Toward an applied technology for quality measurement in health care.

PubMed

Berwick, D M

1988-01-01

Cost containment, financial incentives to conserve resources, the growth of for-profit hospitals, an aggressive malpractice environment, and demands from purchasers are among the forces today increasing the need for improved methods that measure quality in health care. At the same time, increasingly sophisticated databases and the existence of managed care systems yield new opportunities to observe and correct quality problems. Research on targets of measurement (structure, process, and outcome) and methods of measurement (implicit, explicit, and sentinel methods) has not yet produced managerially useful applied technology for quality measurement in real-world settings. Such an applied technology would have to be cheaper, faster, more flexible, better reported, and more multidimensional than the majority of current research on quality assurance. In developing a new applied technology for the measurement of health care quality, quantitative disciplines have much to offer, such as decision support systems, criteria based on rigorous decision analyses, utility theory, tools for functional status measurement, and advances in operations research.

DairyBeef: maximizing quality and profits--a consistent food safety message.

PubMed

Moore, D A; Kirk, J H; Klingborg, D J; Garry, F; Wailes, W; Dalton, J; Busboom, J; Sams, R W; Poe, M; Payne, M; Marchello, J; Looper, M; Falk, D; Wright, T

2004-01-01

To respond to meat safety and quality issues in dairy market cattle, a collaborative project team for 7 western states was established to develop educational resources providing a consistent meat safety and quality message to dairy producers, farm advisors, and veterinarians. The team produced an educational website and CD-ROM course that included videos, narrated slide sets, and on-farm tools. The objectives of this course were: 1) to help producers and their advisors understand market cattle food safety and quality issues, 2) help maintain markets for these cows, and 3) help producers identify ways to improve the quality of dairy cattle going to slaughter. DairyBeef. Maximizing Quality & Profits consists of 6 sections, including 4 core segments. Successful completion of quizzes following each core segment is required for participants to receive a certificate of completion. A formative evaluation of the program revealed the necessity for minor content and technological changes with the web-based course. All evaluators considered the materials relevant to dairy producers. After editing, course availability was enabled in February, 2003. Between February and May, 2003, 21 individuals received certificates of completion.

Building-In Quality Rather than Assessing Quality Afterwards: A Technological Solution to Ensuring Computational Accuracy in Learning Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Peter

2008-01-01

Quality encompasses a very broad range of ideas in learning materials, yet the accuracy of the content is often overlooked as a measure of quality. Various aspects of accuracy are briefly considered, and the issue of computational accuracy is then considered further. When learning materials are produced containing the results of mathematical…

Recovery technologies for building materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karu, Veiko; Nurme, Martin; Valgma, Ingo

2015-04-01

Mining industry provides building materials for construction. Civil engineers have settled the quality parameters for construction materials. When we produce high quality building materials from carbonate rock (limestone, dolostone), then the estimated waste share is 25% to 30%, depending on crushing principles and rock quality. The challenge is to find suitable technology for waste recovery. During international mining waste related cooperation project MIN-NOVATION (www.min-novation.eu), partners mapped possibilities for waste recovery in mining industry and pointed out good examples and case studies. One example from Estonia showed that when we produce limestone aggregate, then we produce up to 30% waste material (fines with size 0-4mm). This waste material we can see as secondary raw material for building materials. Recovery technology for this fine grained material has been achieved with CDE separation plant. During the process the plant washes out minus 63 micron material from the limestone fines. This technology allows us to use 92% of all limestone reserves. By-product from 63 microns to 4 mm we can use as filler in concrete or as fine limestone aggregate for building or building materials. MIN-NOVATION project partners also established four pilot stations to study other mineral waste recovery technologies and solutions. Main aims on this research are to find the technology for recovery of mineral wastes and usage for new by-products from mineral mining waste. Before industrial production, testing period or case studies are needed. This research is part of the study of Sustainable and environmentally acceptable Oil shale mining No. 3.2.0501.11-0025 http://mi.ttu.ee/etp and the project B36 Extraction and processing of rock with selective methods - http://mi.ttu.ee/separation; http://mi.ttu.ee/miningwaste/

Computer Courses in Higher-Education: Improving Learning by Screencast Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghilay, Yaron; Ghilay, Ruth

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to find out a method designated to improve the learning of computer courses by adding Screencast technology. The intention was to measure the influence of high-quality clips produced by Screencast technology, on the learning process of computer courses. It was required to find out the characteristics (pedagogical and…

CIDR

Science.gov Websites

producing the highest quality data. We are organized into 6 functional units: the laboratory, bioinformatics and IT, project management, technology evaluation, statistical genetics, and administration. Our staff is made up of talented and dedicated people who uphold the best standards to ensure excellent quality

Air Quality, Climate and Economic Impacts of Biogas Management Technologies

EPA Science Inventory

Anaerobically digested organic waste (e.g. manure, sewage, and municipal solid waste) produces biogas, a source of renewable energy. A recent analysis indicates that the technical resource in California could produce nearly 93 billion cubic feet per year of biomethane from availa...

DARPA Antibody Technology Program. Standardized Test Bed for Antibody Characterization: Characterization of an MS2 ScFv Antibody Produced by Illumina

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-01

platforms. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Antibody Antibody Technology Program (ATP) Quality Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) Biosurveillance Single-chain...2.6 Thermal Stress Test............................................................................................4 2.7 ELISA ...3.5 ELISA Results .................................................................................................11 3.6 SPR Results

An Approach to Compare the Air Quality, Climate and Economic Impacts of Biogas Management Technologies

EPA Science Inventory

Anaerobically digested organic waste (e.g. manure, sewage, and municipal solid waste) produces biogas, a source of renewable energy. A recent analysisindicates that the technical resource in California could produce nearly 93 billion cubic feet per year of biomethane from availab...

Target fuel quality standards performance

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

Hublin, M.; Renault, S.A.

Concerned by a large number of in-service incident due to insufficient quality of market fuels that happened in the 1980s in France and Europe, the two major French car manufacturers-PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault-decided to define new technical requirements for these fuels. By publishing the fuel charter in July 1989, a whole fuel quality monitoring system was established. Forthcoming fuel refiners and distributors were invited to produce and sell fuels of higher quality. Major French distributors joined the charter, and soon, an improvement on French market fuels was observed. Undoubtedly, the two oil crises, in 1973 and 1979, have boostedmore » technological progress of combustion engines, improving specific power, operating noise, exhaust emissions and fuel consumption. That technological progress was achieved by defining and carrying out research that contributed to a better understanding of combustion engines. Continuous and gradual evolution in the design of engines was achieved in areas such as: combustion, internal air motion, multi-valve technology, fuel injection, engine management systems, friction reduction and after-treatment devices. As long as national fuel specifications define fuel characteristics in a rough and insufficient way, there will be the need for quality fuel certification. Different countries, bearing different cultures, will probably produce slightly different variations, but will continue to exist and increase in number. Fuel quality is a key issue for the future to guarantee trouble-free and comfortable vehicle operation and also to maintain its original emissions characteristics.« less

Quality Inspection and Analysis of Three-Dimensional Geographic Information Model Based on Oblique Photogrammetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, S.; Yan, Q.; Xu, Y.; Bai, J.

2018-04-01

In order to promote the construction of digital geo-spatial framework in China and accelerate the construction of informatization mapping system, three-dimensional geographic information model emerged. The three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology has higher accuracy, shorter period and lower cost than traditional methods, and can more directly reflect the elevation, position and appearance of the features. At this stage, the technology of producing three-dimensional geographic information models based on oblique photogrammetry technology is rapidly developing. The market demand and model results have been emerged in a large amount, and the related quality inspection needs are also getting larger and larger. Through the study of relevant literature, it is found that there are a lot of researches on the basic principles and technical characteristics of this technology, and relatively few studies on quality inspection and analysis. On the basis of summarizing the basic principle and technical characteristics of oblique photogrammetry technology, this paper introduces the inspection contents and inspection methods of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology. Combined with the actual inspection work, this paper summarizes the quality problems of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology, analyzes the causes of the problems and puts forward the quality control measures. It provides technical guidance for the quality inspection of three-dimensional geographic information model data products based on oblique photogrammetry technology in China and provides technical support for the vigorous development of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology.

[Fast Detection of Camellia Sinensis Growth Process and Tea Quality Informations with Spectral Technology: A Review].

PubMed

Peng, Ji-yu; Song, Xing-lin; Liu, Fei; Bao, Yi-dan; He, Yong

2016-03-01

The research achievements and trends of spectral technology in fast detection of Camellia sinensis growth process information and tea quality information were being reviewed. Spectral technology is a kind of fast, nondestructive, efficient detection technology, which mainly contains infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy. The rapid detection of Camellia sinensis growth process information and tea quality is helpful to realize the informatization and automation of tea production and ensure the tea quality and safety. This paper provides a review on its applications containing the detection of tea (Camellia sinensis) growing status(nitrogen, chlorophyll, diseases and insect pest), the discrimination of tea varieties, the grade discrimination of tea, the detection of tea internal quality (catechins, total polyphenols, caffeine, amino acid, pesticide residual and so on), the quality evaluation of tea beverage and tea by-product, the machinery of tea quality determination and discrimination. This paper briefly introduces the trends of the technology of the determination of tea growth process information, sensor and industrial application. In conclusion, spectral technology showed high potential to detect Camellia sinensis growth process information, to predict tea internal quality and to classify tea varieties and grades. Suitable chemometrics and preprocessing methods is helpful to improve the performance of the model and get rid of redundancy, which provides the possibility to develop the portable machinery. Future work is to develop the portable machinery and on-line detection system is recommended to improve the further application. The application and research achievement of spectral technology concerning about tea were outlined in this paper for the first time, which contained Camellia sinensis growth, tea production, the quality and safety of tea and by-produce and so on, as well as some problems to be solved and its future applicability in modern tea industrial.

Influence of growth promoting technologies on animal performance,production economics, environmental impacts and carcass characteristics of beef

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Objectives: The objectives of this project were to 1) evaluate meat quality characteristics, and 2) identify consumer palatability and label preferences for beef produced with varied levels of technology to facilitate production and marketing decisions and enhance consumer knowledge and trust in bee...

Information and Communication Technology Literacy: What Do Businesses Expect and What Do Business Schools Teach? Research Report. ETS RR-10-17

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ali, Radwan; Katz, Irvin R.

2010-01-01

Today's information and communications technology (ICT) provides unprecedented amounts of information to organizations and their employees. This overabundance challenges workers, placing an increasing premium on skills of sifting through information of sometimes dubious quality, integrating information critically, and producing well-reasoned…

Employee Involvement, Attitudes, and Productivity in High Technology Manufacturing: A Two-Year, Experimental Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stinnett, William D.; And Others

To investigate methods of improving both employees' productivity and the quality of their work life, workers from four businesses were surveyed before and after their organizations implemented a total employees involvement program. Survey questions covered employees' perceptions of (1) the quality of the product produced, (2) the leadership's…

The University Professor As a Utility Maximizer and Producer of Learning, Research, and Income

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, William E., Jr.

1975-01-01

A professonial decision-making model is presented for the purpose of exploring alternative plans to raise teaching quality. It is demonstrated that an increase in the pecuniary return to teaching will raise teaching quality while exogenous changes in teaching and/or research technology need not. (Author/EA)

NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR RAPID WATER QUALITY AND BIOASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STREAMS BY CITIZEN SCIENTISTS

EPA Science Inventory

Use of this mobile app with it’s “smart” filter and website to rapidly bioassess the water quality from streams and produce credible data by citizen scientists can be an asset to public awareness of alteration of the water and these aquatic systems, facili...

Making Movies: The Next Big Thing in Feedback?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hope, Sheila A.

2011-01-01

Good quality, timely feedback is a key factor to help students achieve their full potential. Increased class sizes have put significant strain on the ability to return work promptly without compromising feedback quality. In the current study, two screencasting technologies were used to produce audiovisual feedback. For essays, Jing was used,…

Polyethersulfone-based ultrafiltration hollow fibre membrane for drinking water treatment systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chew, Chun Ming; Ng, K. M. David; Ooi, H. H. Richard

2017-12-01

Conventional media/sand filtration has been the mainstream water treatment process for most municipal water treatment plants in Malaysia. Filtrate qualities of conventional media/sand filtration are very much dependent on the coagulation-flocculation process prior to filtration and might be as high as 5 NTU. However, the demands for better quality of drinking water through public piped-water supply systems are growing. Polymeric ultrafiltration (UF) hollow fibre membrane made from modified polyethersulfone (PES) material is highly hydrophilic with high tensile strength and produces excellent quality filtrate of below 0.3 NTU in turbidity. This advanced membrane filtration material is also chemical resistance which allows a typical lifespan of 5 years. Comparisons between the conventional media/sand filtration and PES-based UF systems are carried out in this paper. UF has been considered as the emerging technology in municipal drinking water treatment plants due to its consistency in producing high quality filtrates even without the coagulation-flocculation process. The decreasing cost of PES-based membrane due to mass production and competitive pricing by manufacturers has made the UF technology affordable for industrial-scale water treatment plants.

Selected Issues Facing U.S. Graduate Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neal, Homer A.

Three issues are discussed that relate to (1) the need for the United States to become more technologically competitive and more daring in ways to produce, nurture and encourage high quality research and (2) the state of the talent pool that must produce the scientists, mathematicians and engineers to do this research. The first issue concerns…

Novel Intervention Technologies to Ensure the Safety of Produce, Shell Eggs and Liquid Foods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Fruit juices, shell eggs and produce are all part of a healthy diet, but they can contain harmful bacteria. Fruit juices are typically pasteurized in a heat exchanger. This processing can degrade the quality of the juice. Thus, alternative nonthermal interventions are being developed including ra...

Producing Foils From Direct Cast Titanium Alloy Strip

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stuart, T. A.; Gaspar, T. A.; Sukonnik, I. M.; Semiatan, S. L.; Batawi, E.; Peters, J. A.; Fraser, H. L.

1996-01-01

This research was undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility of producing high-quality, thin-gage, titanium foil from direct cast titanium strip. Melt Overflow Rapid Solidification Technology (MORST) was used to cast several different titanium alloys into 500 microns thick strip, 10 cm wide and up to 3 m long. The strip was then either ground, hot pack rolled or cold rolled, as appropriate, into foil. Gamma titanium aluminide (TiAl) was cast and ground to approximately 100 microns thick foil and alpha-2 titanium aluminide (Ti3AI) was cast and hot pack rolled to approximately 70 microns thick foil. CP Ti, Ti6Al2Sn4Zr2Mo, and Ti22AI23Nb (Orthorhombic), were successfully cast and cold-rolled into good quality foil (less than 125 microns thick). The foils were generally fully dense with smooth surfaces, had fine, uniform microstructures, and demonstrated mechanical properties equivalent to conventionally produced titanium. By eliminating many manufacturing steps, this technology has the potential to produce thin gage, titanium foil with good engineering properties at significantly reduced cost relative to conventional ingot metallurgy processing.

INDUSTRIE 4.0 - Automation in weft knitting technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonis, K.; Gloy, Y.-S.; Gries, T.

2016-07-01

Industry 4.0 applies to the knitting industry. Regarding the knitting process retrofitting activities are executed mostly manually by an operator on the basis on the operator's experience. In doing so, the knitted fabric is not necessarily produced in the most efficient way regarding process speed and fabric quality aspects. The knitting division at ITA is concentrating on project activities regarding automation and Industry 4.0. ITA is working on analysing the correspondences of the knitting process parameters and their influence on the fabric quality. By using e.g. the augmented reality technology, the operator will be supported when setting up the knitting machine in case of product or pattern change - or in case of an intervention when production errors occur. Furthermore, the RFID-Technology offers great possibilities to ensure information flow between sub-processes of the fragmented textile process chain. ITA is using RFID-chips to save yarn production information and connect the information to the fabric producing machine control. In addition, ITA is currently working on integrating image processing systems into the large circular knitting machine in order to ensure online-quality measurement of the knitted fabrics. This will lead to a self-optimizing and selflearning knitting machine.

Improvement of Fermented Fish Flour Quality Using Essential Oil Extracted From Fresh Leaves of Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J. W. Moore.

PubMed

Adjou, Euloge S; Dègnon, René G; Dahouenon-Ahoussi, Edwige; Soumanou, Mohamed M; Sohounhloue, Dominique C K

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the essential oil extracted from fresh leaves of Pimenta racemosa in the improvement of fermented fish flour producing technology. Essential oil of Pimenta racemosa was extracted by hydrodistillation and its chemical composition was determined by GC and GC/MS. Different types of fermented fish flours from Lesser African Threadfin (Galeoides decadactylus) were produced by the modification of the traditional processing technology and the introduction of a step of essential oil adjunction during the process. Three different essential oil concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 μL g -1 ) were investigated. Physicochemical, microbiological and nutritional analyzes were performed in order to evaluate the quality of the fermented fish flour produced. Results obtained revealed that the essential oil of Pimenta racemosa investigated has a chemical composition characterized by the presence of myrcene (25.1%), chavicol (7.5%) and eugenol (51.1%). Fermented fish flour produced have a good nutritional potential. However, on the microbiological level, only samples produced by adjunction of essential oil have a low level of microbial contamination, with an absence of pathogenic microorganisms.

JPRS Report. Science & Technology, USSR: Engineering & Equipment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-19

unlimited Science & Technology USSR: Engineering & Equipment ^PRODUCED BY ^J’ODNALTECSL OF AMERCE SPR/NGnEL^ff’^1-INFORMATION S 22161 SERVICE...rv> DTIC QUALITY mSHBOTSD j5 Science & Technology USSR: Engineering & Equipment JPRS-UEQ-88-006 CONTENTS 19 DECEMBER 1988 Nuclear Energy Fuel...PROMYSHLENNOST, No 4, Apr 88] 36 Determining the Demand for Automated Foundry Equipment [A.A. Panov; MEKHAN1ZATS1YA IAVTOMATIZATSIYA PROIZVODSTVA, Apr 88] 40

Understanding the digital divide in the clinical setting: the technology knowledge gap experienced by US safety net patients during teleretinal screening.

PubMed

George, Sheba; Moran, Erin; Fish, Allison; Ogunyemi, Lola

2013-01-01

Differential access to everyday technology and healthcare amongst safety net patients is associated with low technological and health literacies, respectively. These low rates of literacy produce a complex patient "knowledge gap" that influences the effectiveness of telehealth technologies. To understand this "knowledge gap", six focus groups (2 African-American and 4 Latino) were conducted with patients who received teleretinal screenings in U.S. urban safety-net settings. Findings indicate that patients' "knowledge gap" is primarily produced at three points: (1) when patients' preexisting personal barriers to care became exacerbated in the clinical setting; (2) through encounters with technology during screening; and (3) in doctor-patient follow-up. This "knowledge gap" can produce confusion and fear, potentially affecting patients' confidence in quality of care and limiting their disease management ability. In rethinking the digital divide to include the consequences of this knowledge gap faced by patients in the clinical setting, we suggest that patient education focus on both their disease and specific telehealth technologies deployed in care delivery.

The use of technologies in African programmes of population education.

PubMed

Krystall, A; Johnston, T

1985-06-01

In Africa South of the Sahara, the most commonly expressed purpose of population education, whether in or out of school, is an improved quality of life for the individual, family, community or nation. Use of the technologies available for population education can contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the learning process in a variety of ways. A significant contribution of visual and audiovisual media to population education is the power to stimulate visualization and imaginative comprehension, thereby increasing understanding and inducing affective change. Population education programs in schools and teacher training institutions in sub-Saharan Africa seem to rely heavily on the single technology of the printed text. This paper suggests that the initial priority when selecting materials for population education may be to explore the possible advantages of nontext technologies. Visual material loses its power to influence people's attitudes and actions if they are unable to identify with what they see; in some places, adequate localization may have a linguistic dimension. Basing materials on issues of relevance to specific target groups is only part of the task when the educational intent is behavior change. Pre-testing is necessary to determine the overall relevance of media materials for an intended audience. The assumption that educational media must be produced by educational experts has caused planners to make minimal use of other strategies such as: 1) users as producers and 2) professionals as producers. 4 suggestions to contribute to the quality of population education are: 1) for the 2 regional offices to disseminate all population-related materials used at the national level, 2) training for population educators in media use, 3) initiating and supporting comparisons of various technologies, and 4) assisting users to become producers of their own materials.

Shin-Etsu super-high-flat substrate for FPD panel photomask

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishitsuka, Youkou; Harada, Daijitsu; Watabe, Atsushi; Takeuchi, Masaki

2017-07-01

Recently, high-resolution exposure machine has been developed for production of high-definition (HD) panels, and higher-flat photomask substrates for FPD is being expected for panel makers to produce HD panels. In this presentation, we introduce about Shin-Etsu's advanced technique of producing super-high-flat photomask substrates. Shin-Etsu has developed surface polishing and planarization technology with No.1-quality-IC photomask substrates. Our most advanced IC photomask substrates have gained the highest estimation and appreciation from our customers because of their surface quality (non-defect surface without sub-0.1um size defects) and ultimate flatness (sub-0.1um order having achieved). By scaling up those IC photomask substrate technologies and developing unique large-size processing technologies, we have achieved creating high-flat large substrates, even G10-photomask size as well as regular G6-G8 photomask size. The core technology is that the surface shape of the substrate is completely controlled by the unique method. For example, we can regularly produce a substrate with its flatness of triple 5ums; front side flatness, back side flatness and total thickness variation are all less than 5μm. Furthermore, we are able to supply a substrate with its flatness of triple 3ums for G6-photomask size advanced grade, believed to be needed in near future.

High quality digital holographic reconstruction on analog film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelsen, B.; Hartmann, P.

2017-05-01

High quality real-time digital holographic reconstruction, i.e. at 30 Hz frame rates, has been at the forefront of research and has been hailed as the holy grail of display systems. While these efforts have produced a fascinating array of computer algorithms and technology, many applications of reconstructing high quality digital holograms do not require such high frame rates. In fact, applications such as 3D holographic lithography even require a stationary mask. Typical devices used for digital hologram reconstruction are based on spatial-light-modulator technology and this technology is great for reconstructing arbitrary holograms on the fly; however, it lacks the high spatial resolution achievable by its analog counterpart, holographic film. Analog holographic film is therefore the method of choice for reconstructing highquality static holograms. The challenge lies in taking a static, high-quality digitally calculated hologram and effectively writing it to holographic film. We have developed a theoretical system based on a tunable phase plate, an intensity adjustable high-coherence laser and a slip-stick based piezo rotation stage to effectively produce a digitally calculated hologram on analog film. The configuration reproduces the individual components, both the amplitude and phase, of the hologram in the Fourier domain. These Fourier components are then individually written on the holographic film after interfering with a reference beam. The system is analogous to writing angularly multiplexed plane waves with individual component phase control.

Performance Qualification Test of the ISS Water Processor Assembly (WPA) Expendables

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, Layne; Tabb, David; Tatara, James D.; Mason, Richard K.

2005-01-01

The Water Processor Assembly (WPA) for use on the International Space Station (ISS) includes various technologies for the treatment of waste water. These technologies include filtration, ion exchange, adsorption, catalytic oxidation, and iodination. The WPA hardware implementing portions of these technologies, including the Particulate Filter, Multifiltration Bed, Ion Exchange Bed, and Microbial Check Valve, was recently qualified for chemical performance at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Waste water representing the quality of that produced on the ISS was generated by test subjects and processed by the WPA. Water quality analysis and instrumentation data was acquired throughout the test to monitor hardware performance. This paper documents operation of the test and the assessment of the hardware performance.

Effect of high pressure impact on the survival of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli ('Big Six' and 0157) in ground beef

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

High pressure processing (HPP) is a safe and effective technology for improving food safety while maintaining food quality attributes. Non-O157:H7 Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) have been increasingly implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls, and the USDA Food Safety Ins...

Synthesis for Lunar Simulants: Glass, Agglutinate, Plagioclase, Breccia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinstein, Michael; Wilson, Stephen A.; Rickman, Douglas L.; Stoeser, Douglas

2012-01-01

The video describes a process for making glass for lunar regolith simulants that was developed from a patented glass-producing technology. Glass composition can be matched to simulant design and specification. Production of glass, pseudo agglutinates, plagioclase, and breccias is demonstrated. The system is capable of producing hundreds of kilograms of high quality glass and simulants per day.

The Potential for Technology to Enhance Independence for Those Aging with a Disability

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Technologies of all kinds can sustain and accelerate improvements in health and quality of life for an aging population, and enhance the independence of persons with disabilities. Assistive technologies are widely used to promote independent functioning, but the aging of users and their devices produces unique challenges to individuals, their families, and the health care system. The emergence of new “smart” technologies that integrate information technology with assistive technologies has opened a portal to the development of increasingly powerful, individualized tools to assist individuals with disabilities to meet their needs. Yet, issues of access and usability remain to be solved for their usefulness to be fully realized. New cohorts aging with disabilities will have more resources and more experience with integrated technologies than current elders. Attention to technological solutions that help them adapt to the challenges of later life is needed to improve quality of life for those living long lives with disabilities. PMID:24456682

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, USSR: Science & Technology Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-10-15

beings. They have developed various technologies of the transfer of genes from some plants to others. As a result so-called transgenic strains of...and in our country by means of the transgenic introduction of additional growth hormones giant carp and other fish have been obtained. In the imme...diate future transgenic animals can become producers of milk and wool of special quality and have resistance to diseases. PRAVDA: Is it not

Prospects for the Development of Innovative Technology of Supersonic Gas-Powder Surfacing Coatings from Alloys of the System Ni-Cr-B-Si

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radchenko, Mikhail V.; Kiselev, Vadim S.; Shevtsov, Yuri O.; Radchenko, Tatyana B.

2017-10-01

The article is devoted to the research and development of technological recommendations of supersonic gas-powder surfacing, an example of the practical use of the developed technology is given. Market research indicates that demand for these products is stable due to the growing quality requirements of components and parts produced by the largest machine-building enterprises of Russia.

Anatomy of Data Integration

PubMed Central

Brazhnik, Olga; Jones, John F.

2007-01-01

Producing reliable information is the ultimate goal of data processing. The ocean of data created with the advances of science and technologies calls for integration of data coming from heterogeneous sources that are diverse in their purposes, business rules, underlying models and enabling technologies. Reference models, Semantic Web, standards, ontology, and other technologies enable fast and efficient merging of heterogeneous data, while the reliability of produced information is largely defined by how well the data represent the reality. In this paper we initiate a framework for assessing the informational value of data that includes data dimensions; aligning data quality with business practices; identifying authoritative sources and integration keys; merging models; uniting updates of varying frequency and overlapping or gapped data sets. PMID:17071142

Development of salt production technology using prism greenhouse method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guntur, G.; Jaziri, A. A.; Prihanto, A. A.; Arisandi, D. M.; Kurniawan, A.

2018-01-01

The main problem of salt production in Indonesia is low productivity and quality because the technology used commonly by Indonesian salt farmers is traditional method. This research aims to increase production of salt by using the prism greenhouse method. The prism greenhouse method is a salt production system with a combination of several salt production technologies, including geomembrane, threaded filter, and prism greenhouse technology. This research method used descriptive method. The results of this study were the productivity increased threefold, and the quality of salt produced also increased in terms of the content of NaCl from 85% to 95%. In addition, salt production with the prism greenhouse method has several advantages, such as faster harvest time, weather resistance, easy to use, and higher profit than traditional methods.

Ultra-high-pressure homogenization (UHPH) system for producing high-quality vegetable-based beverages: physicochemical, microbiological, nutritional and toxicological characteristics.

PubMed

Ferragut, Victoria; Hernández-Herrero, Manuela; Veciana-Nogués, María Teresa; Borras-Suarez, Miquel; González-Linares, Javier; Vidal-Carou, María Carmen; Guamis, Buenaventura

2015-03-30

A relatively new technology based on a continuous system of ultra-high-pressure homogenization (UHPH) was used for producing high-quality soy and almond beverages as an alternative to conventional heat treatments (pasteurization and UHT). The aim of this study was to compare those treatments by analyzing the most relevant quality parameters with a broad vision from the production to the potential toxicological changes, passing through the main nutritional characteristics. UHPH treatment at 200 MPa, 55 °C T(in) produced a higher reduction of microorganisms than pasteurization. UHPH treatment at 300 MPa, 75 °C T(in) led to complete inactivation of microorganisms, similar to UHT treatment. A much better colloidal stability was observed in both UHPH-treated almond and soy beverages compared with those processed by conventional heat treatments. UHPH treatments led to the same increase in digestibility as heat treatments and did not produce a reduction in the availability of lysine. In addition, UHPH samples of soy beverage seem to be less allergenic based on their lower gut immune response in comparison with heat-treated samples. UHPH treatments could be used to produce high-quality commercial vegetable beverages with different quality standards (fresh or long-life storage) according to consumer preference. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Relationship of Shallow Groundwater Quality to Hydraulic Fracturing Activities in Antrim and Kalkaska Counties, MI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stefansky, J. N.; Robertson, W. M.; Chappaz, A.; Babos, H.; Israel, S.; Groskreutz, L. M.

2015-12-01

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of oil and natural gas (O&G) wells is a widely applied technology that can increase yields from tight geologic formations. However, it is unclear how fracking may impact shallow groundwater; previous research into its effects has produced conflicting results. Much of the worry over potential impacts to water quality arises from concerns about the produced water. The water produced from O&G formations is often salty, contains toxic dissolved elements, and can be radioactive. If fracking activities cause or increase connectivity between O&G formations and overlying groundwater, there may be risks to aquifers. As one part of a groundwater quality study in Antrim and Kalkaska Counties, MI, samples were collected from the unconfined glacial aquifer (3-300 m thick) and produced water from the underlying Antrim formation, a shallow (180-670 m deep) natural gas producing black shale. Groundwater samples were collected between 200 to 10,000 m distance from producing Antrim gas wells and from a range of screened intervals (15-95 m). Samples were analyzed for major constituents (e.g., Br, Cl), pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen (DO). The specific conductance of groundwater samples ranged from 230-1020 μS/cm; DO ranged from 0.4-100% saturation. Preliminary results show a slight inverse correlation between specific conductance and proximity to producing Antrim wells. The observed range of DO saturation in glacial aquifer groundwater appears to be related to both screened depth of the water wells and proximity to Antrim wells. During sampling, some well owners expressed concerns about the effects of fracking on groundwater quality and reported odd smells and tastes in their water after O&G drilling occurred near their homes. The results of this study and reported observations provide evidence to suggest a potential hydrogeological connection between the Antrim formation and the overlying glacial aquifer in some locations; it also raises questions about water quality in Antrim and Kalkaska counties. Further investigation is needed to address questions raised in this study. As the controversy surrounding fracking is growing and the application of this technology spreads worldwide, it is important for the questions about fracking and groundwater quality to be well addressed.

Mason Bee Habitations: Teaching Proper "Making" Skill through Authentic Engineering Design Contests. Resources in Technology and Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cool, Nate; Strimel, Greg J.; Croly, Michael; Grubbs, Michael E.

2017-01-01

To be technologically and engineering literate, people should be able to "make" or produce quality solutions to engineering design challenges while recognizing and understanding how to avoid hazards in a broad array of situations when properly using tools, machines, and materials (Haynie, 2009; Gunter, 2007; ITEA/ITEEA, 2000/2002/2007).…

Defining Virtual Interactions: A Taxonomy for Researchers and Practitioners

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-11-01

Engineering and Management of the Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command In Partial Fulfillment of the...information technology and produce the maximum benefits for all virtual components involved. Vlll DEFINING VIRTUAL INTERACTIONS: A TAXONOMY FOR...allow the human factor to maximize information exchange and provide high quality products to intelligence consumers. Applicability of this research In

Production of rotational parts in small-series and computer-aided planning of its production engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudas, Illes; Berta, Miklos; Cser, Istvan

1998-12-01

Up-to-date manufacturing equipments of production of rotational parts in small series are lathe-centers and CNC grinding machines with high concentration of manufacturing operations. By the use of these machine tools it can be produced parts with requirements of increased accuracy and surface quality. In the lathe centers, which contain the manufacturing procedures of lathes using stationary tools and of drilling-milling machine tools using rotational tools, non-rotational surfaces of rotational parts can also be produced. The high concentration of manufacturing operations makes necessary the planning and programing of the measuring, monitoring and quality control into the technological process during manufacturing operation. In this way, taking into consideration the technological possibilities of lathe canters, the scope of computer aided technological planning duties significantly increases. It is trivial requirement to give only once the descriptions of the prefabricated parts and ready made parts. Starting taking into account these careful considerations we have been developing the planning system of technology of body of revolution on the base of GTIPROG/EC system which useful for programming of lathe centers. Out paper deals with the results of development and the occurring problems.

Patient-reported outcomes and diabetes technology: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Rubin, Richard R; Peyrot, Mark

2010-08-01

Advanced diabetes technology should have benefits not only in terms of clinical outcomes, but also in terms of patient-reported outcomes. The objective of this paper is to review the methodology and findings of studies that assessed the effects of diabetes technologies such as continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and integrated CSII/CGM on patientreported outcomes. The existing literature in pediatric and adult patients is limited, so there is no conclusive evidence that use of CSII, CGM, or integrated CSII/CGM systems produce improved patient-reported outcomes, but most studies provide evidence that these technologies yield some patient-reported outcomes advantages, and few indicate any disadvantages. We expect that more robust studies in the future will provide further evidence regarding the impact of these technologies for patient-reported outcomes, including general health-related quality-of-life, diabetesspecific quality-of-life, treatment satisfaction, and treatment preference.

A Multiple-Regression Model for Monitoring Tool Wear with a Dynamometer in Milling Operations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Jacob C.; Chen, Joseph C.

2004-01-01

A major goal of the manufacturing industry is increasing product quality. The quality of a product is strongly associated with the condition of the cutting tool that produced it. Catching poor tool conditions early in the production will help reduce defects. However, with current CNC technology, manufacturers still rely mainly on the operator's…

Primer and platform effects on 16S rRNA tag sequencing

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

Tremblay, Julien; Singh, Kanwar; Fern, Alison

Sequencing of 16S rRNA gene tags is a popular method for profiling and comparing microbial communities. The protocols and methods used, however, vary considerably with regard to amplification primers, sequencing primers, sequencing technologies; as well as quality filtering and clustering. How results are affected by these choices, and whether data produced with different protocols can be meaningfully compared, is often unknown. Here we compare results obtained using three different amplification primer sets (targeting V4, V6–V8, and V7–V8) and two sequencing technologies (454 pyrosequencing and Illumina MiSeq) using DNA from a mock community containing a known number of species as wellmore » as complex environmental samples whose PCR-independent profiles were estimated using shotgun sequencing. We find that paired-end MiSeq reads produce higher quality data and enabled the use of more aggressive quality control parameters over 454, resulting in a higher retention rate of high quality reads for downstream data analysis. While primer choice considerably influences quantitative abundance estimations, sequencing platform has relatively minor effects when matched primers are used. In conclusion, beta diversity metrics are surprisingly robust to both primer and sequencing platform biases.« less

Primer and platform effects on 16S rRNA tag sequencing

DOE PAGES

Tremblay, Julien; Singh, Kanwar; Fern, Alison; ...

2015-08-04

Sequencing of 16S rRNA gene tags is a popular method for profiling and comparing microbial communities. The protocols and methods used, however, vary considerably with regard to amplification primers, sequencing primers, sequencing technologies; as well as quality filtering and clustering. How results are affected by these choices, and whether data produced with different protocols can be meaningfully compared, is often unknown. Here we compare results obtained using three different amplification primer sets (targeting V4, V6–V8, and V7–V8) and two sequencing technologies (454 pyrosequencing and Illumina MiSeq) using DNA from a mock community containing a known number of species as wellmore » as complex environmental samples whose PCR-independent profiles were estimated using shotgun sequencing. We find that paired-end MiSeq reads produce higher quality data and enabled the use of more aggressive quality control parameters over 454, resulting in a higher retention rate of high quality reads for downstream data analysis. While primer choice considerably influences quantitative abundance estimations, sequencing platform has relatively minor effects when matched primers are used. In conclusion, beta diversity metrics are surprisingly robust to both primer and sequencing platform biases.« less

Comparing composts formed by different technological processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyckova, B.; Mudrunka, J.; Kucerova, R.; Glogarova, V.

2017-10-01

The presented article compares quality of composts which were formed by different technological processes. The subject to comparison was a compost which was created in a closed fermenter where ideal conditions for decomposition and organic substances conversion were ensured, with compost which was produced in an open box of community composting. The created composts were analysed to determine whether it is more important for the final compost to comply with the composting conditions or better sorting of raw materials needed for compost production. The results of the carried out experiments showed that quality of the resulting compost cannot be determined unequivocally.

Modern trends in increasing the quality of the steels intended for cutting and metal-working tools: I. Improvement of granule metallurgy processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyanchikov, L. N.

2008-12-01

The following new technological processes for producing fine gas-atomized powders of tool and high-speed steels with a low content of nonmetallic inclusions are considered: the process designed by Böhler Uddeholm Powder Technology (Austria) and processes involving a heated gas. In the former process, a metal is poured from a ladle with electroslag heating, and the atomizing unit consists of three injectors. A new process of producing tools from fine powders by three-dimensional printing, i.e., so-called 3D-printing, is described.

Algal treatment of wastewater generated during oil and gas production using hydraulic fracturing technology.

PubMed

Lutzu, Giovanni Antonio; Dunford, Nurhan Turgut

2017-12-19

Hydraulic fracturing technology is widely used for recovering natural gas and oil from tight oil and gas reserves. Large volumes of wastewater, flowback water, are produced during the fracturing process. This study examines algal treatment of flowback water. Thirteen microalgae strains consisting of cyanobacteria and green algae were examined. Wastewater quality before and after algae treatment, as well as volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash contents of the biomass grown in flowback water were examined. The experimental results demonstrated that microalgae can grow in flowback water. The chemical composition of the algal biomass produced in flowback water was strain specific. Over 65% total dissolved solids, 100% nitrate and over 95% boron reduction in flowback water could be achieved. Hence, algal treatment of flowback water can significantly reduce the adverse environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing technology and produce biomass that can be converted to bioproducts.

Liquid Metal Engineering by Application of Intensive Melt Shearing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Jayesh; Zuo, Yubo; Fan, Zhongyun

In all casting processes, liquid metal treatment is an essential step in order to produce high quality cast products. A new liquid metal treatment technology has been developed which comprises of a rotor/stator set-up that delivers high shear rate to the liquid melt. It generates macro-flow in a volume of melt for distributive mixing and intensive shearing for dispersive mixing. The high shear device exhibits significantly enhanced kinetics for phase transformations, uniform dispersion, distribution and size reduction of solid particles and gas bubbles, improved homogenisation of chemical composition and temperature fields and also forced wetting of usually difficult-to-wet solid particles in the liquid metal. Hence, it can benefit various casting processes to produce high quality cast products with refined microstructure and enhanced mechanical properties. Here, we report an overview on the application of the new high shear technology to the processing of light metal alloys.

Investigation of environmental indices from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greeley, R. S. (Principal Investigator); Riley, E. L.; Stryker, S.; Ward, E. A.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Land use, quality, and air quality trends are being deduced from both ERTS-1 MSS and computer compatible tapes. The data analysis plan and the preliminary data analysis phase were conducted in January 1973. Results from these two phases are: (1) Method of analysis has been selected and checked out. (2) Land use for two dates have been generated for one test site. (3) Water quality for one date has been produced partially. (4) Air quality for three has been produced and compared with ground truth. (5) One of the two DCP stations is in operation; the second station will be installed in March 1973. Land use classification exceeds pre-launch expectations. Water quality (turbidity) is not progressing as expected. Finally, mesoscale air quality results have shown correlation with NOAA/EPA turbidity network. If air quality correlations continue to show favorable results, a rapid means of global turbidity may be available from ERTS-1 MSS observations.

Fruit wastes fermentation for phenolic antioxidants production and their application in manufacture of edible coatings and films.

PubMed

Martinez-Avila, G C G; Aguilera, A F; Saucedo, S; Rojas, R; Rodriguez, R; Aguilar, C N

2014-01-01

Agro-industrial by-products are important sources of potent bioactive phenolic compounds. These compounds are of extreme relevance for food and pharmacological industries due to their great variety of biological activities. Fermentation represents an environmentally clean technology for production and extraction of these bioactive compounds, providing high quality and high activity extracts, which can be incorporated in foods using coatings/films wax-based in order to avoid alterations in their quality. In this document is presented an overview about importance and benefits of solid-state fermentation, pointing out this bioprocess as an alternative technology for use agro-industrial by-products as substrates to produce valuable secondary metabolites and their applications as food quality conservatives.

Impact of lysine and liquid smoke as flavor enhancers on the quality of low-fat Bologna-type sausages with 50% replacement of NaCl by KCl.

PubMed

Dos Santos Alves, Larissa Aparecida Agostinho; Lorenzo, José Manuel; Gonçalves, Carlos Antonio Alvarenga; Dos Santos, Bibiana Alves; Heck, Rosane Teresinha; Cichoski, Alexandre José; Campagnol, Paulo Cezar Bastianello

2017-01-01

Low-fat Bologna-type sausages were produced with 50% of NaCl replaced by KCl and with addition of lysine and/or liquid smoke as flavor enhancers. The influence of sodium reduction on technological, physicochemical, and microbiological properties was determined. In addition, the sensory properties were evaluated using a Check all that apply questionnaire (CATA) and a consumer study. The partial replacement of NaCl by KCl did not have negative impacts on physicochemical, technological, and microbiological properties. However, the addition of KCl affected the sensory acceptance, as consumers identified by CATA questionnaire a reduction in salty taste and an increase in bitter, astringent, and metallic taste. The isolated or combined addition of lysine and liquid smoke reduced the sensory quality defects caused by the addition of KCl. Therefore, high quality low-fat Bologna-type sausages with sodium reduction close to 50% can be produced by replacing 50% NaCl by KCl and with addition of 1% lysine and/or 0.1% liquid smoke. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of batch producible hot embossing 3D nanostructured surface-enhanced Raman scattering chip technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chu-Yu; Tsai, Ming-Shiuan

2017-09-01

The main purpose of this study is to develop a batch producible hot embossing 3D nanostructured surface-enhanced Raman chip technology for high sensitivity label-free plasticizer detection. This study utilizing the AAO self-assembled uniform nano-hemispherical array barrier layer as a template to create a durable nanostructured nickel mold. With the hot embossing technique and the durable nanostructured nickel mold, we are able to batch produce the 3D Nanostructured Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering Chip with consistent quality. In addition, because of our SERS chip can be fabricated by batch processing, the fabrication cost is low. Therefore, the developed method is very promising to be widespread and extensively used in rapid chemical and biomolecular detection applications.

Recent Developments in Film and Gas Research in Modified Atmosphere Packaging of Fresh Foods.

PubMed

Zhang, Min; Meng, Xiangyong; Bhandari, Bhesh; Fang, Zhongxiang

2016-10-02

Due to the rise of consumer's awareness of fresh foods to health, in the past few years, the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut produces has increased sturdily. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) possesses a potential to become one of the most appropriate technologies for packaging fresh and fresh-cut produces. The MAP has advantages of extending the shelf-life, preserving or stabilizing the desired properties of fresh produces, and convenience in handing and distribution. The success of MAP-fresh foods depends on many factors including types of fresh foods, storage temperature and humidity, gas composition, and the characteristics of package materials. This paper reviews the recent developments highlighting the most critical factors of film and gas on the quality of MAP fresh foods. Although the innovations and development of food packaging technology will continue to promote the development of novel MAP, concentrated research and endeavors from scientists and engineers are still important to the development of MAP that focuses on consumers' requirements, enhancing product quality, environmental friendly design, and cost-effective application.

Use of Natural Diversity and Biotechnology to Increase the Quality and Nutritional Content of Tomato and Grape

PubMed Central

Gascuel, Quentin; Diretto, Gianfranco; Monforte, Antonio J.; Fortes, Ana M.; Granell, Antonio

2017-01-01

Improving fruit quality has become a major goal in plant breeding. Direct approaches to tackling fruit quality traits specifically linked to consumer preferences and environmental friendliness, such as improved flavor, nutraceutical compounds, and sustainability, have slowly been added to a breeder priority list that already includes traits like productivity, efficiency, and, especially, pest and disease control. Breeders already use molecular genetic tools to improve fruit quality although most advances have been made in producer and industrial quality standards. Furthermore, progress has largely been limited to simple agronomic traits easy-to-observe, whereas the vast majority of quality attributes, specifically those relating to flavor and nutrition, are complex and have mostly been neglected. Fortunately, wild germplasm, which is used for resistance against/tolerance of environmental stresses (including pathogens), is still available and harbors significant genetic variation for taste and health-promoting traits. Similarly, heirloom/traditional varieties could be used to identify which genes contribute to flavor and health quality and, at the same time, serve as a good source of the best alleles for organoleptic quality improvement. Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) produce fleshy, berry-type fruits, among the most consumed in the world. Both have undergone important domestication and selection processes, that have dramatically reduced their genetic variability, and strongly standardized fruit traits. Moreover, more and more consumers are asking for sustainable production, incompatible with the wide range of chemical inputs. In the present paper, we review the genetic resources available to tomato/grape breeders, and the recent technological progresses that facilitate the identification of genes/alleles of interest within the natural or generated variability gene pool. These technologies include omics, high-throughput phenotyping/phenomics, and biotech approaches. Our review also covers a range of technologies used to transfer to tomato and grape those alleles considered of interest for fruit quality. These include traditional breeding, TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes), genetic engineering, or NPBT (New Plant Breeding Technologies). Altogether, the combined exploitation of genetic variability and innovative biotechnological tools may facilitate breeders to improve fruit quality tacking more into account the consumer standards and the needs to move forward into more sustainable farming practices. PMID:28553296

Innovations in projecting emissions for air quality modeling ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Air quality modeling is used in setting air quality standards and in evaluating their costs and benefits. Historically, modeling applications have projected emissions and the resulting air quality only 5 to 10 years into the future. Recognition that the choice of air quality management strategy has climate change implications is encouraging longer modeling time horizons. However, for multi-decadal time horizons, many questions about future conditions arise. For example, will current population, economic, and land use trends continue, or will we see shifts that may alter the spatial and temporal pattern of emissions? Similarly, will technologies such as building-integrated solar photovoltaics, battery storage, electric vehicles, and CO2 capture emerge as disruptive technologies - shifting how we produce and use energy - or will these technologies achieve only niche markets and have little impact? These are some of the questions that are being evaluated by researchers within the U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development. In this presentation, Dr. Loughlin will describe a range of analytical approaches that are being explored. These include: (i) the development of alternative scenarios of the future that can be used to evaluate candidate management strategies over wide-ranging conditions, (ii) the application of energy system models to project emissions decades into the future and to assess the environmental implications of new technologies, (iii) and methodo

Urban Ecology for Secondary Schools, Unit I - Technology and Environmental Pollution, Parts 1 and 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Bureau of Curriculum Development.

Materials for a course on Urban Ecology are developed in these two documents which represent the first unit - Technology and Environmental Pollution. The entire course consists of seven units dealing with the many aspects of our way of life that produce an effect on, and in turn affected by, the quality of our physical environment. Unit I treats…

The Application of Perfluorocarbons as Impregnants for Plastic Film Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mauldin, G. H.

1981-01-01

A liquid impregnated, plastic film (wet) capacitor was developed that is thought to be the most reliable and space efficient capacitor of any type ever produced for high voltage, pulse discharge service. The initial design stores five times the energy of a premium quality dry capacitor of equivalent energy and reliability. The technology, as well as a production capacitor design using this technology are described.

High-resolution geological mapping at 3D Environments: A case study from the fold-and-thrust belt in northern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Y. C.; Shih, N. C.; Hsieh, Y. C.

2016-12-01

Geologic maps have provided fundamental information for many scientific and engineering applications in human societies. Geologic maps directly influence the reliability of research results or the robustness of engineering projects. In the past, geologic maps were mainly produced by field geologists through direct field investigations and 2D topographic maps. However, the quality of traditional geologic maps was significantly compromised by field conditions, particularly, when the map area is covered by heavy forest canopies. Recent developments in airborne LiDAR technology may virtually remove trees or buildings, thus, providing a useful data set for improving geological mapping. Because high-quality topographic information still needs to be interpreted in terms of geology, there are many fundamental questions regarding how to best apply the data set for high-resolution geological mapping. In this study, we aim to test the quality and reliability of high-resolution geologic maps produced by recent technological methods through an example from the fold-and-thrust belt in northern Taiwan. We performed the geological mapping by applying the LiDAR-derived DEM, self-developed program tools and many layers of relevant information at interactive 3D environments. Our mapping results indicate that the proposed methods will considerably improve the quality and consistency of the geologic maps. The study also shows that in order to gain consistent mapping results, future high-resolution geologic maps should be produced at interactive 3D environments on the basis of existing geologic maps.

Rapid Prototyping Technologies for Manufacturing and Maintenance Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfeifer, Marcel Rolf

2017-12-01

The paper deals with the direct application of Rapid Prototyping technologies for parts and spare parts production in production companies and the economic effect by making use of this technology. Traditional production technologies are technologies such as forging, cutting, machining, etc. These technologies are widely accepted and the teething troubles are solved. Rapid Prototyping technologies such as 3D printing on the other hand came into the focus in the recent years when the technologies and the produced quality gradually advanced. Providing flexibility and time efficiency the technology should also have a practical application in production. This paper has the aim to provide a case-study based on existing cost figures to show that these technologies are not limited to prototype developments.

Quality monitoring of salt produced in Indonesia through seawater evaporation on HDPE geomembrane lined ponds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jumaeri; Sulistyaningsih, T.; Alighiri, D.

2018-03-01

Salt is one of the primary ingredients that humans always need for various purposes, both for consumption and industry. The need for high-quality salt continues to increase, as long as industry growth. It must improve product quality through the development of salt production process technology. In this research, the quality monitoring of salt produced in Indonesia by evaporation of seawater on ponds lined using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane has been studied. The manufacturing of salt carried out through the gradual precipitation principle on prepared ponds. HDPE geomembrane is used to coat evaporation ponds with viscosity 12-22°Be and crystallization ponds with a viscosity of 23°Be. The monitoring of the product is carried out in the particular periods during the salt production period. The result of control shows that the quality of salt produced in HDPE geomembrane coated salt ponds has an average NaCl content of 95.75%, so it has fulfilled with Indonesia National Standard (SNI), that is NaCl> 94.70%. The production of salt with HDPE geomembrane can improve the quality of salt product from NaCl 85.4% (conventional system) to 95.75%.

Pros and cons of marketing technology.

PubMed

MacStravic, R S

1988-10-01

For years, high technologies have provided hospitals with marketing advantages. Hospitals used them to recruit and keep physicians and to lure patients and purchasers. Having the latest technology in a given field provided hospitals with status and prestige and enabled smaller facilities to compete with major medical centers. From a marketing point of view, technologies can produce four distinct effects that benefit the hospital: halo, monopoly, opportunity, and momentum effects. The best technology, from a competitive marketing viewpoint, meets the following criteria: The hospital can operate it at acceptable and, hopefully, competitive quality levels. The hospital can offer it at acceptable and, hopefully, competitive cost. It is sufficiently accessible to patients who need it. It gives the hospital a distinct competence in its market that can be preserved for a long time. But technology can become a risky business if: The hospital cannot attract the volume of patients needed to maintain quality. The low-volume hospital prices itself out of the competitive market. The new technology has undisclosed or undiscovered side effects. The technology is recruited by a competitor. Hospitals place more value on it than do their customers.

Effect of Power Ultrasound on Food Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hyoungill; Feng, Hao

Recent food processing technology innovations have been centered around producing foods with fresh-like attributes through minimal processing or nonthermal processing technologies. Instead of using thermal energy to secure food safety that is often accompanied by quality degradation in processed foods, the newly developed processing modalities utilize other types of physical energy such as high pressure, pulsed electric field or magnetic field, ultraviolet light, or acoustic energy to process foods. An improvement in food quality by the new processing methods has been widely reported. In comparison with its low-energy (high-frequency) counterpart which finds applications in food quality inspection, the use of high-intensity ultrasound, also called power ultrasound, in food processing is a relatively new endeavor. To understand the effect of high-intensity ultrasound treatment on food quality, it is important to understand the interactions between acoustic energy and food ingredients, which is covered in Chapter 10. In this chapter, the focus will be on changes in overall food quality attributes that are caused by ultrasound, such as texture, color, flavor, and nutrients.

Modernized Techniques for Dealing with Quality Data and Derived Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neiswender, C.; Miller, S. P.; Clark, D.

2008-12-01

"I just want a picture of the ocean floor in this area" is expressed all too often by researchers, educators, and students in the marine geosciences. As more sophisticated systems are developed to handle data collection and processing, the demand for quality data, and standardized products continues to grow. Data management is an invisible bridge between science and researchers/educators. The SIOExplorer digital library presents more than 50 years of ocean-going research. Prior to publication, all data is checked for quality using standardized criterion developed for each data stream. Despite the evolution of data formats and processing systems, SIOExplorer continues to present derived products in well- established formats. Standardized products are published for each cruise, and include a cruise report, MGD77 merged data, multi-beam flipbook, and underway profiles. Creation of these products is made possible by processing scripts, which continue to change with ever-evolving data formats. We continue to explore the potential of database-enabled creation of standardized products, such as the metadata-rich MGD77 header file. Database-enabled, automated processing produces standards-compliant metadata for each data and derived product. Metadata facilitates discovery and interpretation of published products. This descriptive information is stored both in an ASCII file, and a searchable digital library database. SIOExplorer's underlying technology allows focused search and retrieval of data and products. For example, users can initiate a search of only multi-beam data, which includes data-specific parameters. This customization is made possible with a synthesis of database, XML, and PHP technology. The combination of standardized products and digital library technology puts quality data and derived products in the hands of scientists. Interoperable systems enable distribution these published resources using technology such as web services. By developing modernized strategies to deal with data, Scripps Institution of Oceanography is able to produce and distribute well-formed, and quality-tested derived products, which aid research, understanding, and education.

Technology and Participation in Japanese Factories: The Consequences for Morale and Productivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hull, Frank; Azumi, Koya

1988-01-01

By fully using their human resources, Japanese factories mass produce goods of low cost and high quality. Participation in Japanese factories occurs in a more hierarchical framework than advocated in the Western model of worker democracy. (JOW)

Consolidation quality and mechanical performance of stamp formed tailored blanks produced by rapid AFP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slange, T. K.; Warnet, L. L.; Grouve, W. J. B.; Akkerman, R.

2018-05-01

Stamp forming is a rapid manufacturing technology used to shape flat blanks of thermoplastic composite material into three-dimensional components. The combination with rapid AFP as blank manufacturing technology can further extend the applicability of stamp forming by allowing rapid lay-up of tailored blanks and offering partial preconsolidation. In an experimental study it is demonstrated that high quality laminates with good flexural strength can be obtained by following this process route. The consolidation of ply-drop regions is demonstrated by flat laminates with a thickness step. The influence of fiber orientations, blank-tooling misalignments and AFP tolerances is investigated.

Overview and Summary of Advanced UVOIR Mirror Technology Development (AMTD) Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahl, H. Philip

2014-01-01

ASTRO2010 Decadal Survey stated that an advanced large-aperture ultraviolet, optical, near-infrared (UVOIR) telescope is required to enable the next generation of compelling astrophysics and exoplanet science; and, that present technology is not mature enough to affordably build and launch any potential UVOIR mission concept. AMTD is a multiyear effort to develop, demonstrate and mature critical technologies to TRL-6 by 2018 so that a viable flight mission can be proposed to the 2020 Decadal Review. AMTD builds on the state of art (SOA) defined by over 30 years of monolithic & segmented ground & space-telescope mirror technology to mature six key technologies: center dotLarge-Aperture, Low Areal Density, High Stiffness Mirror Substrates: Both (4 to 8 m) monolithic and (8 to 16 m) segmented telescopes require larger and stiffer mirrors. center dotSupport System: Large-aperture mirrors require large support systems to ensure that they survive launch, deploy on orbit, and maintain a stable, undistorted shape. center dotMid/High Spatial Frequency Figure Error: Very smooth mirror is critical for producing high-quality point spread function (PSF) for high contrast imaging. center dotSegment Edges: The quality of segment edges impacts PSF for high-contrast imaging applications, contributes to stray light noise, and affects total collecting aperture. center dotSegment to Segment Gap Phasing: Segment phasing is critical for producing high-quality temporally-stable PSF. center dotIntegrated Model Validation: On-orbit performance is driven by mechanical & thermal stability. Compliance cannot be 100% tested, but relies on modeling. Because we cannot predict the future, AMTD is pursuing multiple design paths to provide the science community with options to enable either large aperture monolithic or segmented mirrors with clear engineering metrics traceable to science requirements

Advanced UVOIR Mirror Technology Development (AMTD) for Very Large Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Postman, Marc; Soummer, Remi; Sivramakrishnan, Annand; Macintosh, Bruce; Guyon, Olivier; Krist, John; Stahl, H. Philip; Smith, W. Scott; Mosier, Gary; Kirk, Charles;

Integrated synoptic surveys using an autonomous underwater vehicle and manned boats

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jackson, P. Ryan

2013-01-01

Traditional surface-water surveys are being combined with autonomous technology to produce integrated surveys of bathymetry, water quality, and velocity in inland lakes and reservoirs. This new technology provides valuable, high-resolution, integrated data that allow a systems-based approach to understanding common environmental problems. This fact sheet presents several example applications of integrated surveys within inland lakes and coastal Lake Michigan and Lake Erie.

Impact of air pollution control costs on the cost and spatial arrangement of cellulosic biofuel production in the U.S.

PubMed

Murphy, Colin W; Parker, Nathan C

2014-02-18

Air pollution emissions regulation can affect the location, size, and technology choice of potential biofuel production facilities. Difficulty in obtaining air pollutant emission permits and the cost of air pollution control devices have been cited by some fuel producers as barriers to development. This paper expands on the Geospatial Bioenergy Systems Model (GBSM) to evaluate the effect of air pollution control costs on the availability, cost, and distribution of U.S. biofuel production by subjecting potential facility locations within U.S. Clean Air Act nonattainment areas, which exceed thresholds for healthy air quality, to additional costs. This paper compares three scenarios: one with air quality costs included, one without air quality costs, and one in which conversion facilities were prohibited in Clean Air Act nonattainment areas. While air quality regulation may substantially affect local decisions regarding siting or technology choices, their effect on the system as a whole is small. Most biofuel facilities are expected to be sited near to feedstock supplies, which are seldom in nonattainment areas. The average cost per unit of produced energy is less than 1% higher in the scenarios with air quality compliance costs than in scenarios without such costs. When facility construction is prohibited in nonattainment areas, the costs increase by slightly over 1%, due to increases in the distance feedstock is transported to facilities in attainment areas.

ReQON: a Bioconductor package for recalibrating quality scores from next-generation sequencing data

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Next-generation sequencing technologies have become important tools for genome-wide studies. However, the quality scores that are assigned to each base have been shown to be inaccurate. If the quality scores are used in downstream analyses, these inaccuracies can have a significant impact on the results. Results Here we present ReQON, a tool that recalibrates the base quality scores from an input BAM file of aligned sequencing data using logistic regression. ReQON also generates diagnostic plots showing the effectiveness of the recalibration. We show that ReQON produces quality scores that are both more accurate, in the sense that they more closely correspond to the probability of a sequencing error, and do a better job of discriminating between sequencing errors and non-errors than the original quality scores. We also compare ReQON to other available recalibration tools and show that ReQON is less biased and performs favorably in terms of quality score accuracy. Conclusion ReQON is an open source software package, written in R and available through Bioconductor, for recalibrating base quality scores for next-generation sequencing data. ReQON produces a new BAM file with more accurate quality scores, which can improve the results of downstream analysis, and produces several diagnostic plots showing the effectiveness of the recalibration. PMID:22946927

Adoption of high technology medical imaging and hospital quality and efficiency: Towards a conceptual framework.

PubMed

Sandoval, Guillermo A; Brown, Adalsteinn D; Wodchis, Walter P; Anderson, Geoffrey M

2018-05-17

Measuring the value of medical imaging is challenging, in part, due to the lack of conceptual frameworks underlying potential mechanisms where value may be assessed. To address this gap, this article proposes a framework that builds on the large body of literature on quality of hospital care and the classic structure-process-outcome paradigm. The framework was also informed by the literature on adoption of technological innovations and introduces 2 distinct though related aspects of imaging technology not previously addressed specifically in the literature on quality of hospital care: adoption (a structural hospital characteristic) and use (an attribute of the process of care). The framework hypothesizes a 2-part causality where adoption is proposed to be a central, linking factor between hospital structural characteristics, market factors, and hospital outcomes (ie, quality and efficiency). The first part indicates that hospital structural characteristics and market factors influence or facilitate the adoption of high technology medical imaging within an institution. The presence of this technology, in turn, is hypothesized to improve the ability of the hospital to deliver high quality and efficient care. The second part describes this ability throughout 3 main mechanisms pointing to the importance of imaging use on patients, to the presence of staff and qualified care providers, and to some elements of organizational capacity capturing an enhanced clinical environment. The framework has the potential to assist empirical investigations of the value of adoption and use of medical imaging, and to advance understanding of the mechanisms that produce quality and efficiency in hospitals. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

QCL seeded, ns-pulse, multi-line, CO2 laser oscillator for laser-produced-plasma extreme-UV source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowak, Krzysztof Michał; Suganuma, Takashi; Kurosawa, Yoshiaki; Ohta, Takeshi; Kawasuji, Yasufumi; Nakarai, Hiroaki; Saitou, Takashi; Fujimoto, Junichi; Mizoguchi, Hakaru; Sumitani, Akira; Endo, Akira

2017-01-01

Successful merger of state-of-the-art, semiconductor quantum-cascade lasers (QCL), with the mature CO2 laser technology, resulted in a delivery of highly-desired qualities of CO2 laser output that were not available previously without much effort. These qualities, such as multi-line operation, excellent spectro-temporal stability and pulse waveform control, became available from a single device of moderate complexity. This paper describes the operation principle and the unique properties of the solid{state seeded CO2 laser, invented for an application in laser-produced-plasma (LPP), extreme-UV (EUV) light source.

Data Quality Assurance for Supersonic Jet Noise Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Clifford A.; Henderson, Brenda S.; Bridges, James E.

2010-01-01

The noise created by a supersonic aircraft is a primary concern in the design of future high-speed planes. The jet noise reduction technologies required on these aircraft will be developed using scale-models mounted to experimental jet rigs designed to simulate the exhaust gases from a full-scale jet engine. The jet noise data collected in these experiments must accurately predict the noise levels produced by the full-scale hardware in order to be a useful development tool. A methodology has been adopted at the NASA Glenn Research Center s Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory to insure the quality of the supersonic jet noise data acquired from the facility s High Flow Jet Exit Rig so that it can be used to develop future nozzle technologies that reduce supersonic jet noise. The methodology relies on mitigating extraneous noise sources, examining the impact of measurement location on the acoustic results, and investigating the facility independence of the measurements. The methodology is documented here as a basis for validating future improvements and its limitations are noted so that they do not affect the data analysis. Maintaining a high quality jet noise laboratory is an ongoing process. By carefully examining the data produced and continually following this methodology, data quality can be maintained and improved over time.

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum)pyrolysis and analysis by PY-GC/MS

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Economic and sustainable biofuel production requires high process efficiency. The choice of biomass and the conversion technology employed to produce renewable fuels determines the product yields, fuel quality and consequently the process efficiency. Guayule, a perennial shrub native to the southwes...

High-throughput assay for optimising microbial biological control agent production and delivery

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Lack of technologies to produce and deliver effective biological control agents (BCAs) is a major barrier to their commercialization. A myriad of variables associated with BCA cultivation, formulation, drying, storage, and reconstitution processes complicates agent quality maximization. An efficie...

Reduced cost and improved figure of sapphire optical components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walters, Mark; Bartlett, Kevin; Brophy, Matthew R.; DeGroote Nelson, Jessica; Medicus, Kate

2015-10-01

Sapphire presents many challenges to optical manufacturers due to its high hardness and anisotropic properties. Long lead times and high prices are the typical result of such challenges. The cost of even a simple 'grind and shine' process can be prohibitive. The high precision surfaces required by optical sensor applications further exacerbate the challenge of processing sapphire thereby increasing cost further. Optimax has demonstrated a production process for such windows that delivers over 50% time reduction as compared to traditional manufacturing processes for sapphire, while producing windows with less than 1/5 wave rms figure error. Optimax's sapphire production process achieves significant improvement in cost by implementation of a controlled grinding process to present the best possible surface to the polishing equipment. Following the grinding process is a polishing process taking advantage of chemical interactions between slurry and substrate to deliver excellent removal rates and surface finish. Through experiments, the mechanics of the polishing process were also optimized to produce excellent optical figure. In addition to reducing the cost of producing large sapphire sensor windows, the grinding and polishing technology Optimax has developed aids in producing spherical sapphire components to better figure quality. In addition to reducing the cost of producing large sapphire sensor windows, the grinding and polishing technology Optimax has developed aids in producing spherical sapphire components to better figure quality. Through specially developed polishing slurries, the peak-to-valley figure error of spherical sapphire parts is reduced by over 80%.

Results from a first production of enhanced Silicon Sensor Test Structures produced by ITE Warsaw

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergauer, T.; Dragicevic, M.; Frey, M.; Grabiec, P.; Grodner, M.; Hänsel, S.; Hartmann, F.; Hoffmann, K.-H.; Hrubec, J.; Krammer, M.; Kucharski, K.; Macchiolo, A.; Marczewski, J.

2009-01-01

Monitoring the manufacturing process of silicon sensors is essential to ensure stable quality of the produced detectors. During the CMS silicon sensor production we were utilising small Test Structures (TS) incorporated on the cut-away of the wafers to measure certain process-relevant parameters. Experience from the CMS production and quality assurance led to enhancements of these TS. Another important application of TS is the commissioning of new vendors. The measurements provide us with a good understanding of the capabilities of a vendor's process. A first batch of the new TS was produced at the Institute of Electron Technology in Warsaw Poland. We will first review the improvements to the original CMS test structures and then discuss a selection of important measurements performed on this first batch.

Use of indigenous technology for the production of high quality cassava flour with similar food qualities as wheat flour.

PubMed

Eleazu, Ogbonnaya Chinedum; Eleazu, Kate Chinedum; Kolawole, Segun

2014-01-01

The aim of the paper was to compare the food qualities of 2 varieties (SME 1 and 2) of high quality cassava flour (HQCF) produced from indigenous technology and that of some commercially sold wheat/HQCF samples. The pH, proximate, phytochemical, antioxidant, functional properties and starch yield of the flours were carried out using standard techniques. The wheat flours had higher bulk densities and lipids than the HQCF samples while the oil absorption capacity of the HQCF (SME 2) was higher than other fl our samples investigated. The antioxidant assays of the flours showed that they contained considerable levels of antioxidants with the HQCF sample from DAT having higher antioxidants than other flour samples studied. The HQCF (SME 1) had significantly higher (P < 0.05) starch content among the flour samples. The bacteria counts of the HQCF samples ranged from 0 to 1.4 × 10(4) cfu/ml while the fungal count ranged from 0 to 2 × 10(-3) with the unbranded wheat fl our having the highest microbial load compared with other flour samples studied. The use of this indigenous technology produces HQCF with lower lipids, microbial contamination but higher flavour retaining ability, flavonoids and starch contents than wheat flour. The significant positive correlation (R2 = 0.872) between reducing power of the samples and their DPPH antioxidant activity indicate that either could be used to assay for the total antioxidant activity of cassava and wheat flour. The study underscores the need to buy flour from branded companies to reduce the risks of microbial contamination.

Effective Processing of the Iron Ores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuskov, Vadim; Kuskova, Yana; Udovitsky, Vladimir

2017-11-01

Effective technology for a complex wasteless processing of the iron ores has been designed and includes three main components (plats): comminution plant, briquette plant, pigment plant. The comminution is done per energy effective technology. Using of briquetting for ores clotting enables the costs cut and brings to a higher level of environmental safety of the process. Briquette formation can be done as a regular pressing, as an extrusion. Developed technology allows to produce high quality competitively products for metallurgy industry and red iron oxide pigments. The whole production line impacts the environment in a minimal manner.

Technologies and Methods Used at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) to Serve Solar Irradiance Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pankratz, Chris; Beland, Stephane; Craft, James; Baltzer, Thomas; Wilson, Anne; Lindholm, Doug; Snow, Martin; Woods, Thomas; Woodraska, Don

2018-01-01

The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA operates the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) NASA mission, as well as several other NASA spacecraft and instruments. Dozens of Solar Irradiance data sets are produced, managed, and disseminated to the science community. Data are made freely available to the scientific immediately after they are produced using a variety of data access interfaces, including the LASP Interactive Solar Irradiance Datacenter (LISIRD), which provides centralized access to a variety of solar irradiance data sets using both interactive and scriptable/programmatic methods. This poster highlights the key technological elements used for the NASA SORCE mission ground system to produce, manage, and disseminate data to the scientific community and facilitate long-term data stewardship. The poster presentation will convey designs, technological elements, practices and procedures, and software management processes used for SORCE and their relationship to data quality and data management standards, interoperability, NASA data policy, and community expectations.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McHugh, K. M.; Key, J. F.

1994-06-01

Spray forming is a near- net- shape fabrication technology in which a spray of finely atomized liquid droplets is deposited onto a suitably shaped substrate or pattern to produce a coherent solid. The technology offers unique opportunities for simplifying materials processing, often while substantially improving product quality. Spray forming is applicable to a wide range of metals and nonmetals and offers property improvements resulting from rapid solidification (e.g., refined microstructures, extended solid solubilities, and reduced segregation). Economic benefits result from process simplification and the elimination of unit operations. Researchers at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) are developing spray forming technology for producing near- net- shape solids and coatings of a variety of metals, polymers, and composite materials using de Laval nozzles. This article briefly describes the atomization behavior of liquid metals in linear de Laval nozzles and illustrates the versatility of the process by summarizing results from two spray forming programs. In one program, low-carbon steel strip >0.75 mm thick was produced; in the other, polymer membranes ˜5 μm thick were spray formed.

QSRA: a quality-value guided de novo short read assembler.

PubMed

Bryant, Douglas W; Wong, Weng-Keen; Mockler, Todd C

2009-02-24

New rapid high-throughput sequencing technologies have sparked the creation of a new class of assembler. Since all high-throughput sequencing platforms incorporate errors in their output, short-read assemblers must be designed to account for this error while utilizing all available data. We have designed and implemented an assembler, Quality-value guided Short Read Assembler, created to take advantage of quality-value scores as a further method of dealing with error. Compared to previous published algorithms, our assembler shows significant improvements not only in speed but also in output quality. QSRA generally produced the highest genomic coverage, while being faster than VCAKE. QSRA is extremely competitive in its longest contig and N50/N80 contig lengths, producing results of similar quality to those of EDENA and VELVET. QSRA provides a step closer to the goal of de novo assembly of complex genomes, improving upon the original VCAKE algorithm by not only drastically reducing runtimes but also increasing the viability of the assembly algorithm through further error handling capabilities.

Exploring Fusarium head blight disease control by RNA interference

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

RNA interference (RNAi) technology provides a novel tool to study gene function and plant protection strategies. Fusarium graminearum is the causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB), which reduces crop yield and quality by producing trichothecene mycotoxins including 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol (3-ADO...

The State of Sensor Technology and Air Quality Monitoring

EPA Science Inventory

Produces data of known value and highly reliableStationary- cannot be easily relocatedInstruments are often large and require a building to support their operationExpensive to purchase and operate (typically > $20K each)Requires frequent visits by highly trained staff to check on...

The demise of plastic encapsulated microcircuit myths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakim, E. B.; Agarwal, R. K.; Pecht, M.

1994-10-01

Production of microelectronic devices encapsulated in solid, molded plastic packages has rapidly increased since the early 1980's. Today, millions of plastic-encapsulated devices are produced daily. On the other hand, only a few million hermetic (cavity) packages are produced per year. Reasons for the increased use of plastic-encapsulated packages include cost, availability, size, weight, quality, and reliability. Markets taking advantage of this technology range from computers and telecommunications to automotive uses. Yet, several industries, the military in particular, will not accept such devices. One reason for this reluctance to use the best available commercial parts is a perceived risk of poor reliability, derived from antiquated military specifications, standards, and handbooks; other common justifications cite differing environments; inadequate screens; inadequate test data, and required government audits of suppliers' processes. This paper describes failure mechanisms associated with plastic encapsulation and their elimination. It provides data indicating the relative reliability of cavity and solid-encapsulated packaging, and presents possible approaches to assuring quality and reliability in the procuring and applying this successful commercial technology.

Clothing creator trademark : Business plan

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

Stern, B.

SYMAGERY has developed a patented process to manufacture clothing without direct human labor. This CLOTHING CREATOR{trademark}, will have the ability to produce two (2) perfect garments every 45 seconds or one (1) every 30 seconds. The process will combine Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) technology with heat molding and ultrasonic bonding/cutting techniques. This system for garment production, will have the capacity to produce garments of higher quality and at lower productions costs than convention cut and sew methods. ADVANTAGES of the process include: greatly reduced production costs; increased quality of garments; reduction in lead time; and capacity to make new classmore » of garments. This technology will accommodate a variety of knit, woven and nonwoven materials containing a majority of synthetic fibers. Among the many style of garments that could be manufactured by this process are: work clothing, career apparel, athletic garments, medical disposables, health care products, activewear, haz/mat garments, military clothing, cleanroom clothing, outdoor wear, upholstery, and highly contoured stuffed toy shells. 3 refs.« less

A 100-Year Review: The production of fluid (market) milk.

PubMed

Barbano, David M

2017-12-01

During the first 100 years of the Journal of Dairy Science, dairy foods and dairy production dairy scientists have partnered to publish new data and research results that have fostered the development of new knowledge. This knowledge has been the underpinning of both the commercial development of the fluid milk processing industry and regulations and marketing policies for the benefit of dairy farmers, processors, and consumers. During the first 50 years, most of the focus was on producing and delivering high-quality raw milk to factories and improving the shelf life of pasteurized fluid milk. During the second 50 years, raw milk quality was further improved through the use of milk quality payment incentives. Due to changing demographics and lifestyle, whole fluid milk consumption declined and processing technologies were developed to increase the range of fluid milk products (skim and low-fat milks, flavored milks, lactose-reduced milk, long-shelf-life milks, and milks with higher protein and calcium contents) offered to the consumer. In addition, technology to produce specialty high-protein sports beverages was developed, which expanded the milk-based beverage offerings to the consumer. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Yellow sweet potato flour: use in sweet bread processing to increase β-carotene content and improve quality.

PubMed

Nogueira, Amanda C; Sehn, Georgia A R; Rebellato, Ana Paula; Coutinho, Janclei P; Godoy, Helena T; Chang, Yoon K; Steel, Caroline J; Clerici, Maria Teresa P S

2018-01-01

Yellow sweet potato is mostly produced by small farmers, and may be a source of energy and carotenoids in the human diet, but it is a highly perishable crop. To increase its industrial application, yellow sweet potato flour has been produced for use in bakery products. This study aimed to evaluate the technological quality and the carotenoids content in sweet breads produced with the replacement of wheat flour by 0, 3, 6, and 9% yellow sweet potato flour. Breads were characterized by technological parameters and β-carotene levels during nine days of storage. Tukey's test (p<0.05) was used for comparison between means. The increase in yellow sweet potato flour concentrations in bread led to a decrease of specific volume and firmness, and an increase in water activity, moisture, orange coloring, and carotenoids. During storage, the most significant changes were observed after the fifth day, with a decrease in intensity of the orange color. The β-carotene content was 0.1656 to 0.4715 µg/g in breads with yellow sweet potato flour. This work showed a novel use of yellow sweet potato in breads, which brings benefits to consumers' health and for the agricultural business.

USGS QA Plan: Certification of digital airborne mapping products

USGS Publications Warehouse

Christopherson, J.

2007-01-01

To facilitate acceptance of new digital technologies in aerial imaging and mapping, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners have launched a Quality Assurance (QA) Plan for Digital Aerial Imagery. This should provide a foundation for the quality of digital aerial imagery and products. It introduces broader considerations regarding processes employed by aerial flyers in collecting, processing and delivering data, and provides training and information for US producers and users alike.

Impacts of reproductive technologies on beef production in the United States.

PubMed

Dahlen, Carl; Larson, Jamie; Lamb, G Cliff

2014-01-01

Estimations of world population growth indicate that by the year 2050 we will reach nine billion habitants on earth. These estimates impose a tremendous challenge in the current agricultural systems as food supply will need to increase by 100 % in the next 40 years (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2009). Beef will be a primary protein source that will assist in meeting the requirements for a portion of the protein in diets of this expanding global populace. Beef is a high-quality protein that contains all essential amino acids for the human body and also contains additional essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, B vitamins, riboflavin, selenium, choline, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Adopting reproductive technologies at greater rates than currently used is a viable method to dramatically enhance production efficiency of beef cattle enterprises.Artificial insemination (AI), estrous synchronization and fixed-time AI (TAI), semen and embryo cryopreservation, multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET), in vitro fertilization, sex determination of sperm or embryos, and nuclear transfer are technologies that are used to enhance the production efficiency of beef operations. In many cases, the development of these technologies is responsible for significant changes to traditional livestock production practices. However, adoption of these technologies appears to has not grown at the same rate in the United States as other formidable beef producing nations. For example, sales of beef semen for AI increased from 3.3 to 11.9 million units between 1993 and 2011 in Brazil, whereas that in the United States has increased from 2.9 to 3.8 million units during the same period. The significant increases in adoption of reproductive technologies in developing countries is likely as a result of the development of practical estrous synchronization and TAI systems that have allowed beef producers the opportunity to eliminate detection of estrus in their AI programs with a high degree of success. In the United States, slow adoption rates of these technologies may result in a future loss of international market share of beef products as other nations take advantage not only of the additional kilogram of beef that can be produced but also the improved quality of beef that can be realized through incorporation of reproductive technologies and resultant genetic improvement. However, current difficulties the US producers have with the incorporation of applied reproductive technologies, such as TAI, MOET, and sex semen, must not be the reason to overlook and incorporate more traditional reproductive technologies such as castration, breeding season management, or weaning. In many cases, beef producers in the United States fail to incorporate these more traditional technologies, which results in a reduction in production efficiency of the US beef industry. This chapter will focus on both traditional and more developed reproductive technologies that will play a role in enhancing future production efficiencies of the US beef cattle production system.

One chromosome, one contig: complete microbial genomes from long-read sequencing and assembly.

PubMed

Koren, Sergey; Phillippy, Adam M

2015-02-01

Like a jigsaw puzzle with large pieces, a genome sequenced with long reads is easier to assemble. However, recent sequencing technologies have favored lowering per-base cost at the expense of read length. This has dramatically reduced sequencing cost, but resulted in fragmented assemblies, which negatively affect downstream analyses and hinder the creation of finished (gapless, high-quality) genomes. In contrast, emerging long-read sequencing technologies can now produce reads tens of kilobases in length, enabling the automated finishing of microbial genomes for under $1000. This promises to improve the quality of reference databases and facilitate new studies of chromosomal structure and variation. We present an overview of these new technologies and the methods used to assemble long reads into complete genomes. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

China's rise as a major contributor to science and technology.

PubMed

Xie, Yu; Zhang, Chunni; Lai, Qing

2014-07-01

In the past three decades, China has become a major contributor to science and technology. China now employs an increasingly large labor force of scientists and engineers at relatively high earnings and produces more science and engineering degrees than the United States at all levels, particularly bachelor's. China's research and development expenditure has been rising. Research output in China has been sharply increasing since 2002, making China the second largest producer of scientific papers after the United States. The quality of research by Chinese scientists has also been improving steadily. However, China's rise in science also faces serious difficulties, partly attributable to its rigid, top-down administrative system, with allegations of scientific misconduct trending upward.

Concept and design of the 2.0-m NGAT: the new generation of astronomical telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansfield, Anthony G.

1998-08-01

The Royal Greenwich Observatory and Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, have joined in a collaboration to produce high quality, ground based robotic telescopes (2.0 to 5.0 m), for use with optical, infrared and interferometric astronomy. This venture has taken the form of a commercial company, Telescope Technologies Limited, to produce the range of Alt-azimuth telescopes. The reliability of the low cost, advanced technology, telescope design will enable remote observing over the Internet. The first two telescopes, currently under production, will see first light in La Palma and India in 1999. This paper covers the concept, design and capability range of the NGAT telescopes.

Quality Management Builds Solid eTraining

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Echard, Rachel D.; Berge, Zane L.

2008-01-01

History has shown effective training techniques can produce significant business results especially in customer service, product development, and capability in obtaining new skill sets. This linkage of training to business strategy has given many businesses the needed competitive edge in today's global market. In today's technology age,…

Using Digital Videos to Enhance Teacher Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dymond, Stacy K.; Bentz, Johnell L.

2006-01-01

The technology to produce high quality, digital videos is widely available, yet its use in teacher preparation remains largely overlooked. A digital video library was created to augment instruction in a special education methods course for preservice elementary education teachers. The videos illustrated effective strategies for working with…

Online information system for data collection of cattle quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugiharti, E.; Arifudin, R.; Putra, A. T.

2018-03-01

Innovation and development of the science and technology which proclaimed by the government through Ristekdikti need to be supported. On the other hand, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries began introducing the Cattle Card system that contains the identity of each farm animal. Therefore, UNNES especially the Department of Computer Science of FMIPA UNNES, need to give positive contribution in the field of Science and Technology to support the manual system of Cattle Card, through the preparation of prototype of the online information system of data collection of cattle in Semarang regency. The main problem is how to monitor the data of cattle quality through online information system in Semarang regency? The purpose of this research is to produce the prototype of an online information system for data collection of cattle quality in Semarang regency. Main activities: (1) Prepare the flowchart of an online system for data collection of cattle quality. (2) Collecting data to obtain data on identity descriptions of each cattle, owners, mutation records, and health records of livestock cattle. (3) Creation of the prototype of an online information system for data collection of cattle quality in Semarang Regency. The results, (1) had been produced the prototype of an online information system for data collection of cattle in the region of Semarang regency. (2) Socialization of the online information system for cattle quality data collection and exploring input from various related stakeholders. (3) There had been a limited trial of prototypes of the system in Pabelan district in the working area of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Semarang regency and succeeded well.

Time lapse imaging: is it time to incorporate this technology into routine clinical practice?

PubMed

Bhide, Priya; Maheshwari, Abha; Cutting, Rachel; Seenan, Susan; Patel, Anita; Khan, Khalid; Homburg, Roy

2017-06-01

Time-lapse imaging (TLI) systems for embryo incubation, assessment and selection are a novel technology available to in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics. However, there is uncertainty about their clinical and cost-effectiveness and insufficient good quality evidence to warrant their routine use. Despite this, enthusiastic commercial marketing and slipping clinical equipoise have led to the widespread hasty introduction of this technology into practice, often at a considerable expense to the patient. We have reviewed the published literature and aim to summarize the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of these systems. These specialized incubators provide undisturbed embryo culture conditions and, by almost continuous monitoring of embryo development, generate morphokinetic parameters to aid embryo selection. They are thus hypothesized to improve outcomes following IVF. Although literature reports improved reproductive outcomes, these outcomes are largely surrogate and there is a paucity of studies reporting live births. The use of time lapse systems may reduce early pregnancy loss, increase elective single embryo transfers and limit multiple pregnancies through better embryo selection. However, the quality of the studies and hence the evidence so far, is low to moderate quality. We recommend further research producing robust high-quality evidence for and against the use of these systems.

Information technology as a tool to improve the quality of American Indian health care.

PubMed

Sequist, Thomas D; Cullen, Theresa; Ayanian, John Z

2005-12-01

The American Indian/Alaska Native population experiences a disproportionate burden of disease across a spectrum of conditions. While the recent National Healthcare Disparities Report highlighted differences in quality of care among racial and ethnic groups, there was only very limited information available for American Indians. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is currently enhancing its information systems to improve the measurement of health care quality as well as to support quality improvement initiatives. We summarize current knowledge regarding health care quality for American Indians, highlighting the variation in reported measures in the existing literature. We then discuss how the IHS is using information systems to produce standardized performance measures and present future directions for improving American Indian health care quality.

Privacy and the Private Eye in Space.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, William E.

Land remote-sensing satellites are developing as a commercial communications technology after years under a government monopoly. The shift to the private sector and improving quality of the pictures produced have given rise to increased concerns about the potential for violations of privacy rights. Although satellites can currently photograph only…

Learner Autonomy via Asynchronous Online Interactions: A Malaysian Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaur, Ranjit; Sidhu, Gurnam Kaur

2010-01-01

The integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in course offerings in institutions of higher learning (IHLs) is the catalyst towards empowering learners to become autonomous lifelong learners. In an effort to produce quality and independent learners, Learning Management Systems (LMS) are seen as a means to assist educators in…

DARPA ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM STANDARDIZED TEST BED FOR ANTIBODY CHARACTERIZATION: CHARACTERIZATION OF TWO MS2 SCFV ANTIBODIES PRODUCED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-01

a quality program for the standardization of test methods to support comprehensive characterization and comparison of the physical and functional...1 2.     MATERIALS AND METHODS ...4  2.8       SPR Methodology

Building a Digital Library: A Technology Manager's Point of View.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Elizabeth J.

2000-01-01

Describes the Historic Pittsburgh project at the University of Pittsburgh, a joint project with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania to produce a digital collection of historical materials available on the Internet. Discusses costs; metadata; digitization and preservation of originals; full-text capabilities; scanning; quality review;…

Development of cost-effective VARTM technology for repair and hardening design method and specifications for ALDOT contractor : phase 3.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-04-01

Resin infusion, a method of fabricating fiber reinforced polymer (FRP), has been shown to produce a stronger FRP of : more consistent quality than other methods. It is a preferred method of fabrication in industries like automotive, : aerospace, and ...

Storytelling: a care technology in continuing education for active ageing.

PubMed

Costa, Nadia Pinheiro da; Polaro, Sandra Helena Isse; Vahl, Eloá Aparecida Caliari; Gonçalves, Lucia Hisako Takase

2016-01-01

assessing relevance and effectiveness of care/educational technology in the form of "storytelling" as a strategy in the cultivation of active ageing (AA) for elderly users of a Basic Health Unit (BHU), from the Amazon region. convergent care research (CCR) held in a BHU in Belém, state of Pará, with eight elderly ladies for testing this technology. An active ageing assessment questionnaire and WHOQOL-BREF - quality of life assessment were applied. After training with a view to continuing education, elderly ladies told stories for an audience that addressed the question: "What did you learn from it for your life?" tThe popular stories elicited reactions from which the following categories emerged: solidarity; respect for the other; imagination, dreams, hopes and culture of the Amazonian. This practice had a positive result, producing changes in the quality of life of the elderly, particularly in the psychological domain. "storytelling" proved to be an innovative technology, a relevant and effective resource in health education, especially for active ageing.

Development of Rice Reprocessing to Strengthen Small Scale Rice Mills in Indramayu West Java

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firdaus, Y. R.; Hasbullah, R.; Djohar, S.

2018-05-01

Small Rice Mill (SRM) has a very important role in rice production of strong institutional relationships to farmers and rice markets. Nevertheless, the rice produced in low quality and changing consumer preferences cause SRM to have difficulty in maintaining the role. Development of a reprocessing business - called Rice to Rice Processing Plant (R2RP) - as a separate business unit will support their role and existence. This study aimed at analyzing the feasibility of R2RP business that integrates SRM and market as an independent business unit and determines mutual partnership pattern. The study was conducted with special reference to West Java Province. The qualitative method used for non-financial aspects analysis includes raw material, market, technical-technological, management and regulation and partnership pattern. The financial aspect used the quantitative method of Net Present Value (NPV), Net Benefit Cost Ratio (Net B/C), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Payback Period (PP) and Switching Value to check their sensitivity.The results showed R2R business is feasible for non-financially, technical-technological and financial aspects. Technology has evolved to produce various qualities (premium or medium) after the quality of raw materials (low quality or off-grade rice) using profit optimization. Value of the financial parameters was NPV of Rp 137 billion, Net B/C of 5.80, IRR of 84.27 percent and PP of 2.18 years at capacity of 19,800 tons/year with total investment of Rp 30 billion (Rp 13,500/USD). The switching value analysis showed that a decrease in product prices is sensitively influencing the financial feasibility. To strengthen cooperation that enhancing mutually beneficial relationship, R2R assists equipment investment in and buy raw material from SRM at a rational agreed price.

Multiblock grid generation with automatic zoning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eiseman, Peter R.

1995-01-01

An overview will be given for multiblock grid generation with automatic zoning. We shall explore the many advantages and benefits of this exciting technology and will also see how to apply it to a number of interesting cases. The technology is available in the form of a commercial code, GridPro(registered trademark)/az3000. This code takes surface geometry definitions and patterns of points as its primary input and produces high quality grids as its output. Before we embark upon our exploration, we shall first give a brief background of the environment in which this technology fits.

How Many Pixels Does It Take to Make a Good 4"×6" Print? Pixel Count Wars Revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kriss, Michael A.

Digital still cameras emerged following the introduction of the Sony Mavica analog prototype camera in 1981. These early cameras produced poor image quality and did not challenge film cameras for overall quality. By 1995 digital still cameras in expensive SLR formats had 6 mega-pixels and produced high quality images (with significant image processing). In 2005 significant improvement in image quality was apparent and lower prices for digital still cameras (DSCs) started a rapid decline in film usage and film camera sells. By 2010 film usage was mostly limited to professionals and the motion picture industry. The rise of DSCs was marked by a “pixel war” where the driving feature of the cameras was the pixel count where even moderate cost, ˜120, DSCs would have 14 mega-pixels. The improvement of CMOS technology pushed this trend of lower prices and higher pixel counts. Only the single lens reflex cameras had large sensors and large pixels. The drive for smaller pixels hurt the quality aspects of the final image (sharpness, noise, speed, and exposure latitude). Only today are camera manufactures starting to reverse their course and producing DSCs with larger sensors and pixels. This paper will explore why larger pixels and sensors are key to the future of DSCs.

An overview of silicon carbide device technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.; Matus, Lawrence G.

1992-01-01

Recent progress in the development of silicon carbide (SiC) as a semiconductor is briefly reviewed. This material shows great promise towards providing electronic devices that can operate under the high-temperature, high-radiation, and/or high-power conditions where current semiconductor technologies fail. High quality single crystal wafers have become available, and techniques for growing high quality epilayers have been refined to the point where experimental SiC devices and circuits can be developed. The prototype diodes and transistors that have been produced to date show encouraging characteristics, but by the same token they also exhibit some device-related problems that are not unlike those faced in the early days of silicon technology development. Although these problems will not prevent the implementation of some useful circuits, the performance and operating regime of SiC electronics will be limited until these device-related issues are solved.

Sustainable waste management through end-of-waste criteria development.

PubMed

Zorpas, Antonis A

2016-04-01

The Waste Framework Directive 2000/98 (WFD) contains specific requirements to define end-of-waste criteria (EWC). The main goal of EWC is to remove and eliminate the administrative loads of waste legislation for safe and high-quality waste materials, thereby facilitating and assisting recycling. The target is to produce effective with high quality of recyclables materials, promoting product standardization and quality and safety assurance, and improving harmonization and legal certainty in the recyclable material markets. At the same time, those objectives aim to develop a plan in order to improve the development and wider use of environmental technologies, which reduce pressure on environment and at the same time address the three dimensions of the Lisbon strategy: growth, jobs and environment. This paper presents the importance of EWC, and the approach of setting EWC as EWC affect several management systems as well as sustainable and clean technologies.

High quality fuel gas from biomass pyrolysis with calcium oxide.

PubMed

Zhao, Baofeng; Zhang, Xiaodong; Chen, Lei; Sun, Laizhi; Si, Hongyu; Chen, Guanyi

2014-03-01

The removal of CO2 and tar in fuel gas produced by biomass thermal conversion has aroused more attention due to their adverse effects on the subsequent fuel gas application. High quality fuel gas production from sawdust pyrolysis with CaO was studied in this paper. The results of pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) experiments indicate that the mass ratio of CaO to sawdust (Ca/S) remarkably affects the behavior of sawdust pyrolysis. On the basis of Py-GC/MS results, one system of a moving bed pyrolyzer coupled with a fluid bed combustor has been developed to produce high quality fuel gas. The lower heating value (LHV) of the fuel gas was above 16MJ/Nm(3) and the content of tar was under 50mg/Nm(3), which is suitable for gas turbine application to generate electricity and heat. Therefore, this technology may be a promising route to achieve high quality fuel gas for biomass utilization. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TM-30 Guidance

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

Royer, Michael P.

Minimum color quality standards are necessary, because the light sources most efficient at producing lumens are impractical for use in architectural lighting due to poor color rendition. Thus, accurate measures of color rendition and accompanying performance criteria are essential for helping technology developers and users balance tradeoffs between energy efficiency and lighting quality. Setting higher color-rendition criteria while maintaining use of CRI (e.g., CRI ≥ 90) may filter out some unacceptable light sources, but also filters out many highly desirable light sources and requires a greater tradeoff with energy efficiency. In contrast, specifying color rendition using TM-30 Rf, Rg, andmore » Rcs,h1 has been shown to be effective for differentiating desirable sources while maintaining flexibility for technology development and energy efficiency.« less

Inverse compton light source: a compact design proposal

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

Deitrick, Kirsten Elizabeth

In the last decade, there has been an increasing demand for a compact Inverse Compton Light Source (ICLS) which is capable of producing high-quality X-rays by colliding an electron beam and a high-quality laser. It is only in recent years when both SRF and laser technology have advanced enough that compact sources can approach the quality found at large installations such as the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Previously, X-ray sources were either high flux and brilliance at a large facility or many orders of magnitude lesser when produced by a bremsstrahlung source. A recent compact source wasmore » constructed by Lyncean Technologies using a storage ring to produce the electron beam used to scatter the incident laser beam. By instead using a linear accelerator system for the electron beam, a significant increase in X-ray beam quality is possible, though even subsequent designs also featuring a storage ring offer improvement. Preceding the linear accelerator with an SRF reentrant gun allows for an extremely small transverse emittance, increasing the brilliance of the resulting X-ray source. In order to achieve sufficiently small emittances, optimization was done regarding both the geometry of the gun and the initial electron bunch distribution produced off the cathode. Using double-spoke SRF cavities to comprise the linear accelerator allows for an electron beam of reasonable size to be focused at the interaction point, while preserving the low emittance that was generated by the gun. An aggressive final focusing section following the electron beam's exit from the accelerator produces the small spot size at the interaction point which results in an X-ray beam of high flux and brilliance. Taking all of these advancements together, a world class compact X-ray source has been designed. It is anticipated that this source would far outperform the conventional bremsstrahlung and many other compact ICLSs, while coming closer to performing at the levels found at large facilities than ever before. The design process, including the development between subsequent iterations, is presented here in detail, with the simulation results for this groundbreaking X-ray source.« less

Video streaming in nursing education: bringing life to online education.

PubMed

Smith-Stoner, Marilyn; Willer, Ann

2003-01-01

Distance education is a standard form of instruction for many colleges of nursing. Web-based course and program content has been delivered primarily through text-based presentations such as PowerPoint slides and Web search activities. However, the rapid pace of technological innovation is making available more sophisticated forms of delivery such as video streaming. High-quality video streams, created at the instructor's desktop or in basic recording studios, can be produced that build on PowerPoint or create new media for use on the Web. The technology required to design, produce, and upload short video-streamed course content objects to the Internet is described. The preparation of materials, suggested production guidelines, and examples of information presented via desktop video methods are presented.

Study of the ubiquitous hog farm system using wireless sensor networks for environmental monitoring and facilities control.

PubMed

Hwang, Jeonghwan; Yoe, Hyun

2010-01-01

Many hog farmers are now suffering from high pig mortality rates due to various wasting diseases and increased breeding costs, etc. It is therefore necessary for hog farms to implement systematic and scientific pig production technology to increase productivity and produce high quality pork in order to solve these problems. In this study, we describe such a technology by suggesting a ubiquitous hog farm system which applies WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) technology to the pig industry. We suggest that a WSN and CCTV (Closed-circuit television) should be installed on hog farms to collect environmental and image information which shall then help producers not only in monitoring the hog farm via the Web from outside the farm, but also facilitate the control of hog farm facilities in remote locations. In addition, facilities can be automatically controlled based on breeding environment parameters which are already set up and a SMS notice service to notify of deviations shall provide users with convenience. Hog farmers may increase production and improve pork quality through this ubiquitous hog farm system and prepare a database with information collected from environmental factors and the hog farm control devices, which is expected to provide information needed to design and implement suitable control strategies for hog farm operation.

Study of the Ubiquitous Hog Farm System Using Wireless Sensor Networks for Environmental Monitoring and Facilities Control

PubMed Central

Hwang, Jeonghwan; Yoe, Hyun

2010-01-01

Many hog farmers are now suffering from high pig mortality rates due to various wasting diseases and increased breeding costs, etc. It is therefore necessary for hog farms to implement systematic and scientific pig production technology to increase productivity and produce high quality pork in order to solve these problems. In this study, we describe such a technology by suggesting a ubiquitous hog farm system which applies WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) technology to the pig industry. We suggest that a WSN and CCTV (Closed-circuit television) should be installed on hog farms to collect environmental and image information which shall then help producers not only in monitoring the hog farm via the Web from outside the farm, but also facilitate the control of hog farm facilities in remote locations. In addition, facilities can be automatically controlled based on breeding environment parameters which are already set up and a SMS notice service to notify of deviations shall provide users with convenience. Hog farmers may increase production and improve pork quality through this ubiquitous hog farm system and prepare a database with information collected from environmental factors and the hog farm control devices, which is expected to provide information needed to design and implement suitable control strategies for hog farm operation. PMID:22163497

Technology Development of Salak (Salacca Zalacca) Chips With Vacuum Frying Machine Base On Expert System In Kramat-Bangkalan Regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosida, D. F.; Happyanto; Anggraeni; Sugiarto; Hapsari

2018-01-01

Agropolitan Program is one form of regional development to improve agribusiness system and effort to improve the welfare of the community. One of the leading commodities in Bangkalan agroclimates is salak which is a potentially very large commodity to be developed. Salak commodities in Kramat Bangkalan Indonesia have developed varous salak produced such as dates of salak, syrup and dodol salak. Salak chips was the target of innovation from processed salak. The Production of salak chips using frying technology with vacuum system to obtain crunchy chips. To get the results need to be developed synergy technology to combine the process conditions and the right system in producing good quality salak chips. Bangkalan Regency is the potential to continue to develop products using a variety of salak to the processed form of vacuum frying machine based on expert system so that the resulting product would be great texture, aroma and taste. This will make the area of Bangkalan, Indonesia be more independent in producing and increasing revenue.

Are Disposable and Standard Gonioscopy Lenses Comparable?

PubMed

Lee, Bonny; Szirth, Bernard C; Fechtner, Robert D; Khouri, Albert S

2017-04-01

Gonioscopy is important in the evaluation and treatment of glaucoma. With increased scrutiny of acceptable sterilization processes for health care instruments, disposable gonioscopy lenses have recently been introduced. Single-time use lenses are theorized to decrease infection risk and eliminate the issue of wear and tear seen on standard, reusable lenses. However, patient care would be compromised if the quality of images produced by the disposable lens were inferior to those produced by the reusable lens. The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of images produced by disposable versus standard gonioscopy lenses. A disposable single mirror lens (Sensor Medical Technology) and a standard Volk G-1 gonioscopy lens were used to image 21 volunteers who were prospectively recruited for the study. Images of the inferior and temporal angles of each subject's left eye were acquired using a slit-lamp camera through the disposable and standard gonioscopy lens. In total, 74 images were graded using the Spaeth gonioscopic system and for clarity and quality. Clarity was scored as 1 or 2 and defined as either (1) all structures perceived or (2) all structures not perceived. Quality was scored as 1, 2, or 3, and defined as (1) all angle landmarks clear and well focused, (2) some angle landmarks clear, others blurred, or (3) angle landmarks could not be ascertained. The 74 images were divided into images taken with the disposable single mirror lens and images taken with the standard Volk G-1 gonioscopy lens. The clarity and quality scores for each of these 2 image groups were averaged and P-values were calculated. Average quality of images produced with the standard lens was 1.46±0.56 compared with 1.54±0.61 for those produced with the disposable lens (P=0.55). Average clarity of images produced with the standard lens was 1.47±0.51 compared with 1.49±0.51 (P=0.90) with the disposable lens. We conclude that there is no significant difference in quality of images produced with standard versus disposable gonioscopy lenses. Disposable gonioscopy lenses may be an acceptable alternative to standard reusable lenses, especially in conditions where sterilization is difficult.

Developing County-level Water Footprints of Biofuel Produced from Switchgrass and Miscanthus x Giganteus in the United States

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

Wu, May M.; Chiu, Yi-Wen

Perennial grass has been proposed as a potential candidate for producing cellulosic biofuel because of its promising productivity and benefits to water quality, and because it is a non-food feedstock. While extensive research focuses on selecting and developing species and conversion technologies, the impact of grass-based biofuel production on water resources remains less clear. As feedstock growth requires water and the type of water consumed may vary considerably from region to region, water use must be characterized with spatial resolution and on a fuel production basis. This report summarizes a study that assesses the impact of biofuel production on watermore » resource use and water quality at county, state, and regional scales by developing a water footprint of biofuel produced from switchgrass and Miscanthus × giganteus via biochemical conversion.« less

Producible Alternative to CdTe for Epitaxy (PACE-2) of LWIR HgCdTe

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

esmv and .de~aty "p bisto momnberl isrepor cover the progre made toward the achievenientof device quality LWIR HgCdTe on an alternate substrte...initial phase of the research program en- titled, _Producible Alternative to CdTe for Epitaxyý(PACE-2) of LWIR HgCJie". Also described are alternate...objective of this program is the demonstration of the feasibility of PACE-2 technology through fabrication and evaluation of multi- plexed LWIR hybrid

Development and technology transfer of Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines for developing countries.

PubMed

Beurret, Michel; Hamidi, Ahd; Kreeftenberg, Hans

2012-07-13

This paper describes the development of a Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment/Netherlands Vaccine Institute (RIVM/NVI, Bilthoven, The Netherlands), and the subsequent transfer of its production process to manufacturers in developing countries. In 1998, at the outset of the project, the majority of the world's children were not immunized against Hib because of the high price and limited supply of the conjugate vaccines, due partly to the fact that local manufacturers in developing countries did not master the Hib conjugate production technology. To address this problem, the RIVM/NVI has developed a robust Hib conjugate vaccine production process based on a proven model, and transferred this technology to several partners in India, Indonesia, Korea and China. As a result, emerging manufacturers in developing countries acquired modern technologies previously unavailable to them. This has in turn facilitated their approach to producing other conjugate vaccines. As an additional spin-off from the project, a World Health Organization (WHO) Hib quality control (QC) course was designed and conducted at the RIVM/NVI, resulting in an increased regulatory capacity for conjugate vaccines in developing countries at the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) level. For the local populations, this has translated into an increased and sustainable supply of affordable Hib conjugate-containing combination vaccines. During the course of this project, developing countries have demonstrated their ability to produce large quantities of high-quality modern vaccines after a successful transfer of the technology. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of high pressure homogenization and stirred bead milling for the production of nano-crystalline suspensions.

PubMed

Nakach, Mostafa; Authelin, Jean-René; Perrin, Marc-Antoine; Lakkireddy, Harivardhan Reddy

2018-05-19

Currently, the two technologies primarily used for the manufacturing of nano-crystalline suspensions using top down process (i.e. wet milling) are high pressure homogenization (HPH) and stirred bead milling (SBM). These two technologies are based upon different mechanisms, i.e., cavitation forces for HPH and shear forces for stirred bead milling. In this article, the HPH and SBM technologies are compared in terms of the impact of the suspension composition the process parameters and the technological configuration on milling performances and physical quality of the suspensions produced. The data suggested that both HPH and SBM are suitable for producing nano-crystalline suspensions, although SBM appeared more efficient than HPH, since the limit of milling (d 50 ) for SBM was found to be lower than that obtained with HPH (100 nm vs 200 nm). For both these technologies, regardless of the process parameters used for milling and the scale of manufacturing, the relationship of d 90 versus d 50 could be described by a unique master curve (technology signature of milling pathway) outlining that the HPH leads to more uniform particle size distribution as compared to SBM. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vaccine process technology.

PubMed

Josefsberg, Jessica O; Buckland, Barry

2012-06-01

The evolution of vaccines (e.g., live attenuated, recombinant) and vaccine production methods (e.g., in ovo, cell culture) are intimately tied to each other. As vaccine technology has advanced, the methods to produce the vaccine have advanced and new vaccine opportunities have been created. These technologies will continue to evolve as we strive for safer and more immunogenic vaccines and as our understanding of biology improves. The evolution of vaccine process technology has occurred in parallel to the remarkable growth in the development of therapeutic proteins as products; therefore, recent vaccine innovations can leverage the progress made in the broader biotechnology industry. Numerous important legacy vaccines are still in use today despite their traditional manufacturing processes, with further development focusing on improving stability (e.g., novel excipients) and updating formulation (e.g., combination vaccines) and delivery methods (e.g., skin patches). Modern vaccine development is currently exploiting a wide array of novel technologies to create safer and more efficacious vaccines including: viral vectors produced in animal cells, virus-like particles produced in yeast or insect cells, polysaccharide conjugation to carrier proteins, DNA plasmids produced in E. coli, and therapeutic cancer vaccines created by in vitro activation of patient leukocytes. Purification advances (e.g., membrane adsorption, precipitation) are increasing efficiency, while innovative analytical methods (e.g., microsphere-based multiplex assays, RNA microarrays) are improving process understanding. Novel adjuvants such as monophosphoryl lipid A, which acts on antigen presenting cell toll-like receptors, are expanding the previously conservative list of widely accepted vaccine adjuvants. As in other areas of biotechnology, process characterization by sophisticated analysis is critical not only to improve yields, but also to determine the final product quality. From a regulatory perspective, Quality by Design (QbD) and Process Analytical Technology (PAT) are important initiatives that can be applied effectively to many types of vaccine processes. Universal demand for vaccines requires that a manufacturer plan to supply tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of doses per year at low cost. To enable broader use, there is intense interest in improving temperature stability to allow for excursions from a rigid cold chain supply, especially at the point of vaccination. Finally, there is progress in novel routes of delivery to move away from the traditional intramuscular injection by syringe approach. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Full-frame video stabilization with motion inpainting.

PubMed

Matsushita, Yasuyuki; Ofek, Eyal; Ge, Weina; Tang, Xiaoou; Shum, Heung-Yeung

2006-07-01

Video stabilization is an important video enhancement technology which aims at removing annoying shaky motion from videos. We propose a practical and robust approach of video stabilization that produces full-frame stabilized videos with good visual quality. While most previous methods end up with producing smaller size stabilized videos, our completion method can produce full-frame videos by naturally filling in missing image parts by locally aligning image data of neighboring frames. To achieve this, motion inpainting is proposed to enforce spatial and temporal consistency of the completion in both static and dynamic image areas. In addition, image quality in the stabilized video is enhanced with a new practical deblurring algorithm. Instead of estimating point spread functions, our method transfers and interpolates sharper image pixels of neighboring frames to increase the sharpness of the frame. The proposed video completion and deblurring methods enabled us to develop a complete video stabilizer which can naturally keep the original image quality in the stabilized videos. The effectiveness of our method is confirmed by extensive experiments over a wide variety of videos.

[Real-time feedback systems for improvement of resuscitation quality].

PubMed

Lukas, R P; Van Aken, H; Engel, P; Bohn, A

2011-07-01

The quality of chest compression is a determinant of survival after cardiac arrest. Therefore, the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) 2010 guidelines on resuscitation strongly focus on compression quality. Despite its impact on survival, observational studies have shown that chest compression quality is not reached by professional rescue teams. Real-time feedback devices for resuscitation are able to measure chest compression during an ongoing resuscitation attempt through a sternal sensor equipped with a motion and pressure detection system. In addition to the electrocardiograph (ECG) ventilation can be detected by transthoracic impedance monitoring. In cases of quality deviation, such as shallow chest compression depth or hyperventilation, feedback systems produce visual or acoustic alarms. Rescuers can thereby be supported and guided to the requested quality in chest compression and ventilation. Feedback technology is currently available both as a so-called stand-alone device and as an integrated feature in a monitor/defibrillator unit. Multiple studies have demonstrated sustainable enhancement in the education of resuscitation due to the use of real-time feedback technology. There is evidence that real-time feedback for resuscitation combined with training and debriefing strategies can improve both resuscitation quality and patient survival. Chest compression quality is an independent predictor for survival in resuscitation and should therefore be measured and documented in further clinical multicenter trials.

Optimization of SIS mixer elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattauch, Robert J.

1985-01-01

Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) quantum mixers provide an approach to millimeter wave mixing - potentially offering conversion gain, a low local oscillator power demand, and potential mixer noise temperatures near the quantum limit. The development of a reliable fabrication technology for producing such high quality SIS devices for mixer applications in radio astronomy is the focus of the work.

DARPA Antibody Technology Program Standardized Test Bed for Antibody Characterization: Characterization of an MS2 Human IgG Antibody Produced by AnaptysBio, Inc.

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) Quality Testing MS2 coat protein (MS2CP) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF... ELISA ................................................................................................................4 2.8 SPR Method...3.5 ELISA Results .................................................................................................11 3.6 SPR Results

Accountability in American Education as a Rhetoric and a Technology of Governmentality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suspitsyna, Tatiana

2010-01-01

Accountability is one of the most advocated and controversial topics in US education. Since the early 2000s, the federal government has produced a vibrant discourse on accountability, which emphasizes quality, efficiency, and equal opportunity in education. As part of the larger phenomenon of new managerialism, the dominant forms of accountability…

Communicative Learning Aided by AR for Activity with Students within a Group HCI

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suarez-Warden, Fernando; Barrera, Salvador

2017-01-01

Communicative learning progress in industry and education must gain focus and commitment otherwise innovation efforts by new technologies and recent researches will produce scarce results. Frequently, it appears gaps in quality and efficiency due to lack of ideas assimilation, matter that can be noticed. Investigators may discourse about platforms…

Building an efficient supply chain.

PubMed

Scalise, Dagmara

2005-08-01

Realizing at last that supply chain management can produce efficiencies and save costs, hospitals are beginning to adopt practices from other industries, such as the concept of extended supply chains, to improve product flow. They're also investing in enterprise planning resource software, radio frequency identification and other technologies, using quality data to drive standardization and streamlining processes.

Irradiation for quality improvement, microbial safety and phytosanitation of fresh produce

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In this book we pull together research, technological advances and current trends from many disciplines to provide a single comprehensive source of information on the many uses of irradiation to improve the safety and supply of fruits and vegetables. Part 1 of the book focuses on the potential of io...

Phase evolution, characterisation, and performance of cement prepared in an oxy-fuel atmosphere.

PubMed

Zheng, Liya; Hills, Thomas P; Fennell, Paul

2016-10-20

Cement manufacture is one of the major contributors (7-10%) to global anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been identified as a vital technology for decarbonising the sector. Oxy-fuel combustion, involving burning fuel in a mixture of recycled CO 2 and pure O 2 instead of air, makes CO 2 capture much easier. Since it combines a theoretically lower energy penalty with an increase in production, it is attractive as a CCS technology in cement plants. However, it is necessary to demonstrate that changes in the clinkering atmosphere do not reduce the quality of the clinker produced. Clinkers were successfully produced in an oxy-fuel atmosphere using only pure oxides as raw materials as well as a mixture of oxides and clay. Then, CEM I cements were prepared by the addition of 5 wt% gypsum to the clinkers. Quantitative XRD and XRF were used to obtain the phase and elemental compositions of the clinkers. The particle size distribution and compressive strength of the cements at 3, 7, 14, and 28 days' ages were tested, and the effect of the particle size distribution on the compressive strength was investigated. Additionally, the compressive strength of the cements produced in oxy-fuel atmospheres was compared with those of the cement produced in air and commercially available CEMEX CEM I. The results show that good-quality cement can be successfully produced in an oxy-fuel atmosphere and it has similar phase and chemical compositions to CEM I. Additionally, it has a comparable compressive strength to the cement produced in air and to commercially available CEMEX CEM I.

Evaluating the performance of active noise control systems in commercial and industrial applications

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

Depies, C.; Deneen, S.; Lowe, M.

1995-06-01

Active sound cancellation technology is increasingly being used to quiet commercial and industrial air-moving devices. Engineers and designers are implementing active or combination active/passive technology to control sound quality in the workplace and the acoustical environment in residential areas near industrial facilities. Sound level measurements made before and after the installation of active systems have proved that significant improvements in sound quality can be obtained even if there is little or no change in the NC/RC or dBA numbers. Noise produced by centrifugal and vane-axial fans, pumps and blowers, commonly used for ventilation and material movement in industry, are frequentlymore » dominated by high amplitude, tonal noise at low frequencies. And the low-frequency noise produced by commercial air handlers often has less tonal and more broadband characteristics, resulting in audible duct rumble noise and objectionable room spectrums. Because the A-weighting network, which is commonly used for industrial noise measurements, de-emphasizes low frequencies, its single number rating can be misleading in terms of judging the overall subjective sound quality in impacted areas and assessing the effectiveness of noise control measures. Similarly, NC values, traditionally used for commercial HVAC acoustical design criteria, can be governed by noise at any frequency and cannot accurately depict human judgment of the aural comfort level. Analyses of frequency spectrum characteristics provide the most effective means of assessing sound quality and determining mitigative measures for achieving suitable background sound levels.« less

Elaboration and Device Complex Trial for Pipe Production of Raised Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Privarnikov, J. K.; Vdovin, V. D.; Privarnikova, I. J.

2002-01-01

Technology and device for production of heightened quality pipes for arterial oil and gas conduits are created and inculcated on factual data of work of Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant. At present such pipes are made with using heat treatment in penetrated sectional stoves. Herewith big volume of natural gas is expended. Besides, it is observed an incomplete removal of residual stresses during heat treatment that adversely affects at operation pipe indexes and durability of welded seam. Researches, which authors have conducted, have shown that offered weakly annealing technology and device provide almost full removal of undesirable residual stresses that considerably raises durability of welded junctions and improves operation pipe indexes. Inculcation of offered technology in Ukraine at the same time will allow to reduce by 40-50 % natural gas expense, to raise ecological safety at the sacrifice of diminish of possible damages at conduits as well as to produce electric welded pipes of heightened quality. I am sending you the abstract of the report Elaboration and device complex trial for pipe production of heightened quality, reference number - IAC-02.V.6./1.7 - ? (Unfortunately number is lost. Please inform us the number of our report once again) authors Privarnikov J.K, Vdovin V.D., Privarnikova I.J. for presentation at the 53rd International Asnronautical Congress/ Professor Yu. Privarnikov

The effect of ionizing radiation on microbiological decontamination of medical herbs and biologically active compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Migdal, W.; Owczarczyk, B.; Kedzia, B.; Holderna-Kedzia, E.; Segiet-Kujawa, E.

1998-06-01

Several thousand tons of medical herbs are produced annually by pharmaceutical industry in Poland. This product should be of highest quality and microbial purity. Recently, chemical methods of decontamination are recognized as less safe, thus irradiation technique was chosen to replace them in use. In the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology the national program on the application of irradiation to the decontamination of medical herbs is in progress now. The purpose of the program is to elaborate, on the basis of research work, the facility standards and technological instructions indispensable for the practice of radiation technology.

Integrating Fiber Optic Strain Sensors into Metal Using Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hehr, Adam; Norfolk, Mark; Wenning, Justin; Sheridan, John; Leser, Paul; Leser, Patrick; Newman, John A.

2018-03-01

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing, a rather new three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, uses ultrasonic energy to produce metallurgical bonds between layers of metal foils near room temperature. This low temperature attribute of the process enables integration of temperature sensitive components, such as fiber optic strain sensors, directly into metal structures. This may be an enabling technology for Digital Twin applications, i.e., virtual model interaction and feedback with live load data. This study evaluates the consolidation quality, interface robustness, and load sensing limits of commercially available fiber optic strain sensors embedded into aluminum alloy 6061. Lastly, an outlook on the technology and its applications is described.

Impact of reproductive technologies on dairy food production in the dairy industry.

PubMed

Stevenson, Jeffrey S

2014-01-01

Reproductive technologies drive the efficiency of managing dairy cows because the lactation cycle of the dairy cow depends on regular calving to renew lactation yields. Achieving timely pregnancies to allow calving every 12-14 months, therefore, is critical in modern dairy production. To meet the demands to produce sufficient milk for fluid and dairy products, various technologies are applied to enhance efficiencies on the dairy farm. Artificial insemination (AI), embryo transfer, ultrasonographic and chemical detection of pregnancy, various monitors that detect or predict estrus, and handheld communication and testing devices allow managers to retrieve information to make cow-side decisions about health and reproductive status. Genomic testing of young potential sires or young heifers is now possible and can provide information about their genetic merit years before any progeny tests can be completed. In many countries, the challenge faced by dairy producers is their ability to afford these technologies in the face of rising feed and labor costs and volatile milk prices received at the farm gate. Government policies often place obstacles, trade barriers, and unfunded mandates that preclude operations from making a modest profit. Unlike nearly all other manufacturing industries, agriculture producers have little control over the price received for their products. Therefore, dairy production is vulnerable to many uncontrolled factors including climate, government policy, economic conditions, and skilled labor shortages. It is clear that the impact of emerging and current reproductive technologies is critical to the management of dairy cattle to produce sufficient milk to meet consumer demands for quality fluid and dairy products.

Discussion on Coking Wastewater Treatment and Control Measures in Iron and Steel Enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Hwang, Jiannyang; Leng, Ting; Xue, Gaifeng; Wu, Gaoming

According to the water quality characteristics of coking wastewater and the environmental protection requirements, the status of coking wastewater treatment technologies at home and abroad was described. Several methods and control measures of coking wastewater treatment were discussed in the effluent from iron and steel enterprises. It is an effective way to makes use of cleaner production technologies to reduce the amount of coking phenol cyanide wastewater produced from the source, and then adopt water supply for different water quality or series classification in-house according to the demand of water characters. It is necessary though looking for the available disposal way to reduce the coking wastewater effluent, which can provide a reference for process selection and research on treatment of coking wastewater in iron and steel enterprise.

Ensuring sustainability of non-networked sanitation technologies: an approach to standardization.

PubMed

Starkl, Markus; Brunner, Norbert; Feil, Magdalena; Hauser, Andreas

2015-06-02

Non-networked sanitation technologies use no sewer, water or electricity lines. Based on a review of 45 commercially distributed technologies, 12 (representing three concepts) were selected for a detailed audit. They were located in six countries of Africa and Asia. The safety of users was generally assured and the costs per use were not excessive, whereas costs were fully transparent for only one technology surveyed. A main drawback was insufficient quality of the byproducts from on-site treatment, making recycling in agriculture a hygienic and environmental risk. Further, no technology was sufficiently mature (requiring e.g. to shift wastes by hand). In order to promote further development and give producers of mature products a competitive advantage, the paper proposes a certification of technologies to confirm the fulfillment of basic requirements to make them attractive for future users.

The development of enabling technologies for producing active interrogation beams.

PubMed

Kwan, Thomas J T; Morgado, Richard E; Wang, Tai-Sen F; Vodolaga, B; Terekhin, V; Onischenko, L M; Vorozhtsov, S B; Samsonov, E V; Vorozhtsov, A S; Alenitsky, Yu G; Perpelkin, E E; Glazov, A A; Novikov, D L; Parkhomchuk, V; Reva, V; Vostrikov, V; Mashinin, V A; Fedotov, S N; Minayev, S A

2010-10-01

A U.S./Russian collaboration of accelerator scientists was directed to the development of high averaged-current (∼1 mA) and high-quality (emittance ∼15 πmm mrad; energy spread ∼0.1%) 1.75 MeV proton beams to produce active interrogation beams that could be applied to counterterrorism. Several accelerator technologies were investigated. These included an electrostatic tandem accelerator of novel design, a compact cyclotron, and a storage ring with energy compensation and electron cooling. Production targets capable of withstanding the beam power levels were designed, fabricated, and tested. The cyclotron/storage-ring system was theoretically studied and computationally designed, and the electrostatic vacuum tandem accelerator at BINP was demonstrated for its potential in active interrogation of explosives and special nuclear materials.

A Clinical Support System Based on Quality of Life Estimation.

PubMed

Faria, Brígida Mónica; Gonçalves, Joaquim; Reis, Luis Paulo; Rocha, Álvaro

2015-10-01

Quality of life is a concept influenced by social, economic, psychological, spiritual or medical state factors. More specifically, the perceived quality of an individual's daily life is an assessment of their well-being or lack of it. In this context, information technologies may help on the management of services for healthcare of chronic patients such as estimating the patient quality of life and helping the medical staff to take appropriate measures to increase each patient quality of life. This paper describes a Quality of Life estimation system developed using information technologies and the application of data mining algorithms to access the information of clinical data of patients with cancer from Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck services of an oncology institution. The system was evaluated with a sample composed of 3013 patients. The results achieved show that there are variables that may be significant predictors for the Quality of Life of the patient: years of smoking (p value 0.049) and size of the tumor (p value < 0.001). In order to assign the variables to the classification of the quality of life the best accuracy was obtained by applying the John Platt's sequential minimal optimization algorithm for training a support vector classifier. In conclusion data mining techniques allow having access to patients additional information helping the physicians to be able to know the quality of life and produce a well-informed clinical decision.

A high-throughput Sanger strategy for human mitochondrial genome sequencing

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background A population reference database of complete human mitochondrial genome (mtGenome) sequences is needed to enable the use of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) coding region data in forensic casework applications. However, the development of entire mtGenome haplotypes to forensic data quality standards is difficult and laborious. A Sanger-based amplification and sequencing strategy that is designed for automated processing, yet routinely produces high quality sequences, is needed to facilitate high-volume production of these mtGenome data sets. Results We developed a robust 8-amplicon Sanger sequencing strategy that regularly produces complete, forensic-quality mtGenome haplotypes in the first pass of data generation. The protocol works equally well on samples representing diverse mtDNA haplogroups and DNA input quantities ranging from 50 pg to 1 ng, and can be applied to specimens of varying DNA quality. The complete workflow was specifically designed for implementation on robotic instrumentation, which increases throughput and reduces both the opportunities for error inherent to manual processing and the cost of generating full mtGenome sequences. Conclusions The described strategy will assist efforts to generate complete mtGenome haplotypes which meet the highest data quality expectations for forensic genetic and other applications. Additionally, high-quality data produced using this protocol can be used to assess mtDNA data developed using newer technologies and chemistries. Further, the amplification strategy can be used to enrich for mtDNA as a first step in sample preparation for targeted next-generation sequencing. PMID:24341507

Refrigerated fruit juices: quality and safety issues.

PubMed

Esteve, Maria Jose; Frígola, Ana

2007-01-01

Fruit juices are an important source of bioactive compounds, but techniques used for their processing and subsequent storage may cause alterations in their contents so they do not provide the benefits expected by the consumer. In recent years consumers have increasingly sought so-called "fresh" products (like fresh products), stored in refrigeration. This has led the food industry to develop alternative processing technologies to produce foods with a minimum of nutritional, physicochemical, or organoleptic changes induced by the technologies themselves. Attention has also focused on evaluating the microbiological or toxicological risks that may be involved in applying these processes, and their effect on food safety, in order to obtain safe products that do not present health risks. This concept of minimal processing is currently becoming a reality with conventional technologies (mild pasteurization) and nonthermal technologies, some recently introduced (pasteurization by high hydrostatic pressure) and some perhaps with a more important role in the future (pulsed electric fields). Nevertheless, processing is not the only factor that affects the quality of these products. It is also necessary to consider the conditions for refrigerated storage and to control time and temperature.

Positive Technologies for Understanding and Promoting Positive Emotions.

PubMed

Baños, Rosa María; Carrillo, Alba; Etchemendy, Ernestina; Botella, Cristina

2017-10-26

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become increasingly present in our lives, and their use has spread considerably. This paper presents a review of the way ICTs can help practitioners and researchers to study, promote, and train positive emotions. It is framed within the field of Positive Technologies: the applied scientific approach to the study of the use of technology to improve the quality of personal experience, with the goal of increasing wellbeing. First, the article presents an introduction to the topic of technologies and positive emotions. Then, it describes how ICTs can aid in monitoring, assessing, promoting, modifying, and training positive emotions. Finally, implications and future directions of the role of Positive Technologies in positive emotions are discussed. The authors conclude that, in the near future, Positive Technologies and the field of positive emotions will interact synergistically, producing an exponential growth in the understanding and promotion of positive emotions.

North American Science Symposium: Toward a unified framework for inventorying and monitoring forest ecosystem resources

Treesearch

Celedonio Aguirre-Bravo; Carlos Rodriguez Franco

1999-01-01

The general objective of this Symposium was to build on the best science and technology available to assure that the data and information produced in future inventory and monitoring programs are comparable, quality assured, available, and adequate for their intended purposes, thereby providing a reliable framework for characterization, assessment, and management of...

Education Policy Analysis, 1999: Resources for Lifelong Learning, Early Childhood Education and Care, Technology in Education, Tertiary Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France). Centre for Educational Research and Innovation.

In its Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development is developing an instrument to compare across countries the quality of outcomes produced by schools. This document explores some issues related to academic achievement. Chapter 1, "Resources for Lifelong Learning: What Might…

Combining High-Speed Cameras and Stop-Motion Animation Software to Support Students' Modeling of Human Body Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Victor R.

2015-01-01

Biomechanics, and specifically the biomechanics associated with human movement, is a potentially rich backdrop against which educators can design innovative science teaching and learning activities. Moreover, the use of technologies associated with biomechanics research, such as high-speed cameras that can produce high-quality slow-motion video,…

Overcoming the Glassy-Eyed Nod: An Application of Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Techniques in Information Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Trina; Monypenny, Richard; Trevathan, Jarrod

2012-01-01

Two significant problems faced by universities are to ensure sustainability and to produce quality graduates. Four aspects of these problems are to improve engagement, to foster interaction, develop required skills and to effectively gauge the level of attention and comprehension within lectures and large tutorials. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry…

DARPA Antibody Technology Program Standardized Test Bed for Antibody Characterization: Characterization of an MS2 sdAb Produced by U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

Program (ATP) Quality MS2 coat protein (MS2CP) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF...3 2.6 Thermal Stress Test............................................................................................4 2.7 ELISA ...7 3.4 DSC Results .....................................................................................................10 3.5 ELISA

Pulse - Accelerator Science in Medicine

Science.gov Websites

imaging the human body. Many of medicine's most powerful diagnostic tools incorporate technology that is a technique used to produce high quality images of the inside of the human body. MRI is based on new generation of high-field superconducting MRI magnets will help unlock the secrets of the human

Consumer Awareness and Willingness to Pay for High-Pressure Processing of Ready-to-Eat Food

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hicks, Doris T.; Pivarnik, Lori F.; McDermott, Ryan; Richard, Nicole; Hoover, Dallas G.; Kniel, Kalmia E.

2009-01-01

Commercial, nonthermal processing of food, such as high hydrostatic-pressure processing (HPP), has increased. The safety and quality of foods produced by HPP has not been well communicated to the public. An online, nationwide consumer survey was implemented to assess awareness of alternative food processing technologies, consumer food safety…

Predicting the impacts of new technology aircraft on international air transportation demand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ausrotas, R. A.

1981-01-01

International air transportation to and from the United States was analyzed. Long term and short term effects and causes of travel are described. The applicability of econometric methods to forecast passenger travel is discussed. A nomograph is developed which shows the interaction of economic growth, airline yields, and quality of service in producing international traffic.

Coal-Quality Information - Key to the Efficient and Environmentally Sound Use of Coal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Finkleman, Robert B.

1997-01-01

The rock that we refer to as coal is derived principally from decomposed organic matter (plants) consisting primarily of the element carbon. When coal is burned, it produces energy in the form of heat, which is used to power machines such as steam engines or to drive turbines that produce electricity. Almost 60 percent of the electricity produced in the United States is derived from coal combustion. Coal is an extraordinarily complex material. In addition to organic matter, coal contains water (up to 40 or more percent by weight for some lignitic coals), oils, gases (such as methane), waxes (used to make shoe polish), and perhaps most importantly, inorganic matter (fig. 1). The inorganic matter--minerals and trace elements--cause many of the health, environmental, and technological problems attributed to coal use (fig. 2). 'Coal quality' is the term used to refer to the properties and characteristics of coal that influence its behavior and use. Among the coal-quality characteristics that will be important for future coal use are the concentrations, distribution, and forms of the many elements contained in the coal that we intend to burn. Knowledge of these quality characteristics in U.S. coal deposits may allow us to use this essential energy resource more efficiently and effectively and with less undesirable environmental impact.

Whole blood treated with riboflavin and ultraviolet light: quality assessment of all blood components produced by the buffy coat method.

PubMed

Schubert, Peter; Culibrk, Brankica; Karwal, Simrath; Serrano, Katherine; Levin, Elena; Bu, Daniel; Bhakta, Varsha; Sheffield, William P; Goodrich, Raymond P; Devine, Dana V

2015-04-01

Pathogen inactivation (PI) technologies are currently licensed for use with platelet (PLT) and plasma components. Treatment of whole blood (WB) would be of benefit to the blood banking community by saving time and costs compared to individual component treatment. However, no paired, pool-and-split study directly assessing the impact of WB PI on the subsequently produced components has yet been reported. In a "pool-and-split" study, WB either was treated with riboflavin and ultraviolet (UV) light or was kept untreated as control. The buffy coat (BC) method produced plasma, PLT, and red blood cell (RBC) components. PLT units arising from the untreated WB study arm were treated with riboflavin and UV light on day of production and compared to PLT concentrates (PCs) produced from the treated WB units. A panel of common in vitro variables for the three types of components was used to monitor quality throughout their respective storage periods. PCs derived from the WB PI treatment were of significantly better quality than treated PLT components for most variables. RBCs produced from the WB treatment deteriorated earlier during storage than untreated units. Plasma components showed a 3% to 44% loss in activity for several clotting factors. Treatment of WB with riboflavin and UV before production of components by the BC method shows a negative impact on all three blood components. PLT units produced from PI-treated WB exhibited less damage compared to PLT component treatment. © 2014 AABB.

Knowledge translation in rehabilitation engineering research and development: a knowledge ecosystem framework.

PubMed

Chau, Tom; Moghimi, Saba; Popovic, Milos R

2013-01-01

Rehabilitation engineering is concerned with technology innovations and technology-mediated treatments for the improvement of quality of care and quality of life of individuals with disability. Unlike many other fields of health research, the knowledge translation (KT) cycle of rehabilitation engineering research and development (R&D) is often considered incomplete until a technology product or technology-facilitated therapy is available to target clientele. As such, the KT journey of rehabilitation engineering R&D is extremely challenging, necessarily involving knowledge exchange among numerous players across multiple sectors. In this article, we draw on recent literature about the knowledge trichotomy in technology-based rehabilitation R&D and propose a knowledge ecosystem to frame the rehabilitation engineering KT process from need to product. Identifying the principal process of the ecosystem as one of knowledge flow, we elucidate the roles of repository and networked knowledge, identify key consumers and producers in a trinity of communities of practice, and draw on knowledge management literature to describe different knowledge flows. The article concludes with instantiations of this knowledge ecosystem for 2 local rehabilitation engineering research-development-commercialization endeavors. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computer image analysis in caryopses quality evaluation as exemplified by malting barley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koszela, K.; Raba, B.; Zaborowicz, M.; Przybył, K.; Wojcieszak, D.; Czekała, W.; Ludwiczak, A.; Przybylak, A.; Boniecki, P.; Przybył, J.

2015-07-01

One of the purposes to employ modern technologies in agricultural and food industry is to increase the efficiency and automation of production processes, which helps improve productive effectiveness of business enterprises, thus making them more competitive. Nowadays, a challenge presents itself for this branch of economy, to produce agricultural and food products characterized by the best parameters in terms of quality, while maintaining optimum production and distribution costs of the processed biological material. Thus, several scientific centers seek to devise new and improved methods and technologies in this field, which will allow to meet the expectations. A new solution, under constant development, is to employ the so-called machine vision which is to replace human work in both quality and quantity evaluation processes. An indisputable advantage of employing the method is keeping the evaluation unbiased while improving its rate and, what is important, eliminating the fatigue factor of the expert. This paper elaborates on the topic of quality evaluation by marking the contamination in malting barley grains using computer image analysis and selected methods of artificial intelligence [4-5].

POLICY ANALYSIS OF PRODUCED WATER ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH IN-SITU THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

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

Robert Keiter; John Ruple; Heather Tanana

2011-02-01

Commercial scale oil shale and oil sands development will require water, the amount of which will depend on the technologies adopted and the scale of development that occurs. Water in oil shale and oil sands country is already in scarce supply, and because of the arid nature of the region and limitations on water consumption imposed by interstate compacts and the Endangered Species Act, the State of Utah normally does not issue new water rights in oil shale or oil sands rich areas. Prospective oil shale and oil sands developers that do not already hold adequate water rights can acquiremore » water rights from willing sellers, but large and secure water supplies may be difficult and expensive to acquire, driving oil shale and oil sands developers to seek alternative sources of supply. Produced water is one such potential source of supply. When oil and gas are developed, operators often encounter ground water that must be removed and disposed of to facilitate hydrocarbon extraction. Water produced through mineral extraction was traditionally poor in quality and treated as a waste product rather than a valuable resource. However, the increase in produced water volume and the often-higher quality water associated with coalbed methane development have drawn attention to potential uses of produced water and its treatment under appropriations law. This growing interest in produced water has led to litigation and statutory changes that must be understood and evaluated if produced water is to be harnessed in the oil shale and oil sands development process. Conversely, if water is generated as a byproduct of oil shale and oil sands production, consideration must be given to how this water will be disposed of or utilized in the shale oil production process. This report explores the role produced water could play in commercial oil shale and oil sands production, explaining the evolving regulatory framework associated with produced water, Utah water law and produced water regulation, and the obstacles that must be overcome in order for produced water to support the nascent oil shale and oil sands industries.« less

Chlor-alkali producers evaluate safer alternatives to asbestos

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

Stadig, W.

Until recently, 75% of all US capacity for producing chlor-alkali - more than 40% of the world's capacity - has used asbestos diaphragm-cell technology. Although the Environmental Protection Agency continues to exempt asbestos use in diaphragms from restrictions, producers are considering alternatives. In Germany, stringent regulations will ban asbestos in chlor-alkali production after 1994. Heavy fines were levied recently against some chlor-alkali producers in the United States when EPA inspectors found asbestos fibers in cell renewal areas. Restrictions on the mining of asbestos raise the cost of obtaining adequate amounts of high-quality asbestos and gradually raise the cost of transportingmore » and discarding spent diaphragms. Two alternatives are to use newly developed, non-asbestos diaphragms or to convert to existing ion-exchange membrane-cell technology. Only the former seems economical in the United States. The non-asbestos diaphragm is based on an inorganic polymer composite developed in 1988 as an asbestos substitute. The composite received Du Pont's Plunkett Award for Innovation with Teflon[trademark], landed on the National Development Association's 1991 Honor Roll and became a 1991 R D 100 Award winner. 6 figs.« less

Use of artificial intelligence in the production of high quality minced meat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapovsky, B. R.; Pchelkina, V. A.; Plyasheshnik, P. I.; Dydykin, A. S.; Lazarev, A. A.

2017-09-01

A design for an automatic line for minced meat production according to new production technology based on an innovative meat milling method is proposed. This method allows the necessary degree of raw material comminution at the stage of raw material preparation to be obtained, which leads to production intensification due to the traditional meat mass comminution equipment being unnecessary. To ensure consistent quality of the product obtained, the use of on-line automatic control of the technological process for minced meat production is envisaged. This system has been developed using artificial intelligence methods and technologies. The system is trainable during the operation process, adapts to changes in processed raw material characteristics and to external impacts that affect the system operation, and manufactures meat shavings with minimal dispersion of the typical particle size. The control system includes equipment for express analysis of the chemical composition of the minced meat and its temperature after comminution. In this case, the minced meat production process can be controlled strictly as a function of time, which excludes subjective factors for assessing the degree of finished product readiness. This will allow finished meat products with consistent, targeted high quality to be produced.

Dropwise additive manufacturing of pharmaceutical products for melt-based dosage forms.

PubMed

Içten, Elçin; Giridhar, Arun; Taylor, Lynne S; Nagy, Zoltan K; Reklaitis, Gintaras V

2015-05-01

The US Food and Drug Administration introduced the quality by design approach and process analytical technology guidance to encourage innovation and efficiency in pharmaceutical development, manufacturing, and quality assurance. As part of this renewed emphasis on the improvement of manufacturing, the pharmaceutical industry has begun to develop more efficient production processes with more intensive use of online measurement and sensing, real-time quality control, and process control tools. Here, we present dropwise additive manufacturing of pharmaceutical products (DAMPP) as an alternative to conventional pharmaceutical manufacturing methods. This mini-manufacturing process for the production of pharmaceuticals utilizes drop on demand printing technology for automated and controlled deposition of melt-based formulations onto edible substrates. The advantages of drop-on-demand technology, including reproducible production of small droplets, adjustable drop sizing, high placement accuracy, and flexible use of different formulations, enable production of individualized dosing even for low-dose and high-potency drugs. In this work, DAMPP is used to produce solid oral dosage forms from hot melts of an active pharmaceutical ingredient and a polymer. The dosage forms are analyzed to show the reproducibility of dosing and the dissolution behavior of different formulations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Combination of preservation factors applied to minimal processing of foods.

PubMed

Tapia de Daza, M S; Alzamora, S M; Chanes, J W

1996-07-01

Innovative technologies for producing minimally processed (MP) foods that apply the concept of combination of preservation factors are addressed in this article with special emphasis on a new combined approach that has been successfully applied in several Latin American countries for MP high-moisture fruit products (HMFP). HMFP can be regarded as a different approach to the commercially available and widely accepted MP concept for fruits and vegetables (even if developed for the same purpose of obtaining freshlike high-quality products with an extended shelf life) that is better adapted to Latin American countries in terms of independence of the chill chain and the use of simple and energy-efficient technologies. The continuous refrigeration hurdle associated with MP refrigerated fruits is not included in the preservation system of HMFP because a different combination of hurdles must be overcome to enhance the shelf stability of nonrespiring vegetable tissues while preserving freshlike character. Guidelines to obtain safe and high-quality MP fruit products are proposed. Other products preserved by combined factors technology are also discussed, as well as some other classical and new preservation factors whose application could enhance the quality of HMFP.

#2) Sensor Technology-State of the Science | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Establish market surveys of commercially-available air quality sensorsConduct an extensive literature survey describing the state of sensor technologiesInvestigate emerging technologies and their potential to meet future air quality monitoring needs for the Agency as well as other partners/stakeholders Develop sensor user guidesEducate sensor developers/sensors users on the state of low cost censorsFacilitate knowledge transfer to Federal/Regional/State air quality associatesWork directly with sensor developers to dramatically speed up the development of next generation air monitoring Support ORD’s Sensor Roadmap by focusing on areas of highest priority (NAAQS, Air Toxics, Citizen Science)Establish highly integrated research efforts across ORD and its partners (internal/external) to ensure consistent The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose.

Hybrid sol-gel planar optics for astronomy.

PubMed

Ghasempour, A; Leite, A M P; Reynaud, F; Marques, P V S; Garcia, P J V; Alexandre, D; Moreira, P J

2009-02-02

Hybrid sol-gel planar optics devices for astronomy are produced for the first time. This material system can operate from the visible (0.5 microm) up to the edge of astronomical J-band (1.4 microm). The design, fabrication and characterization results of a coaxial three beam combiner are given as an example. Fringe contrasts above 94% are obtained with a source with spectral bandwidth of 50 nm. These results demonstrate that hybrid sol-gel technology can produce devices with high quality, opening the possibility of rapid prototyping of new designs and concepts for astronomical applications.

Application of guar gum biopolymer in the prescription of tablets with sodium ibuprofen--quality tests and pharmaceutical availability in vitro.

PubMed

Berner-Strzelczyk, Aneta; Kołodziejska, Justyna; Zgoda, Marian Mikołaj

2006-01-01

The increasing interest of the technology of drug form in natural biopolymers has become the reason for undertaking investigations on the possibility of guar gum application in the prescription of oral solid form of a drug. Alternative compositions and technology of the production of tablets of regulated in time sodium ibuprofen release were worked out for children. Two series of tablets were prepared with guar gum (5 and 10% content) and a series without the biopolymer. The tablet mass in each case contained keryostatic sorbitol and bioadhesive polyvinylpyrrolidone. All tablets were tested as regards the quality of production, compliance with the requirements of Polish Pharmacopoeia VI and potential therapeutic usefulness, manifestation of which is pharmaceutical availability of the therapeutic agent (sodium ibuprofen). The tests demonstrated that the produced tablets with sodium ibuprofen have proper physicochemical properties, in compliance with Polish Pharmacopoeia VI requirements. Application of biopolymer of guar gum type as adjuvant substance contributes to the improvement of the tablet hardness parameters and prevents technological problems (lining mixture of powders to tableting machine punch). The designed tablets demonstrate proper pharmaceutical availability of over 80%. Introduction of guar gum into their prescription prolonged their disintegration time and the rate of sodium ibuprofen release, which predisposes the produced form of a drug to have the function of a tablet with slowed-down release.

The development of silicon carbide-based power electronics devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopkins, Richard H.; Perkins, John F.

1995-01-01

In 1989 Westinghouse created an internally funded initiative to develop silicon carbide materials and device technology for a variety of potential commercial and military applications. Westinghouse saw silicon carbide as having the potential for dual use. For space applications, size and weight reductions could be achieved, together with increased reliability. Terrestrially, uses in harsh-temperature environments would be enabled. Theoretically, the physical and electrical properties of silicon carbide were highly promising for high-power, high-temperature, radiation-hardened electronics. However, bulk material with the requisite electronic qualities was not available, and the methods needed to produce a silicon carbide wafer—to fabricate high-quality devices—and to transition these technologies into a commercial product were considered to be a high-risk investment. It was recognized that through a collaborative effort, the CCDS could provide scientific expertise in several areas, thus reducing this risk. These included modeling of structures, electrical contacts, dielectrics, and epitaxial growth. This collaboration has been very successful, with developed technologies being transferred to Westinghouse.

Innovative food processing technology using ohmic heating and aseptic packaging for meat.

PubMed

Ito, Ruri; Fukuoka, Mika; Hamada-Sato, Naoko

2014-02-01

Since the Tohoku earthquake, there is much interest in processed foods, which can be stored for long periods at room temperature. Retort heating is one of the main technologies employed for producing it. We developed the innovative food processing technology, which supersede retort, using ohmic heating and aseptic packaging. Electrical heating involves the application of alternating voltage to food. Compared with retort heating, which uses a heat transfer medium, ohmic heating allows for high heating efficiency and rapid heating. In this paper we ohmically heated chicken breast samples and conducted various tests on the heated samples. The measurement results of water content, IMP, and glutamic acid suggest that the quality of the ohmically heated samples was similar or superior to that of the retort-heated samples. Furthermore, based on the monitoring of these samples, it was observed that sample quality did not deteriorate during storage. © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The American Meat Science Association. All rights reserved.

Innovative Information Systems in the Intensive Care Unit, King Saud Medical City in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Al Saleem, Nouf; Al Harthy, Abdulrahman

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the experience of implementing innovative information technology to improve the quality of services in one of the largest Intensive Care Units in Saudi Arabia. The Intensive Care Units in King Saud Medical City (ICU-KSMC) is the main ICU in the kingdom that represents the Ministry of Health. KSMC's ICU is also considered one of the largest ICU in the world as it consists of six units with 129 beds. Leaders in KSMC's ICU have introduced and integrated three information technologies to produce powerful, accurate, and timely information systems to overcome the challenges of the ICU nature and improve the quality of service to ensure patients' safety. By 2015, ICU in KSMC has noticed a remarkable improvement in: beds' occupation and utilization, staff communication, reduced medical errors, and improved departmental work flow, which created a healthy professional work environment. Yet, ICU in KSMC has ongoing improvement projects that include future plans for more innovative information technologies' implementation in the department.

Next-generation pushbroom filter radiometers for remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarde, Richard W.; Dittman, Michael G.; Kvaran, Geir E.

2012-09-01

Individual focal plane size, yield, and quality continue to improve, as does the technology required to combine these into large tiled formats. As a result, next-generation pushbroom imagers are replacing traditional scanning technologies in remote sensing applications. Pushbroom architecture has inherently better radiometric sensitivity and significantly reduced payload mass, power, and volume than previous generation scanning technologies. However, the architecture creates challenges achieving the required radiometric accuracy performance. Achieving good radiometric accuracy, including image spectral and spatial uniformity, requires creative optical design, high quality focal planes and filters, careful consideration of on-board calibration sources, and state-of-the-art ground test facilities. Ball Aerospace built the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) next-generation Operational Landsat Imager (OLI) payload. Scheduled to launch in 2013, OLI provides imagery consistent with the historical Landsat spectral, spatial, radiometric, and geometric data record and completes the generational technology upgrade from the Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) whiskbroom technology to modern pushbroom technology afforded by advanced focal planes. We explain how Ball's capabilities allowed producing the innovative next-generational OLI pushbroom filter radiometer that meets challenging radiometric accuracy or calibration requirements. OLI will improve the multi-decadal land surface observation dataset dating back to the 1972 launch of ERTS-1 or Landsat 1.

Assessment of DNA extracted from FTA® cards for use on the Illumina iSelect BeadChip

PubMed Central

McClure, Matthew C; McKay, Stephanie D; Schnabel, Robert D; Taylor, Jeremy F

2009-01-01

Background As FTA® cards provide an ideal medium for the field collection of DNA we sought to assess the quality of genomic DNA extracted from this source for use on the Illumina BovineSNP50 iSelect BeadChip which requires unbound, relatively intact (fragment sizes ≥ 2 kb), and high-quality DNA. Bovine blood and nasal swab samples collected on FTA cards were extracted using the commercially available GenSolve kit with a minor modification. The call rate and concordance of genotypes from each sample were compared to those obtained from whole blood samples extracted by standard PCI extraction. Findings An ANOVA analysis indicated no significant difference (P > 0.72) in BovineSNP50 genotype call rate between DNA extracted from FTA cards by the GenSolve kit or extracted from whole blood by PCI. Two sample t-tests demonstrated that the DNA extracted from the FTA cards produced genotype call and concordance rates that were not different to those produced by assaying DNA samples extracted by PCI from whole blood. Conclusion We conclude that DNA extracted from FTA cards by the GenSolve kit is of sufficiently high quality to produce results comparable to those obtained from DNA extracted from whole blood when assayed by the Illumina iSelect technology. Additionally, we validate the use of nasal swabs as an alternative to venous blood or buccal samples from animal subjects for reliably producing high quality genotypes on this platform. PMID:19531223

Assessment of DNA extracted from FTA cards for use on the Illumina iSelect BeadChip.

PubMed

McClure, Matthew C; McKay, Stephanie D; Schnabel, Robert D; Taylor, Jeremy F

2009-06-16

As FTA cards provide an ideal medium for the field collection of DNA we sought to assess the quality of genomic DNA extracted from this source for use on the Illumina BovineSNP50 iSelect BeadChip which requires unbound, relatively intact (fragment sizes >or= 2 kb), and high-quality DNA. Bovine blood and nasal swab samples collected on FTA cards were extracted using the commercially available GenSolve kit with a minor modification. The call rate and concordance of genotypes from each sample were compared to those obtained from whole blood samples extracted by standard PCI extraction. An ANOVA analysis indicated no significant difference (P > 0.72) in BovineSNP50 genotype call rate between DNA extracted from FTA cards by the GenSolve kit or extracted from whole blood by PCI. Two sample t-tests demonstrated that the DNA extracted from the FTA cards produced genotype call and concordance rates that were not different to those produced by assaying DNA samples extracted by PCI from whole blood. We conclude that DNA extracted from FTA cards by the GenSolve kit is of sufficiently high quality to produce results comparable to those obtained from DNA extracted from whole blood when assayed by the Illumina iSelect technology. Additionally, we validate the use of nasal swabs as an alternative to venous blood or buccal samples from animal subjects for reliably producing high quality genotypes on this platform.

Development of the Electromagnetic Continuous Casting Technology for of Magnesium Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Joon-Pyo; Kim, Myoung-Gyun; Kim, Jong-Ho; Lee, Gyu-Chang

Currently, magnesium billets produced by ingot casting or direct chill casting process, result in low-quality surfaces and low productivity, Continuous casting technology to solve these problem has not only high-quality surface billets with fine-grained and homogeneous microstructure but also cost down. The latent heat of fusion per weight (J/g) of magnesium is similar to other metals, however, considering the heat emitted to the mold surface during continuous casting in meniscus region and converting it to the latent heat of fusion per volume, magnesium will be rapidly solidified in the mold during continuous casting, which induces subsequent surface defect formation. In this study, electromagnetic casting and stirring (EMC and EMS) techniques are proposed to control solidification process conveniently by compensating the low latent heat of solidification by volume and to fabricate magnesium billet with high-quality surface. This technique was extended to large scale billets up to 300 mm diameter and continuous casting was successfully conducted. Then magnesium billet was used for the fabrication of prototype automobile pulley.

Reduction of energy usage in postharvest horticulture through management of ethylene.

PubMed

Wills, Ron B H; Golding, John B

2015-05-01

Cool chain management is the preferred technology to extend the postharvest life of horticultural produce, but with rising energy costs and community pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there is a need to use less energy-intensive technologies. Minimising the level of ethylene around horticultural produce inhibits ripening and senescence and therefore has the potential to reduce the use of refrigeration. The long-distance transport of bananas within Australia and from Central America to Europe is used as a case study to show that the need for refrigeration could be reduced if the appropriate concentrations of ethylene were maintained around fruit during transit. Data are also presented to show a similar benefit of ethylene control with green beans, as well as another study showing that apples treated with the ethylene action inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene could be stored at a higher temperature without loss of quality to the consumer. The range of technologies available to manage ethylene levels is discussed. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

The applied technologies to access clean water for remote communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabindra, I. B.

2018-01-01

A lot of research is done to overcome the remote communities to access clean water, yet very little is utilized and implemented by the community. Various reasons can probably be made for, which is the application of research results is assessed less practical. The aims of this paper is seeking a practical approach, how to establish criteria for the design can be easier applied, at the proper locations, the simple construction, effectively producing a volume and quality of clean water designation. The methods used in this paper is a technological model assessment of treatment/filtering clean water produced a variety of previous research, to establish a model of appropriate technology for remote communities. Various research results collected from the study of literature, while the identification of opportunities and threats to its application is done using a SWOT analysis. This article discussion is looking for alternative models of clean water filtration technology from the previous research results, to be selected as appropriate technology, easily applied and bring of many benefits to the remote communities. The conclusions resulting from the discussion in this paper, expected to be used as the basic criteria of design model of clean water filtration technologies that can be accepted and applied effectively by the remote communities.

Influence of raw material properties upon critical quality attributes of continuously produced granules and tablets.

PubMed

Fonteyne, Margot; Wickström, Henrika; Peeters, Elisabeth; Vercruysse, Jurgen; Ehlers, Henrik; Peters, Björn-Hendrik; Remon, Jean Paul; Vervaet, Chris; Ketolainen, Jarkko; Sandler, Niklas; Rantanen, Jukka; Naelapää, Kaisa; De Beer, Thomas

2014-07-01

Continuous manufacturing gains more and more interest within the pharmaceutical industry. The International Conference of Harmonisation (ICH) states in its Q8 'Pharmaceutical Development' guideline that the manufacturer of pharmaceuticals should have an enhanced knowledge of the product performance over a range of raw material attributes, manufacturing process options and process parameters. This fits further into the Process Analytical Technology (PAT) and Quality by Design (QbD) framework. The present study evaluates the effect of variation in critical raw material properties on the critical quality attributes of granules and tablets, produced by a continuous from-powder-to-tablet wet granulation line. The granulation process parameters were kept constant to examine the differences in the end product quality caused by the variability of the raw materials properties only. Theophylline-Lactose-PVP (30-67.5-2.5%) was used as model formulation. Seven different grades of theophylline were granulated. Afterward, the obtained granules were tableted. Both the characteristics of granules and tablets were determined. The results show that differences in raw material properties both affect their processability and several critical quality attributes of the resulting granules and tablets. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Current experiences in applied underground coal gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, Justyn

2010-05-01

The world is experiencing greater stress on its ability to mine and exploit energy resources such as coal, through traditional mining methods. The resources available by extraction from traditional mining methods will have a finite time and quantity. In addition, the high quality coals available are becoming more difficult to find substantially increasing exploration costs. Subsequently, new methods of extraction are being considered to improve the ability to unlock the energy from deep coals and improve the efficiency of the exploitation of the resources while also considering the mitigation of global warming. Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is a leading commercial technology that is able to maximize the exploitation of the deep coal through extraction of the coal as a syngas (CO and H2) in situ. The syngas is then brought to the surface and efficiently utilized in any of combined cycle power generation, liquid hydrocarbon transport fuel production, fertilizer production or polymer production. Commercial UCG has been successfully operating for more than 50 years at the Yerostigaz facility in Angren, Uzbekistan. Yerostigaz is the only remaining UCG site in the former Soviet Union. Linc Energy currently owns 91.6% of this facility. UCG produces a high quality synthetic gas (syngas), containing carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. UCG produced syngas can be economically used for a variety of purposes, including: the production of liquid fuels when combined with Gas to Liquids (GTL) technology power generation in gas turbine combined cycle power stations a feedstock for different petrochemical processes, for example producing chemicals or other gases such as hydrogen, methane, ammonia, methanol and dimethyl ether Linc Energy has proven the combined use of UCG to Gas to Liquids (GTL) technologies. UCG to GTL technologies have the ability to provide energy alternatives to address increasing global demand for energy products. With these technologies, Linc Energy is set to become the leading producer of cleaner liquid fuels and other associated products. UCG has now been developed to a point where the commercialisation of the process is no longer questioned, the economics of the process are compelling, and is now seen as a method that resolves energy security for countries that have access to deep coal previously thought to have no economic value.

Influence of fermented faba bean flour on the nutritional, technological and sensory quality of fortified pasta.

PubMed

Rizzello, Carlo G; Verni, Michela; Koivula, Hanna; Montemurro, Marco; Seppa, Laila; Kemell, Marianna; Katina, Kati; Coda, Rossana; Gobbetti, Marco

2017-02-22

Faba bean has gained increasing attention from the food industry and the consumers mainly due to the quality of its protein fraction. Fermentation has been recently recognized as the most efficient tool for improving its nutritional and organoleptic properties. In this study, faba bean flour fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum DPPMAB24W was used to fortify semolina pasta. Pasta samples including different percentages of fermented faba bean flour were produced at the pilot-plant level and characterized using an integrated approach for chemical, nutritional, technological, and sensory features. At a substitution level of 30%, pasta had a more homogeneous texture and lower cooking loss compared to 50% addition. The impact of faba bean flour addition on pasta technological functionality, particularly of the protein fraction, was also assessed by scanning electron microscopy and textural profile analysis. Compared to traditional (semolina) pasta and pasta containing unfermented faba bean flour, the nutritional profile (in vitro protein digestibility and nutritional indexes - chemical score (CS), sequence of limiting essential amino acids, Essential Amino Acid Index (EAAI), Biological Value (BV), Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), and Nutritional Index (NI)) and the resistant starch content of pasta containing 30% fermented faba bean flour markedly improved, while the starch hydrolysis rate decreased, without negatively affecting technological and sensory features. The use of fermentation technology appears to be a promising tool to enhance the quality of pasta and to promote the use of faba bean flour.

Application of a risk analysis method to different technologies for producing a monoclonal antibody employed in hepatitis B vaccine manufacturing.

PubMed

Milá, Lorely; Valdés, Rodolfo; Tamayo, Andrés; Padilla, Sigifredo; Ferro, Williams

2012-03-01

CB.Hep-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) is used for a recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine manufacturing, which is included in a worldwide vaccination program against Hepatitis B disease. The use of this mAb as immunoligand has been addressed into one of the most efficient steps of active pharmaceutical ingredient purification process. Regarding this, Quality Risk Management (QRM) provides an excellent framework for the risk management use in pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality decision-making applications. Consequently, this study sought applying a prospective risk analysis methodology Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) as QRM tool for analyzing different CB.Hep-1 mAb manufacturing technologies. As main conclusions FMEA was successfully used to assess risks associated with potential problems in CB.Hep-1 mAb manufacturing processes. The severity and occurrence of risks analysis evidenced that the percentage of very high severe risks ranged 31.0-38.7% of all risks and the huge majority of risks have a very low occurrence level (61.9-83.3%) in all assessed technologies. Finally, additive Risk Priority Number, was descending ordered as follow: transgenic plants (2636), ascites (2577), transgenic animals (2046) and hollow fiber bioreactors (1654), which also corroborated that in vitro technology, should be the technology of choice for CB.Hep-1 mAb manufacturing in terms of risks and mAb molecule quality. Copyright © 2011 The International Alliance for Biological Standardization. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Marker, Terry; Roberts, Michael; Linck, Martin

Cellulosic and woody biomass can be directly converted to hydrocarbon gasoline and diesel blending components through the use of a new, economical, technology named integrated hydropyrolysis plus hydroconversion (IH2). The IH2 gasoline and diesel blending components are fully compatible with petroleum based gasoline and diesel, contain less than 1% oxygen and have less than 1 total acid number (TAN). The IH2 gasoline is high quality and very close to a drop in fuel. The life cycle analysis (LCA) shows that the use of the IH2 process to convert wood to gasoline and diesel results in a greater than 90% reductionmore » in greenhouse gas emission compared to that found with fossil derived fuels. The technoeconomic analysis showed the conversion of wood using the IH2 process can produce gasoline and diesel at less than $2.00/gallon. In this project, the previously reported semi-continuous small scale IH2 test results were confirmed in a continuous 50 kg/day pilot plant. The continuous IH2 pilot plant used in this project was operated round the clock for over 750 hours and showed good pilot plant operability while consistently producing 26-28 wt % yields of high quality gasoline and diesel product. The IH2 catalyst showed good stability, although more work on catalyst stability is recommended. Additional work is needed to commercialize the IH2 technology including running large particle size biomass, modeling the hydropyrolysis step, studying the effects of process variables and building and operating a 1-50 ton/day demonstration scale plant. The IH2 is a true game changing technology by utilizing U.S. domestic renewable biomass resources to create transportation fuels, sufficient in quantity and quality to substantially reduce our reliance on foreign crude oil. Thus, the IH2 technology offers a path to genuine energy independence for the U. S., along with the creation of a significant number of new U.S. jobs to plant, grow, harvest, and process biomass crops into fungible fuels.« less

What are the livestock industries doing, and what do they need from us?

PubMed

Meeker, D L

1999-02-01

Livestock industries are facing global competition and revolutionary changes. While facing this global competition, the similarities of many animal meat products require that they compete on a cost-of-production basis. Additional issues include the environmental impact of animal agriculture, the role of animal products in human nutrition, food safety and quality, biotechnology, animal welfare, and market access. Progressive producers are becoming more aware of the needs of their customers and are striving to improve product quality. Checkoff funds are used to finance promotion, research, and consumer information programs and are increasingly used to finance producer education. Industrialization trends in the livestock industries are changing the needs of constituencies, delivery mechanisms, and relationships with the people involved. Characteristics of closed operations include high production cost, outdated technology, smaller size, older operators, and lack of management focus. Successful operations tend to be growing in capacity, are system-oriented, maintain high throughput, keep accurate records, use outside consultants, and control production costs. Modern livestock production has lowered the cost of production by integrating new production and management technologies. In order for producers to be successful in the future, access to technology, capital, and timely information will be critical. Animal scientists have many common objectives with livestock industries. Their work in research, teaching, and extension is critical for continued progress. However, people in the industries sometimes have the perception that academic arrogance, discipline myopia, uncoordinated research, slow technology transfer, increasing research costs, and counter-productive tenure systems prevent animal scientists from being as relevant and responsive as they could be. Support from the industries is essential as animal scientists and academic departments seek political and funding support. This support can be attained by including integrated systems research, improving communication skills, achieving more efficient research budgets, rapidly publishing results, reducing the cost of information distribution, developing flexible research agendas, retraining scientists, acquiring modern methods, and emphasizing critical thinking, communication, and teamwork when teaching.

Automated geospatial Web Services composition based on geodata quality requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruz, Sérgio A. B.; Monteiro, Antonio M. V.; Santos, Rafael

2012-10-01

Service-Oriented Architecture and Web Services technologies improve the performance of activities involved in geospatial analysis with a distributed computing architecture. However, the design of the geospatial analysis process on this platform, by combining component Web Services, presents some open issues. The automated construction of these compositions represents an important research topic. Some approaches to solving this problem are based on AI planning methods coupled with semantic service descriptions. This work presents a new approach using AI planning methods to improve the robustness of the produced geospatial Web Services composition. For this purpose, we use semantic descriptions of geospatial data quality requirements in a rule-based form. These rules allow the semantic annotation of geospatial data and, coupled with the conditional planning method, this approach represents more precisely the situations of nonconformities with geodata quality that may occur during the execution of the Web Service composition. The service compositions produced by this method are more robust, thus improving process reliability when working with a composition of chained geospatial Web Services.

Understanding Potential Air Emissions from a Cellulosic Biorefinery Producing Renewable Diesel Blendstock.

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

Zhang, Yimin; Heath, Garvin A.; Renzaglia, Jason

2015-06-22

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, through the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), mandates increased use of biofuels, including cellulosic biofuels. The RFS is expected to spur the development of advanced biofuel technologies (e.g., new and innovative biofuel conversion pathways) as well as the construction of biorefineries (refineries that produce biofuels) using these technologies. To develop sustainable cellulosic biofuels, one of the goals of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) at the Department of Energy is to minimize air pollutants from the entire biofuel supply chain, as stated in their 2014 Multi-Year Program Plan (2014). Although biofuels in general havemore » been found to have lower life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to petroleum fuels on an energy basis, biomass feedstock production, harvesting, transportation, processing and conversion are expected to emit a wide range of other air pollutants (e.g., criteria air pollutants, hazardous air pollutants), which could affect the environmental benefits of biofuels when displacing petroleum fuels. While it is important for policy makers, air quality planners and regulators, biofuel developers, and investors to understand the potential implications on air quality from a growing biofuel industry, there is a general lack of information and knowledge about the type, fate and magnitude of potential air pollutant emissions from the production of cellulosic biofuels due to the nascent stage of this emerging industry. This analysis assesses potential air pollutant emissions from a hypothetical biorefinery, selected by BETO for further research and development, which uses a biological conversion process of sugars to hydrocarbons to produce infrastructural-compatible renewable diesel blendstock from cellulosic biomass.« less

Overview on the General Approaches to Improve Gluten-Free Pasta and Bread

PubMed Central

Padalino, Lucia; Conte, Amalia; Del Nobile, Matteo Alessandro

2016-01-01

The use of gluten-free products is increasing since a growing number of people are suffering from celiac disease and thereby need gluten-free diet. Gluten is responsible for the visco-elastic characteristics of wheat-based products; therefore, its lack makes the gluten-free products not similar to wheat-based product, with scarce textural properties. This reason constitutes the major industrial limitation. Thus, obtaining good-quality gluten-free products represents a technological challenge. This review reports the main strategies adopted to produce high quality gluten-free pasta and bread. They are mainly obtained by the utilization of specific ingredients (hydrocolloids, proteins or enzymes) to be incorporated into the standard formulation or the adoption of proper technological variables that can enhance above all the functional properties, the texture and the taste. PMID:28231182

Environmental aspects of produced-water salt releases in onshore and coastal petroleum-producing areas of the conterminous U.S. - a bibliography

USGS Publications Warehouse

Otton, James K.

2006-01-01

Environmental effects associated with the production of oil and gas have been reported since the first oil wells were drilled in the Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and Kentucky in the early to mid-1800s. The most significant of these effects are the degradation of soils, ground water, surface water, and ecosystems they support by releases of suspended and dissolved hydrocarbons and co-produced saline water. Produced water salts are less likely than hydrocarbons to be adsorbed by mineral phases in the soil and sediment and are not subject to degradation by biologic processes. Sodium is a major dissolved constituent in most produced waters and it causes substantial degradation of soils through altering of clays and soil textures and subsequent erosion. Produced water salts seem to have the most wide-ranging effects on soils, water quality, and ecosystems. Trace elements, including boron, lithium, bromine, fluorine, and radium, also occur in elevated concentrations in some produced waters. Many trace elements are phytotoxic and are adsorbed and may remain in soils after the saline water has been flushed away. Radium-bearing scale and sludge found in oilfield equipment and discarded on soils pose additional hazards to human health and ecosystems. This bibliography includes studies from across the oil- and natural-gas-producing areas of the conterminous United States that were published in the last 80 yrs. The studies describe the effects of produced water salts on soils, water quality, and ecosystems. Also included are reports that describe (1) the inorganic chemistry of produced waters included in studies of formation waters for various purposes, (2) other sources of salt affecting water quality that may be mistaken for produced water effects, (3) geochemical and geophysical techniques that allow discrimination of salt sources, (4) remediation technologies designed to repair damage caused to soils and ground water by produced water salts, and (5) contamination by naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM)at oilfield sites.

Use of multiple sequencing technologies to produce a high-quality genome of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of bat White-Nose syndrome

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drees, Kevin P.; Palmer, Jonathan M.; Sebra, Robert; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Chen, Cynthia; Wu, ChengCang; Bok, Jin Woo; Keller, Nancy F.; Blehert, David; Cuomo, Christina A.; Linder, Daniel L.; Foster, Jeffrey T.

2016-01-01

White-Nose syndrome has recently emerged as one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded, causing widespread mortality in numerous bat species throughout eastern North America. Here, we present an improvised reference genome of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans for use in comparative genomic studies.

Dehydration of berry purees to produce value-added powders of high quality for use in nutritional supplements: year 3

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In year two of this three year proposal, we were to dry raspberry and blackberry on a freeze dryer located at the WSU pilot plant (Pullman, WA) and the Radiant Zone Dryer (RZD) at Columbia PhytoTechnology, LLC (Dallesport, WA). We instead focused on RZD processing of cranberry and raspberry because ...

Use of Multiple Sequencing Technologies To Produce a High-Quality Genome of the Fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Causative Agent of Bat White-Nose Syndrome

PubMed Central

Sebra, Robert; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Chen, Cynthia; Wu, Cheng-Cang; Bok, Jin Woo; Keller, Nancy P.; Blehert, David S.; Lindner, Daniel L.

2016-01-01

White-nose syndrome has recently emerged as one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded, causing widespread mortality in numerous bat species throughout eastern North America. Here, we present an improved reference genome of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans for use in comparative genomic studies. PMID:27365344

Discovering Learning, Discovering Self: The Effects of an Interdisciplinary, Standards-Based School Garden Curriculum on Elementary Students in Hawai'i

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koh, Ming Wei

2012-01-01

This study evaluates the effects of an interdisciplinary standards-based school garden-based education program on student learning. The objective of the program is to help students learn to be self-directed learners, community contributors, complex thinkers, quality producers, effective communicators, and effective/ethical users of technology. For…

Use of multiple sequencing technologies to produce a high-quality genome of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of bat white-nose syndrome

Treesearch

Kevin P. Drees; Jonathan M. Palmer; Robert Sebra; Jeffrey M. Lorch; Cynthia Chen; Cheng-Cang Wu; Jin Woo Bok; Nancy P. Keller; David S. Blehert; Christina A. Cuomo; Daniel L. Lindner; Jeffrey T. Foster

2016-01-01

White-nose syndrome has recently emerged as one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded, causing widespread mortality in numerous bat species throughout eastern North America. Here, we present an improved reference genome of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans for use in comparative genomic studies.

A Benchmark Study on Error Assessment and Quality Control of CCS Reads Derived from the PacBio RS

PubMed Central

Jiao, Xiaoli; Zheng, Xin; Ma, Liang; Kutty, Geetha; Gogineni, Emile; Sun, Qiang; Sherman, Brad T.; Hu, Xiaojun; Jones, Kristine; Raley, Castle; Tran, Bao; Munroe, David J.; Stephens, Robert; Liang, Dun; Imamichi, Tomozumi; Kovacs, Joseph A.; Lempicki, Richard A.; Huang, Da Wei

2013-01-01

PacBio RS, a newly emerging third-generation DNA sequencing platform, is based on a real-time, single-molecule, nano-nitch sequencing technology that can generate very long reads (up to 20-kb) in contrast to the shorter reads produced by the first and second generation sequencing technologies. As a new platform, it is important to assess the sequencing error rate, as well as the quality control (QC) parameters associated with the PacBio sequence data. In this study, a mixture of 10 prior known, closely related DNA amplicons were sequenced using the PacBio RS sequencing platform. After aligning Circular Consensus Sequence (CCS) reads derived from the above sequencing experiment to the known reference sequences, we found that the median error rate was 2.5% without read QC, and improved to 1.3% with an SVM based multi-parameter QC method. In addition, a De Novo assembly was used as a downstream application to evaluate the effects of different QC approaches. This benchmark study indicates that even though CCS reads are post error-corrected it is still necessary to perform appropriate QC on CCS reads in order to produce successful downstream bioinformatics analytical results. PMID:24179701

A Benchmark Study on Error Assessment and Quality Control of CCS Reads Derived from the PacBio RS.

PubMed

Jiao, Xiaoli; Zheng, Xin; Ma, Liang; Kutty, Geetha; Gogineni, Emile; Sun, Qiang; Sherman, Brad T; Hu, Xiaojun; Jones, Kristine; Raley, Castle; Tran, Bao; Munroe, David J; Stephens, Robert; Liang, Dun; Imamichi, Tomozumi; Kovacs, Joseph A; Lempicki, Richard A; Huang, Da Wei

2013-07-31

PacBio RS, a newly emerging third-generation DNA sequencing platform, is based on a real-time, single-molecule, nano-nitch sequencing technology that can generate very long reads (up to 20-kb) in contrast to the shorter reads produced by the first and second generation sequencing technologies. As a new platform, it is important to assess the sequencing error rate, as well as the quality control (QC) parameters associated with the PacBio sequence data. In this study, a mixture of 10 prior known, closely related DNA amplicons were sequenced using the PacBio RS sequencing platform. After aligning Circular Consensus Sequence (CCS) reads derived from the above sequencing experiment to the known reference sequences, we found that the median error rate was 2.5% without read QC, and improved to 1.3% with an SVM based multi-parameter QC method. In addition, a De Novo assembly was used as a downstream application to evaluate the effects of different QC approaches. This benchmark study indicates that even though CCS reads are post error-corrected it is still necessary to perform appropriate QC on CCS reads in order to produce successful downstream bioinformatics analytical results.

The US Geological Survey's national coal resource assessment: The results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruppert, Leslie F.; Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Warwick, Peter D.; Flores, Romeo M.; Affolter, Ronald H.; Hatch, Joseph R.

2002-01-01

The US Geological Survey and the State geological surveys of many coal-bearing States recently completed a new assessment of the top producing coal beds and coal zones in five major producing coal regions—the Appalachian Basin, Gulf Coast, Illinois Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. The assessments, which focused on both coal quality and quantity, utilized geographic information system technology and large databases. Over 1,600,000 million short tons of coal remain in over 60 coal beds and coal zones that were assessed. Given current economic, environmental, and technological restrictions, the majority of US coal production will occur in that portion of the assessed coal resource that is lowest in sulfur content. These resources are concentrated in parts of the central Appalachian Basin, Colorado Plateau, and the Northern Rocky Mountains.

What is quality in assisted living technology? The ARCHIE framework for effective telehealth and telecare services.

PubMed

Greenhalgh, Trisha; Procter, Rob; Wherton, Joe; Sugarhood, Paul; Hinder, Sue; Rouncefield, Mark

2015-04-23

We sought to define quality in telehealth and telecare with the aim of improving the proportion of patients who receive appropriate, acceptable and workable technologies and services to support them living with illness or disability. This was a three-phase study: (1) interviews with seven technology suppliers and 14 service providers, (2) ethnographic case studies of 40 people, 60 to 98 years old, with multi-morbidity and assisted living needs and (3) 10 co-design workshops. In phase 1, we explored barriers to uptake of telehealth and telecare. In phase 2, we used ethnographic methods to build a detailed picture of participants' lives, illness experiences and technology use. In phase 3, we brought users and their carers together with suppliers and providers to derive quality principles for assistive technology products and services. Interviews identified practical, material and organisational barriers to smooth introduction and continued support of assistive technologies. The experience of multi-morbidity was characterised by multiple, mutually reinforcing and inexorably worsening impairments, producing diverse and unique care challenges. Participants and their carers managed these pragmatically, obtaining technologies and adapting the home. Installed technologies were rarely fit for purpose. Support services for technologies made high (and sometimes oppressive) demands on users. Six principles emerged from the workshops. Quality telehealth or telecare is 1) ANCHORED in a shared understanding of what matters to the user; 2) REALISTIC about the natural history of illness; 3) CO-CREATIVE, evolving and adapting solutions with users; 4) HUMAN, supported through interpersonal relationships and social networks; 5) INTEGRATED, through attention to mutual awareness and knowledge sharing; 6) EVALUATED to drive system learning. Technological advances are important, but must be underpinned by industry and service providers following a user-centred approach to design and delivery. For the ARCHIE principles to be realised, the sector requires: (1) a shift in focus from product ('assistive technologies') to performance ('supporting technologies-in-use'); (2) a shift in the commissioning model from standardised to personalised home care contracts; and (3) a shift in the design model from 'walled garden', branded products to inter-operable components that can be combined and used flexibly across devices and platforms. Please see related article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916-015-0305-8.

Low-Cost Quality Control and Nondestructive Evaluation Technologies for General Aviation Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, K. Elliott; Gavinsky, Bob; Semanskee, Grant

1998-01-01

NASA's Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) Program has as a goal to reduce the overall cost of producing private aviation aircraft while maintaining the safety of these aircraft. In order to successfully meet this goal, it is necessary to develop nondestructive inspection techniques which will facilitate the production of the materials used in these aircraft and assure the quality necessary to maintain airworthiness. This paper will discuss a particular class of general aviation materials and several nondestructive inspection techniques that have proven effective for making these inspections. Additionally, this paper will discuss the investigation and application of other commercially available quality control techniques applicable to these structures.

A top-down approach to fabrication of high quality vertical heterostructure nanowire arrays.

PubMed

Wang, Hua; Sun, Minghua; Ding, Kang; Hill, Martin T; Ning, Cun-Zheng

2011-04-13

We demonstrate a novel top-down approach for fabricating nanowires with unprecedented complexity and optical quality by taking advantage of a nanoscale self-masking effect. We realized vertical arrays of nanowires of 20-40 nm in diameter with 16 segments of complex longitudinal InGaAsP/InP structures. The unprecedented high quality of etched wires is evidenced by the narrowest photoluminescence linewidth ever produced in similar wavelengths, indistinguishable from that of the corresponding wafer. This top-down, mask-free, large scale approach is compatible with the established device fabrication processes and could serve as an important alternative to the bottom-up approach, significantly expanding ranges and varieties of applications of nanowire technology.

Tidd PFBC demonstration project

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

Marrocco, M.

1997-12-31

The Tidd project was one of the first joint government-industry ventures to be approved by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in its Clean Coal Technology Program. In March 1987, DOE signed an agreement with the Ohio Power Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, to refurbish the then-idle Tidd plant on the banks of the Ohio River with advanced pressurized fluidized bed technology. Testing ended after 49 months of operation, 100 individual tests, and the generation of more than 500,000 megawatt-hours of electricity. The demonstration plant has met its objectives. The project showed that more than 95 percent ofmore » sulfur dioxide pollutants could be removed inside the advanced boiler using the advanced combustion technology, giving future power plants an attractive alternative to expensive, add-on scrubber technology. In addition to its sulfur removal effectiveness, the plant`s sustained periods of steady-state operation boosted its availability significantly above design projections, heightening confidence that pressurized fluidized bed technology will be a reliable, baseload technology for future power plants. The technology also controlled the release of nitrogen oxides to levels well below the allowable limits set by federal air quality standards. It also produced a dry waste product that is much easier to handle than wastes from conventional power plants and will likely have commercial value when produced by future power plants.« less

Nanocrystals: The preparation, precise control, and application toward the pharmaceutics and foods industry.

PubMed

Wu, Cao; Chen, Zhou; Hu, Ya; Rao, Zhiyuan; Wu, Wangping; Yang, Zhaogang

2018-05-15

Crystallization is a significant process employed to produce a wide variety of materials in pharmaceutical and food area. The control of crystal dimension, crystallinity, and shape is very important because they will affect the subsequent filtration, drying and grinding performance as well as the physical and chemical properties of the material. This review summarizes the special features of crystallization technology and the preparation methods of nanocrystals, and discusses analytical technology which is used to control crystal quality and performance. The crystallization technology applications in pharmaceutics and foods are also outlined. These illustrated examples further help us to gain a better understanding of the crystallization technology for pharmaceutics and foods. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

[New simulation technologies in neurosurgery].

PubMed

Byvaltsev, V A; Belykh, E G; Konovalov, N A

2016-01-01

The article presents a literature review on the current state of simulation technologies in neurosurgery, a brief description of the basic technology and the classification of simulation models, and examples of simulation models and skills simulators used in neurosurgery. Basic models for the development of physical skills, the spectrum of available computer virtual simulators, and their main characteristics are described. It would be instructive to include microneurosurgical training and a cadaver course of neurosurgical approaches in neurosurgery training programs and to extend the use of three-dimensional imaging. Technologies for producing three-dimensional anatomical models and patient-specific computer simulators as well as improvement of tactile feedback systems and display quality of virtual models are promising areas. Continued professional education necessitates further research for assessing the validity and practical use of simulators and physical models.

Minimum specific cost control of technological processes realized in a living objects-containing microenvironment.

PubMed

Amelkin, Alexander A; Blagoveschenskaya, Margarita M; Lobanov, Yury V; Amelkin, Anatoly K

2003-01-01

The purpose of the present work is to work out an approach for the development of software and the choice of hardware structures when designing subsystems for automatic control of technological processes realized in living objects containing limited space (microenvironment). The subsystems for automatic control of the microenvironment (SACME) under development use the Devices for Air Prophylactic Treatment, Aeroionization, and Purification (DAPTAP) as execution units for increasing the level of safety and quality of agricultural raw material and foodstuffs, for reducing the losses of agricultural produce during storage and cultivation, as well as for intensifying the processes of activation of agricultural produce and industrial microorganisms. A set of interconnected SACMEs works within the framework of a general microenvironmental system (MES). In this research, the population of baker's yeast is chosen as a basic object of control under the industrial fed-batch cultivation in a bubbling bioreactor. This project is an example of a minimum cost automation approach. The microenvironment optimal control problem for baker's yeast cultivation is reduced from a profit maximum to the maximization of overall yield by the reason that the material flow-oriented specific cost correlates closely with the reciprocal value of the overall yield. Implementation of the project partially solves a local sustainability problem and supports a balance of microeconomical, microecological and microsocial systems within a technological subsystem realized in a microenvironment maintaining an optimal value of economical criterion (e.g. minimum material, flow-oriented specific cost) and ensuring: (a) economical growth (profit increase, raw material saving); (b) high security, safety and quality of agricultural raw material during storage process and of food produce during a technological process; elimination of the contact of gaseous harmful substances with a subproduct during various technological stages; (c) improvement of labour conditions for industrial personnel from an ecological point of view (positive effect of air aeroionization and purification on human organism promoting strengthened health and an increase in life duration, pulverent and gaseous chemical and biological impurity removal). An alternative aspect of a controlled living microenvironment forming is considered.

[Development and technological transfer of functional pastas extended with legumes].

PubMed

Granito, Marisela; Ascanio, Vanesa

2009-03-01

Development and technological transfer of functional pastas extended with legumes. Semolina pasta is a highly consumed foodstuff, the biological value of which is low because its protein is deficient in lysine. However, if the semolina is extended with legumes rich in this essential aminoacid, not only and aminoacid supplementation is produced, but also the dietary fibre and minerals are increased. In this work, pastas extended in 10% with a white variety of Phaseolus vulgaris and with Cajanus cajan were produced on a pilot plant scale, and this technology was transferred to a cooperative producing artisanal pastas. The cooking qualities and the physical, chemical, and nutritional characteristics of the pastas were evaluated, as well as the sensorial acceptability in institutionalized elderly people. The extension of the pastas with legume flours increased the optimum cooking time (15 to 20%), the weight (20% and 25%), and the loss of solids by cooking. Similarly, the functional value of the pastas increased by increasing the contents of minerals and dietary fibre. The protein content, as well as the protein digestibility in vitro also increased; however, the parameters of colour L, a and b, and the total starch content of the pastas decreased. At consumer level, the pastas extended with legumes had a good acceptability, for what it was concluded that the extension of the semolina with legume flours in the manufacture of pastas is technologically feasible.

The World Coal Quality Inventory: South America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Karlsen, Alex W.; Tewalt, Susan J.; Bragg, Linda J.; Finkelman, Robert B.

2006-01-01

Executive Summary-Introduction: The concepts of a global environment and economy are strongly and irrevocably linked to global energy issues. Worldwide coal production and international coal trade are projected to increase during the next several decades in an international energy mix that is still strongly dependent on fossil fuels. Therefore, worldwide coal use will play an increasingly visible role in global environmental, economic, and energy forums. Policy makers require information on coal, including coal quality data, to make informed decisions regarding domestic coal resource allocation, import needs and export opportunities, foreign policy objectives, technology transfer policies, foreign investment prospects, environmental and health assessments, and byproduct use and disposal issues. The development of a worldwide, reliable, coal quality database would help ensure the most economically and environmentally efficient global use of coal. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with many agencies and scientists from the world's coal producing countries, originally undertook a project to obtain representative samples of coal from most of the world's producing coal provinces during a limited period of time (roughly 1998-2005), which is called the World Coal Quality Inventory (WoCQI). The multitude of producing coal mines, coal occurrences, or limited accessibility to sites in some countries can preclude collecting more than a single sample from a mine. In some areas, a single sample may represent an entire coal mining region or basin. Despite these limitations in sampling and uneven distribution of sample collection, the analytical results can still provide a general overview of world coal quality. The USGS intends to present the WoCQI data in reports and, when possible, in Geographic Information System (GIS) products that cover important coal bearing and producing regions.

Particular applications of food irradiation fresh produce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakash, Anuradha

2016-12-01

On fresh fruits and vegetables, irradiation at low and medium dose levels can effectively reduce microbial counts which can enhance safety, inhibit sprouting to extend shelf-life, and eliminate or sterilize insect pests which can serve to facilitate trade between countries. At the dose levels used for these purposes, the impact on quality is negligible. Despite the fact that regulations in many countries allow the use of irradiation for fresh produce, the technology remains under-utilized, even in the light of an increase in produce related disease outbreaks and the economic benefits of extended shelf life and reduced food waste. Putative concerns about consumer acceptance particularly for produce that is labeled as irradiated have deterred many companies from using irradiation and retailers to carry irradiated produce. This section highlights the commercial use of irradiation for fresh produce, other than phytosanitary irradiation which is covered in supplementary sections.

Assuring quality by continuously improving quality: new directions for health record professionals.

PubMed

Howell, W T; Nickle, B W

1991-03-01

Quality improvement is catching fire in the health care community, but there is much work to be done, much to learn, and much to teach. All health care professionals must remember that there are no short cuts to improving quality. American managers are so steeped in a quick-fix mentality that they resist the systematic infrastructure rebuilding described above. They scurry about fighting the same fires over and over, thinking they are doing their jobs. The truth remains that if results are to be improved, not just manipulated, then the processes that produce those results must be improved. For this to occur managers must be given the process improvement technology that separates the world class companies from those who are still wondering what hit them during the 1970s.

Precision Viticulture : is it relevant to manage the vineyard according to the within field spatial variability of the environment ?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tisseyre, Bruno

2015-04-01

For more than 15 years, research projects are conducted in the precision viticulture (PV) area around the world. These research projects have provided new insights into the within-field variability in viticulture. Indeed, access to high spatial resolution data (remote sensing, embedded sensors, etc.) changes the knowledge we have of the fields in viticulture. In particular, the field which was until now considered as a homogeneous management unit, presents actually a high spatial variability in terms of yield, vigour an quality. This knowledge will lead (and is already causing) changes on how to manage the vineyard and the quality of the harvest at the within field scale. From the experimental results obtained in various countries of the world, the goal of the presentation is to provide figures on: - the spatial variability of the main parameters (yield, vigor, quality), and how this variability is organized spatially, - the temporal stability of the observed spatial variability and the potential link with environmental parameters like soil, topography, soil water availability, etc. - information sources available at a high spatial resolution conventionally used in precision agriculture likely to highlight this spatial variability (multi-spectral images, soil electrical conductivity, etc.) and the limitations that these information sources are likely to present in viticulture. Several strategies are currently being developed to take into account the within field variability in viticulture. They are based on the development of specific equipments, sensors, actuators and site specific strategies with the aim of adapting the vineyard operations at the within-field level. These strategies will be presented briefly in two ways : - Site specific operations (fertilization, pruning, thinning, irrigation, etc.) in order to counteract the effects of the environment and to obtain a final product with a controlled and consistent wine quality, - Differential harvesting with the objective to take advantage of the observed spatial variability to produce different quality of wines. These later approach tends to produce very different quality wines which will be blended to control the final quality and/or marketed differently. These applications show that the environment and its spatial variability can be valued with the goal of controlling the final quality of the wine produced. Technologies to characterize the spatial variability of vine fields are currently in rapid evolution. They will significantly impact production methods and management strategies of the vineyard. In its last part, the presentation will summarize the technologies likely to impact the knowledge and the vineyard management either at the field level, at the vineyard level or at the regional level. A brief overview of the needs in terms of information processing will be also performed. A reflection on the difficulties that might limit the adoption of precision viticulture technologies (PV) will be done. Indeed, although very informative, PV entails high costs of information acquisition and data processing. Cost is one of the major obstacles to the dissemination of these tools and services to the majority of wine producers. In this context, the pooling of investments is a choke point to make the VP accessible to the highest number of growers. Thus, to be adopted, the VP will necessarily satisfy the operational requirements at the field level, but also throughout the whole production area (at the regional level). This working scale raises new scientific questions to be addressed.

Machine tools and fixtures: A compilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

As part of NASA's Technology Utilizations Program, a compilation was made of technological developments regarding machine tools, jigs, and fixtures that have been produced, modified, or adapted to meet requirements of the aerospace program. The compilation is divided into three sections that include: (1) a variety of machine tool applications that offer easier and more efficient production techniques; (2) methods, techniques, and hardware that aid in the setup, alignment, and control of machines and machine tools to further quality assurance in finished products: and (3) jigs, fixtures, and adapters that are ancillary to basic machine tools and aid in realizing their greatest potential.

Expanding Role of Data Science and Bioinformatics in Drug Discovery and Development.

PubMed

Fingert, Howard J

2018-01-01

Numerous barriers have been identified which detract from successful applications of clinical trial data and platforms. Despite the challenges, opportunities are growing to advance compliance, quality, and practical applications through top-down establishment of guiding principles, coupled with bottom-up approaches to promote data science competencies among data producers. Recent examples of successful applications include modern treatments for hematologic malignancies, developed with support from public-private partnerships, guiding principles for data-sharing, standards for protocol designs and data management, digital technologies, and quality analytics. © 2017 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

A Modified Protocol for High-Quality RNA Extraction from Oleoresin-Producing Adult Pines.

PubMed

de Lima, Júlio César; Füller, Thanise Nogueira; de Costa, Fernanda; Rodrigues-Corrêa, Kelly C S; Fett-Neto, Arthur G

2016-01-01

RNA extraction resulting in good yields and quality is a fundamental step for the analyses of transcriptomes through high-throughput sequencing technologies, microarray, and also northern blots, RT-PCR, and RTqPCR. Even though many specific protocols designed for plants with high content of secondary metabolites have been developed, these are often expensive, time consuming, and not suitable for a wide range of tissues. Here we present a modification of the method previously described using the commercially available Concert™ Plant RNA Reagent (Invitrogen) buffer for field-grown adult pine trees with high oleoresin content.

High Current Density, Long Life Cathodes for High Power RF Sources

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

Ives, Robert Lawrence; Collins, George; Falce, Lou

2014-01-22

This program was tasked with improving the quality and expanding applications for Controlled Porosity Reservoir (CPR) cathodes. Calabazas Creek Research, Inc. (CCR) initially developed CPR cathodes on a DOE-funded SBIR program to improve cathodes for magnetron injection guns. Subsequent funding was received from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The program developed design requirements for implementation of the technology into high current density cathodes for high frequency applications. During Phase I of this program, CCR was awarded the prestigious 2011 R&D100 award for this technology. Subsequently, the technology was presented at numerous technical conferences. A patent was issued for themore » technology in 2009. These cathodes are now marketed by Semicon Associates, Inc. in Lexington, KY. They are the world’s largest producer of cathodes for vacuum electron devices. During this program, CCR teamed with Semicon Associates, Inc. and Ron Witherspoon, Inc. to improve the fabrication processes and expand applications for the cathodes. Specific fabrications issues included the quality of the wire winding that provides the basic structure and the sintering to bond the wires into a robust, cohesive structure. The program also developed improved techniques for integrating the resulting material into cathodes for electron guns.« less

Visible quality aluminum and nickel superpolish polishing technology enabling new missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrigan, Keith G.

2011-06-01

It is now well understood that with US Department of Defense (DoD) budgets shrinking and the Services and Agencies demanding new systems which can be fielded more quickly, cost and schedule are being emphasized more and more. At the same time, the US has ever growing needs for advanced capabilities to support evolving Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance objectives. In response to this market demand for ever more cost-effective, faster to market, single-channel, athermal optical systems, we have developed new metal polishing technologies which allow for short-lead, low-cost metal substrates to replace more costly, longer-lead material options. In parallel, the commercial marketplace is being driven continually to release better, faster and cheaper electronics. Growth according to Moore's law, enabled by advancements in photolithography, has produced denser memory, higher resolution displays and faster processors. While the quality of these products continues to increase, their price is falling. This seeming paradox is driven by industry advancements in manufacturing technology. The next steps on this curve can be realized via polishing technology which allows low-cost metal substrates to replace costly Silicon based optics for use in ultra-short wavelength systems.

Marketing netcoatings for aquaculture.

PubMed

Martin, Robert J

2014-10-17

Unsustainable harvesting of natural fish stocks is driving an ever growing marine aquaculture industry. Part of the aquaculture support industry is net suppliers who provide producers with nets used in confining fish while they are grown to market size. Biofouling must be addressed in marine environments to ensure maximum product growth by maintaining water flow and waste removal through the nets. Biofouling is managed with copper and organic biocide based net coatings. The aquaculture industry provides a case study for business issues related to entry of improved fouling management technology into the marketplace. Several major hurdles hinder entry of improved novel technologies into the market. The first hurdle is due to the structure of business relationships. Net suppliers can actually cut their business profits dramatically by introducing improved technologies. A second major hurdle is financial costs of registration and demonstration of efficacy and quality product with a new technology. Costs of registration are prohibitive if only the net coatings market is involved. Demonstration of quality product requires collaboration and a team approach between formulators, net suppliers and farmers. An alternative solution is a vertically integrated business model in which the support business and product production business are part of the same company.

Marketing Netcoatings for Aquaculture

PubMed Central

Martin, Robert J.

2014-01-01

Unsustainable harvesting of natural fish stocks is driving an ever growing marine aquaculture industry. Part of the aquaculture support industry is net suppliers who provide producers with nets used in confining fish while they are grown to market size. Biofouling must be addressed in marine environments to ensure maximum product growth by maintaining water flow and waste removal through the nets. Biofouling is managed with copper and organic biocide based net coatings. The aquaculture industry provides a case study for business issues related to entry of improved fouling management technology into the marketplace. Several major hurdles hinder entry of improved novel technologies into the market. The first hurdle is due to the structure of business relationships. Net suppliers can actually cut their business profits dramatically by introducing improved technologies. A second major hurdle is financial costs of registration and demonstration of efficacy and quality product with a new technology. Costs of registration are prohibitive if only the net coatings market is involved. Demonstration of quality product requires collaboration and a team approach between formulators, net suppliers and farmers. An alternative solution is a vertically integrated business model in which the support business and product production business are part of the same company. PMID:25329615

Marketable transport fuels made from Julia Creek shale oil

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

Not Available

1987-03-01

CSR Limited and the CSIRO Division of Energy Chemistry have been working on the problem of producing refined products from the Julia Creek deposit in Queensland, Australia. Two samples of shale oil, retorted at different temperatures from Julia Creek oil shale, were found to differ markedly in aromaticity. Using conventional hydrotreating technology, high quality jet and diesel fuels could be made from the less aromatic oil. Naphtha suitable for isomerization and reforming to gasoline could be produced from both oils. This paper discusses oil properties, stabilization of topped crudes, second stage hydrotreatment, and naphtha hydrotreating. 1 figure, 4 tables.

Machinima and Video-Based Soft-Skills Training for Frontline Healthcare Workers.

PubMed

Conkey, Curtis A; Bowers, Clint; Cannon-Bowers, Janis; Sanchez, Alicia

2013-02-01

Multimedia training methods have traditionally relied heavily on video-based technologies, and significant research has shown these to be very effective training tools. However, production of video is time and resource intensive. Machinima technologies are based on videogaming technology. Machinima technology allows videogame technology to be manipulated into unique scenarios based on entertainment or training and practice applications. Machinima is the converting of these unique scenarios into video vignettes that tell a story. These vignettes can be interconnected with branching points in much the same way that education videos are interconnected as vignettes between decision points. This study addressed the effectiveness of machinima-based soft-skills education using avatar actors versus the traditional video teaching application using human actors in the training of frontline healthcare workers. This research also investigated the difference between presence reactions when using avatar actor-produced video vignettes as compared with human actor-produced video vignettes. Results indicated that the difference in training and/or practice effectiveness is statistically insignificant for presence, interactivity, quality, and the skill of assertiveness. The skill of active listening presented a mixed result indicating the need for careful attention to detail in situations where body language and facial expressions are critical to communication. This study demonstrates that a significant opportunity exists for the exploitation of avatar actors in video-based instruction.

Technological characterization of sheep production systems in Brazil.

PubMed

Raineri, Camila; Nunes, Bruno César Prosdocimi; Gameiro, Augusto Hauber

2015-04-01

Sheep production has expanded in Brazil focusing on lamb meat, mostly to meet demanding internal markets in the state of São Paulo. Such markets present a demand which internal production is insufficient to meet. However, sheep farmers face many technical difficulties to produce quality lambs at viable costs. This study aimed at investigating the main characteristics of sheep production systems of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in order to provide resources for the development of technologies, policies and other initiatives focused on the activity. We designed in panel meetings the characteristics of representative sheep farms in five regions of the state, concerning: (i) property and manpower profile; (ii) flock; (iii) handling techniques; (iv) facilities and equipment; (v) food production; and (vi) technical indicators. Results demonstrate that the predominant sheep farming in the state employs low technology, presenting low productivity despite its evolution in recent years. We verified great technical deficiency regarding farmers, who are new in this business and usually do not have access to technologies. Producers' unawareness about basic handling procedures and techniques as well as their lack of flock records can contribute to the activity's unsustainability. There is need for improving rural extension and diffusion of technologies. © 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Recent Developments and Applications of Radiation/Detection Technology in Tsinghua University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Ke-Jun

2010-03-01

Nuclear technology applications have been very important research fields in Tsinghua University (THU) for more than 50 years. This paper describes two major directions and related projects running in THU concerning nuclear technology applications for radiation imaging and nuclear technology applications for astrophysics. Radiation imaging is a significant application of nuclear technology for all kinds of real world needs including security inspections, anti-smuggling operations, and medicine. The current improved imaging systems give much higher quality radiation images. THU has produced accelerating tubes for both industrial and medical accelerators with energy levels ranging from 2.5˜20Mev. Detectors have been produced for medical and industrial imaging as well as for high energy physics experiments such as the MRPC with fast time and position resolutions. DR and CT systems for radiation imaging systems have been continuously improved with new system designs and improved algorithms for image reconstruction and processing. Two important new key initiatives are the dual-energy radiography and dual-energy CT systems. Dual-energy CT imaging improves material discrimination by providing both the electron density and the atomic number distribution of scanned objects. Finally, this paper also introduces recent developments related to the hard X-ray modulation telescope (HXMT) provided by THU.

Advantages of utilizing DMD based rapid manufacturing systems in mass customization applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Siblani, A.

2010-02-01

The Use of DMD based Rapid Manufacturing Systems has proven to be very advantageous in the production of highly accurate plastic based components for use in mass customization market such as hearing aids, and dental markets. The voxelization process currently afforded with the DLP technology eliminates any layering effect associated with all existing additive Rapid Manufacturing technologies. The smooth accurate surfaces produced in an additive process utilizing DLP technology, through the voxelization approach, allow for the production of custom finished products. The implementation of DLP technology in rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing systems allow for the usage of highly viscous photopolymer based liquid and paste composites for rapid manufacturing that could not be used in any other additive process prior to implementation of DLP technology in RP and RM systems. It also allowed for the greater throughput in production without sacrificing quality and accuracy.

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

Halavanau, A.; Eddy, N.; Edstrom, D.

Superconducting linacs are capable of producing intense, ultra-stable, high-quality electron beams that have widespread applications in Science and Industry. Many project are based on the 1.3-GHz TESLA-type superconducting cavity. In this paper we provide an update on a recent experiment aimed at measuring the transfer matrix of a TESLA cavity at the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility. The results are discussed and compared with analytical and numerical simulations.

Use of Multiple Sequencing Technologies To Produce a High-Quality Genome of the Fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Causative Agent of Bat White-Nose Syndrome.

PubMed

Drees, Kevin P; Palmer, Jonathan M; Sebra, Robert; Lorch, Jeffrey M; Chen, Cynthia; Wu, Cheng-Cang; Bok, Jin Woo; Keller, Nancy P; Blehert, David S; Cuomo, Christina A; Lindner, Daniel L; Foster, Jeffrey T

2016-06-30

White-nose syndrome has recently emerged as one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded, causing widespread mortality in numerous bat species throughout eastern North America. Here, we present an improved reference genome of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans for use in comparative genomic studies. Copyright © 2016 Drees et al.

Machine vision 1992-1996: technology program to promote research and its utilization in industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soini, Antti J.

1994-10-01

Machine vision technology has got a strong interest in Finnish research organizations, which is resulting in many innovative products to industry. Despite this end users were very skeptical towards machine vision and its robustness for harsh industrial environments. Therefore Technology Development Centre, TEKES, who funds technology related research and development projects in universities and individual companies, decided to start a national technology program, Machine Vision 1992 - 1996. Led by industry the program boosts research in machine vision technology and seeks to put the research results to work in practical industrial applications. The emphasis is in nationally important, demanding applications. The program will create new industry and business for machine vision producers and encourage the process and manufacturing industry to take advantage of this new technology. So far 60 companies and all major universities and research centers are working on our forty different projects. The key themes that we have are process control, robot vision and quality control.

Impact of chemical polishing on surface roughness and dimensional quality of electron beam melting process (EBM) parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolimont, Adrien; Rivière-Lorphèvre, Edouard; Ducobu, François; Backaert, Stéphane

2018-05-01

Additive manufacturing is growing faster and faster. This leads us to study the functionalization of the parts that are produced by these processes. Electron Beam melting (EBM) is one of these technologies. It is a powder based additive manufacturing (AM) method. With this process, it is possible to manufacture high-density metal parts with complex topology. One of the big problems with these technologies is the surface finish. To improve the quality of the surface, some finishing operations are needed. In this study, the focus is set on chemical polishing. The goal is to determine how the chemical etching impacts the dimensional accuracy and the surface roughness of EBM parts. To this end, an experimental campaign was carried out on the most widely used material in EBM, Ti6Al4V. Different exposure times were tested. The impact of these times on surface quality was evaluated. To help predicting the excess thickness to be provided, the dimensional impact of chemical polishing on EBM parts was estimated. 15 parts were measured before and after chemical machining. The improvement of surface quality was also evaluated after each treatment.

Field Methods and Quality-Assurance Plan for Quality-of-Water Activities, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knobel, LeRoy L.; Tucker, Betty J.; Rousseau, Joseph P.

2008-01-01

Water-quality activities conducted by the staff of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Project Office coincide with the USGS mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation's water resources. The activities are conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho Operations Office. Results of the water-quality investigations are presented in various USGS publications or in refereed scientific journals. The results of the studies are highly regarded, and they are used with confidence by researchers, regulatory and managerial agencies, and interested civic groups. In its broadest sense, quality assurance refers to doing the job right the first time. It includes the functions of planning for products, review and acceptance of the products, and an audit designed to evaluate the system that produces the products. Quality control and quality assurance differ in that quality control ensures that things are done correctly given the 'state-of-the-art' technology, and quality assurance ensures that quality control is maintained within specified limits.

Technology development of fabrication techniques for advanced solar dynamic concentrators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richter, Scott W.

1991-01-01

The objective of the advanced concentrator program is to develop the technology that will lead to lightweight, highly reflective, accurate, scaleable, and long lived space solar dynamic concentrators. The advanced concentrator program encompasses new and innovative concepts, fabrication techniques, materials selection, and simulated space environmental testing. Fabrication techniques include methods of fabricating the substrates and coating substrate surfaces to produce high quality optical surfaces, acceptable for further coating with vapor deposited optical films. The selected materials to obtain a high quality optical surface include microsheet glass and Eccocoat EP-3 epoxy, with DC-93-500 selected as a candidate silicone adhesive and levelizing layer. The following procedures are defined: cutting, cleaning, forming, and bonding microsheet glass. Procedures are also defined for surface cleaning, and EP-3 epoxy application. The results and analyses from atomic oxygen and thermal cycling tests are used to determine the effects of orbital conditions in a space environment.

Thermal and non-thermal preservation techniques of tiger nuts' beverage "horchata de chufa". Implications for food safety, nutritional and quality properties.

PubMed

Roselló-Soto, Elena; Poojary, Mahesha M; Barba, Francisco J; Koubaa, Mohamed; Lorenzo, Jose M; Mañes, Jordi; Moltó, Juan Carlos

2018-03-01

"Horchata de chufa" is a traditional Spanish beverage produced from tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus L.). Due to its richness in nutritional compounds, it is highly perishable and its conservation by pasteurization and/or adding preservatives is required. Although efficient, conventional thermal treatment for pasteurization induces changes in the nutritional and sensory properties. Replacing conventional pasteurization by non-thermal technologies such as pulsed electric fields, ultraviolet, and high pressure, combined with moderate temperatures (<40°C) allows a reduction of energy consumption, along with the preservation of the most thermo-sensitive molecules. Accordingly, this review deals with the description of the most relevant non-thermal technologies applied to preserve "horchata" beverage in order to extend the shelf life and inactivate pathogenic microorganisms as well as to preserve the nutritional and quality properties of this food beverage. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low complexity pixel-based halftone detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ok, Jiheon; Han, Seong Wook; Jarno, Mielikainen; Lee, Chulhee

2011-10-01

With the rapid advances of the internet and other multimedia technologies, the digital document market has been growing steadily. Since most digital images use halftone technologies, quality degradation occurs when one tries to scan and reprint them. Therefore, it is necessary to extract the halftone areas to produce high quality printing. In this paper, we propose a low complexity pixel-based halftone detection algorithm. For each pixel, we considered a surrounding block. If the block contained any flat background regions, text, thin lines, or continuous or non-homogeneous regions, the pixel was classified as a non-halftone pixel. After excluding those non-halftone pixels, the remaining pixels were considered to be halftone pixels. Finally, documents were classified as pictures or photo documents by calculating the halftone pixel ratio. The proposed algorithm proved to be memory-efficient and required low computation costs. The proposed algorithm was easily implemented using GPU.

High peak power solid-state laser for micromachining of hard materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbst, Ludolf; Quitter, John P.; Ray, Gregory M.; Kuntze, Thomas; Wiessner, Alexander O.; Govorkov, Sergei V.; Heglin, Mike

2003-06-01

Laser micromachining has become a key enabling technology in the ever-continuing trend of miniaturization in microelectronics, micro-optics, and micromechanics. New applications have become commercially viable due to the emergence of innovative laser sources, such as diode pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL), and the progress in processing technology. Examples of industrial applications are laser-drilled micro-injection nozzles for highly efficient automobile engines, or manufacturing of complex spinnerets for production of synthetic fibers. The unique advantages of laser-based techniques stem from their ability to produce high aspect ratio holes, while yielding low heat affected zones with exceptional surface quality, roundness and taper tolerances. Additionally, the ability to drill blind holes and slots in very hard materials such as diamond, silicon, sapphire, ceramics and steel is of great interest for many applications in microelectronics, semiconductor and automotive industry. This kind of high quality, high aspect ratio micromachining requires high peak power and short pulse durations.

Metabolomic Technologies for Improving the Quality of Food: Practice and Promise.

PubMed

Johanningsmeier, Suzanne D; Harris, G Keith; Klevorn, Claire M

2016-01-01

It is now well documented that the diet has a significant impact on human health and well-being. However, the complete set of small molecule metabolites present in foods that make up the human diet and the role of food production systems in altering this food metabolome are still largely unknown. Metabolomic platforms that rely on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) analytical technologies are being employed to study the impact of agricultural practices, processing, and storage on the global chemical composition of food; to identify novel bioactive compounds; and for authentication and region-of-origin classifications. This review provides an overview of the current terminology, analytical methods, and compounds associated with metabolomic studies, and provides insight into the application of metabolomics to generate new knowledge that enables us to produce, preserve, and distribute high-quality foods for health promotion.

Global land cover mapping and characterization: present situation and future research priorities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Giri, Chandra

2005-01-01

The availability and accessibility of global land cover data sets plays an important role in many global change studies. The importance of such science‐based information is also reflected in a number of international, regional, and national projects and programs. Recent developments in earth observing satellite technology, information technology, computer hardware and software, and infrastructure development have helped developed better quality land cover data sets. As a result, such data sets are increasingly becoming available, the user‐base is ever widening, application areas have been expanding, and the potential of many other applications are enormous. Yet, we are far from producing high quality global land cover data sets. This paper examines the progress in the development of digital global land cover data, their availability, and current applications. Problems and opportunities are also explained. The overview sets the stage for identifying future research priorities needed for operational land cover assessment and monitoring.

Impact of Corn Earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Field Corn (Poales: Poaceae) Yield and Grain Quality.

PubMed

Bibb, Jenny L; Cook, Donald; Catchot, Angus; Musser, Fred; Stewart, Scott D; Leonard, Billy Rogers; Buntin, G David; Kerns, David; Allen, Tom W; Gore, Jeffrey

2018-05-28

Corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), commonly infests field corn, Zea mays (L.). The combination of corn plant biology, corn earworm behavior in corn ecosystems, and field corn value renders corn earworm management with foliar insecticides noneconomical. Corn technologies containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) were introduced that exhibit substantial efficacy against corn earworm and may reduce mycotoxin contamination in grain. The first generation Bt traits in field corn demonstrated limited activity on corn earworm feeding on grain. The pyramided corn technologies have greater cumulative protein concentrations and higher expression throughout the plant, so these corn traits should provide effective management of this pest. Additionally, reduced kernel injury may affect physical grain quality. Experiments were conducted during 2011-2012 to investigate corn earworm impact on field corn yield and grain quality. Treatments included field corn hybrids expressing the Herculex, YieldGard, and Genuity VT Triple Pro technologies. Supplemental insecticide treatments were applied every 1-2 d from silk emergence until silk senescence to create a range of injured kernels for each technology. No significant relationship between the number of corn earworm damaged kernels and yield was observed for any technology/hybrid. In these studies, corn earworm larvae did not cause enough damage to impact yield. Additionally, no consistent relationship between corn earworm damage and aflatoxin contamination was observed. Based on these data, the economic value of pyramided Bt corn traits to corn producers, in the southern United States, appears to be from management of other lepidopteran insect pests including European and southwestern corn borer.

Photomask quality assessment solution for 90-nm technology node

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohira, Katsumi; Chung, Dong Hoon P.; Nobuyuki, Yoshioka; Tateno, Motonari; Matsumura, Kenichi; Chen, Jiunn-Hung; Luk-Pat, Gerard T.; Fukui, Norio; Tanaka, Yoshio

2004-08-01

As 90 nm LSI devices are about to enter pre-production, the cost and turn-around time of photomasks for such devices will be key factors for success in device production. Such devices will be manufactured with state-of-the-art 193nm photolithography systems. Photomasks for these devices are being produced with the most advanced equipment, material and processing technologies and yet, quality assurance still remains an issue for volume production. These issues include defect classification and disposition due to the insufficient resolution of the defect inspection system at conventional review and classification processes and to aggressive RETs, uncertainty of the impact the defects have on the printed feature as well as inconsistencies of classical defect specifications as applied in the sub-wavelength era are becoming a serious problem. Simulation-based photomask qualification using the Virtual Stepper System is widely accepted today as a reliable mask quality assessment tool of mask defects for both the 180 nm and 130 nm technology nodes. This study examines the extendibility of the Virtual Stepper System to 90nm technology node. The proposed method of simulation-based mask qualification uses aerial image defect simulation in combination with a next generation DUV inspection system with shorter wavelength (266nm) and small pixel size combined with DUV high-resolution microscope for some defect cases. This paper will present experimental results that prove the applicability for enabling 90nm technology nodes. Both contact and line/space patterns with varies programmed defects on ArF Attenuated PSM will be used. This paper will also address how to make the strategy production-worthy.

Advanced Q-switched DPSS lasers for ID-card marking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hertwig, Michael; Paster, Martin; Terbrueggen, Ralf

2008-02-01

Increased homeland security concerns across the world have generated a strong demand for forgery-proof ID documents. Manufacturers currently employ a variety of high technology techniques to produce documents that are difficult to copy. However, production costs and lead times are still a concern when considering any possible manufacturing technology. Laser marking has already emerged as an important tool in the manufacturer's arsenal, and is currently being utilized to produce a variety of documents, such as plastic ID cards, drivers' licenses, health insurance cards and passports. The marks utilized can range from simple barcodes and text to high resolution, true grayscale images. The technical challenges posed by these marking tasks include delivering adequate mark legibility, minimizing substrate burning or charring, accurately reproducing grayscale data, and supporting the required process throughput. This article covers the advantages and basic requirements on laser marking of cards and reviews how laser output parameters affect marking quality, speed and overall process economics.

Eco-friendly surface modification on polyester fabrics by esterase treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jindan; Cai, Guoqiang; Liu, Jinqiang; Ge, Huayun; Wang, Jiping

2014-03-01

Currently, traditional alkali deweighting technology is widely used to improve the hydrophilicity of polyester fabrics. However, the wastewater and heavy chemicals in the effluent cause enormous damage to the environment. Esterase treatment, which is feasible in mild conditions with high selectivity, can provide a clean and efficient way for polyester modification. Under the optimum conditions, the polyester fabric hydrolysis process of esterase had a linear kinetics. X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) results showed that hydroxyl and carboxyl groups were produced only on the surface of modified fiber without changing the chemical composition of the bulk. These fibers exhibited much improved fabric wicking, as well as greatly improved oily stain removal performance. Compared to the harsh alkali hydrolysis, the enzyme treatment led to smaller weight loss and better fiber integrity. The esterase treatment technology is promising to produce higher-quality polyester textiles with an environmental friendly approach.

Limits on the maximum attainable efficiency for solid-state lighting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coltrin, Michael E.; Tsao, Jeffrey Y.; Ohno, Yoshi

2008-03-01

Artificial lighting for general illumination purposes accounts for over 8% of global primary energy consumption. However, the traditional lighting technologies in use today, i.e., incandescent, fluorescent, and high-intensity discharge lamps, are not very efficient, with less than about 25% of the input power being converted to useful light. Solid-state lighting is a rapidly evolving, emerging technology whose efficiency of conversion of electricity to visible white light is likely to approach 50% within the next years. This efficiency is significantly higher than that of traditional lighting technologies, with the potential to enable a marked reduction in the rate of world energy consumption. There is no fundamental physical reason why efficiencies well beyond 50% could not be achieved, which could enable even greater world energy savings. The maximum achievable luminous efficacy for a solid-state lighting source depends on many different physical parameters, for example the color rendering quality that is required, the architecture employed to produce the component light colors that are mixed to produce white, and the efficiency of light sources producing each color component. In this article, we discuss in some detail several approaches to solid-state lighting and the maximum luminous efficacy that could be attained, given various constraints such as those listed above.

Exploiting spatio-temporal characteristics of human vision for mobile video applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jillani, Rashad; Kalva, Hari

2008-08-01

Video applications on handheld devices such as smart phones pose a significant challenge to achieve high quality user experience. Recent advances in processor and wireless networking technology are producing a new class of multimedia applications (e.g. video streaming) for mobile handheld devices. These devices are light weight and have modest sizes, and therefore very limited resources - lower processing power, smaller display resolution, lesser memory, and limited battery life as compared to desktop and laptop systems. Multimedia applications on the other hand have extensive processing requirements which make the mobile devices extremely resource hungry. In addition, the device specific properties (e.g. display screen) significantly influence the human perception of multimedia quality. In this paper we propose a saliency based framework that exploits the structure in content creation as well as the human vision system to find the salient points in the incoming bitstream and adapt it according to the target device, thus improving the quality of new adapted area around salient points. Our experimental results indicate that the adaptation process that is cognizant of video content and user preferences can produce better perceptual quality video for mobile devices. Furthermore, we demonstrated how such a framework can affect user experience on a handheld device.

ChIP-chip versus ChIP-seq: Lessons for experimental design and data analysis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by microarray hybridization (ChIP-chip) or high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) allows genome-wide discovery of protein-DNA interactions such as transcription factor bindings and histone modifications. Previous reports only compared a small number of profiles, and little has been done to compare histone modification profiles generated by the two technologies or to assess the impact of input DNA libraries in ChIP-seq analysis. Here, we performed a systematic analysis of a modENCODE dataset consisting of 31 pairs of ChIP-chip/ChIP-seq profiles of the coactivator CBP, RNA polymerase II (RNA PolII), and six histone modifications across four developmental stages of Drosophila melanogaster. Results Both technologies produce highly reproducible profiles within each platform, ChIP-seq generally produces profiles with a better signal-to-noise ratio, and allows detection of more peaks and narrower peaks. The set of peaks identified by the two technologies can be significantly different, but the extent to which they differ varies depending on the factor and the analysis algorithm. Importantly, we found that there is a significant variation among multiple sequencing profiles of input DNA libraries and that this variation most likely arises from both differences in experimental condition and sequencing depth. We further show that using an inappropriate input DNA profile can impact the average signal profiles around genomic features and peak calling results, highlighting the importance of having high quality input DNA data for normalization in ChIP-seq analysis. Conclusions Our findings highlight the biases present in each of the platforms, show the variability that can arise from both technology and analysis methods, and emphasize the importance of obtaining high quality and deeply sequenced input DNA libraries for ChIP-seq analysis. PMID:21356108

Flat-plate solar array project. Volume 3: Silicon sheet: Wafers and ribbons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briglio, A.; Dumas, K.; Leipold, M.; Morrison, A.

1986-01-01

The primary objective of the Silicon Sheet Task of the Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project was the development of one or more low cost technologies for producing silicon sheet suitable for processing into cost-competitive solar cells. Silicon sheet refers to high purity crystalline silicon of size and thickness for fabrication into solar cells. Areas covered in the project were ingot growth and casting, wafering, ribbon growth, and other sheet technologies. The task made and fostered significant improvements in silicon sheet including processing of both ingot and ribbon technologies. An additional important outcome was the vastly improved understanding of the characteristics associated with high quality sheet, and the control of the parameters required for higher efficiency solar cells. Although significant sheet cost reductions were made, the technology advancements required to meet the task cost goals were not achieved.

Flip the tip: an automated, high quality, cost-effective patch clamp screen.

PubMed

Lepple-Wienhues, Albrecht; Ferlinz, Klaus; Seeger, Achim; Schäfer, Arvid

2003-01-01

The race for creating an automated patch clamp has begun. Here, we present a novel technology to produce true gigaseals and whole cell preparations at a high rate. Suspended cells are flushed toward the tip of glass micropipettes. Seal, whole-cell break-in, and pipette/liquid handling are fully automated. Extremely stable seals and access resistance guarantee high recording quality. Data obtained from different cell types sealed inside pipettes show long-term stability, voltage clamp and seal quality, as well as block by compounds in the pM range. A flexible array of independent electrode positions minimizes consumables consumption at maximal throughput. Pulled micropipettes guarantee a proven gigaseal substrate with ultra clean and smooth surface at low cost.

Electronic Nose for Quality Control of Colombian Coffee through the Detection of Defects in “Cup Tests”

PubMed Central

Rodríguez, Juan; Durán, Cristhian; Reyes, Adriana

2010-01-01

Electronic noses (ENs), are used for many applications, but we must emphasize the importance of their application to foodstuffs like coffee. This paper presents a research study about the analysis of Colombian coffee samples for the detection and classification of defects (i.e., using “Cup Tests”), which was conducted at the Almacafé quality control laboratory in Cúcuta, Colombia. The results obtained show that the application of an electronic nose called “A-NOSE”, may be used in the coffee industry for the cupping tests. The results show that e-nose technology can be a useful tool for quality control to evaluate the excellence of the Colombian coffee produced by National Federation of Coffee Growers. PMID:22315525

Electronic nose for quality control of Colombian coffee through the detection of defects in "Cup Tests".

PubMed

Rodríguez, Juan; Durán, Cristhian; Reyes, Adriana

2010-01-01

Electronic noses (ENs), are used for many applications, but we must emphasize the importance of their application to foodstuffs like coffee. This paper presents a research study about the analysis of Colombian coffee samples for the detection and classification of defects (i.e., using "Cup Tests"), which was conducted at the Almacafé quality control laboratory in Cúcuta, Colombia. The results obtained show that the application of an electronic nose called "A-NOSE", may be used in the coffee industry for the cupping tests. The results show that e-nose technology can be a useful tool for quality control to evaluate the excellence of the Colombian coffee produced by National Federation of Coffee Growers.

Health and aesthetic impacts of copper corrosion on drinking water.

PubMed

Dietrich, A M; Glindemann, D; Pizarro, F; Gidi, V; Olivares, M; Araya, M; Camper, A; Duncan, S; Dwyer, S; Whelton, A J; Younos, T; Subramanian, S; Burlingame, G A; Khiari, D; Edwards, M

2004-01-01

Traditional research has focused on the visible effects of corrosion--failures, leaks, and financial debits--and often overlooked the more hidden health and aesthetic aspects. Clearly, corrosion of copper pipe can lead to levels of copper in the drinking water that exceed health guidelines and cause bitter or metallic tasting water. Because water will continue to be conveyed to consumers worldwide through metal pipes, the water industry has to consider both the effects of water quality on corrosion and the effects of corrosion on water quality. Integrating four key factors--chemical/biological causes, economics, health and aesthetics--is critical for managing the distribution system to produce safe water that consumers will use with confidence. As technological developments improve copper pipes to minimize scaling and corrosion, it is essential to consider the health and aesthetic effects on an equal plane with chemical/biological causes and economics to produce water that is acceptable for public consumption.

Wavelet/scalar quantization compression standard for fingerprint images

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

Brislawn, C.M.

1996-06-12

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently formulated a national standard for digitization and compression of gray-scale fingerprint images. Fingerprints are scanned at a spatial resolution of 500 dots per inch, with 8 bits of gray-scale resolution. The compression algorithm for the resulting digital images is based on adaptive uniform scalar quantization of a discrete wavelet transform subband decomposition (wavelet/scalar quantization method). The FBI standard produces archival-quality images at compression ratios of around 15 to 1 and will allow the current database of paper fingerprint cards to be replaced by digital imagery. The compression standard specifies a class ofmore » potential encoders and a universal decoder with sufficient generality to reconstruct compressed images produced by any compliant encoder, allowing flexibility for future improvements in encoder technology. A compliance testing program is also being implemented to ensure high standards of image quality and interchangeability of data between different implementations.« less

The evolution of technological strategies in the prevention of dialysis water pollution: sixteen years' experience.

PubMed

Bolasco, Piergiorgio; Contu, Antonio; Meloni, Patrizia; Vacca, Dorio; Murtas, Stefano

2012-01-01

This report attempts to illustrate the positive impact on the quality of dialysis water produced over a 16-year period through the progressive optimization of technological procedures. Fundamental steps included the following: elimination of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), periodical controls, introduction of stainless steel and/or polyethylene polymer and substitution of single-pass reverse osmosis (SRO) with double-pass reverse osmosis (DRO). Daily overnight automatic thermal disinfection of distribution piping rings represented the final step. A dramatic improvement was observed in 645 water samples obtained from distribution piping. The measures applied resulted in a significant improvement of water quality, featuring levels of colony-forming units per milliliter ranging from 247.4 ± 393.7 in the presence of PVC and SRO to 14.1 ± 28.0 with stainless steel and DRO and 2.8 ± 3.2 with cross-linked polyethylene thermoplastic polymer and DRO (p < 0.01). Dialysis water should be viewed by nephrologists as a medicinal product, and every effort should be made to ensure a high-quality liquid. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

INEL Spray-forming Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mchugh, Kevin M.; Key, James F.

1993-01-01

Spray forming is a near-net-shape fabrication technology in which a spray of finely atomized liquid droplets is deposited onto a suitably shaped substrate or mold to produce a coherent solid. The technology offers unique opportunities for simplifying materials processing without sacrificing, and oftentimes substantially improving, product quality. Spray forming can be performed with a wide range of metals and nonmetals, and offers property improvements resulting from rapid solidification (e.g., refined microstructures, extended solid solubilities and reduced segregation). Economic benefits result from process simplification and the elimination of unit operations. Researchers at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) are developing spray-forming technology for producing near-net-shape solids and coatings of a variety of metals, polymers, and composite materials. Results from several spray forming programs are presented to illustrate the range of capabilities of the technique as well as the accompanying technical and economic benefits. Low-carbon steel strip greater than 0.75 mm thick and polymer membranes for gas/gas and liquid/liquid separations that were spray formed are discussed; recent advances in spray forming molds, dies, and other tooling using low-melting-point metals are described.

Selective synthesis of human milk fat-style structured triglycerides from microalgal oil in a microfluidic reactor packed with immobilized lipase

DOE PAGES

Wang, Jun; Liu, Xi; Wang, Xu -Dong; ...

2016-08-18

Human milk fat-style structured triacylglycerols were produced from microalgal oil in a continuous microfluidic reactor packed with immobilized lipase for the first time. A remarkably high conversion efficiency was demonstrated in the microreactor with reaction time being reduced by 8 times, Michaelis constant decreased 10 times, the lipase reuse times increased 2.25-fold compared to those in a batch reactor. In addition, the content of palmitic acid at sn-2 position (89.0%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids at sn-1, 3 positions (81.3%) are slightly improved compared to the product in a batch reactor. The increase of melting points (1.7 °C) and decrease ofmore » crystallizing point (3 °C) implied higher quality product was produced using the microfluidic technology. The main cost can be reduced from 212.3 to 14.6 per batch with the microreactor. Altogether, the microfluidic bioconversion technology is promising for modified functional lipids production allowing for cost-effective approach to produce high-value microalgal coproducts.« less

Selective synthesis of human milk fat-style structured triglycerides from microalgal oil in a microfluidic reactor packed with immobilized lipase

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

Wang, Jun; Liu, Xi; Wang, Xu -Dong

Human milk fat-style structured triacylglycerols were produced from microalgal oil in a continuous microfluidic reactor packed with immobilized lipase for the first time. A remarkably high conversion efficiency was demonstrated in the microreactor with reaction time being reduced by 8 times, Michaelis constant decreased 10 times, the lipase reuse times increased 2.25-fold compared to those in a batch reactor. In addition, the content of palmitic acid at sn-2 position (89.0%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids at sn-1, 3 positions (81.3%) are slightly improved compared to the product in a batch reactor. The increase of melting points (1.7 °C) and decrease ofmore » crystallizing point (3 °C) implied higher quality product was produced using the microfluidic technology. The main cost can be reduced from 212.3 to 14.6 per batch with the microreactor. Altogether, the microfluidic bioconversion technology is promising for modified functional lipids production allowing for cost-effective approach to produce high-value microalgal coproducts.« less

Selective synthesis of human milk fat-style structured triglycerides from microalgal oil in a microfluidic reactor packed with immobilized lipase.

PubMed

Wang, Jun; Liu, Xi; Wang, Xu-Dong; Dong, Tao; Zhao, Xing-Yu; Zhu, Dan; Mei, Yi-Yuan; Wu, Guo-Hua

2016-11-01

Human milk fat-style structured triacylglycerols were produced from microalgal oil in a continuous microfluidic reactor packed with immobilized lipase for the first time. A remarkably high conversion efficiency was demonstrated in the microreactor with reaction time being reduced by 8 times, Michaelis constant decreased 10 times, the lipase reuse times increased 2.25-fold compared to those in a batch reactor. In addition, the content of palmitic acid at sn-2 position (89.0%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids at sn-1, 3 positions (81.3%) are slightly improved compared to the product in a batch reactor. The increase of melting points (1.7°C) and decrease of crystallizing point (3°C) implied higher quality product was produced using the microfluidic technology. The main cost can be reduced from $212.3 to $14.6 per batch with the microreactor. Overall, the microfluidic bioconversion technology is promising for modified functional lipids production allowing for cost-effective approach to produce high-value microalgal coproducts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The World Coal Quality Inventory: A status report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tewalt, S.J.; Willett, J.C.; Finkelman, R.B.

2005-01-01

National and international policy makers and industry require accurate information on coal, including coal quality data, to make informed decisions regarding international import needs and export opportunities, foreign policy, technology transfer policies, foreign investment prospects, environmental and health assessments, and byproduct use and disposal issues. Unfortunately, the information needed is generally proprietary and does not exist in the public domain. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in conjunction with partners in about 60 countries, is developing a digital compilation of worldwide coal quality. The World Coal Quality Inventory (WoCQI) will contain coal quality information for samples obtained from major coal beds in countries having significant coal production, as well as from many countries producing smaller volumes of coal, with an emphasis on coals currently being burned. The information that will be incorporated includes, but is not limited to, proximate and ultimate analyses; sulfur-form data; major, minor, and trace element analysis; and semi-quantitative analyses of minerals, modes of occurrence, and petrography. The coal quality information will eventually be linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS) that shows the coal basins and sample locations along with geologic, land use, transportation, industrial, and cultural information. The WoCQI will be accessible on the USGS web page and new data added periodically. This multi-national collaboration is developing global coal quality data that contain a broad array of technologic, economic, and environmental parameters, which should help to ensure the efficient and environmentally compatible use of global coal resources in the 21st century.

Space Life Support Technology Applications to Terrestrial Environmental Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartzkopf, Steven H.; Sleeper, Howard L.

1993-01-01

Many of the problems now facing the human race on Earth are, in fact, life support issues. Decline of air Quality as a result of industrial and automotive emissions, pollution of ground water by organic pesticides or solvents, and the disposal of solid wastes are all examples of environmental problems that we must solve to sustain human life. The technologies currently under development to solve the problems of supporting human life for advanced space missions are extraordinarily synergistic with these environmental problems. The development of these technologies (including both physicochemical and bioregenerative types) is increasingly focused on closing the life support loop by removing and recycling contaminants and wastes to produce the materials necessary to sustain human life. By so doing, this technology development effort also focuses automatically on reducing resupply logistics requirements and increasing crew safety through increased self-sufficiency. This paper describes several technologies that have been developed to support human life in space and illustrates the applicability of the technologies to environmental problems including environmental remediation and pollution prevention.

Is there a trade-off between longevity and quality of life in Grossman's pure investment model?

PubMed

Eisenring, C

2000-12-01

The question is posed whether an individual maximizes lifetime or trades off longevity for quality of life in Grossman's pure investment (PI)-model. It is shown that the answer critically hinges on the assumed production function for healthy time. If the production function for healthy time produces a trade-off between life-span and quality of life, one has to solve a sequence of fixed time problems. The one offering maximal intertemporal utility determines optimal longevity. Comparative static results of optimal longevity for a simplified version of the PI-model are derived. The obtained results predict that higher initial endowments of wealth and health, a rise in the wage rate, or improvements in the technology of producing healthy time, all increase the optimal length of life. On the other hand, optimal longevity is decreasing in the depreciation and interest rate. From a technical point of view, the paper illustrates that a discrete time equivalent to the transversality condition for optimal longevity employed in continuous optimal control models does not exist. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Electronic-Nose Applications for Fruit Identification, Ripeness and Quality Grading

PubMed Central

Baietto, Manuela; Wilson, Alphus D.

2015-01-01

Fruits produce a wide range of volatile organic compounds that impart their characteristically distinct aromas and contribute to unique flavor characteristics. Fruit aroma and flavor characteristics are of key importance in determining consumer acceptance in commercial fruit markets based on individual preference. Fruit producers, suppliers and retailers traditionally utilize and rely on human testers or panels to evaluate fruit quality and aroma characters for assessing fruit salability in fresh markets. We explore the current and potential utilization of electronic-nose devices (with specialized sensor arrays), instruments that are very effective in discriminating complex mixtures of fruit volatiles, as new effective tools for more efficient fruit aroma analyses to replace conventional expensive methods used in fruit aroma assessments. We review the chemical nature of fruit volatiles during all stages of the agro-fruit production process, describe some of the more important applications that electronic nose (e-nose) technologies have provided for fruit aroma characterizations, and summarize recent research providing e-nose data on the effectiveness of these specialized gas-sensing instruments for fruit identifications, cultivar discriminations, ripeness assessments and fruit grading for assuring fruit quality in commercial markets. PMID:25569761

A Disk-Based System for Producing and Distributing Science Products from MODIS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masuoka, Edward; Wolfe, Robert; Sinno, Scott; Ye Gang; Teague, Michael

2007-01-01

Since beginning operations in 1999, the MODIS Adaptive Processing System (MODAPS) has evolved to take advantage of trends in information technology, such as the falling cost of computing cycles and disk storage and the availability of high quality open-source software (Linux, Apache and Perl), to achieve substantial gains in processing and distribution capacity and throughput while driving down the cost of system operations.

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, China

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-05-31

below) are as is a functional cooling source for high -Tc supercon- follows: in the fast operating mode, system frequency ducting devices. Applications...with EIMAC quality standards, and agreed that chamber and pulse magnetic field. Employing a high - the products could bear the EIMAC trademark for...calculations show that operate in a high -order mode, and provide a very high the grating, as a frequency -scan antenna, can produce output power and

Advanced UVOIR Mirror Technology Development for Very Large Space Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahl, H. Philip

2011-01-01

Objective of this work is to define and initiate a long-term program to mature six inter-linked critical technologies for future UVOIR space telescope mirrors to TRL6 by 2018 so that a viable flight mission can be proposed to the 2020 Decadal Review. (1) Large-Aperture, Low Areal Density, High Stiffness Mirrors: 4 to 8 m monolithic & 8 to 16 m segmented primary mirrors require larger, thicker, stiffer substrates. (2) Support System:Large-aperture mirrors require large support systems to ensure that they survive launch and deploy on orbit in a stress-free and undistorted shape. (3) Mid/High Spatial Frequency Figure Error:A very smooth mirror is critical for producing a high-quality point spread function (PSF) for high-contrast imaging. (4) Segment Edges:Edges impact PSF for high-contrast imaging applications, contributes to stray light noise, and affects the total collecting aperture. (5) Segment-to-Segment Gap Phasing:Segment phasing is critical for producing a high-quality temporally stable PSF. (6) Integrated Model Validation:On-orbit performance is determined by mechanical and thermal stability. Future systems require validated performance models. We are pursuing multiple design paths give the science community the option to enable either a future monolithic or segmented space telescope.

Biodiversity of Indigenous Saccharomyces Populations from Old Wineries of South-Eastern Sicily (Italy): Preservation and Economic Potential

PubMed Central

Di Maio, Sabina; Polizzotto, Giuseppe; Di Gangi, Enrico; Foresta, Giusy; Genna, Giuseppe; Verzera, Antonella; Scacco, Antonio; Amore, Gabriele; Oliva, Daniele

2012-01-01

In recent years, the preservation of biodiversity has become an important issue. Despite much public discussion, however, current practices in the food industry seldom take account of its potential economic importance: on the contrary, the introduction of industrialized agriculture practices over large areas has often resulted in a dramatic reduction in biodiversity. In this paper, we report on the remarkable degree of biodiversity in the wine yeast populations naturally present in a small area of Sicily (Italy) where traditional (non-industrial) winery practices are still in place. Out of more than 900 Saccharomyces yeast isolates recovered from late spontaneous fermentations, we detected at least 209 strains. Most interestingly, when evaluated at the fermentation and technological level, a number of isolates were found to be superior to industrial yeast strains. Out of a selected group, isolates from two strains were used for experimental fermentations in a winery environment and the quality of the wines produced was assessed at the technological, quality and sensory levels. Given that the characteristics of the wines produced were found to be industrially appealing, the study demonstrated the economic potential of preserving the patrimony of Sicilian yeast biodiversity and highlighted the importance of maintaining traditional wine making practices. PMID:22393353

TSPmap, a tool making use of traveling salesperson problem solvers in the efficient and accurate construction of high-density genetic linkage maps.

PubMed

Monroe, J Grey; Allen, Zachariah A; Tanger, Paul; Mullen, Jack L; Lovell, John T; Moyers, Brook T; Whitley, Darrell; McKay, John K

2017-01-01

Recent advances in nucleic acid sequencing technologies have led to a dramatic increase in the number of markers available to generate genetic linkage maps. This increased marker density can be used to improve genome assemblies as well as add much needed resolution for loci controlling variation in ecologically and agriculturally important traits. However, traditional genetic map construction methods from these large marker datasets can be computationally prohibitive and highly error prone. We present TSPmap , a method which implements both approximate and exact Traveling Salesperson Problem solvers to generate linkage maps. We demonstrate that for datasets with large numbers of genomic markers (e.g. 10,000) and in multiple population types generated from inbred parents, TSPmap can rapidly produce high quality linkage maps with low sensitivity to missing and erroneous genotyping data compared to two other benchmark methods, JoinMap and MSTmap . TSPmap is open source and freely available as an R package. With the advancement of low cost sequencing technologies, the number of markers used in the generation of genetic maps is expected to continue to rise. TSPmap will be a useful tool to handle such large datasets into the future, quickly producing high quality maps using a large number of genomic markers.

Drop-in biofuel production via conventional (lipid/fatty acid) and advanced (biomass) routes. Part I

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

Karatzos, Sergios; van Dyk, J. Susan; McMillan, James D.

Drop-in biofuels that are 'functionally identical to petroleum fuels and fully compatible with existing infrastructure' are needed for sectors such as aviation where biofuels such as bioethanol/biodiesel cannot be used. The technologies used to produce drop-in biofuels can be grouped into the four categories: oleochemical, thermochemical, biochemical, and hybrid technologies. Commercial volumes of conventional drop-in biofuels are currently produced through the oleochemical pathway, to make products such as renewable diesel and biojet fuel. However, the cost, sustainability, and availability of the lipid/fatty acid feedstocks are significant challenges that need to be addressed. In the longer-term, it is likely that commercialmore » growth in drop-in biofuels will be based on lignocellulosic feedstocks. However, these technologies have been slow to develop and have been hampered by several technoeconomic challenges. For example, the gasification/Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis route suffers from high capital costs and economies of scale difficulties, while the economical production of high quality syngas remains a significant challenge. Although pyrolysis/hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) based technologies are promising, the upgrading of pyrolysis oils to higher specification fuels has encountered several technical challenges, such as high catalyst cost and short catalyst lifespan. Biochemical routes to drop-in fuels have the advantage of producing single molecules with simple chemistry. Moreover, the high value of these molecules in other markets such as renewable chemical precursors and fragrances will limit their use for fuel. In the near-term, (1-5 years) it is likely that, 'conventional' drop-in biofuels will be produced predominantly via the oleochemical route, due to the relative simplicity and maturity of this pathway.« less

Drop-in biofuel production via conventional (lipid/fatty acid) and advanced (biomass) routes. Part I

DOE PAGES

Karatzos, Sergios; van Dyk, J. Susan; McMillan, James D.; ...

2017-01-23

Drop-in biofuels that are 'functionally identical to petroleum fuels and fully compatible with existing infrastructure' are needed for sectors such as aviation where biofuels such as bioethanol/biodiesel cannot be used. The technologies used to produce drop-in biofuels can be grouped into the four categories: oleochemical, thermochemical, biochemical, and hybrid technologies. Commercial volumes of conventional drop-in biofuels are currently produced through the oleochemical pathway, to make products such as renewable diesel and biojet fuel. However, the cost, sustainability, and availability of the lipid/fatty acid feedstocks are significant challenges that need to be addressed. In the longer-term, it is likely that commercialmore » growth in drop-in biofuels will be based on lignocellulosic feedstocks. However, these technologies have been slow to develop and have been hampered by several technoeconomic challenges. For example, the gasification/Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis route suffers from high capital costs and economies of scale difficulties, while the economical production of high quality syngas remains a significant challenge. Although pyrolysis/hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) based technologies are promising, the upgrading of pyrolysis oils to higher specification fuels has encountered several technical challenges, such as high catalyst cost and short catalyst lifespan. Biochemical routes to drop-in fuels have the advantage of producing single molecules with simple chemistry. Moreover, the high value of these molecules in other markets such as renewable chemical precursors and fragrances will limit their use for fuel. In the near-term, (1-5 years) it is likely that, 'conventional' drop-in biofuels will be produced predominantly via the oleochemical route, due to the relative simplicity and maturity of this pathway.« less

Regulation of health information processing in an outsourcing environment.

PubMed

2004-06-01

Policy makers must consider the work force, technology, cost, and legal implications of their legislative proposals. AHIMA, AAMT, CHIA, and MTIA urge lawmakers to craft regulatory solutions that enforce HIPAA and support advancements in modern health information processing practices that improve the quality and cost of healthcare. We also urge increased investment in health information work force development and implementation of new technologies to advance critical healthcare outcomes--timely, accurate, accessible, and secure information to support patient care. It is essential that state legislatures reinforce the importance of improving information processing solutions for healthcare and not take actions that will produce unintended and detrimental consequences.

Increasing the reliability and quality of important cast products made of chemically active metals and alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varfolomeev, M. S.; Moiseev, V. S.; Shcherbakova, G. I.

2017-01-01

A technology is developed to produce highly thermoresistant ceramic monoxide corundum molds using investment casting and an aluminum-organic binder. This technology is a promising trend in creating ceramic molds for precision complex-shape casting of important ingots made of high-alloy steels, high-temperature and titanium alloys, and refractory metals. The use of the casting molds that have a high thermal and chemical resistance to chemically active metals and alloys under high-temperature casting minimizes the physicochemical interaction and substantially decreases the depth of the hard-to-remove metal oxide layer on important products, which increases their service properties.

Advances in the control of wine spoilage by Zygosaccharomyces and Dekkera/Brettanomyces.

PubMed

Zuehlke, J M; Petrova, B; Edwards, C G

2013-01-01

Understanding the characteristics of yeast spoilage, as well as the available control technologies, is vital to producing consistent, high-quality wine. Zygosaccharomyces bailii contamination may result in refermentation and CO2 production in sweet wines or grape juice concentrate, whereas Brettanomyces bruxellensis spoilage often contributes off-odors and flavors to red wines. Early detection of these yeasts by selective/differential media or genetic methods is important to minimize potential spoilage. More established methods of microbial control include sulfur dioxide, dimethyl dicarbonate, and filtration. Current research is focused on the use of chitosan, pulsed electric fields, low electric current, and ultrasonics as means to protect wine quality.

Quality control and batch testing of MRPC modules for BESIII ETOF upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Z.; Li, X.; Sun, Y. J.; Li, C.; Heng, Y. K.; Chen, T. X.; Dai, H. L.; Shao, M.; Sun, S. S.; Tang, Z. B.; Yang, R. X.; Wu, Z.; Wang, X. Z.

2017-12-01

The end-cap time-of-flight (ETOF) system for the Beijing Spectrometer III (BESIII) has been upgraded using the Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) technology (Williams et al., 1999; Li et al., 2001; Blanco et al., 2003; Fonte et al., 2013, [1-4]). A set of quality-assurance procedures has been developed to guarantee the performances of the 72 mass-produced MRPC modules installed. The cosmic ray batch testing show that the average detection efficiency of the MRPC modules is about 95%. Two different calibration methods indicate that MRPCs' time resolution can reach 60 ps in the cosmic ray test.

Phase-locking of annular-combination CO2 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Tingxiang; Chen, Mei; Zhang, Rongzhu; Xiao, Qianyi

2015-07-01

A new annular-combination resonator structure adopting the external-injection phase-locking technology is presented theoretically for that the beam quality of stable annular resonator is not satisfying. The phase-locking principle and feasibility are characterized by energy density of injection beam and coupling coefficient. Based on the diffraction theory, output mode of the resonator with phase-locking is deduced and simulated. Results also confirm that injection beam have a good control effect on output mode. The intensity distributions of output beam are studied briefly and indicate that this new resonator which is adaptable to annular gain media can produce high-power laser beam with high quality.

Comparing Laser Welding Technologies with Friction Stir Welding for Production of Aluminum Tailor-Welded Blanks

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

Hovanski, Yuri; Carsley, John; Carlson, Blair

2014-01-15

A comparison of welding techniques was performed to determine the most effective method for producing aluminum tailor-welded blanks for high volume automotive applications. Aluminum sheet was joined with an emphasis on post weld formability, surface quality and weld speed. Comparative results from several laser based welding techniques along with friction stir welding are presented. The results of this study demonstrate a quantitative comparison of weld methodologies in preparing tailor-welded aluminum stampings for high volume production in the automotive industry. Evaluation of nearly a dozen welding variations ultimately led to down selecting a single process based on post-weld quality and performance.

Application of lap laser welding technology on stainless steel railway vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hongxiao; Wang, Chunsheng; He, Guangzhong; Li, Wei; Liu, Liguo

2016-10-01

Stainless steel railway vehicles with so many advantages, such as lightweight, antirust, low cost of maintenance and simple manufacturing process, so the production of high level stainless steel railway vehicles has become the development strategy of European, American and other developed nations. The current stainless steel railway vehicles body and structure are usually assembled by resistance spot welding process. The weak points of this process are the poor surface quality and bad airtight due to the pressure of electrodes. In this study, the partial penetration lap laser welding process was investigated to resolve the problems, by controlling the laser to stop at the second plate in the appropriate penetration. The lap laser welding joint of stainless steel railway vehicle car body with partial penetration has higher strength and surface quality than those of resistance spot welding joint. The biggest problem of lap laser welding technology is to find the balance of the strength and surface quality with different penetrations. The mechanism of overlap laser welding of stainless steel, mechanical tests, microstructure analysis, the optimization of welding parameters, analysis of fatigue performance, the design of laser welding stainless steel railway vehicles structure and the development of non-destructive testing technology were systematically studied before lap laser welding process to be applied in manufacture of railway vehicles. The results of the experiments and study show that high-quality surface state and higher fatigue strength can be achieved by the partial penetration overlap laser welding of the side panel structure, and the structure strength of the car body can be higher than the requirements of En12663, the standard of structural requirements of railway vehicles bodies. Our company has produced the stainless steel subway and high way railway vehicles by using overlap laser welding technology. The application of lap laser welding will be a big change of railway vehicles manufacturing technology.

Improving education and supervision of Queensland X-ray Operators through video conference technology: A teleradiography pilot project.

PubMed

Rawle, Marnie; Oliver, Tanya; Pighills, Alison; Lindsay, Daniel

2017-12-01

X-ray Operator (XO) supervision in Queensland is performed by radiographers in a site removed from the XO site. This has historically been performed by telephone when the XO requires immediate help, as well as post-examination through radiographer review and the provision of written feedback on images produced. This project aimed to improve image quality through the provision of real-time support of XOs by the introduction of video conference (VC) supervision. A 6-month pilot project compared image quality with and without VC supervision. VC equipment was installed in the X-ray room at two rural sites, as well as at the radiographer site, to enable visual and oral supervision. The VC unit enabled visualisation of the X-ray examination technique as it was being undertaken, as well as the images produced prior to transmission to the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). Statistically significant improvement in image quality criteria measures were seen for patient positioning (P = 0.008), image quality (P < 0.001) and diagnostic value (P < 0.001) of images taken during this project. No statistically significant differences were seen during case level assessment in the inclusion of only appropriate imaging (P = 0.06), and the inclusion of unacceptable imaging (P = 0.06), however improvements were seen in both of these criteria. The survey revealed 24.6% of examinations performed would normally have involved the XO contacting the radiographer for assistance, although, assistance was actually provided in 88.3% of examinations. This project has demonstrated that significant improvement in image quality is achievable with VC supervision. A larger study with a control arm that did not receive direct supervision should be used to validate the findings of this study. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy and New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology.

From pamphlets to podcasts: health information at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS trust.

PubMed

Moult, Beki; Stephenson, Paula; Geddes, Nicholas; Webb, Jo

2009-06-01

This paper outlines the development of information for children and families at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust. Starting in 1995, guidelines for producing written information have been developed and a regular audit programme carried out, resulting in information of consistently high quality being produced. The 'rules' set out for the provision of written information have now been developed to cover multimedia information, so that technology can be harnessed to develop podcasts and other non-written information materials. Technical processes are explained both for production and delivery. Future plans for multimedia information are also outlined.

Investigation of an artificial intelligence technology--Model trees. Novel applications for an immediate release tablet formulation database.

PubMed

Shao, Q; Rowe, R C; York, P

2007-06-01

This study has investigated an artificial intelligence technology - model trees - as a modelling tool applied to an immediate release tablet formulation database. The modelling performance was compared with artificial neural networks that have been well established and widely applied in the pharmaceutical product formulation fields. The predictability of generated models was validated on unseen data and judged by correlation coefficient R(2). Output from the model tree analyses produced multivariate linear equations which predicted tablet tensile strength, disintegration time, and drug dissolution profiles of similar quality to neural network models. However, additional and valuable knowledge hidden in the formulation database was extracted from these equations. It is concluded that, as a transparent technology, model trees are useful tools to formulators.

Forward Osmosis in Wastewater Treatment Processes.

PubMed

Korenak, Jasmina; Basu, Subhankar; Balakrishnan, Malini; Hélix-Nielsen, Claus; Petrinic, Irena

2017-01-01

In recent years, membrane technology has been widely used in wastewater treatment and water purification. Membrane technology is simple to operate and produces very high quality water for human consumption and industrial purposes. One of the promising technologies for water and wastewater treatment is the application of forward osmosis. Essentially, forward osmosis is a process in which water is driven through a semipermeable membrane from a feed solution to a draw solution due to the osmotic pressure gradient across the membrane. The immediate advantage over existing pressure driven membrane technologies is that the forward osmosis process per se eliminates the need for operation with high hydraulic pressure and forward osmosis has low fouling tendency. Hence, it provides an opportunity for saving energy and membrane replacement cost. However, there are many limitations that still need to be addressed. Here we briefly review some of the applications within water purification and new developments in forward osmosis membrane fabrication.

Three-dimensional printing: review of application in medicine and hepatic surgery.

PubMed

Yao, Rui; Xu, Gang; Mao, Shuang-Shuang; Yang, Hua-Yu; Sang, Xin-Ting; Sun, Wei; Mao, Yi-Lei

2016-12-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing (3DP) is a rapid prototyping technology that has gained increasing recognition in many different fields. Inherent accuracy and low-cost property enable applicability of 3DP in many areas, such as manufacturing, aerospace, medical, and industrial design. Recently, 3DP has gained considerable attention in the medical field. The image data can be quickly turned into physical objects by using 3DP technology. These objects are being used across a variety of surgical specialties. The shortage of cadaver specimens is a major problem in medical education. However, this concern has been solved with the emergence of 3DP model. Custom-made items can be produced by using 3DP technology. This innovation allows 3DP use in preoperative planning and surgical training. Learning is difficult among medical students because of the complex anatomical structures of the liver. Thus, 3D visualization is a useful tool in anatomy teaching and hepatic surgical training. However, conventional models do not capture haptic qualities. 3DP can produce highly accurate and complex physical models. Many types of human or animal differentiated cells can be printed successfully with the development of 3D bio-printing technology. This progress represents a valuable breakthrough that exhibits many potential uses, such as research on drug metabolism or liver disease mechanism. This technology can also be used to solve shortage of organs for transplant in the future.

Three-dimensional printing: review of application in medicine and hepatic surgery

PubMed Central

Yao, Rui; Xu, Gang; Mao, Shuang-Shuang; Yang, Hua-Yu; Sang, Xin-Ting; Sun, Wei; Mao, Yi-Lei

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing (3DP) is a rapid prototyping technology that has gained increasing recognition in many different fields. Inherent accuracy and low-cost property enable applicability of 3DP in many areas, such as manufacturing, aerospace, medical, and industrial design. Recently, 3DP has gained considerable attention in the medical field. The image data can be quickly turned into physical objects by using 3DP technology. These objects are being used across a variety of surgical specialties. The shortage of cadaver specimens is a major problem in medical education. However, this concern has been solved with the emergence of 3DP model. Custom-made items can be produced by using 3DP technology. This innovation allows 3DP use in preoperative planning and surgical training. Learning is difficult among medical students because of the complex anatomical structures of the liver. Thus, 3D visualization is a useful tool in anatomy teaching and hepatic surgical training. However, conventional models do not capture haptic qualities. 3DP can produce highly accurate and complex physical models. Many types of human or animal differentiated cells can be printed successfully with the development of 3D bio-printing technology. This progress represents a valuable breakthrough that exhibits many potential uses, such as research on drug metabolism or liver disease mechanism. This technology can also be used to solve shortage of organs for transplant in the future. PMID:28154775

Web quality control for lectures: Supercourse and Amazon.com.

PubMed

Linkov, Faina; LaPorte, Ronald; Lovalekar, Mita; Dodani, Sunita

2005-12-01

Peer review has been at the corner stone of quality control of the biomedical journals in the past 300 years. With the emergency of the Internet, new models of quality control and peer review are emerging. However, such models are poorly investigated. We would argue that the popular system of quality control used in Amazon.com offers a way to ensure continuous quality improvement in the area of research communications on the Internet. Such system is providing an interesting alternative to the traditional peer review approaches used in the biomedical journals and challenges the traditional paradigms of scientific publishing. This idea is being explored in the context of Supercourse, a library of 2,350 prevention lectures, shared for free by faculty members from over 150 countries. Supercourse is successfully utilizing quality control approaches that are similar to Amazon.com model. Clearly, the existing approaches and emerging alternatives for quality control in scientific communications needs to be assessed scientifically. Rapid explosion of internet technologies could be leveraged to produce better, more cost effective systems for quality control in the biomedical publications and across all sciences.

Technological Factors Affecting Biogenic Amine Content in Foods: A Review

PubMed Central

Gardini, Fausto; Özogul, Yesim; Suzzi, Giovanna; Tabanelli, Giulia; Özogul, Fatih

2016-01-01

Biogenic amines (BAs) are molecules, which can be present in foods and, due to their toxicity, can cause adverse effects on the consumers. BAs are generally produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids in food products. The most significant BAs occurring in foods are histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine, spermidine, and agmatine. The importance of preventing the excessive accumulation of BAs in foods is related to their impact on human health and food quality. Quality criteria in connection with the presence of BAs in food and food products are necessary from a toxicological point of view. This is particularly important in fermented foods in which the massive microbial proliferation required for obtaining specific products is often relater with BAs accumulation. In this review, up-to-date information and recent discoveries about technological factors affecting BA content in foods are reviewed. Specifically, BA forming-microorganism and decarboxylation activity, genetic and metabolic organization of decarboxylases, risk associated to BAs (histamine, tyramine toxicity, and other BAs), environmental factors influencing BA formation (temperature, salt concentration, and pH). In addition, the technological factors for controlling BA production (use of starter culture, technological additives, effects of packaging, other non-thermal treatments, metabolizing BA by microorganisms, effects of pressure treatments on BA formation and antimicrobial substances) are addressed. PMID:27570519

Technological Factors Affecting Biogenic Amine Content in Foods: A Review.

PubMed

Gardini, Fausto; Özogul, Yesim; Suzzi, Giovanna; Tabanelli, Giulia; Özogul, Fatih

2016-01-01

Biogenic amines (BAs) are molecules, which can be present in foods and, due to their toxicity, can cause adverse effects on the consumers. BAs are generally produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids in food products. The most significant BAs occurring in foods are histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine, spermidine, and agmatine. The importance of preventing the excessive accumulation of BAs in foods is related to their impact on human health and food quality. Quality criteria in connection with the presence of BAs in food and food products are necessary from a toxicological point of view. This is particularly important in fermented foods in which the massive microbial proliferation required for obtaining specific products is often relater with BAs accumulation. In this review, up-to-date information and recent discoveries about technological factors affecting BA content in foods are reviewed. Specifically, BA forming-microorganism and decarboxylation activity, genetic and metabolic organization of decarboxylases, risk associated to BAs (histamine, tyramine toxicity, and other BAs), environmental factors influencing BA formation (temperature, salt concentration, and pH). In addition, the technological factors for controlling BA production (use of starter culture, technological additives, effects of packaging, other non-thermal treatments, metabolizing BA by microorganisms, effects of pressure treatments on BA formation and antimicrobial substances) are addressed.

Application of quality by design for 3D printed bone prostheses and scaffolds

PubMed Central

Martinez-Marquez, Daniel; Mirnajafizadeh, Ali; Carty, Christopher P.

2018-01-01

3D printing is an emergent manufacturing technology recently being applied in the medical field for the development of custom bone prostheses and scaffolds. However, successful industry transformation to this new design and manufacturing approach requires technology integration, concurrent multi-disciplinary collaboration, and a robust quality management framework. This latter change enabler is the focus of this study. While a number of comprehensive quality frameworks have been developed in recent decades to ensure that the manufacturing of medical devices produces reliable products, they are centred on the traditional context of standardised manufacturing techniques. The advent of 3D printing technologies and the prospects for mass customisation provides significant market opportunities, but also presents a serious challenge to regulatory bodies tasked with managing and assuring product quality and safety. Before 3D printing bone prostheses and scaffolds can gain traction, industry stakeholders, such as regulators, clients, medical practitioners, insurers, lawyers, and manufacturers, would all require a high degree of confidence that customised manufacturing can achieve the same quality outcomes as standardised manufacturing. A Quality by Design (QbD) approach to custom 3D printed prostheses can help to ensure that products are designed and manufactured correctly from the beginning without errors. This paper reports on the adaptation of the QbD approach for the development process of 3D printed custom bone prosthesis and scaffolds. This was achieved through the identification of the Critical Quality Attributes of such products, and an extensive review of different design and fabrication methods for 3D printed bone prostheses. Research outcomes include the development of a comprehensive design and fabrication process flow diagram, and categorised risks associated with the design and fabrication processes of such products. An extensive systematic literature review and post-hoc evaluation survey with experts was completed to evaluate the likely effectiveness of the herein suggested QbD framework. PMID:29649231

Application of quality by design for 3D printed bone prostheses and scaffolds.

PubMed

Martinez-Marquez, Daniel; Mirnajafizadeh, Ali; Carty, Christopher P; Stewart, Rodney A

2018-01-01

3D printing is an emergent manufacturing technology recently being applied in the medical field for the development of custom bone prostheses and scaffolds. However, successful industry transformation to this new design and manufacturing approach requires technology integration, concurrent multi-disciplinary collaboration, and a robust quality management framework. This latter change enabler is the focus of this study. While a number of comprehensive quality frameworks have been developed in recent decades to ensure that the manufacturing of medical devices produces reliable products, they are centred on the traditional context of standardised manufacturing techniques. The advent of 3D printing technologies and the prospects for mass customisation provides significant market opportunities, but also presents a serious challenge to regulatory bodies tasked with managing and assuring product quality and safety. Before 3D printing bone prostheses and scaffolds can gain traction, industry stakeholders, such as regulators, clients, medical practitioners, insurers, lawyers, and manufacturers, would all require a high degree of confidence that customised manufacturing can achieve the same quality outcomes as standardised manufacturing. A Quality by Design (QbD) approach to custom 3D printed prostheses can help to ensure that products are designed and manufactured correctly from the beginning without errors. This paper reports on the adaptation of the QbD approach for the development process of 3D printed custom bone prosthesis and scaffolds. This was achieved through the identification of the Critical Quality Attributes of such products, and an extensive review of different design and fabrication methods for 3D printed bone prostheses. Research outcomes include the development of a comprehensive design and fabrication process flow diagram, and categorised risks associated with the design and fabrication processes of such products. An extensive systematic literature review and post-hoc evaluation survey with experts was completed to evaluate the likely effectiveness of the herein suggested QbD framework.

Manufacturing of polymer optical waveguides using self-assembly effect on pre-conditioned 3D-thermoformed flexible substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Gerd-Albert; Wolfer, Tim; Zeitler, Jochen; Franke, Jörg; Suttmann, Oliver; Overmeyer, Ludger

2017-02-01

Optical data communication is increasingly interesting for many applications in industrial processes. Therefore mass production is required to meet the requested price and lot sizes. Polymer optical waveguides show great promises to comply with price requirements while providing sufficient optical quality for short range data transmission. A high efficient fabrication technology using polymer materials could be able to create the essential backbone for 3D-optical data transmission in the future. The approach for high efficient fabrication technology of micro optics described in this paper is based on a self-assembly effect of fluids on preconditioned 3D-thermoformed polymer foils. Adjusting the surface energy on certain areas on the flexible substrate by flexographic printing mechanism is presented in this paper. With this technique conditioning lines made of silicone containing UV-varnish are printed on top of the foils and create gaps with the exposed substrate material in between. Subsequent fabrication processes are selected whether the preconditioned foil is coated with acrylate containing waveguide material prior or after the thermoforming process. Due to the different surface energy this material tends to dewet from the conditioning lines. It acts like regional barriers and sets the width of the arising waveguides. With this fabrication technology it is possible to produce multiple waveguides with a single coating process. The relevant printing process parameters that affect the quality of the generated waveguides are discussed and results of the produced waveguides with width ranging from 10 to 300 μm are shown.

Next decade in infrared detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogalski, A.

2017-10-01

Fundamental and technological issues associated with the development and exploitation of the most advanced infrared technologies is discussed. In these classes of detectors both photon and thermal detectors are considered. Special attention is directed to HgCdTe ternary alloys, type II superlattices (T2SLs), barrier detectors, quantum wells, extrinsic detectors, and uncooled thermal bolometers. The sophisticated physics associated with the antimonide-based bandgap engineering will give a new impact and interest in development of infrared detector structures. Important advantage of T2SLs is the high quality, high uniformity and stable nature of the material. In general, III-V semiconductors are more robust than their II-VI counterparts due to stronger, less ionic chemical bonding. As a result, III-V-based FPAs excel in operability, spatial uniformity, temporal stability, scalability, producibility, and affordability - the so-called "ibility" advantages. In well established uncooled imaging, microbolometer arrays are clearly the most used technology. The microbolometer detectors are now produced in larger volumes than all other IR array technologies together. Present state-of-the-art microbolometers are based on polycrystalline or amorphous materials, typically vanadium oxide (VOx) or amorphous silicon (a-Si), with only modest temperature sensitivity and noise properties. Basic efforts today are mainly focused on pixel reduction and performance enhancement.

Thermophilic versus Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge: A Comparative Review

PubMed Central

Gebreeyessus, Getachew D.; Jenicek, Pavel

2016-01-01

During advanced biological wastewater treatment, a huge amount of sludge is produced as a by-product of the treatment process. Hence, reuse and recovery of resources and energy from the sludge is a big technological challenge. The processing of sludge produced by Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is massive, which takes up a big part of the overall operational costs. In this regard, anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge continues to be an attractive option to produce biogas that could contribute to the wastewater management cost reduction and foster the sustainability of those WWTPs. At the same time, AD reduces sludge amounts and that again contributes to the reduction of the sludge disposal costs. However, sludge volume minimization remains, a challenge thus improvement of dewatering efficiency is an inevitable part of WWTP operation. As a result, AD parameters could have significant impact on sludge properties. One of the most important operational parameters influencing the AD process is temperature. Consequently, the thermophilic and the mesophilic modes of sludge AD are compared for their pros and cons by many researchers. However, most comparisons are more focused on biogas yield, process speed and stability. Regarding the biogas yield, thermophilic sludge AD is preferred over the mesophilic one because of its faster biochemical reaction rate. Equally important but not studied sufficiently until now was the influence of temperature on the digestate quality, which is expressed mainly by the sludge dewateringability, and the reject water quality (chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, and pH). In the field of comparison of thermophilic and mesophilic digestion process, few and often inconclusive research, unfortunately, has been published so far. Hence, recommendations for optimized technologies have not yet been done. The review presented provides a comparison of existing sludge AD technologies and the gaps that need to be filled so as to optimize the connection between the two systems. In addition, many other relevant AD process parameters, including sludge rheology, which need to be addressed, are also reviewed and presented. PMID:28952577

Review of the pyrolysis platform for coproducing bio-oil and biochar

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

Laird, David A.; Brown, Robert C.; Amonette, James E.

2009-09-01

Pyrolysis is a relatively simple, inexpensive, and robust thermochemical technology for transforming biomass into bio-oil, biochar, and syngas. The robust nature of the pyrolysis technology, which allows considerable flexibility in both the type and quality of the biomass feedstock, combined with a distributed network of small pyrolysis plants, would be compatible with existing agriculture and forestry infrastructure. Bio-oil can be used as a fuel in existing industrial boilers. Biochar can be used with existing infrastructure as a replacement for pulverized coal; however, use of biochar as a soil amendment results in significant environmental and agronomic benefits. Soil application of biocharmore » is a means of sequestering large amounts of C and may have other greenhouse gas benefits. Preliminary reports of the impact of soil biochar applications on crop yields indicate that biochar quality is very important. Biochar is an effective adsorbent for both nutrients and organic contaminants, hence the presence of biochar in soils has been shown to improve water quality in column leaching and field lysimeter studies and it is anticipated to do the same for agricultural watersheds. The pyrolysis platform for producing bio-oil and biochar from biomass appears to be a practical, effective, and environmentally sustainable means of producing large quantities of renewable bioenergy while simultaneously reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. At the present time, the pyrolysis platform is economically marginal because markets for bio-oil and biochar are highly competitive. However, if the USA adopts a program for controlling greenhouse gases, the pyrolysis platform would be highly competitive.« less

Field methods and quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities and water-level measurements, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bartholomay, Roy C.; Maimer, Neil V.; Wehnke, Amy J.

2014-01-01

Water-quality activities and water-level measurements by the personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Project Office coincide with the USGS mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation’s water resources. The activities are carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho Operations Office. Results of the water-quality and hydraulic head investigations are presented in various USGS publications or in refereed scientific journals and the data are stored in the National Water Information System (NWIS) database. The results of the studies are used by researchers, regulatory and managerial agencies, and interested civic groups. In the broadest sense, quality assurance refers to doing the job right the first time. It includes the functions of planning for products, review and acceptance of the products, and an audit designed to evaluate the system that produces the products. Quality control and quality assurance differ in that quality control ensures that things are done correctly given the “state-of-the-art” technology, and quality assurance ensures that quality control is maintained within specified limits.

China Report, Agriculture Hunan Agricultural Geography

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-08-13

enjoyed a special market in border regions. Green tea produced in Xiangymand Yueyang counties as well as in Guzhang County is flavorful and mellow...tea processing technology, production of more green tea and jasmine tea, and improvement of both yields per unit of area and quality. m ff...their flavor is full and sweet, and they are more fragrant. They are of very great impor- tance in lengthening the province’s period of supply of

Fabrication of injection molded sintered alpha SiC turbine components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Storm, R. S.; Ohnsorg, R. W.; Frechette, F. J.

1981-01-01

Fabrication of a sintered alpha silicon carbide turbine blade by injection molding is described. An extensive process variation matrix was carried out to define the optimum fabrication conditions. Variation of molding parameters had a significant impact on yield. Turbine blades were produced in a reasonable yield which met a rigid quality and dimensional specification. Application of injection molding technology to more complex components such as integral rotors is also described.

U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity 1991 Annual Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-31

coliphage detection technology. The RABTEK will significantly reduce the time required to determine the sanitary quality of potential water sources, and...dependence on medical grade oxygen resupply. o The e st I %Mt is a device which produces sterile Water for Injection from a potable water source, combines...that water with concentrated electrolytes to formulate parenteral solutions, and packages the solutions in sterile plastic IV bags. 1 1 e Laser

Using Temporal Fill Factor to Reduce Frame Reconstruction Rates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larimer, James; Balram, Nikhil; Gille, Jennifer; Luszcz, Jeffery

1997-01-01

The newer active matrix display technologies such as TFT-LCD, DMD, PDP maintain their pixel values through the entire frame time, presenting a 100% temporal fill factor, in contrast to the duty cycle produced by the phosphor impulse response of the CRT. This sample-and-hold characteristic can be exploited to lower the displayed frame rate without affecting visual quality. The lower frame rate results in significantly lower transmission bandwidth, power, and cost.

The effect of curve sawing two-sided cants from small diameter hardwood sawlogs on lumber and pallet part yields

Treesearch

Peter Hamner; Marshall S. White; Philip A. Araman

2006-01-01

Curve sawing is a primary log breakdown process that incorporates gang-saw technology to allow two-sided cants from logs with sweep to be cut parallel to the log surface or log axis. Since curve-sawn logs with sweep are cut along the grain, the potential for producing high quality straight-grain lumber and cants increases, and strength, stiffness, and dimensional...

Quality control and quality assurance plan for bridge channel-stability assessments in Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parker, Gene W.; Pinson, Harlow

1993-01-01

A quality control and quality assurance plan has been implemented as part of the Massachusetts bridge scour and channel-stability assessment program. This program is being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts-Rhode Island District, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Highway Department. Project personnel training, data-integrity verification, and new data-management technologies are being utilized in the channel-stability assessment process to improve current data-collection and management techniques. An automated data-collection procedure has been implemented to standardize channel-stability assessments on a regular basis within the State. An object-oriented data structure and new image management tools are used to produce a data base enabling management of multiple data object classes. Data will be reviewed by assessors and data base managers before being merged into a master bridge-scour data base, which includes automated data-verification routines.

Detailed analysis of acidic compounds in Mayan gas oil and hydrotreated products

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

Sturm, G.P. Jr.; Green, J.B.; Grigsby, R.D.

1989-04-01

The present and future importance of heavy crude as a primary energy resource is widely recognized in spite of the current oversupply of crude oil. Along with coal and shale oil, heavy crudes and heavy ends of conventional crude produced by primary and enhanced oil recovery methods are considered important and dependable resources to meet their nation's long-term energy needs. Heavy crudes impose more severe requirements upon refining technology to produce end products meeting current specifications in terms of stability, compatibility, and corrosiveness. This study is based on the premise that knowledge of the problem components in the feedstocks, intermediatemore » process streams, and products can aid in the development of efficient and economical means of producing higher quality products.« less

An assessment of producer precision dairy farming technology use, prepurchase considerations, and usefulness.

PubMed

Borchers, M R; Bewley, J M

2015-06-01

An online survey to identify producer precision dairy farming technology perception was distributed in March 2013 through web links sent to dairy producers through written publications and e-mail. Responses were collected in May 2013 and 109 surveys were used in statistical analysis. Producers were asked to select parameters monitored by technologies on their farm from a predetermined list and 68.8% of respondents indicated technology use on their dairies (31.2% of producers not using technologies). Daily milk yield (52.3%), cow activity (41.3%), and mastitis (25.7%) were selected most frequently. Producers were also asked to score the same list of parameters on usefulness using a 5-point scale (1=not useful and 5=useful). Producers indicated (mean ± SE) mastitis (4.77±0.47), standing estrus (4.75±0.55), and daily milk yield (4.72±0.62) to be most useful. Producers were asked to score considerations taken before deciding to purchase a precision dairy farming technology from a predetermined list (1=not important and 5=important). Producers indicated benefit-to-cost ratio (4.57±0.66), total investment cost (4.28±0.83), and simplicity and ease of use (4.26±0.75) to be most important when deciding whether to implement a technology. Producers were categorized based on technology use (using technology vs. not using technology) and differed significantly across technology usefulness scores, daily milk yield (using technologies: 4.83±0.07 vs. not using technologies: 4.50±0.10), and standing estrus (using technologies: 4.68±0.06 vs. not using technologies: 4.91±0.09). The same categories were used to evaluate technology use effect on prepurchase technology selection criteria and availability of local support (using technologies: 4.25±0.11 vs. not using technologies: 3.82±0.16) differed significantly. Producer perception of technology remains relatively unknown to manufacturers. Using this data, technology manufacturers may better design and market technologies to producer need. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Technological developments and the need for technical competencies in food services.

PubMed

Rodgers, Svetlana

2005-05-01

The growing scale of institutional and commercial food services poses a technological challenge of producing large quantities of high quality meals in terms of their safety, sensory and nutritional attributes. Developments in food service technology and systems (cook-freeze, cook-chill and others) allow the replacement of fast food with the service of cooked meals, which are often nutritionally superior. Reliance on equipment, packaging and technological 'know-how' makes food service operations more complex. Operators have to minimise the impact of the numerous steps in the production process, the fundamental weaknesses of cook-chill food safety design, coupled with the practical limitations of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points management, the potential unevenness of temperature distribution and product deterioration during storage. The fundamental knowledge of food science and microbiology, engineering and packaging technologies is needed. At present, the 'high tech' options, which can improve a product's nutritional value, such as natural preservation hurdles or functional meals, are not used in practice.

IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXTUAL DATA IN PRODUCING HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: A CASE STUDY.

PubMed

Poder, Thomas G; Bellemare, Christian A

2018-01-01

Contextual data and local expertise are important sources of data that cannot be ignored in hospital-based health technology assessment (HTA) processes. Despite a lack of or unconvincing evidence in the scientific literature, technology can be recommended in a given context. We illustrate this using a case study regarding biplane angiography for vascular neurointervention. A systematic literature review was conducted, along with an analysis of the context in our setting. The outcomes of interest were radiation doses, clinical complications, procedure times, purchase cost, impact on teaching program, the confidence of clinicians in the technology, quality of care, accessibility, and the volume of activity. A committee comprising managers, clinical experts, physicians, physicists and HTA experts was created to produce a recommendation regarding biplane technology acquisition to replace a monoplane device. The systematic literature review yielded nine eligible articles for analysis. Despite a very low level of evidence in the literature, the biplane system appears to reduce ionizing radiation and medical complications, as well as shorten procedure time. Contextual data indicated that the biplane system could improve operator confidence, which could translate into reduced risk, particularly for complex procedures. In addition, the biplane system can support our institution in its advanced procedures teaching program. Given the advantages provided by the biplane technology in our setting, the committee has recommended its acquisition. Contextual data were of utmost importance in this recommendation. Moreover, this technology should be implemented alongside a responsibility to collect outcome data to optimize clinical protocol in the doses of ionizing delivered.

Antimisting kerosene: Base fuel effects, blending and quality control techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yavrouian, A. H.; Ernest, J.; Sarohia, V.

1984-01-01

The problems associated with blending of the AMK additive with Jet A, and the base fuel effects on AMK properties are addressed. The results from the evaluation of some of the quality control techniques for AMK are presented. The principal conclusions of this investigation are: significant compositional differences for base fuel (Jet A) within the ASTM specification DI655; higher aromatic content of the base fuel was found to be beneficial for the polymer dissolution at ambient (20 C) temperature; using static mixer technology, the antimisting additive (FM-9) is in-line blended with Jet A, producing AMK which has adequate fire-protection properties 15 to 20 minutes after blending; degradability of freshly blended and equilibrated AMK indicated that maximum degradability is reached after adequate fire protection is obtained; the results of AMK degradability as measured by filter ratio, confirmed previous RAE data that power requirements to decade freshly blended AMK are significantly higher than equilibrated AMK; blending of the additive by using FM-9 concentrate in Jet A produces equilibrated AMK almost instantly; nephelometry offers a simple continuous monitoring capability and is used as a real time quality control device for AMK; and trajectory (jet thurst) and pressure drop tests are useful laboratory techniques for evaluating AMK quality.

I've got 99 problems but a phone ain't one: Electronic and mobile health in low and middle income countries.

PubMed

Kumar, Pratap; Paton, Chris; Kirigia, Doris

2016-10-01

Mobile technology is very prevalent in Kenya-mobile phone penetration is at 88% and mobile data subscriptions form 99% of all internet subscriptions. While there is great potential for such ubiquitous technology to revolutionise access and quality of healthcare in low-resource settings, there have been few successes at scale. Implementations of electronic health (e-Health) and mobile health (m-Health) technologies in countries like Kenya are yet to tackle human resource constraints or the political, ethical and financial considerations of such technologies. We outline recent innovations that could improve access and quality while considering the costs of healthcare. One is an attempt to create a scalable clinical decision support system by engaging a global network of specialist doctors and reversing some of the damaging effects of medical brain drain. The other efficiently extracts digital information from paper-based records using low-cost and locally produced tools such as rubber stamps to improve adherence to clinical practice guidelines. By bringing down the costs of remote consultations and clinical audit, respectively, these projects offer the potential for clinics in resource-limited settings to deliver high-quality care. This paper makes a case for continued and increased investment in social enterprises that bridge academia, public and private sectors to deliver sustainable and scalable e-Health and m-Health solutions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Microbes, metagenomes and marine mammals: enabling the next generation of scientist to enter the genomic era

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The revolution in DNA sequencing technology continues unabated, and is affecting all aspects of the biological and medical sciences. The training and recruitment of the next generation of researchers who are able to use and exploit the new technology is severely lacking and potentially negatively influencing research and development efforts to advance genome biology. Here we present a cross-disciplinary course that provides undergraduate students with practical experience in running a next generation sequencing instrument through to the analysis and annotation of the generated DNA sequences. Results Many labs across world are installing next generation sequencing technology and we show that the undergraduate students produce quality sequence data and were excited to participate in cutting edge research. The students conducted the work flow from DNA extraction, library preparation, running the sequencing instrument, to the extraction and analysis of the data. They sequenced microbes, metagenomes, and a marine mammal, the Californian sea lion, Zalophus californianus. The students met sequencing quality controls, had no detectable contamination in the targeted DNA sequences, provided publication quality data, and became part of an international collaboration to investigate carcinomas in carnivores. Conclusions Students learned important skills for their future education and career opportunities, and a perceived increase in students’ ability to conduct independent scientific research was measured. DNA sequencing is rapidly expanding in the life sciences. Teaching undergraduates to use the latest technology to sequence genomic DNA ensures they are ready to meet the challenges of the genomic era and allows them to participate in annotating the tree of life. PMID:24007365

A novel approach to TEM preparation with a (7-axis stage) triple-beam FIB-SEM system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarke, Jamil J.

2015-10-01

Preparation of lamellae from bulk to grid for Cs-corrected Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) observation has mostly become routine work on the latest FIB-SEM systems, with standardized techniques that often are left to automation for the initial steps. The finalization of lamellae however, has mostly become, non-routine, non-repeatable and often driven by user experience level in most cases to produce high quality damage-less cross section. Materials processing of the latest technologies, with ever-shrinking Nano-sized structures pose challenges to modern FIB-SEM systems. This can often lead to specialized techniques and hyper-specific functions for producing ultra-thin high quality lamellae that often are lab specific, preventing practical use of such techniques across multiple materials and applications. Several factors that should be incorporated in processing fine structured materials successfully include how the use of electron and ion scan conditions can affect a thin section during ion milling, the type of ion species applied for material processing during the finalization of lamellae with gallium ions or of a smaller ion species type such as Ar/Xe, sample orientation of the lamella during the thinning process which is linked to ion beam incident angle as a direct relationship in the creation of waterfall effects or curtain effects, and how software can be employed to aid in the reduction of these artifacts with reproducible results regardless of FIB-SEM experience for site-specific lift outs. A traditional TEM preparation was performed of a fine structure specimen in pursuit of a process technique to produce a high quality TEM lamella which would address all of the factors mentioned. These new capabilities have been refined and improved upon during the FIB-SEM design and development stages with an end result of a new approach that yields an improvement in quality by the reduction of common ion milling artifacts such as curtain effects, amorphous material, and better pin pointing of the area of interest while reducing overall processing time for the TEM sample preparation process and enhancing repeatability through ease of use via software controls. The development of these new technologies, incorporating a third Ar/Xe ion beam column in conjunction with the electron and gallium ion beam column, a 7-axis stage for enhanced sample orientation with tilt functions in two axes and automated swing control along with a host of additional functions which address the factors aforementioned such as electron and ion scan techniques and curtain effect removal by the use of hardware and software components that are key to reduce typical FIB related artifacts, all of which are called "ACE [Anti Curtaining Effect] Technologies" are explained. The overall developments of these technologies are to address a significant point that productivity, throughput and repeatability are comprised by synergy between the user, application, software and hardware within a FIB-SEM system. The latest Hitachi FIB-SEM platform offers these innovations for reliability, repeatability and high quality lamella preparation for Cs-corrected (S)TEMs.

The evaluation of the microbial safety of fresh ready-to-eat vegetables produced by different technologies in Italy.

PubMed

De Giusti, M; Aurigemma, C; Marinelli, L; Tufi, D; De Medici, D; Di Pasquale, S; De Vito, C; Boccia, A

2010-09-01

The study was performed to evaluate the safety of whole and RTE vegetables and to investigate the effectiveness of different preventive strategies for the quality assurance of RTE vegetables collected from three Italian production systems. Producer 1, applied a strict system in compliance with GAP- GMP - HACCP, Producer 2 used chlorine disinfection at a second washing step, and Producer 3 using a physical microbial stabilization. During the period 2005-2007, a total of 964 samples including whole vegetables and RTE salads, collected from three different producers in central Italy, were analysed to quantify the aerobic mesophilic count (AMC) and Escherichia coli, and for the presence of Salmonella spp, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, hepatitis A virus and Norovirus (NoV). None of the whole vegetable samples were positive for L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, HAV and NoV; however, a low prevalence of Salmonella was found. No pathogens were detected with cultural methods in any of the RTE vegetables analysed, only two RTE samples were positive for L. monocytogenes with PCR, but were not confirmed by the cultural method. The median values of AMC in RTE vegetables measured 24 h after packaging were statistically different among the 3 producers (5·4 × 10(6), 1·5 × 10(7) and 3·7 × 10(7) CFU g(-1), respectively; P=0·011). The lowest level was detected in Producer 1. The products that were processed applying rigorously GAP, GMP and HACCP showed a better microbiological quality than those processed with chemical or physical stabilization. STUDY SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT: The results of the study evidenced the efficacy of GAP, GMP and HACCP in improving microbiological quality of whole and RTE vegetables. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Yeast-Leavened Laminated Salty Baked Goods: Flour and Dough Properties and Their Relationship with Product Technological Quality

PubMed Central

de la Horra, Ana E.; Steffolani, María Eugenia; Barrera, Gabriela N.; Ribotta, Pablo D.

2015-01-01

Summary The effect of protein composition and content on the characteristics and properties of laminated baked products has been studied for a long time. However, there are no flour quality parameters related to its suitability to produce yeast-leavened laminated salty baked products. The relationships among flour characteristics, laminated dough pieces and baked products were studied in order to establish flour quality parameters and help predict the quality of the products. Yeast-leavened salty laminated products made with hard wheat flour had better quality properties than the products made with soft wheat flour. Hydrophilic components and a high gluten network quality are responsible for the generation of a rigid structure and viscous dough. Consequently, during baking, the dough rises rather than extends laterally and does not experience any change in the expected shape. Among the analysed flour characteristics, glutenin macropolymer content, lactic acid and sodium carbonate solvent retention capacities together with dough viscosity and resistance to deformation were the variables which influenced the most the quality of yeast-leavened salty laminated products. PMID:27904379

Yeast-Leavened Laminated Salty Baked Goods: Flour and Dough Properties and Their Relationship with Product Technological Quality.

PubMed

de la Horra, Ana E; Steffolani, María Eugenia; Barrera, Gabriela N; Ribotta, Pablo D; León, Alberto E

2015-12-01

The effect of protein composition and content on the characteristics and properties of laminated baked products has been studied for a long time. However, there are no flour quality parameters related to its suitability to produce yeast-leavened laminated salty baked products. The relationships among flour characteristics, laminated dough pieces and baked products were studied in order to establish flour quality parameters and help predict the quality of the products. Yeast-leavened salty laminated products made with hard wheat flour had better quality properties than the products made with soft wheat flour. Hydrophilic components and a high gluten network quality are responsible for the generation of a rigid structure and viscous dough. Consequently, during baking, the dough rises rather than extends laterally and does not experience any change in the expected shape. Among the analysed flour characteristics, glutenin macropolymer content, lactic acid and sodium carbonate solvent retention capacities together with dough viscosity and resistance to deformation were the variables which influenced the most the quality of yeast-leavened salty laminated products.

Image processing developments and applications for water quality monitoring and trophic state determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackwell, R. J.

1982-01-01

Remote sensing data analysis of water quality monitoring is evaluated. Data anaysis and image processing techniques are applied to LANDSAT remote sensing data to produce an effective operational tool for lake water quality surveying and monitoring. Digital image processing and analysis techniques were designed, developed, tested, and applied to LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data and conventional surface acquired data. Utilization of these techniques facilitates the surveying and monitoring of large numbers of lakes in an operational manner. Supervised multispectral classification, when used in conjunction with surface acquired water quality indicators, is used to characterize water body trophic status. Unsupervised multispectral classification, when interpreted by lake scientists familiar with a specific water body, yields classifications of equal validity with supervised methods and in a more cost effective manner. Image data base technology is used to great advantage in characterizing other contributing effects to water quality. These effects include drainage basin configuration, terrain slope, soil, precipitation and land cover characteristics.

Using Technology to Improve Cancer Care: Social Media, Wearables, and Electronic Health Records.

PubMed

Fisch, Michael J; Chung, Arlene E; Accordino, Melissa K

2016-01-01

Digital engagement has become pervasive in the delivery of cancer care. Internet- and cellular phone-based tools and systems are allowing large groups of people to engage with each other and share information. Health systems and individual health professionals are adapting to this revolution in consumer and patient behavior by developing ways to incorporate the benefits of technology for the purpose of improving the quality of medical care. One example is the use of social media platforms by oncologists to foster interaction with each other and to participate with the lay public in dialogue about science, medicine, and cancer care. In addition, consumer devices and sensors (wearables) have provided a new, growing dimension of digital engagement and another layer of patient-generated health data to foster better care and research. Finally, electronic health records have become the new standard for oncology care delivery, bringing new opportunities to measure quality in real time and follow practice patterns, as well as new challenges as providers and patients seek ways to integrate this technology along with other forms of digital engagement to produce more satisfaction in the process of care along with measurably better outcomes.

Progress in ion torrent semiconductor chip based sequencing.

PubMed

Merriman, Barry; Rothberg, Jonathan M

2012-12-01

In order for next-generation sequencing to become widely used as a diagnostic in the healthcare industry, sequencing instrumentation will need to be mass produced with a high degree of quality and economy. One way to achieve this is to recast DNA sequencing in a format that fully leverages the manufacturing base created for computer chips, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor chip fabrication, which is the current pinnacle of large scale, high quality, low-cost manufacturing of high technology. To achieve this, ideally the entire sensory apparatus of the sequencer would be embodied in a standard semiconductor chip, manufactured in the same fab facilities used for logic and memory chips. Recently, such a sequencing chip, and the associated sequencing platform, has been developed and commercialized by Ion Torrent, a division of Life Technologies, Inc. Here we provide an overview of this semiconductor chip based sequencing technology, and summarize the progress made since its commercial introduction. We described in detail the progress in chip scaling, sequencing throughput, read length, and accuracy. We also summarize the enhancements in the associated platform, including sample preparation, data processing, and engagement of the broader development community through open source and crowdsourcing initiatives. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Olive oil pilot-production assisted by pulsed electric field: impact on extraction yield, chemical parameters and sensory properties.

PubMed

Puértolas, Eduardo; Martínez de Marañón, Iñigo

2015-01-15

The impact of the use of pulsed electric field (PEF) technology on Arroniz olive oil production in terms of extraction yield and chemical and sensory quality has been studied at pilot scale in an industrial oil mill. The application of a PEF treatment (2 kV/cm; 11.25 kJ/kg) to the olive paste significantly increased the extraction yield by 13.3%, with respect to a control. Furthermore, olive oil obtained by PEF showed total phenolic content, total phytosterols and total tocopherols significantly higher than control (11.5%, 9.9% and 15.0%, respectively). The use of PEF had no negative effects on general chemical and sensory characteristics of the olive oil, maintaining the highest quality according to EU legal standards (EVOO; extra virgin olive oil). Therefore, PEF could be an appropriate technology to improve olive oil yield and produce EVOO enriched in human-health-related compounds, such as polyphenols, phytosterols and tocopherols. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technology for the Sound of Music

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

In the early 1960s during an industry recession, Kaman Aircraft lost several defense contracts. Forced to diversify, the helicopter manufacturer began to manufacture acoustic guitars. Kaman's engineers used special vibration analysis equipment based on aerospace technology. While a helicopter's rotor system is highly susceptible to vibration, which must be reduced or "dampened," vibration enhances a guitar's sound. After two years of vibration analysis Kaman produced an instrument, which is very successful. The Ovation guitar is made of fiberglass. It is stronger than the traditional rosewood and manufactured with adapted aircraft techniques such as jigs and fixtures, reducing labor and assuring quality and cost control. Kaman Music Corporation now has annual sales of $100 million.

Fabrication technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1988-05-01

Many laboratory programs continue to need optical components of ever-increasing size and accuracy. Unfortunately, optical surfaces produced by the conventional sequence of grinding, lapping, and polishing can become prohibitively expensive. Research in the Fabrication Technology area focuses on methods of fabricating components with heretofore unrealized levels of precision. In FY87, researchers worked to determine the fundamental mechanical limits of material removal, experimented with unique material removal and deposition processes, developed servo systems for controlling the geometric position of ultraprecise machine tools, and advanced the ability to precisely measure contoured workpieces. Continued work in these areas will lead to more cost-effective processes to fabricate even higher quality optical components for advanced lasers and for visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray diagnostic systems.

Determining the Economic Feasibility of Using Produced Water for Agriculture in Colorado Through Life Cycle Cost Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolan, F.; Blaine, A. C.; Hogue, T. S.

2016-12-01

To combat the need for new sources of water in Colorado, the current research looks to produced water as a potential source. Produced water, the water produced alongside oil and gas in a well, is currently viewed as a high-volume waste product; however, this water can potentially be used to irrigate food or non-food crops after treatment. Kern County in California has been using produced water for this purpose for over 20 years and a town in Colorado has followed suit. Our research seeks to determine how Wellington, CO overcame economic, legal, social, and technological barriers in order to put produced water to beneficial use. Life cycle cost analyses of produced water in three counties in Colorado are conducted to determine the economic feasibility of using produced water for irrigation on a broad scale. The current study is chosen based on the quality and quantity of the region's produced water as well as the need for new sources of water within the county. The results of this research will help in the transition between viewing produced water as a waste product and using it as a tool to help secure Colorado's water future.

Towards a Universal Approach Based on Omics Technologies for the Quality Control of Food

PubMed Central

Ferri, Emanuele; Airoldi, Cristina; Ciaramelli, Carlotta; Palmioli, Alessandro; Bruni, Ilaria

2015-01-01

In the last decades, food science has greatly developed, turning from the consideration of food as mere source of energy to a growing awareness on its importance for health and particularly in reducing the risk of diseases. Such vision led to an increasing attention towards the origin and quality of raw materials as well as their derived food products. The continuous advance in molecular biology allowed setting up efficient and universal omics tools to unequivocally identify the origin of food items and their traceability. In this review, we considered the application of a genomics approach known as DNA barcoding in characterizing the composition of foodstuffs and its traceability along the food supply chain. Moreover, metabolomics analytical strategies based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectroscopy (MS) were discussed as they also work well in evaluating food quality. The combination of both approaches allows us to define a sort of molecular labelling of food that is easily understandable by the operators involved in the food sector: producers, distributors, and consumers. Current technologies based on digital information systems such as web platforms and smartphone apps can facilitate the adoption of such molecular labelling. PMID:26783518

Towards a Universal Approach Based on Omics Technologies for the Quality Control of Food.

PubMed

Ferri, Emanuele; Galimberti, Andrea; Casiraghi, Maurizio; Airoldi, Cristina; Ciaramelli, Carlotta; Palmioli, Alessandro; Mezzasalma, Valerio; Bruni, Ilaria; Labra, Massimo

2015-01-01

In the last decades, food science has greatly developed, turning from the consideration of food as mere source of energy to a growing awareness on its importance for health and particularly in reducing the risk of diseases. Such vision led to an increasing attention towards the origin and quality of raw materials as well as their derived food products. The continuous advance in molecular biology allowed setting up efficient and universal omics tools to unequivocally identify the origin of food items and their traceability. In this review, we considered the application of a genomics approach known as DNA barcoding in characterizing the composition of foodstuffs and its traceability along the food supply chain. Moreover, metabolomics analytical strategies based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectroscopy (MS) were discussed as they also work well in evaluating food quality. The combination of both approaches allows us to define a sort of molecular labelling of food that is easily understandable by the operators involved in the food sector: producers, distributors, and consumers. Current technologies based on digital information systems such as web platforms and smartphone apps can facilitate the adoption of such molecular labelling.

Review of Telemicrobiology

PubMed Central

Rhoads, Daniel D.; Mathison, Blaine A.; Bishop, Henry S.; da Silva, Alexandre J.; Pantanowitz, Liron

2016-01-01

Context Microbiology laboratories are continually pursuing means to improve quality, rapidity, and efficiency of specimen analysis in the face of limited resources. One means by which to achieve these improvements is through the remote analysis of digital images. Telemicrobiology enables the remote interpretation of images of microbiology specimens. To date, the practice of clinical telemicrobiology has not been thoroughly reviewed. Objective Identify the various methods that can be employed for telemicrobiology, including emerging technologies that may provide value to the clinical laboratory. Data Sources Peer-reviewed literature, conference proceedings, meeting presentations, and expert opinions pertaining to telemicrobiology have been evaluated. Results A number of modalities have been employed for telemicroscopy including static capture techniques, whole slide imaging, video telemicroscopy, mobile devices, and hybrid systems. Telemicrobiology has been successfully implemented for applications including routine primary diagnois, expert teleconsultation, and proficiency testing. Emerging areas include digital culture plate reading, mobile health applications and computer-augmented analysis of digital images. Conclusions Static image capture techniques to date have been the most widely used modality for telemicrobiology, despite the fact that other newer technologies are available and may produce better quality interpretations. Increased adoption of telemicrobiology offers added value, quality, and efficiency to the clinical microbiology laboratory. PMID:26317376

Technology transfer of oil-in-water emulsion adjuvant manufacturing for pandemic influenza vaccine production in Romania.

PubMed

Fox, Christopher B; Huynh, Chuong; O'Hara, Michael K; Onu, Adrian

2013-03-15

Many developing countries lack or have inadequate pandemic influenza vaccine manufacturing capacity. In the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, this led to delayed and inadequate vaccine coverage in the developing world. Thus, bolstering developing country influenza vaccine manufacturing capacity is urgently needed. The Cantacuzino Institute in Bucharest, Romania has been producing seasonal influenza vaccine since the 1970s, and has the capacity to produce ∼5 million doses of monovalent vaccine in the event of an influenza pandemic. Inclusion of an adjuvant in the vaccine could enable antigen dose sparing, expanding vaccine coverage and potentially allowing universal vaccination of the Romanian population and possibly neighboring countries. However, adjuvant formulation and manufacturing know-how are difficult to access. This manuscript describes the successful transfer of oil-in-water emulsion adjuvant manufacturing and quality control technologies from the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle, USA to the Cantacuzino Institute. By describing the challenges and accomplishments of the project, it is hoped that the knowledge and experience gained will benefit other institutes involved in similar technology transfer projects designed to facilitate increased vaccine manufacturing capacity in developing countries. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Semisolid Metal Processing Techniques for Nondendritic Feedstock Production

PubMed Central

Mohammed, M. N.; Omar, M. Z.; Salleh, M. S.; Alhawari, K. S.; Kapranos, P.

2013-01-01

Semisolid metal (SSM) processing or thixoforming is widely known as a technology that involves the formation of metal alloys between solidus and liquidus temperatures. For the procedure to operate successfully, the microstructure of the starting material must consist of solid near-globular grains surrounded by a liquid matrix and a wide solidus-to-liquidus transition area. Currently, this process is industrially successful, generating a variety of products with high quality parts in various industrial sectors. Throughout the years since its inception, a number of technologies to produce the appropriate globular microstructure have been developed and applied worldwide. The main aim of this paper is to classify the presently available SSM technologies and present a comprehensive review of the potential mechanisms that lead to microstructural alterations during the preparation of feedstock materials for SSM processing. PMID:24194689

Wood Bond Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

A joint development program between Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection Technologies and The Weyerhaeuser Company resulted in an internal bond analyzer (IBA), a device which combines ultrasonics with acoustic emission testing techniques. It is actually a spinoff from a spinoff, stemming from a NASA Lewis invented acousto-ultrasonic technique that became a system for testing bond strength of composite materials. Hartford's parent company, Acoustic Emission Technology Corporation (AET) refined and commercialized the technology. The IBA builds on the original system and incorporates on-line process control systems. The IBA determines bond strength by measuring changes in pulsar ultrasonic waves injected into a board. Analysis of the wave determines the average internal bond strength for the panel. Results are displayed immediately. Using the system, a mill operator can adjust resin/wood proportion, reduce setup time and waste, produce internal bonds of a consistent quality and automatically mark deficient products.

Developing optic technologies in Belarus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubanov, Alexander S.; Shkadarevich, Alexei P.

2001-03-01

In this work we give a retrospective analysis of the development of optical technologies in Belarus. In the post-war period a great scientific and technological potential has been built up in this sphere, highly skilled specialist have been trained and prestigious scientific and technical schools have appeared. Belarusian multiprofile optical industry is noticed to be capable of producing not only the materials and equipment for optical production but also optical goods of the highest level of complication. The characteristics of cosmic photoequipment, photogrammetric and cinetheodolite techniques, a variety of laser devices and optical goods for civic purposes are given as an example. The instances demonstrating the realization of unique optical projects are considered as well. High quality of Belarusian optical production makes it be much in demand in Russia, Japan, USA, Germany, France, China, Korea, Sweden, Spain, England, United Arab Emirates and other countries.

Digimarc MediaBridge: the birth of a consumer product from concept to commercial application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, Burt; MacIntosh, Brian; Cushman, David

2002-04-01

This paper examines the issues encountered in the development and commercial deployment of a system based on digital watermarking technology. The paper provides an overview of the development of digital watermarking technology and the first applications to use the technology. It also looks at how we took the concept of digital watermarking as a communications channel within a digital environment and applied it to the physical print world to produce the Digimarc MediaBridge product. We describe the engineering tradeoffs that were made to balance competing requirements of watermark robustness, image quality, embedding process, detection speed and end user ease of use. Today, the Digimarc MediaBridge product links printed materials to auxiliary information about the content, via the Internet, to provide enhanced informational marketing, promotion, advertising and commerce opportunities.

Foliage Plants for Improving Indoor Air Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolverton, B. C.

1988-01-01

NASA's research with foliage houseplants during the past 10 years has produced a new concept in indoor air quality improvement. This new and exciting technology is quite simple. Both plant leaves and roots are utilized in removing trace levels of toxic vapors from inside tightly sealed buildings. Low levels of chemicals such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde can be removed from indoor environments by plant leaves alone, while higher concentrations of numerous toxic chemicals can be removed by filtering indoor air through the plant roots surrounded by activated carbon. The activated carbon absorbs large quantities of the toxic chemicals and retains them until the plant roots and associated microorganisms degrade and assimilate these chemicals.

A Comparison of LBG and ADPCM Speech Compression Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachu, Rajesh G.; Patel, Jignasa; Barkana, Buket D.

Speech compression is the technology of converting human speech into an efficiently encoded representation that can later be decoded to produce a close approximation of the original signal. In all speech there is a degree of predictability and speech coding techniques exploit this to reduce bit rates yet still maintain a suitable level of quality. This paper is a study and implementation of Linde-Buzo-Gray Algorithm (LBG) and Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) algorithms to compress speech signals. In here we implemented the methods using MATLAB 7.0. The methods we used in this study gave good results and performance in compressing the speech and listening tests showed that efficient and high quality coding is achieved.

Influence of moisture content, particle size and forming temperature on productivity and quality of rice straw pellets

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

Ishii, Kazuei, E-mail: k-ishii@eng.hokudai.ac.jp; Furuichi, Toru

Highlights: • Optimized conditions were determined for the production of rice straw pellets. • The moisture content and forming temperature are key factors. • High quality rice pellets in the lower heating value and durability were produced. - Abstract: A large amount of rice straw is generated and left as much in paddy fields, which causes greenhouse gas emissions as methane. Rice straw can be used as bioenergy. Rice straw pellets are a promising technology because pelletization of rice straw is a form of mass and energy densification, which leads to a product that is easy to handle, transport, storemore » and utilize because of the increase in the bulk density. The operational conditions required to produce high quality rice straw pellets have not been determined. This study determined the optimal moisture content range required to produce rice straw pellets with high yield ratio and high heating value, and also determined the influence of particle size and the forming temperature on the yield ratio and durability of rice straw pellets. The optimal moisture content range was between 13% and 20% under a forming temperature of 60 or 80 °C. The optimal particle size was between 10 and 20 mm, considering the time and energy required for shredding, although the particle size did not significantly affect the yield ratio and durability of the pellets. The optimized conditions provided high quality rice straw pellets with nearly 90% yield ratio, ⩾12 MJ/kg for the lower heating value, and >95% durability.« less

Production of aluminum-lithium near net shape extruded cylinders

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartley, Paula J.

1995-01-01

In the late 1980's, under funding from the Advanced Launch System Program, numerous near net shape technologies were investigated as a means for producing high quality, low cost Aluminum-Lithium (Al-Li) hardware. Once such option was to extrude near net shape barrel panels instead of producing panels by machining thick plate into a final tee-stiffened configuration (which produced up to 90% scrap). This method offers a reduction in the volume of scrap and consequently reduces the buy-to-fly cost. Investigation into this technology continued under Shuttle-C funding where four Al alloys 2219, 2195, 2096, and RX 818 were extruded. Presented herein are the results of that program. Each alloy was successfully extruded at Wyman Gordon, opened and flattened at Ticorm, and solution heat treated and stretched at Reynolds Metals Company. The first two processes were quite successful while the stretching process did offer some challenges. Due to the configuration of the panels and the stretch press set-up, it was difficult to induce a consistent percentage of cold work throughout the length and width of each panel. The effects of this variation will be assessed in the test program to be conducted at a future date.

Sea Surface Salinity : Research Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, David; Lagerloef, Gary; Font, Jordi

2012-01-01

Sea surface salinity (SSS) can be important in regulating sea surface temperature (SST). Two technological breakthrough satellite SSS missions, Aquarius and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), are currently producing high-quality SSS data. This paper provides an overview of the importance of SSS for weather and climate applications and describes the Aquarius and SMOS missions. The newness of adequately sampled SSS data prompted a first-time at-sea field campaign devoted to improved understanding of SSS variations.

Translations on USSR Science and Technology, Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences, No. 17

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-12-15

preparations with the purpose of upgrading their quality, and it is expanding biopharma - ceutical research. A new direction in creation of medicinal...determine the capacity of the fungus to produce proteases; this was done for 2 days on liquid 4-point wort and the material was added to the...i.e., radiation diminishes the culture’s capacity for caseino- lysis. However, at a wavelength of 6.6 mm, the stimulating effect is again

Scope for biological sensing technologies in meat production and export in northern Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qureshi, M. S.; Qureshi, I. H.

2013-12-01

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan is rich in livestock resources, including 14.84 million sheep and goats (valued at US1.60 billion) and a 27% share of the national poultry sector (having an investment of US2.00 billion), and produces 834 billion kg meat. These huge assets have the potential to support the provincial economy through income generation, self employment and production of certified high-quality food items for the domestic and international Halal Food Market. A model has been developed for analyzing the gaps in the status of health, productivity, nutrition, fertility and management aspects of local farming. Improved practices would be introduced to combat the losses. The model will comprise a farming network linked to farmers' welfare centre, a central lab and an expert group. A strong sensing technology network would be introduced for data transfer and quality control of the inputs and products. The farmers will e-tag their animals for the purpose of traceability, online history and biodata. The data will be maintained in remote and central servers. A communication system would be developed utilizing mobile phones for the prices, demands and availability status of inputs and produce at local and international markets. A mobile money transfer system will be introduced to exchange, save and borrow small amounts of capital as well as take out short-term insurance policies.

Secondary lead production in Malaysia

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

Lim, J.S.S.; Lim, C.L.

1988-04-01

In the absence of a lead producers' association in Malaysia and the continued presence of illegal operators whose activities are confined to remelting of cable scraps and/or smelting of battery scraps using a shaft furnace, this paper relies heavily on the information obtained from Metal Reclamation Industries, Sdn. Bhd. -the only modern integrated lead smelter in the country. Consequently, the authors can only present a semiquantitative and general paper on secondary lead production in Malaysia covering the following areas: history; secondary lead smelting; raw material; products; quality control; pollution controls; and future of secondary lead production in Malaysia. They concludemore » that if Malaysia is to become a major secondary lead producer in the Asian region, the industry must: (1) import raw materials in the form of scrapped batteries; (2) develop or acquire new technology; (3) cope with changing pollution regulations, and (4) develop technical skills and efficient quality controls to meet new challenges. 2 figures, 3 tables.« less

Improvement of neutral oil quality in the production of sulfonate additives

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

Zhurba, A.S.; Bludilin, V.M.; Antonov, V.N.

This paper is concerned with improvement of neutral oil used as materials for sulfonation to produce additives for lubricating oils. In this article the authors analyze the basic reasons for the unsatisfactory quality of the neutral oil and attempt to define the ways in which the process technology can be improved so as to produce neutral oil with the required composition, at the same time raising the efficiency of utilization of the MSG-8 oil used as a feedstock for this process. Experimental results are presented which demonstrate the feasibility of sulfonating neutral oil in the high-speed mixer under near-optimal conditions.more » The yield of sulfonic acid approaches the theoretical yield. With the lowest contents of aromatic hydrocarbons in the original neutral oil, the aromatic hydrocarbons are almost completely converted to sulfonic acids. The yield of neutral oil is sufficiently high, and the residual content of aromatic hydrocarbons in the oil is no greater than 3%.« less

Decision technologies and the independent professional: the future's challenge to learning and leadership

PubMed Central

Dowie, J.

2001-01-01

Most references to "leadership" and "learning" as sources of quality improvement in medical care reflect an implicit commitment to the decision technology of "clinical judgement". All attempts to sustain this waning decision technology by clinical guidelines, care pathways, "evidence based practice", problem based curricula, and other stratagems only increase the gap between what is expected of doctors in today's clinical situation and what is humanly possible, hence the morale, stress, and health problems they are increasingly experiencing. Clinical guidance programmes based on decision analysis represent the coming decision technology, and proactive adaptation will produce independent doctors who can deliver excellent evidence based and preference driven care while concentrating on the human aspects of the therapeutic relation, having been relieved of the unbearable burdens of knowledge and information processing currently laid on them. History is full of examples of the incumbents of dominant technologies preferring to die than to adapt, and medicine needs both learning and leadership if it is to avoid repeating this mistake. Key Words: decision technology; clinical guidance programmes; decision analysis PMID:11700381

Practical aspects of modern interferometry for optical manufacturing quality control: Part 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smythe, Robert

2012-07-01

Modern phase shifting interferometers enable the manufacture of optical systems that drive the global economy. Semiconductor chips, solid-state cameras, cell phone cameras, infrared imaging systems, space based satellite imaging and DVD and Blu-Ray disks are all enabled by phase shifting interferometers. Theoretical treatments of data analysis and instrument design advance the technology but often are not helpful towards the practical use of interferometers. An understanding of the parameters that drive system performance is critical to produce useful results. Any interferometer will produce a data map and results; this paper, in three parts, reviews some of the key issues to minimize error sources in that data and provide a valid measurement.

Practical aspects of modern interferometry for optical manufacturing quality control, Part 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smythe, Robert A.

2012-09-01

Modern phase shifting interferometers enable the manufacture of optical systems that drive the global economy. Semiconductor chips, solid-state cameras, cell phone cameras, infrared imaging systems, space-based satellite imaging, and DVD and Blu-Ray disks are all enabled by phase-shifting interferometers. Theoretical treatments of data analysis and instrument design advance the technology but often are not helpful toward the practical use of interferometers. An understanding of the parameters that drive the system performance is critical to produce useful results. Any interferometer will produce a data map and results; this paper, in three parts, reviews some of the key issues to minimize error sources in that data and provide a valid measurement.

Impact of automatic milking systems on dairy cattle producers' reports of milking labour management, milk production and milk quality.

PubMed

Tse, C; Barkema, H W; DeVries, T J; Rushen, J; Pajor, E A

2018-04-04

Automatic milking systems (AMS), or milking robots, are becoming widely accepted as a milking technology that reduces labour and increases milk yield. However, reported amount of labour saved, changes in milk yield, and milk quality when transitioning to AMS vary widely. The purpose of this study was to document the impact of adopting AMS on farms with regards to reported changes in milking labour management, milk production, milk quality, and participation in dairy herd improvement (DHI) programmes. A survey was conducted across Canada over the phone, online, and in-person. In total, 530 AMS farms were contacted between May 2014 and the end of June 2015. A total of 217 AMS producers participated in the General Survey (Part 1), resulting in a 41% response rate, and 69 of the respondents completed the more detailed follow-up questions (Part 2). On average, after adopting AMS, the number of employees (full- and part-time non-family labour combined) decreased from 2.5 to 2.0, whereas time devoted to milking-related activities decreased by 62% (from 5.2 to 2.0 h/day). Median milking frequency was 3.0 milkings/day and robots were occupied on average 77% of the day. Producers went to fetch cows a median of 2 times/day, with a median of 3 fetch cows or 4% of the herd per robot/day. Farms had a median of 2.5 failed or incomplete milkings/robot per day. Producers reported an increase in milk yield, but little effect on milk quality. Mean milk yield on AMS farms was 32.6 kg/cow day. Median bulk tank somatic cell count was 180 000 cells/ml. Median milk fat on AMS farms was 4.0% and median milk protein was 3.3%. At the time of the survey, 67% of producers were current participants of a DHI programme. Half of the producers who were not DHI participants had stopped participation after adopting AMS. Overall, this study characterized impacts of adopting AMS and may be a useful guide for making this transition.

The production of food: from quantity to quality.

PubMed

McInerney, John

2002-05-01

The present paper presents a non-technical overview of contemporary developments in food supply, as seen from the standpoint of economic adjustment. The historical concerns over availability and price of food have now passed in the UK, and agriculture is no longer dominantly driven by the supply-side forces of new farming technology and the stimulus of support policies. As a now demand-driven sector of the economy, it is the developing diversity of consumer food preferences that will increasingly determine the adjustment path of agricultural production. Those demands seek distinctive elements of food value, many of which are entirely created and delivered by industries beyond the farm gate. However, many of the quality characteristics of food that consumers increasingly seek are associated explicitly with what takes place on farms and how crop and livestock husbandry is conducted. In responding to these demand preferences many farmers will shift from being merely raw material producers to becoming genuine producers of food, or capturing more of the final value of the products consumed. As a result a dual structure within farming will develop, with a 'quality agriculture' becoming increasingly differentiated from a 'commodity agriculture' as two distinct strategies for farm business survival.

Assessment of Completeness and Positional Accuracy of Linear Features in Volunteered Geographic Information (vgi)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eshghi, M.; Alesheikh, A. A.

2015-12-01

Recent advances in spatial data collection technologies and online services dramatically increase the contribution of ordinary people to produce, share, and use geographic information. Collecting spatial data as well as disseminating them on the internet by citizens has led to a huge source of spatial data termed as Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) by Mike Goodchild. Although, VGI has produced previously unavailable data assets, and enriched existing ones. But its quality can be highly variable and challengeable. This presents several challenges to potential end users who are concerned about the validation and the quality assurance of the data which are collected. Almost, all the existing researches are based on how to find accurate VGI data from existing VGI data which consist of a) comparing the VGI data with the accurate official data, or b) in cases that there is no access to correct data; therefore, looking for an alternative way to determine the quality of VGI data is essential, and so forth. In this paper it has been attempt to develop a useful method to reach this goal. In this process, the positional accuracy of linear feature of Iran, Tehran OSM data have been analyzed.

Advances in High Temperature Materials for Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nordin, Nurul Amira Binti; Johar, Muhammad Akmal Bin; Ibrahim, Mohd Halim Irwan Bin; Marwah, Omar Mohd Faizan bin

2017-08-01

In today’s technology, additive manufacturing has evolved over the year that commonly known as 3D printing. Currently, additive manufacturing have been applied for many industries such as for automotive, aerospace, medical and other commercial product. The technologies are supported by materials for the manufacturing process to produce high quality product. Plus, additive manufacturing technologies has been growth from the lowest to moderate and high technology to fulfil manufacturing industries obligation. Initially from simple 3D printing such as fused deposition modelling (FDM), poly-jet, inkjet printing, to selective laser sintering (SLS), and electron beam melting (EBM). However, the high technology of additive manufacturing nowadays really needs high investment to carry out the process for fine products. There are three foremost type of material which is polymer, metal and ceramic used for additive manufacturing application, and mostly they were in the form of wire feedstock or powder. In circumstance, it is crucial to recognize the characteristics of each type of materials used in order to understand the behaviours of the materials on high temperature application via additive manufacturing. Therefore, this review aims to provide excessive inquiry and gather the necessary information for further research on additive material materials for high temperature application. This paper also proposed a new material based on powder glass, which comes from recycled tempered glass from automotive industry, having a huge potential to be applied for high temperature application. The technique proposed for additive manufacturing will minimize some cost of modelling with same quality of products compare to the others advanced technology used for high temperature application.

Effects of high temperatures and drought during anthesis and grain filling period on wheat processing quality and underlying gluten structural changes.

PubMed

Mastilović, Jasna; Živančev, Dragan; Lončar, Eva; Malbaša, Radomir; Hristov, Nikola; Kevrešan, Žarko

2018-06-01

Climate changes do not only affect wheat yield, but also its quality. Information on this topic gathered so far is somewhat contradictory and insufficient. Climate changes also affect wheat indirectly through their influence on the ecosystem, including insects and fungi that affect wheat technological quality. The aim of this study was to examine trends in structural and technological changes of wheat quality under conditions typical of climate changes. With this in mind, three groups of wheat varieties with the same Glu-score were examined in three production years, characterized by different production conditions. A production season characterized by climate change conditions results in lower activity of amylolytic enzymes. What is more, it results in lower content of gluten, higher gluten index value, its decrease after 1 h to 37 °C, lower number of free SH groups and higher content of free amino groups, which result in lower alveograph W, lower farinograph WA and higher extensograph dough resistance. Variability in wheat quality produced under different climatic conditions is mainly influenced by the production conditions, including their influence on ecosystem factors. The influence of wheat cultivar genetic predisposition is much less expressed. This indicates that differences among cultivars with different Glu-score might be diminished under the influence of altered production conditions, as a consequence of climate change. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Does Methodological Guidance Produce Consistency? A Review of Methodological Consistency in Breast Cancer Utility Value Measurement in NICE Single Technology Appraisals.

PubMed

Rose, Micah; Rice, Stephen; Craig, Dawn

2018-06-01

Since 2004, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) methodological guidance for technology appraisals has emphasised a strong preference for using the validated EuroQol 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) quality-of-life instrument, measuring patient health status from patients or carers, and using the general public's preference-based valuation of different health states when assessing health benefits in economic evaluations. The aim of this study was to review all NICE single technology appraisals (STAs) for breast cancer treatments to explore consistency in the use of utility scores in light of NICE methodological guidance. A review of all published breast cancer STAs was undertaken using all publicly available STA documents for each included assessment. Utility scores were assessed for consistency with NICE-preferred methods and original data sources. Furthermore, academic assessment group work undertaken during the STA process was examined to evaluate the emphasis of NICE-preferred quality-of-life measurement methods. Twelve breast cancer STAs were identified, and many STAs used evidence that did not follow NICE's preferred utility score measurement methods. Recent STA submissions show companies using EQ-5D and mapping. Academic assessment groups rarely emphasized NICE-preferred methods, and queries about preferred methods were rare. While there appears to be a trend in recent STA submissions towards following NICE methodological guidance, historically STA guidance in breast cancer has generally not used NICE's preferred methods. Future STAs in breast cancer and reviews of older guidance should ensure that utility measurement methods are consistent with the NICE reference case to help produce consistent, equitable decision making.

Technology Transfer Program (TTP). Quality Assurance System. Volume 2. Appendices

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-03

LSCo Report No. - 2X23-5.1-4-I TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM (TTP) FINAL REPORT QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM Appendix A Accuracy Control System QUALITY...4-1 TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM (TTP) FINAL REPORT QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM Appendix A Accuracy Control System QUALITY ASSURANCE VOLUME 2 APPENDICES...prepared by: Livingston Shipbuilding Company Orange, Texas March 3, 1980 APPENDIX A ACCURACY CONTROL SYSTEM . IIII MARINE TECHNOLOGY. INC. HP-121

A Fast and Scalable Radiation Hybrid Map Construction and Integration Strategy

PubMed Central

Agarwala, Richa; Applegate, David L.; Maglott, Donna; Schuler, Gregory D.; Schäffer, Alejandro A.

2000-01-01

This paper describes a fast and scalable strategy for constructing a radiation hybrid (RH) map from data on different RH panels. The maps on each panel are then integrated to produce a single RH map for the genome. Recurring problems in using maps from several sources are that the maps use different markers, the maps do not place the overlapping markers in same order, and the objective functions for map quality are incomparable. We use methods from combinatorial optimization to develop a strategy that addresses these issues. We show that by the standard objective functions of obligate chromosome breaks and maximum likelihood, software for the traveling salesman problem produces RH maps with better quality much more quickly than using software specifically tailored for RH mapping. We use known algorithms for the longest common subsequence problem as part of our map integration strategy. We demonstrate our methods by reconstructing and integrating maps for markers typed on the Genebridge 4 (GB4) and the Stanford G3 panels publicly available from the RH database. We compare map quality of our integrated map with published maps for GB4 panel and G3 panel by considering whether markers occur in the same order on a map and in DNA sequence contigs submitted to GenBank. We find that all of the maps are inconsistent with the sequence data for at least 50% of the contigs, but our integrated maps are more consistent. The map integration strategy not only scales to multiple RH maps but also to any maps that have comparable criteria for measuring map quality. Our software improves on current technology for doing RH mapping in areas of computation time and algorithms for considering a large number of markers for mapping. The essential impediments to producing dense high-quality RH maps are data quality and panel size, not computation. PMID:10720576

Application of Quaternion in improving the quality of global sequence alignment scores for an ambiguous sequence target in Streptococcus pneumoniae DNA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lestari, D.; Bustamam, A.; Novianti, T.; Ardaneswari, G.

2017-07-01

DNA sequence can be defined as a succession of letters, representing the order of nucleotides within DNA, using a permutation of four DNA base codes including adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The precise code of the sequences is determined using DNA sequencing methods and technologies, which have been developed since the 1970s and currently become highly developed, advanced and highly throughput sequencing technologies. So far, DNA sequencing has greatly accelerated biological and medical research and discovery. However, in some cases DNA sequencing could produce any ambiguous and not clear enough sequencing results that make them quite difficult to be determined whether these codes are A, T, G, or C. To solve these problems, in this study we can introduce other representation of DNA codes namely Quaternion Q = (PA, PT, PG, PC), where PA, PT, PG, PC are the probability of A, T, G, C bases that could appear in Q and PA + PT + PG + PC = 1. Furthermore, using Quaternion representations we are able to construct the improved scoring matrix for global sequence alignment processes, by applying a dot product method. Moreover, this scoring matrix produces better and higher quality of the match and mismatch score between two DNA base codes. In implementation, we applied the Needleman-Wunsch global sequence alignment algorithm using Octave, to analyze our target sequence which contains some ambiguous sequence data. The subject sequences are the DNA sequences of Streptococcus pneumoniae families obtained from the Genebank, meanwhile the target DNA sequence are received from our collaborator database. As the results we found the Quaternion representations improve the quality of the sequence alignment score and we can conclude that DNA sequence target has maximum similarity with Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Meristem culture and subsequent micropropagation of Chilean strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis (L.) Duch.).

PubMed

Quiroz, Karla A; Berríos, Miguel; Carrasco, Basilio; Retamales, Jorge B; Caligari, Peter D S; García-Gonzáles, Rolando

2017-06-02

Vegetative propagation of Fragaria sp. is traditionally carried out using stolons. This system of propagation, in addition to being slow, can spread plant diseases, particularly serious being viral. In vitro culture of meristems and the establishment of micropropagation protocols are important tools for solving these problems. In recent years, considerable effort has been made to develop in vitro propagation of the commercial strawberry in order to produce virus-free plants of high quality. These previous results can serve as the basis for developing in vitro-based propagation technologies in the less studied species Fragaria chiloensis. In this context, we studied the cultivation of meristems and establishment of a micropropagation protocol for F. chiloensis. The addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) improved the meristem regeneration efficiency of F. chiloensis accessions. Similarly, the use of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in the culture media increased the average rate of multiplication to 3-6 shoots per plant. In addition, the use of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), had low levels (near zero) of explant losses due to oxidation. However, plant height as well as number of leaves and roots were higher in media without growth regulators, with average values of 0.5 cm, 9 leaves and 4 roots per plant. For the first time in Chilean strawberry, meristem culture demonstrated to be an efficient tool for eliminating virus from infected plants, giving the possibility to produce disease free propagation material. Also, the addition of PVP into the basal MS medium improved the efficiency of plant recovery from isolated meristems. Farmers can now access to high quality plant material produced by biotech tools which will improve their technological practices.

[The technological innovation strategy for quality control of Chinese medicine based on Big Data].

PubMed

Li, Zhen-hao; Qian, Zhong-zhi; Cheng, Yi-yu

2015-09-01

The evolution of the quality control concepts of medical products within the global context and the development of the quality control technology of Chinese medicine are briefly described. Aimed at the bottlenecks in the regulation and quality control of Chinese medicine, using Big Data technology to address the significant challenges in Chinese medicine industry is proposed. For quality standard refinements and internationalization of Chinese medicine, a technological innovation strategy encompassing its methodology, and the R&D direction of the subsequent core technology are also presented.

High-throughput genotyping of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) utilising diversity arrays technology (DArT).

PubMed

Howard, E L; Whittock, S P; Jakše, J; Carling, J; Matthews, P D; Probasco, G; Henning, J A; Darby, P; Cerenak, A; Javornik, B; Kilian, A; Koutoulis, A

2011-05-01

Implementation of molecular methods in hop (Humulus lupulus L.) breeding is dependent on the availability of sizeable numbers of polymorphic markers and a comprehensive understanding of genetic variation. However, use of molecular marker technology is limited due to expense, time inefficiency, laborious methodology and dependence on DNA sequence information. Diversity arrays technology (DArT) is a high-throughput cost-effective method for the discovery of large numbers of quality polymorphic markers without reliance on DNA sequence information. This study is the first to utilise DArT for hop genotyping, identifying 730 polymorphic markers from 92 hop accessions. The marker quality was high and similar to the quality of DArT markers previously generated for other species; although percentage polymorphism and polymorphism information content (PIC) were lower than in previous studies deploying other marker systems in hop. Genetic relationships in hop illustrated by DArT in this study coincide with knowledge generated using alternate methods. Several statistical analyses separated the hop accessions into genetically differentiated North American and European groupings, with hybrids between the two groups clearly distinguishable. Levels of genetic diversity were similar in the North American and European groups, but higher in the hybrid group. The markers produced from this time and cost-efficient genotyping tool will be a valuable resource for numerous applications in hop breeding and genetics studies, such as mapping, marker-assisted selection, genetic identity testing, guidance in the maintenance of genetic diversity and the directed breeding of superior cultivars.

The aerospace plane design challenge: Credible computational fluid dynamics results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehta, Unmeel B.

1990-01-01

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is necessary in the design processes of all current aerospace plane programs. Single-stage-to-orbit (STTO) aerospace planes with air-breathing supersonic combustion are going to be largely designed by means of CFD. The challenge of the aerospace plane design is to provide credible CFD results to work from, to assess the risk associated with the use of those results, and to certify CFD codes that produce credible results. To establish the credibility of CFD results used in design, the following topics are discussed: CFD validation vis-a-vis measurable fluid dynamics (MFD) validation; responsibility for credibility; credibility requirement; and a guide for establishing credibility. Quantification of CFD uncertainties helps to assess success risk and safety risks, and the development of CFD as a design tool requires code certification. This challenge is managed by designing the designers to use CFD effectively, by ensuring quality control, and by balancing the design process. For designing the designers, the following topics are discussed: how CFD design technology is developed; the reasons Japanese companies, by and large, produce goods of higher quality than the U.S. counterparts; teamwork as a new way of doing business; and how ideas, quality, and teaming can be brought together. Quality control for reducing the loss imparted to the society begins with the quality of the CFD results used in the design process, and balancing the design process means using a judicious balance of CFD and MFD.

[The implementation of innovative medical technologies: biological pharmaceuticals for the treatment of psoriasis--a case study].

PubMed

Tal, Orna; Lomnicky, Yosef

2012-06-01

Advanced health systems worldwide strive to adopt new technologies that will ensure improved health and better clinical outcomes. The implementation of new medical technologies is affected by medical factors as well as economic and social forces, influencing both the individual and the health care providers. Chronic disease management is a major challenge to governments, as a result of the cumulative effects of chronic morbidity, life expectancy, quality of life and the national burden of disease due to accelerating medical expenditure. Psoriasis, a common chronic disease, for which advanced technologies were recently implemented, was chosen as a case study. The distribution of utility of various technologies for the treatment of psoriasis over the past nine years was analyzed to categorize "patterns of behavior" in accordance with the lifecycle of medical technology described in the Literature. It is expected that these changing trends will produce overall economic consequences, on direct expenditure combined with a reduction in some health services. Analyzing these clinical and economic trends, may add important considerations for the adoption of emerging medical technologies, presenting an important tool for policymakers at at all levels.

Converging, pervasive technologies: chronic and emerging issues and policy adequacy.

PubMed

Seelman, Katherine D

2008-01-01

This article is a thought piece with the expansive goal of identifying policy facilitators and barriers to the development of usable and accessible advanced information and communications technology for people with disabilities across the age span at the research and development and marketing stages. The working hypothesis is as follows: The lack of participation in and representation of the interests of people with disabilities in the technology resource system is a barrier to availability of affordable consumer goods that enable independence and community integration. Converging, pervasive computing technology, especially in housing applications, is used as a case example, drawing especially from research and development conducted by the National Science Foundation Quality of Life Technology Engineering Research Center. A critical theory approach is used to identify problems and seek solutions to the apparent lack of balance between the demand and needs of disabled users and the supply and availability of usable, affordable consumer goods produced by the technology resource system in which allocation decisions are made. The approach uses policy analysis tools such as a technology assessment framework; the participation and environment components of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health; and participatory action research.

Assessment of Alternative Aircraft Fuels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

The purpose of this symposium is to provide representatives from industry, government, and academia concerned with the availability and quality of future aviation turbine fuels with recent technical results and a status review of DOD and NASA sponsored fuels research projects. The symposium has included presentations on the potential crude sources, refining methods, and characteristics of future fuels; the effects of changing fuel characteristics on the performance and durability of jet aircraft components and systems; and the prospects for evolving suitable technology to produce and use future fuels.

Flat-plate solar array project: Experimental process system development unit for producing semiconductor-grade silicon using the silane-to-silicon process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The process technology for the manufacture of semiconductor-grade silicon in a large commercial plant by 1986, at a price less than $14 per kilogram of silicon based on 1975 dollars is discussed. The engineering design, installation, checkout, and operation of an Experimental Process System Development unit was discussed. Quality control of scaling-up the process and an economic analysis of product and production costs are discussed.

Agile Development Methods for Space Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay; Webster, Chris

2012-01-01

Main stream industry software development practice has gone from a traditional waterfall process to agile iterative development that allows for fast response to customer inputs and produces higher quality software at lower cost. How can we, the space ops community, adopt state of the art software development practice, achieve greater productivity at lower cost, and maintain safe and effective space flight operations? At NASA Ames, we are developing Mission Control Technologies Software, in collaboration with Johnson Space Center (JSC) and, more recently, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Deep Sky Imaging: Workflow 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schedler, Johannes

As astrophotographers we are living in a golden age. In recent years CCD technology and the quality of amateur telescopes have reached a level of perfection, giving amateurs the chance to produce images rivaling those taken from mountaintops by large professional systems as recently as two decades ago. However hardware and good imaging location is only a part of the game. A high level of skill with image processing can offer amateurs an edge and provide a chance to compensate for the limited aperture of our telescopes.

Clustering of reads with alignment-free measures and quality values.

PubMed

Comin, Matteo; Leoni, Andrea; Schimd, Michele

2015-01-01

The data volume generated by Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies is growing at a pace that is now challenging the storage and data processing capacities of modern computer systems. In this context an important aspect is the reduction of data complexity by collapsing redundant reads in a single cluster to improve the run time, memory requirements, and quality of post-processing steps like assembly and error correction. Several alignment-free measures, based on k-mers counts, have been used to cluster reads. Quality scores produced by NGS platforms are fundamental for various analysis of NGS data like reads mapping and error detection. Moreover future-generation sequencing platforms will produce long reads but with a large number of erroneous bases (up to 15 %). In this scenario it will be fundamental to exploit quality value information within the alignment-free framework. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that incorporates quality value information and k-mers counts, in the context of alignment-free measures, for the comparison of reads data. Based on this principles, in this paper we present a family of alignment-free measures called D (q) -type. A set of experiments on simulated and real reads data confirms that the new measures are superior to other classical alignment-free statistics, especially when erroneous reads are considered. Also results on de novo assembly and metagenomic reads classification show that the introduction of quality values improves over standard alignment-free measures. These statistics are implemented in a software called QCluster (http://www.dei.unipd.it/~ciompin/main/qcluster.html).

Healthcare technologies, quality improvement programs and hospital organizational culture in Canadian hospitals

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Healthcare technology and quality improvement programs have been identified as a means to influence healthcare costs and healthcare quality in Canada. This study seeks to identify whether the ability to implement healthcare technology by a hospital was related to usage of quality improvement programs within the hospital and whether the culture within a hospital plays a role in the adoption of quality improvement programs. Methods A cross-sectional study of Canadian hospitals was conducted in 2010. The sample consisted of hospital administrators that were selected by provincial review boards. The questionnaire consisted of 3 sections: 20 healthcare technology items, 16 quality improvement program items and 63 culture items. Results Rasch model analysis revealed that a hierarchy existed among the healthcare technologies based upon the difficulty of implementation. The results also showed a significant relationship existed between the ability to implement healthcare technologies and the number of quality improvement programs adopted. In addition, culture within a hospital served a mediating role in quality improvement programs adoption. Conclusions Healthcare technologies each have different levels of difficulty. As a consequence, hospitals need to understand their current level of capability before selecting a particular technology in order to assess the level of resources needed. Further the usage of quality improvement programs is related to the ability to implement technology and the culture within a hospital. PMID:24119419

Database application of digital medical X-rays and labs: computerization, storage, retrieval, interpretation, and distribution.

PubMed

Hatcher, Myron; Tabriziani, Hossein; Heetebry, Irene

2005-08-01

Stenter lets the health care worker order an X-ray that is produced as a computer image rather than on flat film. The health care provider can be in any location with the correct equipment, and view the digital image. The dimensions of this discussion are extensive. The cost savings because of reduced media and storage cost is substantial. Health care quality can be improved because of the ability to obtain consultation via telemedicine and the enhanced ability to track medical problems over time via trends. The major downside is the limited cost imbursement system to pay for technology. Unfortunately, this may impact on the improved quality of care. In simple terms someone needs to pay for the technology and the quality of health care needs to be maintained or improved. The real cost to the health care systems needs to be correctly calculated and inappropriate charging kept to a minimum. Specific costs need to be kept in mind and the first is the cost for new staff or staff training. The number of health care providers that are able to read the X-ray can be enlarged remembering that only American Board Certified Radiologists are allowed to give the final recommendation. How do we view the cost of missing something? It could be argued that this risk will be reduced because of improved technology for obtaining the digital X-ray and improved enhancement software. One way to view this situation is to include technology, management, and organization. The cost and benefits occur through the interplay of all three dimensions. The development of digital imaging hardware and artificial intelligence software will demand change in the management and organization. The organization will require changes in its design to accommodate the technology as to support and resources. Management will evolve to include methods for control and monitoring this technology. Business processes and standard operating procedures will change to integrate the technology into the organization in the most effective and efficient manner.

Cleaner Technology in the Hard Disk Drive Manufacturing Industry: A Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moolla, Premchai; Chompu-inwai, Rungchat

2010-10-01

The objectives of this research are to improve raw material and energy consumption efficiency, as well as reduce defects and the use of chemicals in the arm coil assembly process of hard disk drive manufacturing in the case study company by applying the Cleaner Technology concepts. The four main sequential steps used in this research were: (1) pre-assessment, (2) assessment, (3) feasibility study, and (4) implementation. In the first step, raw data, such as process flows, raw material usage and defects data were collected. In the second step, the loss during production and causes of loss were analyzed. Opportunities to reduce raw material, chemical and energy wastage could then be recommended. The next step was to evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits of a particular Cleaner Technology opportunity. Finally, in the last step, after a thorough evaluation and implementation of the opportunities to apply Cleaner Technology, the results showed that arm coil defects could be reduced by improving the production process using the ECRS technique. ECRS stands for Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange and Simplify. This improvement reduced arm coil defect rates from 0.48% to 0.15%, thus saving approximately 139,638 Thai Baht per month. In addition, production stoppage decision made by workers was used to increase employee involvement in defect detection. Allowing workers to participate in such a decision was an effective way to reduce defect rate and could motivate workers to produce a better quality job. This resulted in arm coil defects reducing from 0.41% to 0.025%, with about 74,562 Thai Baht per month saving. Additionally, an increase in the efficiency of electricity consumption occurred, by increasing the speed of the infrared oven conveyor belt, improving average productivity from 533 pieces/hour to 560 pieces/hour, without adversely affecting product costs and quality, thus producing products of up to the value of 206,242 Thai Baht per month. Furthermore, the new two-layer curing equipment was designed, developed and used. The upper layer of the equipment was used for arm curing and the lower layer was used for arm coil curing. The result of using such equipment led to a saving of approximately 25,502 Thai Baht per month in electricity costs, without affecting product quality. The outcome of these Cleaner Technology applications was that total costs of approximately 239,702 Thai Baht per month were able to be saved.

Management of MSW in Spain and recovery of packaging steel scrap.

PubMed

Tayibi, Hanan; Peña, Carmen; López, Félix A; López-Delgado, Aurora

2007-01-01

Packaging steel is more advantageously recovered and recycled than other packaging material due to its magnetic properties. The steel used for packaging is of high quality, and post-consumer waste therefore produces high-grade ferrous scrap. Recycling is thus an important issue for reducing raw material consumption, including iron ore, coal and energy. Household refuse management consists of collection/disposal, transport, and processing and treatment - incineration and composting being the most widely used methods in Spain. Total Spanish MSW production exceeds 21 million tons per year, of which 28.1% and 6.2% are treated in compost and incineration plants, respectively. This paper presents a comprehensive study of incineration and compost plants in Spain, including a review of the different processes and technologies employed and the characteristics and quality of the recovered ferrous scrap. Of the total amount of packaging steel scrap recovered from MSW, 38% comes from compost plants and 14% from incineration plants. Ferrous scrap from incineration plants presents a high degree of chemical alteration as a consequence of the thermal process to which the MSW is subjected, particularly the conditions in which the slag is cooled, and accordingly its quality diminishes. Fragmentation and magnetic separation processes produce an enhancement of the scrap quality. Ferrous scrap from compost plants has a high tin content, which negatively affects its recycling. Cleaning and detinning processes are required prior to recycling.

In Situ Fabrication and Repair (ISFR) Technologies; New Challenges for Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bassler, Julie A.; Bodiford, Melanie P.; Hammond, Monica S.; King, Ron; Mclemore, Carole A.; Hall, Nancy R.; Fiske, Michael R.; Ray, Julie A.

2006-01-01

NASA's human exploration initiative poses great opportunity and great risk for manned missions to the Moon and Mars. Engineers and Scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are continuing to evaluate current technologies for in situ resource-based exploration fabrication and repair applications. Several technologies to be addressed in this paper have technology readiness levels (TRLs) that are currently mature enough to pursue for exploration purposes. However, while many technologies offer promising applications, these technologies must be pulled along by the demands and applications of this great initiative. The In Situ Fabrication and Repair (ISFR) Element will supply and push state of the art technologies for applications such as habitat structure development, in situ resource utilization for tool and part fabrication, and repair and non-destructive evaluation W E ) of common life support elements. As an overview of the ISFR Element, this paper will address rapid prototyping technologies, their applications, challenges, and near term advancements. This paper will also discuss the anticipated need to utilize in situ resources to produce replacement parts and fabricate repairs to vehicles, habitats, life support and quality of life elements. Overcoming the challenges of ISFR development will provide the Exploration initiative with state of the art technologies that reduce risk, and enhance supportability.

Impact of government regulation on health care technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkowitz, Robert D.

1994-12-01

Increased government regulation of the medical device industry produces higher expenses, a longer time to return investment capital, and greater uncertainty. As a result there are fewer new ventures and reduced efforts to develop new technology in established companies. The current federal regulatory framework has shifted from monitoring the product to monitoring the process. The inability to reach perfect performance in such a regulated environment subject to continuous and fluid interpretation guarantees non-compliance and growing ethical tension. Without new medical technology, we may be unable to maintain quality medical coverage in the face of rising demand. The author proposes risk assessment to set regulatory priorities; the conversion of a national weapons lab to a national device testing lab; the establishment of device standards and the monitoring of in-use performance against these standards; and the education of patients and users as to the results of these examinations.

Research and Development of Wires and Cables for High-Field Accelerator Magnets

DOE PAGES

Barzi, Emanuela; Zlobin, Alexander V.

2016-02-18

The latest strategic plans for High Energy Physics endorse steadfast superconducting magnet technology R&D for future Energy Frontier Facilities. This includes 10 to 16 T Nb3Sn accelerator magnets for the luminosity upgrades of the Large Hadron Collider and eventually for a future 100 TeV scale proton-protonmore » $(pp)$ collider. This paper describes the multi-decade R&D investment in the $$Nb_3Sn$$ superconductor technology, which was crucial to produce the first reproducible 10 to 12 T accelerator-quality dipoles and quadrupoles, as well as their scale-up. We also indicate prospective research areas in superconducting $$Nb_3Sn$$ wires and cables to achieve the next goals for superconducting accelerator magnets. Emphasis is on increasing performance and decreasing costs while pushing the $$Nb_3Sn$$ technology to its limits for future $pp$ colliders.« less

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

None, None

DOE-EERE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) works to accelerate the development of a sustainable, cost-competitive, advanced biofuel industry that can strengthen U.S. energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality, through research, development, and demonstration projects in partnership with industry, academia, and national laboratory partners. BETO’s Advanced Algal Systems Program (also called the Algae Program) has a long-term applied research and development (R&D) strategy to increase the yields and lower the costs of algal biofuels. The team works with partners to develop new technologies, to integrate technologies at commercially relevant scales, and to conduct crosscutting analyses to better understand the potential andmore » challenges of the algal biofuels industry. Research has indicated that this industry is capable of producing billions of gallons of renewable diesel, gasoline, and jet fuels annually. R&D activities are integrated with BETO’s longstanding effort to accelerate the commercialization of lignocellulosic biofuels.« less

Recent developments in smart freezing technology applied to fresh foods.

PubMed

Xu, Ji-Cheng; Zhang, Min; Mujumdar, Arun S; Adhikari, Benu

2017-09-02

Due to the increased awareness of consumers in sensorial and nutritional quality of frozen foods, the freezing technology has to seek new and innovative technologies for better retaining the fresh like quality of foods. In this article, we review the recent developments in smart freezing technology applied to fresh foods. The application of these intelligent technologies and the associated underpinning concepts have greatly improved the quality of frozen foods and the freezing efficiency. These technologies are able to automatically collect the information in-line during freezing and help control the freezing process better. Smart freezing technology includes new and intelligent technologies and concepts applied to the pretreatment of the frozen product, freezing processes, cold chain logistics as well as warehouse management. These technologies enable real-time monitoring of quality during the freezing process and help improve product quality and freezing efficiency. We also provide a brief overview of several sensing technologies used to achieve automatic control of individual steps of freezing process. These sensing technologies include computer vision, electronic nose, electronic tongue, digital simulation, confocal laser, near infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance technology and ultrasound. Understanding of the mechanism of these new technologies will be helpful for applying them to improve the quality of frozen foods.

Key Tasks of Science in Improving Effectiveness of Hard Coal Production in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubiński, Józef; Prusek, Stanisław; Turek, Marian

2017-09-01

The article presents an array of specific issues regarding the employed technology and operational efficiency of mining activities, which could and should become the subject of conducted scientific research. Given the circumstances of strong market competition and increasing requirements concerning environmental conditions, both in terms of conducted mining activities and produced coal quality parameters, it is imperative to develop and implement innovative solutions regarding the employed production technology, the safety of work conducted under the conditions of increasing natural hazards, as well as the mining enterprise management systems that enable its effective functioning. The article content pertains to the last group of issues in the most detailed way, particularly in terms of the possibility for rational conducted operation cost reduction.

The potential of 3D printing in urological research and patient care.

PubMed

Colaco, Marc; Igel, Daniel A; Atala, Anthony

2018-04-01

3D printing is an evolving technology that enables the creation of unique organic and inorganic structures with high precision. In urology, the technology has demonstrated potential uses in both patient and clinician education as well as in clinical practice. The four major techniques used for 3D printing are inkjet printing, extrusion printing, laser sintering, and stereolithography. Each of these techniques can be applied to the production of models for education and surgical planning, prosthetic construction, and tissue bioengineering. Bioengineering is potentially the most important application of 3D printing, as the ability to produce functional organic constructs might, in the future, enable urologists to replicate and replace abnormal tissues with neo-organs, improving patient survival and quality of life.

Effect of combined extrusion parameters on mechanical properties of basalt fiber-reinforced plastics based on polypropylene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bashtannik, P. I.; Ovcharenko, V. G.; Boot, Yu. A.

1997-11-01

Basalt fibers are efficient reinforcing fillers for polypropylene because they increase both the mechanical and the tribotechnical properties of composites. Basalt fibers can compete with traditional fillers (glass and asbestos fibers) of polypropylene with respect to technological, economic, and toxic properties. The effect of technological parameters of producing polypropylene-based basalt fiber-reinforced plastics (BFRPs) by combined extrusion on their mechanical properties has been investigated. The extrusion temperature was found to be the main parameter determining the mechanical properties of the BFRPs. With temperature growth from 180 to 240°C, the residual length of the basalt fibers in the composite, as well as the adhesive strength of the polymer-fiber system, increased, while the composite defectiveness decreased. The tensile strength and elastic modulus increased from 35 to 42 MPa and 3.2 to 4.2 GPa, respectively. At the same time, the growth in composite solidity led to its higher brittleness. Thus, a higher temperature of extrusion allows us to produce materials which can be subjected to tensile and bending loads, while the materials produced at a lower temperature of extrusion are impact stable. The effect of the gap size between the extruder body and moving disks on the mechanical properties of the BFRPs is less significant than that of temperature. An increase of the gap size from 2 to 8 mm improves the impregnation quality of the fibers, but the extruder productivity diminishes. The possibility of controling the properties of reinforced polypropylene by varying the technological parameters of combined extrusion is shown. The polypropylene-based BFRPs produced by the proposed method surpass the properties of glass and asbestos fiber-reinforced plastics.

Additive Manufacturing in Production: A Study Case Applying Technical Requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ituarte, Iñigo Flores; Coatanea, Eric; Salmi, Mika; Tuomi, Jukka; Partanen, Jouni

Additive manufacturing (AM) is expanding the manufacturing capabilities. However, quality of AM produced parts is dependent on a number of machine, geometry and process parameters. The variability of these parameters affects the manufacturing drastically and therefore standardized processes and harmonized methodologies need to be developed to characterize the technology for end use applications and enable the technology for manufacturing. This research proposes a composite methodology integrating Taguchi Design of Experiments, multi-objective optimization and statistical process control, to optimize the manufacturing process and fulfil multiple requirements imposed to an arbitrary geometry. The proposed methodology aims to characterize AM technology depending upon manufacturing process variables as well as to perform a comparative assessment of three AM technologies (Selective Laser Sintering, Laser Stereolithography and Polyjet). Results indicate that only one machine, laser-based Stereolithography, was feasible to fulfil simultaneously macro and micro level geometrical requirements but mechanical properties were not at required level. Future research will study a single AM system at the time to characterize AM machine technical capabilities and stimulate pre-normative initiatives of the technology for end use applications.

Quality and Quantity of Sorghum Hydroponic Fodder from Different Varieties and Harvest Time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chrisdiana, R.

2018-02-01

This experiment was designed to compare different varieties and harvest time of sorghum hydroponic fodder based on nutrient content and biomass production. Experimental design for fodder productivity was completely randomized design with 2 x 3 factorial, i.e., sorghum varieties (KD 4 and Super-1) and time of harvesting the sorghum hydroponic fodder (8,12 and 16 d). Total biomass and DM production, were affected significantly (p<0.05) on harvest time. Total biomass and nutrient content were increased in longer harvest time. The nutrient content were increased with decreasing total value of DM. Super-1 varieties produce larger biomass and nutrient content higher than KD4 (p<0.05). Based on sorghum hidroponic fodder quality and quantity, sorghum hidroponic fodder with Super-1 varieties harvested at 12 d had a good quality of fodder and it can be alternative of technology providing quality forage and land saving with a short time planting period and continous production.

Effect of torrefaction process on the coconut shell energy content for solid fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irawan, Anton; Latifah Upe, S.; Meity Dwi I., P.

2017-03-01

Indonesia was one of largest coconut producers in the world with an average coconut production of 3 million tons per year and an estimated coconut shell waste were produced 360 thousand tons per year. Certainly, Coconut shell produced in large numbers require initial processing to be saved in the long term with stabilized quality. Quality of coconut shell can be maintained by changing the characteristics of the properties of coconut shell from easily absorbed water (hydrophilic) to difficult absorbed water (hydrophobia) as well as reduce the smoke of burning through torrefaction. Torrefaction technology carried out the biomass at a temperature of 200-300°C. The goal of this research was to observe the effect of operating conditions of torrefaction and the size of a coconut shell to the quality of coconut shell as a solid fuel which had high quality and low environmental impact. The variables in this study was the size of coconut shell (1.5 cm, 3 cm, and 4 cm), temperature (250°C, 300°C and 350°C) and torrefaction holding time (15, 30, and 45 minutes). Fresh coconut shell will be analyzed using proximate, ultimate analysis, and calorific value to know the initial condition. Torrefaction product will also be analyzed by proximate analysis and heating value. The highest calorific value was obtained on the size of coconut shell medium (3 cm) with operating conditions at a temperature of 350°C and torrefaction holding time 30 minutes at 7635 kcal /kg with the increasing percentage in calorific value 40.76%, fixed carbon 82.73%, and the volatile matter content 10.88%. But that condition of the torrefaction product has produced the low mass yield around 31%. The optimum conditions were at temperature 250°C, torrefaction holding time 30 minutes, and coconut shell size 1.5 cm.

Formation of the image on the receiver of thermal radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akimenko, Tatiana A.

2018-04-01

The formation of the thermal picture of the observed scene with the verification of the quality of the thermal images obtained is one of the important stages of the technological process that determine the quality of the thermal imaging observation system. In this article propose to consider a model for the formation of a thermal picture of a scene, which must take into account: the features of the object of observation as the source of the signal; signal transmission through the physical elements of the thermal imaging system that produce signal processing at the optical, photoelectronic and electronic stages, which determines the final parameters of the signal and its compliance with the requirements for thermal information and measurement systems.

A chemical sensor and biosensor based totally automated water quality monitor for extended space flight: Step 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Robert S.

1993-01-01

The result of a literature search to consider what technologies should be represented in a totally automated water quality monitor for extended space flight is presented. It is the result of the first summer in a three year JOVE project. The next step will be to build a test platform at the Authors' school, St. John Fisher College. This will involve undergraduates in NASA related research. The test flow injection analysis system will be used to test the detection limit of sensors and the performance of sensors in groups. Sensor companies and research groups will be encouraged to produce sensors which are not currently available and are needed for this project.

Water Resources Management for Shale Energy Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoxtheimer, D.

2015-12-01

The increase in the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons, especially natural gas, from shale formations has been facilitated by advents in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies. Shale energy resources are very promising as an abundant energy source, though environmental challenges exist with their development, including potential adverse impacts to water quality. The well drilling and construction process itself has the potential to impact groundwater quality, however if proper protocols are followed and well integrity is established then impacts such as methane migration or drilling fluids releases can be minimized. Once a shale well has been drilled and hydraulically fractured, approximately 10-50% of the volume of injected fluids (flowback fluids) may flow out of the well initially with continued generation of fluids (produced fluids) throughout the well's productive life. Produced fluid TDS concentrations often exceed 200,000 mg/L, with elevated levels of strontium (Sr), bromide (Br), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), barium (Ba), chloride (Cl), radionuclides originating from the shale formation as well as fracturing additives. Storing, managing and properly disposisng of these fluids is critical to ensure water resources are not impacted by unintended releases. The most recent data in Pennsylvania suggests an estimated 85% of the produced fluids were being recycled for hydraulic fracturing operations, while many other states reuse less than 50% of these fluids and rely moreso on underground injection wells for disposal. Over the last few years there has been a shift to reuse more produced fluids during well fracturing operations in shale plays around the U.S., which has a combination of economic, regulatory, environmental, and technological drivers. The reuse of water is cost-competitive with sourcing of fresh water and disposal of flowback, especially when considering the costs of advanced treatment to or disposal well injection and lessens the use of fresh water and disposal needs thus is a major innovation for the industry. Proper water resource managment techniques from the begining of drilling through production are critical to ensure the energy necessary for society is produced while also protecting the environment.

Study of ceramic products and processing techniques in space. [using computerized simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markworth, A. J.; Oldfield, W.

1974-01-01

An analysis of the solidification kinetics of beta alumina in a zero-gravity environment was carried out, using computer-simulation techniques, in order to assess the feasibility of producing high-quality single crystals of this material in space. The two coupled transport processes included were movement of the solid-liquid interface and diffusion of sodium atoms in the melt. Results of the simulation indicate that appreciable crystal-growth rates can be attained in space. Considerations were also made of the advantages offered by high-quality single crystals of beta alumina for use as a solid electrolyte; these clearly indicate that space-grown materials are superior in many respects to analogous terrestrially-grown crystals. Likewise, economic considerations, based on the rapidly expanding technological applications for beta alumina and related fast ionic conductors, reveal that the many superior qualities of space-grown material justify the added expense and experimental detail associated with space processing.

Can Technology Improve the Quality of Colonoscopy?

PubMed

Thirumurthi, Selvi; Ross, William A; Raju, Gottumukkala S

2016-07-01

In order for screening colonoscopy to be an effective tool in reducing colon cancer incidence, exams must be performed in a high-quality manner. Quality metrics have been presented by gastroenterology societies and now include higher adenoma detection rate targets than in the past. In many cases, the quality of colonoscopy can often be improved with simple low-cost interventions such as improved procedure technique, implementing split-dose bowel prep, and monitoring individuals' performances. Emerging technology has expanded our field of view and image quality during colonoscopy. We will critically review several technological advances in the context of quality metrics and discuss if technology can really improve the quality of colonoscopy.

Performance analysis of cascaded h-bridge multilevel inverter using mixed switching frequency with various dc-link voltages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Citarsa, I. B. F.; Satiawan, I. N. W.; Wiryajati, I. K.; Supriono

2016-01-01

Multilevel inverters have been widely used in many applications since the technology is advantageous to increase the converter capability as well as to improve the output voltage quality. According to the applied switching frequency, multilevel modulations can be subdivided into three classes, i.e: fundamental switching frequency, high switching frequency and mixed switching frequency. This paper investigates the performance of cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverter that is modulated using mixed switching frequency (MSF) PWM with various dc-link voltage ratios. The simulation results show the nearly sinusoidal load output voltages are successfully achieved. It is revealed that there is improvement in output voltages quality in terms of THD and low-order harmonics content. The CHB inverter that is modulated using MSF PWM with equal dc-link voltage ratio (½ Vdc: ½ Vdc) produces output voltage with the lowest low-order harmonics (less than 1% of fundamental) while the CHB inverter that is modulated using MSF PWM with un-equal dc-link voltage ratio (2/3 Vdc: 1/3 Vdc) produces a 7-level output voltage with the lowest THD (16.31%) compared to the other PWM methods. Improvement of the output voltage quality here is also in line with improvement of the number of available levels provided in the output voltage. Here only 2 cells H-bridge inverter (contain 8 switches) are needed to produce a 7- level output voltage, while in the conventional CHB inverter at least 3 cells of H-bridge inverter (contain 12 switches) are needed to produce a 7-level output voltage. Hence it is valuable in term of saving number of component.

A Two-Stage Microbial Fuel Cell and Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Membrane Bioreactor (MFC-AFMBR) System for Effective Domestic Wastewater Treatment

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising technology for energy-efficient domestic wastewater treatment, but the effluent quality has typically not been sufficient for discharge without further treatment. A two-stage laboratory-scale combined treatment process, consisting of microbial fuel cells and an anaerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactor (MFC-AFMBR), was examined here to produce high quality effluent with minimal energy demands. The combined system was operated continuously for 50 days at room temperature (∼25 °C) with domestic wastewater having a total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) of 210 ± 11 mg/L. At a combined hydraulic retention time (HRT) for both processes of 9 h, the effluent tCOD was reduced to 16 ± 3 mg/L (92.5% removal), and there was nearly complete removal of total suspended solids (TSS; from 45 ± 10 mg/L to <1 mg/L). The AFMBR was operated at a constant high permeate flux of 16 L/m2/h over 50 days, without the need or use of any membrane cleaning or backwashing. Total electrical energy required for the operation of the MFC-AFMBR system was 0.0186 kWh/m3, which was slightly less than the electrical energy produced by the MFCs (0.0197 kWh/m3). The energy in the methane produced in the AFMBR was comparatively negligible (0.005 kWh/m3). These results show that a combined MFC-AFMBR system could be used to effectively treat domestic primary effluent at ambient temperatures, producing high effluent quality with low energy requirements. PMID:24568605

The conversion of anaerobic digestion waste into biofuels via a novel Thermo-Catalytic Reforming process.

PubMed

Neumann, Johannes; Meyer, Johannes; Ouadi, Miloud; Apfelbacher, Andreas; Binder, Samir; Hornung, Andreas

2016-01-01

Producing energy from biomass and other organic waste residues is essential for sustainable development. Fraunhofer UMSICHT has developed a novel reactor which introduces the Thermo-Catalytic Reforming (TCR®) process. The TCR® is a process which can convert any type of biomass and organic feedstocks into a variety of energy products (char, bio-oil and permanent gases). The aim of this work was to demonstrate this technology using digestate as the feedstock and to quantify the results from the post reforming step. The temperature of a post reformer was varied to achieve optimised fuel products. The hydrogen rich permanent gases produced were maximised at a post reforming temperature of 1023 K. The highly de-oxygenated liquid bio-oil produced contained a calorific value of 35.2 MJ/kg, with significantly improved fuel physical properties, low viscosity and acid number. Overall digestate showed a high potential as feedstock in the Thermo-Catalytic Reforming to produce pyrolysis fuel products of superior quality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pediatrics in 21st Century and Beyond.

PubMed

Singh, Meharban

2016-11-01

Pediatrics is a dynamic discipline and there is awareness and hope for actualizing outstanding achievements in the field of child health in 21 st century and beyond. Improved lifestyle and quality of children's health is likely to reduce the burden of adult diseases and enhance longevity because seeds of most adult diseases are sown in childhood. Identification and decoding of human genome is expected to revolutionize the practice of pediatrics. The day is not far off when a patient will walk into doctor's chamber with an electronic or digital health history on a CD or palmtop and a decoded genomic constitution. There will be reduced burden of genetic diseases because of selective abortions of "defective" fetuses and replacement of "bad" genes with "good" ones by genetic engineering. Availability of totipotent stem cells and developments in transplant technology are likely to revolutionize the management of a variety of hematologic cancers and life-threatening genetic disorders. The possibility of producing flawless designer babies by advances in assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) is likely to be mired by several ethical and legal issues.The availability of newer vaccines by recombinant technology for emerging infective and for non-infective lifestyle diseases is likely to improve survival and quality of life. There is going to be a greater focus on the "patient" having the disease rather than "disease" per se by practicing holistic pediatrics by effective utilization of alternative or complementary strategies for health care. Due to advances in technology, pediatrics may get further dehumanized. A true healer cannot simply rely on technology; there must be a spiritual bond between the patient and the physician by exploiting the concept of psycho-neuro-immunology and body-mind interactions. In the years to come, physicians are likely to play "god" but medicine can't achieve immortality because anything born must die in accordance with nature's recycling blueprint. The medical science is likely to improve longevity but our goal should be to improve the quality of life.

A Study of Optimum Population Levels—A Progress Report*

PubMed Central

Singer, S. Fred

1972-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore different approaches and to develop a methodology that will allow a calculation of “optimum levels of population.” The discussion is specialized to the United States, but the methodology should be broad enough to handle other countries, including less-developed countries. The study is based on economics, but with major inputs from the areas of technology, natural resources management, environmental effects, and demography. The general approach will be to develop an index for quality of life (IQL or Q-index) and to maximize this index as a function of level and distribution of population. The technique consists of a reshuffling of national income accounts so as to be able to go from the Gross National Product (GNP) to the index for quality of life, plus a careful discussion of what is and what is not to be included. The initial part of the study consists of a projection of the index for quality of life as population level increases and as population distribution changes, under the assumption of various technologies, particularly as these relate to the consumption of minerals, energy, and other natural resources. One would expect that as economic growth continues, an increasing fraction of expenditures would be for the diseconomics produced by population growth and economic growth. This study should be useful by providing a rational base for governmental policies regarding population, both in the United States and abroad. Another application of the study is to technology assessment, by measurement of the impact on economic well-being through the introduction of new technologies. Therefore, one can gauge the necessary and desirable investments in certain new technologies. In general, mathematical models resulting from this study can become useful diagnostic tools to analyze the consequences of various public and private policy decisions. PMID:4509346

Powder Metallurgy Fabrication of Molybdenum Accelerator Target Disks

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

Lowden, Richard Andrew; Kiggans Jr., James O.; Nunn, Stephen D.

2015-07-01

Powder metallurgy approaches for the fabrication of accelerator target disks are being examined to support the development of Mo-99 production by NorthStar Medical Technologies, LLC. An advantage of powder metallurgy is that very little material is wasted and, at present, dense, quality parts are routinely produced from molybdenum powder. The proposed targets, however, are thin wafers, 29 mm in diameter with a thickness of 0.5 mm, with very stringent dimensional tolerances. Although tooling can be machined to very high tolerance levels, the operations of powder feed, pressing and sintering involve complicated mechanisms, each of which affects green density and shrinkage,more » and therefore the dimensions and shape of the final product. Combinations of powder morphology, lubricants and pressing technique have been explored to produce target disks with minimal variations in thickness and little or no distortion. In addition, sintering conditions that produce densities for optimum target dissolvability are being determined.« less

A techno-economic evaluation of anaerobic biogas producing systems in developing countries.

PubMed

Morgan, Hervan Marion; Xie, Wei; Liang, Jianghui; Mao, Hanping; Lei, Hanwu; Ruan, Roger; Bu, Quan

2018-02-01

Biogas production has been the focus of many individuals in the developing world; there have been several investigations that focus on improving the production process and product quality. In the developing world the lack of advanced technology and capital has hindered the development of energy production. Renewable energy has the potential to improve the standard of living for most of the 196 countries which are classified as developing economies. One of the easiest renewable energy compounds that can be produced is biogas (bio-methane). Biogas can be produced from almost any source of biomass through the anaerobic respiration of micro-organisms. Low budget energy systems are reviewed in this article along with various feedstock sources. Adapted gas purification and storage systems are also reviewed, along with the possible economic, social, health and environmental benefits of its implementation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water Science and Technology Board annual report 1987

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

Not Available

1988-01-01

In 1982, the National Research Council chose to recognize the importance of water resource issues by establishing the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB). During the five years since its first meeting in November 1982, the WSTB has grown and matured. The WSTB has met 14 times to provide guidance and plan activities. Under the WSTB's direction, committees of experts have conducted approximately 30 studies on a broad array of topics, from dam safety to irrigation-induced water quality problems to ground water protection strategies. Studies have ranged in scope from the oversight of specific agency projects and programs to broadermore » scientific reviews, such as a disciplinary assessment of the hydrologic sciences initiated in 1987. In all cases, studies have the general theme of ultimately improving the scientific and technological bases of programs of water management and environmental quality. This fifth annual report of the WSTB summarizes the Board's accomplishments during 1987, its current activities, and its plans for the future. The report also includes information on Board and committee memberships, program organizations, and the reports produced. The report should provide the reader with a basic understanding of the WSTB's interests, achievements, and capabilities. The WSTB welcomes inquiries and suggestions concerning its activities and will provide more detailed information on any aspects of its work to those interested.« less

E-beam-pumped semiconductor lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, Robert R.; Shanley, James F.; Ruggieri, Neil F.

1995-04-01

The collapse of the Soviet Union opened many areas of laser technology to the West. E-beam- pumped semiconductor lasers (EBSL) were pursued for 25 years in several Soviet Institutes. Thin single crystal screens of II-VI alloys (ZnxCd1-xSe, CdSxSe1-x) were incorporated in laser CRTs to produce scanned visible laser beams at average powers greater than 10 W. Resolutions of 2500 lines were demonstrated. MDA-W is conducting a program for ARPA/ESTO to assess EBSL technology for high brightness, high resolution RGB laser projection application. Transfer of II-VI crystal growth and screen processing technology is underway, and initial results will be reported. Various techniques (cathodoluminescence, one- and two-photon laser pumping, etc.) have been used to assess material quality and screen processing damage. High voltage (75 kV) video electronics were procured in the U.S. to operate test EBSL tubes. Laser performance was documented as a function of screen temperature, beam voltage and current. The beam divergence, spectrum, efficiency and other characteristics of the laser output are being measured. An evaluation of the effect of laser operating conditions upon the degradation rate is being carried out by a design-of-experiments method. An initial assessment of the projected image quality will be performed.

Evaluation of the sustainability of contrasted pig farming systems: development of a market conformity tool for pork products based on technological quality traits.

PubMed

Gonzàlez, J; Gispert, M; Gil, M; Hviid, M; Dourmad, J Y; de Greef, K H; Zimmer, C; Fàbrega, E

2014-12-01

A market conformity tool, based on technological meat quality parameters, was developed within the Q-PorkChains project, to be included in a global sustainability evaluation of pig farming systems. The specific objective of the market conformity tool was to define a scoring system based on the suitability of meat to elaborate the main pork products, according to their market shares based on industry requirements, in different pig farming systems. The tool was based on carcass and meat quality parameters that are commonly used for the assessment of technological quality, which provide representative and repeatable data and are easily measurable. They were the following: cold carcass weight; lean meat percentage; minimum subcutaneous back fat depth at m. gluteus medius level, 45 postmortem and ultimate pH (measured at 24-h postmortem) in m. longissimus lumborum and semimembranosus; meat colour; drip losses and intramuscular fat content in a m. longissimus sample. Five categories of pork products produced at large scale in Europe were considered in the study: fresh meat, cooked products, dry products, specialties and other meat products. For each of the studied farming systems, the technological meat quality requirements, as well as the market shares for each product category within farming system, were obtained from the literature and personal communications from experts. The tool resulted in an overall conformity score that enabled to discriminate among systems according to the degree of matching of the achieved carcass and meat quality with the requirements of the targeted market. In order to improve feasibility, the tool was simplified by selecting ultimate pH at m. longissimus or semimembranosus, minimum fat thickness measured at the left half carcass over m. gluteus medius and intramuscular fat content in a m. longissimus sample as iceberg indicators. The overall suitability scores calculated by using both the complete and the reduced tools presented good correlation and the results obtained were similar. The tool could be considered as robust enough to discriminate among different systems, since it was tested in a wide range of them. It also can be used to detect improvement opportunities to enhance sustainability of pig farming systems. The final objective of the study was achieved, since the market suitability tool could be used in an integrated sustainability analysis of pig farming systems.

Novel technologies for the lost foam casting process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Wenming; Fan, Zitian

2018-03-01

Lost foam casting (LFC) is a green precision casting process categorized as a near net forming technology. Yet, despite its popularity, it still suffers from some technological problems, such as poor filling ability of the castings, coarse and non-dense microstructure, low mechanical properties for the Al and Mg LFC processes, and defective carburization for the low carbon steel LFC process. These drawbacks restrict the development and widespread application of the LFC process. To solve these problems, the present study developed several novel LFC technologies, namely, LFC technologies under vacuum and low pressure, vibration solidification, and pressure solidification conditions; expendable shell casting technology; and preparation technology of bimetallic castings based on the LFC process. The results showed that the LFC under vacuum and low pressure evidently improved the filling ability and solved the oxidization problem of the alloys, which is suitable for producing complex and thinwall castings. The vibration and pressure solidifications increased the compactness of the castings and refined the microstructure, significantly improving the mechanical properties of the castings. The expendable shell casting technology could solve the pore, carburization, and inclusion defects of the traditional LFC method, obtaining castings with acceptable surface quality. Moreover, the Al/Mg and Al/Al bimetallic castings with acceptable metallurgical bonding were successfully fabricated using the LFC process. These proposed novel LFC technologies can solve the current technological issues and promote the technological progress of the LFC process.

Recent experience with the CQE{trademark}

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

Harrison, C.D.; Kehoe, D.B.; O`Connor, D.C.

1997-12-31

CQE (the Coal Quality Expert) is a software tool that brings a new level of sophistication to fuel decisions by seamlessly integrating the system-wide effects of fuel purchase decisions on power plant performance, emissions, and power generation costs. The CQE technology, which addresses fuel quality from the coal mine to the busbar and the stack, is an integration and improvement of predecessor software tools including: EPRI`s Coal Quality Information System, EPRI`s Coal Cleaning Cost Model, EPRI`s Coal Quality Impact Model, and EPRI and DOE models to predict slagging and fouling. CQE can be used as a stand-alone workstation or asmore » a network application for utilities, coal producers, and equipment manufacturers to perform detailed analyses of the impacts of coal quality, capital improvements, operational changes, and/or environmental compliance alternatives on power plant emissions, performance and production costs. It can be used as a comprehensive, precise and organized methodology for systematically evaluating all such impacts or it may be used in pieces with some default data to perform more strategic or comparative studies.« less

Assessing quality of Medicago sativa silage by monitoring bacterial composition with single molecule, real-time sequencing technology and various physiological parameters

PubMed Central

Bao, Weichen; Mi, Zhihui; Xu, Haiyan; Zheng, Yi; Kwok, Lai Yu; Zhang, Heping; Zhang, Wenyi

2016-01-01

The present study applied the PacBio single molecule, real-time sequencing technology (SMRT) in evaluating the quality of silage production. Specifically, we produced four types of Medicago sativa silages by using four different lactic acid bacteria-based additives (AD-I, AD-II, AD-III and AD-IV). We monitored the changes in pH, organic acids (including butyric acid, the ratio of acetic acid/lactic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid, 4-hyroxy benzoic acid and phenyl lactic acid), mycotoxins, and bacterial microbiota during silage fermentation. Our results showed that the use of the additives was beneficial to the silage fermentation by enhancing a general pH and mycotoxin reduction, while increasing the organic acids content. By SMRT analysis of the microbial composition in eight silage samples, we found that the bacterial species number and relative abundances shifted apparently after fermentation. Such changes were specific to the LAB species in the additives. Particularly, Bacillus megaterium was the initial dominant species in the raw materials; and after the fermentation process, Pediococcus acidilactici and Lactobacillus plantarum became the most prevalent species, both of which were intrinsically present in the LAB additives. Our data have demonstrated that the SMRT sequencing platform is applicable in assessing the quality of silage. PMID:27340760

Air Sensor Guidebook | Science Inventory | US EPA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This Air Sensor Guidebook has been developed by the U.S. EPA to assist those interested in potentially using lower cost air quality sensor technologies for air quality measurements. Its development was in direct response to a request for such a document following a recent scientific conference (Apps and Sensors for Air Pollution-2012). Low cost air quality sensors ($100-$2500) are now commercially available in a wide variety of designs and capabilities. This is an emerging technology area and one that is quickly evolving. Even so, their availability has resulted in questions from many as to how they might be used appropriately. This document attempts to provide useful information concerning some of those questions. The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s (NERL’s) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD’s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA’s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and pol

Assessing quality of Medicago sativa silage by monitoring bacterial composition with single molecule, real-time sequencing technology and various physiological parameters.

PubMed

Bao, Weichen; Mi, Zhihui; Xu, Haiyan; Zheng, Yi; Kwok, Lai Yu; Zhang, Heping; Zhang, Wenyi

2016-06-24

The present study applied the PacBio single molecule, real-time sequencing technology (SMRT) in evaluating the quality of silage production. Specifically, we produced four types of Medicago sativa silages by using four different lactic acid bacteria-based additives (AD-I, AD-II, AD-III and AD-IV). We monitored the changes in pH, organic acids (including butyric acid, the ratio of acetic acid/lactic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid, 4-hyroxy benzoic acid and phenyl lactic acid), mycotoxins, and bacterial microbiota during silage fermentation. Our results showed that the use of the additives was beneficial to the silage fermentation by enhancing a general pH and mycotoxin reduction, while increasing the organic acids content. By SMRT analysis of the microbial composition in eight silage samples, we found that the bacterial species number and relative abundances shifted apparently after fermentation. Such changes were specific to the LAB species in the additives. Particularly, Bacillus megaterium was the initial dominant species in the raw materials; and after the fermentation process, Pediococcus acidilactici and Lactobacillus plantarum became the most prevalent species, both of which were intrinsically present in the LAB additives. Our data have demonstrated that the SMRT sequencing platform is applicable in assessing the quality of silage.

[Assessment of the technology of care relations in the health services: perception of the elderly included in the family health strategy in Bambuí, Brazil].

PubMed

Santos, Wagner Jorge dos; Giacomin, Karla Cristina; Firmo, Josélia Oliveira Araújo

2014-08-01

In the health field, technologies of care relations are in the scope of the worker-user encounter, implying intersubjectivity with the development of relationships between subjects, resulting in action. Evaluation studies synthesize knowledge produced on the consequences of using these technologies for society. This anthropological study aims to understand the perception of the elderly regarding the resolution capability and effectiveness of the acts produced in health care relationships in the context of the Family Health Strategy (ESF). The group studied consisted of 57 elderly residents in Bambui, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The model of signs, meanings and actions was used for collecting and analyzing data and the semi-structured interview was applied as a research technique. Elderly individuals assess resolution capability and effectiveness of the acts of care in the ESF as negative, with relation to the quality of user and professional interaction. The ESF is not effective and the desired change in the health care model has not occurred in practice. It repeats the centrality of the medical-drug-procedure model that treats the disease rather than the patient, perceiving old age as a disease and illness as being related to aging.

FMLRC: Hybrid long read error correction using an FM-index.

PubMed

Wang, Jeremy R; Holt, James; McMillan, Leonard; Jones, Corbin D

2018-02-09

Long read sequencing is changing the landscape of genomic research, especially de novo assembly. Despite the high error rate inherent to long read technologies, increased read lengths dramatically improve the continuity and accuracy of genome assemblies. However, the cost and throughput of these technologies limits their application to complex genomes. One solution is to decrease the cost and time to assemble novel genomes by leveraging "hybrid" assemblies that use long reads for scaffolding and short reads for accuracy. We describe a novel method leveraging a multi-string Burrows-Wheeler Transform with auxiliary FM-index to correct errors in long read sequences using a set of complementary short reads. We demonstrate that our method efficiently produces significantly more high quality corrected sequence than existing hybrid error-correction methods. We also show that our method produces more contiguous assemblies, in many cases, than existing state-of-the-art hybrid and long-read only de novo assembly methods. Our method accurately corrects long read sequence data using complementary short reads. We demonstrate higher total throughput of corrected long reads and a corresponding increase in contiguity of the resulting de novo assemblies. Improved throughput and computational efficiency than existing methods will help better economically utilize emerging long read sequencing technologies.

Are We There Yet? ... Developing In Situ Fabrication and Repair (ISFR) Technologies to Explore and Live on the Moon and Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bodiford, Melanie P.; Gilley, Scott D.; Howard, Richard W.; Kennedy, James P.; Ray, Julie A.

2005-01-01

NASA's human exploration initiative poses great opportunity and great risk for manned missions to the Moon and Mars. Engineers and Scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are evaluating current technologies for in situ resource-based exploration fabrication and repair applications. Several technologies to be addressed in this paper have technology readiness levels (TRLs) that are currently mature enough to pursue for exploration purposes. However, many technologies offer promising applications but these must be pulled along by the demands and applications of this great initiative. The In Situ Fabrication and Repair (ISFR) Element will supply and push state of the art technologies for applications such as habitat structure development, in situ resource utilization for tool and part fabrication, and repair and replacement of common life support elements, as well as non-destructive evaluation. This paper will address current rapid prototyping technologies, their ISFR applications and near term advancements. We will discuss the anticipated need to utilize in situ resources to produce replacement parts and fabricate repairs to vehicles, habitats, life support and quality of life elements. Many ISFR technology developments will incorporate automated deployment and robotic construction and fabrication techniques. The current state of the art for these applications is fascinating, but the future is out of this world.

Targeted amplicon sequencing (TAS): a scalable next-gen approach to multilocus, multitaxa phylogenetics.

PubMed

Bybee, Seth M; Bracken-Grissom, Heather; Haynes, Benjamin D; Hermansen, Russell A; Byers, Robert L; Clement, Mark J; Udall, Joshua A; Wilcox, Edward R; Crandall, Keith A

2011-01-01

Next-gen sequencing technologies have revolutionized data collection in genetic studies and advanced genome biology to novel frontiers. However, to date, next-gen technologies have been used principally for whole genome sequencing and transcriptome sequencing. Yet many questions in population genetics and systematics rely on sequencing specific genes of known function or diversity levels. Here, we describe a targeted amplicon sequencing (TAS) approach capitalizing on next-gen capacity to sequence large numbers of targeted gene regions from a large number of samples. Our TAS approach is easily scalable, simple in execution, neither time-nor labor-intensive, relatively inexpensive, and can be applied to a broad diversity of organisms and/or genes. Our TAS approach includes a bioinformatic application, BarcodeCrucher, to take raw next-gen sequence reads and perform quality control checks and convert the data into FASTA format organized by gene and sample, ready for phylogenetic analyses. We demonstrate our approach by sequencing targeted genes of known phylogenetic utility to estimate a phylogeny for the Pancrustacea. We generated data from 44 taxa using 68 different 10-bp multiplexing identifiers. The overall quality of data produced was robust and was informative for phylogeny estimation. The potential for this method to produce copious amounts of data from a single 454 plate (e.g., 325 taxa for 24 loci) significantly reduces sequencing expenses incurred from traditional Sanger sequencing. We further discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this method, while offering suggestions to enhance the approach.

Targeted Amplicon Sequencing (TAS): A Scalable Next-Gen Approach to Multilocus, Multitaxa Phylogenetics

PubMed Central

Bybee, Seth M.; Bracken-Grissom, Heather; Haynes, Benjamin D.; Hermansen, Russell A.; Byers, Robert L.; Clement, Mark J.; Udall, Joshua A.; Wilcox, Edward R.; Crandall, Keith A.

2011-01-01

Next-gen sequencing technologies have revolutionized data collection in genetic studies and advanced genome biology to novel frontiers. However, to date, next-gen technologies have been used principally for whole genome sequencing and transcriptome sequencing. Yet many questions in population genetics and systematics rely on sequencing specific genes of known function or diversity levels. Here, we describe a targeted amplicon sequencing (TAS) approach capitalizing on next-gen capacity to sequence large numbers of targeted gene regions from a large number of samples. Our TAS approach is easily scalable, simple in execution, neither time-nor labor-intensive, relatively inexpensive, and can be applied to a broad diversity of organisms and/or genes. Our TAS approach includes a bioinformatic application, BarcodeCrucher, to take raw next-gen sequence reads and perform quality control checks and convert the data into FASTA format organized by gene and sample, ready for phylogenetic analyses. We demonstrate our approach by sequencing targeted genes of known phylogenetic utility to estimate a phylogeny for the Pancrustacea. We generated data from 44 taxa using 68 different 10-bp multiplexing identifiers. The overall quality of data produced was robust and was informative for phylogeny estimation. The potential for this method to produce copious amounts of data from a single 454 plate (e.g., 325 taxa for 24 loci) significantly reduces sequencing expenses incurred from traditional Sanger sequencing. We further discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this method, while offering suggestions to enhance the approach. PMID:22002916

Final Report Scalable Analysis Methods and In Situ Infrastructure for Extreme Scale Knowledge Discovery

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

O'Leary, Patrick

The primary challenge motivating this project is the widening gap between the ability to compute information and to store it for subsequent analysis. This gap adversely impacts science code teams, who can perform analysis only on a small fraction of the data they calculate, resulting in the substantial likelihood of lost or missed science, when results are computed but not analyzed. Our approach is to perform as much analysis or visualization processing on data while it is still resident in memory, which is known as in situ processing. The idea in situ processing was not new at the time ofmore » the start of this effort in 2014, but efforts in that space were largely ad hoc, and there was no concerted effort within the research community that aimed to foster production-quality software tools suitable for use by Department of Energy (DOE) science projects. Our objective was to produce and enable the use of production-quality in situ methods and infrastructure, at scale, on DOE high-performance computing (HPC) facilities, though we expected to have an impact beyond DOE due to the widespread nature of the challenges, which affect virtually all large-scale computational science efforts. To achieve this objective, we engaged in software technology research and development (R&D), in close partnerships with DOE science code teams, to produce software technologies that were shown to run efficiently at scale on DOE HPC platforms.« less

De-stoning technology for improving olive oil nutritional and sensory features: The right idea at the wrong time.

PubMed

Restuccia, Donatella; Clodoveo, Maria Lisa; Corbo, Filomena; Loizzo, Monica Rosa

2018-04-01

De-stoning technology has been introduced in the olive oil sector more than twenty years ago. It has not gained momentum because, sometimes, innovative ideas are not accepted since they are suggested at the wrong time or under the wrong circumstances. Virgin olive oil (VOO) is one of the most popular functional foods, mainly due to its antioxidant properties. These features, as well as other nutritional characteristics are generally enhanced by the de-stoning process. However, despite the improvement of the nutritional value, in the past the de-stoned oil didn't achieve marketing success mainly in relation to technological limitations (i.e. low oil yield). Only in recent years healthy properties became an element able to influence consumers' behavior, overcoming the limit of low oil yields and attracting the attention of olive oil producers. An analysis of the advantages, in terms of product quality and process sustainability, is given in this review. Here, for the first time, the fragmented results reported in literature are critically analyzed underlining the contradictions reported by different authors showing the main reasons for the unlucky fate of this technology in the industrial sector. In the final section the challenges, that future research must focus on, are presented, including emerging technologies in VOO processing. Literature data, for the first time discussed here exhaustively, show that de-stoning technology is a mechanical strategy useful to increase the nutritional and the sensory quality of the product. Moreover, it reduces the depletion of natural resources obtaining a selective crushing of the drupe by removing the stones from the olive paste so increasing the sustainability and efficiency of VOO extraction plants. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Film versus digital cinema: the evolution of moving images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinker, Michael

2003-05-01

Film has been used for movies for over 100 years. D-cinema will soon produce images that equal or surpass film. When that happens, movies will take their basis from computer technology, leading to higher quality, lower cost, and greater flexibility for all aspects of the industry. For example, d-cinema will allow higher frame rates, flexible subtitles, alternative content, and resolutions and color spaces beyond film. Given these opportunities, we must not simply emulate the mechanical past. Insisting, for instance, on a single type of compression or security scheme is misguided. Both these areas are evolving, and we should take advantage of that evolution, while promoting standards that allow that evolution to happen in an orderly way. Mechanical projectors can play back only one kind of film; computer servers can play back any number of formats. It would be wrong to select a single format at this time, only to have the technology become more capable in the near future. We must allow the continuously evolving technology that characterizes computers, not the frozen technology that has characterized mechanical systems. We must work toward an environment that allows interoperability of d-cinema technologies-not systems that limit us to a single technology.

AMLCD head-down displays for avionic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Alan J.

1997-02-01

Smiths Industries has been involved in the design, manufacture and supply of products used for the presentation of information, in one form or another, from its early pioneering years through to the present day. In the mid 1980s Smiths Industries began to invest in the then emerging active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) technology which the company believed would eventually take over from the cathode ray tube. To date Smiths Industries has made a significant investment in acquiring the enabling technology needed to produce active matrix liquid crystal color head- down displays for fast jet, helicopter and civil aircraft applications. The significant improvement in AMLCD product quality and manufacturing capability over recent years has enabled market penetration of AMLCD technology products to be achieved in military and civil avionic markets. Virtually all new contracts for head-down displays are now demanding the use of AMLCD technology rather than the cathode ray tube. A significant decision to move to AMLCD technology was made by McDonnell Douglas Helicopters in 1995, when a contract to supply over 4000 head-down display products for the Apache Helicopter was let. This has paved the way for the future of AMLCD technology.

Technology Roadmaps for Compound Semiconductors

PubMed Central

Bennett, Herbert S.

2000-01-01

The roles cited for compound semiconductors in public versions of existing technology roadmaps from the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, Inc., Optoelectronics Industry Development Association, Microelectronics Advanced Research Initiative on Optoelectronic Interconnects, and Optoelectronics Industry and Technology Development Association (OITDA) are discussed and compared within the context of trends in the Si CMOS industry. In particular, the extent to which these technology roadmaps treat compound semiconductors at the materials processing and device levels will be presented for specific applications. For example, OITDA’s Optical Communications Technology Roadmap directly connects the information demand of delivering 100 Mbit/s to the home to the requirement of producing 200 GHz heterojunction bipolar transistors with 30 nm bases and InP high electron mobility transistors with 100 nm gates. Some general actions for progress towards the proposed International Technology Roadmap for Compound Semiconductors (ITRCS) and methods for determining the value of an ITRCS will be suggested. But, in the final analysis, the value added by an ITRCS will depend on how industry leaders respond. The technical challenges and economic opportunities of delivering high quality digital video to consumers provide concrete examples of where the above actions and methods could be applied. PMID:27551615

Integrated mild gasification processing at the Homer City Electric Power Generating Station site. Final report, July 1989--June 1993

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

Battista, J.J.; Zawadzki, E.A.

1993-07-01

A new process for the production of commercial grade coke, char, and carbon products has been evaluated by Penelec/NYSEG. The process, developed by Coal Technology Corporation, CTC, utilizes a unique screw reactor to produce a devolatilized char from a wide variety of coals for the production of commercial grade coke for use in blast furnaces, foundries, and other processes requiring high quality coke. This process is called the CTC Mild Gasification Process (MGP). The process economics are significantly enhanced by integrating the new technology into an existing power generating complex. Cost savings are realized by the coke producer, the cokemore » user, and the electric utility company. Site specific economic studies involving the Homer City Generating Station site in Western Pennsylvania, confirmed that an integrated MGP at the Homer City site, using coal fines produced at the Homer City Coal Preparation Plant, would reduce capital and operating costs significantly and would enable the HC Owners to eliminate thermal dryers, obtain low cost fuel in the form of combustible gases and liquids, and obtain lower cost replacement coal on the spot market. A previous report, identified as the Interim Report on the Project, details the technical and economic studies.« less

Current and Future Technologies for Microbiological Decontamination of Cereal Grains.

PubMed

Los, Agata; Ziuzina, Dana; Bourke, Paula

2018-06-01

Cereal grains are the most important staple foods for mankind worldwide. The constantly increasing annual production and yield is matched by demand for cereals, which is expected to increase drastically along with the global population growth. A critical food safety and quality issue is to minimize the microbiological contamination of grains as it affects cereals both quantitatively and qualitatively. Microorganisms present in cereals can affect the safety, quality, and functional properties of grains. Some molds have the potential to produce harmful mycotoxins and pose a serious health risk for consumers. Therefore, it is essential to reduce cereal grain contamination to the minimum to ensure safety both for human and animal consumption. Current production of cereals relies heavily on pesticides input, however, numerous harmful effects on human health and on the environment highlight the need for more sustainable pest management and agricultural methods. This review evaluates microbiological risks, as well as currently used and potential technologies for microbiological decontamination of cereal grains. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Laser technologies for ultrasensitive groundwater dating using long-lived isotopes

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

Backus, Sterling

In this phase I work, we propose to construct and demonstrate a 103 nm laser based on resonantly enhanced and phase matched fifth harmonic generation in hollow waveguides driven by a high power, low cost and compact ultrafast fiber laser. (Figure 4) This VUV laser source can potentially produce >100 milliwatts of VUV light at 103 nm with pulse repetition-rates of 100 kHz to 100 MHz, ideal for the above-mentioned applications. This technology is state-of-the-art and potentially compact, fieldable, low-cost, and of broad interest for a variety of science and technology applications. Laser-based VUV sources in the past have exhibitedmore » low repetition rate, low efficiency, low beam quality, and are based on expensive laser sources. Our approch is to combine ultrafast fiber laser drive technology, ultrafast pulses, and our proven waveguide technology, to create a high repetition rate, high average power VUV source for producing high yield metastable Krypton. At KMLabs we have been offering EUV light sources employing the high harmonic generation (HHG) process driven by high-power femtosecond lasers for >5 years now. Recently, we have developed much smaller scale (briefcase size), but still high average power femtosecond fiber laser sources to supply other markets, and create new ones. By combining these new laser sources with our patented waveguide frequency upconversion technology, we expect to be able to obtain >20mW average power initially, with potentially much higher powers depending on wavelength, in an affordable VUV product. For comparison, our current EUV light sources based on ti:sapphire generate an average power of ~5 µW (albeit at shorter 29 nm wavelength), and we are aware of one other supplier that has developed a VUV (112 nm) light source with ~10-20 µW power.« less

An Ontology for Telemedicine Systems Resiliency to Technological Context Variations in Pervasive Healthcare

PubMed Central

Bults, Richard G. A.; Van Sinderen, Marten J.; Widya, Ing; Hermens, Hermie J.

2015-01-01

Clinical data are crucial for any medical case to study and understand a patient’s condition and to give the patient the best possible treatment. Pervasive healthcare systems apply information and communication technology to enable the usage of ubiquitous clinical data by authorized medical persons. However, quality of clinical data in these applications is, to a large extent, determined by the technological context of the patient. A technological context is characterized by potential technological disruptions that affect optimal functioning of technological resources. The clinical data based on input from these technological resources can therefore have quality degradations. If these degradations are not noticed, the use of this clinical data can lead to wrong treatment decisions, which potentially puts the patient’s safety at risk. This paper presents an ontology that specifies the relation among technological context, quality of clinical data, and patient treatment. The presented ontology provides a formal way to represent the knowledge to specify the effect of technological context variations in the clinical data quality and the impact of the clinical data quality on a patient’s treatment. Accordingly, this ontology is the foundation for a quality of data framework that enables the development of telemedicine systems that are capable of adapting the treatment when the quality of the clinical data degrades, and thus guaranteeing patients’ safety even when technological context varies. PMID:27170903

A Hybrid Catalytic Route to Fuels from Biomass Syngas

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

Harmon, Laurel; Hallen, Richard; Lilga, Michael

LanzaTech partnered with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Imperium Aviation Fuels, InEnTec, Orochem Technologies, the University of Delaware, Michigan Technological University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and The Boeing Company, to develop a cost-effective hybrid conversion technology for catalytic upgrading of biomass-derived syngas to sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF) meeting the price, quality and environmental requirements of the aviation industry. Alternative “synthetic paraffinic kerosene” (SPK) blendstock produced from syngas via “Fischer-Tropsch” (F-T) or from lipids via “hydroprocessing of esters and fatty acids” (HEFA) are currently being used in commercial jet fuel blends containing at least 50% petroleum-based fuel. Thismore » project developed an alternative route to SAJF from ethanol, a type of “alcohol to jet” (ATJ) SPK. The project objective was to demonstrate a pathway that combines syngas fermentation to ethanol with catalytic upgrading of ethanol to sustainable alternative jet fuel and shows attractive overall system economics to drive down the price of biomass-derived jet fuel. The hybrid pathway was to be demonstrated on three biomass feedstocks: corn stover, woody biomass, and third biomass feedstock, cellulosic residues. The objective also included the co-production of chemicals, exemplified by 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BDO), which can be converted to key chemical intermediates. The team successfully demonstrated that biomass syngas fermentation followed by catalytic conversion is a viable alternative to the Fischer-Tropsch process and produces a fuel with properties comparable to F-T and HEFA SPKs. Plasma gasification and gas fermentation were successfully integrated and demonstrated in continuous fermentations on waste wood, corn stover, and cellulosic bagasse. Gas fermentation was demonstrated to produce ethanol suitable for catalytic upgrading, isolating the upgrading from variations in biomass feed, syngas composition, and impurities. Ethanol feedstocks from all three types of biomass were demonstrated to be comparable to grain derived ethanol and suitable for the LT-PNNL ATJ process. The LT-PNNL ATJ catalytic upgrading process was demonstrated at lab scale for over 2000 hours of continuous operation on a single catalyst load. LanzaTech scaled up the ATJ process, producing 4000 gallons of jet and 600 gallons of diesel for testing and a future proving flight. The LT-PNNL ATJ process, at lab and pilot scale, using commercial grain-based ethanol and steel mill waste gas-based ethanol (“Lanzanol”), produces high-quality fuel-range distillates containing primarily normal paraffins and isoparaffins. The LT-PNNL ATJ fuel has equivalent properties to previously-approved SPKs such as F-T, HEFA, and ATJ from isobutanol, and conforms with critical properties needed to blend with conventional jet fuel. The project showed that the 2,3-BDO fermentation co-product can be separated economically utilizing Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) technology. 2,3-BDO can be catalytically converted to 1,3-butadiene (BD) in a two-step process with at least 70% yield, producing a chemical intermediate suitable for downstream applications. Technoeconomic and life cycle analyses of the biomass to jet process with and without 2,3-BDO production showed that capital costs are sensitive to the proportion of the 2,3-BDO co-product and biomass feedstock. The co-product 2,3-BDO, converted through to BD, significantly reduces the cash cost of production of the hydrocarbon fuels. Life cycle GHG emissions of ATJ SPK produced from biomass using a steam gasification system are projected to be significantly lower than those of conventional jet fuel. The project demonstrated that a high quality ATJ SPK, can be produced from biomass via a hybrid gas fermentation/catalytic route. Validation of the LT-PNNL ATJ process using a variety of ethanol feedstocks demonstrated the viability of a future model of distributed ATJ production, in which ethanol may be produced at multiple facilities from local feedstocks and shipped to a central facility for conversion. The project demonstrated that co-production of chemicals has the potential to reduce jet cost of production, thereby accelerating commercial production of SAJF from biomass.« less

Behavioral Intervention Technologies: Evidence review and recommendations for future research

PubMed Central

Mohr, David C.; Burns, Michelle Nicole; Schueller, Stephen M.; Clarke, Gregory; Klinkman, Michael

2013-01-01

This paper reports on the findings of a technical expert panel convened by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institute of Mental Health, charged with reviewing the state of research on behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) in mental health and identifying the top research priorities. BITs is the comprehensive term used to refer to behavioral and psychological interventions that use information and communication technology features to address behavioral and mental health outcomes. Mental health BITs using videoconferencing and standard telephone technologies to deliver psychotherapy have been wellvalidated. Web-based interventions have shown efficacy across a broad range of mental health outcomes, although outcomes vary widely. Social media such as online support groups have produced generally disappointing outcomes when used alone. Mobile technologies have received limited attention for mental health outcomes, although findings from behavioral health suggest they are promising. Virtual reality has shown good efficacy for anxiety and pediatric disorders. Serious gaming has received relatively little work in mental health. Recommendations for next step research in each of these are made. Research focused on understanding of reach, adherence, barriers and cost is recommended. As BITs can generate large amounts of data, improvements in the collection, storage, analysis, and visualization of big data will be required. Traditional psychological and behavioral theories have proven insufficient to understand how BITs produce behavioral change. Thus new theoretical models, as well as new evaluation strategies, will be required. Finally, for BITs to have a public health impact, research on implementation and application to prevention will be required. PMID:23664503

Distributed Network, Wireless and Cloud Computing Enabled 3-D Ultrasound; a New Medical Technology Paradigm

PubMed Central

Meir, Arie; Rubinsky, Boris

2009-01-01

Medical technologies are indispensable to modern medicine. However, they have become exceedingly expensive and complex and are not available to the economically disadvantaged majority of the world population in underdeveloped as well as developed parts of the world. For example, according to the World Health Organization about two thirds of the world population does not have access to medical imaging. In this paper we introduce a new medical technology paradigm centered on wireless technology and cloud computing that was designed to overcome the problems of increasing health technology costs. We demonstrate the value of the concept with an example; the design of a wireless, distributed network and central (cloud) computing enabled three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound system. Specifically, we demonstrate the feasibility of producing a 3-D high end ultrasound scan at a central computing facility using the raw data acquired at the remote patient site with an inexpensive low end ultrasound transducer designed for 2-D, through a mobile device and wireless connection link between them. Producing high-end 3D ultrasound images with simple low-end transducers reduces the cost of imaging by orders of magnitude. It also removes the requirement of having a highly trained imaging expert at the patient site, since the need for hand-eye coordination and the ability to reconstruct a 3-D mental image from 2-D scans, which is a necessity for high quality ultrasound imaging, is eliminated. This could enable relatively untrained medical workers in developing nations to administer imaging and a more accurate diagnosis, effectively saving the lives of people. PMID:19936236

Precision Casting via Advanced Simulation and Manufacturing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

A two-year program was conducted to develop and commercially implement selected casting manufacturing technologies to enable significant reductions in the costs of castings, increase the complexity and dimensional accuracy of castings, and reduce the development times for delivery of high quality castings. The industry-led R&D project was cost shared with NASA's Aerospace Industry Technology Program (AITP). The Rocketdyne Division of Boeing North American, Inc. served as the team lead with participation from Lockheed Martin, Ford Motor Company, Howmet Corporation, PCC Airfoils, General Electric, UES, Inc., University of Alabama, Auburn University, Robinson, Inc., Aracor, and NASA-LeRC. The technical effort was organized into four distinct tasks. The accomplishments reported herein. Task 1.0 developed advanced simulation technology for core molding. Ford headed up this task. On this program, a specialized core machine was designed and built. Task 2.0 focused on intelligent process control for precision core molding. Howmet led this effort. The primary focus of these experimental efforts was to characterize the process parameters that have a strong impact on dimensional control issues of injection molded cores during their fabrication. Task 3.0 developed and applied rapid prototyping to produce near net shape castings. Rocketdyne was responsible for this task. CAD files were generated using reverse engineering, rapid prototype patterns were fabricated using SLS and SLA, and castings produced and evaluated. Task 4.0 was aimed at developing technology transfer. Rocketdyne coordinated this task. Casting related technology, explored and evaluated in the first three tasks of this program, was implemented into manufacturing processes.

Distributed network, wireless and cloud computing enabled 3-D ultrasound; a new medical technology paradigm.

PubMed

Meir, Arie; Rubinsky, Boris

2009-11-19

Medical technologies are indispensable to modern medicine. However, they have become exceedingly expensive and complex and are not available to the economically disadvantaged majority of the world population in underdeveloped as well as developed parts of the world. For example, according to the World Health Organization about two thirds of the world population does not have access to medical imaging. In this paper we introduce a new medical technology paradigm centered on wireless technology and cloud computing that was designed to overcome the problems of increasing health technology costs. We demonstrate the value of the concept with an example; the design of a wireless, distributed network and central (cloud) computing enabled three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound system. Specifically, we demonstrate the feasibility of producing a 3-D high end ultrasound scan at a central computing facility using the raw data acquired at the remote patient site with an inexpensive low end ultrasound transducer designed for 2-D, through a mobile device and wireless connection link between them. Producing high-end 3D ultrasound images with simple low-end transducers reduces the cost of imaging by orders of magnitude. It also removes the requirement of having a highly trained imaging expert at the patient site, since the need for hand-eye coordination and the ability to reconstruct a 3-D mental image from 2-D scans, which is a necessity for high quality ultrasound imaging, is eliminated. This could enable relatively untrained medical workers in developing nations to administer imaging and a more accurate diagnosis, effectively saving the lives of people.

User-friendly solutions for microarray quality control and pre-processing on ArrayAnalysis.org

PubMed Central

Eijssen, Lars M. T.; Jaillard, Magali; Adriaens, Michiel E.; Gaj, Stan; de Groot, Philip J.; Müller, Michael; Evelo, Chris T.

2013-01-01

Quality control (QC) is crucial for any scientific method producing data. Applying adequate QC introduces new challenges in the genomics field where large amounts of data are produced with complex technologies. For DNA microarrays, specific algorithms for QC and pre-processing including normalization have been developed by the scientific community, especially for expression chips of the Affymetrix platform. Many of these have been implemented in the statistical scripting language R and are available from the Bioconductor repository. However, application is hampered by lack of integrative tools that can be used by users of any experience level. To fill this gap, we developed a freely available tool for QC and pre-processing of Affymetrix gene expression results, extending, integrating and harmonizing functionality of Bioconductor packages. The tool can be easily accessed through a wizard-like web portal at http://www.arrayanalysis.org or downloaded for local use in R. The portal provides extensive documentation, including user guides, interpretation help with real output illustrations and detailed technical documentation. It assists newcomers to the field in performing state-of-the-art QC and pre-processing while offering data analysts an integral open-source package. Providing the scientific community with this easily accessible tool will allow improving data quality and reuse and adoption of standards. PMID:23620278

Knockdown of Polyphenol Oxidase Gene Expression in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) with Artificial MicroRNAs.

PubMed

Chi, Ming; Bhagwat, Basdeo; Tang, Guiliang; Xiang, Yu

2016-01-01

It is of great importance and interest to develop crop varieties with low polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity for the food industry because PPO-mediated oxidative browning is a main cause of post-harvest deterioration and quality loss of fresh produce and processed foods. We recently demonstrated that potato tubers with reduced browning phenotypes can be produced by inhibition of the expression of several PPO gene isoforms using artificial microRNA (amiRNA) technology. The approach introduces a single type of 21-nucleotide RNA population to guide silencing of the PPO gene transcripts in potato tissues. Some advantages of the technology are: small RNA molecules are genetically transformed, off-target gene silencing can be avoided or minimized at the stage of amiRNA designs, and accuracy and efficiency of the processes can be detected at every step using molecular biological techniques. Here we describe the methods for transformation and regeneration of potatoes with amiRNA vectors, detection of the expression of amiRNAs, identification of the cleaved product of the target gene transcripts, and assay of the expression level of PPO gene isoforms in potatoes.

DNA methylation and gene expression changes derived from assisted reproductive technologies can be decreased by reproductive fluids

PubMed Central

Canovas, Sebastian; Ivanova, Elena; Romar, Raquel; García-Martínez, Soledad; Soriano-Úbeda, Cristina; García-Vázquez, Francisco A; Saadeh, Heba; Andrews, Simon; Kelsey, Gavin; Coy, Pilar

2017-01-01

The number of children born since the origin of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) exceeds 5 million. The majority seem healthy, but a higher frequency of defects has been reported among ART-conceived infants, suggesting an epigenetic cost. We report the first whole-genome DNA methylation datasets from single pig blastocysts showing differences between in vivo and in vitro produced embryos. Blastocysts were produced in vitro either without (C-IVF) or in the presence of natural reproductive fluids (Natur-IVF). Natur-IVF embryos were of higher quality than C-IVF in terms of cell number and hatching ability. RNA-Seq and DNA methylation analyses showed that Natur-IVF embryos have expression and methylation patterns closer to in vivo blastocysts. Genes involved in reprogramming, imprinting and development were affected by culture, with fewer aberrations in Natur-IVF embryos. Methylation analysis detected methylated changes in C-IVF, but not in Natur-IVF, at genes whose methylation could be critical, such as IGF2R and NNAT. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23670.001 PMID:28134613

STABILIZATION OF BIO-OIL TO ENABLE ITS HYDROTREATING TO PRODUCE BIOFUELS

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

Wang, Huamin

Fast pyrolysis is considered to be the simplest and most cost-effective approach to produce liquid oil (bio-oil) from biomass. Bio-oil is not suitable to substitute for petroleum as high-quality fuels and significant upgrading such as hydrotreating is required to remove oxygen, add hydrogen, and rearrange carbon backbone of bio-oil. However, the grand challenge in bio-oil hydrotreating technology is bio-oil instability, which limits the lifetime of catalyst and operation. To enable a sustainable and economically viable process for bio-oil hydrotreating, it is vital to develop effective technologies for stabilizing bio-oils. This chapter will be devoted to bio-oil stabilization. The current understatingmore » of the major cause of bio-oil instability, condensation of reactive species such as sugar, aldehydes, ketones, and phenolics, is elucidated. The reported physical and chemical methods for bio-oil stabilization are summarized in detail, with a specific focus on bio-oil catalytic hydrogenation for stabilization. The impact of stabilization on bio-oil hydrotreating is discussed as well.« less

Microbial ecology and quality assurance in food fermentation systems. The case of kefir grains application.

PubMed

Plessas, S; Alexopoulos, A; Voidarou, C; Stavropoulou, E; Bezirtzoglou, E

2011-12-01

Fermentation technology has become a modern method for food production the last decades as a process for enhancing product stability, safety and sensory standards. The main reason for this development is the increasing consumers' demand for safe and high quality food products. The above has led the scientific community to the thorough study for the appropriate selection of specific microorganisms with desirable properties such as bacteriocin production, and probiotic properties. The main food products produced through fermentation activity are bread, wine, beer cheese and other dairy products. The microorganisms conducting the above processes are mainly yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. The end products of carbohydrate catabolism by these microorganisms contribute not only to preservation as it was believed years ago, but also to the flavour, aroma and texture and to the increase of the nutritional quality by thereby helping determine unique product characteristics. Thus, controlling the function of specific microorganisms or the succession of microorganisms that dominate the microflora is therefore advantageous, because it can increase product quality, functionality and value. Throughout the process of the discovery of microbiological diversity in various fermented food systems, the development of starter culture technology has gained more scientific attention, and it could be used for the control of the manufacturing operation, and management of product quality. In the frame of this review the presentation of the quality enhancement of most consumed fermented food products around the world is attempted and the new trends in production of fermented food products, such as bread is discussed. The review is focused in kefir grains application in bread production. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A 100-Year Review: Cheese production and quality.

PubMed

Johnson, M E

2017-12-01

In the beginning, cheese making in the United States was all art, but embracing science and technology was necessary to make progress in producing a higher quality cheese. Traditional cheese making could not keep up with the demand for cheese, and the development of the factory system was necessary. Cheese quality suffered because of poor-quality milk, but 3 major innovations changed that: refrigeration, commercial starters, and the use of pasteurized milk for cheese making. Although by all accounts cold storage improved cheese quality, it was the improvement of milk quality, pasteurization of milk, and the use of reliable cultures for fermentation that had the biggest effect. Together with use of purified commercial cultures, pasteurization enabled cheese production to be conducted on a fixed time schedule. Fundamental research on the genetics of starter bacteria greatly increased the reliability of fermentation, which in turn made automation feasible. Demand for functionality, machinability, application in baking, and more emphasis on nutritional aspects (low fat and low sodium) of cheese took us back to the fundamental principles of cheese making and resulted in renewed vigor for scientific investigations into the chemical, microbiological, and enzymatic changes that occur during cheese making and ripening. As milk production increased, cheese factories needed to become more efficient. Membrane concentration and separation of milk offered a solution and greatly enhanced plant capacity. Full implementation of membrane processing and use of its full potential have yet to be achieved. Implementation of new technologies, the science of cheese making, and the development of further advances will require highly trained personnel at both the academic and industrial levels. This will be a great challenge to address and overcome. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of volatile flavor compounds influencing Chinese-type soy sauces using GC-MS combined with HS-SPME and discrimination with electronic nose.

PubMed

Gao, Lihua; Liu, Ting; An, Xinjing; Zhang, Jinlan; Ma, Xiaoran; Cui, Jinmei

2017-01-01

Soy sauce contains a variety of volatiles that are highly valuable to its quality with regard to sensory characteristics. This paper describes the analysis of volatile compounds influencing the flavor quality of Chinese-type soy sauces. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with headspace-solid phase microextraction and electronic nose (E-nose) were applied for identifying the volatile flavor compounds as well as determining their volatile profiles of 12 soy sauces manufactured by different fermentation process. Forty one key volatile components of these 12 soy sauce products, a pure soy sauce and an acid-hydrolyzed vegetable protein sample, were compared in semi-quantitative form, and their volatile flavor profiles were analyzed by E-nose. The substantially similar results between hierarchical cluster analysis based on GC-MS data and E-nose analysis suggested that both techniques may be useful in evaluating the flavor quality of soy sauces and differentiating soy sauce products. The study also showed that there were less volatile flavor compounds in soy sauces produced through low-salt solid-state fermentation process, a traditional manufacturing technology and a widely adopted technology in Chinese soy sauce industries. In addition, the investigation suggested that the flavor quality of soy sauce varied widely in Chinese domestic market, and that the present Chinese national standards of soy sauce should be further perfected by the addition of flavor grades of soy sauce in the physical and chemical index. Meanwhile, this research provided valuable information to manufacturers and government regulators, which have practical significance to improve quality of soy sauces.

Progress in the Development of the Lead Tungstate Crystals for EM-Calorimetry in High-Energy Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novotny, R. W.; Brinkmann, K.-T.; Borisevich, A.; Dormenev, V.; Houzvicka, J.; Korjik, M.; Zaunick, H.-G.

2017-11-01

Even at present time there is a strong interest and demand for high quality lead tungstate crystals (PbWO4, PWO) for electromagnetic (EM) calorimetry. PWO is implemented into the EM calorimeter of the CMS-ECAL detector at LHC [1] and required for the completion of the PANDA EMC [2] and various ongoing detector projects at Jefferson Lab. The successful mass production of PWO using the Czochralski method was stopped after bankruptcy of the Bogoroditsk Technical Chemical Plant (BTCP) in Russia as major producer so far. The Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Science (China) was considered as an alternative producer using the modified Bridgman method. The company CRYTUR (Turnov, Czech Republic) with good experience in the development and production of different types of inorganic oxide crystals has restarted at the end of 2014 the development of lead tungstate for mass production based on the Czochralski method. An impressive progress was achieved since then. The growing technology was optimized to produce full size samples with the quality meeting the PANDA-EMC specifications for PWO-II. We will present a detailed progress report on the research program in collaboration with groups at Orsay and JLab. The full size crystals will be characterized with respect to optical performance, light yield, kinetics and radiation hardness.

Effects of build parameters on linear wear loss in plastic part produced by fused deposition modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, Omar Ahmed; Masood, Syed Hasan; Bhowmik, Jahar Lal

2017-07-01

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is one of the prominent additive manufacturing technologies for producing polymer products. FDM is a complex additive manufacturing process that can be influenced by many process conditions. The industrial demands required from the FDM process are increasing with higher level product functionality and properties. The functionality and performance of FDM manufactured parts are greatly influenced by the combination of many various FDM process parameters. Designers and researchers always pay attention to study the effects of FDM process parameters on different product functionalities and properties such as mechanical strength, surface quality, dimensional accuracy, build time and material consumption. However, very limited studies have been carried out to investigate and optimize the effect of FDM build parameters on wear performance. This study focuses on the effect of different build parameters on micro-structural and wear performance of FDM specimens using definitive screening design based quadratic model. This would reduce the cost and effort of additive manufacturing engineer to have a systematic approachto make decision among the manufacturing parameters to achieve the desired product quality.

Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network: doing good by making high-quality vaccines affordable for all.

PubMed

Pagliusi, Sonia; Leite, Luciana C C; Datla, Mahima; Makhoana, Morena; Gao, Yongzhong; Suhardono, Mahendra; Jadhav, Suresh; Harshavardhan, Gutla V J A; Homma, Akira

2013-04-18

The Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) is a unique model of a public and private international alliance. It assembles governmental and private organizations to work toward a common goal of manufacturing and supplying high-quality vaccines at affordable prices to protect people around the world from known and emerging infectious diseases. Together, this group of manufacturers has decades of experience in manufacturing vaccines, with technologies, know-how, and capacity to produce more than 40 vaccines types. These manufacturers have already contributed more than 30 vaccines in various presentations that have been prequalified by the World Health Organization for use by global immunization programmes. Furthermore, more than 45 vaccines are in the pipeline. Recent areas of focus include vaccines to protect against rotavirus, human papillomavirus (HPV), Japanese encephalitis, meningitis, hepatitis E, poliovirus, influenza, and pertussis, as well as combined pentavalent vaccines for children. The network has a growing number of manufacturers that produce a growing number of products to supply the growing demand for vaccines in developing countries. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Attitudes of patients toward adoption of 3D technology in pain assessment: qualitative perspective.

PubMed

Spyridonis, Fotios; Ghinea, Gheorghita; Frank, Andrew O

2013-04-10

Past research has revealed that insufficient pain assessment could, and often, has negative implications on the provision of quality health care. While current available clinical approaches have proven to be valid interventions, they are expensive and can often fail in providing efficient pain measurements. The increase in the prevalence of pain calls for more intuitive pain assessment solutions. Computerized alternatives have already been proposed both in the literature and in commerce, but may lack essential qualities such as accuracy of the collected clinical information and effective patient-clinician interaction. In response to this concern, 3-dimensional (3D) technology could become the innovative intervention needed to support and improve the pain assessment process. The purpose of this analysis was to describe qualitative findings from a study which was designed to explore patients' perceptions of adopting 3D technology in the assessment of their pain experience related to important themes that might positively or negatively influence the quality of the pain assessment process. The perceptions of 60 individuals with some form of pain in the area of Greater London were collected through semi-structured interviews. Of the 60 respondents, 24 (43%) produced usable responses and were analyzed for content using principles of the grounded theory approach and thematic analysis, in order to gain insight into the participants' beliefs and attitudes towards adopting 3D technology in pain assessment. The analysis identified 4 high-level core themes that were representative of the participants' responses. These themes indicated that most respondents valued "the potential of 3D technology to facilitate better assessment of pain" as the most useful outcome of adopting a 3D approach. Respondents also expressed their opinions on the usability of the 3D approach, with no important concerns reported about its perceived ease of use. Our findings finally, showed that respondents appreciated the perceived clinical utility of the proposed approach, which could further have an influence on their intention to use it. These findings highlighted factors that are seen as essential for improving the assessment of pain, and demonstrated the need for a strong focus on patient-clinician communication. The participants of this analysis believed that the introduction of 3D technology in the process might be a useful mechanism for such a positive health care outcome. The study's findings could also be used to make recommendations concerning the potential for inclusion of 3D technology in current clinical pain tools for the purpose of improving the quality of health care.

Portable Ultraviolet Light Surface-Disinfecting Devices for Prevention of Hospital-Acquired Infections: A Health Technology Assessment.

PubMed

2018-01-01

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are infections that patients contract while in the hospital that were neither present nor developing at the time of admission. In Canada an estimated 10% of adults with short-term hospitalization have HAIs. According to 2003 Canadian data, between 4% and 6% of these patients die from these infections. The most common HAIs in Ontario are caused by Clostridium difficile . The standard method of reducing and preventing these infections is decontamination of patient rooms through manual cleaning and disinfection. Several portable no-touch ultraviolet (UV) light systems have been proposed to supplement current hospital cleaning and disinfecting practices. We searched for studies published from inception of UV disinfection technology to January 23, 2017. We compared portable UV surface-disinfecting devices used together with standard hospital room cleaning and disinfecting versus standard hospital cleaning and disinfecting alone. The primary outcome was HAI from C. difficile . Other outcomes were combined HAIs, colonization (i.e., carrying an infectious agent without exhibiting disease symptoms), and the HAI-associated mortality rate. We used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) to rate the quality of evidence of included studies. We also performed a 5-year budget impact analysis from the hospital's perspective. This assessment was limited to portable devices and did not examine wall mounted devices, which are used in some hospitals. The database search for the clinical review yielded 10 peer-reviewed publications that met eligibility criteria. Three studies focused on mercury UV-C-based technology, seven on pulsed xenon UV technology. Findings were either inconsistent or produced very low-quality evidence using the GRADE rating system. The intervention was effective in reducing the rate of the composite outcome of HAIs (combined) and colonization (but quality of evidence was low). For the review of economic studies, 152 peer-reviewed publications were identified and screened. No studies met the inclusion criteria. Under the assumption that two devices would be purchased per hospital, we estimated the 5-year budget impact of $586,023 for devices that use the pulsed xenon technology and of $634,255 for devices that use the mercury technology. We are unable to make a firm conclusion about the effectiveness of this technology on HAIs given the very low to low quality of evidence. The budget impact estimates are sensitive to assumptions made about the number of UV disinfecting devices purchased per hospital, frequency of daytime use, and staff time required per use.

Portable Ultraviolet Light Surface-Disinfecting Devices for Prevention of Hospital-Acquired Infections: A Health Technology Assessment

PubMed Central

Nikitovic-Jokic, Milica; Kabali, Conrad; Li, Chunmei; Higgins, Caroline

2018-01-01

Background Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are infections that patients contract while in the hospital that were neither present nor developing at the time of admission. In Canada an estimated 10% of adults with short-term hospitalization have HAIs. According to 2003 Canadian data, between 4% and 6% of these patients die from these infections. The most common HAIs in Ontario are caused by Clostridium difficile. The standard method of reducing and preventing these infections is decontamination of patient rooms through manual cleaning and disinfection. Several portable no-touch ultraviolet (UV) light systems have been proposed to supplement current hospital cleaning and disinfecting practices. Methods We searched for studies published from inception of UV disinfection technology to January 23, 2017. We compared portable UV surface-disinfecting devices used together with standard hospital room cleaning and disinfecting versus standard hospital cleaning and disinfecting alone. The primary outcome was HAI from C. difficile. Other outcomes were combined HAIs, colonization (i.e., carrying an infectious agent without exhibiting disease symptoms), and the HAI-associated mortality rate. We used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) to rate the quality of evidence of included studies. We also performed a 5-year budget impact analysis from the hospital's perspective. This assessment was limited to portable devices and did not examine wall mounted devices, which are used in some hospitals. Results The database search for the clinical review yielded 10 peer-reviewed publications that met eligibility criteria. Three studies focused on mercury UV-C–based technology, seven on pulsed xenon UV technology. Findings were either inconsistent or produced very low-quality evidence using the GRADE rating system. The intervention was effective in reducing the rate of the composite outcome of HAIs (combined) and colonization (but quality of evidence was low). For the review of economic studies, 152 peer-reviewed publications were identified and screened. No studies met the inclusion criteria. Under the assumption that two devices would be purchased per hospital, we estimated the 5-year budget impact of $586,023 for devices that use the pulsed xenon technology and of $634,255 for devices that use the mercury technology. Conclusions We are unable to make a firm conclusion about the effectiveness of this technology on HAIs given the very low to low quality of evidence. The budget impact estimates are sensitive to assumptions made about the number of UV disinfecting devices purchased per hospital, frequency of daytime use, and staff time required per use. PMID:29487629

The characteristics of welded joints for air conditioning application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weglowski, M. St.; Weglowska, A.; Miara, D.; Kwiecinski, K.; Błacha, S.; Dworak, J.; Rykala, J.; Pikula, J.; Ziobro, G.; Szafron, A.; Zimierska-Nowak, P.; Richert, M.; Noga, P.

2017-10-01

In the paper the results of metallographic examination of welded joints for air-conditioning elements are presented. The European directives 2006/40/EC on the greenhouse gasses elimination demand to stop using traditional refrigerant and to change it to R744 (CO2) medium in air conditioning installation. The R744 refrigerant is environmental friendly medium if compared with standard solution such as R12, R134a or R1234yf and safer for passengers than R1234yf. The non-standard thermodynamic parameters of the R744 which translate into high pressure and high temperature require specific materials to develop the shape and to specify the technology of manufacturing for the particular elements of the conduits and moreover the technologies of joining for the whole structure, which would meet the exploitation requirements of the new air-conditioning system. To produce the test welded joints of stainless steels four different joining technologies were applied: laser welding, plasma welding, electron beam welding as well as high speed rotation welding. This paper describes the influence of the selected welding process on the macrostructure and microstructure of welded joints of AISI 304 and AISI 316L steels. The results indicated that plasma welding laser welding and electron beam welding technologies guaranty the proper quality of welded joints and can be used for the air conditioning application in automotive industry. However, high speed rotation welding not guarantee the good quality of welded joints and cannot be used for above application.

Informatics for patient safety: a nursing research perspective.

PubMed

Bakken, Suzanne

2006-01-01

In Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America identified the critical role of information technology in designing a health system that produces care that is "safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable" (Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, 2001, p. 164). A subsequent IOM report contends that improved information systems are essential to a new health care delivery system that "both prevents errors and learns from them when they occur" (Committee on Data Standards for Patient Safety, 2004, p. 1). This review specifically highlights the role of informatics processes and information technology in promoting patient safety and summarizes relevant nursing research. First, the components of an informatics infrastructure for patient safety are described within the context of the national framework for delivering consumer-centric and information-rich health care and using the National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) (Thompson & Brailer, 2004). Second, relevant nursing research is summarized; this includes research studies that contributed to the development of selected infrastructure components as well as studies specifically focused on patient safety. Third, knowledge gaps and opportunities for nursing research are identified for each main topic. The health information technologies deployed as part of the national framework must support nursing practice in a manner that enables prevention of medical errors and promotion of patient safety and contributes to the development of practice-based nursing knowledge as well as best practices for patient safety. The seminal work that has been completed to date is necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve this objective.

Need for improvements in physical pretreatment of source-separated household food waste.

PubMed

Bernstad, A; Malmquist, L; Truedsson, C; la Cour Jansen, J

2013-03-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency in physical pretreatment processes of source-separated solid organic household waste. The investigation of seventeen Swedish full-scale pretreatment facilities, currently receiving separately collected food waste from household for subsequent anaerobic digestion, shows that problems with the quality of produced biomass and high maintenance costs are common. Four full-scale physical pretreatment plants, three using screwpress technology and one using dispergation technology, were compared in relation to resource efficiency, losses of nitrogen and potential methane production from biodegradable matter as well as the ratio of unwanted materials in produced biomass intended for wet anaerobic digestion. Refuse generated in the processes represent 13-39% of TS in incoming wet waste. The methane yield from these fractions corresponds to 14-36Nm(3)/ton separately collected solid organic household waste. Also, 13-32% of N-tot in incoming food waste is found in refuse. Losses of both biodegradable material and nutrients were larger in the three facilities using screwpress technology compared to the facility using dispersion technology.(1) Thus, there are large potentials for increase of both the methane yield and nutrient recovery from separately collected solid organic household waste through increased efficiency in facilities for physical pretreatment. Improved pretreatment processes could thereby increase the overall environmental benefits from anaerobic digestion as a treatment alternative for solid organic household waste. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of ride quality technology needs of industry and user groups

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckenzie, J. R.; Brumaghim, S. H.

1975-01-01

A broad survey of ride quality technology state-of-the-art and a review of user evaluation of this technology were conducted. During the study 17 users of ride quality technology in 10 organizations representing land, marine and air passenger transportation modes were interviewed. Interim results and conclusions of this effort are reported.

76 FR 4358 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-25

... Transforming Healthcare Quality through Information Technology (THQIT).'' In accordance with the Paperwork... Grants and Cooperative Agreements for Transforming Healthcare Quality Through Information Technology... Healthcare Quality through Information Technology (THQIT) program. From 2004-2010, the THQIT program has...

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Anaerobic Dry Digestion Facility

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

Koker, John; Lizotte, Michael

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Anaerobic Dry Digestion Facility is a demonstration project that supported the first commercial-scale use in the United States of high solids, static pile technology for anaerobic digestion of organic waste to generate biogas for use in generating electricity and heat. The research adds to the understanding of startup, operation and supply chain issues for anaerobic digester technology. Issues and performance were documented for equipment installation and modifications, feedstock availability and quality, weekly loading and unloading of digestion chambers, chemical composition of biogas produced, and energy production. This facility also demonstrated an urban industrial ecology approachmore » to siting such facilities near sewage treatment plants (to capture and use excess biogas generated by the plants) and organic yard waste collection sites (a source of feedstock).« less

Green nanoparticle production using micro reactor technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kück, A.; Steinfeldt, M.; Prenzel, K.; Swiderek, P.; Gleich, A. v.; Thöming, J.

2011-07-01

The importance and potential of nanoparticles in daily life as well as in various industrial processes is becoming more predominant. Specifically, silver nanoparticles are increasingly applied, e.g. in clothes and wipes, due to their antibacterial properties. For applications in liquid phase it is advantageous to produce the nanoparticles directly in suspension. This article describes a green production of silver nanoparticles using micro reactor technology considering principles of green chemistry. The aim is to reveal the potential and constraints of this approach and to show, how economic and environmental costs vary depending on process conditions. For this purpose our research compares the proposed process with water-based batch synthesis and demonstrates improvements in terms of product quality. Because of the lower energy consumption and lower demand of cleaning agents, micro reactor is the best ecological choice.

WFIRST-AFTA coronagraph shaped pupil masks: design, fabrication, and characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatham; White, Victor; Yee, Karl; Echternach, Pierre; Muller, Richard; Dickie, Matthew; Cady, Eric; Prada, Camilo Mejia; Ryan, Daniel; Poberezhskiy, Ilya; Kern, Brian; Zhou, Hanying; Krist, John; Nemati, Bijan; Eldorado Riggs, A. J.; Zimmerman, Neil T.; Kasdin, N. Jeremy

2016-01-01

NASA WFIRST-AFTA mission study includes a coronagraph instrument to find and characterize exoplanets. Various types of masks could be employed to suppress the host starlight to about 10-9 level contrast over a broad spectrum to enable the coronagraph mission objectives. Such masks for high-contrast internal coronagraphic imaging require various fabrication technologies to meet a wide range of specifications, including precise shapes, micron scale island features, ultralow reflectivity regions, uniformity, wave front quality, and achromaticity. We present the approaches employed at JPL to produce pupil plane and image plane coronagraph masks by combining electron beam, deep reactive ion etching, and black silicon technologies with illustrative examples of each, highlighting milestone accomplishments from the High Contrast Imaging Testbed at JPL and from the High Contrast Imaging Lab at Princeton University.

Development and implementation of software systems for imaging spectroscopy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Boardman, J.W.; Clark, R.N.; Mazer, A.S.; Biehl, L.L.; Kruse, F.A.; Torson, J.; Staenz, K.

2006-01-01

Specialized software systems have played a crucial role throughout the twenty-five year course of the development of the new technology of imaging spectroscopy, or hyperspectral remote sensing. By their very nature, hyperspectral data place unique and demanding requirements on the computer software used to visualize, analyze, process and interpret them. Often described as a marriage of the two technologies of reflectance spectroscopy and airborne/spaceborne remote sensing, imaging spectroscopy, in fact, produces data sets with unique qualities, unlike previous remote sensing or spectrometer data. Because of these unique spatial and spectral properties hyperspectral data are not readily processed or exploited with legacy software systems inherited from either of the two parent fields of study. This paper provides brief reviews of seven important software systems developed specifically for imaging spectroscopy.

[THE VIRTUAL CYTOLOGIC SLIDES FOR EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF QUALITY OF IMPLEMENTATION OF CYTOLOGIC ANALYSES IN CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORIES: POSSIBILITIES AND PERSPECTIVES].

PubMed

Djangirova, T V; Shabalova, I P; Pronichev, A N; Polyakov, E V

2015-08-01

The article considers application of technology of analysis of cytological slides in external quality control of clinical diagnostic laboratories. The advantages of virtual slides are demonstrated against other applied technologies of external evaluation of quality i.e. slide plate and digital micro-photography. The conditions of formation of virtual slides for external evaluation of quality of clinical diagnostic laboratories. The technology of their application is described. The success of practical application of considered technology in the Federal system of external evaluation of quality is emphasized.

How to design a horizontal patient-focused hospital.

PubMed

Murphy, E C; Ruflin, P

1993-05-01

Work Imaging is an executive information system for analyzing the cost effectiveness and efficiency of work processes and structures in health care. Advanced Work Imaging relational database technology allows managers and employees to take a sample work activities profile organization-wide. This is married to financial and organizational data to produce images of work within and across all functions, departments, and levels. The images are benchmarked against best practice data to provide insight on the quality and cost efficiency of work practice patterns, from individual roles to departmental skill mix to organization-wide service processes.

STS-34 onboard view of iodine comparator assembly used to check water quality

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-10-23

STS034-10-014 (18-23 Oct. 1989) --- An onboard 35mm camera provides a closeup view of an STS-34 beverage container doubling as an experiment module for a test involving iodine concentration in onboard water. The examination called for the adding of starch to a specimen of Atlantis' fuel-cell produced water. The liquid was then compared against the color chart for determining the degree of iodine content. The experiment was designed by Terry H. Slezak of JSC's Photographic Technology and Television Division.

High-throughput manufacturing of thin-film CdS/CdTe photovoltaic modules. Annual subcontract report, 16 November 1994--15 November 1995

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

Sandwisch, D.W.

1997-02-01

The objectives of this subcontract are to advance Solar Cells, Inc.`s (SCI`s) photovoltaic manufacturing technologies, reduce module production costs, increase module performance, and provide the groundwork for SCI to expand its commercial production capacities. Activities during the second year of the program concentrated on process development, equipment design and testing, quality assurance, and ES and H programs. These efforts broadly addressed the issues of the manufacturing process for producing thin-film monolithic CdS/CdTe photovoltaic modules.

[An experimental research on the fabrication of the fused porcelain to CAD/CAM molar crown].

PubMed

Dai, Ning; Zhou, Yongyao; Liao, Wenhe; Yu, Qing; An, Tao; Jiao, Yiqun

2007-02-01

This paper introduced the fabrication process of the fused porcelain to molar crown with CAD/CAM technology. Firstly, preparation teeth data was retrieved by the 3D-optical measuring system. Then, we have reconstructed the inner surface designed the outer surface shape with the computer aided design software. Finally, the mini high-speed NC milling machine was used to produce the fused porcelain to CAD/CAM molar crown. The result has proved that the fabrication process is reliable and efficient. The dental restoration quality is steady and precise.

Software for aerospace education: A bibliography, 2nd edition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogt, Gregory L.; Roth, Susan Kies; Phelps, Malcom V.

1990-01-01

This is the second aerospace education software bibliography to be published by the NASA Educational Technology Branch in Washington, DC. Unlike many software bibliographies, this bibliography does not evaluate and grade software according to its quality and value to the classroom, nor does it make any endorsements or warrant scientific accuracy. Rather, it describes software, its subject, approach, and technical details. This bibliography is intended as a convenience to educators. The specific software included represents replies to more than 300 queries to software producers for aerospace education programs.

Microstructural Evolution in Intensively Melt Sheared Direct Chill Cast Al-Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, S.; Rao, A. K. Prasada; Patel, J. B.; Scamans, G. M.; Fan, Z.

The work presented here introduces the novel melt conditioned direct chill casting (MC-DC) technology, where intensive melt shearing is applied to the conventional direct-chill casting process. MC-DC casting can successfully produce high quality Al-alloy billets. The results obtained from 80 mm diameter billets cast at speed of 200 mm/min show that MC-DC casting of Al-alloys, substantially refines the microstructure and reduces macro-segregation. In this paper, we present the preliminary results and discuss microstructural evolution during MC-DC casting of Al-alloys.

Technology and Quality of Life Outcomes

PubMed Central

Hacker, Eileen Danaher

2010-01-01

Objectives To discuss recent technological advances in quality of life data collection and guidance for use in research and clinical practice. The use of telephone-, computer-, and web/Internet based technologies to collect quality of life data, reliability and validity issues, and cost will be discussed along with the potential pitfalls associated with these technologies. Data Sources Health care literature and web resources. Conclusion Technology has provided researchers and clinicians with an opportunity to collect QOL data from patients that were previously not accessible. Most technologies offer a variety of options, such as language choice, formatting options for the delivery of questions, and data management services. Choosing the appropriate technology for use in research and/or clinical practice primarily depends on the purpose for QOL data collection. Implications for Nursing Practice Technology is changing the way nurses assess quality of life in patients with cancer and provide care. As stakeholders in the health care delivery system and patient advocates, nurses must be intimately involved in the evaluation and use of new technologies that impact quality of life and/or the delivery of care. PMID:20152578

A Review on overboard CEOR discharged produced water treatment and remediation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rawindran, H.; Krishnan, S.; Sinnathambi, C. M.

2017-06-01

Produced water is a waste by-product generated during oil and gas recovery operations. It contains the mixture of organic and inorganic compounds. Produced water management is a challenge faced by the petroleum practitioners worldwide. Build-up of chemical wastes from produced water causes huge footprint, which results in high CapEx and OpEx. Different technologies are practiced by various practitioners to treat the produced waste water. However, the constituents removed by each technology and the degree of organic compound removal has to be considered to identify the potential and effective treatment technologies for offshore industrial applications. Current produced water technologies and their successful applications have advantages and disadvantages and can be ranked on the basis of several factors, such as their discharge limit into water bodies, reinjection in producing well, or for any miscellaneous beneficial use. This paper attempts to provide a review of existing physical and chemical treatment technologies used for management of produced water. Based on our analysis, suitable methods will be recommended for offshore waste water treatment technologies.

[Subtype classification of ceftriaxone sodium and its influence on the quality of product].

PubMed

Xue, Jing; Jia, Yan-Hua; Li, Jin; Yin, Li-Hui; Hu, Chang-Qin

2014-07-01

Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) technology combined with cluster analysis method was used to classify 75 batches of crystalline ceftriaxone sodium into subtypes, the crystalline characteristics of each subtype were measured with scanning electron microscope (SEM). By comparing some parameters of these subtypes correlated to crystallization process of ceftriaxone sodium, such as salification rate, water content in different subtypes, as well as by studying different lattice stabilities, different compatibilities with rubber closures during accelerated stability tests, the key point to improve the quality of domestic ceftriaxone sodium was disclosed. The results of this paper indicated that the fine structure of the products could be controlled well by improving the salification and crystallization process. As a result, the subtype II of ceftriaxone sodium with high stability can be produced.

[Computer aided design and manufacture of the porcelain fused to metal crown].

PubMed

Nie, Xin; Cheng, Xiaosheng; Dai, Ning; Yu, Qing; Hao, Guodong; Sun, Quanping

2009-04-01

In order to satisfy the current demand for fast and high-quality prosthodontics, we have carried out a research in the fabrication process of the porcelain fused to metal crown on molar with CAD/CAM technology. Firstly, we get the data of the surface mesh on preparation teeth through a 3D-optical grating measuring system. Then, we reconstruct the 3D-model crown with the computer-aided design software which was developed by ourselves. Finally, with the 3D-model data, we produce a metallic crown on a high-speed CNC carving machine. The result has proved that the metallic crown can match the preparation teeth ideally. The fabrication process is reliable and efficient, and the restoration is precise and steady in quality.

Photosynthesis under artificial light: the shift in primary and secondary metabolism

PubMed Central

Darko, Eva; Heydarizadeh, Parisa; Schoefs, Benoît; Sabzalian, Mohammad R.

2014-01-01

Providing an adequate quantity and quality of food for the escalating human population under changing climatic conditions is currently a great challenge. In outdoor cultures, sunlight provides energy (through photosynthesis) for photosynthetic organisms. They also use light quality to sense and respond to their environment. To increase the production capacity, controlled growing systems using artificial lighting have been taken into consideration. Recent development of light-emitting diode (LED) technologies presents an enormous potential for improving plant growth and making systems more sustainable. This review uses selected examples to show how LED can mimic natural light to ensure the growth and development of photosynthetic organisms, and how changes in intensity and wavelength can manipulate the plant metabolism with the aim to produce functionalized foods. PMID:24591723

Developing a sustainable energy strategy for a water utility. Part I: A review of the UK legislative framework.

PubMed

Zakkour, P D; Gaterell, M R; Griffin, P; Gochin, R J; Lester, J N

2002-10-01

Increasing political effort to improve water quality across the UK and Europe has led to water and sewerage companies investing heavily in high-tech wastewater treatment plants capable of producing high quality effluents. Consequently, amounts of bought-in electricity used for wastewater treatment has and will continue to increase significantly over coming years, while greater provision of enhanced sewage treatment also produces greater volumes of sewage sludge requiring treatment and disposal. Over the same period, tougher controls on the quality of biosolids applied to agricultural land have also been introduced, while there has been an international attempt to reduce the use of fossil-fuel derived power sources because of concerns over global warming. The latter has brought about the introduction of financial instruments, such as the Climate Change Levy, to curb energy use, promote energy efficiency and encourage the development of renewable energy technologies. These factors are set to drive-up the costs of providing adequate sewage treatment services, while at the same time, a tough regulatory line taken to control profits on regional monopolies held by the UK water companies will significantly reduce their revenues over the period 2000-05. The result is that, financially, UK water and sewerage companies face their most challenging period since privatisation in 1989. This paper briefly outlines the current regulations relating to water quality and energy use that will affect water company operations over coming years.

Assessing the relationship between technology readiness and continuance intention in an E-appointment system: relationship quality as a mediator.

PubMed

Chen, Shih-Chih; Jong, Din; Lai, Min-Tsai

2014-09-01

Numerous types of self-service technologies have prevailed due to innovations in network and information technology. To hospitals, patient intentions to continue to use the e-appointment system are crucial. Previous investigations discussed only the relationships between the technology readiness of users and their continuance intentions, and ignored the most important mediator, relationship quality. This study explored the relationships among technology readiness, relationship quality, and continuance intention. The research results demonstrated that both optimism and innovativeness significantly and positively influenced continuance intention through the mediating effect of relationship quality. However, discomfort and insecurity hid not significantly influence relationship quality or continuance intention. Finally, theoretical contributions, managerial implications and future research directions were discussed.

Technology Needs Assessment of an Atmospheric Observation System for Multidisciplinary Air Quality/Meteorology Missions, Part 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alvarado, U. R.; Bortner, M. H.; Grenda, R. N.; Brehm, W. F.; Frippel, G. G.; Alyea, F.; Kraiman, H.; Folder, P.; Krowitz, L.

1982-01-01

The technology advancements that will be necessary to implement the atmospheric observation systems are considered. Upper and lower atmospheric air quality and meteorological parameters necessary to support the air quality investigations were included. The technology needs were found predominantly in areas related to sensors and measurements of air quality and meteorological measurements.

ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION PROGRAM: QUALITY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PILOT PERIOD (1995-2000)

EPA Science Inventory

Based upon the structure and specifications in ANSI/ASQC E4-1994, Specifications and Guidelines for Quality Systems for Environmental Data Collection and Environmental Technology Programs, the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program Quality and Management Plan (QMP) f...

The Columbia River Protection Supplemental Technologies Quality Assurance Project Plan

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

Fix, N. J.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has conducted interim groundwater remedial activities on the Hanford Site since the mid-1990s for several groundwater contamination plumes. DOE established the Columbia River Protection Supplemental Technologies Project (Technologies Project) in 2006 to evaluate alternative treatment technologies. The objectives for the technology project are as follows: develop a 300 Area polyphosphate treatability test to immobilize uranium, design and test infiltration of a phosphate/apatite technology for Sr-90 at 100-N, perform carbon tetrachloride and chloroform attenuation parameter studies, perform vadose zone chromium characterization and geochemistry studies, perform in situ biostimulation of chromium studies for a reducing barriermore » at 100-D, and perform a treatability test for phytoremediation for Sr-90 at 100-N. This document provides the quality assurance guidelines that will be followed by the Technologies Project. This Quality Assurance Project Plan is based on the quality assurance requirements of DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance, and 10 CFR 830, Subpart A--Quality Assurance Requirements as delineated in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Standards-Based Management System. In addition, the technology project is subject to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA/240/B-01/003, QA/R-5). The Hanford Analytical Services Quality Assurance Requirements Documents (HASQARD, DOE/RL-96-68) apply to portions of this project and to the subcontractors. HASQARD requirements are discussed within applicable sections of this plan.« less

Flow-pattern Guided Fabrication of High-density Barcode Antibody Microarray

PubMed Central

Ramirez, Lisa S.; Wang, Jun

2016-01-01

Antibody microarray as a well-developed technology is currently challenged by a few other established or emerging high-throughput technologies. In this report, we renovate the antibody microarray technology by using a novel approach for manufacturing and by introducing new features. The fabrication of our high-density antibody microarray is accomplished through perpendicularly oriented flow-patterning of single stranded DNAs and subsequent conversion mediated by DNA-antibody conjugates. This protocol outlines the critical steps in flow-patterning DNA, producing and purifying DNA-antibody conjugates, and assessing the quality of the fabricated microarray. The uniformity and sensitivity are comparable with conventional microarrays, while our microarray fabrication does not require the assistance of an array printer and can be performed in most research laboratories. The other major advantage is that the size of our microarray units is 10 times smaller than that of printed arrays, offering the unique capability of analyzing functional proteins from single cells when interfacing with generic microchip designs. This barcode technology can be widely employed in biomarker detection, cell signaling studies, tissue engineering, and a variety of clinical applications. PMID:26780370

Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding of the High-Strength Shipbuilding Steels: Equipment and Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turichin, G.; Kuznetsov, M.; Tsibulskiy, I.; Firsova, A.

Hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) allows getting weld joints with thickness up to 35 mm for one pass, provide good quality formation of joints, minimal thermal deformations, the productivity in 10 times more in comparison with arc welding. In addition, replacement arc welding to the HLAW allows economizing filler materials, shielding gas and consumable electricity more than 4 times. Therefore, HLAW is actually technology for basic engineering branches and especially for shipbuilding. The Institute of Laser and Welding Technologies (ILWT) developed laser and hybrid laser-arc welding technologies for different type of steels and alloys including high-strength shipbuilding steels. Also ILWT produced portal and robotic systems for HLAW process realization. Portal system for hybrid laser-arc welding of panels with dimensions 6x6 m using at the manufacturing of flat curvilinear sections in the shipbuilding is depicted in the article. Results of experimental researches of the hybrid laser-arc welding parameters influence on the formation and mechanical properties of weld joint are described at the publication also. Experimental part was made with using of the portal system.

Balanced diets in food systems: emerging trends and challenges for human health.

PubMed

Sammugam, Lakhsmi; Pasupuleti, Visweswara Rao

2018-04-25

Processed foods, generally known as modified raw foods produced by innovative processing technologies alters the food constituents such natural enzymes, fatty acids, micronutrients, macronutrients and vitamins. In contrast to fresh and unprocessed foods, processed foods are guaranteed to be safer, imperishable, long lasting and consist high level of nutrients bioactivity. Currently, the evolution in food processing technologies is necessary to face food security and safety, nutrition demand, its availability and also other global challenges in the food system. In this scenario, this review consists of information on two food processing technologies, which effects on processed foods before and after processing and the impact of food products on human health. It is also very well established that understanding the type and structure of foods to be processed can assist food processing industries towards advancement of novel food products. In connection with this fact, the present article also discusses the emerging trends and possible modifications in food processing technologies with the combination of conventional and modern techniques to get the suitable nutritional and safety qualities in food.

Exoplanet Coronagraph Shaped Pupil Masks and Laboratory Scale Star Shade Masks: Design, Fabrication and Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatha; White, Victor; Yee, Karl; Echternach, Pierre; Muller, Richard; Dickie, Matthew; Cady, Eric; Mejia Prada, Camilo; Ryan, Daniel; Poberezhskiy, Ilya;

Exoplanet coronagraph shaped pupil masks and laboratory scale star shade masks: design, fabrication and characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatham; White, Victor; Yee, Karl; Echternach, Pierre; Muller, Richard; Dickie, Matthew; Cady, Eric; Mejia Prada, Camilo; Ryan, Daniel; Poberezhskiy, Ilya; Zhou, Hanying; Kern, Brian; Riggs, A. J.; Zimmerman, Neil T.; Sirbu, Dan; Shaklan, Stuart; Kasdin, Jeremy

2015-09-01

Star light suppression technologies to find and characterize faint exoplanets include internal coronagraph instruments as well as external star shade occulters. Currently, the NASA WFIRST-AFTA mission study includes an internal coronagraph instrument to find and characterize exoplanets. Various types of masks could be employed to suppress the host star light to about 10-9 level contrast over a broad spectrum to enable the coronagraph mission objectives. Such masks for high contrast internal coronagraphic imaging require various fabrication technologies to meet a wide range of specifications, including precise shapes, micron scale island features, ultra-low reflectivity regions, uniformity, wave front quality, achromaticity, etc. We present the approaches employed at JPL to produce pupil plane and image plane coronagraph masks by combining electron beam, deep reactive ion etching, and black silicon technologies with illustrative examples of each, highlighting milestone accomplishments from the High Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) at JPL and from the High Contrast Imaging Lab (HCIL) at Princeton University. We also present briefly the technologies applied to fabricate laboratory scale star shade masks.

Recent innovations in the area of edible films and coatings.

PubMed

Maftoonazad, Neda; Badii, Fojan; Shahamirian, Maryam

2013-12-01

Edible films/coatings have been considered as one of the potential technologies that can be used to increase the storability of foods and to improve the existent packaging technology, helping to ensure the microbial safety and the preservation of food from the influence of external factors. Innovations constantly appear in food packaging, always aiming at creating a more efficient quality preservation system while improving foods' attractiveness and marketability. The utilization of renewable sources for packaging materials, such as hydrocolloids and lipids from biological origin, is one the main trends of the industry. These films should have acceptable sensory characteristics, appropriate barrier properties (CO2, O2, water, oil), microbial, biochemical and physicochemical stability, they should be safe, and produced by simple technology in low cost. Also they can act as effective carrier for antioxidant, flavor, color and nutritional or anti-microbial additives. Nowadays, a great discussion exists about the potential applications of edible films/coatings on food products. The general trend is to find the correct combination between the food product and the edible film/coating, which will ensure the success of the technology.

Discovering Drugs with DNA-Encoded Library Technology: From Concept to Clinic with an Inhibitor of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase.

PubMed

Belyanskaya, Svetlana L; Ding, Yun; Callahan, James F; Lazaar, Aili L; Israel, David I

2017-05-04

DNA-encoded chemical library technology was developed with the vision of its becoming a transformational platform for drug discovery. The hope was that a new paradigm for the discovery of low-molecular-weight drugs would be enabled by combining the vast molecular diversity achievable with combinatorial chemistry, the information-encoding attributes of DNA, the power of molecular biology, and a streamlined selection-based discovery process. Here, we describe the discovery and early clinical development of GSK2256294, an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH, EPHX2), by using encoded-library technology (ELT). GSK2256294 is an orally bioavailable, potent and selective inhibitor of sEH that has a long half life and produced no serious adverse events in a first-time-in-human clinical study. To our knowledge, GSK2256294 is the first molecule discovered from this technology to enter human clinical testing and represents a realization of the vision that DNA-encoded chemical library technology can efficiently yield molecules with favorable properties that can be readily progressed into high-quality drugs. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Application of multi-tone mask technology in photolithographic fabrication of color filter components in LCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takada, Yoshihiro; Fukui, Matoko; Sai, Tsunehiro

2008-11-01

Recent progresses in the photoresists and photolithography for LCD industry applications have been primarily driven by the following two factors: advancement in the material performances (high resolution, high contrast ratio, low dielectric constant) for higher display quality, and cost reduction in the fabrication process. Along with crucial demand for cost competitiveness by improving production efficiency, environmental consciousness has been a major priority at fabrication process design to minimize the amount of waste produced. Having said the above, integration of two or more fabrication processes into a single process by using multi-tone mask technology has been the interest of research, due to its obvious advantage of reducing fabrication processes and cost. For example, multi-tone mask technology application has been widely employed on the TFT side to reduce the different types of photomasks being used. Similar trend has been employed on the CF side as well, where application of multi-tone mask technology is being investigated to integrate fabrication of multiple CF micro-components into a single process. In this presentation, we demonstrate a new approach of fabricating photospacer and peripheral CF components (MVA protrusion, sub-photospacers) in a single integrated process through multi-tone mask technology.

A Thermal Imaging Instrument with Uncooled Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joseph, A. T.; Barrentine, E. M.; Brown, A. D.

2017-12-01

In this work, we perform an instrument concept study for sustainable thermal imaging over land with uncooled detectors. The National Research Council's Committee on Implementation of a Sustained Land Imaging Program has identified the inclusion of a thermal imager as critical for both current and future land imaging missions. Such an imaging instrument operating in two bands located at approximately 11 and 12 microns (for example, in Landsat 8, and also Landsat 9 when launched) will provide essential information for furthering our hydrologic understanding at scales of human influence, and produce field-scale moisture information through accurate retrievals of evapotranspiration (ET). Landsat 9 is slated to recycle the TIRS-2 instrument launched with Landsat 8 that uses cooled quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs), hence requiring expensive and massive cryocooler technology to achieve its required spectral and spatial accuracies. Our goal is to conceptualize and develop a thermal imaging instrument which leverages recent and imminent technology advances in uncooled detectors. Such detector technology will offer the benefit of greatly reduced instrument cost, mass, and power at the expense of some acceptable loss in detector sensitivity. It would also allow a thermal imaging instrument to be fielded on board a low-cost platform, e.g., a CubeSat. Sustained and enhanced land imaging is crucial for providing high-quality science data on change in land use, forest health, crop status, environment, and climate. Accurate satellite mapping of ET at the agricultural field scale (the finest spatial scale of the environmental processes of interest) requires high-quality thermal data to produce the corresponding accurate land surface temperature (LST) retrievals used to drive an ET model. Such an imaging instrument would provide important information on the following: 1) the relationship between land-use and land/water management practices and water use dynamics; 2) the interconnections between anthropogenic water management and changes in hydrologic budget at scales of human influence; and 3) complimentary field-scale moisture values for interpreting coarser resolution datasets. There is a clear need for continuing innovation in thermal remote sensing detector technology.

Estimating increases in outpatient dialysis costs resulting from scientific and technological advancement.

PubMed

Ozminkowski, R J; Hassol, A; Firkusny, I; Noether, M; Miles, M A; Newmann, J; Sharda, C; Guterman, S; Schmitz, R

1995-04-01

The Medicare program's base payment rate for outpatient dialysis services has never been adjusted for the effects of inflation, productivity changes, or scientific and technological advancement on the costs of treating patients with end-stage renal disease. In recognition of this, Congress asked the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission to annually recommend an adjustment to Medicare's base payment rate to dialysis facilities. One component of this adjustment addresses the cost-increasing effects of technological change--the scientific and technological advances (S&TA) component. The S&TA component is intended to encourage dialysis facilities to adopt technologies that, when applied appropriately, enhance the quality of patient care, even though they may also increase costs. We found the appropriate increase to the composite payment rate for Medicare outpatient dialysis services in fiscal year 1995 to vary from 0.18% to 2.18%. These estimates depend on whether one accounts for the lack of previous adjustments to the composite rate. Mathematically, the S&TA adjustment also depends on whether one considers the likelihood of missing some dialysis sessions because of illness or hospitalization. The S&TA estimates also allow for differences in the incremental costs of technological change that are based on the varying advice of experts in the dialysis industry. The major contributors to the cost of technological change in dialysis services are the use of twin-bag disconnect peritoneal dialysis systems, automated peritoneal dialysis cyclers, and the new generation of hemodialysis machines currently on the market. Factors beyond the control of dialysis facility personnel that influence the cost of patient care should be considered when payment rates are set, and those rates should be updated as market conditions change. The S&TA adjustment is one example of how the composite rate payment system for outpatient dialysis services can be modified to provide appropriate incentives for producing high-quality care efficiently.

[A strategy of constructing the technological system for quality control of Chinese medicine based on process control and management].

PubMed

Cheng, Yi-Yu; Qian, Zhong-Zhi; Zhang, Bo-Li

2017-01-01

The current situation, bottleneck problems and severe challenges in quality control technology of Chinese Medicine (CM) are briefly described. It is presented to change the phenomenon related to the post-test as the main means and contempt for process control in drug regulation, reverse the situation of neglecting the development of process control and management technology for pharmaceutical manufacture and reconstruct the technological system for quality control of CM products. The regulation and technology system based on process control and management for controlling CM quality should be established to solve weighty realistic problems of CM industry from the root causes, including backwardness of quality control technology, weakness of quality risk control measures, poor reputation of product quality and so on. By this way, the obstacles from poor controllability of CM product quality could be broken. Concentrating on those difficult problems and weak links in the technical field of CM quality control, it is proposed to build CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) regulation for CM products with Chinese characteristics and promote the regulation international recognition as soon as possible. The CMC technical framework, which is clinical efficacy-oriented, manufacturing manner-centered and process control-focused, was designed. To address the clinical characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the production feature of CM manufacture, it is suggested to establish quality control engineering for CM manufacturing by integrating pharmaceutical analysis, TCM chemistry, TCM pharmacology, pharmaceutical engineering, control engineering, management engineering and other disciplines. Further, a theoretical model of quality control engineering for CM manufacturing and the methodology of digital pharmaceutical engineering are proposed. A technology pathway for promoting CM standard and realizing the strategic goal of CM internationalization is elaborated. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Applications of single kernel conventional and hyperspectral imaging near infrared spectroscopy in cereals.

PubMed

Fox, Glen; Manley, Marena

2014-01-30

Single kernel (SK) near infrared (NIR) reflectance and transmittance technologies have been developed during the last two decades for a range of cereal grain physical quality and chemical traits as well as detecting and predicting levels of toxins produced by fungi. Challenges during the development of single kernel near infrared (SK-NIR) spectroscopy applications are modifications of existing NIR technology to present single kernels for scanning as well as modifying reference methods for the trait of interest. Numerous applications have been developed, and cover almost all cereals although most have been for key traits including moisture, protein, starch and oil in the globally important food grains, i.e. maize, wheat, rice and barley. An additional benefit in developing SK-NIR applications has been to demonstrate the value in sorting grain infected with a fungus or mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol, fumonisins and aflatoxins. However, there is still a need to develop cost-effective technologies for high-speed sorting which can be used for small grain samples such as those from breeding programmes or commercial sorting; capable of sorting tonnes per hour. Development of SK-NIR technologies also includes standardisation of SK reference methods to analyse single kernels. For protein content, the use of the Dumas method would require minimal standardisation; for starch or oil content, considerable development would be required. SK-NIR, including the use of hyperspectral imaging, will improve our understanding of grain quality and the inherent variation in the range of a trait. In the area of food safety, this technology will benefit farmers, industry and consumers if it enables contaminated grain to be removed from the human food chain. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparison of roll-to-roll replication approaches for microfluidic and optical functions in lab-on-a-chip diagnostic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brecher, Christian; Baum, Christoph; Bastuck, Thomas

2015-03-01

Economically advantageous microfabrication technologies for lab-on-a-chip diagnostic devices substituting commonly used glass etching or injection molding processes are one of the key enablers for the emerging market of microfluidic devices. On-site detection in fields of life sciences, point of care diagnostics and environmental analysis requires compact, disposable and highly functionalized systems. Roll-to-roll production as a high volume process has become the emerging fabrication technology for integrated, complex high technology products within recent years (e.g. fuel cells). Differently functionalized polymer films enable researchers to create a new generation of lab-on-a-chip devices by combining electronic, microfluidic and optical functions in multilayer architecture. For replication of microfluidic and optical functions via roll-to-roll production process competitive approaches are available. One of them is to imprint fluidic channels and optical structures of micro- or nanometer scale from embossing rollers into ultraviolet (UV) curable lacquers on polymer substrates. Depending on dimension, shape and quantity of those structures there are alternative manufacturing technologies for the embossing roller. Ultra-precise diamond turning, electroforming or casting polymer materials are used either for direct structuring or manufacturing of roller sleeves. Mastering methods are selected for application considering replication quality required and structure complexity. Criteria for the replication quality are surface roughness and contour accuracy. Structure complexity is evaluated by shapes producible (e.g. linear, circular) and aspect ratio. Costs for the mastering process and structure lifetime are major cost factors. The alternative replication approaches are introduced and analyzed corresponding to the criteria presented. Advantages and drawbacks of each technology are discussed and exemplary applications are presented.

D Models for All: Low-Cost Acquisition Through Mobile Devices in Comparison with Image Based Techniques. Potentialities and Weaknesses in Cultural Heritage Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santagati, C.; Lo Turco, M.; Bocconcino, M. M.; Donato, V.; Galizia, M.

2017-11-01

Nowadays, 3D digital imaging proposes effective solutions for preserving the expression of human creativity across the centuries, as well as is a great tool to guarantee global dissemination of knowledge and wide access to these invaluable resources of the past. Nevertheless, in several cases, a massive digitalisation of cultural heritage items (from the archaeological site up to the monument and museum collections) could be unworkable due to the still high costs in terms of equipment and human resources: 3D acquisition technologies and the need of skilled team within cultural institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new possibilities offered by growing technologies: the lower costs of these technologies as well as their attractive visual quality constitute a challenge for researchers. Besides these possibilities, it is also important to consider how information is spread through graphic representation of knowledge. The focus of this study is to explore the potentialities and weaknesses of a newly released low cost device in the cultural heritage domain, trying to understand its effective usability in museum collections. The aim of the research is to test their usability, critically analysing the final outcomes of this entry level technology in relation to the other better assessed low cost technologies for 3D scanning, such as Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques (also produced by the same device) combined with dataset generated by a professional digital camera. The final outcomes were compared in terms of quality definition, time processing and file size. The specimens of the collections of the Civic Museum Castello Ursino in Catania have been chosen as the site of experimentation.

31 CFR 539.306 - Goods, technology, or services produced or provided by a designated foreign person.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Goods, technology, or services..., technology, or services produced or provided by a designated foreign person. With respect to the prohibitions in §§ 539.201 and 539.202, the term goods, technology, or services produced or provided by a...

Measuring the impact of computer resource quality on the software development process and product

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgarry, Frank; Valett, Jon; Hall, Dana

1985-01-01

The availability and quality of computer resources during the software development process was speculated to have measurable, significant impact on the efficiency of the development process and the quality of the resulting product. Environment components such as the types of tools, machine responsiveness, and quantity of direct access storage may play a major role in the effort to produce the product and in its subsequent quality as measured by factors such as reliability and ease of maintenance. During the past six years, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has conducted experiments with software projects in an attempt to better understand the impact of software development methodologies, environments, and general technologies on the software process and product. Data was extracted and examined from nearly 50 software development projects. All were related to support of satellite flight dynamics ground-based computations. The relationship between computer resources and the software development process and product as exemplified by the subject NASA data was examined. Based upon the results, a number of computer resource-related implications are provided.

Effect of different iron compounds on rheological and technological parameters as well as bioaccessibility of minerals in whole wheat bread.

PubMed

Rebellato, Ana Paula; Bussi, Jéssica; Silva, Joyce Grazielle Siqueira; Greiner, Ralf; Steel, Caroline Joy; Pallone, Juliana Azevedo Lima

2017-04-01

This study aimed at investigating the effect of iron compounds used in whole wheat flour (WWF) fortification, both on rheological properties of the dough and on bread technological quality. Furthermore, bioaccessibility of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and calcium (Ca) in the final breads was determined. Rheological properties (mainly dough development time, stability, mixing tolerance index, resistance to extension and ratio number) of the dough and the technological quality of bread (mainly oven spring and cut opening) were altered. However, producing roll breads fortified with different iron compounds was still possible. NaFeEDTA (ferric sodium ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) proved to be the most effective iron compound in the fortification of WWF, since it presented the highest levels of solubility (44.80%) and dialysability (46.14%), followed by microencapsulated ferrous fumarate (FFm). On the other hand, the microencapsulated ferrous sulfate (FSm) and reduced iron presented the lowest solubility (5.40 and 18.30%, respectively) and dialysability (33.12 and 31.79%, respectively). Zn dialysis was positively influenced by NaFeEDTA, FSm, and ferrous fumarate. As for Ca, dialysis was positively influenced by FSm and negatively influenced by FFm. The data indicated that there is a competitive interaction for the absorption of these minerals in whole wheat roll breads, but all studied minerals can be considered bioaccessible. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On-chip, multisite extracellular and intracellular recordings from primary cultured skeletal myotubes

PubMed Central

Rabieh, Noha; Ojovan, Silviya M.; Shmoel, Nava; Erez, Hadas; Maydan, Eilon; Spira, Micha E.

2016-01-01

In contrast to the extensive use of microelectrode array (MEA) technology in electrophysiological studies of cultured neurons and cardiac muscles, the vast field of skeletal muscle research has yet to adopt the technology. Here we demonstrate an empowering MEA technology for high quality, multisite, long-term electrophysiological recordings from cultured skeletal myotubes. Individual rat skeletal myotubes cultured on micrometer sized gold mushroom-shaped microelectrode (gMμE) based MEA tightly engulf the gMμEs, forming a high seal resistance between the myotubes and the gMμEs. As a consequence, spontaneous action potentials generated by the contracting myotubes are recorded as extracellular field potentials with amplitudes of up to 10 mV for over 14 days. Application of a 10 ms, 0.5–0.9 V voltage pulse through the gMμEs electroporated the myotube membrane, and transiently converted the extracellular to intracellular recording mode for 10–30 min. In a fraction of the cultures stable attenuated intracellular recordings were spontaneously produced. In these cases or after electroporation, subthreshold spontaneous potentials were also recorded. The introduction of the gMμE-MEA as a simple-to-use, high-quality electrophysiological tool together with the progress made in the use of cultured human myotubes opens up new venues for basic and clinical skeletal muscle research, preclinical drug screening, and personalized medicine. PMID:27812002

Integration of Wireless Sensor Networks into Cyberinfrastructure for Monitoring Hawaiian ``Mountain-to-Sea'' Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kido, Michael H.; Mundt, Carsten W.; Montgomery, Kevin N.; Asquith, Adam; Goodale, David W.; Kaneshiro, Kenneth Y.

2008-10-01

Monitoring the complex environmental relationships and feedbacks of ecosystems on catchment (or mountain)-to-sea scales is essential for social systems to effectively deal with the escalating impacts of expanding human populations globally on watersheds. However, synthesis of emerging technologies into a robust observing platform for the monitoring of coupled human-natural environments on extended spatial scales has been slow to develop. For this purpose, the authors produced a new cyberinfrastructure for environmental monitoring which successfully merged the use of wireless sensor technologies, grid computing with three-dimensional (3D) geospatial data visualization/exploration, and a secured internet portal user interface, into a working prototype for monitoring mountain-to-sea environments in the high Hawaiian Islands. A use-case example is described in which native Hawaiian residents of Waipa Valley (Kauai) utilized the technology to monitor the effects of regional weather variation on surface water quality/quantity response, to better understand their local hydrologic cycle, monitor agricultural water use, and mitigate the effects of lowland flooding.

Preparation of plutonium-bearing ceramics via mechanically activated precursor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chizhevskaya, S. V.; Stefanovsky, S. V.

2000-07-01

The problem of excess weapons plutonium disposition is suggested to be solved by means of its incorporation in stable ceramics with high chemical durability and radiation resistivity. The most promising host phases for plutonium as well as uranium and neutron poisons (gadolinium, hafnium) are zirconolite, pyrochlore, zircon, zirconia [1,2], and murataite [3]. Their production requires high temperatures and a fine-grained homogeneous precursor to reach final waste form with high quality and low leachability. Currently various routes to homogeneous products preparation such as sol-gel technology, wet-milling, and grinding in a ball or planetary mill are used. The best result demonstrates sol-gel technology but this route is very complicated. An alternative technology for preparation of ceramic precursors is the treatment of the oxide batch with high mechanical energy [4]. Such a treatment produces combination of mechanical (fine milling with formation of various defects, homogenization) and chemical (split bonds with formation of active centers—free radicals, ion-radicals, etc.) effects resulting in higher reactivity of the activated batch.

The application of bioflocs technology to protect brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) from pathogenic Vibrio harveyi.

PubMed

Crab, R; Lambert, A; Defoirdt, T; Bossier, P; Verstraete, W

2010-11-01

To study the potential biocontrol activity of bioflocs technology. Glycerol-grown bioflocs were investigated for their antimicrobial and antipathogenic properties against the opportunistic pathogen Vibrio harveyi. The bioflocs did not produce growth-inhibitory substances. However, bioflocs and biofloc supernatants decreased quorum sensing-regulated bioluminescence of V. harveyi. This suggested that the bioflocs had biocontrol activity against this pathogen because quorum sensing regulates virulence of vibrios towards different hosts. Interestingly, the addition of live bioflocs significantly increased the survival of gnotobiotic brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) larvae challenged to V. harveyi. Bioflocs grown on glycerol as carbon source inhibit quorum sensing-regulated bioluminescence in V. harveyi and protect brine shrimp larvae from vibriosis. The results presented in this study indicate that in addition to water quality control and in situ feed production, bioflocs technology could help in controlling bacterial infections within the aquaculture pond. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Does 3D produce more symptoms of visually induced motion sickness?

PubMed

Naqvi, Syed Ali Arsalan; Badruddin, Nasreen; Malik, Aamir Saeed; Hazabbah, Wan; Abdullah, Baharudin

2013-01-01

3D stereoscopy technology with high quality images and depth perception provides entertainment to its viewers. However, the technology is not mature yet and sometimes may have adverse effects on viewers. Some viewers have reported discomfort in watching videos with 3D technology. In this research we performed an experiment showing a movie in 2D and 3D environments to participants. Subjective and objective data are recorded and compared in both conditions. Results from subjective reporting shows that Visually Induced Motion Sickness (VIMS) is significantly higher in 3D condition. For objective measurement, ECG data is recorded to find the Heart Rate Variability (HRV), where the LF/HF ratio, which is the index of sympathetic nerve activity, is analyzed to find the changes in the participants' feelings over time. The average scores of nausea, disorientation and total score of SSQ show that there is a significant difference in the 3D condition from 2D. However, LF/HF ratio is not showing significant difference throughout the experiment.

Integration of wireless sensor networks into cyberinfrastructure for monitoring Hawaiian "mountain-to-sea" environments.

PubMed

Kido, Michael H; Mundt, Carsten W; Montgomery, Kevin N; Asquith, Adam; Goodale, David W; Kaneshiro, Kenneth Y

2008-10-01

Monitoring the complex environmental relationships and feedbacks of ecosystems on catchment (or mountain)-to-sea scales is essential for social systems to effectively deal with the escalating impacts of expanding human populations globally on watersheds. However, synthesis of emerging technologies into a robust observing platform for the monitoring of coupled human-natural environments on extended spatial scales has been slow to develop. For this purpose, the authors produced a new cyberinfrastructure for environmental monitoring which successfully merged the use of wireless sensor technologies, grid computing with three-dimensional (3D) geospatial data visualization/exploration, and a secured internet portal user interface, into a working prototype for monitoring mountain-to-sea environments in the high Hawaiian Islands. A use-case example is described in which native Hawaiian residents of Waipa Valley (Kauai) utilized the technology to monitor the effects of regional weather variation on surface water quality/quantity response, to better understand their local hydrologic cycle, monitor agricultural water use, and mitigate the effects of lowland flooding.

A review of catalytic microwave pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass for value-added fuel and chemicals.

PubMed

Morgan, Hervan Marion; Bu, Quan; Liang, Jianghui; Liu, Yujing; Mao, Hanping; Shi, Aiping; Lei, Hanwu; Ruan, Roger

2017-04-01

Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant renewable resource and can be efficiently converted into bio-energy by a bio-refinery. From the various techniques available for biomass thermo-chemical conversion; microwave assisted pyrolysis (MAP) seems to be the very promising. The principles of microwave technology were reviewed and the parameters for the efficient production of bio-oil using microwave technology were summarized. Microwave technology by itself cannot efficiently produce high quality bio-oil products, catalysts are used to improve the reaction conditions and selectivity for valued products during MAP. The catalysts used to optimize MAP are revised in the development of this article. The origins for bio-oils that are phenol rich or hydrocarbon rich are reviewed and their experimental results were summarized. The kinetics of MAP is discussed briefly in the development of the article. Future prospects and scientific development of MAP are also considered in the development of this article. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The future of dental devices is digital.

PubMed

van Noort, Richard

2012-01-01

Major changes are taking place in dental laboratories as a result of new digital technologies. Our aim is to provide an overview of these changes. In this article the reader will be introduced to the range of layered fabrication technologies and suggestions are made how these might be used in dentistry. Key publications in English from the past two decades are surveyed. The first digital revolution took place many years ago now with the production of dental restorations such as veneers, inlays, crowns and bridges using dental CAD-CAM systems and new improved systems appear on the market with great rapidity. The reducing cost of processing power will ensure that these developments will continue as exemplified by the recent introduction of a new range of digital intra-oral scanners. With regard to the manufacture of prostheses this is currently dominated by subtractive machining technology but it is inevitable that the additive processing routes of layered fabrication, such as FDM, SLA, SLM and inkjet printing, will start to have an impact. In principle there is no reason why the technology cannot be extended to all aspects of production of dental prostheses and include customized implants, full denture construction and orthodontic appliances. In fact anything that you might expect a dental laboratory to produce can be done digitally and potentially more consistently, quicker and at a reduced cost. Dental device manufacturing will experience a second revolution when layered fabrication techniques reach the point of being able to produce high quality dental prostheses. The challenge for the dental materials research community is to marry the technology with materials that are suitable for use in dentistry. This can potentially take dental materials research in a totally different direction. Copyright © 2011 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and Application of the Key Technologies for the Quality Control and Inspection of National Geographical Conditions Survey Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Y.; Zhang, L.; Ma, W.; Zhang, P.; Zhao, T.

2018-04-01

The First National Geographical Condition Survey is a predecessor task to dynamically master basic situations of the nature, ecology and human activities on the earth's surface and it is the brand-new mapping geographic information engineering. In order to ensure comprehensive, real and accurate survey results and achieve the quality management target which the qualified rate is 100 % and the yield is more than 80 %, it is necessary to carry out the quality control and result inspection for national geographical conditions survey on a national scale. To ensure that achievement quality meets quality target requirements, this paper develops the key technology method of "five-in-one" quality control that is constituted by "quality control system of national geographical condition survey, quality inspection technology system, quality evaluation system, quality inspection information management system and national linked quality control institutions" by aiming at large scale, wide coverage range, more undertaking units, more management levels, technical updating, more production process and obvious regional differences in the national geographical condition survey and combining with novel achievement manifestation, complicated dependency, more special reference data, and large data size. This project fully considering the domestic and foreign related research results and production practice experience, combined with the technology development and the needs of the production, it stipulates the inspection methods and technical requirements of each stage in the quality inspection of the geographical condition survey results, and extends the traditional inspection and acceptance technology, and solves the key technologies that are badly needed in the first national geographic survey.

Examining the Relationship among High-School Teachers' Technology Self-Efficacy, Attitudes towards Technology Integration, and Quality of Technology Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzales, Stacey

2013-01-01

This quantitative study explored the relationships among high-school teachers' (n = 74) technology self-efficacy, teachers' attitudes towards technology integration, and quality of teachers' technology integration into instruction. This study offered the unique perspectives of in-service high-school teachers as they have first-hand experience…

Scalable Analysis Methods and In Situ Infrastructure for Extreme Scale Knowledge Discovery

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

Bethel, Wes

2016-07-24

The primary challenge motivating this team’s work is the widening gap between the ability to compute information and to store it for subsequent analysis. This gap adversely impacts science code teams, who are able to perform analysis only on a small fraction of the data they compute, resulting in the very real likelihood of lost or missed science, when results are computed but not analyzed. Our approach is to perform as much analysis or visualization processing on data while it is still resident in memory, an approach that is known as in situ processing. The idea in situ processing wasmore » not new at the time of the start of this effort in 2014, but efforts in that space were largely ad hoc, and there was no concerted effort within the research community that aimed to foster production-quality software tools suitable for use by DOE science projects. In large, our objective was produce and enable use of production-quality in situ methods and infrastructure, at scale, on DOE HPC facilities, though we expected to have impact beyond DOE due to the widespread nature of the challenges, which affect virtually all large-scale computational science efforts. To achieve that objective, we assembled a unique team of researchers consisting of representatives from DOE national laboratories, academia, and industry, and engaged in software technology R&D, as well as engaged in close partnerships with DOE science code teams, to produce software technologies that were shown to run effectively at scale on DOE HPC platforms.« less

Fabrication of transition metal-containing nanostructures via polymer templates for a multitude of applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Jennifer Qing

Nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes and semiconducting nanowires offer great technological promise due to their remarkable properties. The lack of a rational synthesis method prevents fabricating these nanostructures with desirable and consistent properties at predefined locations for device applications. In this thesis, employing polymer templates, a variety of highly ordered catalytically active transition metal nanostructures, ranging from single metallic nanoparticles of Fe, Co, Ni, Au and bimetallic nanoparticles of Ni/Fe and Co/Mo to Fe-rich silicon oxide nanodomains with uniform and tunable size and spacing have been successfully synthesized. These nanostructures have been demonstrated to be excellent catalyst systems for the synthesis of carbon nanotube and silicon nanowire. High quality, small diameter carbon nanotubes and nanowires with narrow size distribution have been successfully attained. Because these catalytically active nanostructures are uniformly distributed and do not agglomerate at the growth temperatures, uniform, high density and high quality carbon nanotube mats have been obtained. Since this polymer template approach is fully compatible with conventional top-down photolithography, lithographically selective growth of carbon nanotubes on a surface or suspended carbon nanotubes across trenches have been produced by using existing semiconductor processing. We have also shown the feasibility of producing carbon nanotubes and silicon nanowires at predefined locations on a wafer format and established a wafer-level carbon nanotube based device fabrication process. The ability of the polymer template approach to control catalyst systems at the nano-, micro- and macro-scales paves a pathway for commercialization of these 1D nanostructure-enabled devices. Beside producing well-defined, highly ordered discrete catalytically active metal-containing nanostructures by the polymer template approach, Au and Ag nanotextured surfaces have also been attained by using a self-assembled ferrocenylsilane-based inorganic block copolymer template. These Au and Ag nanotextured surfaces exhibit different surface plasmon behavior than the nanotextured surface. Greatly enhanced and uniform Raman scattering have been observed on Ag nanotextured surfaces. Highly sensitive Au nanotextured surfaces suggest their potential application as sensing surfaces for SPR-based biodetection. This simple fabrication technique of producing inorganic nanostructures with adjustable properties such as size, spacing and composition offers great promise for both fundamental research and technological development.

Producing specific milks for speciality cheeses.

PubMed

Bertoni, G; Calamari, L; Maianti, M G

2001-05-01

Protected denomination of origin (PDO) cheeses have distinctive sensorial characteristics. They can be made only from raw milk possessing specific features, which is processed through the 'art' of the cheesemaker. In general, the distinctive sensorial traits of PDO cheese cannot be achieved under different environmental-production conditions for two main reasons: (1) some milk features are linked to specific animal production systems; (2) cheese ripening is affected by the interaction between milk (specific) and the traditional technology applied to the transformation process (non-specific). Also, the environment for a good ripening stage can be quite specific and not reproducible. With reference to milk, factors of typicality are species and/or breed, pedoclimatic conditions, animal management system and feeding. Other factors that influence cheese quality are milk treatments, milk processing and the ripening procedures. The technology applied to most cheeses currently known as PDO utilizes only raw milk, rennet and natural lactic acid bacteria, so that milk must be, at its origin, suitable for processing. The specific milk characteristics that ensure a high success rate for PDO cheeses are high protein content and good renneting properties, appropriate fat content with appropriate fatty acid composition and the presence of chemical flavours originating from local feeds. Moreover, an appropriate microflora is also of major importance. The factors that contribute to achieving milk suitable for transformation into PDO cheese are genetics, age, lactation stage, season and climate, general management and health conditions, milking and particularly feeding, which affect nutrient availability, endocrine response and health status, and also the presence of microbes and chemical substances which enrich or reduce the milk-cheese quality. Many of these factors are regulated by the Producer Associations. However, the secret of the success of PDO cheeses is the combination of modern technology and tradition, with the objective of adapting the product to market demand, without losing specificity, originality and authenticity.

A light hydrocarbon fuel processor producing high-purity hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löffler, Daniel G.; Taylor, Kyle; Mason, Dylan

This paper discusses the design process and presents performance data for a dual fuel (natural gas and LPG) fuel processor for PEM fuel cells delivering between 2 and 8 kW electric power in stationary applications. The fuel processor resulted from a series of design compromises made to address different design constraints. First, the product quality was selected; then, the unit operations needed to achieve that product quality were chosen from the pool of available technologies. Next, the specific equipment needed for each unit operation was selected. Finally, the unit operations were thermally integrated to achieve high thermal efficiency. Early in the design process, it was decided that the fuel processor would deliver high-purity hydrogen. Hydrogen can be separated from other gases by pressure-driven processes based on either selective adsorption or permeation. The pressure requirement made steam reforming (SR) the preferred reforming technology because it does not require compression of combustion air; therefore, steam reforming is more efficient in a high-pressure fuel processor than alternative technologies like autothermal reforming (ATR) or partial oxidation (POX), where the combustion occurs at the pressure of the process stream. A low-temperature pre-reformer reactor is needed upstream of a steam reformer to suppress coke formation; yet, low temperatures facilitate the formation of metal sulfides that deactivate the catalyst. For this reason, a desulfurization unit is needed upstream of the pre-reformer. Hydrogen separation was implemented using a palladium alloy membrane. Packed beds were chosen for the pre-reformer and reformer reactors primarily because of their low cost, relatively simple operation and low maintenance. Commercial, off-the-shelf balance of plant (BOP) components (pumps, valves, and heat exchangers) were used to integrate the unit operations. The fuel processor delivers up to 100 slm hydrogen >99.9% pure with <1 ppm CO, <3 ppm CO 2. The thermal efficiency is better than 67% operating at full load. This fuel processor has been integrated with a 5-kW fuel cell producing electricity and hot water.

Sleeping problems in mothers and fathers of patients suffering from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome.

PubMed

Paddeu, Erika Maria; Giganti, Fiorenza; Piumelli, Raffaele; De Masi, Salvatore; Filippi, Luca; Viggiano, Maria Pia; Donzelli, Gianpaolo

2015-09-01

Advanced medical technology has resulted in an increased survival rate of children suffering from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome. After hospitalization, these technology-dependent patients require special home care for assuring ventilator support and the monitoring of vital parameters mainly during sleep. The daily challenges associated with caring for these children can place primary caregivers under significant stress, especially at night. Our study aimed at investigating how this condition affects mothers and fathers by producing poor sleep quality, high-level diurnal sleepiness, anxiety, and depression. The study included parents of 23 subjects with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome and 23 healthy subjects. All parents filled out the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). A comparison between the two groups showed that parents of patients had poorer sleep quality, greater sleepiness, and higher BDI-II scores compared to that of parents of healthy subjects (respectively, PSQI score 6.5 vs 3.8, ESS score 6.2 vs 4.3, BDI-II score 8.4 vs 5.7). Specifically, mothers of patients showed poorer sleep quality and higher BDI-II scores compared to that of mothers of controls (respectively, PSQI score 7.5 vs 3.8, BDI-II score 9.3 vs 5.9), whereas fathers of patients showed greater levels of sleepiness with respect to fathers of healthy children (respectively, ESS score 6.8 vs 4.0). These differences emerged in parents of younger children. Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome impacts the family with different consequences for mothers and fathers. Indeed, while the patients' sleep is safeguarded, sleeping problems may occur in primary caregivers often associated with other psychological disorders. Specifically, this disease affects sleep quality and mood in the mothers and sleepiness levels in the fathers.

Advances in the psychosocial treatment of addiction: the role of technology in the delivery of evidence-based psychosocial treatment.

PubMed

Marsch, Lisa A; Dallery, Jesse

2012-06-01

The clinical community has a growing array of psychosocial interventions with a strong evidence base available for the treatment of SUDs. Considerable opportunity exists for leveraging technology in the delivery of evidence-based interventions to promote widespread reach and impact of evidence-based care. Data from this line of research to date are promising, and underscore the potential public health impact of technology-based therapeutic tools. To fully realize the potential of technology-delivered interventions, several areas of inquiry remain important. First, scientifically sound strategies should be explored to ensure technology-based interventions are optimally designed to produce maximal behavior change. Second, efficient and effective methods should be identified to integrate technology-based interventions into systems of care in a manner that is most responsive to the needs of individual users. Third, payment, privacy, and regulatory systems should be refined and extended to go beyond electronic medical records and telehealth/distance care models, and support the deployment of technology-based systems to enhance the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of care. Fourth, the mechanisms underlying behavior change derived from technology-based treatments should be explicated, including new mechanisms that may be tapped via novel, technology-based tools. Such work will be critical in isolating mechanisms that are useful in predicting treatment response, and in ensuring that key ingredients are present in technology-based interventions as they are made widely available.

ProSens: integrated production control by automated inspection planning and efficient multisensor metrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glaser, Ulf; Li, Zhichao; Bichmann, Stephan, II; Pfeifer, Tilo

2003-05-01

By China's entry into the WTO, Chinese as well as German companies are facing the question, how to minimize the risk of unfamiliar cooperation partners when developing products. The rise of customer demands concerning quality, product diversity and the reduction of expenses require flexibility and efficiency with reliable component suppliers. In order to build and strengthen sino-german cooperations, a manufacturing control using homogenized and efficient measures to assure high quality is of vital importance. Lack of unifications may cause identical measurements conducted at subcontractors or customers to be carried out with different measurement processes which leads to incomparable results. Rapidly growing company cooperations and simultaneously decreasing of manufacturing scope cause substantial difficulties when coordinating joint quality control activities. "ProSens," a sino-german project consortium consisting of industrial users, technology producers and research institutes, aims at improving selected production processes by: Creation of a homogeneous quality awareness in sino-german cooperations. Sensitization for process accompanying metrology at an early stage of product development. Increase of the process performance by the use of integrated metrology. Reduction of production time and cost. Unification of quality control of complex products by means of efficient measurement strategies and CAD-based inspection planning.

Cost Models for MMC Manufacturing Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elzey, Dana M.; Wadley, Haydn N. G.

1996-01-01

Processes for the manufacture of advanced metal matrix composites are rapidly approaching maturity in the research laboratory and there is growing interest in their transition to industrial production. However, research conducted to date has almost exclusively focused on overcoming the technical barriers to producing high-quality material and little attention has been given to the economical feasibility of these laboratory approaches and process cost issues. A quantitative cost modeling (QCM) approach was developed to address these issues. QCM are cost analysis tools based on predictive process models relating process conditions to the attributes of the final product. An important attribute, of the QCM approach is the ability to predict the sensitivity of material production costs to product quality and to quantitatively explore trade-offs between cost and quality. Applications of the cost models allow more efficient direction of future MMC process technology development and a more accurate assessment of MMC market potential. Cost models were developed for two state-of-the art metal matrix composite (MMC) manufacturing processes: tape casting and plasma spray deposition. Quality and Cost models are presented for both processes and the resulting predicted quality-cost curves are presented and discussed.

Fabrication of elliptical SRF cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, W.

2017-03-01

The technological and metallurgical requirements of material for high-gradient superconducting cavities are described. High-purity niobium, as the preferred metal for the fabrication of superconducting accelerating cavities, should meet exact specifications. The content of interstitial impurities such as oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon must be below 10 μg g-1. The hydrogen content should be kept below 2 μg g-1 to prevent degradation of the quality factor (Q-value) under certain cool-down conditions. The material should be free of flaws (foreign material inclusions or cracks and laminations) that can initiate a thermal breakdown. Traditional and alternative cavity mechanical fabrication methods are reviewed. Conventionally, niobium cavities are fabricated from sheet niobium by the formation of half-cells by deep drawing, followed by trim machining and electron beam welding. The welding of half-cells is a delicate procedure, requiring intermediate cleaning steps and a careful choice of weld parameters to achieve full penetration of the joints. A challenge for a welded construction is the tight mechanical and electrical tolerances. These can be maintained by a combination of mechanical and radio-frequency measurements on half-cells and by careful tracking of weld shrinkage. The main aspects of quality assurance and quality management are mentioned. The experiences of 800 cavities produced for the European XFEL are presented. Another cavity fabrication approach is slicing discs from the ingot and producing cavities by deep drawing and electron beam welding. Accelerating gradients at the level of 35-45 MV m-1 can be achieved by applying electrochemical polishing treatment. The single-crystal option (grain boundary free) is discussed. It seems that in this case, high performance can be achieved by a simplified treatment procedure. Fabrication of the elliptical resonators from a seamless pipe as an alternative is briefly described. This technology has yielded good performance and is already available for multi-cell structures.

Impact of irradiation on the safety and quality of poultry and meat products: a review.

PubMed

O'Bryan, Corliss A; Crandall, Philip G; Ricke, Steven C; Olson, Dennis G

2008-05-01

For more than 100 years research on food irradiation has demonstrated that radiation will make food safer and improve the shelf life of irradiated foods. Using the current food safety technology, we may have reached the point of diminishing returns even though recent figures from the CDC show a significant drop in the number of foodborne illnesses. However, too many people continue to get sick and die from eating contaminated food. New and under utilized technologies such as food irradiation need to be re-examined to achieve new levels of safety for the food supply. Effects of irradiation on the safety and quality of meat and poultry are discussed. Irradiation control of the principle microbial pathogens including viruses, the differences among at-risk sub-populations, factors affecting the diminished rate of improvement in food safety and published D values for irradiating raw meat and poultry are presented. Currently permitted levels of irradiation are probably not sufficient to control pathogenic viruses. Typical gram-negative spoilage organisms are very sensitive to irradiation. Their destruction leads to a significant increase in the acceptable shelf life. In addition, the destruction of these normal spoilage organisms did not provide a competitive growth advantage for irradiation injured food pathogens. Another of the main focuses of this review is a detailed compilation of the effects of most of the food additives that have been proposed to minimize the negative quality effect of irradiation. Most of the antimicrobials and antioxidants used singly or in combination produced an increased lethality of irradiation and a decrease in oxidation by-products. Combinations of dosage, temperature, dietary and direct additives, storage temperature and packaging atmosphere can produce meats that the average consumer will find indistinguishable from non-irradiated meats. A discussion of the production of unique radiological by-products is also included.

Assessing Data Quality in Emergent Domains of Earth Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darch, P. T.; Borgman, C.

2016-12-01

As earth scientists seek to study known phenomena in new ways, and to study new phenomena, they often develop new technologies and new methods such as embedded network sensing, or reapply extant technologies, such as seafloor drilling. Emergent domains are often highly multidisciplinary as researchers from many backgrounds converge on new research questions. They may adapt existing methods, or develop methods de novo. As a result, emerging domains tend to be methodologically heterogeneous. As these domains mature, pressure to standardize methods increases. Standardization promotes trust, reliability, accuracy, and reproducibility, and simplifies data management. However, for standardization to occur, researchers must be able to assess which of the competing methods produces the highest quality data. The exploratory nature of emerging domains discourages standardization. Because competing methods originate in different disciplinary backgrounds, their scientific credibility is difficult to compare. Instead of direct comparison, researchers attempt to conduct meta-analyses. Scientists compare datasets produced by different methods to assess their consistency and efficiency. This paper presents findings from a long-term qualitative case study of research on the deep subseafloor biosphere, an emergent domain. A diverse community converged on the study of microbes in the seafloor and those microbes' interactions with the physical environments they inhabit. Data on this problem are scarce, leading to calls for standardization as a means to acquire and analyze greater volumes of data. Lacking consistent methods, scientists attempted to conduct meta-analyses to determine the most promising methods on which to standardize. Among the factors that inhibited meta-analyses were disparate approaches to metadata and to curating data. Datasets may be deposited in a variety of databases or kept on individual scientists' servers. Associated metadata may be inconsistent or hard to interpret. Incentive structures, including prospects for journal publication, often favor new data over reanalyzing extant datasets. Assessing data quality in emergent domains is extremely difficult and will require adaptations in infrastructure, culture, and incentives.

Classification of antecedents towards safety use of health information technology: A systematic review.

PubMed

Salahuddin, Lizawati; Ismail, Zuraini

2015-11-01

This paper provides a systematic review of safety use of health information technology (IT). The first objective is to identify the antecedents towards safety use of health IT by conducting systematic literature review (SLR). The second objective is to classify the identified antecedents based on the work system in Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model and an extension of DeLone and McLean (D&M) information system (IS) success model. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted from peer-reviewed scholarly publications between January 2000 and July 2014. SLR was carried out and reported based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. The related articles were identified by searching the articles published in Science Direct, Medline, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases. Data extracted from the resultant studies included are to be analysed based on the work system in Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model, and also from the extended DeLone and McLean (D&M) information system (IS) success model. 55 articles delineated to be antecedents that influenced the safety use of health IT were included for review. Antecedents were identified and then classified into five key categories. The categories are (1) person, (2) technology, (3) tasks, (4) organization, and (5) environment. Specifically, person is attributed by competence while technology is associated to system quality, information quality, and service quality. Tasks are attributed by task-related stressor. Organisation is related to training, organisation resources, and teamwork. Lastly, environment is attributed by physical layout, and noise. This review provides evidence that the antecedents for safety use of health IT originated from both social and technical aspects. However, inappropriate health IT usage potentially increases the incidence of errors and produces new safety risks. The review cautions future implementation and adoption of health IT to carefully consider the complex interactions between social and technical elements propound in healthcare settings. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

[Research advances in water quality monitoring technology based on UV-Vis spectrum analysis].

PubMed

Wei, Kang-Lin; Wen, Zhi-yu; Wu, Xin; Zhang, Zhong-Wei; Zeng, Tian-Ling

2011-04-01

The application of spectral analysis to water quality monitoring is an important developing trend in the field of modern environment monitoring technology. The principle and characteristic of water quality monitoring technology based on UV-Vis spectrum analysis are briefly reviewed. And the research status and advances are introduced from two aspects, on-line monitoring and in-situ monitoring. Moreover, the existent key technical problems are put forward. Finally, the technology trends of multi-parameter water quality monitoring microsystem and microsystem networks based on microspectrometer are prospected, which has certain reference value for the research and development of environmental monitoring technology and modern scientific instrument in the authors' country.

Faculty' Technology Barriers Faced within the Framework of Quality Processes: SAU Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elmas, Muzaffer

2012-01-01

This research was carried out to determine technology barriers faced by the instructors within the framework of quality processes conducted at the University of Sakarya.Therefore, technology barriers encountered in the process of teaching while using web sites developed in order to manage quality operations from a single center were examined…

Cost (and Quality and Value) of Information Technology Support in Large Research Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peebles, Christopher S.; Antolovic, Laurie

1999-01-01

Shows how financial and quality measures associated with the Balanced Scorecard (developed by Kaplan and Norton to measure organizational performance) can be applied to information technology (IT) user education and support in large research universities. Focuses on University Information Technology Services that has measured the quality of IT…

Research of Influence Modification of Natural Concentrate on Quality Metal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedoseev, S. N.; Gizatulin, R. A.; Korotkova, E. A.

2016-08-01

Questions of increase of mechanical, technological and service properties of metal at minimum cost to produce it are relevant for the metallurgical enterprises. Modification of complex steel alloys containing reactive elements is one of the effective ways to improve the quality of steel. At the same time the direct costs for the use of modifiers are 0.2-0.3%, which little effect on the cost of production. The paper presents the results of the application of natural concentrates as a modifier steel. The effects on the metal quality changes due to the impact of the modification concentrates demonstrate the effectiveness of their application. As a result of modification decreased the content of nonmetallic inclusions and grain size. Reduction of impurity modified metal of was the cause more high plastic properties, especially, impact strength at ordinary and low temperatures of tests. Based on the experimental data evaluated hardening mechanisms that lead to a significant improvement of physic-mechanical properties of the metal workpiece after administration modifier.

Energy-signal quality trade-offs in a WiMAX mobile station with a booster amplifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suherman; Mubarakah, N.; Wiranata, O.; Kasim, S. T.

2018-02-01

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a broadband wireless access technology that is able to provide high bit rate mobile internet services. Battery endurance remains a problem in current mobile communication. On the other hand, signal quality determines the successful run of the mobile applications. Energy consumption optimization cannot sacrifice the signal level required by the application to run smoothly. On the contrary, the application should consider battery life time. This paper examines the tradeoffs between energy and signal quality in WiMAX subscriber station by adjusting signal level using a booster amplifier. Simulation evaluations show that an increment of 0.00000104% energy consumption on using amplifier adaptively produces 16.411% signal to noise ratio (SNR) increment and 10.7% bit error rate (BER) decrement. By keeping the amplifier turned on, energy consumption increases up to 0.00000136%, causing the SNR rises to 17.2638% and BER drops to 11.13%. The evaluated application is video streaming, other application may behave differently.