battery supply, routinely checking machinery, ensuring that appropriate and sufficient supplies are readily available, exercising calm leadership with clear communication, and formulating a clear plan with backup alternatives are discussed. Various recommendations are proposed with respect to the preparation for and the prevention of a power failure in the operating room. This report's account of events is aimed to "shed some light" on this topic, serve as a check of one's own preparedness, and facilitate the optimal management of a similarly unexpected incident.

Design and adaptation of a novel supercritical extraction facility for operation in a glove box for recovery of radioactive elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, V. Suresh; Kumar, R.; Sivaraman, N.; Ravisankar, G.; Vasudeva Rao, P. R.

2010-09-01

The design and development of a novel supercritical extraction experimental facility adapted for safe operation in a glove box for the recovery of radioactive elements from waste is described. The apparatus incorporates a high pressure extraction vessel, reciprocating pumps for delivering supercritical fluid and reagent, a back pressure regulator, and a collection chamber. All these components of the system have been specially designed for glove box adaptation and made modular to facilitate their replacement. Confinement of these materials must be ensured in a glove box to protect the operator and prevent contamination to the work area. Since handling of radioactive materials under high pressure (30 MPa) and temperature (up to 333 K) is involved in this process, the apparatus needs elaborate safety features in the design of the equipment, as well as modification of a standard glove box to accommodate the system. As a special safety feature to contain accidental leakage of carbon dioxide from the extraction vessel, a safety vessel has been specially designed and placed inside the glove box. The extraction vessel was enclosed in the safety vessel. The safety vessel was also incorporated with pressure sensing and controlling device.

Ensuring Safe Shelter for Homeless Veterans Act of 2013

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK

2013-10-28

Senate - 10/30/2013 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-280. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Bottled Water Everywhere: Keeping it Safe

MedlinePlus

... that taps an aquifer—layers of porous rock, sand, and earth that contain water—which is under ... it to be labeled as “purified water.” Ensuring Quality and Safety Federal quality standards for bottled water ...

Robot-assisted lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer in china: initial experience and techniques.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiaojing; Qian, Liqiang; Lin, Hao; Tan, Qiang; Luo, Qingquan

2010-03-01

To summarize our initial experience in robot-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods Five patients underwent lobectomy using da Vinci S HD Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, California). During the operation, we respectively made four ports over chest wall for positioning robotic endoscope, left and right robotic arms and auxiliary instruments without retracting ribs. The procedure followed sequential anatomy as complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy did, and lymph node dissection followed international standard. All patients successfully underwent complete robot-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy. Neither additional incisions nor emergent conversion to a thoracotomy happened. Frozen dissection during lobectomy showed non-small-cell lung cancer in four patients, who afterwards underwent systemic lymph node dissection, while the case left was with tuberculoma and didn't undergo lymph node dissection. Recurrent air leak occurred in one case, so chest tube was kept for drainage, and one week later, the patient was extubated due to improvement. All other patients recovered well postoperatively without obvious postoperative complications. Robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is feasible with good operability, clear visual field, reliable action and its supriority of trouble free; exquisite operative skills are required to ensure a stable and safe operation; robot-assisted surgery is efficiency and patients recover well postoperatively.

A CMOS smart temperature and humidity sensor with combined readout.

PubMed

Eder, Clemens; Valente, Virgilio; Donaldson, Nick; Demosthenous, Andreas

2014-09-16

A fully-integrated complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor for combined temperature and humidity measurements is presented. The main purpose of the device is to monitor the hermeticity of micro-packages for implanted integrated circuits and to ensure their safe operation by monitoring the operating temperature and humidity on-chip. The smart sensor has two modes of operation, in which either the temperature or humidity is converted into a digital code representing a frequency ratio between two oscillators. This ratio is determined by the ratios of the timing capacitances and bias currents in both oscillators. The reference oscillator is biased by a current whose temperature dependency is complementary to the proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) current. For the temperature measurement, this results in an exceptional normalized sensitivity of about 0.77%/°C at the accepted expense of reduced linearity. The humidity sensor is a capacitor, whose value varies linearly with relative humidity (RH) with a normalized sensitivity of 0.055%/% RH. For comparison, two versions of the humidity sensor with an area of either 0.2 mm2 or 1.2 mm2 were fabricated in a commercial 0.18 μm CMOS process. The on-chip readout electronics operate from a 5 V power supply and consume a current of approximately 85 µA.

Delphi`s DETOXSM process: Preparing to treat high organic content hazardous and mixed wastes

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

Robertson, D.T.; Rogers, T.W.; Goldblatt, S.D.

1998-12-31

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Technology Center is sponsoring a full-scale technology demonstration of Delphi Research, Inc.`s patented DETOX{sup SM} catalytic wet chemical oxidation waste treatment process at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The process is being developed primarily to treat hazardous and mixed wastes within the DOE complex as an alternative to incineration, but it has significant potential to treat wastes in the commercial sector. The results of the demonstration will be intensively studied and used to validate the technology. A critical objective in preparing for the demonstration was the successful completion ofmore » a programmatic Operational Readiness Review. Readiness Reviews are required by DOE for all new process startups. The Readiness Review provided the vehicle to ensure that Delphi was ready to start up and operate the DETOX{sup SM} process in the safest manner possible by implementing industry accepted management practices for safe operation. This paper provides an overview of the DETOX{sup SM} demonstration at SRS, and describes the crucial areas of the Readiness Review that marked the first steps in Delphi`s transition from a technology developer to an operating waste treatment services provider.« less

On-line self-learning time forward voltage prognosis for lithium-ion batteries using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleischer, Christian; Waag, Wladislaw; Bai, Ziou; Sauer, Dirk Uwe

2013-12-01

The battery management system (BMS) of a battery-electric road vehicle must ensure an optimal operation of the electrochemical storage system to guarantee for durability and reliability. In particular, the BMS must provide precise information about the battery's state-of-functionality, i.e. how much dis-/charging power can the battery accept at current state and condition while at the same time preventing it from operating outside its safe operating area. These critical limits have to be calculated in a predictive manner, which serve as a significant input factor for the supervising vehicle energy management (VEM). The VEM must provide enough power to the vehicle's drivetrain for certain tasks and especially in critical driving situations. Therefore, this paper describes a new approach which can be used for state-of-available-power estimation with respect to lowest/highest cell voltage prediction using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The estimated voltage for a given time frame in the future is directly compared with the actual voltage, verifying the effectiveness and accuracy of a relative voltage prediction error of less than 1%. Moreover, the real-time operating capability of the proposed algorithm was verified on a battery test bench while running on a real-time system performing voltage prediction.

Strategies for safe injections.

PubMed Central

Battersby, A.; Feilden, R.; Stoeckel, P.; Da Silva, A.; Nelson, C.; Bass, A.

1999-01-01

In 1998, faced with growing international concern, WHO set out an approach for achieving injection safety that encompassed all elements from patients' expectations and doctors' prescribing habits to waste disposal. This article follows that lead and describes the implications of the approach for two injection technologies: sterilizable and disposable. It argues that focusing on any single technology diverts attention from the more fundamental need for health services to develop their own comprehensive strategies for safe injections. National health authorities will only be able to ensure that injections are administered safely if they take an approach that encompasses the whole system, and choose injection technologies that fit their circumstances. PMID:10680247

Science Operations on the Lunar Surface - Understanding the Past, Testing in the Present, Considering the Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eppler, Dean B.

2013-01-01

The scientific success of any future human lunar exploration mission will be strongly dependent on design of both the systems and operations practices that underpin crew operations on the lunar surface. Inept surface mission preparation and design will either ensure poor science return, or will make achieving quality science operation unacceptably difficult for the crew and the mission operations and science teams. In particular, ensuring a robust system for managing real-time science information flow during surface operations, and ensuring the crews receive extensive field training in geological sciences, are as critical to mission success as reliable spacecraft and a competent operations team.

12 CFR 238.8 - Safe and sound operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Safe and sound operations. 238.8 Section 238.8... (CONTINUED) SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDING COMPANIES (REGULATION LL) General Provisions § 238.8 Safe and sound... inconsistent with sound banking principles or the purposes of HOLA or the Financial Institutions Supervisory...

12 CFR 238.8 - Safe and sound operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Safe and sound operations. 238.8 Section 238.8... (CONTINUED) SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDING COMPANIES (REGULATION LL) General Provisions § 238.8 Safe and sound... inconsistent with sound banking principles or the purposes of HOLA or the Financial Institutions Supervisory...

12 CFR 238.8 - Safe and sound operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Safe and sound operations. 238.8 Section 238.8... (CONTINUED) SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDING COMPANIES (REGULATION LL) General Provisions § 238.8 Safe and sound... inconsistent with sound banking principles or the purposes of HOLA or the Financial Institutions Supervisory...

Designing Flight-Deck Procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Degani, Asaf; Wiener, L.; Shafto, Mike (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

A complex human-machine system consists of more than merely one or more human operators and a collection of hardware components. In order to operate a complex system successfully, the human-machine system must be supported by an organizational infrastructure of operating concepts, rules, guidelines, and documents. The coherency of such operating concepts, in terms of consistency and logic, is vitally important for the efficiency and safety of any complex system. In high-risk endeavors such as aircraft operations, space flight, nuclear power production, manufacturing process control, and military operations, it is essential that such support be flawless, as the price of operational error can be high. When operating rules are not adhered to, or the rules are inadequate for the task at hand, not only will the system's goals be thwarted, but there may also be tragic human and material consequences. To ensure safe and predictable operations, support to the operators, in this case flight crews, often comes in the form of standard operating procedures. These provide the crew with step-by-step guidance for carrying out their operations. Standard procedures do indeed promote uniformity, but they do so at the risk of reducing the role of human operators to a lower level. Management, however, must recognize the danger of over-procedurization, which fails to exploit one of the most valuable assets in the system, the intelligent operator who is "on the scene." The alert system designer and operations manager recognize that there cannot be a procedure for everything, and the time will come in which the operators of a complex system will face a situation for which there is no written procedure. Procedures, whether executed by humans or machines, have their place, but so does human cognition.

Why Abortion is Illegal? Comparison of Legal and Illegal Abortion: A Critical Review.

PubMed

Huq, M E; Raihan, M J; Shirin, H; Chowdhury, S; Jahan, Y; Chowdhury, A S; Rahman, M M

2017-10-01

Abortion is the termination of pregnancy that occurs spontaneously or purposely. In the most developed world, abortion is legally allowed for women seeking safe termination of pregnancies. Particularly, when access to legal abortion is restricted, abortion is the resort to unsafe methods. The aim of this review is to necessitate safe abortion and to accentuate the consequences of illegal abortion in case of legal prohibition. We used Pubmed, MedLine and Scopus databases to review previous literatures of safe, unsafe, legal and illegal abortions. Research work and reports from organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank (WB) and United Nations (UN) were included. Snowball sampling was used to obtain relevant journals. Abortion is conventional whether it is safe, unsafe, legal or illegal. The intention of the antiabortion policy was to reduce the number of abortions globally. However, instead of decreasing rates, evidences show significant increase in abortions. When abortion is legal, the preconditions to be ensured are availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability for the safe abortion facilities. When abortion is illegal, risk reduction strategies are needed to decrease maternal morbidity and mortality. We can reduce abortion related morbidity and mortality, whether it is legal or illegal if we can ensure the appropriate access to health care, including abortion services, education on sexuality, access to contraceptives, post abortion care, and suitable interventions and liberalization of laws. The paper reviewed the Mexico City Policy and the US foreign aid strategies and highlighted the evidence based analysis for policy reform. The liberalized abortion law can save pregnant women from abortion related complications and death.

Varying influences of motivation factors on employees' likelihood to perform safe food handling practices because of demographic differences.

PubMed

Ellis, Jason D; Arendt, Susan W; Strohbehn, Catherine H; Meyer, Janell; Paez, Paola

2010-11-01

Food safety training has been the primary avenue for ensuring food workers are performing proper food handling practices and thus, serving safe food. Yet, knowledge of safe food handling practices does not necessarily result in actual performance of these practices. This research identified participating food service employees' level of agreement with four factors of motivation (internal motivations, communication, reward-punishment, and resources) and determined if respondents with different demographic characteristics reported different motivating factors. Data were collected from 311 food service employees who did not have any supervisory responsibilities. Intrinsic motivation agreement scores were consistently the highest of all four motivational factors evaluated and did not differ across any of the demographic characteristics considered. In contrast, motivation agreement scores for communication, reward-punishment, and resources did differ based on respondents' gender, age, place of employment, job status, food service experience, completion of food handler course, or possession of a food safety certification. In general, respondents agreed that these motivation factors influenced their likelihood to perform various safe food handling procedures. This research begins to illustrate how employees' demographic characteristics influence their responses to various motivators, helping to clarify the complex situation of ensuring safe food in retail establishments. Future research into why employee willingness to perform varies more for extrinsic motivation than for intrinsic motivation could assist food service managers in structuring employee development programs and the work environment, in a manner that aids in improving external motivation (communication, reward-punishment, and resources) and capitalizing on internal motivation.

Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jung, Jaewoo; Kopardekar, Parimal H.

2016-01-01

Flexibility where possible, and structure where necessary. Consider the needs of national security, safe airspace operations, economic opportunities, and emerging technologies. Risk-based approach based on population density, assets on the ground, density of operations, etc. Digital, virtual, dynamic, and as needed UTM services to manage operations.

Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (UTM): Safely Enabling UAS Operations in Low-Altitude Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopardekar, Parimal H.; Cavolowsky, John

2015-01-01

Flexibility where possible, and structure where necessary. Consider the needs of national security, safe airspace operations, economic opportunities, and emerging technologies. Risk-based approach based on population density, assets on the ground, density of operations, etc. Digital, virtual, dynamic, and as needed UTM services to manage operations.

U.S. Department of Energy Implementation of Chemical Evaluation Requirements for Transuranic Waste Disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

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

Moon, Alison; Barkley, Michelle; Poppiti, James

This report summarizes new controls designed to ensure that transuranic waste disposed at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) does not contain incompatible chemicals. These new controls include a Chemical Compatibility Evaluation, an evaluation of oxidizing chemicals, and a waste container assessment to ensure that waste is safe for disposal. These controls are included in the Chapter 18 of the Documented Safety Analysis for WIPP (1).

Surgical treatment of pituitary adenomas using low-field intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Tabakow, Paweł; Czyz, Margin; Jarmundowicz, Włodzimierz; Lechowicz-Głogowska, Ewa

2012-01-01

Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) is a new technique for imaging of the brain and is used with increasing frequency during neurosurgical operations, enabling the surgeon to make decisions based on real-time images. This paper presents the technique for the surgical treatment of pituitary adenomas using low-field iMRI, evaluates the safety of iMRI usage in pituitary surgery and examines the influence of iMRI on the extent of tumor removal. From October 2008 to December 2010, 18 patients were treated for pituitary adenomas using the low-field iMRI system Polestar N20. The procedures were conducted via the transsphenoidal approach, using the microscopic technique in 15 cases and endoscopically in three cases. The patients' mean age was 56 +/- 15 years; their mean American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score was 2; 67% of them were male. Most of the patients were operated on for macroadenomas, 83% of which were hormonally inactive. The analysis concerned the technical aspects of iMRI usage, such as preparation and surgery time and the quality of the iMRI-scans performed. The safety of iMRI and its influence on decisions regarding further tumor resection. The operations on pituitary adenomas using iMRI were safe. Only two hemorrhagic complications were noted, and they were not related to iMRI usage. The mean preparation and surgery times were 109 +/- 37 minutes and 238 +/- 188 minutes, respectively. The iMRI images of sella turcica were of satisfactory quality in 16 patients. In 50% of the cases, iMRI conducted when the surgeon believed that the desired extent of tumor resection had been attained showed that there were still tumor remnants to be resected. In 67% of these cases, continued tumor removal lead to achievement of the desired degree of resection. Low-field iMRI-guided operations on pituitary tumors are safe and feasible, and they ensure an increased radicality of tumor resection.

Reducing Risk in CO2 Sequestration: A Framework for Integrated Monitoring of Basin Scale Injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seto, C. J.; Haidari, A. S.; McRae, G. J.

2009-12-01

Geological sequestration of CO2 is an option for stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Technical ability to safely store CO2 in the subsurface has been demonstrated through pilot projects and a long history of enhanced oil recovery and acid gas disposal operations. To address climate change, current injection operations must be scaled up by a factor of 100, raising issues of safety and security. Monitoring and verification is an essential component in ensuring safe operations and managing risk. Monitoring provides assurance that CO2 is securely stored in the subsurface, and the mechanisms governing transport and storage are well understood. It also provides an early warning mechanism for identification of anomalies in performance, and a means for intervention and remediation through the ability to locate the CO2. Through theoretical studies, bench scale experiments and pilot tests, a number of technologies have demonstrated their ability to monitor CO2 in the surface and subsurface. Because the focus of these studies has been to demonstrate feasibility, individual techniques have not been integrated to provide a more robust method for monitoring. Considering the large volumes required for injection, size of the potential footprint, length of time a project must be monitored and uncertainty, operational considerations of cost and risk must balance safety and security. Integration of multiple monitoring techniques will reduce uncertainty in monitoring injected CO2, thereby reducing risk. We present a framework for risk management of large scale injection through model based monitoring network design. This framework is applied to monitoring CO2 in a synthetic reservoir where there is uncertainty in the underlying permeability field controlling fluid migration. Deformation and seismic data are used to track plume migration. A modified Ensemble Kalman filter approach is used to estimate flow properties by jointly assimilating flow and geomechanical observations. Issues of risk, cost and uncertainty are considered.

FDA working to ensure the safety of medical devices used in the pediatric population.

PubMed

Flack, Marilyn Neder; Gross, Thomas P; Reid, Joy Samuels; Mills, Thalia T; Francis, Jacqueline

2012-12-01

Special initiatives exist in FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research to ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical products used in the vulnerable pediatric population. This article focuses on the special programs, projects, and special studies implemented by CDRH to ensure this safety and effectiveness in devices used in pediatric patients throughout the devices' total product life-cycles. Pediatricians play a major role in keeping medical devices safe for use in children by reporting device problems to FDA. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Development of probabilistic design method for annular fuels

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

Ozawa, Takayuki

2007-07-01

The increase of linear power and burn-up during the reactor operation is considered as one measure to ensure the utility of fast reactors in the future; for this the application of annular oxide fuels is under consideration. The annular fuel design code CEPTAR was developed in the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and verified by using many irradiation experiences with oxide fuels. In addition, the probabilistic fuel design code BORNFREE was also developed to provide a safe and reasonable fuel design and to evaluate the design margins quantitatively. This study aimed at the development of a probabilistic design method formore » annular oxide fuels; this was implemented in the developed BORNFREE-CEPTAR code, and the code was used to make a probabilistic evaluation with regard to the permissive linear power. (author)« less

Research on key technology of prognostic and health management for autonomous underwater vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhi

2017-12-01

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are non-cable and autonomous motional underwater robotics. With a wide range of activities, it can reach thousands of kilometers. Because it has the advantages of wide range, good maneuverability, safety and intellectualization, it becomes an important tool for various underwater tasks. How to improve diagnosis accuracy of the AUVs electrical system faults, and how to repair AUVs by the information are the focus of navy in the world. In turn, ensuring safe and reliable operation of the system has very important significance to improve AUVs sailing performance. To solve these problems, in the paper the prognostic and health management(PHM) technology is researched and used to AUV, and the overall framework and key technology are proposed, such as data acquisition, feature extraction, fault diagnosis, failure prediction and so on.

Modeling of BN Lifetime Prediction of a System Based on Integrated Multi-Level Information

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaohong; Wang, Lizhi

2017-01-01

Predicting system lifetime is important to ensure safe and reliable operation of products, which requires integrated modeling based on multi-level, multi-sensor information. However, lifetime characteristics of equipment in a system are different and failure mechanisms are inter-coupled, which leads to complex logical correlations and the lack of a uniform lifetime measure. Based on a Bayesian network (BN), a lifetime prediction method for systems that combine multi-level sensor information is proposed. The method considers the correlation between accidental failures and degradation failure mechanisms, and achieves system modeling and lifetime prediction under complex logic correlations. This method is applied in the lifetime prediction of a multi-level solar-powered unmanned system, and the predicted results can provide guidance for the improvement of system reliability and for the maintenance and protection of the system. PMID:28926930

Flow-Boiling Critical Heat Flux Experiments Performed in Reduced Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hasan, Mohammad M.; Mudawar, Issam

2005-01-01

Poor understanding of flow boiling in microgravity has recently emerged as a key obstacle to the development of many types of power generation and advanced life support systems intended for space exploration. The critical heat flux (CHF) is perhaps the most important thermal design parameter for boiling systems involving both heatflux-controlled devices and intense heat removal. Exceeding the CHF limit can lead to permanent damage, including physical burnout of the heat-dissipating device. The importance of the CHF limit creates an urgent need to develop predictive design tools to ensure both the safe and reliable operation of a two-phase thermal management system under the reduced-gravity (like that on the Moon and Mars) and microgravity environments of space. At present, very limited information is available on flow-boiling heat transfer and the CHF under these conditions.

Modeling of BN Lifetime Prediction of a System Based on Integrated Multi-Level Information.

PubMed

Wang, Jingbin; Wang, Xiaohong; Wang, Lizhi

2017-09-15

Predicting system lifetime is important to ensure safe and reliable operation of products, which requires integrated modeling based on multi-level, multi-sensor information. However, lifetime characteristics of equipment in a system are different and failure mechanisms are inter-coupled, which leads to complex logical correlations and the lack of a uniform lifetime measure. Based on a Bayesian network (BN), a lifetime prediction method for systems that combine multi-level sensor information is proposed. The method considers the correlation between accidental failures and degradation failure mechanisms, and achieves system modeling and lifetime prediction under complex logic correlations. This method is applied in the lifetime prediction of a multi-level solar-powered unmanned system, and the predicted results can provide guidance for the improvement of system reliability and for the maintenance and protection of the system.

An improved network model for railway traffic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Keping; Ma, Xin; Shao, Fubo

In railway traffic, safety analysis is a key issue for controlling train operation. Here, the identification and order of key factors are very important. In this paper, a new network model is constructed for analyzing the railway safety, in which nodes are regarded as causation factors and links represent possible relationships among those factors. Our aim is to give all these nodes an importance order, and to find the in-depth relationship among these nodes including how failures spread among them. Based on the constructed network model, we propose a control method to ensure the safe state by setting each node a threshold. As the results, by protecting the Hub node of the constructed network, the spreading of railway accident can be controlled well. The efficiency of such a method is further tested with the help of numerical example.

[Surgical site infections: antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery].

PubMed

Asensio, Angel

2014-01-01

Surgical site infections (SSI) are very common, and represent more than 20% of all hospital-acquired infections. SSIs are associated with a higher mortality, as well as to an extended hospital stay and costs, depending on the surgical procedure and type of SSI. Advances in control practices for these infections include improvement in operating room ventilation, sterilization methods, barriers, and surgical techniques, as well as in surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis. For the latter, the antimicrobial agent should: be active against the most common pathogens, be administered in an appropriate dosage and in a time frame to ensure serum and tissue concentrations over the period of potential contamination, be safe, and be administered over the shortest effective time period to minimize adverse events, development of resistances, and cost. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Concept of a demonstrational hybrid reactor—a tokamak with molten-salt blanket for 233U fuel production: 1. Concept of a stationary Tokamak as a neutron source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azizov, E. A.; Gladush, G. G.; Dokuka, V. N.; Khayrutdinov, R. R.

2015-12-01

On the basis of current understanding of physical processes in tokamaks and taking into account engineering constraints, it is shown that a low-cost facility of a moderate size can be designed within the adopted concept. This facility makes it possible to achieve the power density of neutron flux which is of interest, in particular, for solving the problem of 233U fuel production from thorium. By using a molten-salt blanket, the important task of ensuring the safe operation of such a reactor in the case of possible coolant loss is accomplished. Moreover, in a hybrid reactor with the blanket based on liquid salts, the problem of periodic refueling that is difficult to perform in solid blankets can be solved.

Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers

PubMed Central

Michaels, David; Howard, John

2012-01-01

Introduction: The fire and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig resulted in an enormous oil spill that threatened large distances of coastline. The overall response was led by the United States Coast Guard and involved the oil company BP, federal agencies, and state and local governments of five states. Methods: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focused extensive resources on ensuring that BP and its contractors provided safe working conditions for thousands of workers involved in the response. Federal personnel visited worksites daily, identifying hazards and means of abatement; assessed training programs to ensure that workers were adequately trained in languages they could understand; monitored chemical exposures and determined that the proper personal protective equipment was deployed; insisted on implementation of a heat mitigation program; rostered thousands of workers; and conducted extensive outreach in communities impacted by the spill. Results: Advance planning, immediate deployment, and collaboration across agencies helped ensure that the response operations resulted in no worker fatalities, and relatively few injuries and illnesses. Conclusions: For future responses, improvements should be made in how safety and health information, as well as the process behind safety and health decisions, are communicated to the public. Citation: Michaels D, Howard J. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 18 PMID:24678440

Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers.

PubMed

Michaels, David; Howard, John

2012-07-18

The fire and explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig resulted in an enormous oil spill that threatened large distances of coastline. The overall response was led by the United States Coast Guard and involved the oil company BP, federal agencies, and state and local governments of five states. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focused extensive resources on ensuring that BP and its contractors provided safe working conditions for thousands of workers involved in the response. Federal personnel visited worksites daily, identifying hazards and means of abatement; assessed training programs to ensure that workers were adequately trained in languages they could understand; monitored chemical exposures and determined that the proper personal protective equipment was deployed; insisted on implementation of a heat mitigation program; rostered thousands of workers; and conducted extensive outreach in communities impacted by the spill. Advance planning, immediate deployment, and collaboration across agencies helped ensure that the response operations resulted in no worker fatalities, and relatively few injuries and illnesses. For future responses, improvements should be made in how safety and health information, as well as the process behind safety and health decisions, are communicated to the public. Michaels D, Howard J. Review of the OSHA-NIOSH Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Protecting the Health and Safety of Cleanup Workers. PLoS Currents Disasters. 2012 Jul 18.

Novel management of distal tibial and fibular fractures with Acumed fibular nail and minimally invasive plating osteosynthesis technique: A case report.

PubMed

Wang, Tie-Jun; Ju, Wei-Na; Qi, Bao-Chang

2017-03-01

Anatomical characteristics, such as subcutaneous position and minimal muscle cover, contribute to the complexity of fractures of the distal third of the tibia and fibula. Severe damage to soft tissue and instability ensure high risk of delayed bone union and wound complications such as nonunion, infection, and necrosis. This case report discusses management in a 54-year-old woman who sustained fractures of the distal third of the left tibia and fibula, with damage to overlying soft tissue (swelling and blisters). Plating is accepted as the first choice for this type of fracture as it ensures accurate reduction and rigid fixation, but it increases the risk of complications. Closed fracture of the distal third of the left tibia and fibula (AO: 43-A3). After the swelling was alleviated, the patient underwent closed reduction and fixation with an Acumed fibular nail and minimally invasive plating osteosynthesis (MIPO), ensuring a smaller incision and minimal soft-tissue dissection. At the 1-year follow-up, the patient had recovered well and had regained satisfactory function in the treated limb. The Kofoed score of the left ankle was 95. Based on the experience from this case, the operation can be undertaken safely when the swelling has been alleviated. The minimal invasive technique represents the best approach. Considering the merits and good outcome in this case, we recommend the Acumed fibular nail and MIPO technique for treatment of distal tibial and fibular fractures.

Chemist of the year award

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nutritious, sustainable, and secure agricultural supplies are important to meet global needs. Although there are broad efforts to ensure food is safe, many people still experience preventable foodborne illness. Mycotoxins are produced by fungi that occasionally contaminate agricultural commodities a...

21 CFR 500.26 - Timed-release dosage form drugs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 201(v) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (b) Timed-release dosage form animal drugs that... using procedures and controls to ensure release of the total dosage at a safe and effective rate. Data...

21 CFR 500.26 - Timed-release dosage form drugs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 201(v) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (b) Timed-release dosage form animal drugs that... using procedures and controls to ensure release of the total dosage at a safe and effective rate. Data...

21 CFR 500.26 - Timed-release dosage form drugs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 201(v) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (b) Timed-release dosage form animal drugs that... using procedures and controls to ensure release of the total dosage at a safe and effective rate. Data...

21 CFR 500.26 - Timed-release dosage form drugs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 201(v) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (b) Timed-release dosage form animal drugs that... using procedures and controls to ensure release of the total dosage at a safe and effective rate. Data...

21 CFR 500.26 - Timed-release dosage form drugs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 201(v) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (b) Timed-release dosage form animal drugs that... using procedures and controls to ensure release of the total dosage at a safe and effective rate. Data...

Safety and mobility impacts of winter weather : phase I.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-01

Highway agencies spend millions of dollars to ensure safe and efficient winter travel. However, the effectiveness of winter weather maintenance practices on safety and mobility are somewhat difficult to quantify. : Phase I of this project investigate...

Radiation and Shipping Port Security | RadTown USA | US ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2017-08-07

Cargo comes into the U.S. from all over the world. Ports can ensure safety by: Screening cargo for radiation before it gets here. Safely handling any radioactive material that needs to pass through a port.

Safety and mobility impacts of winter weather - phase 3.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-09-01

Highway agencies spend millions of dollars to ensure safe and efficient winter travel. However, the effectiveness of winter-weather : maintenance practices on safety and mobility are somewhat difficult to quantify. Safety and Mobility Impacts of Wint...

Resource Guide to Effective Utility Management and Lean

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Water and wastewater utilities are critical to the environmental, economic, and social well being of our nation’s communities, as they work to ensure that the public continues to enjoy the benefits of clean and safe water.

UNDERSTANDING CHILDREN'S EXPOSURES TO CHEMICALS

EPA Science Inventory

The EPA has pledged to increase its efforts to provide a safe and healthy environment for children by ensuring that all EPA regulations, standards, policies, and risk assessments take into account special childhood vulnerabilities to environmental chemicals. In evaluating enviro...

Development of a passenger wheel standard

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-11-05

The American Public Transit Association (APTA) is seeking to develop specifications to ensure that wheels used in passenger applications perform safely under the service conditions to which they are exposed. To this end, an approach has been develope...

Oregon Department of Transportation research leader : fall 2008.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

The newsletter includes: : 1) To ensure safe travel through construction work zones, Traffic Control Plans (TCPs) are developed to communicate required traffic control measures to the construction team. The quality of the design and implementation of...

Attitudes to coping with radiologically suspect or contaminated milk in the UK: a dairy industry viewpoint.

PubMed

Komorowski, E S

2005-01-01

The attitudes of the UK milk processing industry to a nuclear incident which resulted in milk supplies being suspected of being contaminated, or actually being contaminated, with radioactivity is examined. The factors influencing these attitudes are discussed, together with their implications. In the event of a nuclear incident in which part of the United Kingdom's milk supply is possibly contaminated, the milk processing industry will want to ensure that consumers and retailers maintain complete confidence in dairy products. As a consequence the industry will require that solutions are not adopted merely to avoid wastage of milk, or awkward milk disposal problems. In the early history of the BSE crisis the government wrongly assured consumers that beef was completely safe to eat. It will be necessary to ensure that any assurances that milk is safe, following a nuclear incident, are well founded.

Ensuring implementation success: how should coach injury prevention education be improved if we want coaches to deliver safety programmes during training sessions?

PubMed

White, Peta E; Otago, Leonie; Saunders, Natalie; Romiti, Maria; Donaldson, Alex; Ullah, Shahid; Finch, Caroline F

2014-03-01

Coaches play a major role in encouraging and ensuring that participants of their teams adopt appropriate safety practices. However, the extent to which the coaches undertake this role will depend upon their attitudes about injury prevention, their perceptions of what the other coaches usually do and their own beliefs about how much control they have in delivering such programmes. Fifty-one junior netball coaches were surveyed about incorporating the teaching of correct (safe) landing technique during their delivery of training sessions to junior players. Overall, >94% of coaches had strongly positive attitudes towards teaching correct landing technique and >80% had strongly positive perceptions of their own control over delivering such programmes. Coaches' ratings of social norms relating to what others think about teaching safe landing were more positive (>94%) than those relating to what others actually do (63-74%). In conclusion, the junior coaches were generally receptive towards delivering safe landing training programmes in the training sessions they led. Future coach education could include role modelling by prominent coaches so that more community-level coaches are aware that this is a behaviour that many coaches can, and do, engage in.

Guidance regarding voluntary compliance with international management code for the safe operation of ships and for pollution prevention

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-03-15

The purpose of this Circular is to advise owners and operators of U.S. flag merchant vessels regarding voluntary compliance with the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention.

30 CFR 250.456 - What safe practices must the drilling fluid program follow?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Oil and Gas Drilling Operations Drilling Fluid Requirements § 250.456 What safe practices must the drilling fluid program follow... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What safe practices must the drilling fluid...

A gap analysis of meteorological requirements for commercial space operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stapleton, Nicholas James

Commercial space companies will soon be the primary method of launching people and supplies into orbit. Among the critical aspects of space launches are the meteorological concerns. Laws and regulations pertaining to meteorological considerations have been created to ensure the safety of the space industry and those living around spaceports; but, are they adequate? Perhaps the commercial space industry can turn to the commercial aviation industry to help answer that question. Throughout its history, the aviation industry has dealt with lessons learned from mishaps due to failures in understanding the significance of weather impacts on operations. Using lessons from the aviation industry, the commercial space industry can preempt such accidents and maintain viability as an industry. Using Lanicci's Strategic Planning Model, this study identified the weather needs of the commercial space industry by conducting three gap analyses. First, a comparative analysis was done between laws and regulations in commercial aviation and those in the commercial space industry pertaining to meteorological support, finding a "legislative gap" between the two industries, as no legal guarantee is in place to ensure weather products remain available to the commercial space industry. A second analysis was conducted between the meteorological services provided for the commercial aviation industry and commercial space industry, finding a gap at facilities not located at an established launch facility or airport. At such facilities, many weather observational technologies would not be present, and would need to be purchased by the company operating the spaceport facility. A third analysis was conducted between the meteorological products and regulations that are currently in existence, and those needed for safe operations within the commercial space industry, finding gaps in predicting lightning, electric field charge, and space weather. Recommendations to address these deficiencies have been generated for the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Congress, commercial space launch companies, and areas are identified for further research.

A Safe Cooperative Framework for Atmospheric Science Missions with Multiple Heterogeneous UAS using Piecewise Bezier Curves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehdi, S. Bilal; Puig-Navarro, Javier; Choe, Ronald; Cichella, Venanzio; Hovakimyan, Naira; Chandarana, Meghan; Trujillo, Anna; Rothhaar, Paul M.; Tran, Loc; Neilan, James H.;

78 FR 64423 - Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Applications for Approval of Proposed Parental Consent...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-29

..., Inc.; Application for Approval of Safe Harbor Program by kidSAFE Seal Program AGENCY: Federal Trade... kidSAFE Seal Program (``kidSAFE''), owned and operated by Samet Privacy, LLC, under the safe harbor... following the instructions on the web-based form. For comments concerning kidSAFE, write ``kidSAFE...

77 FR 33098 - Hours of Service of Drivers of Commercial Motor Vehicles; Regulatory Guidance for Oilfield Exception

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-05

... their ability to operate the vehicles safely; (3) the physical condition of operators of CMVs is adequate to enable them to operate the vehicles safely and the periodic physical examinations required of such operators are performed by medical examiners who have received training in physical and medical...

AP1000{sup R} nuclear power plant safety overview for spent fuel cooling

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

Gorgemans, J.; Mulhollem, L.; Glavin, J.

2012-07-01

The AP1000{sup R} plant is an 1100-MWe class pressurized water reactor with passive safety features and extensive plant simplifications that enhance construction, operation, maintenance, safety and costs. The AP1000 design uses passive features to mitigate design basis accidents. The passive safety systems are designed to function without safety-grade support systems such as AC power, component cooling water, service water or HVAC. Furthermore, these passive features 'fail safe' during a non-LOCA event such that DC power and instrumentation are not required. The AP1000 also has simple, active, defense-in-depth systems to support normal plant operations. These active systems provide the first levelmore » of defense against more probable events and they provide investment protection, reduce the demands on the passive features and support the probabilistic risk assessment. The AP1000 passive safety approach allows the plant to achieve and maintain safe shutdown in case of an accident for 72 hours without operator action, meeting the expectations provided in the U.S. Utility Requirement Document and the European Utility Requirements for passive plants. Limited operator actions are required to maintain safe conditions in the spent fuel pool via passive means. In line with the AP1000 approach to safety described above, the AP1000 plant design features multiple, diverse lines of defense to ensure spent fuel cooling can be maintained for design-basis events and beyond design-basis accidents. During normal and abnormal conditions, defense-in-depth and other systems provide highly reliable spent fuel pool cooling. They rely on off-site AC power or the on-site standby diesel generators. For unlikely design basis events with an extended loss of AC power (i.e., station blackout) or loss of heat sink or both, spent fuel cooling can still be provided indefinitely: - Passive systems, requiring minimal or no operator actions, are sufficient for at least 72 hours under all possible pool heat load conditions. - After 3 days, several different means are provided to continue spent fuel cooling using installed plant equipment as well as off-site equipment with built-in connections. Even for beyond design basis accidents with postulated pool damage and multiple failures in the passive safety-related systems and in the defense-in-depth active systems, the AP1000 multiple spent fuel pool spray and fill systems provide additional lines of defense to prevent spent fuel damage. (authors)« less

How to reduce workload--augmented reality to ease the work of air traffic controllers.

PubMed

Hofmann, Thomas; König, Christina; Bruder, Ralph; Bergner, Jörg

2012-01-01

In the future the air traffic will rise--the workload of the controllers will do the same. In the BMWi research project, one of the tasks is, how to ensure safe air traffic, and a reasonable workload for the air traffic controllers. In this project it was the goal to find ways how to reduce the workload (and stress) for the controllers to allow safe air traffic, esp. at huge hub-airports by implementing augmented reality visualization and interaction.

49 CFR 240.125 - Criteria for testing knowledge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... practices for the safe operation of trains. (c) The testing methods selected by the railroad shall be: (1) Designed to examine a person's knowledge of the railroad's rules and practices for the safe operation of...) Personal safety practices; (ii) Operating practices; (iii) Equipment inspection practices; (iv) Train...

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

Reynolds, Richard Jennings

The purpose of this course is to introduce safe hoisting and rigging practices to personnel who are attempting to become LANL incidental crane operators and to review and refresh safe hoisting and rigging practices with existing incidental crane operators.

Testing of an Ammonia EVA Vent Tool for the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ungar, Eugene K.; Stanewich, Brett J.; Wilhelm, Sheri Munekata

2000-01-01

When components of the International Space Station ammonia External Active Thermal Control System are replaced on-orbit, they must be vented immediately after removal from the system. Venting ensures that the component is not hard packed with liquid and thus does not pose a hazard. An extravehicular activity (EVA) vent tool has been developed to perform this function. However, there were concerns that the tool could whip, posing a hazard to the EVA astronaut, or would freeze. The ammonia vent tool was recently tested in a thermal/vacuum chamber to demonstrate that it would operate safely and would not freeze during venting. During the test, ammonia mimicking the venting conditions for six different heat exchanger initial conditions was passed through representative test articles. In the present work, the model that was used to develop the ammonia state and flow for the test points is discussed and the test setup and operation is described. The qualitative whipping and freezing results of the test are discussed and vent plume pressure measurements are described and interpreted.

Transabdominal preperitoneal laparoscopic approach for incarcerated inguinal hernia repair

PubMed Central

Yang, Shuo; Zhang, Guangyong; Jin, Cuihong; Cao, Jinxin; Zhu, Yilin; Shen, Yingmo; Wang, Minggang

2016-01-01

Abstract To investigate the efficacy, key technical points, and complication management of the transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approach for incarcerated inguinal hernia repair. Seventy-three patients with incarcerated inguinal hernias underwent TAPP surgery in our department between Jan 2010 and Dec 2015. A retrospective review was performed by analyzing the perioperative data from these patients. The operation was successfully completed in all 73 patients. Operation time was 54.0 ± 18.8 minutes (range, 35–100 minutes). Length of stay was 3.9 ± 1.1 days (range, 3–9 days). There was 1 case of incisional infection, 32 cases of seroma, and 3 cases of postoperative pain during follow-up. All patients recovered after the appropriate treatment. No recurrence or fistula was observed. The TAPP approach represents a safe and effective technique for incarcerated inguinal hernia repair because of its potential in assessment of hernia content and decreasing incisional infection rate. However, it requires experienced surgeons to ensure safety with special attention paid to the key technical points as well as complication management. PMID:28033260

Steam generator design for solar towers using solar salt as heat transfer fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Gómez, Pedro Ángel; Petrakopoulou, Fontina; Briongos, Javier Villa; Santana, Domingo

2017-06-01

Since the operation of a concentrating solar power plant depends on the intermittent character of solar energy, the steam generator is subject to daily start-ups, stops and load variations. Faster start-up and load changes increase the plant flexibility and the daily energy production. However, it involves high thermal stresses on thick-walled components. Continuous operational conditions may eventually lead to a material failure. For these reasons, it is important to evaluate the transient behavior of the proposed designs in order to assure the reliability. The aim of this work is to analyze different steam generator designs for solar power tower plants using molten salt as heat transfer fluid. A conceptual steam generator design is proposed and associated heat transfer areas and steam drum size are calculated. Then, dynamic models for the main parts of the steam generator are developed to represent its transient performance. A temperature change rate that ensures safe hot start-up conditions is studied for the molten salt. The thermal stress evolution on the steam drum is calculated as key component of the steam generator.

Disinfection of aircraft : Appropriate disinfectants and standard operating procedures for highly infectious diseases.

PubMed

Klaus, Joachim; Gnirs, Peter; Hölterhoff, Sabine; Wirtz, Angela; Jeglitza, Matthias; Gaber, Walter; Gottschalk, Rene

2016-12-01

For infectious diseases caused by highly pathogenic agents (e. g., Ebola/Lassa fever virus, SARS-/MERS-CoV, pandemic influenza virus) which have the potential to spread over several continents within only a few days, international Health Protection Authorities have taken appropriate measures to limit the consequences of a possible spread. A crucial point in this context is the disinfection of an aircraft that had a passenger on board who is suspected of being infected with one of the mentioned diseases. Although, basic advice on hygiene and sanitation on board an aircraft is given by the World Health Organization, these guidelines lack details on available and effective substances as well as standardized operating procedures (SOP). The purpose of this paper is to give guidance on the choice of substances that were tested by a laboratory of Lufthansa Technik and found compatible with aircraft components, as well as to describe procedures which ensure a safe and efficient disinfection of civil aircrafts. This guidance and the additional SOPs are made public and are available as mentioned in this paper.

Multi-ligament instability after early dislocation of a primary total knee replacement - case report.

PubMed

Sisak, Krisztian; Lloyd, John; Fiddian, Nick

2011-01-01

Peripheral nerve blocks have found increased popularity in providing prolonged post-operative analgesia following total knee replacement surgery. They generally provide effective analgesia with fewer complications than epidurals. This report describes an acute low-energy knee dislocation after a well balanced, fixed bearing, cruciate-retaining primary total knee replacement performed under a spinal anaesthetic with combined complimentary femoral and sciatic nerve blocks. The dislocation was not accompanied by neurovascular compromise. Due to the subsequent instability and injury to both collaterals, the posterior cruciate ligament and posterolateral corner structures, the knee was treated with a rotating-hinge revision total knee replacement. The dislocation occurred whilst the peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) were still working. We review our incidence of PNB related complications and conclude that PNB remain a safe and effective analgesia for total knee replacements. However, we advocate that ward staff and patients should be sufficiently educated to ensure that unaided post-operative mobilisation is prevented until such a time that patients have regained complete voluntary muscle control. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inland Waterway Environmental Safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reshnyak, Valery; Sokolov, Sergey; Nyrkov, Anatoliy; Budnik, Vlad

2018-05-01

The article presents the results of development of the main components of the environmental safety when operating vessels on inland waterways, which include strategy selection ensuring the environmental safety of vessels, the selection and justification of a complex of environmental technical means, activities to ensure operation of vessels taking into account the environmental technical means. Measures to ensure environmental safety are developed on the basis of the principles aimed at ensuring environmental safety of vessels. They include the development of strategies for the use of environmental protection equipment, which are determined by the conditions for wastewater treatment of purified sewage and oily bilge water as well as technical characteristics of the vessels, the introduction of the process of the out-of-the-vessel processing of ship pollution as a technology for their movement. This must take into account the operating conditions of vessels on different sections of waterways. An algorithm of actions aimed at ensuring ecological safety of operated vessels is proposed.

Driver license testing of young novice drivers : traffic tech.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

Driver license tests are designed to ensure that people using : public roadways have a minimum level of driving skill and : an awareness of safe driving practices and road laws. License : applicants proceed through the administrative processes of : t...

Facility or Facilities? That is the Question.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viso, M.

2018-04-01

The management of the martian samples upon arrival on the Earth will require a lot of work to ensure a safe life detection and biohazard testing during the quarantine. This will induce a sharing of the load between several facilities.

3 CFR 8802 - Proclamation 8802 of April 20, 2012. Earth Day, 2012

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.... As we work to leave our children a safe, sustainable future, we must also equip them with the tools... strong foundation in science, technology, engineering, and math for every student will help ensure our...

Report: Information Security Series: Security Practices Safe Drinking Water Information System

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Report #2006-P-00021, March 30, 2006. We found that the Office of Water (OW) substantially complied with many of the information security controls reviewed and had implemented practices to ensure production servers are monitored.

Validation of source approval of HMA surface mix aggregate : research summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-01

Pavement surfaces must maintain an adequate level of friction in order to provide a : safe surface for vehicles. The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is : responsible for ensuring that flexible pavement construction, using hot mix asphalt ...

Evaluation of complete streets policy implementation by metropolitan planning organizations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

Over the last ten years, communities around the country have begun to implement comprehensive reforms : designed to ensure that roadway users of all ages and abilities can safely utilize the transportation system. : This complete streets policy frame...

77 FR 58172 - Proposed Renewal of Existing Information Collection; Records of Preshift and Onshift Inspections...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-19

... conditions are identified, thereby ensuring a safe working environment for the slope and shaft sinking... environment at any time. The working environment is typically a confined area in close proximity to moving...

Industrial power distribution

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

Sorrells, M.A.

This paper is a broad overview of industrial power distribution. Primary focus will be on selection of the various low voltage components to achieve the end product. Emphasis will be on the use of national standards to ensure a safe and well designed installation.

Passenger train emergency systems : review of egress variables and egress simulation models

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-20

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations are intended to ensure the safe, timely, and effective evacuation of intercity and commuter rail passengers when necessary during passenger train emergencies. Although it is recognized that during the...

Passenger train emergency systems : review of egress variables and egress simulation models.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-04-01

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations are intended to ensure the safe, timely, and effective evacuation of intercity and commuter rail passengers when necessary during passenger train emergencies. Although it is recognized that during the...

Barcode medication administration work-arounds: a systematic review and implications for nurse executives.

PubMed

Voshall, Barbara; Piscotty, Ronald; Lawrence, Jeanette; Targosz, Mary

2013-10-01

Safe medication administration is necessary to ensure quality healthcare. Barcode medication administration systems were developed to reduce drug administration errors and the related costs and improve patient safety. Work-arounds created by nurses in the execution of the required processes can lead to unintended consequences, including errors. This article provides a systematic review of the literature associated with barcoded medication administration and work-arounds and suggests interventions that should be adopted by nurse executives to ensure medication safety.