ARPA-E: Guiding Technologies to Commercial Success

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

Tuttle, John; Aizenberg, Joanna; Madrone, Leila

ARPA-E’s Technology-to-Market Advisors work closely with each ARPA-E project team to develop and execute a commercialization strategy. ARPA-E requires our teams to focus on their commercial path forward, because we understand that to have an impact on our energy mission, technologies must have a viable path into the marketplace. ARPA-E Senior Commercialization Advisor Dr. John Tuttle discusses what this Tech-to-Market guidance in practice looks like with reference to two project teams. OPEN 2012 awardees from Harvard University and Sunfolding share their stories of how ARPA-E worked with their teams to analyze market conditions and identify commercial opportunities that ultimately convincedmore » them to pivot their technologies towards market applications with greater potential.« less

Automotive Stirling engine Market and Industrial Readiness Program (MIRP), phase 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-05-01

A program, begun in 1978, has the goal of transferring Stirling engine technology from United Stirling of Sweden to the US and, then, following design, fabrication, and prototype testing, to secure US manufacturers for the engine. The ultimate objective is the large-scale commercial use of the Automotive Stirling Engine (ASE) by the year 2000. The fist phase of the Market and Industrial Readiness Program for the ASE was concerned with defining the market, product, economic and technical factors necessary to be addressed to assure a reasonable chance of ultimate commercial acceptance. Program results for this first phase are reported and discussed. These results pertain to licensing strategy development, economic analysis, market factors, product planning, market growth, cost studies, and engine performance as measured by fuel economy using conventional fuels and by vehicle speed and acceleration characteristics.

The translation of product concept to bone products: a partnership of therapeutic effectiveness and commercialization.

PubMed

Ratcliffe, Anthony

2011-12-01

The fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have the capacity to substantially impact clinical care through the introduction of new products that can address unmet clinical needs, or significantly improve on present therapies. These products will be developed through the demonstration of therapeutic effectiveness, adequate safety, and meeting regulatory requirements. The technology used in the product will dictate the product development and manufacturing costs; the regulatory pathway; and the time taken to complete clinical trials, gain regulatory approval, and become commercialized. A comparison of the required investment of time and funds, with the potential revenue generated, allows for a determination of the likely commercialization opportunity. Ultimately, the long-term success of a product will be dependent on its clinical effectiveness and commercial viability. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Methods for Evaluating the Content, Usability, and Efficacy of Commercial Mobile Health Apps

PubMed Central

Silfee, Valerie J; Waring, Molly E; Boudreaux, Edwin D; Sadasivam, Rajani S; Mullen, Sean P; Carey, Jennifer L; Hayes, Rashelle B; Ding, Eric Y; Bennett, Gary G; Pagoto, Sherry L

2017-01-01

Commercial mobile apps for health behavior change are flourishing in the marketplace, but little evidence exists to support their use. This paper summarizes methods for evaluating the content, usability, and efficacy of commercially available health apps. Content analyses can be used to compare app features with clinical guidelines, evidence-based protocols, and behavior change techniques. Usability testing can establish how well an app functions and serves its intended purpose for a target population. Observational studies can explore the association between use and clinical and behavioral outcomes. Finally, efficacy testing can establish whether a commercial app impacts an outcome of interest via a variety of study designs, including randomized trials, multiphase optimization studies, and N-of-1 studies. Evidence in all these forms would increase adoption of commercial apps in clinical practice, inform the development of the next generation of apps, and ultimately increase the impact of commercial apps. PMID:29254914

Supplying commercial biomedical companies from a human tissue bank in an NHS hospital--a view from personal experience.

PubMed

Gray, N; Womack, C; Jack, S J

1999-04-01

NHS histopathology laboratories are well placed to develop banks of surgically removed surplus human tissues to meet the increasing demands of commercial biomedical companies. The ultimate aim could be national network of non-profit making NHS tissue banks conforming to national minimum ethical, legal, and quality standards which could be monitored by local research ethics committees. The Nuffield report on bioethics provides ethical and legal guidance but we believe that the patient should be fully informed and the consent given explicit. Setting up a tissue bank requires enthusiasm, hard work, and determination as well as coordination between professionals in the NHS trust and in the commercial sector. The rewards are exiting new collaborations with commercial biomedical companies which could help secure our future.

Development of High Efficiency Carbon Dioxide Commercial Heat Pump Water Heater

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

Michael PETERSEN; Chad D. BOWERS; Stefan ELBEL

Although heat pump water heaters are today widely accepted in both Japan and Europe, where energy costs are high and government incentives for their use exist, acceptance of such products in the US has been limited. While this trend is slowly changing with the introduction of heat pump water heaters into the residential market, but acceptance remains low in the commercial sector. The objective of the presented work is the development of a high efficiency R744 heat pump water heater for commercial applications with effective utilization of the cooling capability for air conditioning and/or refrigeration. The ultimate goal is tomore » achieve total system COP of up to 8. This unit will be targeted at commercial use where some cooling load is typically needed year round, such as restaurants, hotels, nursing homes, and hospitals. This paper presents the performance results from the development of four R744 commercial heat pump water heater packages of approximately 35 kW and comparison to a commercially available baseline R134a unit of the same capacity and footprint. In addition, the influences of an internal heat exchanger and an enhanced evaporator on the system performance are described and recommendations are made for further improvements of the R744 system.« less

Rapidly Deployable Security System Final Report CRADA No. TC-2030-01

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

Kohlhepp, V.; Whiteman, B.; McKibben, M. T.

The ultimate objective of the LEADER and LLNL strategic partnership was to develop and commercialize_a security-based system product and platform for the use in protecting the substantial physical and economic assets of the government and commerce of the United States. The primary goal of this project was to integrate video surveillance hardware developed by LLNL with a security software backbone developed by LEADER. Upon completion of the project, a prototype hardware/software security system that is highly scalable was to be demonstrated.

First description of necrosis in leaves and pseudo-bulbs of Oncidium orchids caused by Burkholderia gladioli in São Paulo State, Brazil

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A necrosis of orchid leaves and pseudobulbs was observed in a commercial orchid nursery in Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The symptoms were water-soaked, brown lesions that can develop into large areas of necrosis that extend throughout the entire plant, ultimately causing death. Bacteria were...

Space Projects: Improvements Needed in Selecting Future Projects for Private Financing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and NASA jointly selected seven projects for commercialization to reduce NASA's fiscal year 1990 budget request and to help achieve the goal of increasing private sector involvement in space. However, the efforts to privately finance these seven projects did not increase the commercial sector's involvement in space to the extent desired. The General Accounting Office (GAO) determined that the projects selected were not a fair test of the potential of increasing commercial investment in space at an acceptable cost to the government, primarily because the projects were not properly screened. That is, neither their suitability for commercialization nor the economic consequences of seeking private financing for them were adequately evaluated before selection. Evaluations and market tests done after selection showed that most of the projects were not viable candidates for private financing. GAO concluded that projects should not be removed from NASA's budget for commercial development until after careful screening has been done to determine whether adequate commercial demand exists, development risks are commercially acceptable and private financing is found or judged to be highly likely, and the cost effectiveness of such a decision is acceptable. Premature removal of projects from NASA's budget ultimately can cause project delays and increased costs when unsuccessful commercialization candidates must be returned to the budget. NASA also needs to ensure appropriate comparisons of government and private financing options for future commercialization projects.

Object/Shape Recognition Technology: An Assessment of the Feasibility of Implementation at Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-25

provide efficiency and effectively manufacture or inventory items. The industries that benefit from Cognex technology are automotive, food and beverage ...recognition tedmology, Tedmology Readiness Level, PAGES Cost Benefit Analysis, Tedmology Commercialization, Technology Transition 139 16. PRICE CODE 17...Technology Development & Transition Strategy Guidebook xvii UD Ultimate Disposal U.S. United States USAF United States Air Force xviii THIS

Planetary Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-01

is very likely that they may develop a solution for planetary defense. 8 United States is leading in space private investments. SpaceX , for...technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.5 SpaceX is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low...a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments.6 Contracted by NASA and commercial companies, SpaceX already did 50

Recovery Act: Training Program Development for Commercial Building Equipment Technicians

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

Leah Glameyer

The overall goal of this project has been to develop curricula, certification requirements, and accreditation standards for training on energy efficient practices and technologies for commercial building technicians. These training products will advance industry expertise towards net-zero energy commercial building goals and will result in a substantial reduction in energy use. The ultimate objective is to develop a workforce that can bring existing commercial buildings up to their energy performance potential and ensure that new commercial buildings do not fall below their expected optimal level of performance. Commercial building equipment technicians participating in this training program will learn how tomore » best operate commercial buildings to ensure they reach their expected energy performance level. The training is a combination of classroom, online and on-site lessons. The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) developed curricula using subject matter and adult learning experts to ensure the training meets certification requirements and accreditation standards for training these technicians. The training targets a specific climate zone to meets the needs, specialized expertise, and perspectives of the commercial building equipment technicians in that zone. The combination of efficient operations and advanced design will improve the internal built environment of a commercial building by increasing comfort and safety, while reducing energy use and environmental impact. Properly trained technicians will ensure equipment operates at design specifications. A second impact is a more highly trained workforce that is better equipped to obtain employment. Organizations that contributed to the development of the training program include TEEX and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) (both members of The Texas A&M University System). TEES is also a member of the Building Commissioning Association. This report includes a description of the project accomplishments, including the course development phases, tasks associated with each phase, and detailed list of the course materials developed. A summary of each year's activities is also included.« less

Calorimetric evaluation of commercial Ni-MH cells and charges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Darcy, Eric C.; Hughes, Brent M.

1995-01-01

The test objectives are to evaluate the electrical and thermal performance of commercial Ni-MH cells and to evaluate the effectiveness of commercial charge control circuits. The ultimate design objectives are to determine which cell designs are most suitable for scale-up and to guide the design of future Shuttle and Station based battery chargers.

Space Resource Requirements for Future In-Space Propellant Production Depots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smitherman, David; Fikes, John; Roy, Stephanie; Henley, Mark W.; Potter, Seth D.; Howell, Joe T. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In 2000 and 2001 studies were conducted at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center on the technical requirements and commercial potential for propellant production depots in low Earth orbit (LEO) to support future commercial, NASA, and other Agency missions. Results indicate that propellant production depots appear to be technically feasible given continued technology development, and there is a substantial growing market that depots could support. Systems studies showed that the most expensive part of transferring payloads to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) is the fuel. A cryogenic propellant production and storage depot stationed in LEO could lower the cost of missions to GEO and beyond. Propellant production separates water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. This process utilizes large amounts of power, therefore a depot derived from advanced space solar power technology was defined. Results indicate that in the coming decades there could be a significant demand for water-based propellants from Earth, moon, or asteroid resources if in-space transfer vehicles (upper stages) transitioned to reusable systems using water based propellants. This type of strategic planning move could create a substantial commercial market for space resources development, and ultimately lead toward significant commercial infrastructure development within the Earth-Moon system.

Relative importance of physical and economic factors in Appalachian coalbed gas assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.

1998-01-01

In the 1995 National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, only 20% of the assessed technically recoverable Appalachian Province coalbed gas resources were economic. Physical and economic variables are examined to explain the disparity between economic and technically recoverable coalbed gas. The Anticline and Syncline plays of the Northern Appalachian Basin, which account for 77% of the assessed technically recoverable coalbed gas, are not economic. Analysis shows marginal reductions in costs or rate of return will not turn these plays into commercial successes. Physical parameters that determine ultimate well recoverability and the rate of gas recovery are primary reasons the Northern Appalachian Basin plays are non-commercial. If the application of new well stimulation technology could offset slow gas desorption rates, Appalachian Province economic gas could increase to more then 70% of the technically recoverable gas. Similarly, if operators are able to develop strategies to selectively drill plays by avoiding dry holes and non-commercial occurrences, the economic fraction of technically recoverable gas could increase to over half.In the 1995 National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, only 20% of the assessed technically recoverable Appalachian Province coalbed gas resources were economic. Physical and economic variables are examined to explain the disparity between economic and technically recoverable coalbed gas. The Anticline and Syncline plays of the Northern Appalachian Basin, which account for 77% of the assessed technically recoverable coalbed gas, are not economic. Analysis shows marginal reductions in costs or rate of return will not turn these plays into commercial successes. Physical parameters that determine ultimate well recoverability and the rate of gas recovery are primary reasons the Northern Appalachian Basin plays are non-commercial. If the application of new well stimulation technology could offset slow gas desorption rates, Appalachian Province economic gas could increase to more then 70% of the technically recoverable gas. Similarly, if operators are able to develop strategies to selectively drill plays by avoiding dry holes and non-commercial occurrences, the economic fraction of technically recoverable gas could increase to over half.

Characteristics of future Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs). [to generate utility grid electric power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kadlec, E. G.

1979-01-01

The developing Darrieus VAWT technology whose ultimate objective is economically feasible, industry-produced, commercially marketed wind energy systems is reviewed. First-level aerodynamic, structural, and system analyses capabilities which support and evaluate the system designs are discussed. The characteristics of current technology designs are presented and their cost effectiveness is assessed. Potential improvements identified are also presented along with their cost benefits.

Can laboratory and pilot recycling trials predict adhesive removal in commercial recycling systems? : results from the USPS environmentally benign stamp project

Treesearch

Carl Houtman; Daniel Seiter; Nancy Ross Sutherland; Donald Donermeyer

2002-01-01

The ultimate goal of the US Postal Service (USPS) Environmentally Benign Stamp Program is to develop stamp laminates, i.e., face paper, adhesive and siliconized liner, that do not cause difficulties in recycling mills. The criterion for success, and the USPS definition of benignity, is the avoidance of process and product quality hardships when such PSA laminates are...

Physicochemical comparison of commercially available metal oxide nanoparticles: implications for engineered nanoparticle toxicology and risk assessment

EPA Science Inventory

Accurate and affordable physicochemical characterization of commercial engineered nanomaterials is required for toxicology studies to ultimately determine nanomaterial: hazard identification; dose to response metric(s); and mechanism(s) of injury. A minimal physical and chemica...

A flight test of laminar flow control leading-edge systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, M. C.; Wright, A. S., Jr.; Wagner, R. D.

1983-01-01

NASA's program for development of a laminar flow technology base for application to commercial transports has made significant progress since its inception in 1976. Current efforts are focused on development of practical reliable systems for the leading-edge region where the most difficult problems in applying laminar flow exist. Practical solutions to these problems will remove many concerns about the ultimate practicality of laminar flow. To address these issues, two contractors performed studies, conducted development tests, and designed and fabricated fully functional leading-edge test articles for installation on the NASA JetStar aircraft. Systems evaluation and performance testing will be conducted to thoroughly evaluate all system capabilities and characteristics. A simulated airline service flight test program will be performed to obtain the operational sensitivity, maintenance, and reliability data needed to establish that practical solutions exist for the difficult leading-edge area of a future commercial transport employing laminar flow control.

A Study of Information Content in the U.S. Television Commercials: Has It Become Less Informative but More Creative?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Daniel; Supaporn, Potibut

A study investigated the trend of current U.S. television commercial informativeness by comparing the results with Alan Resnik and Bruce Stern's previous benchmark study conducted in 1977. A systematic random sampling procedure was used to select viewing dates and times of commercials from the three national networks. Ultimately, a total of 550…

National Economic Development Procedures Manual - Recreation. Volume 4. Evaluating Changes in the Quality of the Recreation Experience

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-07-31

harvesting and road building in two national forests. The case study sites were the Siuslaw National Forest near Corvallis, Oregon, and the Porcupine ...million would accrue to recreational and commercial anglers from the clearcutting alternative. For the Porcupine - Hyalite Wilderness Study Area in Montana...impact environmental factors (e.g., available habitat, hunting area, or size of elk herds ), and ultimately those quality factors of the recreation

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

Kauffman, D.; Gay, R.J.

The effective passivating corrosion control system discovered and developed by Mr. Richard Gay was successfully tested under severely corrosive conditions: temperature to 250/sup 0/C, 1% NaCl, pH 4.5, with 0.018 M CO/sub 2/ and 0.054 M H/sub 2/S. A hard, corrosion-resistant film was deposited on steel test coupons, and further corrosion was prevented. Potential applications for the system include sour oil and gas wells and gathering systems, geothermal wells and gathering systems, gas processing plants and refineries. Ultimate commercial development will require additional field and laboratory test work.

A chronicle of serologic response in commercial layer chickens to vaccination with commercial F strain Mycoplasma gallisepticum vaccine

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Initial efforts by the poultry industry at controlling and containing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) included testing and slaughter of reactor flocks. Ultimately, using the aforementioned measures coupled with heat treatment of hatching eggs together with biosecurity and biosurveillance procedures, ...

Feedstock powder processing research needs for additive manufacturing development

DOE PAGES

Anderson, Iver E.; White, Emma M. H.; Dehoff, Ryan

2018-02-01

Additive manufacturing (AM) promises to redesign traditional manufacturing by enabling the ultimate in agility for rapid component design changes in commercial products and for fabricating complex integrated parts. Here, by significantly increasing quality and yield of metallic alloy powders, the pace for design, development, and deployment of the most promising AM approaches can be greatly accelerated, resulting in rapid commercialization of these advanced manufacturing methods. By successful completion of a critical suite of processing research tasks that are intended to greatly enhance gas atomized powder quality and the precision and efficiency of powder production, researchers can help promote continued rapidmore » growth of AM. Finally, other powder-based or spray-based advanced manufacturing methods could also benefit from these research outcomes, promoting the next wave of sustainable manufacturing technologies for conventional and advanced materials.« less

Feedstock powder processing research needs for additive manufacturing development

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

Anderson, Iver E.; White, Emma M. H.; Dehoff, Ryan

Additive manufacturing (AM) promises to redesign traditional manufacturing by enabling the ultimate in agility for rapid component design changes in commercial products and for fabricating complex integrated parts. Here, by significantly increasing quality and yield of metallic alloy powders, the pace for design, development, and deployment of the most promising AM approaches can be greatly accelerated, resulting in rapid commercialization of these advanced manufacturing methods. By successful completion of a critical suite of processing research tasks that are intended to greatly enhance gas atomized powder quality and the precision and efficiency of powder production, researchers can help promote continued rapidmore » growth of AM. Finally, other powder-based or spray-based advanced manufacturing methods could also benefit from these research outcomes, promoting the next wave of sustainable manufacturing technologies for conventional and advanced materials.« less

Company profile: tengion.

PubMed

Bertram, Timothy

2009-05-01

Founded in 2005, Tengion is a clinical-stage organ regeneration company with products in urologic, vascular and renal regeneration based on its proprietary Autologous Organ Regeneration Platform. Tengion uses biocompatible materials and a patient's own (autologous) cells to assemble neo-organs or neo-tissues that are designed to catalyze the body's innate ability to regenerate. Tengion is a fully-integrated organization, with scalable US and European manufacturing and distribution capabilities, experienced research, development, clinical and commercial teams, and significant intellectual property. The company's corporate headquarters and commercial manufacturing facility are in East Norriton, PA, USA, and its research offices, a development laboratory and a pilot manufacturing facility are located in Winston-Salem, NC, USA. Tengion's product candidates may ultimately address the most critical problems facing organ and tissue failure patients, enabling people to lead healthier lives without donor transplants or the side effects of related therapies.

Status of molten carbonate fuel cell technology development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsons, E. L., Jr.; Williams, M. C.; George, T. J.

The MCFC technology has been identified by the DOE as a promising product for commercialization. Development of the MCFC technology supports the National Energy Strategy. Review of the status of the MCFC technology indicates that the MCFC technology developers are making rapid and significant progress. Manufacturing facility development and extensive testing is occurring. Improvements in performance (power density), lower costs, improved packaging, and scale up to full height are planned. MCFC developers need to continue to be responsive to end-users in potential markets. It will be market demands for the correct product definition which will ultimately determine the character of MCFC power plants. There is a need for continued MCFC product improvement and multiple product development tests.

COPING WITH CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS AND SOILS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT.

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

JONES,K.W.; VAN DER LELIE,D.; MCGUIGAN,M.

2004-05-25

Soils and sediments contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic compounds harmful to the environment and to human health are common in the urban environment. We report here on aspects of a program being carried out in the New York/New Jersey Port region to develop methods for processing dredged material from the Port to make products that are safe for introduction to commercial markets. We discuss some of the results of the program in Computational Environmental Science, Laboratory Environmental Science, and Applied Environmental Science and indicate some possible directions for future work. Overall, the program elements integrate the scientific and engineeringmore » aspects with regulatory, commercial, urban planning, local governments, and community group interests. Well-developed connections between these components are critical to the ultimate success of efforts to cope with the problems caused by contaminated urban soils and sediments.« less

Common Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hebert, Phillip W., Sr.; Davis, Dawn M.; Turowski, Mark P.; Holladay, Wendy T.; Hughes, Mark S.

2012-01-01

The advent of the commercial space launch industry and NASA's more recent resumption of operation of Stennis Space Center's large test facilities after thirty years of contractor control resulted in a need for a non-proprietary data acquisition systems (DAS) software to support government and commercial testing. The software is designed for modularity and adaptability to minimize the software development effort for current and future data systems. An additional benefit of the software's architecture is its ability to easily migrate to other testing facilities thus providing future commonality across Stennis. Adapting the software to other Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Centers such as MSFC, White Sands, and Plumbrook Station would provide additional commonality and help reduce testing costs for NASA. Ultimately, the software provides the government with unlimited rights and guarantees privacy of data to commercial entities. The project engaged all RPT Centers and NASA's Independent Verification & Validation facility to enhance product quality. The design consists of a translation layer which provides the transparency of the software application layers to underlying hardware regardless of test facility location and a flexible and easily accessible database. This presentation addresses system technical design, issues encountered, and the status of Stennis development and deployment.

Epoxy Nanocomposites filled with Carbon Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Martin-Gallego, M; Yuste-Sanchez, V; Sanchez-Hidalgo, R; Verdejo, R; Lopez-Manchado, M A

2018-01-10

Over the past decades, the development of high performance lightweight polymer nanocomposites and, in particular, of epoxy nanocomposites has become one the greatest challenges in material science. The ultimate goal of epoxy nanocomposites is to extrapolate the exceptional intrinsic properties of the nanoparticles to the bulk matrix. However, in spite of the efforts, this objective is still to be attained at commercially attractive scales. Key aspects to achieve this are ultimately the full understanding of network structure, the dispersion degree of the nanoparticles, the interfacial adhesion at the phase boundaries and the control of the localization and orientation of the nanoparticles in the epoxy system. In this Personal Account, we critically discuss the state of the art and evaluate the strategies to overcome these barriers. © 2018 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nanomaterials and Global Sustainability.

PubMed

Hamers, Robert J

2017-03-21

Nanomaterials provide tremendous opportunities to advance human welfare in many areas including energy storage, catalysis, photovoltaic energy conversion, environmental remediation, and agriculture. As nanomaterials become incorporated into commercial processes and consumer products in increasing amounts, it will be essential to develop an understanding of how these materials interact with the environment. The broad spectrum and complexity of nanomaterials drive a need for molecular-level design rules. Ultimately a grand challenge is to use the power of chemistry to ensure that nanoenabled technologies can come to fruition in an environmentally benign manner.

Manufacturing of Smart Structures Using Fiber Placement Manufacturing Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Matthew M.; Glowasky, Robert A.; McIlroy, Bruce E.; Story, Todd A.

1996-01-01

Smart structures research and development, with the ultimate aim of rapid commercial and military production of these structures, are at the forefront of the Synthesis and Processing of Intelligent Cost-Effective Structures (SPICES) program. As part of this ARPA-sponsored program, MDA-E is using fiber placement processes to manufacture integrated smart structure systems. These systems comprise advanced composite structures with embedded fiber optic sensors, shape memory alloys, piezoelectric actuators, and miniature accelerometers. Cost-effective approaches and solutions to smart material synthesis in the fiber-placement process, based upon integrated product development, are discussed herein.

Evaluation of laminar flow control system concepts for subsonic commercial transport aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

A study was conducted to evaluate alternatives in the design of laminar flow control (LFC) subsonic commercial transport aircraft for operation in the 1980's period. Analyses were conducted to select mission parameters and define optimum aircraft configurational parameters for the selected mission, defined by a passenger payload of 400 and a design range of 12,038 km (6500 n mi). The baseline aircraft developed for this mission was used as a vehicle for the evaluation and development of alternative LFC system concepts. Alternatives were evaluated in the areas of aerodynamics structures, materials, LFC systems, leading-edge region cleaning and integration of auxiliary systems. Based on these evaluations, concept in each area were selected for further development and testing and ultimate incorporation in the final study aircraft. Relative to a similarly-optimized advanced technology turbulent transport, the final LFC configuration is approximately equal in direct operating cost but provides decreases of 8.2% in gross weight and 21.7% in fuel consumption.

Lunar COTS: An Economical and Sustainable Approach to Reaching Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuniga, Allison F.; Rasky, Daniel; Pittman, Robert B.; Zapata, Edgar; Lepsch, Roger

2015-01-01

The NASA COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services) Program was a very successful program that developed and demonstrated cost-effective development and acquisition of commercial cargo transportation services to the International Space Station (ISS). The COTS acquisition strategy utilized a newer model than normally accepted in traditional procurement practices. This new model used Space Act Agreements where NASA entered into partnerships with industry to jointly share cost, development and operational risks to demonstrate new capabilities for mutual benefit. This model proved to be very beneficial to both NASA and its industry partners as NASA saved significantly in development and operational costs while industry partners successfully expanded their market share of the global launch transportation business. The authors, who contributed to the development of the COTS model, would like to extend this model to a lunar commercial services program that will push development of technologies and capabilities that will serve a Mars architecture and lead to an economical and sustainable pathway to transporting humans to Mars. Over the past few decades, several architectures for the Moon and Mars have been proposed and studied but ultimately halted or not even started due to the projected costs significantly exceeding NASA's budgets. Therefore a new strategy is needed that will fit within NASA's projected budgets and takes advantage of the US commercial industry along with its creative and entrepreneurial attributes. The authors propose a new COTS-like program to enter into partnerships with industry to demonstrate cost-effective, cis-lunar commercial services, such as lunar transportation, lunar ISRU operations, and cis-lunar propellant depots that can enable an economical and sustainable Mars architecture. Similar to the original COTS program, the goals of the proposed program, being notionally referred to as Lunar Commercial Orbital Transfer Services (LCOTS) program will be to: 1) reduce development and operational costs by sharing costs with industry; 2) create new markets in cis-lunar space to further reduce operational costs; and 3) enable NASA to develop an affordable and economical exploration Mars architecture. The paper will describe a plan for a proposed LCOTS program, its potential impact to an eventual Mars architecture and its many benefits to NASA, commercial space industry and the US economy.

Fifty years of herbicide research: comparing the discovery of trifluralin and halauxifen-methyl.

PubMed

Epp, Jeffrey B; Schmitzer, Paul R; Crouse, Gary D

2018-01-01

Fifty years separate the commercialization of the herbicides trifluralin and halauxifen-methyl. Despite the vast degree of technological change that occurred over that time frame, some aspects of their discovery stories are remarkably similar. For example, both herbicides were prepared very early in the iterative discovery process and both were developed from known lead compound structures by hypothesis-driven research efforts without the use of in vitro assays or computer-aided molecular design. However, there are aspects of the halauxifen-methyl and trifluralin discovery stories that are substantially different. For example, the chemical technology required for the cost-effective production of halauxifen-methyl simply did not exist just two decades prior to its commercial launch. By contrast, the chemical technology required for the cost-effective production of trifluralin was reported in the chemical literature more than two decades prior to its commercial launch. In addition, changes in regulatory environment since the early 1960s ensured that their respective discovery to commercial launch stories would also differ in substantial ways. Ultimately, the time and cost required to develop and register halauxifen-methyl demanded a global initial business case while the lower registration hurdles that trifluralin cleared enabled a narrow initial business case mainly focused on the USA. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

National Alliance for Advance Biofuels and Bio-Products Final Technical Report Addendum Hydrothermal Processing Pilot System

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

Oyler, James R.

2015-12-21

The main objective of the NAABB was to combine science, technology, and engineering expertise from across the nation to break down critical technical barriers to commercialization of algae-based biofuels. As a part of the consortium, Genifuel’s NAABB goals was to fabricate and demonstrate a pilot-scale system to convert algae into fuels. The purpose of this pilot system was to show that processes developed in the laboratory at bench-scale during the program could be successfully scaled up to a pre-commercial level, and thereby provide visibility into the ultimate viability and cost of algae biofuels. The pilot system has now been completedmore » and tested, and this report documents what has been achieved.« less

Wireless Telemetry and Command (T and C) Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jiang, Hui; Horan, Stephen

2000-01-01

The Wireless Telemetry and Command (T&C) program is to investigate methods of using commercial telecommunications service providers to support command and telemetry services between a remote user and a base station. While the initial development is based on ground networks, the development is being done with an eye towards future space communications needs. Both NASA and the Air Force have indicated a plan to consider the use of commercial telecommunications providers to support their space missions. To do this, there will need to be an understanding of the requirements and limitations of interfacing with the commercial providers. The eventual payoff will be the reduced operations cost and the ability to tap into commercial services being developed by the commercial networks. This should enable easier realization of EP services to the end points, commercial routing of data, and quicker integration of new services into the space mission operations. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this program is not just to provide wireless radio communications for T&C services but to enhance those services through wireless networking and provider enhancements that come with the networks. In the following chapters, the detailed technical procedure will be showed step by step. Chapter 2 will talk about the general idea of simulation as well as the implementation of data acquisition including sensor array data and GPS data. Chapter 3 will talk about how to use LabVEEW and Component Works to do wireless communication simulation and how to distribute the real-time information over the Internet by using Visual Basic and ActiveX controls. Also talk about the test configuration and validation. Chapter 4 will show the test results both from In-Lab test and Networking Test. Chapter 5 will summarize the whole procedure and give the perspective for the future consideration.

LSA Large Area Silicon Sheet Task Continuous Czochralski Process Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rea, S. N.

1979-01-01

A commercial Czochralski crystal growing furnace was converted to a continuous growth facility by installation of a small, in-situ premelter with attendant silicon storage and transport mechanisms. Using a vertical, cylindrical graphite heater containing a small fused quartz test tube linear from which the molten silicon flowed out the bottom, approximately 83 cm of nominal 5 cm diamter crystal was grown with continuous melt addition furnished by the test tube premelter. High perfection crystal was not obtained, however, due primarily to particulate contamination of the melt. A major contributor to the particulate problem was severe silicon oxide buildup on the premelter which would ultimately drop into the primary melt. Elimination of this oxide buildup will require extensive study and experimentation and the ultimate success of continuous Czochralski depends on a successful solution to this problem. Economically, the continuous Czochralski meets near-term cost goals for silicon sheet material.

Grain-refining heat treatments to improve cryogenic toughness of high-strength steels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rush, H. F.

1984-01-01

The development of two high Reynolds number wind tunnels at NASA Langley Research Center which operate at cryogenic temperatures with high dynamic pressures has imposed severe requirements on materials for model construction. Existing commercial high strength steels lack sufficient toughness to permit their safe use at temperatures approaching that of liquid nitrogen (-320 F). Therefore, a program to improve the cryogenic toughness of commercial high strength steels was conducted. Significant improvement in the cryogenic toughness of commercial high strength martensitic and maraging steels was demonstrated through the use of grain refining heat treatments. Charpy impact strength at -320 F was increased by 50 to 180 percent for the various alloys without significant loss in tensile strength. The grain sizes of the 9 percent Ni-Co alloys and 200 grade maraging steels were reduced to 1/10 of the original size or smaller, with the added benefit of improved machinability. This grain refining technique should permit these alloys with ultimate strengths of 220 to 270 ksi to receive consideration for cryogenic service.

Neurotechnology: expanding opportunities for funding at the National Institute of Mental Health.

PubMed

Huerta, M F; Curvey, M F; Koslow, S H

1994-10-01

The National Institute of Mental Health recognizes the importance that creative development of technology and methodology play in brain and behavioral science research. This institute is making major efforts to support such development through specific initiatives, like the Human Brain Project. In addition, this Institute is actively building bridges between business and academic research communities to make optical use of funds for the research and development of commercially viable technologies relevant to all aspects of the Institute's mission through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs. Together, these efforts will culminate in a more vigorous scientific enterprise, and ultimately benefit the entire mental health community and society.

Industrial-scale spray layer-by-layer assembly for production of biomimetic photonic systems.

PubMed

Krogman, K C; Cohen, R E; Hammond, P T; Rubner, M F; Wang, B N

2013-12-01

Layer-by-layer assembly is a powerful and flexible thin film process that has successfully reproduced biomimetic photonic systems such as structural colour. While most of the seminal work has been carried out using slow and ultimately unscalable immersion assembly, recent developments using spray layer-by-layer assembly provide a platform for addressing challenges to scale-up and manufacturability. A series of manufacturing systems has been developed to increase production throughput by orders of magnitude, making commercialized structural colour possible. Inspired by biomimetic photonic structures we developed and demonstrated a heat management system that relies on constructive reflection of near infrared radiation to bring about dramatic reductions in heat content.

Development of algae biorefinery concepts for biofuels and bioproducts; a perspective on process-compatible products and their impact on cost-reduction

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

Laurens, Lieve M. L.; Markham, Jennifer; Templeton, David W.

Identifying and addressing critical improvements in biomass, bioproduct and biofuel productivity is a priority for the nascent algae-based bioeconomy. Economic and sustainability principles should guide these developing improvements and help to unravel the contentious water–food–energy–environment nexus that algae inhabit. Understanding the biochemistry of the storage carbon metabolism of algae to produce biofuels and bioproducts can bring to light the key barriers that currently limit the overall carbon efficiency and the photosynthetic efficiency, and ultimately guide productivity and commercial viability in the context of limiting resources. In the analysis reported here, we present different potential pathways for a conceptual algae biorefinerymore » framework, with each pathway addressing one of the main identified barriers to future deployment. We highlight the molecular identification, in the form of an extensive literature review, of potential bioproducts that may be derived directly from both biomass and fractions produced through a conversion pathway, for three important commercially-relevant genera of algae, Scenedesmus, Chlorella and Nannochloropsis. Here, we establish a relationship between each of the potential bioproducts, describe relevant conversion and extraction processes, and discuss market opportunities with values and sizes as they relate to commercial development of the products.« less

Common Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Test Facilities - A General Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hebert, Phillip W., Sr.; Hughes, Mark S.; Davis, Dawn M.; Turowski, Mark P.; Holladay, Wendy T.; Marshall, PeggL.; Duncan, Michael E.; Morris, Jon A.; Franzl, Richard W.

2012-01-01

The advent of the commercial space launch industry and NASA's more recent resumption of operation of Stennis Space Center's large test facilities after thirty years of contractor control resulted in a need for a non-proprietary data acquisition system (DAS) software to support government and commercial testing. The software is designed for modularity and adaptability to minimize the software development effort for current and future data systems. An additional benefit of the software's architecture is its ability to easily migrate to other testing facilities thus providing future commonality across Stennis. Adapting the software to other Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Centers such as MSFC, White Sands, and Plumbrook Station would provide additional commonality and help reduce testing costs for NASA. Ultimately, the software provides the government with unlimited rights and guarantees privacy of data to commercial entities. The project engaged all RPT Centers and NASA's Independent Verification & Validation facility to enhance product quality. The design consists of a translation layer which provides the transparency of the software application layers to underlying hardware regardless of test facility location and a flexible and easily accessible database. This presentation addresses system technical design, issues encountered, and the status of Stennis' development and deployment.

Development of algae biorefinery concepts for biofuels and bioproducts; a perspective on process-compatible products and their impact on cost-reduction

DOE PAGES

Laurens, Lieve M. L.; Markham, Jennifer; Templeton, David W.; ...

2017-07-10

Identifying and addressing critical improvements in biomass, bioproduct and biofuel productivity is a priority for the nascent algae-based bioeconomy. Economic and sustainability principles should guide these developing improvements and help to unravel the contentious water–food–energy–environment nexus that algae inhabit. Understanding the biochemistry of the storage carbon metabolism of algae to produce biofuels and bioproducts can bring to light the key barriers that currently limit the overall carbon efficiency and the photosynthetic efficiency, and ultimately guide productivity and commercial viability in the context of limiting resources. In the analysis reported here, we present different potential pathways for a conceptual algae biorefinerymore » framework, with each pathway addressing one of the main identified barriers to future deployment. We highlight the molecular identification, in the form of an extensive literature review, of potential bioproducts that may be derived directly from both biomass and fractions produced through a conversion pathway, for three important commercially-relevant genera of algae, Scenedesmus, Chlorella and Nannochloropsis. Here, we establish a relationship between each of the potential bioproducts, describe relevant conversion and extraction processes, and discuss market opportunities with values and sizes as they relate to commercial development of the products.« less

Disinfection and Stabilization Processes

EPA Science Inventory

Municipal wastewater sludges are composed of organic and inorganic contaminants from domestic, commercial and industrial wastewaters entering collection systems. Many options are available for ultimate disposal of residual solids, however few of these options provide for benefic...

Channeling Polyolefin Molecular Structure - Bulk Property Correlation Strategies for Industrial Applicability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hule, Rohan; Thurman, Derek; Doufas, Antonios

Polyolefins occupy a significant volume of the polymer products portfolio in commodity and high value applications. Quantifying and optimizing structure-property relationships enables growth in new markets. It is well recognized that coupling lab-based, comprehensive methodologies with bulk properties of interest to industrial environments offer the greatest potential of technology advancement, ultimately leading to commercial success. It is imperative to recognize the existing gap of knowledge translation between lab measurements and industrial-scale operability. This study highlights experimental HDPEs synthesized from dual, single-site, co-supported catalysts that exhibit enhanced solid-state properties such as stiffness, impact and ESCR surpassing conventional trends. Commercial resins across distinct sub-families were included as well. Commonality amongst these resins is bimodality and broad MW distribution with well-defined splits and spreads. Investigations on commercially relevant parameters such as melt strength, melt elasticity and shear thinning established excellent performance for experimental bimodals, corroborating potential benefits compared to commercial HDPEs. To summarize, the effort highlights well-recognized pathways such as improvements in mechanical and melt properties that can be attributed to apposite tuning of polymer chain architecture and MW distribution with implications across myriad markets. Ultimately, this may serve as a pathway for producing innovative products that deliver business success and growth.

History of HTS motor development at Reliance Electric

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

Schiferl, R.

1994-07-29

A review of the High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) motor development program at Reliance Electric is presented. The project was initiated in 1987 by EPRI to investigate the use of high temperature superconducting materials in electric motors. Liquid nitrogen was proposed as the HTS winding coolant. The ultimate goal, motivation, motor type and HTS wire requirements as well as the program milestones are outlined. It was concluded that the HTS motor development has paralleled wire development; progress continues toward the goal of large horsepower HTS motors for commercial applications; the team is well on the way toward completing the design ofmore » a 125 hp, 1800 rpm motor with HTS coils cooled to 20 to 40 K; and the program is a vital step in the development of HTS motors.« less

Acoustic emission analysis of fiber-reinforced composite in flexural testing.

PubMed

Alander, Pasi; Lassila, Lippo V J; Tezvergil, Arzu; Vallittu, Pekka K

2004-05-01

The aim of this study was to examine the emission of acoustic signals from six commercially available fiber-reinforced composites (FRC) used in the frameworks of fixed partial dentures in material bending. FRC test specimens were made of six commercially available fiber products of polyethylene or glass and five light-curing resins. FRC test specimens were polymerized with a hand light-curing unit or with a light-curing oven. The flexural test for determination of ultimate flexural strength of test specimens (n = 6) was based on the ISO 10477 standard after the specimens were stored in air or in water for two weeks. The acoustic emission (AE) signals were monitored during three-point loading test of the test specimens using a test with increasing loading levels until the specimens fractured. Generally, stress level required for the AE activity initiation ranged from 107 MPa (Ribbond) to 579 MPa (everStick). The ultimate flexural strength of FRC specimens were higher, ranging from 132 to 764 MPa, being highest with everStick and Vectris FRC, and lowest with Ribbond FRC. ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference between the initiation of AE activity and the ultimate flexural strength according to the brand (p < 0.001) storing conditions (p < 0.001) and polymerization procedure (p < 0.001). AE activity and ultimate flexural strength correlated significantly (p < 0.010, r = 0.887). The result of this study suggested that AE activity in FRC specimens started at a 19-32% lower stress level than occurred at final fracture.

A Roundtable Discussion: Combination Products: Twice the Challenge?

PubMed

Baird, Nolan; Binion, Steven B; Cammack, Jon; Paine, Stephanie Del; Gonzales, Rosemary; Passut, Jena; Weiner, John Barlow Barr

2015-01-01

Combination products are therapeutic or diagnostic medical products that combine drugs, devices, and/or biological products with one another. FDA developed a regulation (final rule) on Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) for combination products that became effective July 22, 2013 (21 CFR Part 4). AAMI recently developed a technical information report (TIR) that provides information on how to effectively implement FDA's regulation. The overall goal of the TIR is to aid informed, risk-based decisions in establishing CGMP operating systems that support development, manufacture, premarket regulatory evaluation, and ultimately commercialization of combination products. This article, a result of an discussion with industry and FDA representatives, explores the landscape of combination products, highlights important considerations in developing and seeking marketing clearance for these innovative products, and provides insight on trends in the area.

Lithium Ion Batteries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Lithium ion batteries, which use a new battery chemistry, are being developed under cooperative agreements between Lockheed Martin, Ultralife Battery, and the NASA Lewis Research Center. The unit cells are made in flat (prismatic) shapes that can be connected in series and parallel to achieve desired voltages and capacities. These batteries will soon be marketed to commercial original-equipment manufacturers and thereafter will be available for military and space use. Current NiCd batteries offer about 35 W-hr/kg compared with 110 W-hr/kg for current lithium ion batteries. Our ultimate target for these batteries is 200 W-hr/kg.

Factors determining the viability of radiation processing in developing countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Linde, HJ; Basson, RA

In the fifteen years since the introduction of radiation processing to South Africa, four commercial irradiation facilities have been established. These are involved in the processing of a large variety of products, from syringes and prostheses to strawberries and sugar yeast. Three of the facilities are devoted mainly to food irradiation and several thousand tonnes are now processed annually. During this period it was repeatedly experienced that the successful introduction of radiation processing in general, and food radurization in particular, on a commercial scale was critically dependent on the following factors: acceptance by the producer, industry and consumer; initial capital expenditure; running costs and overheads in general; and continous throughput. All of these factors contribute to the processing cost which is the ultimate factor in determing the value/price ratio for the potential entrepreneur and customer of this new technology. After a market survey had identified the need for a new food irradiation facility to cope with the growing interest in commercial food radurization in the Western Cape, the above-mentioned factors were of cardinal importance in the design and manufacture of a new irradiator. The resulting batch-pallet facility which was commisioned in August 1986, is rather inefficient as far as energy utilization is concerned but this shortcoming is compensated for by its low cost, versatility and low hold-up. Although the facility has limitations as far as the processing of really large volumes of produce is concerned, it is particularly suitable not only for developing countries, but for developed countries in the introductory phase of commercial food radurization.

Persistent bacteraemia caused by Staphylococcus aureus in the gall bladder.

PubMed

Yu, Alexander Tin Han; Cun, Tony; Benamu, Esther; Renault, Cybele

2017-11-08

Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) remains a complex disease with a high associated morbidity and mortality, especially when it is able to establish an occult nidus safe from antimicrobial eradication. Without rapid identification and intervention, the nidus can cause persistent relapse of disease, morbidity and mortality. Having a high clinical suspicion for the foci of occult S. aureus is important, and awareness of potential sites of infection is critical and can be life-saving.We present a unique case of a 65-year-old man with end-stage renal disease receiving haemodialysis who developed septic shock from SAB. Despite 18 days of appropriate antibiotics, the patient had persistent high-grade bacteraemia until his gall bladder was ultimately percutaneously drained. The day after drainage, he cleared his blood cultures, although he ultimately passed away as he decided to transition his care to focus on comfort measures. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Early-stage valuation of medical devices: the role of developmental uncertainty.

PubMed

Girling, Alan; Young, Terry; Brown, Celia; Lilford, Richard

2010-08-01

At the concept stage, many uncertainties surround the commercial viability of a new medical device. These include the ultimate functionality of the device, the cost of producing it and whether, and at what price, it can be sold to a health-care provider (HCP). Simple assessments of value can be made by estimating such unknowns, but the levels of uncertainty may mean that their operational value for investment decisions is unclear. However, many decisions taken at the concept stage are reversible and will be reconsidered later before the product is brought to market. This flexibility can be exploited to enhance early-stage valuations. To develop a framework for valuing a new medical device at the concept stage that balances benefit to the HCP against commercial costs. This is done within a simplified stage-gated model of the development cycle for new products. The approach is intended to complement existing proposals for the evaluation of the commercial headroom available to new medical products. A model based on two decision gates can lead to lower bounds (underestimates) for product value that can serve to support a decision to develop the product. Quantifiable uncertainty that can be resolved before the device is brought to market will generally enhance early-stage valuations of the device, and this remains true even when some components of uncertainty cannot be fully described. Clinical trials and other evidence-gathering activities undertaken as part of the development process can contribute to early-stage estimates of value.

Evacuation pattern analysis of a survivable commercial aircraft crash.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1962-05-01

The evacuation pattern of 99 of 106 survivors of a jet transport crash involving a post crash fire is described, factors possibly effecting the suffocation and ultimate death of 16 passengers are listed and photographs and diagrams are presented.

[The effects of different welding wires on the mechanical properties of laser welding joints].

PubMed

Huang, Qing-feng; Zhang, Jian-zhong; Jiang, Wei-dong; Li, Quan; Yu, Jin-xing

2006-08-01

To evaluate the mechanical properties and microstructure of laser-welded joints with different welding wires for clinical use of welding wire. The standard tensile test and three-point bending test rods were made from Co-Cr and Ni-Cr alloy, and were laser-welded with different welding wire (commercially welding wire and casting wire). Then the tensile rods were tested for the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and the bending rods for the ultimate bending strength (UBS). The results was analyzed by one-way ANOVA. The tensile fracture surface were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Metallurgical analysis were also performed on polished longitudinal sectioned samples. For Co-Cr alloy, the UTS of casting wire group and commercially welding wire group was respectively (606.40+/-82.53)MPa and (693.61+/-47.68)MPa; the UBS was respectively (997.95+/-88.89)MPa and (1160.76+/-91.59)MPa. ANOVA showed a significant difference of UTS and UBS between the two groups at the 0.05 level (P<0.05). For Ni-Cr alloy, the UTS of casting wire group and commercially welding wire group was respectively (558.14+/-46.75)MPa and (582.32+/-35.43)MPa; the UBS was respectively (1084.75+/-46.02)MPa and (1078.29+/-36.25)MPa. There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). SEM and metallurgical examination showed the welded zone exhibiting more cracks in the casting wire group than in the commercially welding wire group. It would be advisable to work with commercially welding wire for the joints that need better strength.

Biomass power for rural development: Phase 2. Technical progress report, April 1--June 30, 1998

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

Neuhauser, E.

1998-11-01

The project undertaken by the Salix Consortium is a multi-phased, multi-partner endeavor. Phase-1 focused on initial development and testing of the technology and agreements necessary to demonstrate commercial willow production in Phase-2. The Phase-1 objectives have been successfully completed: preparing final design plans for two utility pulverized coal boilers, developing fuel supply plans for the project, obtaining power production commitments from the power companies for Phase-2, obtaining construction and environmental permits, and developing an experimental strategy for crop production and power generation improvements needed to assure commercial success. The R and D effort also addresses environmental issues pertaining to introductionmore » of the willow energy system. Beyond those Phase-1 requirements the Consortium has already successfully demonstrated cofiring at Greenidge Station and developed the required nursery capacity for acreage scale-up. This past summer 105 acres were prepared in advance for the spring planting in 1998. Having completed the above tasks, the Consortium is well positioned to begin Phase-2. In phase-2 every aspect of willow production and power generation from willow will be demonstrated. The ultimate objective of Phase-2 is to transition the work performed under the Rural Energy for the Future project into a thriving, self-supported energy crop enterprise.« less

Analytical chemistry of PCBs

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

Erickson, M.D.

Analytical Chemistry of PCBs offers a review of physical, chemical, commercial, environmental and biological properties of PCBs. It also defines and discusses six discrete steps of analysis: sampling, extraction, cleanup, determination, data reduction, and quality assurance. The final chapter provides a discussion on collaborative testing - the ultimate step in method evaluation. Dr. Erickson also provides a bibliography of over 1200 references, critical reviews of primary literature, and five appendices which present ancillary material on PCB nomen-clature, physical properties, composition of commercial mixtures, mass spectra characteristics, and PGC/ECD chromatograms.

15 CFR 970.602 - Diligent exploration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... safeguards and monitoring systems. To help assure this diligence, terms, conditions and restrictions which... technology than is prevalently in use. (b) In order to fulfill the diligence requirement, the applicant first... obtain a permit for commercial recovery. (c) Ultimately, the diligence requirement will involve a...

Development and Validation of a High Throughput System for Discovery of Antigens for Autoantibody Detection

PubMed Central

Macdonald, Isabel K.; Allen, Jared; Murray, Andrea; Parsy-Kowalska, Celine B.; Healey, Graham F.; Chapman, Caroline J.; Sewell, Herbert F.; Robertson, John F. R.

2012-01-01

An assay employing a panel of tumor-associated antigens has been validated and is available commercially (EarlyCDT®-Lung) to aid the early detection of lung cancer by measurement of serum autoantibodies. The high throughput (HTP) strategy described herein was pursued to identify new antigens to add to the EarlyCDT-Lung panel and to assist in the development of new panels for other cancers. Two ligation-independent cloning vectors were designed and synthesized, producing fusion proteins suitable for the autoantibody ELISA. We developed an abridged HTP version of the validated autoantibody ELISA, determining that results reflected the performance of the EarlyCDT assay, by comparing results on both formats. Once validated this HTP ELISA was utilized to screen multiple fusion proteins prepared on small-scale, by a HTP expression screen. We determined whether the assay performance for these HTP protein batches was an accurate reflection of the performance of R&D or commercial batches. A HTP discovery platform for the identification and optimal production of tumor- associated antigens which detects autoantibodies has been developed and validated. The most favorable conditions for the exposure of immunogenic epitopes were assessed to produce discriminatory proteins for use in a commercial ELISA. This process is rapid and cost-effective compared to standard cloning and screening technologies and enables rapid advancement in the field of autoantibody assay discovery. This approach will significantly reduce timescale and costs for developing similar panels of autoantibody assays for the detection of other cancer types with the ultimate aim of improved overall survival due to early diagnosis and treatment. PMID:22815807

Effects of conventional welding and laser welding on the tensile strength, ultimate tensile strength and surface characteristics of two cobalt-chromium alloys: a comparative study.

PubMed

Madhan Kumar, Seenivasan; Sethumadhava, Jayesh Raghavendra; Anand Kumar, Vaidyanathan; Manita, Grover

2012-06-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of laser welding and conventional welding on the tensile strength and ultimate tensile strength of the cobalt-chromium alloy. Samples were prepared with two commercially available cobalt-chromium alloys (Wironium plus and Diadur alloy). The samples were sectioned and the broken fragments were joined using Conventional and Laser welding techniques. The welded joints were subjected to tensile and ultimate tensile strength testing; and scanning electron microscope to evaluate the surface characteristics at the welded site. Both on laser welding as well as on conventional welding technique, Diadur alloy samples showed lesser values when tested for tensile and ultimate tensile strength when compared to Wironium alloy samples. Under the scanning electron microscope, the laser welded joints show uniform welding and continuous molt pool all over the surface with less porosity than the conventionally welded joints. Laser welding is an advantageous method of connecting or repairing cast metal prosthetic frameworks.

Yttria Nanoparticle Reinforced Commercially Pure (CP) Titanium

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

nanoparticles as well as titanium boride (TiB) reinforcements were produced through gas atomization. After consolidation and extrusion, room temperature...pure FE iron O oxygen Ti titanium TiB titanium boride TYS tensile yield strength UTS ultimate tensile strength wt% weight percent Y2O3

The ultimate disposition of depleted uranium

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

Not Available

1990-12-01

Significant amounts of the depleted uranium (DU) created by past uranium enrichment activities have been sold, disposed of commercially, or utilized by defense programs. In recent years, however, the demand for DU has become quite small compared to quantities available, and within the US Department of Energy (DOE) there is concern for any risks and/or cost liabilities that might be associated with the ever-growing inventory of this material. As a result, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), was asked to review options and to develop a comprehensive plan for inventory management and the ultimate disposition of DU accumulated atmore » the gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs). An Energy Systems task team, under the chairmanship of T. R. Lemons, was formed in late 1989 to provide advice and guidance for this task. This report reviews options and recommends actions and objectives in the management of working inventories of partially depleted feed (PDF) materials and for the ultimate disposition of fully depleted uranium (FDU). Actions that should be considered are as follows. (1) Inspect UF{sub 6} cylinders on a semiannual basis. (2) Upgrade cylinder maintenance and storage yards. (3) Convert FDU to U{sub 3}O{sub 8} for long-term storage or disposal. This will include provisions for partial recovery of costs to offset those associated with DU inventory management and the ultimate disposal of FDU. Another recommendation is to drop the term tails'' in favor of depleted uranium'' or DU'' because the tails'' label implies that it is waste.'' 13 refs.« less

Roadmap to risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) success

PubMed Central

Balian, John D.; Malhotra, Rachpal; Perentesis, Valerie

2010-01-01

Medical safety-related risk management is a rapidly evolving and increasingly important aspect of drug approval and market longevity. To effectively meet the challenges of this new era, we describe a risk management roadmap that proactively yet practically anticipates risk-management requirements, provides the foundation for enduring yet appropriately flexible risk-management practices, and leverages these techniques to efficiently and effectively utilize risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS)/risk minimization programs as market access enablers. This fully integrated risk-management paradigm creates exciting opportunities for newer tools, techniques, and approaches to more successfully optimize product development, approval, and commercialization, with patients as the ultimate beneficiaries. PMID:25083193

Multifunctional Structures for High-Energy Lightweight Load-Bearing Storage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loyselle, Patricia L.

2018-01-01

This is a pull-up banner of the Multifunctional Structures for High-Energy Lightweight Load-bearing Storage (M-SHELLS) technology that will be on display at the SciTech Conference in January 2018. Efforts in Multifunctional Structures for High Energy Load-Bearing Storage (M-Shells) are pushing the boundaries of development for hybrid electric propulsion for future commercial aeronautical transport. The M-Shells hybrid material would serve as the power/energy storage of the vehicle and provide structural integrity, freeing up usable volume and mass typically occupied by bulky batteries. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate a system-level mass savings with a multifunctional structure with energy storage.

Sensor Systems Collect Critical Aerodynamics Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2010-01-01

With the support of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts with Dryden Flight Research Center, Tao of Systems Integration Inc. developed sensors and other components that will ultimately form a first-of-its-kind, closed-loop system for detecting, measuring, and controlling aerodynamic forces and moments in flight. The Hampton, Virginia-based company commercialized three of the four planned components, which provide sensing solutions for customers such as Boeing, General Electric, and BMW and are used for applications such as improving wind turbine operation and optimizing air flow from air conditioning systems. The completed system may one day enable flexible-wing aircraft with flight capabilities like those of birds.

Integration of Magnetic Bead-Based Cell Selection into Complex Isolations

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Magnetic bead-based analyte capture has emerged as a ubiquitous method in cell isolation, enabling the highly specific capture of target populations through simple magnetic manipulation. To date, no “one-size fits all” magnetic bead has been widely adopted leading to an overwhelming number of commercial beads. Ultimately, the ideal bead is one that not only facilitates cell isolation but also proves compatible with the widest range of downstream applications and analytic endpoints. Despite the diverse offering of sizes, coatings, and conjugation chemistries, few studies exist to benchmark the performance characteristics of different commercially available beads; importantly, these bead characteristics ultimately determine the ability of a bead to integrate into the user’s assay. In this report, we evaluate bead-based cell isolation considerations, approaches, and results across a subset of commercially available magnetic beads (Dynabeads FlowComps, Dynabeads CELLection, GE Healthcare Sera-Mag SpeedBeads streptavidin-blocked magnetic particles, Dynabeads M-270s, Dynabeads M-280s) to compare and contrast both capture-specific traits (i.e., purity, capture efficacy, and contaminant isolations) and endpoint compatibility (i.e., protein localization, fluorescence imaging, and nucleic acid extraction). We identify specific advantages and contexts of use in which distinct bead products may facilitate experimental goals and integrate into downstream applications. PMID:29732449

Core Design Characteristics of the Fluoride Salt-Cooled High Temperature Demonstration Reactor

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

Brown, Nicholas R; Qualls, A L; Betzler, Benjamin R

2016-01-01

Fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactors (FHRs) are a promising reactor technology option with significant knowledge gaps to implementation. One potential approach to address those technology gaps is via a small-scale demonstration reactor with the goal of increasing the technology readiness level (TRL) of the overall system for the longer term. The objective of this paper is to outline a notional concept for such a system, and to address how the proposed concept would advance the TRL of FHR concepts. Development of the proposed FHR Demonstration Reactor (DR) will enable commercial FHR deployment through disruptive and rapid technology development and demonstration.more » The FHR DR will close remaining gaps to commercial viability. Lower risk technologies are included in the initial FHR DR design to ensure that the reactor can be built, licensed, and operated within an acceptable budget and schedule. Important capabilities that will be demonstrated by building and operating the FHR DR include core design methodologies; fabrication and operation of high temperature reactors; salt procurement, handling, maintenance, and ultimate disposal; salt chemistry control to maximize vessel life; tritium management; heat exchanger performance; pump performance; and reactivity control. The FHR DR is considered part of a broader set of FHR technology development and demonstration efforts, some of which are already underway. Nonreactor test efforts (e.g., heated salt loops or loops using simulant fluids) can demonstrate many technologies necessary for commercial deployment of FHRs. The FHR DR, however, fulfills a crucial role in FHR technology development by advancing the technical maturity and readiness level of the system as a whole.« less

A combined Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)/UV-vis approach for the investigation of dye content in commercial felt tip pens inks.

PubMed

Saviello, Daniela; Trabace, Maddalena; Alyami, Abeer; Mirabile, Antonio; Giorgi, Rodorico; Baglioni, Piero; Iacopino, Daniela

2018-05-01

The development of protocols for the protection of the large patrimony of works of art created by felt tip pen media since the 1950's requires detailed knowledge of the main dyes constituting commercial ink mixtures. In this work Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and UV-vis spectroscopy were used for the first time for the systematic identification of dye composition in commercial felt tip pens. A large selection of pens comprising six colors of five different brands was analyzed. Intense SERS spectra were obtained for all colors, allowing identification of main dye constituents. Poinceau 4R and Eosin dyes were found to be the main constituents of red and pink colors; Rhodamine and Tartrazine were found in orange and yellow colors; Erioglaucine was found in green and blue colors. UV-vis analysis of the same inks was used to support SERS findings but also to unequivocally assign some uncertain dye identifications, especially for yellow and orange colors. The spectral data of all felt tip pens collected through this work were assembled in a database format. The data obtained through this systematic investigation constitute the basis for the assembly of larger reference databases that ultimately will support the development of conservation protocols for the long term preservation of modern art collections. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Artifical Pancreas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fei, Jiangfeng

2013-03-01

In 2006, JDRF launched the Artificial Pancreas Project (APP) to accelerate the development of a commercially-viable artificial pancreas system to closely mimic the biological function of the pancreas individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes. By automating detection of blood sugar levels and delivery of insulin in response to those levels, an artificial pancreas has the potential to transform the lives of people with type 1 diabetes. The 6-step APP development pathway serves as JDRF's APP strategic funding plan and defines the priorities of product research and development. Each step in the plan represents incremental advances in automation beginning with devices that shut off insulin delivery to prevent episodes of low blood sugar and progressing ultimately to a fully automated ``closed loop'' system that maintains blood glucose at a target level without the need to bolus for meals or adjust for exercise.

Divergence and convergence of commercial and scientific priorities in drug development: The case of Zelmid, the first SSRI antidepressant.

PubMed

Mulinari, Shai

2015-08-01

Based on a realist conceptualization of interests, this paper explores how commercial and scientific priorities appear to have converged and diverged during the development of the antidepressant Zelmid. The drug represents the first of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to reach the market. Zelmid was synthesized in 1971 and launched by the Swedish firm Astra in 1982, but subsequently withdrawn the next year because of adverse neurological effects. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with scientists representing both industry and academia who had high-level involvement in various phases of the project (experimental, pre-clinical and clinical), as well as on textual sources such as scientific articles and memoirs. Zelmid was a product of mechanism-based or "rational" drug discovery from the early 1960s and the associated intermingling of science and commerce. It is argued that both scientists and the pharmaceutical company shared an interest in embracing mechanism-based drug discovery because it simultaneously promised medico-scientific advances and profits. However, the intermingling of science and commerce also strained the relationship between scientific and commercial priorities further along the trajectory of the drug; for example, concerning issues such as dosage strategy and drug use in primary care, where corporate management allegedly took decisions contrary to the recommendations of both academic and company scientists. On such occasions the asymmetry in power became apparent in scientists' narratives: commercial considerations trumped those of science since, ultimately, decisions rest with management, not with scientists. In addition, temporality appears to be associated with the divergence of commercial and scientific priorities. While rare during experimental and pre-clinical phases, divergence was concentrated downstream to the clinical testing and post-marketing phases. It is hypothesized that a similar pattern of convergence and divergence of commercial and scientific priorities may exist in the trajectory of other drugs. Copyright © 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Palladium–platinum core-shell icosahedra with substantially enhanced activity and durability towards oxygen reduction

DOE PAGES

Wang, Xue; Choi, Sang-Il; Roling, Luke T.; ...

2015-07-02

Conformal deposition of platinum as ultrathin shells on facet-controlled palladium nanocrystals offers a great opportunity to enhance the catalytic performance while reducing its loading. Here we report such a system based on palladium icosahedra. Owing to lateral confinement imposed by twin boundaries and thus vertical relaxation only, the platinum overlayers evolve into a corrugated structure under compressive strain. For the core-shell nanocrystals with an average of 2.7 platinum overlayers, their specific and platinum mass activities towards oxygen reduction are enhanced by eight- and sevenfold, respectively, relative to a commercial catalyst. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the enhancement can bemore » attributed to the weakened binding of hydroxyl to the compressed platinum surface supported on palladium. After 10,000 testing cycles, the mass activity of the core-shell nanocrystals is still four times higher than the commercial catalyst. Ultimately, these results demonstrate an effective approach to the development of electrocatalysts with greatly enhanced activity and durability.« less

31 CFR 1.7 - Fees for services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... direct costs of searching for, reviewing, and duplicating the records sought. Commercial use requesters are not entitled to two hours of free search time or 100 free pages of duplication of documents... searching for and reviewing records even if there is ultimately no disclosure of records, or no records are...

31 CFR 1.7 - Fees for services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... direct costs of searching for, reviewing, and duplicating the records sought. Commercial use requesters are not entitled to two hours of free search time or 100 free pages of duplication of documents... searching for and reviewing records even if there is ultimately no disclosure of records, or no records are...

31 CFR 1.7 - Fees for services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... direct costs of searching for, reviewing, and duplicating the records sought. Commercial use requesters are not entitled to two hours of free search time or 100 free pages of duplication of documents... searching for and reviewing records even if there is ultimately no disclosure of records, or no records are...

Advances in In Vitro and In Silico Tools for Toxicokinetic Dose Modeling and Predictive Toxicology (WC10)

EPA Science Inventory

Recent advances in vitro assays, in silico tools, and systems biology approaches provide opportunities for refined mechanistic understanding for chemical safety assessment that will ultimately lead to reduced reliance on animal-based methods. With the U.S. commercial chemical lan...

Space tourism risks: A space insurance perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bensoussan, Denis

2010-06-01

Space transportation is inherently risky to humans, whether they are trained astronauts or paying tourists, given that spaceflight is still in its relative infancy. However, this is easy to forget when subjected to the hype often associated with space tourism and the ventures seeking to enter that market. The development of commercial spaceflight constitutes a challenge as much as a great opportunity to the insurance industry as new risks emerge and standards, policies and procedures to minimise/mitigate and cover them still to be engineered. Therefore the creation of a viable and affordable insurance regime for future space tourists is a critical step in the development of a real space tourism market to address burning risk management issues that may otherwise ultimately hamper this nascent industry before it has a chance to prove itself.

The National Network forTechnology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (N2TEC): Bringing New Technologies to Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Kathleen

2003-03-01

N2TEC, the National Network for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization, is a National Science Foundation "Partnerships for Innovation" initiative designed to raise the level of innovation and technology commercialization in colleges, universities, and communities across the nation. N2TEC is creating a network of people and institutions, and a set of technology tools that will facilitate the pooling of resources and knowledge and enable faculty and students to share those resources and collaborate without regard to geographic boundaries. N2TEC will become the backbone by which educational institutions across the nation can move their technologies into new venture startups. The ultimate goal is to create new wealth and strengthen local, regional and national economies.

Metabolic Engineering for Advanced Biofuels Production and Recent Advances Toward Commercialization

DOE PAGES

Meadows, Corey W.; Kang, Aram; Lee, Taek S.

2017-07-21

Research on renewable biofuels produced by microorganisms has enjoyed considerable advances in academic and industrial settings. As the renewable ethanol market approaches maturity, the demand is rising for the commercialization of more energy-dense fuel targets. Many strategies implemented in recent years have considerably increased the diversity and number of fuel targets that can be produced by microorganisms. Moreover, strain optimization for some of these fuel targets has ultimately led to their production at industrial scale. In this review, we discuss recent metabolic engineering approaches for augmenting biofuel production derived from alcohols, isoprenoids, and fatty acids in several microorganisms. In addition,more » we discuss successful commercialization ventures for each class of biofuel targets.« less

Metabolic Engineering for Advanced Biofuels Production and Recent Advances Toward Commercialization

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

Meadows, Corey W.; Kang, Aram; Lee, Taek S.

Research on renewable biofuels produced by microorganisms has enjoyed considerable advances in academic and industrial settings. As the renewable ethanol market approaches maturity, the demand is rising for the commercialization of more energy-dense fuel targets. Many strategies implemented in recent years have considerably increased the diversity and number of fuel targets that can be produced by microorganisms. Moreover, strain optimization for some of these fuel targets has ultimately led to their production at industrial scale. In this review, we discuss recent metabolic engineering approaches for augmenting biofuel production derived from alcohols, isoprenoids, and fatty acids in several microorganisms. In addition,more » we discuss successful commercialization ventures for each class of biofuel targets.« less

Cutaneous Scarring: A Clinical Review

PubMed Central

Baker, Richard; Urso-Baiarda, Fulvio; Linge, Claire; Grobbelaar, Adriaan

2009-01-01

Cutaneous scarring can cause patients symptoms ranging from the psychological to physical pain. Although the process of normal scarring is well described the ultimate cause of pathological scarring remains unknown. Similarly, exactly how early gestation fetuses can heal scarlessly remains unsolved. These questions are crucial in the search for a preventative or curative antiscarring agent. Such a discovery would be of enormous medical and commercial importance, not least because it may have application in other tissues. In the clinical context the assessment of scars is becoming more sophisticated and new physical, medical and surgical therapies are being introduced. This review aims to summarise some of the recent developments in scarring research for non-specialists and specialists alike. PMID:20585482

Design, modelling and preliminary characterisation of microneedle-based electrodes for tissue electroporation in vivo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Mahony, Conor; Houlihan, Ruth; Grygoryev, Konstantin; Ning, Zhenfei; Williams, John; Moore, Tom

2016-10-01

We analysed the use of microneedle-based electrodes to enhance electroporation of mouse testis with DNA vectors for production of transgenic mice. Different microneedle formats were developed and tested, and we ultimately used electrodes based on arrays of 500 μm tall microneedles. In a series of experiments involving injection of a DNA vector expressing Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and electroporation using microneedle electrodes and a commercially available voltage supply, we compared the performance of flat and microneedle electrodes by measuring GFP expression at various timepoints after electroporation. Our main finding, supported by both experimental and simulated data, is that needles significantly enhanced electroporation of testis.

OAST space research and technology applications: Technology transfer successes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reck, Gregory M.

1992-01-01

The ultimate measure of success in the Space Research and Technology Program is the incorporation of a technology into an operational mission. Charts are presented that describe technology products which OAST has helped support that (1) have been used in a space mission, (2) have been incorporated into the baseline design of a flight system in the development phase, or (3) have been picked up by a commercial or other non-NASA user. We hope that these examples will demonstrate the value of investment in technology. Pictured on the charts are illustrations of the technology product, the mission or user which has incorporated the technology, and where appropriate, results from the mission itself.

The ABCs of the US Broad Spectrum Antimicrobials Program: Antibiotics, Biosecurity, and Congress

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Antibiotic resistance has been increasing at an alarming rate in the United States and globally for decades, but the problem has only recently gained broad attention at the highest levels of the US government. More and more patients are dying of infections that do not respond to antibiotics that are currently available. Meanwhile, the antibacterial product pipeline remains fragile in part because of a lack of commercial interest from pharmaceutical companies. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Broad Spectrum Antimicrobials (BSA) program leads the US government's effort to bridge this gap by advancing new antibacterials through late stages of clinical development. Other commentators have described in detail BARDA's structure, process, and role in antibacterial development. This commentary offers a public policy perspective on the emerging politics of antibiotic resistance in the context of US biosecurity politics and medical countermeasure (MCM) development. It identifies promising developments and difficult challenges that together will ultimately determine whether BARDA can become a global leader for antibiotic development. PMID:26569379

Embedded Thermal Control for Spacecraft Subsystems Miniaturization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Didion, Jeffrey R.

2014-01-01

Optimization of spacecraft size, weight and power (SWaP) resources is an explicit technical priority at Goddard Space Flight Center. Embedded Thermal Control Subsystems are a promising technology with many cross cutting NSAA, DoD and commercial applications: 1.) CubeSatSmallSat spacecraft architecture, 2.) high performance computing, 3.) On-board spacecraft electronics, 4.) Power electronics and RF arrays. The Embedded Thermal Control Subsystem technology development efforts focus on component, board and enclosure level devices that will ultimately include intelligent capabilities. The presentation will discuss electric, capillary and hybrid based hardware research and development efforts at Goddard Space Flight Center. The Embedded Thermal Control Subsystem development program consists of interrelated sub-initiatives, e.g., chip component level thermal control devices, self-sensing thermal management, advanced manufactured structures. This presentation includes technical status and progress on each of these investigations. Future sub-initiatives, technical milestones and program goals will be presented.

40 CFR 89.608 - “In Use” inspections and recall requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) Nonroad engines which have been imported by an Independent Commercial Importer (ICI) pursuant to § 89.605..., a list of owners or ultimate purchasers of all nonroad engines imported by the ICI under this subpart. (c) The Administrator must notify the ICI whenever the Administrator has determined that a...

40 CFR 89.608 - “In Use” inspections and recall requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) Nonroad engines which have been imported by an Independent Commercial Importer (ICI) pursuant to § 89.605..., a list of owners or ultimate purchasers of all nonroad engines imported by the ICI under this subpart. (c) The Administrator must notify the ICI whenever the Administrator has determined that a...

40 CFR 89.608 - “In Use” inspections and recall requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) Nonroad engines which have been imported by an Independent Commercial Importer (ICI) pursuant to § 89.605..., a list of owners or ultimate purchasers of all nonroad engines imported by the ICI under this subpart. (c) The Administrator must notify the ICI whenever the Administrator has determined that a...

40 CFR 89.608 - “In Use” inspections and recall requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) Nonroad engines which have been imported by an Independent Commercial Importer (ICI) pursuant to § 89.605..., a list of owners or ultimate purchasers of all nonroad engines imported by the ICI under this subpart. (c) The Administrator must notify the ICI whenever the Administrator has determined that a...

40 CFR 89.608 - “In Use” inspections and recall requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) Nonroad engines which have been imported by an Independent Commercial Importer (ICI) pursuant to § 89.605..., a list of owners or ultimate purchasers of all nonroad engines imported by the ICI under this subpart. (c) The Administrator must notify the ICI whenever the Administrator has determined that a...

Laser Crystal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Lightning Optical Corporation, under an SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) agreement with Langley Research Center, manufactures oxide and fluoride laser gain crystals, as well as various nonlinear materials. The ultimate result of this research program is the commercial availability in the marketplace of a reliable source of high-quality, damage resistant laser material, primarily for diode-pumping applications.

Aquaculture genomics, genetics and breeding in the United States: current status, challenges, and priorities for future research

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The ultimate goals of aquaculture genomics, genetics and breeding research are to enhance aquaculture production efficiency, sustainability, product quality, and profitability in support of the commercial sector and for the benefit of consumers. In order to achieve these goals, it is important to un...

A molecular survey of Eimeria in chickens across Australia.

PubMed

Godwin, Rosamond M; Morgan, Jess A T

2015-11-30

Coccidiosis is a costly enteric disease of chickens caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria. Disease diagnosis and management is complicated since there are multiple Eimeria species infecting chickens and mixed species infections are common. Current control measures are only partially effective and this, combined with concerns over vaccine efficacy and increasing drug resistance, demonstrates a need for improved coccidiosis diagnosis and control. Before improvements can be made, it is important to understand the species commonly infecting poultry flocks in both backyard and commercial enterprises. The aim of this project was to conduct a survey and assessment of poultry Eimeria across Australia using genetic markers, and create a collection of isolates for each Eimeria species. A total of 260 samples (faecal or caecal) was obtained, and survey results showed that Eimeria taxa were present in 98% of commercial and 81% of backyard flocks. The distribution of each Eimeria species was widespread across Australia, with representatives of all species being found in every state and territory, and the Eimeria species predominating in commercial flocks differed from those in backyard flocks. Three operational taxonomic units also occurred frequently in commercial flocks highlighting the need to understand the impact of these uncharacterised species on poultry production. As Eimeria infections were also frequent in backyard flocks, there is a potential for backyard flocks to act as reservoirs for disease, especially as the industry moves towards free range production systems. This Eimeria collection will be an important genetic resource which is the crucial first step in the development of more sophisticated diagnostic tools and the development of new live vaccines which ultimately will provide savings to the industry in terms of more efficient coccidiosis management. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prize for Industrial Applications of Physics Talk: Low energy spread Ion source for focused ion beam systems-Search for the holy grail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, Bill

2011-03-01

In this talk I will cover my personal experiences as a serial entrepreneur and founder of a succession of focused ion beam companies (1). Ion Beam Technology, which developed a 200kv (FIB) direct ion implanter (2). Micrion, where the FIB found a market in circuit edit and mask repair, which eventually merged with FEI corporation. and (3). ALIS Corporation which develop the Orion system, the first commercially successful sub-nanometer helium ion microscope, that was ultimately acquired by Carl Zeiss corporation. I will share this adventure beginning with my experiences in the early days of ion beam implantation and e-beam lithography which lead up to the final breakthrough understanding of the mechanisms that govern the successful creation and operation of a single atom ion source.

Laser Materials Processing Final Report CRADA No. TC-1526-98

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

Crane, J.; Lehane, C. J.

2017-09-08

This CRADA project was a joint effort between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and United Technologies Corporation (UTC)/Pratt & Whitney (P&W) to demonstrate process capability for drilling holes in turbine airfoils using LLNL-developed femtosecond laser machining technology. The basis for this development was the ability of femtosecond lasers to drill precision holes in variety of materials with little or no collateral damage. The ultimate objective was to develop a laser machine tool consisting of an extremely advanced femtosecond laser subsystem to be developed by LLNL on a best-effort basis and a drilling station for turbine blades and vanes to bemore » developed by P&W. In addition, P&W was responsible for commercializing the system. The goal of the so called Advanced Laser Drilling (ALD) system was to drill specified complex hole-shapes in turbine blades and vanes with a high degree precision and repeatability and simultaneously capable of very high speed processing.« less

Commercialization of the Chevron FCC vanadium trap

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

Kennedy, J.V.; Kuehler, C.W.; Krishna, A.S.

1995-09-01

Vanadium, present to varying degrees in FCC feed, deposits on the catalyst virtually quantitatively in the cracking process. In resid operations, vanadium levels on catalyst can reach 10,000 ppm at typical catalyst make-up rates. Once on the catalyst, vanadium destroys the zeolite and restricts access to active sites. This reduces catalyst activity. A vanadium trap is a material that when introduced into the catalyst inventory selectively reacts with migrating vanadium, thus protecting the zeolite and other active components of the catalyst. The trap may be incorporated into the catalyst, or introduced as a separate particle. Only a limited amount ofmore » trap can be incorporated into the catalyst without limiting the amount of zeolite that can be included. Gulf began development of a vanadium trap during the early 1980`s. The work produced a variety of promising materials whose use as vanadium traps was subsequently patented. The work ultimately led to a formulation with a phase very active for trapping vanadium while still quite sulfur tolerant. Based on these results, an extensive pilot plant evaluation was undertaken by Chevron after the Chevron-Gulf merger to better simulate commercial operation. The paper describes pilot plant tests as well as 3 commercial tests of this vanadium trap.« less

Transplantable tissue growth-a commercial space venture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giuntini, Ronald E.; Vardaman, William K.

1997-01-01

Rantek was incorporated in 1984 to pursue research toward product development in space based biotechnology. The company has maintained an aggressive experiment flight program since 1989 having flown biotechnology experiments in six Consort rockets flights, one Joust rocket flight and eight Space Shuttle missions. The objective of these flights was to conduct a series of research experiments to resolve issues affecting transplantable tissue growth feasibility. The purpose of the flight research was to determine the behavior of lymphocyte mixing, activation, magnetic mixing and process control, drug studies in a model leukemia cell line, and various aspects of the hardware system process control in the low gravity of space. The company is now preparing for a two Space Shuttle flight program as precursors to a sustained, permanent, commercial venture at the Space Station. The shuttle flights will enable new, larger scale tissue growth systems to be tested to determine fundamental process control sensitivity and growth rates unique to a number of tissue types. The answer to these issues will ultimately determine the commercial viability of the Rantek Biospace program. This paper addresses considerations that will drive the cost of a space venture-the largest cost driver will be the cost to and from the station and the cost at the station.

Sponsorship in non-commercial clinical trials: definitions, challenges and the role of Good Clinical Practices guidelines.

PubMed

Ravinetto, Raffaella; De Nys, Katelijne; Boelaert, Marleen; Diro, Ermias; Meintjes, Graeme; Adoke, Yeka; Tagbor, Harry; Casteels, Minne

2015-12-30

Non-commercial clinical research plays an increasingly essential role for global health. Multiple partners join in international consortia that operate under the limited timeframe of a specific funding period. One organisation (the sponsor) designs and carries out the trial in collaboration with research partners, and is ultimately responsible for the trial's scientific, ethical, regulatory and legal aspects, while another organization, generally in the North (the funder), provides the external funding and sets funding conditions. Even if external funding mechanisms are key for most non-commercial research, the dependence on an external funder's policies may heavily influence the choices of a sponsor. In addition, the competition for accessing the available external funds is great, and non-commercial sponsors may not be in a position to discuss or refuse standard conditions set by a funder. To see whether the current definitions adequately address the intricacies of sponsorship in externally-funded trials, we looked at how a "sponsor" of clinical trials is defined in selected international guidelines, with particular focus on international Good Clinical Practices codes, and in selected European and African regulations/legislations. Our limited analysis suggests that the sponsors definition from the 1995 WHO Good Clinical Practices code has been integrated as such into many legislations, guidelines and regulations, and that it is not adequate to cover today's reality of funding arrangements in global health, where the legal responsibility and the funding source are de facto split. In agreement with other groups, we suggest that the international Good Clinical Practices codes should be updated to reflect the reality of non-commercial clinical research. In particular, they should explicitly include the distinction between commercial and non-commercial sponsors, and provide guidance to non-commercial sponsors for negotiating with external funding agencies and other research counterparts. Non-commercial sponsors of clinical trials should surely invest in the development of adequate legal, administrative and management skills. By acknowledging their role and specificities, and by providing them with adapted guidance, the international Good Clinical Practices codes would provide valuable guidance and support to non-commercial clinical research, whose relevance for global health is increasingly evident.

16 CFR 303.30 - Textile fiber products in form for consumer.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Textile fiber products in form for consumer... products in form for consumer. A textile fiber product shall be considered to be in the form intended for sale or delivery to, or for use by, the ultimate consumer when the manufacturing or processing of the...

Case Study – Idling Reduction Technologies for Emergency Service Vehicles

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

Laughlin, Michael; Owens, Russell J.

2016-01-01

This case study explores the use of idle reduction technologies (IRTs) on emergency service vehicles in police, fire, and ambulance applications. Various commercially available IRT systems and approaches can decrease, or ultimately eliminate, engine idling. Fleets will thus save money on fuel, and will also decrease their criteria pollutant emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and noise.

Power, ethics, and corporate dentistry.

PubMed

Parker, M Alec; Parker, M Alec

2013-01-01

The North Carolina Dental Association recently sought to place clear statutory limits on the influence of corporate, nondental interests over dentists practices' decision-making. This report describes the two-year legislative battle with well-funded and politically connected parties that ultimately resulted in laws that protect patients' rights to be treated by a dentist free of outside commercial interests.

16 CFR 303.30 - Textile fiber products in form for consumer.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Textile fiber products in form for consumer... products in form for consumer. A textile fiber product shall be considered to be in the form intended for sale or delivery to, or for use by, the ultimate consumer when the manufacturing or processing of the...

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

Bradley, E.C.; Killough, S.M.; Rowe, J.C.

The purpose of the Smart Crane Ammunition Transfer System (SCATS) project is to demonstrate robotic/telerobotic controls technology for a mobile articulated crane for missile/ munitions handling, delivery, and reload. Missile resupply and reload have been manually intensive operations up to this time. Currently, reload missiles are delivered by truck to the site of the launcher. A crew of four to five personnel reloads the missiles from the truck to the launcher using a hydraulic-powered crane. The missiles are handled carefully for the safety of the missiles and personnel. Numerous steps are required in the reload process and the entire reloadmore » operation can take over 1 h for some missile systems. Recent U.S. Army directives require the entire operation to be accomplished in a fraction of that time. Current requirements for the development of SCATS are being based primarily on reloading Patriot missiles. The planned development approach will integrate robotic control and sensor technology with a commercially available hydraulic articulated crane. SCATS is being developed with commercially available hardware as much as possible. Development plans include adding a 3-D.F. end effector with a grapple to the articulating crane; closed-loop position control for the crane and end effector; digital microprocessor control of crane functions; simplified operator interface; and operating modes which include rectilinear movement, obstacle avoidance, and partial automated operation. The planned development will include progressive technology demonstrations. Ultimate plans are for this technology to be transferred and utilized in the military fielding process.« less

Overview of the Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witt, C. E.; Mitchell, R. L.; Mooney, G. D.

1993-08-01

The Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) project is a historic government/industry photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing R&D partnership composed of joint efforts between the federal government (through the US Department of Energy) and members of the US PV industry. The project's ultimate goal is to ensure that the US industry retains and extends its world leadership role in the manufacture and commercial development of PV components and systems. PVMaT is designed to do this by helping the US PV industry improve manufacturing processes, accelerate manufacturing cost reductions for PV modules, improve commercial product performance, and lay the groundwork for a substantial scale-up of US-based PV manufacturing capacities. Phase 1 of the project, the problem identification phase, was completed in early 1991. Phase 2, the problem solution phase, which addresses process-specific problems of specific manufacturers, is now underway with an expected duration of 5 years. Phase 3 addresses R&D problems that are relatively common to a number of PV companies or the PV industry as a whole. These 'generic' problem areas are being addressed through a teamed research approach.

Current state of the mass storage system reference model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyne, Robert

1993-01-01

IEEE SSSWG was chartered in May 1990 to abstract the hardware and software components of existing and emerging storage systems and to define the software interfaces between these components. The immediate goal is the decomposition of a storage system into interoperable functional modules which vendors can offer as separate commercial products. The ultimate goal is to develop interoperable standards which define the software interfaces, and in the distributed case, the associated protocols to each of the architectural modules in the model. The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: IEEE SSSWG organization; IEEE SSSWG subcommittees & chairs; IEEE standards activity board; layered view of the reference model; layered access to storage services; IEEE SSSWG emphasis; and features for MSSRM version 5.

Applying Virtual Reality to commercial Edutainment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grissom, F.; Goza, Sharon P.; Goza, S. Michael

1994-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) when defined as a computer generated, immersive, three dimensional graphics environment which provides varying degrees of interactivity, remains an expensive, highly specialized application, yet to find its way into the school, home, or business. As a novel approach to a theme park-type attraction, though, its use can be justified. This paper describes how a virtual reality 'tour of the human digestive system' was created for the Omniplex Science Museum of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The customers main objectives were: (1) to educate; (2) to entertain; (3) to draw visitors; and (4) to generate revenue. The 'Edutainment' system ultimately delivered met these goals. As more such systems come into existence the resulting library of licensable programs will greatly reduce development costs to individual institutions.

Design and fabrication of graphite-epoxy bolted wing skin splice specimens

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, R. W.; Mccarty, J. E.

1977-01-01

Graphite-epoxy bolted joint specimens were designed and fabricated. These specimens were to be representative of a side-of-body wing skin splice with a 20-year life expectancy in a commercial transport environment. Preliminary tests were performed to determine design values of bearing and net tension stresses. Based upon the information developed, a three-fastener-wide representative wing skin splice was designed for a load of 2627 KN/m (15,000 lbf/in.). One joint specimen was fabricated and tested at NASA. The wing skin splice failed at 106 percent of design ultimate load. This joint design achieved all static load objectives. Fabrication of six specimens, together with their loading fixtures, was completed, and the specimens were delivered to NASA-LRC.

Progress in quantitative GPR development at CNDE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisenmann, David; Margetan, F. J.; Chiou, C.-P.; Roberts, Ron; Wendt, Scott

2014-02-01

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) uses electromagnetic (EM) radiation pulses to locate and map embedded objects. Commercial GPR instruments are generally geared toward producing images showing the location and extent of buried objects, and often do not make full use of available absolute amplitude information. At the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) at Iowa State University efforts are underway to develop a more quantitative approach to GPR inspections in which absolute amplitudes and spectra of measured signals play a key role. Guided by analogous work in ultrasonic inspection, there are three main thrusts to the effort. These focus, respectively, on the development of tools for: (1) analyzing raw GPR data; (2) measuring the EM properties of soils and other embedding media; and (3) simulating GPR inspections. This paper reviews progress in each category. The ultimate goal of the work is to develop model-based simulation tools that can be used assess the usefulness of GPR for a given inspection scenario, to optimize inspection choices, and to determine inspection reliability.

Effect of Strain Rate on Mechanical Properties of Wrought Sintered Tungsten at Temperatures above 2500 F

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sikora, Paul F.; Hall, Robert W.

1961-01-01

Specimens of wrought sintered commercially pure tungsten were made from 1/8-inch swaged rods. All the specimens were recrystallized at 4050 F for 1 hour prior to testing at temperatures from 2500 to 4000 F at various strain rates from 0.002 to 20 inches per inch per minute. Results showed that, at a constant temperature, increasing the strain rate increased the ultimate tensile strength significantly. The effects of both strain rate and temperature on the ultimate tensile strength of tungsten may be correlated by the linear parameter method of Manson and Haferd and may be used to predict the ultimate tensile strength at higher temperatures, 4500 and 5000 F. As previously reported, ductility, as measured by reduction of area in a tensile test, decreases with increasing temperature above about 3000 F. Increasing the strain rate at temperatures above 3000 F increases the ductility. Fractures are generally transgranular at the higher strain rates and intergranular at the lower strain rates.

Development of active, nanoparticle, antimicrobial technologies for muscle-based packaging applications.

PubMed

Morris, Michael A; Padmanabhan, Sibu C; Cruz-Romero, Malco C; Cummins, Enda; Kerry, Joseph P

2017-10-01

Fresh and processed muscle-based foods are highly perishable food products and packaging plays a crucial role in providing containment so that the full effect of preservation can be achieved through the provision of shelf-life extension. Conventional packaging materials and systems have served the industry well, however, greater demands are being placed upon industrial packaging formats owing to the movement of muscle-based products to increasingly distant markets, as well as increased customer demands for longer product shelf-life and storage capability. Consequently, conventional packaging materials and systems will have to evolve to meet these challenges. This review presents some of the new strategies that have been developed by employing novel nanotechnological concepts which have demonstrated some promise in significantly extending the shelf-life of muscle-based foods by providing commercially-applicable, antimicrobially-active, smart packaging solutions. The primary focus of this paper is applied to subject aspects, such as; material chemistries employed, forming methods utilised, interactions of the packaging functionalities including nanomaterials employed with polymer substrates and how such materials ultimately affect microbes. In order that such materials become industrially feasible, it is important that safe, stable and commercially-viable packaging materials are shown to be producible and effective in order to gain public acceptance, legislative approval and industrial adoption. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Rural-urban disparity in knowledge and compliance with traffic signs among young commercial motorcyclists in selected local government areas in Oyo State, Nigeria.

PubMed

Olumide, Adesola O; Owoaje, Eme T

2017-06-01

This study compared knowledge and compliance with traffic signs among young commercial motorcyclists in rural and urban communities in Oyo state, Nigeria. Information on knowledge and compliance with 10 common traffic signs was obtained from 149 rural and 113 urban commercial motorcyclists aged 18-35 years. Aggregate knowledge scores were computed and categorized as good (≥5) and poor (<5) knowledge. Overall, 98.7% rural versus 61.1% urban motorcyclists had poor knowledge of traffic signs (p < 0.05). After controlling for age, level of education and years of commercial riding, motorcyclists in the rural areas were more likely to have poor knowledge of the traffic signs (OR = 58.15; 95% CI = 11.96-282.79). A higher proportion of rural than urban motorcyclists never obeyed any of the traffic signs. Young rural commercial motorcyclists' knowledge and compliance with the road signs was poorer than their urban counterparts. Interventions to improve the rural motorcyclists' knowledge and ultimately compliance with road signs are urgently required.

Intelligent Vision Systems Independent Research and Development (IR&D) 2006

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patrick, Clinton; Chavis, Katherine

2006-01-01

This report summarizes results in conduct of research sponsored by the 2006 Independent Research and Development (IR&D) program at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The focus of this IR&D is neural network (NN) technology provided by Imagination Engines, Incorporated (IEI) of St. Louis, Missouri. The technology already has many commercial, military, and governmental applications, and a rapidly growing list of other potential spin-offs. The goal for this IR&D is implementation and demonstration of the technology for autonomous robotic operations, first in software and ultimately in one or more hardware realizations. Testing is targeted specifically to the MSFC Flat Floor, but may also include other robotic platforms at MSFC, as time and funds permit. For the purpose of this report, the NN technology will be referred to by IEI's designation for a subset configuration of its patented technology suite: Self-Training Autonomous Neural Network Object (STANNO).

Development of biodegradable materials; balancing degradability and performance

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

Mayer, J.M.; Allen, A.L.; Dell, P.A.

1993-12-31

The development of biodegradable materials suitable for packaging must take into consideration various performance criteria such as mechanical and barrier properties, as well as rate of biodegradability in given environments. Individual or blended biopolymer films were obtained commercially or blown into film in the laboratory and tested for tensile strength, ultimate elongation and oxygen barrier. These films were then subjected to accelerated marine biodegradation tests as well as simulated marine respirometry. Starch/ethylene vinyl alcohol films exhibited good mechanical and excellent oxygen barrier properties, but were very slow to biodegrade in the simulated and excellent oxygen barrier properties, but were verymore » slow to biodegrade in the simulated marine environment. Polyhydroxyalkanoates had good mechanical properties, average oxygen barrier and good biodegradability. Data indicate that performance and biodegradability of packaging can be tailored to needs by combining individual biopolymers in different proportions in blends and laminates.« less

FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT Synthetic, Structural and Mechanistic Investigations of Olefin Polymerization Catalyzed by Early Transition Metal Compounds

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

Bercaw, John E.

2014-05-23

The goal of this project is to develop new catalysts and provide understanding of ligand effects on catalyst composition in order to guide development of superior catalyst systems for polymerization of olefins. Our group is designing and synthesizing new “LX2”,“pincer” type ligands and complexing early transition metals to afford precatalysts. In a collaboration with Hans Brintzinger from the University of Konstanz, we are also examining the structures of the components of catalyst systems obtained from reaction of zirconocene dichlorides with aluminum alkyls and aluminum hydrides. Such systems are currently used commercially to produce polyolefins, but the nature of the activemore » and dormant species as well as the mechanisms of their interconversions are not understood. New information on catalyst design and performance may lead to new types of polymers and/or new chemical transformations between hydrocarbons and transition metal centers, ultimately contributing to the development of catalytic reactions for the production of fuels, commodity and polymeric materials.« less

COTS Ceramic Chip Capacitors: An Evaluation of the Parts and Assurance Methodologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sampson, Michael J.

2004-01-01

This viewgraph presentation profiles an experiment to evaluate the suitability of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) ceramic chip capacitors for NASA spaceflight applications. The experiment included: 1) Voltage Conditioning ('Burn-In'); 2) Highly Accelerated Life Test (HALT); 3) Destructive Physical Analysis (DPA); 4) Ultimate Voltage Breakdown Strength. The presentation includes results for each of the capacitors used in the experiment.

Study protocol: evaluation of 'JenMe', a commercially-delivered weight management program for adolescents: a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Dordevic, Aimee L; Bonham, Maxine P; Ware, Robert S; Brennan, Leah; Truby, Helen

2015-06-19

Early lifestyle intervention with overweight and obese adolescents could help to avoid serious health events in early adulthood, ultimately alleviating some of the strain on the public health system due to obesity-related morbidity. Commercial weight loss programs have wide reach into the community setting, and have demonstrated success in long term weight management in adults, beyond that of current public health care. Commercial weight-management programs have not been evaluated as a method of delivery for overweight and obese adolescents. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a new adolescent weight management program in a commercial environment. One hundred and forty adolescents, 13 to 17 years old, will be randomised to either a weight management program intervention or a wait-listed group for 12 weeks. The commercial program will consist of a combined dietary and lifestyle approach targeting improved health behaviours for weight-loss or weight-stability. Participants will be overweight or obese (above the 85(th) percentile for BMI) and without existing co-morbidities. Outcome measures will be assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. Primary outcome measures will be changes in BMI Z-score and waist-height ratio. Secondary outcome measures will include changes in behaviour, physical activity and psychosocial wellbeing. Intervention participants will be followed up at 6 months following completion of the initial program. Ethics approval has been granted from the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (CF11/3687-2011001940). This independent evaluation of a weight management program for adolescents, delivered in a commercial setting, will provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of such programs; which may offer adolescents an avenue of weight-management with ongoing support prior to the development of obesity related co-morbidities. The protocol for this study is registered with the International Clinical Trials Registry ISRCTN13602313.

Functionalized graphene-based cathode for highly reversible lithium-sulfur batteries.

PubMed

Kim, Jin Won; Ocon, Joey D; Park, Dong-Won; Lee, Jaeyoung

2014-05-01

In this article, we highlight the salient issues in the development of lithium-sulfur battery (LSB) cathodes, present different points of view in solving them, and argue, why in the future, functionalized graphene or graphene oxide might be the ultimate solution towards LSB commercialization. As shown by previous studies and also in our recent work, functionalized graphene and graphene oxide enhance the reversibility of the charge-discharge process by trapping polysulfides in the oxygen functional groups on the graphene surface, thus minimizing polysulfide dissolution. This will be helpful for the rational design of new cathode structures based on graphene for LSBs with minimal capacity fading, low extra cost, and without the unnecessary weight increase caused by metal/metal oxide additives. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Numerical and Experimental Validation of a New Damage Initiation Criterion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadhinoch, M.; Atzema, E. H.; Perdahcioglu, E. S.; van den Boogaard, A. H.

2017-09-01

Most commercial finite element software packages, like Abaqus, have a built-in coupled damage model where a damage evolution needs to be defined in terms of a single fracture energy value for all stress states. The Johnson-Cook criterion has been modified to be Lode parameter dependent and this Modified Johnson-Cook (MJC) criterion is used as a Damage Initiation Surface (DIS) in combination with the built-in Abaqus ductile damage model. An exponential damage evolution law has been used with a single fracture energy value. Ultimately, the simulated force-displacement curves are compared with experiments to validate the MJC criterion. 7 out of 9 fracture experiments were predicted accurately. The limitations and accuracy of the failure predictions of the newly developed damage initiation criterion will be discussed shortly.

Iron-Nitride Alloy Magnets: Transformation Enabled Nitride Magnets Absent Rare Earths (TEN Mare)

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

None

2012-01-01

REACT Project: Case Western is developing a highly magnetic iron-nitride alloy to use in the magnets that power electric motors found in EVs and renewable power generators. This would reduce the overall price of the motor by eliminating the expensive imported rare earth minerals typically found in today’s best commercial magnets. The iron-nitride powder is sourced from abundant and inexpensive materials found in the U.S. The ultimate goal of this project is to demonstrate this new magnet system, which contains no rare earths, in a prototype electric motor. This could significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in themore » U.S. each year by encouraging the use of clean alternatives to oil and coal.« less

Commercial Space Port Planning in Texas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, L.; Looke, B.

2002-01-01

The Texas Legislature is providing funding to support research and planning activities aimed at creating a commercial spaceport in the state. These monies have been allocated to regional Spaceport Development Corporations that have been established in three countries containing candidate site locations: Willacy County (in South Texas); Brazoria County (East Texas); and Pecos County (West Texas). This program is being sponsored and coordinated by the Texas Aerospace Commission (TAC). The Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) at the University of Houston is providing research, planning and design support to TAC and is a member of each of the three regional development teams. Planning must carefully consider special support requirements and operational characteristics of all prospective launch systems along with geographic, infrastructure and environmental factors at each site. Two of the candidate sites are in coastal areas; a priority for certain launch service providers; whereas the third inland site is more attractive to others. Candidate launch systems include winged horizontal takeoff air-launch vehicles, vertical multi-stage reusable launch vehicles, and expendable sub-orbital surrounding rockets. Important research and planning activities include environmental impact assessments, analyses of overflight hazards, investigations of economic impacts and business plan development. The results of these activities will guide master plan development for each site, including: a physical plan (site layout, infrastructure improvements and facility construction); and a strategic plan (user agreements, licenses, finance sources and participants). Commercial spaceport development demands compliance with stringent FAA regulations established by the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST) which exceed minimum standards allowed for U.S. Government spaceport facilities. Key among these requirements are 15,000 ft. radius on-site clear zones separating launch areas form inhabited facilities, and extremely conservative flight risk restrictions associated with launch trajectories over populated areas. Unless modified, the flight risk criteria currently mandated will prevent virtually all new U.S. commercial spaceport operating license proposals from being approved. Commercial spaceport development also presents significant financing challenges. New launch service companies typically lack substantial economic resources needed for infrastructure construction such as long horizontal runways, launch platforms and vehicle assembly and payload integration facilities. Outside investment sources much be identified, with supplementary revenues potentially derived from space tourism and ancillary public service uses. Texas spaceport planning sponsors, participants and advocates recognize that such a development warrants the necessary investment. It will support the advancement and services of new generations of launch systems vitally needed to reduce the high costs of space access. It will afford new state-wide, regional and local economic development opportunities that promote business investments, create jobs and expand infrastructure resources. It will also support a wide spectrum of educational objectives by including and serving academic programs at all levels. Regardless which site is ultimately selected, all Texas regions and public interests in general will benefit.

Digital output compensation for precise frequency transfer over commercial fiber link

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ci, Cheng; Wu, Hong; Tang, Ran; Liu, Bo; Chen, Xing; Zhang, Xue-song; Zhang, Yu; Zhao, Ying-xin

2018-03-01

An ultra-highly precise and long-term stable frequency transmission system over 120 km commercial fiber link has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. This system is based on digital output compensation technique to suppress phase fluctuations during the frequency transmission process. A mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser driven by a hydrogen maser serves as an optical transmitter. Moreover, a dense wavelength division multiplexing system is able to separate forward and backward signals with reflection effect excluded. The ultimate fractional frequency instabilities for the long-distance frequency distributed system are up to 3.14×10-15 at 1 s and 2.96×10-19 at 10 000 s, respectively.

[Doctor, may I travel in space? Aeromedical considerations regarding commercial suborbital space flights].

PubMed

Haerkens, Marck H T M; Simons, Ries; Kuipers, André

2011-01-01

Within a few years, the first commercial operators will start flying passengers on suborbital flights to the verge of space. Medical data on the effects of space journeys on humans have mainly been provided by professional astronauts. There is very little research into the aeromedical consequences of suborbital flights for the health of untrained passengers. Low air pressure and oxygen tension can be compensated for by pressurising the spacecraft or pressure suit. Rapid changes in gravitational (G-)force pose ultimate challenges to cardiovascular adaptation mechanisms. Zero-gravity and G-force may cause motion sickness. Vibrations and noise during the flight may disturb communication between passengers and crew. In addition, the psychological impact of a suborbital flight should not be underestimated. There are currently no legal requirements available for medical examinations for commercial suborbital flights, but it seems justifiable to establish conditions for potential passengers' states of health.

Ground Radar Polarimetric Observations of High-Frequency Earth-Space Communication Links

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolen, Steve; Chandrasekar, V.; Benjamin, Andrew

2002-01-01

Strategic roadmaps for NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space (REDS) enterprise support near-term high-frequency communication systems that provide moderate to high data rates with dependable service. Near-earth and human planetary exploration will baseline Ka-Band, but may ultimately require the use of even higher frequencies. Increased commercial demand on low-frequency earth-space bands has also led to increased interest in the use of higher frequencies in regions like K u - and K,- band. Data is taken from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR), which operates at 13.8 GHz, and the true radar reflectivity profile is determined along the PR beam via low-frequency ground based polarimetric observations. The specific differential phase (Kdp) is measured along the beam and a theoretical model is used to determine the expected specific attenuation (k). This technique, called the k-Kdp method, uses a Fuzzy-Logic model to determine the hydrometeor type along the PR beam from which the appropriate k-Kdp relationship is used to determine k and, ultimately, the total path-integrated attenuation (PIA) on PR measurements. Measurements from PR and the NCAR S-POL radar were made during the TEFLUN-B experiment that took place near Melbourne, FL in 1998, and the TRMM-LBA campaign near Ji-Parana, Brazil in 1999.

The CRISPR-Cas9 technology: Closer to the ultimate toolkit for targeted genome editing.

PubMed

Quétier, Francis

2016-01-01

The first period of plant genome editing was based on Agrobacterium; chemical mutagenesis by EMS (ethyl methanesulfonate) and ionizing radiations; each of these technologies led to randomly distributed genome modifications. The second period is associated with the discoveries of homing and meganuclease enzymes during the 80s and 90s, which were then engineered to provide efficient tools for targeted editing. From 2006 to 2012, a few crop plants were successfully and precisely modified using zinc-finger nucleases. A third wave of improvement in genome editing, which led to a dramatic decrease in off-target events, was achieved in 2009-2011 with the TALEN technology. The latest revolution surfaced in 2013 with the CRISPR-Cas9 system, whose high efficiency and technical ease of use is really impressive; scientists can use in-house kits or commercially available kits; the only two requirements are to carefully choose the location of the DNA double strand breaks to be induced and then to order an oligonucleotide. While this close-to- ultimate toolkit for targeted editing of genomes represents dramatic scientific progress which allows the development of more complex useful agronomic traits through synthetic biology, the social acceptance of genome editing remains regularly questioned by anti-GMO citizens and organizations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-Healable and Reprocessable Polysulfide Sealants Prepared from Liquid Polysulfide Oligomer and Epoxy Resin.

PubMed

Gao, Wentong; Bie, Mengyao; Liu, Fu; Chang, Pengshan; Quan, Yiwu

2017-05-10

Polysulfide sealants have been commercially applied in many industrial fields. In this article, we study the self-healing property of the epoxy resin-cured polysulfide sealants for the first time. The obtained sealants showed a flexible range of ultimate elongation of 157-478% and a tensile strength of 1.02-0.75 MPa corresponding to different polysulfide oligomers. By taking advantage of the dynamic reversible exchange of disulfide bonds, polysulfide sealants exhibited good self-healing ability under a moderate thermal stimulus. A higher molecular weight and a lower degree of cross-linking of polysulfide oligomer were helpful in improving the ultimate elongation and healing efficiency of the polysulfide sealants. After subjecting to a temperature of 75 °C for 60 min, both the tensile strength and ultimate elongation of a fully cut sample, LP55-F, were restored to 91% of the original values, without affecting the sealing property. Furthermore, the sample exhibited excellent reshaping and reprocessing abilities. These outcomes offer a paradigm toward sustainable industrial applications of the polysulfide-based sealants.

DOE EiR at Oakridge National Lab 2008/09

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

Bauer, Michael

2012-11-30

This project placed an experienced technology entrepreneur at Oak Ridge National Lab, one of DOE's premier laboratories undertaking cutting edge research in a variety of fields, including energy technologies. With the goal of accelerating the commercialization of advanced energy technologies, the task was to review available technologies at the lab and identify those that qualify for licensing and commercialization by a private startup company, backed by private venture capital. During the project, more than 1,500 inventions filed at the lab were reviewed over a 1 year period; a successively smaller number was selected for more detailed review, ultimately resulting inmore » five, and then 1 technology, being reviewed for immediate commercialization. The chosen technology, consisting in computational chemistry based approached to optimization of enzymes, was tested in lab experiments, paid for by funds raised by ORNL for the purpose of proving out the effectiveness of the technology and readiness for commercialization. The experiments proved out that the technology worked however it's performance proved not yet mature enough to qualify for private venture capital funded commercialization in a high tech startup. As a consequence, the project did not result in a new startup company being formed, as originally intended.« less

Risk Mitigation Approach to Commercial Resupply to the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koons, Diane S.; Schreiber, Craig

2010-01-01

In August 2006, NASA awarded Space Act Agreements (SAAs) for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) under the Commercial Crew and Cargo Project Office at Johnson Space Center. One of the goals of the SAAs is to facilitate U.S. private industry demonstration of cargo transportation capabilities, ultimately achieving reliable, cost effective access to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Each COTS provider is required to complete International Space Stations (ISS) Integration activities, which includes meeting the physical and functional interfaces and interface requirements between the ISS and COTS vehicles. These requirements focus on the areas of risk to the ISS during rendezvous and proximity operations, as well as the integration operations while the COTS vehicle is berthed to the ISS. On December 23, 2008, NASA awarded Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) contracts to provide resupply services to the ISS, following the Shuttle retirement. In addition to performing any ISS Integration activities, NASA will be performing independent assessments of the launch vehicle and orbital vehicle to evaluate the readiness of the contractor to deliver NASA cargo safely to the ISS. This paper will address the activities NASA Centers, both JSC and KSC, in the oversight and insight function over commercial visiting vehicles to the ISS.

Effects of Deployment Investment on the Growth of the Biofuels Industry

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

Vimmerstedt, Laura J.; Bush, Brian W.

2013-12-01

In support of the national goals for biofuel use in the United States, numerous technologies have been developed that convert biomass to biofuels. Some of these biomass to biofuel conversion technology pathways are operating at commercial scales, while others are in earlier stages of development. The advancement of a new pathway toward commercialization involves various types of progress, including yield improvements, process engineering, and financial performance. Actions of private investors and public programs can accelerate the demonstration and deployment of new conversion technology pathways. These investors (both private and public) will pursue a range of pilot, demonstration, and pioneer scalemore » biorefinery investments; the most cost-effective set of investments for advancing the maturity of any given biomass to biofuel conversion technology pathway is unknown. In some cases, whether or not the pathway itself will ultimately be technically and financially successful is also unknown. This report presents results from the Biomass Scenario Model -- a system dynamics model of the biomass to biofuels system -- that estimate effects of investments in biorefineries at different maturity levels and operational scales. The report discusses challenges in estimating effects of such investments and explores the interaction between this deployment investment and a volumetric production incentive. Model results show that investments in demonstration and deployment have a substantial positive effect on the development of the biofuels industry. Results also show that other conditions, such as supportive policies, have major impacts on the effectiveness of such investments.« less

Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells: Five Core Technologies for Their Commercialization.

PubMed

Kang, Hongkyu; Kim, Geunjin; Kim, Junghwan; Kwon, Sooncheol; Kim, Heejoo; Lee, Kwanghee

2016-09-01

The past two decades of vigorous interdisciplinary approaches has seen tremendous breakthroughs in both scientific and technological developments of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs) based on nanocomposites of π-conjugated organic semiconductors. Because of their unique functionalities, the OSC field is expected to enable innovative photovoltaic applications that can be difficult to achieve using traditional inorganic solar cells: OSCs are printable, portable, wearable, disposable, biocompatible, and attachable to curved surfaces. The ultimate objective of this field is to develop cost-effective, stable, and high-performance photovoltaic modules fabricated on large-area flexible plastic substrates via high-volume/throughput roll-to-roll printing processing and thus achieve the practical implementation of OSCs. Recently, intensive research efforts into the development of organic materials, processing techniques, interface engineering, and device architectures have led to a remarkable improvement in power conversion efficiencies, exceeding 11%, which has finally brought OSCs close to commercialization. Current research interests are expanding from academic to industrial viewpoints to improve device stability and compatibility with large-scale printing processes, which must be addressed to realize viable applications. Here, both academic and industrial issues are reviewed by highlighting historically monumental research results and recent state-of-the-art progress in OSCs. Moreover, perspectives on five core technologies that affect the realization of the practical use of OSCs are presented, including device efficiency, device stability, flexible and transparent electrodes, module designs, and printing techniques. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Bringing Superconductor Digital Technology to the Market Place

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nisenoff, Martin

The unique properties of superconductivity can be exploited to provide the ultimate in electronic technology for systems such as ultra-precise analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue converters, precise DC and AC voltage standards, ultra high speed logic circuits and systems (both digital and hybrid analogue-digital systems), and very high throughput network routers and supercomputers which would have superior electrical performance at lower overall electrical power consumption compared to systems with comparable performance which are fabricated using conventional room temperature technologies. This potential for high performance electronics with reduced power consumption would have a positive impact on slowing the increase in the demand for electrical utility power by the information technology community on the overall electrical power grid. However, before this technology can be successfully brought to the commercial market place, there must be an aggressive investment of resources and funding to develop the required infrastructure needed to yield these high performance superconductor systems, which will be reliable and available at low cost. The author proposes that it will require a concerted effort by the superconductor and cryogenic communities to bring this technology to the commercial market place or make it available for widespread use in scientific instrumentation.

Torsional strength of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing-fabricated esthetic orthodontic brackets.

PubMed

Alrejaye, Najla; Pober, Richard; Giordano Ii, Russell

2017-01-01

To fabricate orthodontic brackets from esthetic materials and determine their fracture resistance during archwire torsion. Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technology (Cerec inLab, Sirona) was used to mill brackets with a 0.018 × 0.025-inch slot. Materials used were Paradigm MZ100 and Lava Ultimate resin composite (3M ESPE), Mark II feldspathic porcelain (Vita Zahnfabrik), and In-Ceram YZ zirconia (Vita Zahnfabrik). Ten brackets of each material were subjected to torque by a 0.018 × 0.025-inch stainless steel archwire (G&H) using a specially designed apparatus. The average moments and degrees of torsion necessary to fracture the brackets were determined and compared with those of commercially available alumina brackets, Mystique MB (Dentsply GAC). The YZ brackets were statistically significantly stronger than any other tested material in their resistance to torsion (P < .05). The mean torques at failure ranged from 3467 g.mm for Mark II to 11,902 g.mm for YZ. The mean torsion angles at failure ranged from 15.3° to 40.9°. Zirconia had the highest torsional strength among the tested esthetic brackets. Resistance of MZ100 and Lava Ultimate composite resin brackets to archwire torsion was comparable to commercially available alumina ceramic brackets.

Ultimate turbulence experiment: simultaneous measurements of Cn2 near the ground using six devices and eight methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yatcheva, Lydia; Barros, Rui; Segel, Max; Sprung, Detlev; Sucher, Erik; Eisele, Christian; Gladysz, Szymon

2015-10-01

We have performed a series of experiments in order to simultaneously validate several devices and methods for measurement of the path-averaged refractive index structure constant ( 𝐶𝑛 2). The experiments were carried out along a horizontal urban path near the ground. Measuring turbulence in this layer is particularly important because of the prospect of using adaptive optics for free-space optical communications in an urban environment. On one hand, several commercial sensors were used: SLS20, a laser scintillometer from Scintec AG, BLS900, a largeaperture scintillometer, also from Scintec, and a 3D sonic anemometer from Thies GmbH. On the other hand, we measured turbulence strength with new approaches and devices developed in-house. Firstly, an LED array combined with a high-speed camera allowed for measurement of 𝐶𝑛 2 from raw- and differential image motion, and secondly a two-part system comprising a laser source, a Shack-Hartmann sensor and a PSF camera recoded turbulent modulation transfer functions, Zernike variances and angle-of-arrival structure functions, yielding three independent estimates of 𝐶𝑛 2. We compare the measured values yielded simultaneously by commercial and in-house developed devices and show very good agreement between 𝐶𝑛 2 values for all the methods. Limitations of each experimental method are also discussed.

Biomass Pyrolysis Solids as Reducing Agents: Comparison with Commercial Reducing Agents.

PubMed

Adrados, Aitziber; De Marco, Isabel; López-Urionabarrenechea, Alexander; Solar, Jon; Caballero, Blanca M; Gastelu, Naia

2015-12-23

Biomass is one of the most suitable options to be used as renewable energy source due to its extensive availability and its contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass under appropriate conditions (slow heating rate and high temperatures) can produce a quality solid product, which could be applicable to several metallurgical processes as reducing agent (biocoke or bioreducer). Two woody biomass samples (olives and eucalyptus) were pyrolyzed to produce biocoke. These biocokes were characterized by means of proximate and ultimate analysis, real density, specific surface area, and porosity and were compared with three commercial reducing agents. Finally, reactivity tests were performed both with the biocokes and with the commercial reducing agents. Bioreducers have lower ash and sulfur contents than commercial reducers, higher surface area and porosity, and consequently, much higher reactivity. Bioreducers are not appropriate to be used as top burden in blast furnaces, but they can be used as fuel and reducing agent either tuyére injected at the lower part of the blast furnace or in non-ferrous metallurgical processes where no mechanical strength is needed as, for example, in rotary kilns.

Systematic review of serious games for medical education and surgical skills training.

PubMed

Graafland, M; Schraagen, J M; Schijven, M P

2012-10-01

The application of digital games for training medical professionals is on the rise. So-called 'serious' games form training tools that provide a challenging simulated environment, ideal for future surgical training. Ultimately, serious games are directed at reducing medical error and subsequent healthcare costs. The aim was to review current serious games for training medical professionals and to evaluate the validity testing of such games. PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PsychInfo and CINAHL were searched using predefined inclusion criteria for available studies up to April 2012. The primary endpoint was validation according to current criteria. A total of 25 articles were identified, describing a total of 30 serious games. The games were divided into two categories: those developed for specific educational purposes (17) and commercial games also useful for developing skills relevant to medical personnel (13). Pooling of data was not performed owing to the heterogeneity of study designs and serious games. Six serious games were identified that had a process of validation. Of these six, three games were developed for team training in critical care and triage, and three were commercially available games applied to train laparoscopic psychomotor skills. None of the serious games had completed a full validation process for the purpose of use. Blended and interactive learning by means of serious games may be applied to train both technical and non-technical skills relevant to the surgical field. Games developed or used for this purpose need validation before integration into surgical teaching curricula. Copyright © 2012 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Advanced Technology Composite Fuselage-Structural Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, T. H.; Minguet, P. J.; Flynn, B. W.; Carbery, D. J.; Swanson, G. D.; Ilcewicz, L. B.

1997-01-01

Boeing is studying the technologies associated with the application of composite materials to commercial transport fuselage structure under the NASA-sponsored contracts for Advanced Technology Composite Aircraft Structures (ATCAS) and Materials Development Omnibus Contract (MDOC). This report addresses the program activities related to structural performance of the selected concepts, including both the design development and subsequent detailed evaluation. Design criteria were developed to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and typical company objectives. Accurate analysis methods were selected and/or developed where practical, and conservative approaches were used where significant approximations were necessary. Design sizing activities supported subsequent development by providing representative design configurations for structural evaluation and by identifying the critical performance issues. Significant program efforts were directed towards assessing structural performance predictive capability. The structural database collected to perform this assessment was intimately linked to the manufacturing scale-up activities to ensure inclusion of manufacturing-induced performance traits. Mechanical tests were conducted to support the development and critical evaluation of analysis methods addressing internal loads, stability, ultimate strength, attachment and splice strength, and damage tolerance. Unresolved aspects of these performance issues were identified as part of the assessments, providing direction for future development.

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

Audette, L.G.

As originally conceived, the project called for modification of existing, commercially available stoker components. We experienced substantial delays in procurement, caused by supply backlogs and a major fire at the plant which ultimately provided the main stoker frame. Added to the problems was the bankruptcy of the L.W. Gay Stoveworks, where the project was to be located. Ultimately, parts were assembled and a combustion chamber was constructed at the Leyden Energy Corporation of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. A firing chamber with provision for measuring various physical and combustion parameters was constructed. The stoker, with appropriate modifications, was installed. Combustion analysis equipmentmore » was procured, and coal and wood pellets were stoked in order to test the effectiveness of the modifications. This report describes the configuration of the demonstration stoker and its modifications, as well as the testing exercise performed over the course of the project. 10 figs.« less

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

Abercrombie, Robert K; Udoeyop, Akaninyene W; Schlicher, Bob G

This work examines a scientometric model that tracks the emergence of an identified technology from initial discovery (via original scientific and conference literature), through critical discoveries (via original scientific, conference literature and patents), transitioning through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and ultimately on to commercial application. During the period of innovation and technology transfer, the impact of scholarly works, patents and on-line web news sources are identified. As trends develop, currency of citations, collaboration indicators, and on-line news patterns are identified. The combinations of four distinct and separate searchable on-line networked sources (i.e., scholarly publications and citation, patents, news archives, andmore » online mapping networks) are assembled to become one collective network (a dataset for analysis of relations). This established network becomes the basis from which to quickly analyze the temporal flow of activity (searchable events) for the example subject domain we investigated.« less

Tissue engineering.

PubMed

Katari, Ravi S; Peloso, Andrea; Orlando, Giuseppe

2014-01-01

Ultimately much work remains to be done in the companion fields of biomaterials and stem cells. Nonetheless, the monumental progress in TE that has been reported in the studies summarized here demonstrates that regenerative approaches to problems in general surgery need to be explored in more depth. Furthermore, the surgical disciplines of reconstruction and transplantation need to recognize their research counterparts in TE, given its potential to actualize freedom from immunosuppression, one of the most elusive goals in modern surgery. The engineering and proliferation of autologous cells, tissues, and organs ex vivo before surgical operation can significantly reduce the obstacles current practitioners are intimately familiar with: donor site morbidity and immunologic rejection. Therefore, in addition to the truly exciting research and development prospects and implications for the commercial sector, patients with end-stage diseases and debilitating injury stand to gain the most from clinically adapted TE therapies.

Measurement of interfacial thermal conductance in Lithium ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaitonde, Aalok; Nimmagadda, Amulya; Marconnet, Amy

2017-03-01

Increasing usage and recent accidents due to Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries exploding or catching on fire has inspired research on the thermal management of these batteries. In cylindrical 18650 cells, heat generated during the charge/discharge cycle must dissipate to the surrounding through its metallic case due to the poor thermal conductivity of the jelly roll, which is spirally wound with many interfaces between electrodes and the polymeric separator. This work develops a technique to measure the thermal resistance across the case-separator interface, which ultimately limits heat transfer out of the jelly roll. Commercial 18650 batteries are discharged and opened using a battery disassembly tool, and the 25 μm thick separator and the 200 μm thick metallic case are harvested to make samples. A miniaturized version of the conventional reference bar method (ASTM astm:D5470)

Challenges to neurology residency education in today's health care environment.

PubMed

Bega, Danny; Krainc, Dimitri

2016-09-01

Residency training has had to adapt to higher patient volumes, increased complexity of medical care, and the commercialized system of health care. These changes have led to a concerning culture shift in neurology. We review the relationship between the emerging health care delivery system and residency training, highlighting issues related to duty hours and work-life balance, the changing technological landscape, high patient volumes, and complex service obligations. We propose that the current challenges in health care delivery offer the opportunity to improve neurology residency through faculty development programs, bringing teaching back to the bedside, increasing resident autonomy, utilizing near-peer teaching, and rewarding educators who facilitate an environment of inquiry and scholarship, with the ultimate goal of better alignment between education and patient care. Ann Neurol 2016;80:315-320. © 2016 American Neurological Association.

Site-specific DNA excision in transgenic rice with a cell-permeable cre recombinase.

PubMed

Cao, Ming-Xia; Huang, Jian-Qiu; Yao, Quan-Hong; Liu, Sheng-Jun; Wang, Cheng-Long; Wei, Zhi-Ming

2006-01-01

The removal of selected marker genes from transgenic plants is necessary to address biosafety concerns and to carry out further experiments with transgenic organisms. In the present study, the 12-amino-acid membrane translocation sequence (MTS) from the Kaposi fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-4 was used as a carrier to deliver enzymatically active Cre proteins into living plant cells, and to produce a site-specific DNA excision in transgenic rice plants. The process, which made cells permeable to Cre recombinase-mediated DNA recombination, circumvented the need to express Cre under spatiotemporal control and was proved to be a simple and efficient system to achieve marker-free transgenic plants. The ultimate aim of the present study is to develop commercial rice cultivars free from selected marker genes to hasten public acceptance of transgenic crops.

Supercontinuum Fourier transform spectrometry with balanced detection on a single photodiode

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

Goncharov, Vasily; Hall, Gregory

Here, we have developed phase-sensitive signal detection and processing algorithms for Fourier transform spectrometers fitted with supercontinuum sources for applications requiring ultimate sensitivity. Similar to well-established approach of source noise cancellation through balanced detection of monochromatic light, our method is capable of reducing the relative intensity noise of polychromatic light by 40 dB. Unlike conventional balanced detection, which relies on differential absorption measured with a well matched pair of photo-detectors, our algorithm utilizes phase-sensitive differential detection on a single photodiode and is capable of the real-time correction for instabilities in supercontinuum spectral structure over a broad range of wavelengths. Inmore » the resulting method is universal in terms of applicable wavelengths and compatible with commercial spectrometers. We present a proof-of-principle experimental« less

Supercontinuum Fourier transform spectrometry with balanced detection on a single photodiode

DOE PAGES

Goncharov, Vasily; Hall, Gregory

2016-08-25

Here, we have developed phase-sensitive signal detection and processing algorithms for Fourier transform spectrometers fitted with supercontinuum sources for applications requiring ultimate sensitivity. Similar to well-established approach of source noise cancellation through balanced detection of monochromatic light, our method is capable of reducing the relative intensity noise of polychromatic light by 40 dB. Unlike conventional balanced detection, which relies on differential absorption measured with a well matched pair of photo-detectors, our algorithm utilizes phase-sensitive differential detection on a single photodiode and is capable of the real-time correction for instabilities in supercontinuum spectral structure over a broad range of wavelengths. Inmore » the resulting method is universal in terms of applicable wavelengths and compatible with commercial spectrometers. We present a proof-of-principle experimental« less

Population aging: opportunity for business expansion, an invitational paper presented at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) International Workshop on Adaptation to Population Aging Issues, July 17, 2017, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

PubMed

Arensberg, Mary Beth

2018-04-10

A longer life brings opportunities for older adults and their families as well as for their communities. Commercial businesses can be successful in innovating on these opportunities and achieving business expansion when they better understand the market dynamics and spectrum of older adults as consumers and view them more as assets rather than as burdens to society. While there is no "typical" older adult consumer, some traits, characteristics, and physical realities may be more common, including those related to family and community, the shopping experience, brand marketing and packaging, food and nutrition, and health. The opportunities of longer life are impacted by health and underscore the importance of positive, healthy aging-related behaviors like good nutrition and active lifestyles. Healthy aging also requires a sustained commitment and action from country leaders to formulate evidence-based polices--like systematic nutrition screening and intervention-and healthcare workforce training and education that can strengthen and support an active aging population. In addition, governments should consider engaging commercial businesses to help set sustainable policies that can advance products for older adults. Finally, governments should set national and local goals to incentivize commercial business development and investment in public-private partnerships to improve quality of care, promote healthy aging, and impact outcomes for noncommunicable diseases, ultimately benefitting population health for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries.

Development of COPVS for High pressure, In-Space, Cryogenic Fuel Storage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeLay, Tom; Schneider, Judy; Dyess, Mark; Hastings, Chad; Noorda, Ryan; Noorda, Jared; Patterson, James

2008-01-01

Polymeric composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) provide an attractive material system to support developing commercial launch business and alternate fuel ventures. However to be able to design with these materials, the mechanical behavior of the materials must be understood with regards to processing, performance, damage tolerance, and environment. For the storage of cryogenic propellants, it is important to evaluate the materials performance and impact damage resistance at cryogenic temperatures in order to minimize weight and to ensure safety and reliability. To evaluate the ultimate performance, various polymeric COPV's have been statically burst tested at cryogenic conditions before and after exposure to irradiation. Materials selected for these COPVs were based on the measured mechanical properties of candidate resin systems and fibers that were also tested at cryogenic conditions before and after exposure to irradiation. The correlation of COPV burst pressures with the constituent material properties has proven to be a valuable screening method for selection of suitable candidate materials with resistance to material degradation due to exposure to temperature and radiation.

Tracing Impacts of Science and Technology Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, Jeanne

2003-03-01

ATP's Mission and Operations. The ATP partners with industry to accelerate the development of innovative technologies for broad national economic benefit. The program's focus is on co-funding collaborative, multi-disciplinary technologies and enabling technology platforms that appear likely to be commercialized, with private sector funding, once the high technical risks are reduced. Industry-led projects are selected for funding in rigorous competitions on the basis of technical and economic merit. Since 1990, ATP has co-funded 642 projects, with 1,329 participants and another 1,300 subcontractors. Measuring to Mission: Overview of ATP's Evaluation Program. ATP's multi-component evaluation strategy provides measures of progress and performance matched to the stage of project evolution; i.e., for the short-term, from the time of project selection and over the course of the R for the mid-term, as commercial applications are pursued, early products reach the market, and dissemination of knowledge created in the R projects occurs; and for the longer-term, as more fully-developed technologies diffuse across multiple products and industries. The approach is applicable to all public S programs and adaptable to private or university projects ranging from basic research to applied industrial R. Examples of Results. ATP's composite performance rating system assesses ATP's completed projects against multi-faceted performance criteria of Knowledge Creation and Dissemination and Commercialization Progress 2-3 years after the end of ATP-funded R. It generates scores ranging from zero to four stars. Results for ATP's first 50 completed projects show that 16are in the bottom group of zero or one stars. 60the middle group. It is understood that not all ATP projects will be successful given the program's emphasis on funding high-risk technology development that the private sector is unwilling and unable to fund alone. Different technologies have different timelines for commercialization and diffusion. ATP has contracted a number of in-depth case studies of individual projects and groups of related projects. Given that the full timeline for economic impact extends many years after ATP funding ends, some studies are prospective, and others are retrospective. Some are a mix of the two. Quantitative economic impacts from just a few or the projects funded to date provide strong evidence that the ATP is addressing its ultimate goal of broad economic benefits to the nation and generating value that vastly exceeds the cost of the program to date.

CubeSat evolution: Analyzing CubeSat capabilities for conducting science missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poghosyan, Armen; Golkar, Alessandro

2017-01-01

Traditionally, the space industry produced large and sophisticated spacecraft handcrafted by large teams of engineers and budgets within the reach of only a few large government-backed institutions. However, over the last decade, the space industry experienced an increased interest towards smaller missions and recent advances in commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology miniaturization spurred the development of small spacecraft missions based on the CubeSat standard. CubeSats were initially envisioned primarily as educational tools or low cost technology demonstration platforms that could be developed and launched within one or two years. Recently, however, more advanced CubeSat missions have been developed and proposed, indicating that CubeSats clearly started to transition from being solely educational and technology demonstration platforms to offer opportunities for low-cost real science missions with potential high value in terms of science return and commercial revenue. Despite the significant progress made in CubeSat research and development over the last decade, some fundamental questions still habitually arise about the CubeSat capabilities, limitations, and ultimately about their scientific and commercial value. The main objective of this review is to evaluate the state of the art CubeSat capabilities with a special focus on advanced scientific missions and a goal of assessing the potential of CubeSat platforms as capable spacecraft. A total of over 1200 launched and proposed missions have been analyzed from various sources including peer-reviewed journal publications, conference proceedings, mission webpages as well as other publicly available satellite databases and about 130 relatively high performance missions were downselected and categorized into six groups based on the primary mission objectives including "Earth Science and Spaceborne Applications", "Deep Space Exploration", "Heliophysics: Space Weather", "Astrophysics", "Spaceborne In Situ Laboratory", and "Technology Demonstration" for in-detail analysis. Additionally, the evolution of CubeSat enabling technologies are surveyed for evaluating the current technology state of the art as well as identifying potential areas that will benefit the most from further technology developments for enabling high performance science missions based on CubeSat platforms.

Characterizing the Preturbulence Environment for Sensor Development, New Hazard Algorithms and NASA Experimental Flight Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, Michael L.; Lin, Yuh-Lang

2004-01-01

During the grant period, several tasks were performed in support of the NASA Turbulence Prediction and Warning Systems (TPAWS) program. The primary focus of the research was on characterizing the preturbulence environment by developing predictive tools and simulating atmospheric conditions that preceded severe turbulence. The goal of the research being to provide both dynamical understanding of conditions that preceded turbulence as well as providing predictive tools in support of operational NASA B-757 turbulence research flights. The advancements in characterizing the preturbulence environment will be applied by NASA to sensor development for predicting turbulence onboard commercial aircraft. Numerical simulations with atmospheric models as well as multi-scale observational analyses provided insights into the environment organizing turbulence in a total of forty-eight specific case studies of severe accident producing turbulence on commercial aircraft. These accidents exclusively affected commercial aircraft. A paradigm was developed which diagnosed specific atmospheric circulation systems from the synoptic scale down to the meso-y scale that preceded turbulence in both clear air and in proximity to convection. The emphasis was primarily on convective turbulence as that is what the TPAWS program is most focused on in terms of developing improved sensors for turbulence warning and avoidance. However, the dynamical paradigm also has applicability to clear air and mountain turbulence. This dynamical sequence of events was then employed to formulate and test new hazard prediction indices that were first tested in research simulation studies and then ultimately were further tested in support of the NASA B-757 turbulence research flights. The new hazard characterization algorithms were utilized in a Real Time Turbulence Model (RTTM) that was operationally employed to support the NASA B-757 turbulence research flights. Improvements in the RTTM were implemented in an effort to increase the accuracy of the operational characterization of the preturbulence environment. Additionally, the initial research necessary to create a statistical evaluation scheme for the characterization indices utilized in the RTTM was undertaken. Results of all components of this research were then published in NASA contractor reports and scientific journal papers.

The Fatigue Behavior of Built-Up Welded Beams of Commercially Pure Titanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patnaik, Anil; Poondla, Narendra; Bathini, Udaykar; Srivatsan, T. S.

2011-10-01

In this article, the results of a recent study aimed at evaluating, understanding, and rationalizing the extrinsic influence of fatigue loading on the response characteristics of built-up welded beams made from commercially pure titanium (Grade 2) are presented and discussed. The beams were made from welding plates and sheets of titanium using the pulsed gas metal arc welding technique to form a structural beam having an I-shaped cross section. The welds made for the test beams of the chosen metal were fillet welds using a matching titanium filler metal wire. The maximum and minimum load values at which the built-up beams were cyclically deformed were chosen to be within the range of 22-45% of the maximum predicted flexural static load. The beams were deformed in fatigue at a stress ratio of 0.1 and constant frequency of 5 Hz. The influence of the ratio of maximum load with respect to the ultimate failure load on fatigue performance, quantified in terms of fatigue life, was examined. The percentage of maximum load to ultimate load that resulted in run-out of one million cycles was established. The overall fracture behavior of the failed beam sample was characterized by scanning electron microscopy observations to establish the conjoint influence of load severity, intrinsic microstructural effects, and intrinsic fracture surface features in governing failure by fracture.

Mass Spectrometer Sounding of the Turbopause Region on Commercial Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thurairajah, B.; Bailey, S. M.; Syrstad, E. A.; Fish, C. S.; Siskind, D. E.; Russell, J. M.

2013-12-01

The turbopause region near 100 km remains one of the most poorly explored yet crucial regions of the upper atmosphere. In the vicinity of this altitude, the atmosphere reaches its lowest temperature and changes from being well mixed to being in diffusive equilibrium. Dynamical energy in the form of tides as well as gravity and planetary waves propagate from the lower atmosphere up to the ionosphere and thermosphere. Some energy and reactive chemical species are transported down across the turbopause to lower altitudes where the impact is significant. There is a significant dearth of composition observations near the turbopause. Few measurement techniques work well at this altitude, and it is too low for satellite orbits. Amazingly, major species with relatively large abundances such as O2, O, and CO2 are all poorly understood at these attitudes. While there are several experiments that measure temperature, the uncertainties in the temperature measurements are large because the techniques that are used rely on knowledge of CO2 or sometimes of O2. The lack of composition information thus hinders those observations that do occur near the turbopause and mesopause and leaves us with an overall poor understanding of this altitude region. We are soon to enter a new era in space exploration. Routine visits to the 100km region by commercial vehicles are on the verge of becoming a reality. The relevant organizations have expressed a willingness and even enthusiasm for including scientific instrumentation with their tourism and related commercial goals. We propose a major step forward in understanding the turbopause region by developing a mass spectrometer capable of being manifested on these commercial vehicles. Such an implantation could ultimately result in daily sounding of the turbopause region and greatly expand the database of measurements there. Our suggested instrument is a cryogenic time-of-flight mass Spectrometer. This technique has heritage, and our implementation is robust and well suited to commercial, reusable rockets. In this talk, we describe the instrument and measurement approach, challenges and mitigations to implementation on commercial flights, and the science benefits that could be obtained by routine observations.

Cabana Multi-User Spaceport Tour/CRS-10

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-17

Robert Cabana, director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, accompanied news media on Friday, February 17 for a three-part tour of facilities in the Launch Complex 39 area at Kennedy. Media received an update on the transition of government facilities to the aerospace industry, and how that approach enables NASA and industry success. The tour included the Vehicle Assembly Building, where extensive work is being completed to prepare not only for NASA’s Space Launch System, but also enables members of the aerospace industry to use the facility between NASA missions. The tour completed at Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility, previously a shuttle processing facility, where the company is manufacturing its Starliner spacecraft for flight tests and ultimately crew rotation missions with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Energy efficiency as a commodity: The emergence of a secondary market for efficiency savings in commercial buildings

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

Kats, G.H.; Rosenfield, A.H.; McIntosh, T.A.

1997-06-01

The energy efficiency industry is constrained by lack of financing. For example, in the United States, commercial and public buildings need an investment of $100 billion for cost-effective retrofits with an average payback of about four years. But the current level of financing is stagnant at only about 34% of this level per year. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has led the development of the North American Energy Measurement and Verification Protocol (NEMVP). This Protocol will increase the reliability and quality of estimated efficiency savings and improve realized savings. A critical element in the development of low cost financingmore » and a secondary market--whether for homes or credit card debt--is the adoption of protocols to provide uniformity and reliability of the product. This is also true of energy efficiency installations, which have been characterized by inconsistency in the installation methodologies and, frequently, unreliability of savings. This Protocol, published in April 1996, is a DOE-led effort involving American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. ASHRAE, National Association of Energy Service Companies NAESCO, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners NARUC, National Association of State Energy Officials NASEO, US Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Canada`s Canadian Association of Energy Service Companies CAESCO, and Mexico`s Comision Nacional Para El Ahorro De Energia CONAE and Fideicomiso De Apoyo Al Programa De Ahorro De Energia Del Sector Electrico FIDE. DOE has begun to build on this Protocol to develop new forms of lower-cost financing including, ultimately, development of a secondary market for energy efficiency. This could double financing for building energy efficiency within five years.« less

Biomass Pyrolysis Solids as Reducing Agents: Comparison with Commercial Reducing Agents

PubMed Central

Adrados, Aitziber; De Marco, Isabel; López-Urionabarrenechea, Alexander; Solar, Jon; Caballero, Blanca M.; Gastelu, Naia

2015-01-01

Biomass is one of the most suitable options to be used as renewable energy source due to its extensive availability and its contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass under appropriate conditions (slow heating rate and high temperatures) can produce a quality solid product, which could be applicable to several metallurgical processes as reducing agent (biocoke or bioreducer). Two woody biomass samples (olives and eucalyptus) were pyrolyzed to produce biocoke. These biocokes were characterized by means of proximate and ultimate analysis, real density, specific surface area, and porosity and were compared with three commercial reducing agents. Finally, reactivity tests were performed both with the biocokes and with the commercial reducing agents. Bioreducers have lower ash and sulfur contents than commercial reducers, higher surface area and porosity, and consequently, much higher reactivity. Bioreducers are not appropriate to be used as top burden in blast furnaces, but they can be used as fuel and reducing agent either tuyére injected at the lower part of the blast furnace or in non-ferrous metallurgical processes where no mechanical strength is needed as, for example, in rotary kilns. PMID:28787805

Design and validation of inert homemade explosive simulants for X-ray-based inspection systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faust, Anthony A.; Nacson, Sabatino; Koffler, Bruce; Bourbeau, Éric; Gagne, Louis; Laing, Robin; Anderson, C. J.

2014-05-01

Transport Canada (TC), the Canadian Armed Forces, and other public security agencies have an interest in the assessment of the potential utility of advanced explosives detection technologies to aid in the detection and interdiction of commercial grade, military grade, and homemade or improvised explosives (HME or IE). The availability of suitable, non-hazardous, non-toxic, explosive simulants is of concern when assessing the potential utility of such detection systems. Lack of simulants limits the training opportunities, and ultimately the detection probability, of security personnel using these systems. While simulants for commercial and military grade explosives are available for a wide variety of detection technologies, the design and production of materials to simulate improvised explosives has not kept pace with this emerging threat. Funded by TC and the Canadian Safety and Security Program, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), Visiontec Systems, and Optosecurity engaged in an effort to develop inert, non-toxic Xray interrogation simulants for IE materials such as ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, and triacetone triperoxide. These simulants were designed to mimic key X-ray interrogation-relevant material properties of real improvised explosives, principally their bulk density and effective atomic number. Different forms of the simulants were produced and tested, simulating the different explosive threat formulations that could be encountered by front line security workers. These simulants comply with safety and stability requirements, and as best as possible match form and homogeneity. This paper outlines the research program, simulant design, and validation.

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

Abercrombie, Robert K; Udoeyop, Akaninyene W

This work examines a scientometric model that tracks the emergence of an identified technology from initial discovery (via original scientific and conference literature), through critical discoveries (via original scientific, conference literature and patents), transitioning through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and ultimately on to commercial application. During the period of innovation and technology transfer, the impact of scholarly works, patents and on-line web news sources are identified. As trends develop, currency of citations, collaboration indicators, and on-line news patterns are identified. The combinations of four distinct and separate searchable on-line networked sources (i.e., scholarly publications and citation, worldwide patents, news archives,more » and on-line mapping networks) are assembled to become one collective network (a dataset for analysis of relations). This established network becomes the basis from which to quickly analyze the temporal flow of activity (searchable events) for the example subject domain we investigated.« less

Evaluation of selenium in dietary supplements using elemental speciation.

PubMed

Kubachka, Kevin M; Hanley, Traci; Mantha, Madhavi; Wilson, Robert A; Falconer, Travis M; Kassa, Zena; Oliveira, Aline; Landero, Julio; Caruso, Joseph

2017-03-01

Selenium-enriched dietary supplements containing various selenium compounds are readily available to consumers. To ensure proper selenium intake and consumer confidence, these dietary supplements must be safe and have accurate label claims. Varying properties among selenium species requires information beyond total selenium concentration to fully evaluate health risk/benefits A LC-ICP-MS method was developed and multiple extraction methods were implemented for targeted analysis of common "seleno-amino acids" and related oxidation products, selenate, selenite, and other species relatable to the quality and/or accuracy of the labeled selenium ingredients. Ultimately, a heated water extraction was applied to recover selenium species from non-selenized yeast supplements in capsule, tablet, and liquid forms. For selenized yeast supplements, inorganic selenium was monitored as a means of assessing selenium yeast quality. A variety of commercially available selenium supplements were evaluated and discrepancies between labeled ingredients and detected species were noted. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Evaluation of selenium in dietary supplements using elemental speciation

PubMed Central

Kubachka, Kevin M.; Hanley, Traci; Mantha, Madhavi; Wilson, Robert A.; Falconer, Travis M.; Kassa, Zena; Oliveira, Aline; Landero, Julio; Caruso, Joseph

2016-01-01

Selenium-enriched dietary supplements containing various selenium compounds are readily available to consumers. To ensure proper selenium intake and consumer confidence, these dietary supplements must be safe and have accurate label claims. Varying properties among selenium species requires information beyond total selenium concentration to fully evaluate health risk/benefits A LC-ICP-MS method was developed and multiple extraction methods were implemented for targeted analysis of common “seleno-amino acids” and related oxidation products, selenate, selenite, and other species relatable to the quality and/or accuracy of the labeled selenium ingredients. Ultimately, a heated water extraction was applied to recover selenium species from non-selenized yeast supplements in capsule, tablet, and liquid forms. For selenized yeast supplements, inorganic selenium was monitored as a means of assessing selenium yeast quality. A variety of commercially available selenium supplements were evaluated and discrepancies between labeled ingredients and detected species were noted. PMID:27719915

Linear servomotor probe drive system with real-time self-adaptive position control for the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunner, D.; Kuang, A. Q.; LaBombard, B.; Burke, W.

2017-07-01

A new servomotor drive system has been developed for the horizontal reciprocating probe on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. Real-time measurements of plasma temperature and density—through use of a mirror Langmuir probe bias system—combined with a commercial linear servomotor and controller enable self-adaptive position control. Probe surface temperature and its rate of change are computed in real time and used to control probe insertion depth. It is found that a universal trigger threshold can be defined in terms of these two parameters; if the probe is triggered to retract when crossing the trigger threshold, it will reach the same ultimate surface temperature, independent of velocity, acceleration, or scrape-off layer heat flux scale length. In addition to controlling the probe motion, the controller is used to monitor and control all aspects of the integrated probe drive system.

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

East, D. R.; Sexton, J.

This was a collaborative effort between Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC as manager and operator of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and IBM TJ Watson Research Center to research, assess feasibility and develop an implementation plan for a High Performance Computing Innovation Center (HPCIC) in the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC). The ultimate goal of this work was to help advance the State of California and U.S. commercial competitiveness in the arena of High Performance Computing (HPC) by accelerating the adoption of computational science solutions, consistent with recent DOE strategy directives. The desired result of this CRADA was a well-researched,more » carefully analyzed market evaluation that would identify those firms in core sectors of the US economy seeking to adopt or expand their use of HPC to become more competitive globally, and to define how those firms could be helped by the HPCIC with IBM as an integral partner.« less

Nontoxic Ionic Liquid Fuels for Exploration Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coil, Millicent

2015-01-01

The toxicity of propellants used in conventional propulsion systems increases not only safety risks to personnel but also costs, due to special handling required during the entire lifetime of the propellants. Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) has developed and tested novel nontoxic ionic liquid fuels for propulsion applications. In Phase I of the project, the company demonstrated the feasibility of several ionic liquid formulations that equaled the performance of conventional rocket propellant monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and also provided low volatility and low toxicity. In Phase II, ORBITEC refined the formulations, conducted material property tests, and investigated combustion behavior in droplet and microreactor experiments. The company also explored the effect of injector design on performance and demonstrated the fuels in a small-scale thruster. The ultimate goal is to replace propellants such as MMH with fuels that are simultaneously high-performance and nontoxic. The fuels will have uses in NASA's propulsion applications and also in a range of military and commercial functions.

New and Advanced Picosecond Lasers for Tattoo Removal.

PubMed

Adatto, Maurice A; Amir, Ruthie; Bhawalkar, Jayant; Sierra, Rafael; Bankowski, Richard; Rozen, Doran; Dierickx, Christine; Lapidoth, Moshe

2017-01-01

Early methods of tattoo removal ultimately resulted in unacceptable cosmetic outcomes. While the introduction of laser technology was an improvement over the existing chemical, mechanical, and surgical procedures, the use of nonselective tattoo removal with carbon dioxide and argon lasers led to scarring. Q-switched lasers with nanosecond (10-9) pulse domains were considered to have revolutionized tattoo treatment, by selectively heating the tattoo particles, while reducing the adverse sequelae to adjacent normal skin. Theoretical considerations of restricting pulse duration, to heat tattoo particles to higher temperatures, proposed the use of sub-nanosecond pulses to target particles with thermal relaxation times lower than the nanosecond pulses in Q-switched lasers. Initial studies demonstrated that picosecond (10-12) pulses were more effective than nanosecond pulses in clearing black tattoos. Advances in picosecond technology led to the development of commercially available lasers, incorporating several different wavelengths, to further refine pigment targeting. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Energy conversion approaches and materials for high-efficiency photovoltaics.

PubMed

Green, Martin A; Bremner, Stephen P

2016-12-20

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

Introduction to D-He(3) fusion reactors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vlases, G. C.; Steinhauer, L. C.

1989-01-01

A review and evaluation of D-He(3) fusion reactor technology is presented. The advantages and disadvantages of the D-He(3) and D-T reactor cycles are outlined and compared. In addition, the general design features of D-He(3) tokamaks and field reversed configuration (FRC) reactors are described and the relative merits of each are compared. It is concluded that both tokamaks and FRC's offer certain advantages, and that the ultimate decision as to which to persue for terrestrial power generation will depend heavily on how the physics performance of each of them develops over the next few years. It is clear that the D-He(3) fuel cycle offers marked advantages over the D-T cycle. Although the physics requirements for D-He(3) are more demanding, the overwhelming advantages resulting from the two order of magnitude reduction of neutron flux are expected to lead to a shorter time to commercialization than for the D-T cycle.

Regulating the advertising of genetic tests in Europe: a balancing act.

PubMed

Kalokairinou, Louiza; Borry, Pascal; Howard, Heidi Carmen

2017-10-01

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests (GT) have provoked criticism over their potential adverse impact on public health. The European Parliament called for a ban on DTC advertising of GT during the debate for the adoption of a European Regulation on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. This proposal, however, was not ultimately retained in the final text. Instead, the regulation includes an article prohibiting misleading claims for this kind of advertising. These two different approaches raise questions about the optimal degree of regulation. Herein, we provide an overview of the ways GT have been advertised and related ethical issues. Subsequently, the laws regulating the advertising of GT at the European Union and national level are examined. Finally, recent regulatory developments are discussed. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

New frontiers for zebrafish management.

PubMed

Lawrence, C

2016-01-01

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a preeminent model organism with a wide and expanding utility for numerous scientific disciplines. The same features that once endeared this small freshwater minnow to developmental biologists combined with its relatively high genetic similarity to mammals and the advent of new, more efficient methods for genome editing are now helping to spur expanded growth in its usage in various fields, including toxicology, drug discovery, transplant biology, disease modeling, and even aquaculture. Continued maturation and adoption of the zebrafish model system in these and other fields of science will require that methods and approaches for husbandry and management of these fish in controlled settings be refined and improved to the extent that, ultimately, zebrafish research becomes more reproducible, defined, cost-effective, and accessible to the masses. Knowledge and technology transfer from laboratory animal science and commercial aquaculture will be a necessary part of this development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New high-strength, high-conductivity Cu-Ag alloy sheets

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

Sakai, Y.; Inoue, K.; Maeda, H.

1995-04-01

A sheet-conductor fabrication method has been developed for Cu-Ag alloys containing 6--24 wt% Ag in which high-strength and high-conductivity are obtained by coldworking combined with intermediate heat treatments. The intermediate heat treatments were repeated three times at 400--450 C for 1--2 h at appropriate stages of cold-rolling. The optimized Cu-24 wt% Ag alloy sheet with a 96% reduction ratio shows an ultimate tensile strength of 1,050 MPa and an electrical conductivity of 75% IACS at room temperature. Anisotropy in the strength with respect to the rolling direction is less than 10%, and no anisotropy in the electrical conductivity occurs. Themore » authors demonstrated the ability to manufacture the Cu-Ag sheets for Bitter magnet on a commercial basis. The sheets fabricated by this method are promising as conductors for high-field Bitter magnet coils.« less

Miniaturized Environmental Monitoring Instrumentation

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

C. B. Freidhoff

1997-09-01

The objective of the Mass Spectrograph on a Chip (MSOC) program is the development of a miniature, multi-species gas sensor fabricated using silicon micromachining technology which will be orders of magnitude smaller and lower power consumption than a conventional mass spectrometer. The sensing and discrimination of this gas sensor are based on an ionic mass spectrograph, using magnetic and/or electrostatic fields. The fields cause a spatial separation of the ions according to their respective mass-to-charge ratio. The fabrication of this device involves the combination of microelectronics with micromechanically built sensors and, ultimately, vacuum pumps. The prototype of a chemical sensormore » would revolutionize the method of performing environmental monitoring for both commercial and government applications. The portable unit decided upon was the miniaturized gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometer detector, referred to as a GC/MS in the analytical marketplace.« less

Solid organ fabrication: comparison of decellularization to 3D bioprinting.

PubMed

Jung, Jangwook P; Bhuiyan, Didarul B; Ogle, Brenda M

2016-01-01

Solid organ fabrication is an ultimate goal of Regenerative Medicine. Since the introduction of Tissue Engineering in 1993, functional biomaterials, stem cells, tunable microenvironments, and high-resolution imaging technologies have significantly advanced efforts to regenerate in vitro culture or tissue platforms. Relatively simple flat or tubular organs are already in (pre)clinical trials and a few commercial products are in market. The road to more complex, high demand, solid organs including heart, kidney and lung will require substantive technical advancement. Here, we consider two emerging technologies for solid organ fabrication. One is decellularization of cadaveric organs followed by repopulation with terminally differentiated or progenitor cells. The other is 3D bioprinting to deposit cell-laden bio-inks to attain complex tissue architecture. We reviewed the development and evolution of the two technologies and evaluated relative strengths needed to produce solid organs, with special emphasis on the heart and other tissues of the cardiovascular system.

Multiple-mouse MRI with multiple arrays of receive coils.

PubMed

Ramirez, Marc S; Esparza-Coss, Emilio; Bankson, James A

2010-03-01

Compared to traditional single-animal imaging methods, multiple-mouse MRI has been shown to dramatically improve imaging throughput and reduce the potentially prohibitive cost for instrument access. To date, up to a single radiofrequency coil has been dedicated to each animal being simultaneously scanned, thus limiting the sensitivity, flexibility, and ultimate throughput. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of multiple-mouse MRI with a phased-array coil dedicated to each animal. A dual-mouse imaging system, consisting of a pair of two-element phased-array coils, was developed and used to achieve acceleration factors greater than the number of animals scanned at once. By simultaneously scanning two mice with a retrospectively gated cardiac cine MRI sequence, a 3-fold acceleration was achieved with signal-to-noise ratio in the heart that is equivalent to that achieved with an unaccelerated scan using a commercial mouse birdcage coil. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Shock response of 7068 aluminium alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, David; Eakins, Daniel; Proud, William

2013-06-01

Aluminium alloys are widely employed throughout the aerospace and defence industries due to their high specific strength. Aluminium alloy 7068, often described as the ultimate aluminium alloy was developed by Kasier Aluminium in the mid-1990s and is the strongest aluminium commercially produced. There remains little published data on the response of this micro-structurally anisotropic alloy to dynamic loading. As part of an investigation of the high-rate mechanical properties of Al 7068, a series of plate-impact experiments using a novel meso-scale planar impact facility and a more conventional large bore gas gun were undertaken. The evolution of the elastic-plastic shock wave and spall strength as a function of sample thickness and specimen orientation were investigated using optical velocimetry (line-VISAR, PDV) techniques. Planar shock wave experiments were conducted on specimens several 100 microns to several millimetres thick cut from either parallel or perpendicular to the extrusion direction.

Research and competition: Best partners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, J. M.

1986-01-01

NASA's Microgravity Science and Applications Program is directed toward research in the science and technology of processing materials under conditions of low gravity. The objective is to make a detailed examination of the constraints imposed by gravitational forces on Earth. The program is expected to lead ultimately to the development of new materials and processes in Earth-based commercial applications, adding to this nation's technological base. An important resource that U.S. researchers have readily available to them is the new Microgravity Materials Science Laboratory (MMSL) at NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland. A typical scenario for a microgravity materials experiment at Lewis would begin by establishing 1-g baseline data in the MMSL and then proceeding, if it is indicated, to a drop tower or to simulated microgravity conditions in a research aircraft to qualify the project for space flight. A major component of Lewis microgravity materials research work involves the study of metal and alloy solidification fundamentals.

Combating corruption in the pharmaceutical arena.

PubMed

Lexchin, Joel; Kohler, Jillian Clare; Gagnon, Marc André; Crombie, James; Thacker, Paul; Shnier, Adrienne

2018-03-15

Corruption in healthcare generally and specifically in the pharmaceutical arena has recently been highlighted in reports by Transparency International. This article focuses on four areas of corruption: legislative/regulatory, financial, ideological/ethical, and communications. The problems identified and the solutions considered focus on structural considerations affecting how pharmaceuticals are discovered, developed, distributed, and ultimately used in clinical settings. These include recourse to user fees in the regulatory sphere, application of intellectual property rights to medical contexts (patents and access to research data), commercial sponsorship of ghost writing and guest authors, linkage/delinkage of the funding of research and overall health objectives to/from drug pricing and sales, transparency of payments to healthcare professionals and institutions, and credible regulatory sanctions. In general, financial and other incentives for all actors in the system should be structured to align with desired social outcomes - and to minimise conflicts of interest among researchers and clinicians.

Introduction to D-He(3) fusion reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlases, G. C.; Steinhauer, L. C.

1989-07-01

A review and evaluation of D-He(3) fusion reactor technology is presented. The advantages and disadvantages of the D-He(3) and D-T reactor cycles are outlined and compared. In addition, the general design features of D-He(3) tokamaks and field reversed configuration (FRC) reactors are described and the relative merits of each are compared. It is concluded that both tokamaks and FRC's offer certain advantages, and that the ultimate decision as to which to persue for terrestrial power generation will depend heavily on how the physics performance of each of them develops over the next few years. It is clear that the D-He(3) fuel cycle offers marked advantages over the D-T cycle. Although the physics requirements for D-He(3) are more demanding, the overwhelming advantages resulting from the two order of magnitude reduction of neutron flux are expected to lead to a shorter time to commercialization than for the D-T cycle.

Scientometric methods for identifying emerging technologies

DOEpatents

Abercrombie, Robert K; Schlicher, Bob G; Sheldon, Frederick T

2015-11-03

Provided is a method of generating a scientometric model that tracks the emergence of an identified technology from initial discovery (via original scientific and conference literature), through critical discoveries (via original scientific, conference literature and patents), transitioning through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and ultimately on to commercial application. During the period of innovation and technology transfer, the impact of scholarly works, patents and on-line web news sources are identified. As trends develop, currency of citations, collaboration indicators, and on-line news patterns are identified. The combinations of four distinct and separate searchable on-line networked sources (i.e., scholarly publications and citation, worldwide patents, news archives, and on-line mapping networks) are assembled to become one collective network (a dataset for analysis of relations). This established network becomes the basis from which to quickly analyze the temporal flow of activity (searchable events) for the example subject domain.

Annual Report: Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI) (30 September 2012)

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

Miller, David C.; Syamlal, Madhava; Cottrell, Roger

2012-09-30

The Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI) is a partnership among national laboratories, industry and academic institutions that is developing and deploying state-of-the-art computational modeling and simulation tools to accelerate the commercialization of carbon capture technologies from discovery to development, demonstration, and ultimately the widespread deployment to hundreds of power plants. The CCSI Toolset will provide end users in industry with a comprehensive, integrated suite of scientifically validated models, with uncertainty quantification (UQ), optimization, risk analysis and decision making capabilities. The CCSI Toolset incorporates commercial and open-source software currently in use by industry and is also developing new software tools asmore » necessary to fill technology gaps identified during execution of the project. Ultimately, the CCSI Toolset will (1) enable promising concepts to be more quickly identified through rapid computational screening of devices and processes; (2) reduce the time to design and troubleshoot new devices and processes; (3) quantify the technical risk in taking technology from laboratory-scale to commercial-scale; and (4) stabilize deployment costs more quickly by replacing some of the physical operational tests with virtual power plant simulations. CCSI is organized into 8 technical elements that fall under two focus areas. The first focus area (Physicochemical Models and Data) addresses the steps necessary to model and simulate the various technologies and processes needed to bring a new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology into production. The second focus area (Analysis & Software) is developing the software infrastructure to integrate the various components and implement the tools that are needed to make quantifiable decisions regarding the viability of new CCS technologies. CCSI also has an Industry Advisory Board (IAB). By working closely with industry from the inception of the project to identify industrial challenge problems, CCSI ensures that the simulation tools are developed for the carbon capture technologies of most relevance to industry. CCSI is led by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and leverages the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories' core strengths in modeling and simulation, bringing together the best capabilities at NETL, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The CCSI's industrial partners provide representation from the power generation industry, equipment manufacturers, technology providers and engineering and construction firms. The CCSI's academic participants (Carnegie Mellon University, Princeton University, West Virginia University, and Boston University) bring unparalleled expertise in multiphase flow reactors, combustion, process synthesis and optimization, planning and scheduling, and process control techniques for energy processes. During Fiscal Year (FY) 12, CCSI released its first set of computational tools and models. This pre-release, a year ahead of the originally planned first release, is the result of intense industry interest in getting early access to the tools and the phenomenal progress of the CCSI technical team. These initial components of the CCSI Toolset provide new models and computational capabilities that will accelerate the commercial development of carbon capture technologies as well as related technologies, such as those found in the power, refining, chemicals, and gas production industries. The release consists of new tools for process synthesis and optimization to help identify promising concepts more quickly, new physics-based models of potential capture equipment and processes that will reduce the time to design and troubleshoot new systems, a framework to quantify the uncertainty of model predictions, and various enabling tools that provide new capabilities such as creating reduced order models (ROMs) from reacting multiphase flow simulations and running thousands of process simulations concurrently for optimization and UQ.« less

Future Perspective and Long-Term Strategy of the Indian EO Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, Mukund; Jayaraman, V.; Sridhara Murthi, K. R.; Kasturirangan, K.

EO technology development will continue to have profound effects on spatial information activities, as we are seeing it today - the changing demand of GIS technology to understanding processes around us and its representation as maps. In the longer term, information needs will drive further RS and GIS technological developments - creating stringent demands for technology solutions for spatial data capture, integration and representation. The emergence of Spatial Business from the highly volatile and dynamic synergy of information, technology and access will see a truly Spatial Society. EO will have a major impact on day-to-day life of nations, communities and even an individual. It will become the One-stop source for information - spatial information at that - thus enabling not only development oriented activities but also Business GIS, quality research and Info-savvy communities. Internationally, there will be a mix of Government and Commercial satellites vying to provide information services to a wide variety of users. EO satellites are also becoming smaller, efficient and less costlier. Almost 5-6 commercial systems will orbit around the Earth in the foreseeable future to generate massive, seamless archives of high-resolution panchromatic and multispectral images - almost reducing the need for aerial surveys for photography and mapping. Reaching resolution of cm level and covering narrower and more spectral bands, the trend is to IMAGE the Earth in its entirety and organize Image Infrastructures. The race will be to imaginatively capture the market with the fullest archive of the globe and cater to any imaging demand of users. One will also see efficient satellite operations that will enable imaging any part of the globe with minimum turn-around time - reaching concepts of IMAGING ON DEMAND. The need of the hour is looking forward now towards how the EO technology can adapt itself to the changing scenario and the steps to be taken to sustain use of EO data it in the future. The continuity of the EO services in India is the fundamental requirement for sustenance and further development of the technology and its utilisation, the stage is now set for transitioning the EO technology by initiating policy adjustments for the commercial use of space-based EO. Orientation needs to change from a "facility concept", which was the adage for the "promotional" era, to "Services concept" for the RS technology. The orientation also needs to change from RS data to Spatial Information and GIS databases. Demand for information would increase with a larger involvement of players in the developmental activities and catering to the information needs is what would be the driver for the commercial development. To that extent, the commercial development of Spatial Information needs to be thrusted forward and RS technology will be the back-bone for this information services initiative, because EO has the capability to provide accurate and timely information at large-scales in a repeated manner which is directly amenable to GIS manipulation. The thrust has to be towards developing an independent sector for Spatial Information with the active involvement of users, private entrepreneurs and other agencies to develop space-based RS market segments. This paper discusses the policy adjustments that will be required to be done for developing a viable and effective commercial EO programme in the country with a major thrust of initial government and industry partnership ultimately leading to a true industry sector for Spatial Information services.

NASA Alternate Access to Station Service Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Michelle D.; Crumbly, Chris

2001-01-01

The evolving nature of the NASA space enterprise compels the agency to develop new and innovative space systems concepts. NASA, working with increasingly strained budgets and a declining manpower base, is attempting to transform from operational activities to procurement of commercial services. NASA's current generation reusable launch vehicle, the Shuttle, is in transition from a government owned and operated entity to a commercial venture to reduce the civil servant necessities for that program. NASA foresees its second generation launch vehicles being designed and operated by industry for commercial and government services. The "service" concept is a pioneering effort by NASA. The purpose the "service" is not only to reduce the civil servant overhead but will free up government resources for further research - and enable industry to develop a space business case so that industry can sustain itself beyond government programs. In addition, NASA desires a decreased responsibility thereby decreasing liability. The Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is implementing NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable industry to develop the launch vehicles of the future. The Alternate Access to Station (AAS) project office within this program is chartered with enabling industry to demonstrate an alternate access capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The project will not accomplish this by traditional government procurement methods, not by integrating the space system within the project office, or by providing the only source of business for the new capability. The project funds will ultimately be used to purchase a service to take re-supply cargo to the ISS, much the same as any business might purchase a service from FedEx to deliver a package to its customer. In the near term, the project will fund risk mitigation efforts for enabling technologies. AAS is in some ways a precursor to the 2nd Generation RLV. By accomplishing ISS resupply with existing technologies, not only will a new category of autonomous vehicles deliver cargo, but a commercial business base will be incubated that will improve the likelihood of commercial convergence with the next generation of RLVs. Traditional paradigms in government management and acquisition philosophy are being challenged in order to bring about the objective of the AAS project. The phased procurement approach is proving to be the most questionable aspect to date. This work addresses the fresh approach AAS is adopting in management and procurement through a study of the AAS history, current solutions, key technologies, procurement complications, and an incremental forward plan leading to the purchase of a service to deliver goods to ISS. Included in this work is a discussion of the Commercial Space Act of 1998 and how it affects government purchase of space launch and space vehicle services. Industry should find these topics pertinent to their current state of business.

NASA Alternate Access to Station Service Concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, M. D.; Crumbly, C.

2002-01-01

The evolving nature of the NASA space enterprise compels the agency to develop new and innovative space systems concepts. NASA, working with increasingly strained budgets and a declining manpower base, is attempting to transform from operational activities to procurement of commercial services. NASA's current generation reusable launch vehicle, the Shuttle, is in transition from a government owned and operated entity to a commercial venture to reduce the civil servant necessities for that program. NASA foresees its second generation launch vehicles being designed and operated by industry for commercial and government services. The "service" concept is a pioneering effort by NASA. The purpose the "service" is not only to reduce the civil servant overhead but will free up government resources for further research and enable industry to develop a space business case so that industry can sustain itself beyond government programs. In addition, NASA desires a decreased responsibility thereby decreasing liability. The Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is implementing NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable industry to develop the launch vehicles of the future. The Alternate Access to Station (AAS) project office within this program is chartered with enabling industry to demonstrate an alternate access capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The project will not accomplish this by traditional government procurement methods, not by integrating the space system within the project office, or by providing the only source of business for the new capability. The project funds will ultimately be used to purchase a service to take re-supply cargo to the ISS, much the same as any business might purchase a service from FedEx to deliver a package to its customer. In the near term, the project will fund risk mitigation efforts for enabling technologies. AAS is in some ways a precursor to the 2nd Generation RLV. By accomplishing ISS resupply with existing technologies, not only will a new category of autonomous vehicles deliver cargo, but a commercial business base will be incubated that will improve the likelihood of commercial convergence with the next generation of RLVs. Traditional paradigms in government management and acquisition philosophy are being challenged in order to bring about the objective of the AAS project. The phased procurement approach is proving to be the most questionable aspect to date. This work addresses the fresh approach AAS is adopting in management and procurement through a study of the AAS history, current solutions, key technologies, procurement complications, and an incremental forward plan leading to the purchase of a service to deliver goods to ISS. Included in this work is a discussion of the Commercial Space Act of 1998 and how it affects government purchase of space launch and space vehicle services. Industry should find these topics pertinent to their current state of business.

Academic Medical Product Development: An Emerging Alliance of Technology Transfer Organizations and the CTSA

PubMed Central

Everts, Maaike; Heller, Caren; Burke, Christine; Hafer, Nathaniel; Steele, Scott

2014-01-01

Abstract To bring the benefits of science more quickly to patient care, the NIH National Center Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) supports programs that enhance the development, testing, and implementation of new medical products and procedures. The NCATS clinical and translational science award (CTSA) program is central to that mission; creating an academic home for clinical and translational science and supporting those involved in the discovery and development of new health‐related inventions. The technology transfer Offices (TTO) of CTSA‐funded universities can be important partners in the development process; facilitating the transfer of medical research to the commercial sector for further development and ultimately, distribution to patients. The Aggregating Intellectual Property (IP) Working Group (AWG) of the CTSA public private partnerships key function committee (PPP‐KFC) developed a survey to explore how CTSA‐funded institutions currently interface with their respective TTOs to support medical product development. The results suggest a range of relationships across institutions; approximately half have formal collaborative programs, but only a few have well‐connected programs. Models of collaborations are described and provided as examples of successful CTSA/TTO partnerships that have increased the value of health‐related inventions as measured by follow‐on funding and industry involvement; either as a consulting partner or licensee. PMID:24945893

Academic medical product development: an emerging alliance of technology transfer organizations and the CTSA.

PubMed

Rose, Lynn M; Everts, Maaike; Heller, Caren; Burke, Christine; Hafer, Nathaniel; Steele, Scott

2014-12-01

To bring the benefits of science more quickly to patient care, the NIH National Center Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) supports programs that enhance the development, testing, and implementation of new medical products and procedures. The NCATS clinical and translational science award (CTSA) program is central to that mission; creating an academic home for clinical and translational science and supporting those involved in the discovery and development of new health-related inventions. The technology transfer Offices (TTO) of CTSA-funded universities can be important partners in the development process; facilitating the transfer of medical research to the commercial sector for further development and ultimately, distribution to patients. The Aggregating Intellectual Property (IP) Working Group (AWG) of the CTSA public private partnerships key function committee (PPP-KFC) developed a survey to explore how CTSA-funded institutions currently interface with their respective TTOs to support medical product development. The results suggest a range of relationships across institutions; approximately half have formal collaborative programs, but only a few have well-connected programs. Models of collaborations are described and provided as examples of successful CTSA/TTO partnerships that have increased the value of health-related inventions as measured by follow-on funding and industry involvement; either as a consulting partner or licensee. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Emulsions for pulsed holography: new and improved processing schemes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodin, Alexey M.; Taylor, Rob

2003-05-01

Recent improvements in the processing of commercially available holographic recording materials for pulsed holography are reviewed. Harmonics of pulsed Nd:YLF/Nd:Phosphate Glass, Nd:YLF, Nd:YAG laser's, and the fundamental wavelength of a pulsed Ruby laser were used as radiation sources for the recording of transmission and reflection holography gratings. It is shown that ultra-fine grain size materials such as PFG-03C and Ultimate-15 can be successfully applied for small and medium format pulsed holography applications. These small grain size emulsions are especially important in the areas of artistic archival portraiture and contact Denisyuk micro-holography of living objects, where noiseless image reconstruction is of a primary concern. It suggests that HOE's, such as full-color image projection screens, may be successfully recorded on PFG-03C holographic emulsions using a pulsed RGB laser. A range of commercial RGB pulsed lasers suitable for these applications are introduced. Visible wavelengths currently produced from these lasers covers the spectrum of 440 - 660nm. Latest developments of a full range of pulsed holographic camera systems manufactured by GEOLA that are suitable for medium and large format portraiture, medical imaging, museum artifact archival recording, and other types of holography are also reviewed with particular reference to new integrated digital mastering features. Finally, the initial commercial production of a new photopolymer film with a sensitivity range of 625-680nm is introduced. Initial CW exposure energies at 633nm were 30 - 50mJ/cm2; with diffraction efficiencies of 75 - 80% observed with this new material.

A Curious Conundrum; The State of Holographic Portraiture in the 21st Century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, R.

2013-02-01

The technology of producing (true) hologram portraits was first introduced in the late 1960's. From this time, a number of individuals and organizations worldwide have specialized in providing holographic portraiture services with varying degrees of achievement. Yet today, some 45 years later, holographic portraiture remains an obscure and niche form of displaying an individual's likeness. Despite all of this technology's promising and unique attributes, and the astonishing fact of holography being the most accurate and realistic form of imaging available today; true holographic portraits continues to be a form of portraiture largely unknown to the general public and has never achieved large-scale commercial success. This paper will present a brief history of holographic portraiture, designating the different types of 3-D hologram portraits available today, and their uses. Emphasis will be given to true holographic pulsed portraiture in which the subject itself is recorded holographically using high-energy pulsed lasers. Possible cause and effect for explaining the present demise of this type of portrait making will be discussed along with recent advancements and future developments in this fledgling field which could ultimately lead to a "tipping point" in large-scale consumer and commercial awareness and desirability of the medium. The author will share his experiences in operating pulsed holographic portraiture studios for over the last 15 years including the vision of a new type of holographic portrait studio for the 21st century which he hopes will attain the level of success enabling a next generation of commercially viable holographic portrait studios for the future.

Energy data report: prices and margins of No. 2 distillate fuel oil. Monthly report, January 1982

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

Whatley, A.

1982-03-22

Data are presented on the average prices and gross margins for the refining, reselling, and retailing sectors of the No. 2 distillate fuel oil market. Data are tabulated on prices and sales volumes of No. 2 fuel oil and No. 2 diesel fuel for residential, industrial/commercial, institutional/utility, other ultimate consumer sales, and nonultimate consumer sales. A brief discussion of the sampling and estimation procedures used in this report appears in the appendix.

Energy data report: prices and margins of No. 2 distillate fuel oil. Monthly report, October 1982

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

Whatley, A.

1982-12-20

Data are presented on the average prices and gross margins for the refining, reselling, and retailing sectors of the No. 2 distillate fuel oil market. Data are tabulated on prices and sales volumes of No. 2 fuel oil and No. 2 diesel fuel for residential, industrial/commercial, institutional/utility, other ultimate consumer sales, and nonultimate consumer sales. A brief discussion of the sampling and estimation procedures used in this report appears in the appendix.

Energy data report: prices and margins of No. 2 distillate fuel oil. Monthly report, November 1982

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

Whatley, A.

1983-01-18

Data are presented on the average prices and gross margins for the refining, reselling, and retailing sectors of the No. 2 distillate fuel oil market. Data are tabulated on prices and sales volumes of No. 2 fuel oil and No. 2 diesel fuel for residential, industrial/commercial, institutional/utility, other ultimate consumer sales, and nonultimate consumer sales. A brief discussion of the sampling and estimation procedures used in this report appears in the appendix.

Energy data report: prices and margins of No. 2 distillate fuel oil. Monthly report, December 1981

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

Whatley, A.

1982-02-22

Data are presented on the average prices and gross margins for the refining, reselling, and retailing sectors of the No. 2 distillate fuel oil market. Data are tabulated on prices and sales volumes of No. 2 fuel oil and No. 2 diesel fuel for residential, industrial/commercial, institutional/utility, other ultimate consumer sales, and nonultimate consumer sales. A brief discussion of the sampling and estimation procedures used in this report appears in the appendix.

View from Silicon Valley: Maximizing the Scientific Impact of Global Brain Initiatives through Entrepreneurship.

PubMed

Joshi, Pushkar S; Ghosh, Kunal K

2016-11-02

In this era of technology-driven global neuroscience initiatives, the role of the neurotechnology industry remains woefully ambiguous. Here, we explain why industry is essential to the success of these global initiatives, and how it can maximize the scientific impact of these efforts by (1) scaling and ultimately democratizing access to breakthrough neurotechnologies, and (2) commercializing technologies as part of integrated, end-to-end solutions that accelerate neuroscientific discovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Buyer feedback as a filtering mechanism for reputable sellers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laureti, Paolo; Slanina, František; Yu, Yi-Kuo; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2002-12-01

We propose a continuum model for the description of buyer and seller dynamics in an Internet market. The relevant variables are the research effort of buyers and the sellers’ reputation building process. We show that, if a commercial website gives consumers the possibility to rate credibly sellers they bargained with, vendors are forced to be more honest. This leads to mutual beneficial symbiosis between buyers and sellers; the overall enhanced volume of transactions contributes ultimately to the website, which facilitates the matchmaking service.

Space Station services and design features for users

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurzhals, Peter R.; Mckinney, Royce L.

1987-01-01

The operational design features and services planned for the NASA Space Station will furnish, in addition to novel opportunities and facilities, lower costs through interface standardization and automation and faster access by means of computer-aided integration and control processes. By furnishing a basis for large-scale space exploitation, the Space Station will possess industrial production and operational services capabilities that may be used by the private sector for commercial ventures; it could also ultimately support lunar and planetary exploration spacecraft assembly and launch facilities.

Final Technical Report

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

Aristos Aristidou Natureworks); Robert Kean; Tom Schechinger

2007-10-01

The two main objectives of this project were: 1) to develop and test technologies to harvest, transport, store, and separate corn stover to supply a clean raw material to the bioproducts industry, and 2) engineer fermentation systems to meet performance targets for lactic acid and ethanol manufacturers. Significant progress was made in testing methods to harvest corn stover in a “single pass” harvest mode (collect corn grain and stover at the same time). This is technically feasible on small scale, but additional equipment refinements will be needed to facilitate cost effective harvest on a larger scale. Transportation models were developed,more » which indicate that at a corn stover yield of 2.8 tons/acre and purchase price of $35/ton stover, it would be unprofitable to transport stover more than about 25 miles; thus suggesting the development of many regional collection centers. Therefore, collection centers should be located within about 30 miles of the farm, to keep transportation costs to an acceptable level. These collection centers could then potentially do some preprocessing (to fractionate or increase bulk density) and/or ship the biomass by rail or barge to the final customers. Wet storage of stover via ensilage was tested, but no clear economic advantages were evident. Wet storage eliminates fire risk, but increases the complexity of component separation and may result in a small loss of carbohydrate content (fermentation potential). A study of possible supplier-producer relationships, concluded that a “quasi-vertical” integration model would be best suited for new bioproducts industries based on stover. In this model, the relationship would involve a multiyear supply contract (processor with purchase guarantees, producer group with supply guarantees). Price will likely be fixed or calculated based on some formula (possibly a cost plus). Initial quality requirements will be specified (but subject to refinement).Producers would invest in harvest/storage/transportation equipment and the processor would build and operate the plant. Pilot fermentation studies demonstrated dramatic improvements in yields and rates with optimization of batch fermentor parameters. Demonstrated yields and rates are approaching those necessary for profitable commercial operation for production of ethanol or lactic acid. The ability of the biocatalyst to adapt to biomass hydrolysate (both biomass sugars and toxins in the hydrolysate) was demonstrated and points towards ultimate successful commercialization of the technology. However, some of this work will need to be repeated and possibly extended to adapt the final selected biocatalyst for the specific commercial hydrolysate composition. The path from corn stover in the farm field to final products, involves a number of steps. Each of these steps has options, problems, and uncertainties; thus creating a very complex multidimensional obstacle to successful commercial development. Through the tasks of this project, the technical and commercial uncertainties of many of these steps have been addressed; thus providing for a clearer understanding of paths forward and commercial viability of a corn stover-based biorefinery.« less

US DOE EECBG BBNP REPORT

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

Driscoll, Brian; Conkey, Todd; Edgar, George

2013-12-31

The Wisconsin Energy Efficiency (WE2) Program delivered residential and commercial programming for the City of Milwaukee (Me2) and the City of Madison (Green Madison) as well as commercial only programming for the City of Racine (Re2). Direct incentives and loan products for homeowners and business owners were offered, with the goal to achieve at least 15 percent in energy savings. At the time of this report, there were more than 2,000 residential energy efficiency upgrades completed and more than 300 commercial energy efficiency upgrades completed. The average energy savings for the WE2 Program’s portfolio of residential and commercial projects exceedsmore » 15 percent and is closer to 30 percent energy savings. Combined energy savings of both residential and commercial activities were: 20,937,369 kWh; 1,018,907 Therms; and 31,655 gallons of heating oil; or at least 332,788 MMBTUs; or at least $3,444,828 in estimated energy costs saved. Conservative economic impact estimates include the employment of more than 100 residential auditors and contractors, more than 90 commercial contractors, and more than $41 million in total project costs expended in the targeted communities. WECC, along with the Partner Cities, attempted to create energy efficiency programming that helped to increase economic activity, increase workforce opportunities, and save energy in three of the largest communities in Wisconsin. Homeowners were assisted through the residential process by Energy Advocates, consultants, and contractors. Business owners were assisted through the commercial process by Program Advocates, contractors and trade allies. Contractors in both the residential and commercial programs were educated and trained by the many offerings provided by WECC. Together, all parties involved made the WE2 Program successful. The most prominent innovative approaches employed in the Me2 and Green Madison programs for residential retrofits were: use of a loan loss reserve approach to improve access to lower cost financing; a primary focus on “community-based” marketing and outreach through local organizations to attract program participants; use of Energy Advocates to facilitate homeowner understanding during participation of the retrofit process; increase in financial incentives, especially to achieve higher project savings; and additional building science and sales training for participating contractors, as well as the use of a Community Workforce Agreement (CWA). The most prominent innovative approaches used in the commercial building retrofit programs for the Me2, Green Madison and Re2 programs were: development and use of innovative customer financing through loan-loss reserves for small commercial building retrofits; cash collateral advance account for larger projects which mitigated the financial risk of lenders; and the ultimate development of a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program in the City of Milwaukee. Other approaches included: increased customer financial incentives, especially for small commercial projects, in excess of the incentives available from the Focus on Energy program. Each Partner City’s commercial program was built on existing Focus on Energy programming, which allowed the WE2 Program to leverage experience from Focus on Energy personnel to help promote participation, and encourage more extensive retrofits. Several legacy items will continue into the future, while there will be ongoing attempts to create a sustainable program. In the future, homeowners in Milwaukee and Madison will continue to have opportunities for incentives through the Focus on Energy program, as well as loan products being offered through Me2 and Green Madison. Similarly, business owners will continue to benefit from incentives through the Focus on Energy program, as well as loan products being offered through Me2 and Green Madison. Finally, the most recent development and implementation of C-PACE for large commercial building owners or business owners in Milwaukee may have substantial economic impacts. C-PACE may have similar impacts in Madison should they choose to implement the program in the near future. The WE2 Program’s immediate economic activity, workforce development, and energy savings coupled with long-term opportunities such as C-PACE provide a strong platform for the future, and could have only been created through meaningful collaboration.« less

Effect of Prestraining of Recrystallization Temperature and Mechanical Properties of Commercial, Sintered, Wrought Molybdenum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dike, Kenneth C; Long, Roger A

1953-01-01

Given three presumably identical lots of commercial, sintered, wrought molybdenum, the 1-hour recrystallization temperature of one lot remained above 2900 F by limiting the amount of effective restraining to 35 percent or less. Different recrystallization temperatures were obtained in various atmospheres, the highest in argon and the lowest in hydrogen. Metal thus fabricated and then stress-relieved possessed an ultimate tensile strength at room temperature within 10 percent of metal swaged 99 percent and also possessed equivalent ductility. At 1800 F, equivalent strength and ductility was obtained irrespective of the amount of swaging over the range of 10 to 99 percent. The amount of swaging greatly influenced the recrystallized grain size but the difference in grain size is not the major controlling factor which determines whether recrystallized molybdenum is ductile or brittle at room temperature.

The Haleakala Argentine ant project: a synthesis of past research and prospects for the future

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krushelnycky, Paul; Haines, William; Loope, Lloyd; Van Gelder, Ellen

2011-01-01

1. The Haleakala Argentine Ant Project is an ongoing effort to study the ecology of the invasive Argentine ant in the park, and if possible to develop a strategy to control this destructive species. 2. Past research has demonstrated that the Argentine ant causes very significant impacts on native arthropods where it invades, threatening a large portion of the park’s biodiversity in subalpine shrubland and alpine aeolian ecosystems. 3. Patterns of spread over the past 30+ years indicate that the invasion process is influenced to a substantial degree by abiotic factors such as elevation, rainfall and temperature, and that the ant has not reached its potential range. Predictions of total range in the park suggest that it has only invaded a small fraction of available suitable habitat, confirming that this species is one of most serious threats to the park’s natural resources. 4. Numerous experiments have been conducted since 1994 in an attempt to develop a method for eradicating the Argentine ant at Haleakala using pesticidal ant baits. Thirty baits have been screened for attractiveness to ants in the park, and ten of these were tested for effectiveness of control in field plots. While some of these baits have been very effective in reducing numbers of ants, none has been able to eliminate all nests in experimental plots. 5. Research into a secondary management goal of ant population containment was initiated in 1996. By treating only expanding margins of the park’s two ant populations with an ant pesticide, rates of outward spread were substantially reduced in some areas. While this strategy was implemented from 1997 to 2004, it was ultimately discontinued after 2004 because of the difficulty and insufficient effectiveness of the technique. 6. In order to achieve the types of results necessary for eradication, the project would probably need to explore the possibility of developing a specialized bait, rather than relying on a commercially produced bait. An alternative would be to pursue approval to use Xstinguish bait, a commercial bait manufactured in New Zealand and not registered for use in the US, which has yielded good results against Argentine ants. Either route would involve significant regulatory hurdles. Because the baits ultimately used would likely be liquid or paste in form, there would also be major logistical challenges in devising methods to successfully apply the baits across the two large ant populations at Haleakala.

Climate change is projected to reduce carrying capacity and redistribute species richness in North Pacific pelagic marine ecosystems.

PubMed

Woodworth-Jefcoats, Phoebe A; Polovina, Jeffrey J; Drazen, Jeffrey C

2017-03-01

Climate change is expected to impact all aspects of marine ecosystems, including fisheries. Here, we use output from a suite of 11 earth system models to examine projected changes in two ecosystem-defining variables: temperature and food availability. In particular, we examine projected changes in epipelagic temperature and, as a proxy for food availability, zooplankton density. We find that under RCP8.5, a high business-as-usual greenhouse gas scenario, increasing temperatures may alter the spatial distribution of tuna and billfish species richness across the North Pacific basin. Furthermore, warmer waters and declining zooplankton densities may act together to lower carrying capacity for commercially valuable fish by 2-5% per decade over the 21st century. These changes have the potential to significantly impact the magnitude, composition, and distribution of commercial fish catch across the pelagic North Pacific. Such changes will in turn ultimately impact commercial fisheries' economic value. Fishery managers should anticipate these climate impacts to ensure sustainable fishery yields and livelihoods. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The break-even point: when medical advances are less important than improving the fidelity with which they are delivered.

PubMed

Woolf, Steven H; Johnson, Robert E

2005-01-01

Society invests billions of dollars in the development of new drugs and technologies but comparatively little in the fidelity of health care, that is, improving systems to ensure the delivery of care to all patients in need. Using mathematical arguments and a nomogram, we demonstrate that technological advances must yield dramatic, often unrealistic increases in efficacy to do more good than could be accomplished by improving fidelity. In 2 examples (the development of anti-platelet agents and statins), we show that enhanced efficacy failed to achieve the health gains that would have occurred by delivering older agents to all eligible patients. Society's huge investment in technological innovations that only modestly improve efficacy, by consuming resources needed for improved delivery of care, may cost more lives than it saves. The misalignment of priorities is driven partly by the commercial interests of industry and by the public's appetite for technological breakthroughs, but health outcomes ultimately suffer. Health, economic, and moral arguments make the case for spending less on technological advances and more on improving systems for delivering care.

Consolidation Process in Near Net Shape Manufacturing of Armstrong CP-Ti/Ti-6Al-4V Powders

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

Yamamoto, Yukinori; Kiggans, Jim; Clark, Michael B

2010-01-01

This paper summarizes our recent efforts to develop the manufacturing technologies of consolidated net-shape components by using new low-cost commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti) and Ti-6Al-4V alloy powders made by the Armstrong process. Fabrication processes of net shape/ near net shape components, such as uniaxial die-pressing, cold isostatic pressing (CIP), sintering, roll compaction and stamping, have been evaluated. The press-and-sinter processing of the powders were systematically investigated in terms of theoretical density and microstructure as a function of time, pressure, and temperature. Up to 96.4% theoretical density has been achieved with the press-and-sinter technology. Tensile properties of the consolidated samples exhibitmore » good ductility as well as equivalent yield/ultimate tensile strengths to those of fully consolidate materials, even with the presence of a certain amount of porosity. A consolidation model is also under development to interpret the powder deformation during processing. Net shape components made of the Armstrong powder can successfully be fabricated with clearer surface details by using press-and-sinter processing.« less

Validation and Verification (V&V) of Safety-Critical Systems Operating Under Off-Nominal Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belcastro, Christine M.

2012-01-01

Loss of control (LOC) remains one of the largest contributors to aircraft fatal accidents worldwide. Aircraft LOC accidents are highly complex in that they can result from numerous causal and contributing factors acting alone or more often in combination. Hence, there is no single intervention strategy to prevent these accidents. Research is underway at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the development of advanced onboard system technologies for preventing or recovering from loss of vehicle control and for assuring safe operation under off-nominal conditions associated with aircraft LOC accidents. The transition of these technologies into the commercial fleet will require their extensive validation and verification (V&V) and ultimate certification. The V&V of complex integrated systems poses highly significant technical challenges and is the subject of a parallel research effort at NASA. This chapter summarizes the V&V problem and presents a proposed process that could be applied to complex integrated safety-critical systems developed for preventing aircraft LOC accidents. A summary of recent research accomplishments in this effort is referenced.

Validation and Verification of Future Integrated Safety-Critical Systems Operating under Off-Nominal Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belcastro, Christine M.

2010-01-01

Loss of control remains one of the largest contributors to aircraft fatal accidents worldwide. Aircraft loss-of-control accidents are highly complex in that they can result from numerous causal and contributing factors acting alone or (more often) in combination. Hence, there is no single intervention strategy to prevent these accidents and reducing them will require a holistic integrated intervention capability. Future onboard integrated system technologies developed for preventing loss of vehicle control accidents must be able to assure safe operation under the associated off-nominal conditions. The transition of these technologies into the commercial fleet will require their extensive validation and verification (V and V) and ultimate certification. The V and V of complex integrated systems poses major nontrivial technical challenges particularly for safety-critical operation under highly off-nominal conditions associated with aircraft loss-of-control events. This paper summarizes the V and V problem and presents a proposed process that could be applied to complex integrated safety-critical systems developed for preventing aircraft loss-of-control accidents. A summary of recent research accomplishments in this effort is also provided.

A 3D-Printable Polymer-Metal Soft-Magnetic Functional Composite-Development and Characterization.

PubMed

Khatri, Bilal; Lappe, Karl; Noetzel, Dorit; Pursche, Kilian; Hanemann, Thomas

2018-01-25

In this work, a 3D printed polymer-metal soft-magnetic composite was developed and characterized for its material, structural, and functional properties. The material comprises acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as the polymer matrix, with up to 40 vol. % stainless steel micropowder as the filler. The composites were rheologically analyzed and 3D printed into tensile and flexural test specimens using a commercial desktop 3D printer. Mechanical characterization revealed a linearly decreasing trend of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and a sharp decrease in Young's modulus with increasing filler content. Four-point bending analysis showed a decrease of up to 70% in the flexural strength of the composite and up to a two-factor increase in the secant modulus of elasticity. Magnetic hysteresis characterization revealed retentivities of up to 15.6 mT and coercive forces of up to 4.31 kA/m at an applied magnetic field of 485 kA/m. The composite shows promise as a material for the additive manufacturing of passive magnetic sensors and/or actuators.

A 3D-Printable Polymer-Metal Soft-Magnetic Functional Composite—Development and Characterization

PubMed Central

Lappe, Karl; Noetzel, Dorit; Pursche, Kilian; Hanemann, Thomas

2018-01-01

In this work, a 3D printed polymer–metal soft-magnetic composite was developed and characterized for its material, structural, and functional properties. The material comprises acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as the polymer matrix, with up to 40 vol. % stainless steel micropowder as the filler. The composites were rheologically analyzed and 3D printed into tensile and flexural test specimens using a commercial desktop 3D printer. Mechanical characterization revealed a linearly decreasing trend of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and a sharp decrease in Young’s modulus with increasing filler content. Four-point bending analysis showed a decrease of up to 70% in the flexural strength of the composite and up to a two-factor increase in the secant modulus of elasticity. Magnetic hysteresis characterization revealed retentivities of up to 15.6 mT and coercive forces of up to 4.31 kA/m at an applied magnetic field of 485 kA/m. The composite shows promise as a material for the additive manufacturing of passive magnetic sensors and/or actuators. PMID:29370112

Physico-mechanical and thermal characteristics of commercially available and newly developed dental flowable composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamalak, Hakan; Canbay, C. Aksu; Yiğit, Oktay; Altin, Serdar

2018-03-01

In this study, we investigated the structural stability, thermal conductivity, thermal analysis, materials' homogeneity of newly developed flowable composites. 6 different dental flowable composite resins; Grandio Flow (GF), Charisma Flow (CF), Tetric N Flow (TNF), Clearfil Majesty Flow (CMF),3M Filtek Ultimate Flow (3MFU), Voco Amaris Flow (VFA) were used. Restorations were made in standard teflon molds and the materials were light-cured for 20s in a 6 mm × 2 mm teflon mould. After polymerization, samples were kept in distilled water at 37 °C/24 h .It was found that the composites have multiphase component such as metallic dopant and organic binder. The XRD investigation showed that there was a broad halo in the pattern which indicates the organic section in the composites. The FTIR results indicate the bond structure of the composites. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of the composites were found below to 5 mW/K value depending on the type of the composites, which are low enough for dental application. The micro-hardness of the samples was analyzed and the result was compared.

Effects of Deployment Investment on the Growth of the Biofuels Industry. 2016 Update

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

Vimmerstedt, Laura J.; Warner, Ethan S.; Stright, Dana

This report updates the 2013 report of the same title. Some text originally published in that report is retained and indicated in gray. In support of the national goals for biofuel use in the United States, numerous technologies have been developed that convert biomass to biofuels. Some of these biomass to biofuel conversion technology pathways are operating at commercial scales, while others are in earlier stages of development. The advancement of a new pathway toward commercialization involves various types of progress, including yield improvements, process engineering, and financial performance. Actions of private investors and public programs can accelerate the demonstrationmore » and deployment of new conversion technology pathways. These investors (both private and public) will pursue a range of pilot, demonstration, and pioneer scale biorefinery investments; the most cost-effective set of investments for advancing the maturity of any given biomass to biofuel conversion technology pathway is unknown. In some cases, whether or not the pathway itself will ultimately be technically and financially successful is also unknown. This report presents results from the Biomass Scenario Model--a system dynamics model of the biomass to biofuels system--that estimate effects of investments in biorefineries at different maturity levels and operational scales. The report discusses challenges in estimating effects of such investments and explores the interaction between this deployment investment and a volumetric production incentive. Model results show that investments in demonstration and deployment have a substantial growth impact on the development of the biofuels industry. Results also show that other conditions, such as accompanying incentives, have major impacts on the effectiveness of such investments. Results from the 2013 report are compared to new results. This report does not advocate for or against investments, incentives, or policies, but analyzes simulations of their hypothetical effects.« less

A Compact L-band Radiometer for High Resolution sUAS-based Imaging of Soil Moisture and Surface Salinity Variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasiewski, A. J.; Stachura, M.; Dai, E.; Elston, J.; McIntyre, E.; Leuski, V.

2014-12-01

Due to the long electrical wavelengths required along with practical aperture size limitations the scaling of passive microwave remote sensing of soil moisture and salinity from spaceborne low-resolution (~10-100 km) applications to high resolution (~10-1000 m) applications requires use of low flying aerial vehicles. This presentation summarizes the status of a project to develop a commercial small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) hosting a microwave radiometer for mapping of soil moisture in precision agriculture and sea surface salinity studies. The project is based on the Tempest electric-powered UAS and a compact L-band (1400-1427 MHz) radiometer developed specifically for extremely small and lightweight aerial platforms or man-portable, tractor, or tower-based applications. Notable in this combination are a highly integrated sUAS/radiometer antenna design and use of both the upwelling emitted signal from the surface and downwelling cold space signal for precise calibration using a unique lobe-differencing correlating radiometer architecture. The system achieves a spatial resolution comparable to the altitude of the UAS above the surface while referencing upwelling measurements to the constant and well-known background temperature of cold space. The radiometer has been tested using analog correlation detection, although future builds will include infrared, near-infrared, and visible (red) sensors for surface temperature and vegetation biomass correction and digital sampling for radio frequency interference mitigation. This NASA-sponsored project is being developed for commercial application in cropland water management (for example, high-value shallow root-zone crops), landslide risk assessment, NASA SMAP satellite validation, and NASA Aquarius salinity stratification studies. The system will ultimately be capable of observing salinity events caused by coastal glacier and estuary fresh water outflow plumes and open ocean rainfall events.

Toward the holistic, reference, and extendable atlas of the human brain, head, and neck.

PubMed

Nowinski, Wieslaw L

2015-06-01

Despite numerous efforts, a fairly complete (holistic) anatomical model of the whole, normal, adult human brain, which is required as the reference in brain studies and clinical applications, has not yet been constructed. Our ultimate objective is to build this kind of atlas from advanced in vivo imaging. This work presents the taxonomy of our currently developed brain atlases and addresses the design, content, functionality, and current results in the holistic atlas development as well as atlas usefulness and future directions. We have developed to date 35 commercial brain atlases (along with numerous research prototypes), licensed to 63 companies and institutions, and made available to medical societies, organizations, medical schools, and individuals. These atlases have been applied in education, research, and clinical applications. Hundreds of thousands of patients have been treated by using our atlases. Based on this experience, the first version of the holistic and reference atlas of the brain, head, and neck has been developed and made available. The atlas has been created from multispectral 3 and 7 Tesla and high-resolution CT in vivo scans. It is fully 3D, scalable, interactive, and highly detailed with about 3,000 labeled components. This atlas forms a foundation for the development of a multi-level molecular, cellular, anatomical, physiological, and behavioral brain atlas platform.

Africa: addressing growing threats to food security.

PubMed

Rukuni, Mandivamba

2002-11-01

Africa remains the only region in the world where the number of hungry people will still be on the increase in 2020, and the number of malnourished children will have increased correspondingly. In this report I have acknowledged the general public policy trends across Africa in terms of macroeconomic policy reforms and political transitions. These welcome trends have to still produce stable nations and economies. Although economic development is the long-term solution to Africa's challenge on hunger and poverty, this will take time. And it follows therefore that African nations have to pursue policies and strategies that promote long-term growth while at the same time offering short-term safety nets for the poorest of the poor. The growth and development strategy will have at its core the need to increase significantly the levels of public-sector investment in agriculture and rural development and to give top priority to the commercialization of smallholder agriculture so as to increase productivity and competitiveness. But food security at the household level is ultimately a balance between availability and access, and in this regard governments need complementary food security policies that increase the probability of food access by the vulnerable groups.

Plasma-assisted combustion technology for NOx reduction in industrial burners.

PubMed

Lee, Dae Hoon; Kim, Kwan-Tae; Kang, Hee Seok; Song, Young-Hoon; Park, Jae Eon

2013-10-01

Stronger regulations on nitrogen oxide (NOx) production have recently promoted the creation of a diverse array of technologies for NOx reduction, particularly within the combustion process, where reduction is least expensive. In this paper, we discuss a new combustion technology that can reduce NOx emissions within industrial burners to single-digit parts per million levels without employing exhaust gas recirculation or other NOx reduction mechanisms. This new technology uses a simple modification of commercial burners, such that they are able to perform plasma-assisted staged combustion without altering the outer configuration of the commercial reference burner. We embedded the first-stage combustor within the head of the commercial reference burner, where it operated as a reformer that could host a partial oxidation process, producing hydrogen-rich reformate or synthesis gas product. The resulting hydrogen-rich flow then ignited and stabilized the combustion flame apart from the burner rim. Ultimately, the enhanced mixing and removal of hot spots with a widened flame area acted as the main mechanisms of NOx reduction. Because this plasma burner acted as a low NOx burner and was able to reduce NOx by more than half compared to the commercial reference burner, this methodology offers important cost-effective possibilities for NOx reduction in industrial applications.

Relative abundance and size of coastal sharks derived from commercial shark longline catch and effort data.

PubMed

Carlson, J K; Hale, L F; Morgan, A; Burgess, G

2012-04-01

In the north-west Atlantic Ocean, stock assessments conducted for some commercially harvested coastal sharks indicate declines from 64 to 80% with respect to virgin population levels. While the status of commercially important species is available, abundance trend information for other coastal shark species in the north-west Atlantic Ocean are unavailable. Using a generalized linear modelling (GLM) approach, a relative abundance index was derived from 1994 to 2009 using observer data collected in a commercial bottom longline fishery. Trends in abundance and average size were estimated for bull shark Carcharhinus leucas, spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna, tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier and lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris. Increases in relative abundance for all shark species ranged from 14% for C. brevipinna, 12% for C. leucas, 6% for N. brevirostris and 3% for G. cuvier. There was no significant change in the size at capture over the time period considered for all species. While the status of shark populations should not be based exclusively on abundance trend information, but ultimately on stock assessment models, results from this study provide some cause for optimism on the status of these coastal shark species. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

An ultrafast programmable electrical tester for enabling time-resolved, sub-nanosecond switching dynamics and programming of nanoscale memory devices.

PubMed

Shukla, Krishna Dayal; Saxena, Nishant; Manivannan, Anbarasu

2017-12-01

Recent advancements in commercialization of high-speed non-volatile electronic memories including phase change memory (PCM) have shown potential not only for advanced data storage but also for novel computing concepts. However, an in-depth understanding on ultrafast electrical switching dynamics is a key challenge for defining the ultimate speed of nanoscale memory devices that demands for an unconventional electrical setup, specifically capable of handling extremely fast electrical pulses. In the present work, an ultrafast programmable electrical tester (PET) setup has been developed exceptionally for unravelling time-resolved electrical switching dynamics and programming characteristics of nanoscale memory devices at the picosecond (ps) time scale. This setup consists of novel high-frequency contact-boards carefully designed to capture extremely fast switching transient characteristics within 200 ± 25 ps using time-resolved current-voltage measurements. All the instruments in the system are synchronized using LabVIEW, which helps to achieve various programming characteristics such as voltage-dependent transient parameters, read/write operations, and endurance test of memory devices systematically using short voltage pulses having pulse parameters varied from 1 ns rise/fall time and 1.5 ns pulse width (full width half maximum). Furthermore, the setup has successfully demonstrated strikingly one order faster switching characteristics of Ag 5 In 5 Sb 60 Te 30 (AIST) PCM devices within 250 ps. Hence, this novel electrical setup would be immensely helpful for realizing the ultimate speed limits of various high-speed memory technologies for future computing.

An ultrafast programmable electrical tester for enabling time-resolved, sub-nanosecond switching dynamics and programming of nanoscale memory devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, Krishna Dayal; Saxena, Nishant; Manivannan, Anbarasu

2017-12-01

Recent advancements in commercialization of high-speed non-volatile electronic memories including phase change memory (PCM) have shown potential not only for advanced data storage but also for novel computing concepts. However, an in-depth understanding on ultrafast electrical switching dynamics is a key challenge for defining the ultimate speed of nanoscale memory devices that demands for an unconventional electrical setup, specifically capable of handling extremely fast electrical pulses. In the present work, an ultrafast programmable electrical tester (PET) setup has been developed exceptionally for unravelling time-resolved electrical switching dynamics and programming characteristics of nanoscale memory devices at the picosecond (ps) time scale. This setup consists of novel high-frequency contact-boards carefully designed to capture extremely fast switching transient characteristics within 200 ± 25 ps using time-resolved current-voltage measurements. All the instruments in the system are synchronized using LabVIEW, which helps to achieve various programming characteristics such as voltage-dependent transient parameters, read/write operations, and endurance test of memory devices systematically using short voltage pulses having pulse parameters varied from 1 ns rise/fall time and 1.5 ns pulse width (full width half maximum). Furthermore, the setup has successfully demonstrated strikingly one order faster switching characteristics of Ag5In5Sb60Te30 (AIST) PCM devices within 250 ps. Hence, this novel electrical setup would be immensely helpful for realizing the ultimate speed limits of various high-speed memory technologies for future computing.

Toxicity of naphthenic acid fraction components extracted from fresh and aged oil sands process-affected waters, and commercial naphthenic acid mixtures, to fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) embryos.

PubMed

Marentette, Julie R; Frank, Richard A; Bartlett, Adrienne J; Gillis, Patricia L; Hewitt, L Mark; Peru, Kerry M; Headley, John V; Brunswick, Pamela; Shang, Dayue; Parrott, Joanne L

2015-07-01

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are constituents of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). These compounds can be both toxic and persistent and thus are a primary concern for the ultimate remediation of tailings ponds in northern Alberta's oil sands regions. Recent research has focused on the toxicity of NAs to the highly vulnerable early life-stages of fish. Here we examined fathead minnow embryonic survival, growth and deformities after exposure to extracted NA fraction components (NAFCs), from fresh and aged oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), as well as commercially available NA mixtures. Commercial NA mixtures were dominated by acyclic O2 species, while NAFCs from OSPW were dominated by bi- and tricyclic O2 species. Fathead minnow embryos less than 24h old were reared in tissue culture plates terminating at hatch. Both NAFC and commercial NA mixtures reduced hatch success, although NAFCs from OSPW were less toxic (EC50=5-12mg/L, nominal concentrations) than commercial NAs (2mg/L, nominal concentrations). The toxicities of NAFCs from aged and fresh OSPW were similar. Embryonic heart rates at 2 days post-fertilization (dpf) declined with increasing NAFC exposure, paralleling patterns of hatch success and rates of cardiovascular abnormalities (e.g., pericardial edemas) at hatch. Finfold deformities increased in exposures to commercial NA mixtures, not NAFCs. Thus, commercial NA mixtures are not appropriate surrogates for NAFC toxicity. Further work clarifying the mechanisms of action of NAFCs in OSPW, as well as comparisons with additional aged sources of OSPW, is merited. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International Satellite Law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von der Dunk, Frans

2017-07-01

International space law is generally considered to be a branch of public international law. In that sense, it constitutes a "subset of rules, rights and obligations of states within the latter specifically related to outer space and activities in or with respect to that realm." Dealing with an inherently international realm, much of it had been developed in the context of the United Nations, where the key treaties are even adhered to by all major space-faring countries. In addition, other sources—including not only customary international law but also such disputed concepts as "soft law" and political guidelines and recommendations—also contributed to the development of a general framework legal regime for all of mankind's endeavors in or with respect to outer space. Originally, this predominantly included scientific and military/security-related activities, but with the ongoing development of technology and a more practical orientation, it increasingly came to encompass many more civilian and, ultimately, even commercial activities, largely through downstream applications originating from or depending on space technology and space activities. Important here are the overarching, usually more theoretical aspects of international space law, which include how it was developed or continues to be developed, what special roles do "soft law" or the military aspects of space activities play in this regard, and how do national space laws (also) serve as a tool for interpretation of international space law. Also important is the special category of launches and other space operations in the sense of moving space objects safely into, through and—if applicable—back from outer space. Without such operations, space activities would be impossible, yet they bring with them special concerns; for instance, in terms of liability, the creation of space debris and even the legal status and possible commercialization of natural resources produced from celestial bodies. Finally there are the major categories of space applications—as these have started to impact everyday life on earth: the involvement of satellites in communications infrastructures and services, the most commercialized area of space applications yet; the special issue of space serving to mitigate disasters and their consequences on earth; the use of satellites for remote sensing purposes ranging from weather and climate monitoring to spying; and the use of satellites for positioning, navigation, and timing.

Structural Deterministic Safety Factors Selection Criteria and Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verderaime, V.

1992-01-01

Though current deterministic safety factors are arbitrarily and unaccountably specified, its ratio is rooted in resistive and applied stress probability distributions. This study approached the deterministic method from a probabilistic concept leading to a more systematic and coherent philosophy and criterion for designing more uniform and reliable high-performance structures. The deterministic method was noted to consist of three safety factors: a standard deviation multiplier of the applied stress distribution; a K-factor for the A- or B-basis material ultimate stress; and the conventional safety factor to ensure that the applied stress does not operate in the inelastic zone of metallic materials. The conventional safety factor is specifically defined as the ratio of ultimate-to-yield stresses. A deterministic safety index of the combined safety factors was derived from which the corresponding reliability proved the deterministic method is not reliability sensitive. The bases for selecting safety factors are presented and verification requirements are discussed. The suggested deterministic approach is applicable to all NASA, DOD, and commercial high-performance structures under static stresses.

Ethernet for Space Flight Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, Evan; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is adapting current data networking technologies to fly on future spaceflight missions. The benefits of using commercially based networking standards and protocols have been widely discussed and are expected to include reduction in overall mission cost, shortened integration and test (I&T) schedules, increased operations flexibility, and hardware and software upgradeability/scalability with developments ongoing in the commercial world. The networking effort is a comprehensive one encompassing missions ranging from small University Explorer (UNEX) class spacecraft to large observatories such as the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST). Mission aspects such as flight hardware and software, ground station hardware and software, operations, RF communications, and security (physical and electronic) are all being addressed to ensure a complete end-to-end system solution. One of the current networking development efforts at GSFC is the SpaceLAN (Spacecraft Local Area Network) project, development of a space-qualifiable Ethernet network. To this end we have purchased an IEEE 802.3-compatible 10/100/1000 Media Access Control (MAC) layer Intellectual Property (IP) core and are designing a network node interface (NNI) and associated network components such as a switch. These systems will ultimately allow the replacement of the typical MIL-STD-1553/1773 and custom interfaces that inhabit most spacecraft. In this paper we will describe our current Ethernet NNI development along with a novel new space qualified physical layer that will be used in place of the standard interfaces. We will outline our plans for development of space qualified network components that will allow future spacecraft to operate in significant radiation environments while using a single onboard network for reliable commanding and data transfer. There will be a brief discussion of some issues surrounding system implications of a flight Ethernet. Finally, we will show an onboard network architecture for a proposed new mission using Ethernet for science data transport.

Médecine à la Molière.

PubMed

James, P J

1998-06-01

Of Moliere's thirty six plays, seven deal, to a greater or lesser extent, with medicine; the medicine as practiced in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. In these days, Moliere satirises the recalcitrant conservatism of the Paris medical faculty. It is, however, an informed satirisation. This paper explores Moliere's motives and attempts to place Moliere's medical plays against a broad canvas of his other works. The ultimate purpose is to assess to what extent Moliere's philosophical persuasions and how he balanced them against the needs of contemporary, commercial theatre.

An Investigation of Methods to Measure and Predict Biological and Physical Effects of Commercial Navigation Traffic: Workshop II Held in St. Louis, Missouri on 17-18 April 1990

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

task of measurinig these forces in the natural environment and the increasing need to predict how these forces will ultimately affect the environment...near and beneath a towboat are complex and three-dimensional. These flow conditions are affected by physical conditions such as the shape and size of...a highly quantitative and fruitful line of pure and applied stud- ies of aquatic animal life histories (e.g., Russell Hunter (1953), Fremling (1960

Commercial, environmental and legislative factors that influence the implementation of fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serfass, Jeffrey A.; Bergman, Michael K.; Rodenhiser, Wendy

1994-04-01

Fuel cells and other advanced electric-generation technologies have not experienced a record of successful commercialization efforts. To lower costs for these technologies, it requires substantial production volumes with a significant investment in manufacturing facilities, all dependent on developer confidence in the ultimate market. Yet, market acceptance by buyers requires an adequate demonstration of technical performance and an assurance that these lower costs can be reached. In addition to this fundamental commercialization challenge, there are significant external factors that are greatly influencing the market's (utility's) future implementation of new alternative energy-generating technologies. The factor that has possibly the greatest impact today is the public demand for environmentally benign and renewable resource technologies. There is a growing trend of involvement by consumers, regulators and intervenors in the business and utility industry that is shifting the economic playing field by which industries make resource decisions. Concerns over air pollution, global warming, acid precipitation, depletion of the ozone layer and the hazards of electromagnetic fields (EMF) from power lines, have all led to more stringent regulations and environmental mandates. The utility business environment itself is rapidly changing. Higher public expectations from energy providers and increasing competition are leading to major changes in the American utility sector. Competitive requirements to reduce the cost of utility service is leading to business decisions that provide both opportunities and problems for increased use of alternative energy-generating technologies, like fuel cells, and/or renewables, such as wind and solar photovoltaics. Bringing new energy technologies to market is very expensive and this financial burden cannot be shouldered by the market, manufacturers or federal government alone. Further, for the market to assume a key position in early commercialization, the technology must offer a strategic and competitive advantage to early buyers. In order to break this problematic cycle of investments depending on market assurance and of market reluctance until cost goals are met, fresh approaches must be sought to address the unique challenges of each commercialization effort. Market-driven collaborations in which potential buyers, such as electric utilities, work together to define and implement a commercialization program that meets the market's requirements, with one or more suppliers, and with the federal government as a catalyst, provide perhaps the best opportunity for further commercialization of renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies. The key is that the market - not government agencies - determines the objectives and manages the resulting program. Two examples of such collaborations, the Fuel Cell Commercialization Group (FCCG) and the Utility PhotoVoltaic Group (UPVG), have so far proven to be successful in their new technology commercialization attempts.

Flexible Ultra Moisture Barrier Film for Thin-Film Photovoltaic Applications

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

David M. Dean

2012-10-30

Flexible Thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) is a low cost alternative to incumbent c-Si PV products as it requires less volume of costly semiconductor materials and it can potentially reduce installation cost. Among the TFPV options, copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) has the highest efficiency and is believed to be one of the most attractive candidates to achieve PV cost reduction. However, CIGS cells are very moisture sensitive and require module water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of less than 1x10-4 gram of water per square meter per day (g-H2O/m2/day). Successful development and commercialization of flexible transparent ultra moisture barrier film is themore » key to enable flexible CIGS TFPV products, and thus enable ultimate PV cost reduction. At DuPont, we have demonstrated at lab scale that we can successfully make polymer-based flexible transparent ultra moisture barrier film by depositing alumina on polymer films using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology. The layer by layer ALD approach results in uniform and amorphous structure which effectively reduces pinhole density of the inorganic coating on the polymer, and thus allow the fabrication of flexible barrier film with WVTR of 10-5 g-H2O/m2/day. Currently ALD is a time-consuming process suitable only for high-value, relatively small substrates. To successfully commercialize the ALD-on-plastic technology for the PV industry, there is the need to scale up this technology and improve throughput. The goal of this contract work was to build a prototype demonstrating that the ALD technology could be scaled-up for commercial use. Unfortunately, the prototype failed to produce an ultra-barrier film by the close of the project.« less

Simulating Direct and Indirect Damages to Commercial Fisheries from Marine Sand Mining: A Case Study in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Tae-Guon; Grigalunas, Thomas

2009-09-01

Rapid growth in marine sand mining for construction and other uses poses environmental challenges to coastal nations virtually worldwide. Yet the development of management policies, such as a system of fees imposed on operators for damage caused by mining, has been frustrated by a lack of studies to support such measures. Adapting a Beverton-Holt bioeconomic model, this paper attempts to contribute to the estimation of external costs to commercial fisheries due to marine mining. Using the major mining area of Ongjin in Korea as a case study, we estimate economic losses in use value of commercial fisheries through the time to recovery of the injured resource stocks. Present value of lost catch over a 1-year period from mining to resource recovery is estimated at 38,851 for a single “prototype” mining site. Estimated cumulative damages due to recurring mining for 5 and 10 years are 1.5 million and 2.2 million, respectively, at 20 mining sites. Sensitivity analyses are used to examine the effects of alternative assumptions to assess the many sources of uncertainty. Using a form of meta-analysis, dose-response information is used to assess the excess mortality the mining sediment plume has on eggs and larvae and, ultimately, on the value of lost catch (841). Also addressed is the importance of specifying the appropriate “premining” conditions against which to assess environmental losses at the mining site. Damages estimated with premining fish populations are 23,066 higher than is the case using postmining conditions. Overall, the illustrative results suggest the variety of complex conditions which influence damage to fisheries from mining and which can benefit from further study to improve management guidelines.

Salmonella serovars and their distribution in Nigerian commercial chicken layer farms

PubMed Central

Fagbamila, Idowu Oluwabunmi; Barco, Lisa; Mancin, Marzia; Kwaga, Jacob; Ngulukun, Sati Samuel; Zavagnin, Paola; Lettini, Antonia Anna; Lorenzetto, Monica; Abdu, Paul Ayuba; Kabir, Junaidu; Umoh, Jarlath; Ricci, Antonia; Muhammad, Maryam

2017-01-01

Commercial poultry farms (n° 523), located in all the six regions of Nigeria were sampled with a view to generate baseline information about the distribution of Salmonella serovars in this country. Five different matrices (litter, dust, faeces, feed and water) were collected from each visited farm. Salmonella was isolated from at least one of the five matrices in 228 farms, with a farm prevalence of 43.6% (CI95[39.7–48.3%]). Altogether, 370 of 2615 samples collected (14.1%, CI95[12.8; 15.5%]) contained Salmonella. Considering the number of positive farms and the number of positive samples, it was evident that for the majority of the sampled farms, few samples were positive for Salmonella. With regard to the matrices, there was no difference in Salmonella prevalence among the five matrices considered. Of the 370 isolates serotyped, eighty-two different serotypes were identified and Salmonella Kentucky was identified as having the highest isolation rate in all the matrices sampled (16.2%), followed by S. Poona and S. Elisabethville. S. Kentucky was distributed across the country, whereas the other less frequent serovars had a more circumscribed diffusion. This is one of few comprehensive studies on the occurrence and distribution of Salmonella in commercial chicken layer farms from all the six regions of Nigeria. The relatively high prevalence rate documented in this study may be attributed to the generally poor infrastructure and low biosecurity measures in controlling stray animals, rodents and humans. Data collected could be valuable for instituting effective intervention strategies for Salmonella control in Nigeria and also in other developing countries with a similar poultry industry structure, with the final aim of reducing Salmonella spread in animals and ultimately in humans. PMID:28278292

Salmonella serovars and their distribution in Nigerian commercial chicken layer farms.

PubMed

Fagbamila, Idowu Oluwabunmi; Barco, Lisa; Mancin, Marzia; Kwaga, Jacob; Ngulukun, Sati Samuel; Zavagnin, Paola; Lettini, Antonia Anna; Lorenzetto, Monica; Abdu, Paul Ayuba; Kabir, Junaidu; Umoh, Jarlath; Ricci, Antonia; Muhammad, Maryam

2017-01-01

Commercial poultry farms (n° 523), located in all the six regions of Nigeria were sampled with a view to generate baseline information about the distribution of Salmonella serovars in this country. Five different matrices (litter, dust, faeces, feed and water) were collected from each visited farm. Salmonella was isolated from at least one of the five matrices in 228 farms, with a farm prevalence of 43.6% (CI95[39.7-48.3%]). Altogether, 370 of 2615 samples collected (14.1%, CI95[12.8; 15.5%]) contained Salmonella. Considering the number of positive farms and the number of positive samples, it was evident that for the majority of the sampled farms, few samples were positive for Salmonella. With regard to the matrices, there was no difference in Salmonella prevalence among the five matrices considered. Of the 370 isolates serotyped, eighty-two different serotypes were identified and Salmonella Kentucky was identified as having the highest isolation rate in all the matrices sampled (16.2%), followed by S. Poona and S. Elisabethville. S. Kentucky was distributed across the country, whereas the other less frequent serovars had a more circumscribed diffusion. This is one of few comprehensive studies on the occurrence and distribution of Salmonella in commercial chicken layer farms from all the six regions of Nigeria. The relatively high prevalence rate documented in this study may be attributed to the generally poor infrastructure and low biosecurity measures in controlling stray animals, rodents and humans. Data collected could be valuable for instituting effective intervention strategies for Salmonella control in Nigeria and also in other developing countries with a similar poultry industry structure, with the final aim of reducing Salmonella spread in animals and ultimately in humans.

Can the critically ill consent to participation in commercial television programmes? An Australian prehospital and emergency medicine perspective.

PubMed

Mackenney, Jonathan N

2015-08-01

The fly-on-the-wall medical documentary is a popular television phenomenon. When patients can give appropriate consent to filming, the final product can be both educational for the public and rewarding for its subjects. However, in the dynamic world of emergency and prehospital medicine, consenting critically ill patients before filming is a significant challenge. The main barriers to gaining valid consent in the field and in the ED are limited time to inform the patient and the diminished capacity of the sick patient. Although there is an argument that involvement in a commercial film might be beneficial to several parties, including the patient, these benefits do not amount to therapeutic necessity if prior consent is not obtainable. Despite this, we still see acutely incapacitated patients featured in some television programmes. In these cases, the conventional process of consent might be being sidestepped in order to obtain permission for broadcast retrospectively. This alternative process fails to recognise that incapacitated patients require protection from an invasion of privacy that occurs when a crew is filming their resuscitations. This harm has already occurred by the time consent is sought. Ultimate responsibility for defending the patients' interests during their medical treatment rests with the medical practitioner. We argue that filming a patient without prior consent in both the prehospital and emergency environment is ethically unsound: it threatens trust in the healthcare relationship and might compromise the patient's dignity and privacy. Robust guidelines should be developed for all healthcare professionals who engage with commercial film crews. © 2015 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

Commercial high-level-waste management: Options and economics. A comparative analysis of the ceramic and glass waste forms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKisson, R. L.; Grantham, L. F.; Guon, J.; Recht, H. L.

1983-02-01

Results of an estimate of the waste management costs of the commercial high level waste from a 3000 metric ton per year reprocessing plant show that the judicious use of the ceramic waste form can save about $2 billion during a 20 year operating campaign relative to the use of the glass waste form. This assumes PWR fuel is processed and the waste is encapsulated in 0.305-m-diam canisters with ultimate emplacement in a BWIP-type horizontal-borehole repository. Waste loading and waste form density are the driving factors in that the low waste loading (25%) and relatively low density (3.1 g cu cm) characteristic of the glass form require several times as many canisters to handle a given waste throughput than is needed for the ceramic waste form whose waste loading capability exceeds 60% and whose waste density is nominally 5.2 cu cm.

Cosmic microwave background science at commercial airline altitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feeney, Stephen M.; Gudmundsson, Jon E.; Peiris, Hiranya V.; Verde, Licia; Errard, Josquin

2017-07-01

Obtaining high-sensitivity measurements of degree-scale cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization is the most direct path to detecting primordial gravitational waves. Robustly recovering any primordial signal from the dominant foreground emission will require high-fidelity observations at multiple frequencies, with excellent control of systematics. We explore the potential for a new platform for CMB observations, the Airlander 10 hybrid air vehicle, to perform this task. We show that the Airlander 10 platform, operating at commercial airline altitudes, is well suited to mapping frequencies above 220 GHz, which are critical for cleaning CMB maps of dust emission. Optimizing the distribution of detectors across frequencies, we forecast the ability of Airlander 10 to clean foregrounds of varying complexity as a function of altitude, demonstrating its complementarity with both existing (Planck) and ongoing (C-BASS) foreground observations. This novel platform could play a key role in defining our ultimate view of the polarized microwave sky.

"The horizon opened up very greatly": Leland O. Howard and the transition to chemical insecticides in the United States, 1894-1927.

PubMed

McWilliams, James E

2008-01-01

The transition to synthetic chemicals as a popular method of insect control in the United States was one of the most critical developments in the history of American agriculture. Historians of agriculture have effectively identified the rise and charted the dominance of early chemical insecticides as they came to define commercial agriculture between the emergence of Paris green in the 1870s and the popularity of DDT in the 1940s and beyond. Less understood, however, are the underlying mechanics of this transition. this article thus takes up the basic question of how farmers and entomologists who were once dedicated to an impressively wide range of insect control options ultimately settled on the promise of a chemically driven approach to managing destructive insects. Central to this investigation is an emphasis on the bureaucratic maneuverings of Leland O. Howard, who headed the Bureau of Entomology from 1894 to 1927. Like most entomologists of his era, Howard was theoretically interested in pursuing a wide variety of control methods--biological, chemical, and cultural included. In the end, however, he employed several tactics to streamline the government's efforts to almost exclusively support arsenic and lead-based chemical insecticides as the most commercially viable form of insect control. While Howard in no way "caused" the national turn to chemicals, this article charts the pivotal role he played in fostering that outcome.

From the Lab to the Farm: An Industrial Perspective of Plant Beneficial Microorganisms

PubMed Central

Parnell, J. Jacob; Berka, Randy; Young, Hugh A.; Sturino, Joseph M.; Kang, Yaowei; Barnhart, D. M.; DiLeo, Matthew V.

2016-01-01

Any successful strategy aimed at enhancing crop productivity with microbial products ultimately relies on the ability to scale at regional to global levels. Microorganisms that show promise in the lab may lack key characteristics for widespread adoption in sustainable and productive agricultural systems. This paper provides an overview of critical considerations involved with taking a strain from discovery to the farmer’s field. In addition, we review some of the most effective microbial products on the market today, explore the reasons for their success and outline some of the major challenges involved in industrial production and commercialization of beneficial strains for widespread agricultural application. General processes associated with commercializing viable microbial products are discussed in two broad categories, biofertility inoculants and biocontrol products. Specifically, we address what farmers desire in potential microbial products, how mode of action informs decisions on product applications, the influence of variation in laboratory and field study data, challenges with scaling for mass production, and the importance of consistent efficacy, product stability and quality. In order to make a significant impact on global sustainable agriculture, the implementation of plant beneficial microorganisms will require a more seamless transition between laboratory and farm application. Early attention to the challenges presented here will improve the likelihood of developing effective microbial products to improve crop yields, decrease disease severity, and help to feed an increasingly hungry planet. PMID:27540383

NASA Smart Surgical Probe Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mah, Robert W.; Andrews, Russell J.; Jeffrey, Stefanie S.; Guerrero, Michael; Papasin, Richard; Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Information Technologies being developed by NASA to assist astronaut-physician in responding to medical emergencies during long space flights are being employed for the improvement of women's health in the form of "smart surgical probe". This technology, initially developed for neurosurgery applications, not only has enormous potential for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, but broad applicability to a wide range of medical challenges. For the breast cancer application, the smart surgical probe is being designed to "see" a suspicious lump, determine by its features if it is cancerous, and ultimately predict how the disease may progress. A revolutionary early breast cancer detection tool based on this technology has been developed by a commercial company and is being tested in human clinical trials at the University of California at Davis, School of Medicine. The smart surgical probe technology makes use of adaptive intelligent software (hybrid neural networks/fuzzy logic algorithms) with the most advanced physiologic sensors to provide real-time in vivo tissue characterization for the detection, diagnosis and treatment of tumors, including determination of tumor microenvironment and evaluation of tumor margins. The software solutions and tools from these medical applications will lead to the development of better real-time minimally-invasive smart surgical probes for emergency medical care and treatment of astronauts on long space flights.

Advanced Technology Composite Fuselage - Repair and Damage Assessment Supporting Maintenance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flynn, B. W.; Bodine, J. B.; Dopker, B.; Finn, S. R.; Griess, K. H.; Hanson, C. T.; Harris, C. G.; Nelson, K. M.; Walker, T. H.; Kennedy, T. C.;

Chemical Microsensor Development for Aerospace Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Jennifer C.; Hunter, Gary W.; Lukco, Dorothy; Chen, Liangyu; Biaggi-Labiosa, Azlin M.

2013-01-01

Numerous aerospace applications, including low-false-alarm fire detection, environmental monitoring, fuel leak detection, and engine emission monitoring, would benefit greatly from robust and low weight, cost, and power consumption chemical microsensors. NASA Glenn Research Center has been working to develop a variety of chemical microsensors with these attributes to address the aforementioned applications. Chemical microsensors using different material platforms and sensing mechanisms have been produced. Approaches using electrochemical cells, resistors, and Schottky diode platforms, combined with nano-based materials, high temperature solid electrolytes, and room temperature polymer electrolytes have been realized to enable different types of microsensors. By understanding the application needs and chemical gas species to be detected, sensing materials and unique microfabrication processes were selected and applied. The chemical microsensors were designed utilizing simple structures and the least number of microfabrication processes possible, while maintaining high yield and low cost. In this presentation, an overview of carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), and hydrogen/hydrocarbons (H2/CxHy) microsensors and their fabrication, testing results, and applications will be described. Particular challenges associated with improving the H2/CxHy microsensor contact wire-bonding pad will be discussed. These microsensors represent our research approach and serve as major tools as we expand our sensor development toolbox. Our ultimate goal is to develop robust chemical microsensor systems for aerospace and commercial applications.

Performance studies of Cryocooler based cryosorption pumps with indigenous activated carbons for fusion applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasthurirengan, S.; Vivek, G. A.; Verma, Ravi; Behera, Upendra; Udgata, Swarup; Gangradey, Ranjana

2017-02-01

Cryosorption pumps are the only solution for pumping helium and hydrogen in fusion systems, due to their high pumping speeds and suitability in harsh environments. Their development requires the right Activated Carbons (ACs) and suitable adhesives to bind them to metallic panels with liquid helium (LHe) flow channels. However, their performance evaluation will require large quantities of LHe. Alternatively, these pumps can be built with small size panels adhered with ACs and cooled by a cryocooler. The paper describes the development of a cryopump using a commercial cryocooler (Sumitomo RDK415D), with 1.5W@4.2 K, integrated with small size AC panel mounted on 2nd stage, with the 1st stage acting as radiation shield. Under no load, the cryopump reaches the ultimate pressure of 2.1E-7 mbar. The pump is built using panels with different indigenously developed ACs such as granules, pellets, ACF-FK2 and activated carbon of knitted IPR cloth. We present the experimental results of pumping speeds for gases such as nitrogen, argon and helium using the procedures outlined by American Vacuum Society (AVS). These studies will enable to arrive at the right ACs and adhesives for the development of large scale cryosorption pumps with liquid helium flow.

Baseload Nitrate Salt Central Receiver Power Plant Design Final Report

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

Tilley, Drake; Kelly, Bruce; Burkholder, Frank

The objectives of the work were to demonstrate that a 100 MWe central receiver plant, using nitrate salt as the receiver coolant, thermal storage medium, and heat transport fluid in the steam generator, can 1) operate, at full load, for 6,400 hours each year using only solar energy, and 2) satisfy the DOE levelized energy cost goal of $0.09/kWhe (real 2009 $). To achieve these objectives the work incorporated a large range of tasks relating to many different aspects of a molten salt tower plant. The first Phase of the project focused on developing a baseline design for a Moltenmore » Salt Tower and validating areas for improvement. Tasks included a market study, receiver design, heat exchanger design, preliminary heliostat design, solar field optimization, baseline system design including PFDs and P&IDs and detailed cost estimate. The baseline plant met the initial goal of less than $0.14/kWhe, and reinforced the need to reduce costs in several key areas to reach the overall $0.09/kWhe goal. The major improvements identified from Phase I were: 1) higher temperature salt to improve cycle efficiency and reduce storage requirements, 2) an improved receiver coating to increase the efficiency of the receiver, 3) a large receiver design to maximize storage and meet the baseload hours objective, and 4) lower cost heliostat field. The second Phase of the project looked at advancing the baseline tower with the identified improvements and included key prototypes. To validate increasing the standard solar salt temperature to 600 °C a dynamic test was conducted at Sandia. The results ultimately proved the hypothesis incorrect and showed high oxide production and corrosion rates. The results lead to further testing of systems to mitigate the oxide production to be able to increase the salt temperature for a commercial plant. Foster Wheeler worked on the receiver design in both Phase I and Phase II looking at both design and lowering costs utilizing commercial fossil boiler manufacturing. The cost and design goals for the project were met with this task, but the most interesting results had to do with defining the failure modes and looking at a “shakedown analysis” of the combined creep-fatigue failure. A separate task also looked at improving the absorber coatings on the receiver tubes that would improve the efficiency of the receiver. Significant progress was made on developing a novel paint with a high absorptivity that was on par with the current Pyromark, but shows additional potential to be optimized further. Although the coating did not meet the emissivity goals, preliminary testing the new paint shows potential to be much more durable, and potential to improve the receiver efficiency through a higher average absorptivity over the lifetime. Additional coatings were also designed and modeled results meet the project goals, but were not tested. Testing for low cycle fatigue of the full length receiver tubes was designed and constructed, but is still currently undergoing testing. A novel small heliostat was developed through an extensive brainstorming and down select. The concept was then detailed further with inputs from component testing and eventually a full prototype was built and tested. This task met or exceeded the accuracy and structure goals and also beat the cost goal. This provides a significant solar field costs savings for Abengoa that will be developed further to be used in future commercial plants. Ultimately the $0.09/kWhe (real 2009 $) and 6,400 hours goals of the project were met.« less

Monolithic Cu-Cr-Nb Alloys for High Temperature, High Heat Flux Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, David L.; Locci, Ivan E.; Michal, Gary M.; Humphrey, Derek M.

1999-01-01

Work during the prior four years of this grant has resulted in significant advances in the development of Cu-8 Cr4 Nb and related Cu-Cr-Nb alloys. The alloys are nearing commercial use in the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) where they are candidate materials for the thrust cell liners of the aerospike engines being developed by Rocketdyne. During the fifth and final year of the grant, it is proposed to complete development of the design level database of mechanical and thermophysical properties and transfer it to NASA Glenn Research Center and Rocketdyne. The database development work will be divided into three main areas: Thermophysical Database Augmentation, Mechanical Testing and Metallography and Fractography. In addition to the database development, work will continue that is focussed on the production of alternatives to the powder metallurgy alloys currently used. Exploration of alternative alloys will be aimed at both the development of lower cost materials and higher performance materials. A key element of this effort will be the use of Thermo-Calc software to survey the solubility behavior of a wide range of alloying elements in a copper matrix. The ultimate goals would be to define suitable alloy compositions and processing routes to produce thin sheets of the material at either a lower cost, or, with improved mechanical and thermal properties compared to the current Cu-Cr-Nb powder metallurgy alloys.

Novel psychoactive substances: overdose of 3-fluorophenmetrazine (3-FPM) and etizolam in a 33-year-old man.

PubMed

Benesch, Matthew G K; Iqbal, Sahar J

2018-06-08

Though illegal in the UK, in many countries novel psychoactive substances are quasi-legal synthetic compounds that are widely available online under the guise of research chemicals. These substances are relatively cheap and are often undetectable in standard drug screens. Nearly 200 such compounds are introduced yearly, and little is usually known about their metabolism or physiological effects. Consequently, managing patients in overdose situations on largely unknown substances usually involves supportive care, however anticipating and managing atypical side effects are challenging in the absence of knowledge of these compounds. In this report, we discuss our encounter with a 33-year-old unconscious man presenting with coingestion of a novel stimulant 3-fluorophenmetrazine with a rarely used benzodiazepine etizolam. This patient developed seizure-like activity and delayed widespread T-wave inversions, both of which ultimately resolved without sequelae. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Peoria Disposal Co.`s PDC Laboratories: Analyzing and cleaning up -- Literally

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

McAdams, C.L.

1995-10-01

In the early 1980s, says Royal Coulter, president and CEO of Peoria Disposal Co. (PDC, Peoria, IL), many PDC customers were unfamiliar with the methods required for the proper characterization of then newly regulated hazardous wastes. So in early 1981, to expedite permitting and, ultimately, acceptance of waste by PDC, a lab was set up so the company could step in and provide the needed services. By focusing on the delivery of quality services in the analysis of groundwater, wastewater, and solid waste for PDC, Coulter says, the laboratory soon developed into a successful and independent commercial operation. In Julymore » of 1981, PDC Laboratories was incorporated as an independent environmental analytical laboratory. PDC Labs is a subsidiary of PDC Technical Services, Inc., which provides environmental consulting and site remediation services, and is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coulter Companies, Inc. Peoria Disposal offers solid waste disposal, industrial waste water treatment, waste stabilization, transportation services, and brokerage services.« less

Space Warfighting Construct: Prototyping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teehan, R. F.; Anttonen, J. S.; Stein, J. M.; Stearns, J. A.

Space is undergoing a period of great change, as the barriers to entry are lowering in every arena. Launch to any orbit is becoming more routine and feasible thanks to industry innovation, the rise of small- and cubesats, and the use of ESPA rings enabling “freight trains to GEO.” With more regular rides to space, there is a concomitant rise in the capability for space qualification, technology validation and verification, and all types of experimentation in both the space and ground segments. The types of architectures that commercial and government agencies develop is being influenced because space is becoming more accessible. Whereas current architectures are designed to have four to six satellites perform a mission, in the future that same mission may be distributed among dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of satellites. This changing landscape is something of a double-edged sword for Space Situational Awareness (SSA): safety of flight becomes a heightened concern, but the opportunities for the entire community to innovate, prototype, and ultimately provide novel, robust solutions have never been greater.

How much does a tokamak reactor cost?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freidberg, J.; Cerfon, A.; Ballinger, S.; Barber, J.; Dogra, A.; McCarthy, W.; Milanese, L.; Mouratidis, T.; Redman, W.; Sandberg, A.; Segal, D.; Simpson, R.; Sorensen, C.; Zhou, M.

2017-10-01

The cost of a fusion reactor is of critical importance to its ultimate acceptability as a commercial source of electricity. While there are general rules of thumb for scaling both overnight cost and levelized cost of electricity the corresponding relations are not very accurate or universally agreed upon. We have carried out a series of scaling studies of tokamak reactor costs based on reasonably sophisticated plasma and engineering models. The analysis is largely analytic, requiring only a simple numerical code, thus allowing a very large number of designs. Importantly, the studies are aimed at plasma physicists rather than fusion engineers. The goals are to assess the pros and cons of steady state burning plasma experiments and reactors. One specific set of results discusses the benefits of higher magnetic fields, now possible because of the recent development of high T rare earth superconductors (REBCO); with this goal in mind, we calculate quantitative expressions, including both scaling and multiplicative constants, for cost and major radius as a function of central magnetic field.

Classification and reduction of pilot error

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, W. H.; Logan, A. L.; Boley, G. D.

1989-01-01

Human error is a primary or contributing factor in about two-thirds of commercial aviation accidents worldwide. With the ultimate goal of reducing pilot error accidents, this contract effort is aimed at understanding the factors underlying error events and reducing the probability of certain types of errors by modifying underlying factors such as flight deck design and procedures. A review of the literature relevant to error classification was conducted. Classification includes categorizing types of errors, the information processing mechanisms and factors underlying them, and identifying factor-mechanism-error relationships. The classification scheme developed by Jens Rasmussen was adopted because it provided a comprehensive yet basic error classification shell or structure that could easily accommodate addition of details on domain-specific factors. For these purposes, factors specific to the aviation environment were incorporated. Hypotheses concerning the relationship of a small number of underlying factors, information processing mechanisms, and error types types identified in the classification scheme were formulated. ASRS data were reviewed and a simulation experiment was performed to evaluate and quantify the hypotheses.

Coupled Physical/Chemical and Biofiltration Technologies to Reduce Air Emissions from Forest Products Industries

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

Gary D. McGinnis

2001-12-31

The research is a laboratory and bench-scale investigation of a system to concentrate and destroy volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including hazardous air pollutants, formed from the drying of wood and the manufacture of wood board products (e.g., particle board and oriented strandboard). The approach that was investigated involved concentrating the dilute VOCs (<500 ppmv) with a physical/chemical adsorption unit, followed by the treatment of the concentrated voc stream (2,000 to 2,500 ppmv) with a biofiltration unit. The research program lasted three years, and involved three research organizations. Michigan Technological University was the primary recipient of the financial assistance, the USDAmore » Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) and Mississippi State University (MSU) were subcontractors to MTU. The ultimate objective of this research was to develop a pilot-scale demonstration of the technology with sufficient data to provide for the design of an industrial system. No commercialization activities were included in this project.« less

Humanlike Robots - Synthetically Mimicking Humans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2012-01-01

Nature inspired many inventions and the field of technology that is based on the mimicking or inspiration of nature is widely known as Biomimetics and it is increasingly leading to many new capabilities. There are numerous examples of biomimetic successes including the copying of fins for swimming, and the inspiration of the insects and birds flight. More and more commercial implementations of biomimetics are appearing and behaving lifelike and applications are emerging that are important to our daily life. Making humanlike robots is the ultimate challenge to biomimetics and, for many years, it was considered science fiction, but such robots are becoming an engineering reality. Advances in producing such robot are allowing them to perform impressive functions and tasks. The development of such robots involves addressing many challenges and is raising concerns that are related to fear of their application implications and potential ethical issues. In this paper, the state-of-the-art of humanlike robots, potential applications and challenges will be reviewed.

Engine Seal Technology Requirements to Meet NASA's Advanced Subsonic Technology Program Goals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinetz, Bruce M.; Hendricks, Robert C.

1994-01-01

Cycle studies have shown the benefits of increasing engine pressure ratios and cycle temperatures to decrease engine weight and improve performance of commercial turbine engines. NASA is working with industry to define technology requirements of advanced engines and engine technology to meet the goals of NASA's Advanced Subsonic Technology Initiative. As engine operating conditions become more severe and customers demand lower operating costs, NASA and engine manufacturers are investigating methods of improving engine efficiency and reducing operating costs. A number of new technologies are being examined that will allow next generation engines to operate at higher pressures and temperatures. Improving seal performance - reducing leakage and increasing service life while operating under more demanding conditions - will play an important role in meeting overall program goals of reducing specific fuel consumption and ultimately reducing direct operating costs. This paper provides an overview of the Advanced Subsonic Technology program goals, discusses the motivation for advanced seal development, and highlights seal technology requirements to meet future engine performance goals.

High-performance commercial building systems

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

Selkowitz, Stephen

2003-10-01

This report summarizes key technical accomplishments resulting from the three year PIER-funded R&D program, ''High Performance Commercial Building Systems'' (HPCBS). The program targets the commercial building sector in California, an end-use sector that accounts for about one-third of all California electricity consumption and an even larger fraction of peak demand, at a cost of over $10B/year. Commercial buildings also have a major impact on occupant health, comfort and productivity. Building design and operations practices that influence energy use are deeply engrained in a fragmented, risk-averse industry that is slow to change. Although California's aggressive standards efforts have resulted in newmore » buildings designed to use less energy than those constructed 20 years ago, the actual savings realized are still well below technical and economic potentials. The broad goal of this program is to develop and deploy a set of energy-saving technologies, strategies, and techniques, and improve processes for designing, commissioning, and operating commercial buildings, while improving health, comfort, and performance of occupants, all in a manner consistent with sound economic investment practices. Results are to be broadly applicable to the commercial sector for different building sizes and types, e.g. offices and schools, for different classes of ownership, both public and private, and for owner-occupied as well as speculative buildings. The program aims to facilitate significant electricity use savings in the California commercial sector by 2015, while assuring that these savings are affordable and promote high quality indoor environments. The five linked technical program elements contain 14 projects with 41 distinct R&D tasks. Collectively they form a comprehensive Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) program with the potential to capture large savings in the commercial building sector, providing significant economic benefits to building owners and health and performance benefits to occupants. At the same time this program can strengthen the growing energy efficiency industry in California by providing new jobs and growth opportunities for companies providing the technology, systems, software, design, and building services to the commercial sector. The broad objectives across all five program elements were: (1) To develop and deploy an integrated set of tools and techniques to support the design and operation of energy-efficient commercial buildings; (2) To develop open software specifications for a building data model that will support the interoperability of these tools throughout the building life-cycle; (3) To create new technology options (hardware and controls) for substantially reducing controllable lighting, envelope, and cooling loads in buildings; (4) To create and implement a new generation of diagnostic techniques so that commissioning and efficient building operations can be accomplished reliably and cost effectively and provide sustained energy savings; (5) To enhance the health, comfort and performance of building occupants. (6) To provide the information technology infrastructure for owners to minimize their energy costs and manage their energy information in a manner that creates added value for their buildings as the commercial sector transitions to an era of deregulated utility markets, distributed generation, and changing business practices. Our ultimate goal is for our R&D effort to have measurable market impact. This requires that the research tasks be carried out with a variety of connections to key market actors or trends so that they are recognized as relevant and useful and can be adopted by expected users. While some of this activity is directly integrated into our research tasks, the handoff from ''market-connected R&D'' to ''field deployment'' is still an art as well as a science and in many areas requires resources and a timeframe well beyond the scope of this PIER research program. The TAGs, PAC and other industry partners have assisted directly in this effort by reviewing and critiquing work to date, and by partnering in activities that advance results toward market impacts. The goals, objectives and key accomplishments of each technical program element and projects are described in the sections that follow. For each project we then summarize the Task Approach, the Outcomes of each task, and our Conclusions and Recommendations. We also provide a list and short summary of each significant research product e.g. report, prototype, software, standard, etc.« less

Anticipating ocean acidification's economic consequences for commercial fisheries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooley, Sarah R.; Doney, Scott C.

2009-06-01

Ocean acidification, a consequence of rising anthropogenic CO2 emissions, is poised to change marine ecosystems profoundly by increasing dissolved CO2 and decreasing ocean pH, carbonate ion concentration, and calcium carbonate mineral saturation state worldwide. These conditions hinder growth of calcium carbonate shells and skeletons by many marine plants and animals. The first direct impact on humans may be through declining harvests and fishery revenues from shellfish, their predators, and coral reef habitats. In a case study of US commercial fishery revenues, we begin to constrain the economic effects of ocean acidification over the next 50 years using atmospheric CO2 trajectories and laboratory studies of its effects, focusing especially on mollusks. In 2007, the 3.8 billion US annual domestic ex-vessel commercial harvest ultimately contributed 34 billion to the US gross national product. Mollusks contributed 19%, or 748 million, of the ex-vessel revenues that year. Substantial revenue declines, job losses, and indirect economic costs may occur if ocean acidification broadly damages marine habitats, alters marine resource availability, and disrupts other ecosystem services. We review the implications for marine resource management and propose possible adaptation strategies designed to support fisheries and marine-resource-dependent communities, many of which already possess little economic resilience.

Failure statistics for commercial lithium ion batteries: A study of 24 pouch cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Stephen J.; Harris, David J.; Li, Chen

2017-02-01

There are relatively few publications that assess capacity decline in enough commercial cells to quantify cell-to-cell variation, but those that do show a surprisingly wide variability. Capacity curves cross each other often, a challenge for efforts to measure the state of health and predict the remaining useful life (RUL) of individual cells. We analyze capacity fade statistics for 24 commercial pouch cells, providing an estimate for the time to 5% failure. Our data indicate that RUL predictions based on remaining capacity or internal resistance are accurate only once the cells have already sorted themselves into "better" and "worse" ones. Analysis of our failure data, using maximum likelihood techniques, provide uniformly good fits for a variety of definitions of failure with normal and with 2- and 3-parameter Weibull probability density functions, but we argue against using a 3-parameter Weibull function for our data. pdf fitting parameters appear to converge after about 15 failures, although business objectives should ultimately determine whether data from a given number of batteries provides sufficient confidence to end lifecycle testing. Increased efforts to make batteries with more consistent lifetimes should lead to improvements in battery cost and safety.

NOx Sensor Development

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

Woo, L Y; Glass, R S

NO{sub x} compounds, specifically NO and NO{sub 2}, are pollutants and potent greenhouse gases. Compact and inexpensive NO{sub x} sensors are necessary in the next generation of diesel (CIDI) automobiles to meet government emission requirements and enable the more rapid introduction of more efficient, higher fuel economy CIDI vehicles. Because the need for a NO{sub x} sensor is recent and the performance requirements are extremely challenging, most are still in the development phase. Currently, there is only one type of NO{sub x} sensor that is sold commercially, and it seems unlikely to meet more stringent future emission requirements. Automotive exhaustmore » sensor development has focused on solid-state electrochemical technology, which has proven to be robust for in-situ operation in harsh, high-temperature environments (e.g., the oxygen stoichiometric sensor). Solid-state sensors typically rely on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the oxygen-ion conducting electrolyte and then target different types of metal or metal-oxide electrodes to optimize the response. Electrochemical sensors can be operated in different modes, including amperometric (a current is measured) and potentiometric (a voltage is measured), both of which employ direct current (dc) measurements. Amperometric operation is costly due to the electronics necessary to measure the small sensor signal (nanoampere current at ppm NO{sub x} levels), and cannot be easily improved to meet the future technical performance requirements. Potentiometric operation has not demonstrated enough promise in meeting long-term stability requirements, where the voltage signal drift is thought to be due to aging effects associated with electrically driven changes, both morphological and compositional, in the sensor. Our approach involves impedancemetric operation, which uses alternating current (ac) measurements at a specified frequency. The approach is described in detail in previous reports and several publications. Briefly, impedancemetric operation has shown the potential to overcome the drawbacks of other approaches, including higher sensitivity towards NO{sub x}, better long-term stability, potential for subtracting out background interferences, total NO{sub x} measurement, and lower cost materials and operation. Past LLNL research and development efforts have focused on characterizing different sensor materials and understanding complex sensing mechanisms. Continued effort has led to improved prototypes with better performance, including increased sensitivity (to less than 5 ppm) and long-term stability, with more appropriate designs for mass fabrication, including incorporation of an alumina substrate with an imbedded heater. Efforts in the last year to further improve sensor robustness have led to successful engine dynamometer testing with prototypes mounted directly in the engine manifold. Previous attempts had required exhaust gases to be routed into a separate furnace for testing due to mechanical failure of the sensor from engine vibrations. A more extensive cross-sensitivity study was also undertaken this last year to examine major noise factors including fluctuations in water, oxygen, and temperature. The quantitative data were then used to develop a strategy using numerical algorithms to improve sensor accuracy. The ultimate goal is the transfer of this technology to a supplier for commercialization. Due to the recent economic downturn, suppliers are demanding more comprehensive data and increased performance analysis before committing their resources to take the technology to market. Therefore, our NO{sub x} sensor work requires a level of technology development more thorough and extensive than ever before. The objectives are: (1) Develop an inexpensive, rapid-response, high-sensitivity and selective electrochemical sensor for oxides of nitrogen (NO{sub x}) for compression-ignition, direct-injection (CIDI) exhaust gas monitoring; (2) Explore and characterize novel, effective sensing methodologies based on impedance measurements and designs and manufacturing methods that could be compatible with mass fabrication; and (3) Collaborate with industry in order to (ultimately) transfer the technology to a supplier for commercialization.« less

Silicon carbide as a basis for spaceflight optical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curcio, Michael E.

1994-09-01

New advances in the areas of microelectronics and micro-mechanical devices have created a momentum in the development of lightweight, miniaturized, electro-optical space subsystems. The performance improvements achieved and new observational techniques developed as a result, have provided a basis for a new range of Small Explorer, Discovery-class and other low-cost mission concepts for space exploration. However, the ultimate objective of low-mass, inexpensive space science missions will only be achieved with a companion development in the areas of flight optical systems and sensor instrument benches. Silicon carbide (SiC) is currently emerging as an attractive technology to fill this need. As a material basis for reflective, flight telescopes and optical benches, SiC offers: the lightweight and stiffness characteristics of beryllium; glass-like inherent stability consistent with performance to levels of diffraction-limited visible resolution; superior thermal properties down to cryogenic temperatures; and an existing, commercially-based material and processing infrastructure like aluminum. This paper will describe the current status and results of on-going technology developments to utilize these material properties in the creation of lightweight, high- performing, thermally robust, flight optical assemblies. System concepts to be discussed range from an 18 cm aperture, 4-mirror, off-axis system weighing less than 2 kg to a 0.5 m, 15 kg reimager. In addition, results in the development of a thermally-stable, `GOES-like' scan mirror will be presented.

Addiction to melodrama.

PubMed

Stephens, Robert P

2011-01-01

Addiction films have been shaped by the internal demands of a commercial medium. Specifically, melodrama, as a genre, has defined the limits of the visual representation of addiction. Similarly, the process of intermedialization has tended to induce a metamorphosis that shapes disparate narratives with diverse goals into a generic filmic form and substantially alters the meanings of the texts. Ultimately, visual representations shape public perceptions of addiction in meaningful ways, privileging a moralistic understanding of drug addiction that makes a complex issue visually uncomplicated by reinforcing "common sense" ideas of moral failure and redemption. Copyright © 2011 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

Aircraft noise effects on cultural resources: Recommendation and rationale for further research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson, Carl E.; King, Kenneth W.; Eagan, Mary Ellen; Horonjeff, Richard D.

1993-05-01

The results are ultimately used to estimate the potential for damage to a wide variety of cultural resources from operations of commercial helicopters. Comparison of measured vibration levels with criteria for damage based on structural velocities will provide a family of restrictions on aircraft operations in the vicinity of sensitive structures. Such restrictions could take the form of minimum separation distances and prohibited maneuvers for helicopters. The results of the study would be presented in a report as a set of recommended procedures for helicopter operations to avoid damage to prehistoric, historic, sensitive, and conventional structures.

Simple and short synthesis of trans-(R)-nerolidol, a pheromone component of fruit spotting bug.

PubMed

Le Thanh, C; Chauhan, Kamlesh R

2014-03-01

A three-step synthesis of enantiomerically pure (R) and (S)-trans nerolidol from commercially available E,E-fanesol is described. Trans nerolidol is an abundant sesquiterpene in many plant species, almost enantiomerically pure; however, the configuration of chirality is S. There is no natural resource for R-trans nerolidol, which has recently been identified as a pheromone component of the fruit spotting bug Amblypelta lutescens. The simple syntheses reported here will make enantiomerically pure R- and S-trans nerolidol and homologues available for further research and ultimately for use in integrated pest management strategies comprising pheromones.

Conversion of municipal solid waste to hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, J. H.; Rogers, R. S.; Thorsness, C. B.

1995-04-01

LLNL and Texaco are cooperatively developing a physical and chemical treatment method for the conversion of municipal solid waste (MSW) to hydrogen via the steps of hydrothermal pretreatment, gasification and purification. LLNL's focus has been on hydrothermal pretreatment of MSW in order to prepare a slurry of suitable viscosity and heating value to allow efficient and economical gasification and hydrogen production. The project has evolved along 3 parallel paths: laboratory scale experiments, pilot scale processing, and process modeling. Initial laboratory-scale MSW treatment results (e.g., viscosity, slurry solids content) over a range of temperatures and times with newspaper and plastics will be presented. Viscosity measurements have been correlated with results obtained at MRL. A hydrothermal treatment pilot facility has been rented from Texaco and is being reconfigured at LLNL; the status of that facility and plans for initial runs will be described. Several different operational scenarios have been modeled. Steady state processes have been modeled with ASPEN PLUS; consideration of steam injection in a batch mode was handled using continuous process modules. A transient model derived from a general purpose packed bed model is being developed which can examine the aspects of steam heating inside the hydrothermal reactor vessel. These models have been applied to pilot and commercial scale scenarios as a function of MSW input parameters and have been used to outline initial overall economic trends. Part of the modeling, an overview of the MSW gasification process and the modeling of the MSW as a process material, was completed by a DOE SERS (Science and Engineering Research Semester) student. The ultimate programmatic goal is the technical demonstration of the gasification of MSW to hydrogen at the laboratory and pilot scale and the economic analysis of the commercial feasibility of such a process.

Model predictive control of a solar-thermal reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saade Saade, Maria Elizabeth

Solar-thermal reactors represent a promising alternative to fossil fuels because they can harvest solar energy and transform it into storable and transportable fuels. The operation of solar-thermal reactors is restricted by the available sunlight and its inherently transient behavior, which affects the performance of the reactors and limits their efficiency. Before solar-thermal reactors can become commercially viable, they need to be able to maintain a continuous high-performance operation, even in the presence of passing clouds. A well-designed control system can preserve product quality and maintain stable product compositions, resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective operation, which can ultimately lead to scale-up and commercialization of solar thermochemical technologies. In this work, we propose a model predictive control (MPC) system for a solar-thermal reactor for the steam-gasification of biomass. The proposed controller aims at rejecting the disturbances in solar irradiation caused by the presence of clouds. A first-principles dynamic model of the process was developed. The model was used to study the dynamic responses of the process variables and to identify a linear time-invariant model used in the MPC algorithm. To provide an estimation of the disturbances for the control algorithm, a one-minute-ahead direct normal irradiance (DNI) predictor was developed. The proposed predictor utilizes information obtained through the analysis of sky images, in combination with current atmospheric measurements, to produce the DNI forecast. In the end, a robust controller was designed capable of rejecting disturbances within the operating region. Extensive simulation experiments showed that the controller outperforms a finely-tuned multi-loop feedback control strategy. The results obtained suggest that our controller is suitable for practical implementation.

CURRENT STATUS OF APPLICATIONS IN THE PASTEURIZATION OF STERILIZATION OF FOODS BY IONIZING RADIATIONS

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

Kraybill, H.F.

1960-04-01

A comprehensive research and development program on radiation preservation of foods has revealed some products having potential for early commercialization. Radiation sterilization of some meats, especially beef, has been somewhat disappointing. Other items such as chicken, fish, and pork products show promise as completely sterile products. Surveys of the food industry have been made on these items but lack of a competitive position. radiation processing costs higher than thermal processing, and lack of Food & Drug clearance at this time have held up an immediate commercial advance in this area. Radiopasteurization currently, however, offers raore promise since effect on qualitymore » (flavor, texture. and color) is not encountered and processing cost now approaches that of conventional processing methods. Extension of shelf life, by radiopasteurization of fish, chicken, pork, and beef, is ready for industry- wide exploitation when Food & Drug clearance is provided. Elimination of parasites in meat by very-low dose treatment such as trichina in perk and tapeworm in beef has current interest in industry and may be the first industrial application. The wholesomeness clearance studies are progressing successfully with no evidence that would indicate any toxicity prevailing from eating irradiated foods in tests on animals and man. The ultimate development of " ionizing radiation centers" will advance radiation applications in the food industry since appraisal of performance and costs can be more satisfactorily made than in laboratory projects. Reduction in costs of gamma radiation sources should also hold much promise for a preferential competitive position for low- dose radiation treatment of meats, fruits, and vegetables. The unique opportunities afforded by radiation processing of foods in underdeveloped countries for reduction in food spoilage and waste and elimination of food poisoning are of current and immediate importance. (auth)« less

Balancing innovation with commercialization in NASA's Science Mission Directorate SBIR Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terrile, R. J.; Jackson, B. L.

The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) administers a portion of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program. One of the challenges of administrating this program is to balance the need to foster innovation in small businesses and the need to demonstrate commercialization by infusion into NASA. Because of the often risky nature of innovation, SBIR programs will tend to drift into a status that rewards proposals that promise to deliver a product that is exactly what was specified in the call. This often will satisfy the metric of providing a clear demonstration of infusion and thus also providing a publishable success story. However, another goal of the SBIR program is to foster innovation as a national asset. Even though data from commercially successful SMD SBIR tasks indicate a higher value for less innovative efforts, there are programmatic and national reasons to balance the program toward risking a portion of the portfolio on higher innovation tasks. Establishing this balance is made difficult because there is a reward metric for successful infusion and commercialization, but none for successful innovation. In general, the ultimate infusion and commercialization of innovative solutions has a lower probability than implementation of established ideas, but they can also have a much higher return on investment. If innovative ideas are valued and solicited in the SBIR program, then NASA technology requirements need to be specified in a way that defines the problem and possible solution, but will also allow for different approaches and unconventional methods. It may also be necessary to establish a guideline to risk a percentage of awards on these innovations.

Evaluation of spacecraft technology programs (effects on communication satellite business ventures), volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenburg, J. S.; Gaelick, C.; Kaplan, M.; Fishman, J.; Hopkins, C.

1985-01-01

Commercial organizations as well as government agencies invest in spacecraft (S/C) technology programs that are aimed at increasing the performance of communications satellites. The value of these programs must be measured in terms of their impacts on the financial performane of the business ventures that may ultimately utilize the communications satellites. An economic evaluation and planning capability was developed and used to assess the impact of NASA on-orbit propulsion and space power programs on typical fixed satellite service (FSS) and direct broadcast service (DBS) communications satellite business ventures. Typical FSS and DBS spin and three-axis stabilized spacecraft were configured in the absence of NASA technology programs. These spacecraft were reconfigured taking into account the anticipated results of NASA specified on-orbit propulsion and space power programs. In general, the NASA technology programs resulted in spacecraft with increased capability. The developed methodology for assessing the value of spacecraft technology programs in terms of their impact on the financial performance of communication satellite business ventures is described. Results of the assessment of NASA specified on-orbit propulsion and space power technology programs are presented for typical FSS and DBS business ventures.

Evaluation of spacecraft technology programs (effects on communication satellite business ventures), volume 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenburg, J. S.; Gaelick, C.; Kaplan, M.; Fishman, J.; Hopkins, C.

1985-09-01

Commercial organizations as well as government agencies invest in spacecraft (S/C) technology programs that are aimed at increasing the performance of communications satellites. The value of these programs must be measured in terms of their impacts on the financial performane of the business ventures that may ultimately utilize the communications satellites. An economic evaluation and planning capability was developed and used to assess the impact of NASA on-orbit propulsion and space power programs on typical fixed satellite service (FSS) and direct broadcast service (DBS) communications satellite business ventures. Typical FSS and DBS spin and three-axis stabilized spacecraft were configured in the absence of NASA technology programs. These spacecraft were reconfigured taking into account the anticipated results of NASA specified on-orbit propulsion and space power programs. In general, the NASA technology programs resulted in spacecraft with increased capability. The developed methodology for assessing the value of spacecraft technology programs in terms of their impact on the financial performance of communication satellite business ventures is described. Results of the assessment of NASA specified on-orbit propulsion and space power technology programs are presented for typical FSS and DBS business ventures.

From protein engineering to immobilization: promising strategies for the upgrade of industrial enzymes.

PubMed

Singh, Raushan Kumar; Tiwari, Manish Kumar; Singh, Ranjitha; Lee, Jung-Kul

2013-01-10

Enzymes found in nature have been exploited in industry due to their inherent catalytic properties in complex chemical processes under mild experimental and environmental conditions. The desired industrial goal is often difficult to achieve using the native form of the enzyme. Recent developments in protein engineering have revolutionized the development of commercially available enzymes into better industrial catalysts. Protein engineering aims at modifying the sequence of a protein, and hence its structure, to create enzymes with improved functional properties such as stability, specific activity, inhibition by reaction products, and selectivity towards non-natural substrates. Soluble enzymes are often immobilized onto solid insoluble supports to be reused in continuous processes and to facilitate the economical recovery of the enzyme after the reaction without any significant loss to its biochemical properties. Immobilization confers considerable stability towards temperature variations and organic solvents. Multipoint and multisubunit covalent attachments of enzymes on appropriately functionalized supports via linkers provide rigidity to the immobilized enzyme structure, ultimately resulting in improved enzyme stability. Protein engineering and immobilization techniques are sequential and compatible approaches for the improvement of enzyme properties. The present review highlights and summarizes various studies that have aimed to improve the biochemical properties of industrially significant enzymes.

A sheet metal forming simulation of automotive outer panels considering the behavior of air in die cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Kwang Yong; Kim, Yun Chang; Choi, Hee Kwan; Kang, Chul Ho; Kim, Heon Young

2013-12-01

During a sheet metal forming process of automotive outer panels, the air trapped between a blank sheet and a die tool can become highly compressed, ultimately influencing the blank deformation and the press force. To prevent this problem, vent holes are drilled into die tools and needs several tens to hundreds according to the model size. The design and the drilling of vent holes are based on expert's experience and try-out result and thus the process can be one of reasons increasing development cycle. Therefore the study on the size, the number, and the position of vent holes is demanded for reducing development cycle, but there is no simulation technology for analyzing forming defects, making numerical sheet metal forming process simulations that incorporate the fluid dynamics of air. This study presents a sheet metal forming simulation of automotive outer panels (a roof and a body side outer) that simultaneously simulates the behavior of air in a die cavity. Through CAE results, the effect of air behavior and vent holes to blank deformation was analyzed. For this study, the commercial software PAM-STAMP{trade mark, serif} and PAM-SAFE{trade mark, serif} was used.

Application of the Tool for Turbine Engine Closed-loop Transient Analysis (TTECTrA) for Dynamic Systems Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Csank, Jeffrey; Zinnecker, Alicia

2014-01-01

Systems analysis involves steady-state simulations of combined components to evaluate the steady-state performance, weight, and cost of a system; dynamic considerations are not included until later in the design process. The Dynamic Systems Analysis task, under NASAs Fixed Wing project, is developing the capability for assessing dynamic issues at earlier stages during systems analysis. To provide this capability the Tool for Turbine Engine Closed-loop Transient Analysis (TTECTrA) has been developed to design a single flight condition controller (defined as altitude and Mach number) and, ultimately, provide an estimate of the closed-loop performance of the engine model. This tool has been integrated with the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation 40,000(CMAPSS40k) engine model to demonstrate the additional information TTECTrA makes available for dynamic systems analysis. This dynamic data can be used to evaluate the trade-off between performance and safety, which could not be done with steady-state systems analysis data. TTECTrA has been designed to integrate with any turbine engine model that is compatible with the MATLABSimulink (The MathWorks, Inc.) environment.

Application of the Tool for Turbine Engine Closed-loop Transient Analysis (TTECTrA) for Dynamic Systems Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Csank, Jeffrey Thomas; Zinnecker, Alicia Mae

2014-01-01

Systems analysis involves steady-state simulations of combined components to evaluate the steady-state performance, weight, and cost of a system; dynamic considerations are not included until later in the design process. The Dynamic Systems Analysis task, under NASAs Fixed Wing project, is developing the capability for assessing dynamic issues at earlier stages during systems analysis. To provide this capability the Tool for Turbine Engine Closed-loop Transient Analysis (TTECTrA) has been developed to design a single flight condition controller (defined as altitude and Mach number) and, ultimately, provide an estimate of the closed-loop performance of the engine model. This tool has been integrated with the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation 40,000 (CMAPSS 40k) engine model to demonstrate the additional information TTECTrA makes available for dynamic systems analysis. This dynamic data can be used to evaluate the trade-off between performance and safety, which could not be done with steady-state systems analysis data. TTECTrA has been designed to integrate with any turbine engine model that is compatible with the MATLAB Simulink (The MathWorks, Inc.) environment.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cells (CAR T-Cells) for Cancer Immunotherapy - Moving Target for Industry?

PubMed

Salmikangas, Paula; Kinsella, Niamh; Chamberlain, Paul

2018-05-31

The first CD19 CAR T-cell products, Kymriah and Yescarta, are entering the US market and also being evaluated for marketing authorization in the EU. This breakthrough has expanded the interest and also investments towards novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) designs, both for hematological malignancies and solid tumors. At the same time, there is active development in moving from autologous products to allogeneic, off-the-shelf -products. New manufacturing technologies are also emerging for production of these complex genetically-modified cells and even decentralized manufacturing in hospitals is under consideration. However, the high potency of CAR T-cells is associated with toxicity and not all patients respond to the treatment. In addition, the number of patient and product variables impacting the clinical outcome is high. The race towards novel CAR T treatment options for cancer patients has begun, but without careful design of the constructs and overall understanding of the factors that impact the ultimate outcome in each case, the road towards commercial success may be long and winding. This review discusses the product- and patient-related variables that may pose challenges for the industry and developers both from the scientific and regulatory perspective.

Wind Assessment for Aerial Payload Delivery Systems Using GPS and IMU Sensors

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

post- processing of the resultant test data were the research methods used in development of this thesis . Ultimately, this thesis presents two models ...processing of the resultant test data were the research methods used in development of this thesis . Ultimately, this thesis presents two models for winds...7  E .  THESIS OBJECTIVE AND ORGANIZATION ................................. 7  II.  BLIZZARD SYSTEM COMPONENTS

ADAPTIVE CLEARANCE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR TURBINE ENGINES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackwell, Keith M.

2004-01-01

The Controls and Dynamics Technology Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center primarily deals in developing controls, dynamic models, and health management technologies for air and space propulsion systems. During the summer of 2004 I was granted the privilege of working alongside professionals who were developing an active clearance control system for commercial jet engines. Clearance, the gap between the turbine blade tip and the encompassing shroud, increases as a result of wear mechanisms and rubbing of the turbine blades on shroud. Increases in clearance cause larger specific fuel consumption (SFC) and loss of efficient air flow. This occurs because, as clearances increase, the engine must run hotter and bum more fuel to achieve the same thrust. In order to maintain efficiency, reduce fuel bum, and reduce exhaust gas temperature (EGT), the clearance must be accurately controlled to gap sizes no greater than a few hundredths of an inch. To address this problem, NASA Glenn researchers have developed a basic control system with actuators and sensors on each section of the shroud. Instead of having a large uniform metal casing, there would be sections of the shroud with individual sensors attached internally that would move slightly to reform and maintain clearance. The proposed method would ultimately save the airline industry millions of dollars.

Framework legislation for non-communicable diseases: and for the Sustainable Development Goals?

PubMed Central

Magnusson, Roger S

2017-01-01

‘Framework legislation’ refers to legislation that sets out structures for governance and accountability or other processes for guiding the decisions and actions taken by government or the executive. Framework legislation for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) provides the opportunity for countries to focus their political commitment, to set national targets, and a time-frame for achieving them, and to create cross-sectoral governance structures for the development and implementation of innovative policies. Although they extend well beyond NCDs, the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) create similar demands for effective national governance. A similar case might, therefore, be made for framework legislation for the health-related SDGs or for legislation to govern particular aspects, such as managing commercial relationships with the private sector or managing conflicts of interest. This article considers the possible benefits of framework legislation, including what issues might be appropriate for inclusion in a framework law. The absence of framework legislation should neither be seen as an excuse for inaction, nor is framework legislation a substitute for detailed regulation of areas such as sanitation and water quality, tobacco and alcohol control, food safety, essential medicines or poisons. The ultimate test for framework legislation will be its capacity to provide a catalyst for action and to accelerate progress towards national and global health goals. PMID:29082017

Technologies to counter aviation security threats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karoly, Steve

2017-11-01

The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) makes TSA responsible for security in all modes of transportation, and requires that TSA assess threats to transportation, enforce security-related regulations and requirements, and ensure the adequacy of security measures at airports and other transportation facilities. Today, TSA faces a significant challenge and must address a wide range of commercial, military grade, and homemade explosives and these can be presented in an infinite number of configurations and from multiple vectors. TSA screens 2 million passengers and crew, and screens almost 5 million carry-on items and 1.2 million checked bags daily. As TSA explores new technologies for improving efficiency and security, those on the forefront of research and development can help identify unique and advanced methods to combat terrorism. Research and Development (R&D) drives the development of future technology investments that can address an evolving adversary and aviation threat. The goal is to rethink the aviation security regime in its entirety, and rather than focusing security at particular points in the enterprise, distribute security from the time a reservation is made to the time a passenger boards the aircraft. The ultimate objective is to reengineer aviation security from top to bottom with a continued focus on increasing security throughout the system.

Fractography of the high temperature hydrogen attack of a medium carbon steel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, H. G.; Moorhead, R. D.

1976-01-01

Results are reported for an experimental study of the microscopic fracture processes associated with hydrogen attack of a commercially produced plain carbon steel in a well-controlled high-temperature hydrogen environment of high purity. In the experiments, sheet samples were exposed to laboratory-grade hydrogen at a pressure of 3.5 MN/sq m and a temperature of 575 C. The fractography of gas-filled fissures and failed tension specimens is analyzed in an effort to identify any predominant microstructural defect associated with fissure formation, the prevalent modes of fracture, and the contribution of gas-filled fissures to the overall failure process. It is found that the tensile properties of the examined steel were significantly degraded after as few as 136 hr of exposure to a high-purity hydrogen atmosphere at 575 C; that the yield strength, ultimate strength, and elongation at fracture were all reduced progressively with increasing exposure time; and that the yield and ultimate strengths were reduced more than 40% after 408 hr while elongation was reduced to less than 2%.

Adsorption, desorption, and removal of polymeric nanomedicine on and from cellulose surfaces: effect of size.

PubMed

Zhang, Ming; Akbulut, Mustafa

2011-10-18

The increased production and commercial use of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems combined with a lack of regulation to govern their disposal may result in their introduction to soils and ultimately into groundwater systems. To better understand how such particles interact with environmentally significant interfaces, we study the adsorption, desorption, and removal behavior of poly(ethylene glycol)-based nanoparticulate drug delivery systems on and from cellulose, which is the most common organic compound on Earth. It is shown that such an adsorption process is only partially reversible, and most of the adsorbate particles do not desorb from the cellulose surface even upon rinsing with a large amount of water. The rate constant of adsorption decreases with increasing particle size. Furthermore, hydrodynamic forces acting parallel to the surfaces are found to be of great importance in the context of particle dynamics near the cellulose surface, and ultimately responsible for the removal of some fraction of particles via rolling or sliding. As the particle size increases, the removal rates of the particles increase for a given hydrodynamical condition. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Advancing a multivalent ‘Pan-anthelmintic’ vaccine against soil-transmitted nematode infections

PubMed Central

Zhan, Bin; Beaumier, Coreen M; Briggs, Neima; Jones, Kathryn M; Keegan, Brian P; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Hotez, Peter J

2014-01-01

Ascaris lumbricoides The Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership is developing a Pan-anthelmintic vaccine that simultaneously targets the major soil-transmitted nematode infections, in other words, ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm infection. The approach builds off the current bivalent Human Hookworm Vaccine now in clinical development and would ultimately add both a larval Ascaris lumbricoides antigen and an adult-stage Trichuris trichiura antigen from the parasite stichosome. Each selected antigen would partially reproduce the protective immunity afforded by UV-attenuated Ascaris eggs and Trichuris stichosome extracts, respectively. Final antigen selection will apply a ranking system that includes the evaluation of expression yields and solubility, feasibility of process development and the absence of circulating antigen-specific IgE among populations living in helminth-endemic regions. Here we describe a five year roadmap for the antigen discovery, feasibility and antigen selection, which will ultimately lead to the scale-up expression, process development, manufacture, good laboratory practices toxicology and preclinical evaluation, ultimately leading to Phase 1 clinical testing. PMID:24392641

From research to production: field induced electro-mechanical polymer-transducer (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovacs, Gabor M.

2017-04-01

In the past decades the development of compliant dielectric materials, capable of storing high electric energy density, is the object of considerable research efforts for commercial applications. Compared to the widely used soft dielectrics as compliant insulators, only a small variety of commercially products based on dielectric polymer transducers are available on the market up to date. A whole bunch of research activities worldwide has created a lot of very useful knowledge; but many researchers have been faced to different obstacles to manufacture devices for demonstrations. However, building handy demonstrators is one of the most relevant action in order to attract the interest of decision makers of industrial companies. Moreover, low cost devices strictly require highly efficient production methods and facilities to become competitive on the market. This aspect contains the ultimate requirement especially for very high output rates and represents one of the major topic at most negotiations. All technological problems linked to this issue have been addressed only a little in the past R+D activities and are still widely not satisfactory solved. The present talk will provide an overview of the options for opening the door of industrial production of polymer transducers and the remaining obstacles to be solved for the next step. In particular, the most relevant actions to be taken for enabling high capacity production at very low cost will be discussed, which have an essential impact on the direction of future research activities.

Graphene-Si heterogeneous nanotechnology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akinwande, Deji; Tao, Li

2013-05-01

It is widely envisioned that graphene, an atomic sheet of carbon that has generated very broad interest has the largest prospects for flexible smart systems and for integrated graphene-silicon (G-Si) heterogeneous very large-scale integrated (VLSI) nanoelectronics. In this work, we focus on the latter and elucidate the research progress that has been achieved for integration of graphene with Si-CMOS including: wafer-scale graphene growth by chemical vapor deposition on Cu/SiO2/Si substrates, wafer-scale graphene transfer that afforded the fabrication of over 10,000 devices, wafer-scalable mitigation strategies to restore graphene's device characteristics via fluoropolymer interaction, and demonstrations of graphene integrated with commercial Si- CMOS chips for hybrid nanoelectronics and sensors. Metrology at the wafer-scale has led to the development of custom Raman processing software (GRISP) now available on the nanohub portal. The metrology reveals that graphene grown on 4-in substrates have monolayer quality comparable to exfoliated flakes. At room temperature, the high-performance passivated graphene devices on SiO2/Si can afford average mobilities 3000cm2/V-s and gate modulation that exceeds an order of magnitude. The latest growth research has yielded graphene with high mobilities greater than 10,000cm2/V-s on oxidized silicon. Further progress requires track compatible graphene-Si integration via wafer bonding in order to translate graphene research from basic to applied research in commercial R and D laboratories to ultimately yield a viable nanotechnology.

A Bayesian Network Model for Assessing Estrogen Fate and Transport in a Swine Waste Lagoon

PubMed Central

Lee, Boknam; Kullman, Seth W.; Yost, Erin; Meyer, Michael T.; Worley-Davis, Lynn; Reckhow, Kenneth H.

2017-01-01

Commercial swine waste lagoons are regarded as a major reservoir of natural estrogens, which have the potential to produce adverse physiological effects on exposed aquatic organisms and wildlife. However, there remains limited understanding of the complex mechanisms of physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern the fate and transport of natural estrogens within an anaerobic swine lagoon. To improve lagoon management and ultimately help control the offsite transport of these compounds from swine operations, a Bayesian network model was developed to predict estrogen fate and budget and compared against data collected from a commercial swine field site. In general, the model was able to predict the estrogen fate and budget in both the slurry and sludge stores within the swine lagoon. Sensitivity analysis within the model, demonstrated that the estrogen input loading from the associated barn facility was the most important factor in controlling estrogen concentrations within the lagoon slurry storage, while the settling rate was the most significant factor in the lagoon sludge storage. The degradation reactions were shown to be minor in both stores based on prediction of average total estrogen concentrations. Management scenario evaluations showed that the best possible management options to reduce estrogen levels in the lagoon are either to adjust the estrogen input loading from swine barn facilities or to effectively enhancing estrogen bonding with suspended solids through the use of organic polymers or inorganic coagulants. PMID:24798317

The value of using DNA markers for beef bull selection in the seedstock sector.

PubMed

Van Eenennaam, A L; van der Werf, J H J; Goddard, M E

2011-02-01

The objective of this study was to estimate the value derived from using DNA information to increase the accuracy of beef sire selection in a closed seedstock herd. Breeding objectives for commercial production systems targeting 2 diverse markets were examined using multiple-trait selection indexes developed for the Australian cattle industry. Indexes included those for both maternal (self-replacing) and terminal herds targeting either a domestic market, where steers are finished on pasture, or the export market, where steers are finished on concentrate rations in feedlots and marbling has a large value. Selection index theory was used to predict the response to conventional selection based on phenotypic performance records, and this was compared with including information from 2 hypothetical marker panels. In 1 case the marker panel explained a percentage of additive genetic variance equal to the heritability for all traits in the breeding objective and selection criteria, and in the other case to one-half of this amount. Discounted gene flow methodology was used to calculate the value derived from the use of superior bulls selected using DNA test information and performance recording over that derived from conventional selection using performance recording alone. Results were ultimately calculated as discounted returns per DNA test purchased by the seedstock operator. The DNA testing using these hypothetical marker panels increased the selection response between 29 to 158%. The value of this improvement above that obtained using traditional performance recording ranged from $89 to 565 per commercial bull, and $5,332 to 27,910 per stud bull. Assuming that the entire bull calf crop was tested to achieve these gains, the value of the genetic gain derived from DNA testing ranged from $204 to 1,119 per test. All values assumed that the benefits derived from using superior bulls were efficiently transferred along the production chain to the seedstock producer incurring the costs of genotyping. These results suggest that the development of greater-accuracy DNA tests for beef cattle selection could be beneficial from an industry-wide perspective, but the commercial viability will strongly depend on price signaling throughout the production chain.

Long-term retrievability and safeguards for immobilized weapons plutonium in geologic storage

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

Peterson, P.F.

1996-05-01

If plutonium is not ultimately used as an energy source, the quantity of excess weapons plutonium (w-Pu) that would go into a US repository will be small compared to the quantity of plutonium contained in the commercial spent fuel in the repository, and the US repository(ies) will likely be only one (or two) locations out of many around the world where commercial spent fuel will be stored. Therefore excess weapons plutonium creates a small perturbation to the long-term (over 200,000 yr) global safeguard requirements for spent fuel. There are details in the differences between spent fuel and immobilized w-Pu wastemore » forms (i.e. chemical separation methods, utility for weapons, nuclear testing requirements), but these are sufficiently small to be unlikely to play a significant role in any US political decision to rebuild weapons inventories, or to change the long-term risks of theft by subnational groups.« less

Investigations on the effects of mouthrinses on the colour stability and surface roughness of different dental bioceramics

PubMed Central

Varol, Osman

2017-01-01

PURPOSE In this study, three bioceramic materials, [IPS Empress CAD (Ivoclar), IPS e.max CAD (Ivoclar), and Lava Ultimate CAD (3M ESPE)] were treated with three commercial mouthrinses [Listerine, Tantum Verde, and Klorhex]; and changes in colour reflectance and surface roughness values were then quantitatively assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and twenty ceramic samples, with dimensions of 2 × 12 × 14 mm, were prepared and divided into nine sample groups, except three control samples. The samples were immersed in the mouthrinse solutions for 120 hrs, and changes in colour reflectance and surface roughness values were measured by UV light spectrophotometry (Vita Easyshade; VITA Zahnfabrik) and by profilometer device (MitutoyoSurftest SJ-301), respectively. The change of surface roughness was inspected by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). RESULTS There was a positive correlation between the ΔE and increase in the surface roughness. Two of the ceramic materials, IPS Empress and Lava Ultimate, were affected significantly by the treatment of the mouthrinse solutions (P<.05). The most affecting solution was Tantum Verde and the most affected material was Lava Ultimate. As expected, the most resistant material to ΔE and chemical corrosion was IPS e max CAD among the materials used. CONCLUSION This work implied that mouthrinse with lower alcohol content had less deteriorating effect on colour and on the surface morphology of the bioceramic materials. PMID:28680552

Using synchrotron light to accelerate EUV resist and mask materials learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naulleau, Patrick; Anderson, Christopher N.; Baclea-an, Lorie-Mae; Denham, Paul; George, Simi; Goldberg, Kenneth A.; Jones, Gideon; McClinton, Brittany; Miyakawa, Ryan; Mochi, Iacopo; Montgomery, Warren; Rekawa, Seno; Wallow, Tom

2011-03-01

As commercialization of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) progresses, direct industry activities are being focused on near term concerns. The question of long term extendibility of EUVL, however, remains crucial given the magnitude of the investments yet required to make EUVL a reality. Extendibility questions are best addressed using advanced research tools such as the SEMATECH Berkeley microfield exposure tool (MET) and actinic inspection tool (AIT). Utilizing Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source facility as the light source, these tools benefit from the unique properties of synchrotron light enabling research at nodes generations ahead of what is possible with commercial tools. The MET for example uses extremely bright undulator radiation to enable a lossless fully programmable coherence illuminator. Using such a system, resolution enhancing illuminations achieving k1 factors of 0.25 can readily be attained. Given the MET numerical aperture of 0.3, this translates to an ultimate resolution capability of 12 nm. Using such methods, the SEMATECH Berkeley MET has demonstrated resolution in resist to 16-nm half pitch and below in an imageable spin-on hard mask. At a half pitch of 16 nm, this material achieves a line-edge roughness of 2 nm with a correlation length of 6 nm. These new results demonstrate that the observed stall in ultimate resolution progress in chemically amplified resists is a materials issue rather than a tool limitation. With a resolution limit of 20-22 nm, the CAR champion from 2008 remains as the highest performing CAR tested to date. To enable continued advanced learning in EUV resists, SEMATECH has initiated a plan to implement a 0.5 NA microfield tool at the Advanced Light Source synchrotron facility. This tool will be capable of printing down to 8-nm half pitch.

Development of a rapid low cost fluorescent biosensor for the detection of food contaminants.

PubMed

McGrath, Terry F; Andersson, Karl; Campbell, Katrina; Fodey, Terry L; Elliott, Christopher T

2013-03-15

A prototype fluorescent based biosensor has been developed for the antibody based detection of food related contaminants. Its performance was characterised and showed a typical antibody binding signal of 200-2000 mV, a short term noise of 9.1 mV, and baseline slope of -0.016 mV/s over 4h. Bulk signal detection repeatability (n=23) and reproducibility (n=3) were less than 2.4%CV. The biosensor detection unit was evaluated using two food related model systems proving its ability to monitor both binding using commercial products and inhibition through the development of an assay. This assay development potential was evaluated by observing the biosensor's performance whilst appraising several labelled antibody and glass slide configurations. The molecular interaction between biotin and an anti-biotin antibody was shown to be inhibited by 41% due to the presence of biotin in a sample. A food toxin (domoic acid) calibration curve was produced, with %CVs ranging from 2.7 to 7.8%, and a midpoint of approximately 17 ng/ml with further optimisation possible. The ultimate aim of this study was to demonstrate the working principles of this innovative biosensor as a potential portable tool with the opportunity of interchangeable assays. The biosensor design is applicable for the requirements of routine food contaminant analysis, with respect to performance, functionality and cost. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simulation study of charged nanoparticles confined in a rectangular tube with discrete wall charges.

PubMed

Yuet, Pak K

2006-03-28

The development of novel nanomaterials has been a subject of intense interest in recent years. An interesting structure among these materials is the so-called "pea pods" (i.e., nanoparticles confined in nanotubes). To facilitate the development and commercialization of these materials, it is important that we have an in-depth understanding of their behavior. The study of confined charged particles is particularly challenging because of the long-ranged nature of electrostatic interaction, and both interparticle and particle-confinement interactions are likely to play a role in determining the system behavior. The primary objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of the behavior of charged nanoparticles in a charged tubular confinement using Monte Carlo simulation, with particular focus on the effect of electrostatic interactions on the structure of the particles. Simulation results have shown that (i) the structuring of confined particles is associated with the asymmetry of the long-ranged interaction and (ii) factors such as confinement geometry and particle charge and size asymmetry can be manipulated to produce different particle structures. The present study represents the first step in an attempt to gain further insight into the behavior of confined nanosystems, with the ultimate objective of exploiting these characteristics, particularly the interactions between the confined particles and their external environment, in developing novel nanomaterials.

Optimal spacing between transmitting and receiving optical fibres in reflectance pulse oximetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hickey, M.; Kyriacou, P. A.

2007-10-01

Splanchnic ischaemia can ultimately lead to cellular hypoxia and necrosis, and may well contribute to the development of multiple organ failures and increased mortality. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to monitor abdominal organ blood oxygen saturation (SpO2). Pulse oximetry has been widely accepted as a reliable method for monitoring oxygen saturation of arterial blood. Animal studies have also shown it to be effective in the monitoring of blood oxygen saturation in the splanchnic region. However, commercially available pulse oximeter probes are not suitable for the continuous assessment of SpO2 in the splanchnic region. Therefore, there is a need for a new sensor technology that will allow the continuous measurement of SpO2 in the splanchnic area pre-operatively, operatively and post-operatively. For this purpose, a new fibre optic sensor and processing system utilising the principle of reflectance pulse oximetry has been developed. The accuracy in the estimation of SpO2 in pulse oximetry depends on the quality and amplitude of the photoplethysmographic (PPG) signal and for this reason an experimental procedure was carried out to examine the effect of the source-detector separation distance on the acquired PPG signals, and to ultimately select an optimal separation for the final design of the fibre-optic probe. PPG signals were obtained from the finger for different separation distances between the emitting and detecting fibres. Good quality PPG signals with large amplitudes and high signal-to-noise ratio were detected in the range of 3mm to 6mm. At separation distances between 1mm and 2mm, PPG signals were erratic with no resemblance to a conventional PPG signal. At separation distances greater than 6mm, the amplitudes of PPG signals were very small and not appropriate for processing. This investigation indicates the suitability of optical fibres as a new pulse oximetry sensor for estimating blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) in the splanchnic region.

Targeted intervention strategies to optimise diversion of BMW in the Dublin, Ireland region

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

Purcell, M., E-mail: mary.purcell@cit.ie; Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Architecture, Landscape and Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, Newstead, Belfield, Dublin 4; Magette, W.L.

Highlights: > Previous research indicates that targeted strategies designed for specific areas should lead to improved diversion. > Survey responses and GIS model predictions from previous research were the basis for goal setting. > Then logic modelling and behavioural research were employed to develop site-specific management intervention strategies. > Waste management initiatives can be tailored to specific needs of areas rather than one size fits all means currently used. - Abstract: Urgent transformation is required in Ireland to divert biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill and prevent increases in overall waste generation. When BMW is optimally managed, it becomes amore » resource with value instead of an unwanted by-product requiring disposal. An analysis of survey responses from commercial and residential sectors for the Dublin region in previous research by the authors proved that attitudes towards and behaviour regarding municipal solid waste is spatially variable. This finding indicates that targeted intervention strategies designed for specific geographic areas should lead to improved diversion rates of BMW from landfill, a requirement of the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC. In the research described in this paper, survey responses and GIS model predictions from previous research were the basis for goal setting, after which logic modelling and behavioural research were employed to develop site-specific waste management intervention strategies. The main strategies devised include (a) roll out of the Brown Bin (Organics) Collection and Community Workshops in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, (b) initiation of a Community Composting Project in Dublin City (c) implementation of a Waste Promotion and Motivation Scheme in South Dublin (d) development and distribution of a Waste Booklet to promote waste reduction activities in Fingal (e) region wide distribution of a Waste Booklet to the commercial sector and (f) Greening Irish Pubs Initiative. Each of these strategies was devised after interviews with both the residential and commercial sectors to help make optimal waste management the norm for both sectors. Strategy (b), (e) and (f) are detailed in this paper. By integrating a human element into accepted waste management approaches, these strategies will make optimal waste behaviour easier to achieve. Ultimately this will help divert waste from landfill and improve waste management practice as a whole for the region. This method of devising targeted intervention strategies can be adapted for many other regions.« less

New initiatives in the commercial development of space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rose, James T.; Stone, Barbara A.

1988-01-01

This paper provides a status report on aggressive new initiatives by the NASA Office of Commercial Programs to implement new commercial space policy. The promotion of a strong U.S. commercial presence in space via Spacehab, the Space Shuttle external tanks, privatization of the Space Station, and the development of commercial remote sensing systems is addressed. The privatization of launch services and the development of a talent base for commercial space efforts are considered. Groups, policies, and plans involved in these developments are discussed.

Micronutrient fortification of plants through plant breeding: can it improve nutrition in man at low cost?

PubMed

Bouis, Howarth E

2003-05-01

Can commonly-eaten food staple crops be developed that fortify their seeds with essential minerals and vitamins? Can farmers be induced to grow such varieties? If so, would this result in a marked improvement in human nutrition at a lower cost than existing nutrition interventions? An interdisciplinary international effort is underway to breed for mineral- and vitamin-dense varieties of rice, wheat, maize, beans and cassava for release to farmers in developing countries. The biofortification strategy seeks to take advantage of the consistent daily consumption of large amounts of food staples by all family members, including women and children as they are most at risk for micronutrient malnutrition. As a consequence of the predominance of food staples in the diets of the poor, this strategy implicitly targets low-income households. After the one-time investment is made to develop seeds that fortify themselves, recurrent costs are low and germplasm may be shared internationally. It is this multiplier aspect of plant breeding across time and distance that makes it so cost-effective. Once in place, the biofortified crop system is highly sustainable. Nutritionally-improved varieties will continue to be grown and consumed year after year, even if government attention and international funding for micronutrient issues fades. Biofortification provides a truly feasible means of reaching malnourished populations in relatively remote rural areas, delivering naturally-fortified foods to population groups with limited access to commercially-marketed fortified foods that are more readily available in urban areas. Biofortification and commercial fortification are, therefore, highly complementary. Breeding for higher trace mineral density in seeds will not incur a yield penalty. Mineral-packed seeds sell themselves to farmers because, as recent research has shown, these trace minerals are essential in helping plants resist disease and other environmental stresses. More seedlings survive and initial growth is more rapid. Ultimately, yields are higher, particularly in trace mineral-'deficient' soils in arid regions.

7 CFR 4280.29 - Supplemental financing required for the Ultimate Recipient Project.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Supplemental financing required for the Ultimate Recipient Project. 4280.29 Section 4280.29 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture... AND GRANTS Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Programs § 4280.29 Supplemental financing...

Wilderness education: The ultimate commitment to quality wilderness stewardship

Treesearch

Gregory F. Hansen; Tom Carlson

2007-01-01

The effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of a wilderness education program will ultimately produce measurable results that can be instrumental in achieving wilderness management goals and objectives. This paper will provide a simple step-by-step overview of how to develop and maintain a successful wilderness education program through planning,...

Effects of Fishing and Fishing Closures on Beach Clams: Experimental Evaluation across Commercially Fished and Non-Fished Beaches before and during Harvesting

PubMed Central

Gray, Charles A.

2016-01-01

Management responses to reconcile declining fisheries typically include closed areas and times to fishing. This study evaluated this strategy for a beach clam fishery by testing the hypothesis that changes in the densities and size compositions of clams from before to during harvesting would differ between commercially fished and non-fished beaches. Sampling was spatially stratified across the swash and dry sand habitats on each of two commercially fished and two non-fished beaches, and temporally stratified across three six-week blocks: before, early and late harvesting. Small-scale spatio-temporal variability in the densities and sizes of clams was prevalent across both habitats and the components of variation were generally greatest at the lowest levels examined. Despite this, differences in the densities and sizes of clams among individual beaches were evident, but there were few significant differences across the commercially fished versus non-fished beaches from before to during harvesting. There was no evidence of reduced densities or truncated size compositions of clams on fished compared to non-fished beaches, contrasting reports of some other organisms in protected areas. This was probably due to a combination of factors, including the current levels of commercial harvests, the movements and other local-scale responses of clams to ecological processes acting independently across individual beaches. The results identify the difficulties in detecting fishing-related impacts against inherent levels of variability in clam populations. Nevertheless, continued experimental studies that test alternate management arrangements may help refine and determine the most suitable strategies for the sustainable harvesting of beach clams, ultimately enhancing the management of sandy beaches. PMID:26731102

Effects of Fishing and Fishing Closures on Beach Clams: Experimental Evaluation across Commercially Fished and Non-Fished Beaches before and during Harvesting.

PubMed

Gray, Charles A

2016-01-01

Management responses to reconcile declining fisheries typically include closed areas and times to fishing. This study evaluated this strategy for a beach clam fishery by testing the hypothesis that changes in the densities and size compositions of clams from before to during harvesting would differ between commercially fished and non-fished beaches. Sampling was spatially stratified across the swash and dry sand habitats on each of two commercially fished and two non-fished beaches, and temporally stratified across three six-week blocks: before, early and late harvesting. Small-scale spatio-temporal variability in the densities and sizes of clams was prevalent across both habitats and the components of variation were generally greatest at the lowest levels examined. Despite this, differences in the densities and sizes of clams among individual beaches were evident, but there were few significant differences across the commercially fished versus non-fished beaches from before to during harvesting. There was no evidence of reduced densities or truncated size compositions of clams on fished compared to non-fished beaches, contrasting reports of some other organisms in protected areas. This was probably due to a combination of factors, including the current levels of commercial harvests, the movements and other local-scale responses of clams to ecological processes acting independently across individual beaches. The results identify the difficulties in detecting fishing-related impacts against inherent levels of variability in clam populations. Nevertheless, continued experimental studies that test alternate management arrangements may help refine and determine the most suitable strategies for the sustainable harvesting of beach clams, ultimately enhancing the management of sandy beaches.

Synthesis of Conductive Polymeric Nanocomposites for Applications in Responsive Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chavez, Jessica

The development of next generation "smart" textiles has emerged with significant interest due to the immense demand for high-performance wearable technology. The economic market for wearable technologies is predicted to increase significantly in both volume and value. In the next four years, the wearable technology market will be valued at $34 billion. This large demand has opened up a new research area involving smart wearable devices and conductive fabrics. Many research groups have taken various paths to study and ultimately fabricate wearable devices. Due to the limiting capabilities of conventional conductors, researchers have centered their research on the integration of conductive polymers into textile materials for applications involving responsive material. Conducive polymers are very unique organic molecules that have the ability to transfer electrons across their molecular structure due to the excess presence of pi-electrons. Conductive polymers are favored over conventional conductors because they can be easily manipulated and integrated into flexible material. Two very common conductive polymers are polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPY) because of their large favorability in literature, high conductance values, and environmental stability. Common commercial fibers were coated via the chemical polymerization of PANI or PPY. A series of reactions were done to study the polymerization process of each polymer. The conductive efficiency of each conducting polymer is highly dependent on the type of reactants used, the acidic nature of the reaction, and the temperature of the reaction. The coated commercial fiber nanocomposites produced higher conductivity values when the polymerization reaction was run using ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) as the oxidizing agent, run in an acidic environment, and run at very low temperatures. Other factors that improved the overall efficiency of the coated commercial fiber nanocomposites was the increase in polymer concentration as well as the extension of the reaction time. The overall interaction between the conductive polymer and the commercial fibers showed that the conductive polymer was physically adsorbed to the commercial fiber. This physical adsorption caused a decrease in conductive efficiency as a function of repeated washes because the weak intermolecular forces between the conductive polymer and the commercial fiber. This led to the synthesis of conductive films and nanofibers by integrating the conductive polymers directly into a cellulose acetate matrix. The voltage efficiency of the conductive films was lower compared to the coated commercial fiber nanocomposites. However, the conductive material generated greater lux values compared to the coated commercial fiber nanocomposites. Theses conductive materials can be applied to applications in both the medical field and water filtration. The conductive films can be used to create a sensor based system that can trigger a sensor to signify when bandages used for wound management need to be changed. The conductive nanofibers can be used in water filtration as a means of electroplating metals ions from contaminated water. Overall, the synthesis of these conductive materials can be applicable for responsive materials.

Formulation/cure technology for ultrahigh molecular weight silphenylene-siloxane polymers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hundley, N. H.; Patterson, W. J.

1985-01-01

Molecular weights above one million were achieved for methylvinylsilphenylene-siloxane terpolymers using a two-stage polymerization technique which was successfully scaled up to 200 grams. The resulting polymer was vulcanized by two different formulations and compared to an identically formulated commercial methylvinyl silicone on the basis of ultimate strength, Young's modulus, percent elongation at failure, and tear strength. Relative thermal/oxidative stabilities of the elastomers were assessed by gradient and isothermal thermogravimetric analyses performed in both air and nitrogen. The experimental elastomer exhibited enhanced thermal/oxidative stability and possed equivalent or superior mechanical properties. The effect of variations in prepolymer molecular weight on mechanical properties was also investigated.

JacketSE: An Offshore Wind Turbine Jacket Sizing Tool; Theory Manual and Sample Usage with Preliminary Validation

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

Damiani, Rick

This manual summarizes the theory and preliminary verifications of the JacketSE module, which is an offshore jacket sizing tool that is part of the Wind-Plant Integrated System Design & Engineering Model toolbox. JacketSE is based on a finite-element formulation and on user-prescribed inputs and design standards' criteria (constraints). The physics are highly simplified, with a primary focus on satisfying ultimate limit states and modal performance requirements. Preliminary validation work included comparing industry data and verification against ANSYS, a commercial finite-element analysis package. The results are encouraging, and future improvements to the code are recommended in this manual.

Postbuckling behavior of graphite-epoxy panels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starnes, J. H., Jr.; Dickson, J. N.; Rouse, M.

1984-01-01

Structurally efficient fuselage panels are often designed to allow buckling to occur at applied loads below ultimate. Interest in applying graphite-epoxy materials to fuselage primary structure led to several studies of the post-buckling behavior of graphite-epoxy structural components. Studies of the postbuckling behavior of flat and curved, unstiffened and stiffened graphite-epoxy panels loaded in compression and shear were summarized. The response and failure characteristics of specimens studied experimentally were described, and analytical and experimental results were compared. The specimens tested in the studies described were fabricated from commercially available 0.005-inch-thick unidirectional graphite-fiber tapes preimpregnated with 350 F cure thermosetting epoxy resins.

Rogue athletes and recombinant DNA technology: challenges for doping control.

PubMed

Azzazy, Hassan M E; Mansour, Mai M H

2007-10-01

The quest for athletic excellence holds no limit for some athletes, and the advances in recombinant DNA technology have handed these athletes the ultimate doping weapons: recombinant proteins and gene doping. Some detection methods are now available for several recombinant proteins that are commercially available as pharmaceuticals and being abused by dopers. However, researchers are struggling to come up with efficient detection methods in preparation for the imminent threat of gene doping, expected in the 2008 Olympics. This Forum article presents the main detection strategies for recombinant proteins and the forthcoming detection strategies for gene doping as well as the prime analytical challenges facing them.

Evaluation of rate of swelling and erosion of verapamil (VRP) sustained-release matrix tablets.

PubMed

Khamanga, Sandile M; Walker, Roderick B

2006-01-01

Tablets manufactured in-house were compared to a marketed sustained-release product of verapamil to investigate the rate of hydration, erosion, and drug-release mechanism by measuring the wet and subsequent dry weights of the products. Swelling and erosion rates depended on the polymer and granulating fluid used, which ultimately pointed to their permeability characteristics. Erosion rate of the marketed product was highest, which suggests that the gel layer that formed around these tablets was weak as opposed to the robust and resistant layers of test products. Anomalous and near zero-order transport mechanisms were dominant in tests and commercial product, respectively.

Citizens' role in health services: satisfaction behavior: Kano's model, Part 1.

PubMed

Corbella Jané, Antoni; Maturana Domínguez, Salvador

2003-01-01

When it comes to consumer satisfaction, there is a lack of consensus over the importance of the role of consumers in connection with the quality of services. Widely different points of view exist, ranging from a defense of consumer satisfaction as the ultimate measure of service quality, to its treatment as a commercial issue or as one that merely has to do with image. This first article (part 1 of 2, also in this issue) describes and illustrates Kano's explicative model of how consumer satisfaction behaves and briefly analyzes the main characteristics, advantages, and limitations of the different methods used to assess consumer satisfaction.

Facilitating condom use with clients during commercial sex in Nevada's legal brothels.

PubMed

Albert, A E; Warner, D L; Hatcher, R A

1998-04-01

This study examined condom use in legal Nevada brothels. Forty female prostitutes in two brothels were interviewed about client resistance to condoms and techniques for facilitating condom use. Of 3290 clients in the previous month, 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2%,3.4%) were reluctant to use condoms. Of these individuals, 72% ultimately used condoms, while 12% chose nonpenetrative sex without condoms. The remaining 16% left the brothels without services. Condom use rates were markedly lower with nonpaying sex partners (lowers) than with clients. Brothel prostitutes may be at greater risk for acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases from lovers than from clients.

The impact of population growth on environment: the debate heats up.

PubMed

Shaw, R P

1992-02-01

A proposed framework, which was introduced at the 1989 meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, included political constraints as well as population growth as a proximate cause with potentially important impacts on the environment in Paul and Ann Ehrlich's well-known PAT equation. PAT limitations are identified as the 1.2 billion people caught in the debt-poverty trap, less developed countries' balance of payments deficits, and "distortionary factors" that undermined economic incentives and contributed to mismanagement of resources. Such factors could be keeping farm prices low and have an impact on deterring use of environmentally sound traditional agricultural practices. Mismanagement of public lands occurs when large commercial enterprises or large scale mechanization displace population onto marginal or less productive lands. Intergroup warfare is a new form impacting on the environment. In Burma loggers are authorized to clear cut large tracts of teak forests in order to ferret out Karen guerrillas. Over 15 million refugees were thus displaced and forced to live in encampments that require trees for shelter, firewood for survival, and overgrazing of livestock. Social and economic environments are also undermined by "dependency" factors such as trade protectionism, brain drain, and limited foreign aid. The Group of 77 Non-Aligned Developing Countries proposed that discussions of the links between population and the environment be omitted from the agenda of the 1994 UN Conference on Population and Development. Basic clarifications are needed to distinguish ultimate versus proximate factors and current versus future concerns. The debate ignores distribution patterns, migration, or changing age structures. The debate blames unjustifiably rapid population growth as the ultimate cause of global environmental degradation and links population growth to a host of other social problems such as famine and refugees, while ignoring civil unrest. The evidence suggests that population limitation will probably prevent environmental degradation in poor, resource constrained countries from getting worse. Resource conservation will remain unaffected. The World Bank proposes National Environmental Action Plans or the Cleaver Schreiber proposal for a "nexus strategy" for balancing food supply and population in Africa.

The world of "GM-free".

PubMed

Moses, Vivian; Brookes, Graham

2013-01-01

The rapid global development of agricultural production systems using seeds derived from genetic modification (GM) has been paralleled by the growth of attempts to keep at least a part of the world's agriculture and food as free from GM-crops and their products as possible. The ideal for some proponents of such "GM-free" activity would be a total absence, usually styled "zero content"; others, perhaps more realistically, opt for a definition usually not precisely defined that allows for minimal trace levels of GM material. The reasons for wanting "GM-free" agriculture and its products are varied; they include philosophical and religious beliefs, concern for human (and animal) health--and for "the environment"-as well as commercial and political interests. With such a variety of motivations, and in the absence of legal rulings, the definitions of "GM-free" vary according to inclination and circumstances. Whatever the precise meaning, the maintenance of a "GM-free" product stream in a world where GM crop production is widespread requires the establishment of identity preservation and segregation systems in which traceability and testing are cornerstones. Inevitably these have cost implications for the supply chain and/or the ultimate consumer. In a number of countries different forms of "GM-free" labels exist for some products; the style of such labels is variable with schemes and labels typically voluntary or privately organized. In more recent years, some governments have begun to regularize the definition and meaning of "GM-free." We conclude our analysis by exploring consumer reactions both to "GM-free" and to "GM-free" labels, and ask who ultimately benefits from preserving a product stream substantially or entirely devoid of GM-content.

Low cost high efficiency GaAs monolithic RF module for SARSAT distress beacons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, W. C.; Siu, D. P.; Cook, H. F.

1991-01-01

Low cost high performance (5 Watts output) 406 MHz beacons are urgently needed to realize the maximum utilization of the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system spearheaded in the U.S. by NASA. Although current technology can produce beacons meeting the output power requirement, power consumption is high due to the low efficiency of available transmitters. Field performance is currently unsatisfactory due to the lack of safe and reliable high density batteries capable of operation at -40 C. Low cost production is also a crucial but elusive requirement for the ultimate wide scale utilization of this system. Microwave Monolithics Incorporated (MMInc.) has proposed to make both the technical and cost goals for the SARSAT beacon attainable by developing a monolithic GaAs chip set for the RF module. This chip set consists of a high efficiency power amplifier and a bi-phase modulator. In addition to implementing the RF module in Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) form to minimize ultimate production costs, the power amplifier has a power-added efficiency nearly twice that attained with current commercial technology. A distress beacon built using this RF module chip set will be significantly smaller in size and lighter in weight due to a smaller battery requirement, since the 406 MHz signal source and the digital controller have far lower power consumption compared to the 5 watt power amplifier. All the program tasks have been successfully completed. The GaAs MMIC RF module chip set has been designed to be compatible with the present 406 MHz signal source and digital controller. A complete high performance low cost SARSAT beacon can be realized with only additional minor iteration and systems integration.

Pre-clinical laboratory evaluation of the new 'AF' arterial line filter range.

PubMed

Yarham, Gemma; Mulholland, John

2010-07-01

The presence of emboli was recognised relatively early in the history of open heart surgery. The emboli produced during cardiopulmonary bypass have the predisposition to distribute into, and ultimately obstruct, microvessels of all tissues. The Sorin Group has recently developed a new range of arterial line filters. Before the Sorin AF range of filters was released for pre-launch clinical trials, our group performed in vitro laboratory testing of the AF range against a selection of commercially available filters on the global market. The Sorin AF620 and AF640 demonstrate both the smallest prime volume and smallest surface contact area (92ml and 290 cm(2), respectively).The results of the GME Handling Efficiency experiments ranged by 39.6%, from 95.9% to 56.3%. In terms of an air bolus handling, the results of the Limit Bolus experiment ranged by 97 ml, from 147.5 ml down to 50 ml. The pressure drop across all the filters was measured under steady state experimental conditions. All of the above investigations were considered against surface area and prime volume. It is clear from the results that some commercially available arterial line filters perform better than others, not only in overall performance, but also with regard to individual characteristics. Evaluating arterial line filters for hospital-specific use has to balance pressure drop, surface area, micro air handling, prime volume and gross air handling; all points need to be considered. In the AF620 and AF640, Sorin boast that they are the two smallest prime and smallest surface area filters commercially available on the global market. The Sorin AF filter range performs well in all of the areas we investigated and will be a competitive option for centres, irrespective of which characteristics they use to evaluate and select their arterial line filter.

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

Nusrat, H; Pang, G; Au, P

Purpose: The doping of plastic scintillators with high-Z elements changes the radiation interaction cross section of the medium and therefore changes the intrinsic response of the detector. The selection of doped plastic scintillators available commercially is limited. This research aims to develop a novel methodology for the mechanical doping of plastic scintillating materials. The ultimate goal of this project is to use doped scintillators of varying intrinsic behavior to unfold the LET (energy) spectrum of any radiation beam. Methods: Commercially available BC408 plastic scintillator was obtained and crushed into uniform powder (using ball mill). Two separate materials were tested formore » light output signal: uncrushed scintillator and scintillating powder bound by glue. Commercially available U301 UV-hardening glue was used. Scintillation response was measured by creating a thin housing of black acrylic that allowed light from each scintillator to be guided to an optical fiber via a taper. The optical fiber was connected to a PMT; signal was measured using an electrometer. Tests were conducted to determine if crushing+bonding distorted linearity and energy dependence of detector response. Linearity was tested for by irradiating (uncrushed and crushed+glued) for varying durations ensuring signal scaled accordingly; this was done using 300kV x-rays and 6MeV electrons. The effect on energy dependence was examined by obtaining a signal ratio (100kV vs. 300kV; 6MeV vs. 18MeV) for both uncrushed and crushed+glued scintillating material. Results: Crushing and binding with U301 glue did not have an effect on linearity. Energy dependence was changed by 20.3%; crushing+bonding decreased the sensitivity at low energy radiation. Conclusion: This work indicates that crushing and binding of plastic scintillating material does not change the linearity of its response to radiation but does have an effect on the energy dependence. Future work involves addition of high-Z dopants (W, Mo, Pb) and characterization of the detector response.« less

The commercial performance of cellulosic ethanol supply-chains in Europe

PubMed Central

Slade, Raphael; Bauen, Ausilio; Shah, Nilay

2009-01-01

Background The production of fuel-grade ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass resources has the potential to increase biofuel production capacity whilst minimising the negative environmental impacts. These benefits will only be realised if lignocellulosic ethanol production can compete on price with conventional fossil fuels and if it can be produced commercially at scale. This paper focuses on lignocellulosic ethanol production in Europe. The hypothesis is that the eventual cost of production will be determined not only by the performance of the conversion process but by the performance of the entire supply-chain from feedstock production to consumption. To test this, a model for supply-chain cost comparison is developed, the components of representative ethanol supply-chains are described, the factors that are most important in determining the cost and profitability of ethanol production are identified, and a detailed sensitivity analysis is conducted. Results The most important cost determinants are the cost of feedstocks, primarily determined by location and existing markets, and the value obtained for ethanol, primarily determined by the oil price and policy incentives. Both of these factors are highly uncertain. The best performing chains (ethanol produced from softwood and sold as a low percentage blend with gasoline) could ultimately be cost competitive with gasoline without requiring subsidy, but production from straw would generally be less competitive. Conclusion Supply-chain design will play a critical role in determining commercial viability. The importance of feedstock supply highlights the need for location-specific assessments of feedstock availability and price. Similarly, the role of subsidies and policy incentives in creating and sustaining the ethanol market highlights the importance of political engagement and the need to include political risks in investment appraisal. For the supply-chains described here, and with the cost and market parameters selected, selling ethanol as a low percentage blend with gasoline will maximise ethanol revenues and minimise the need for subsidies. It follows, therefore, that the market for low percentage blends should be saturated before markets for high percentage blends. PMID:19192294

Commercial Lighting Solutions, Webtool Peer Review Report

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

Jones, Carol C.; Meyer, Tracy A.

2009-06-17

The Commercial Lighting Solutions (CLS) project directly supports the U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Building Energy Alliance efforts to design high performance buildings. CLS creates energy efficient best practice lighting designs for widespread use, and they are made available to users via an interactive webtool that both educates and guides the end user through the application of the Lighting Solutions. This report summarizes the peer review of the beta version of the CLS webtool, which contains retail box lighting solutions. The methodology for the peer review process included data collection (stakeholder input), analysis of the comments, and organization of themore » input into categories for prioritization of the comments against a set of criteria. Based on this process, recommendations were developed about which feedback should be addressed for the release of version 1.0 of the webtool at the Lightfair conference in New York City in May 2009. Due to the volume of data (~500 comments) the methodology for addressing the peer review comments was central to the success of the ultimate goal of improving the tool. The comments were first imported into a master spreadsheet, and then grouped and organized in several layers. Solutions to each comment were then rated by importance and feasibility to determine the practicality of resolving the concerns of the commenter in the short-term or long-term. The rating system was used as an analytical tool, but the results were viewed thoughtfully to ensure that they were not the sole the factor in determining which comments were recommended for near-term resolution. The report provides a list of the top ten most significant and relevant improvements that will be made within the webtool for version 1.0 as well as appendices containing the short-term priorities in additional detail. Peer review comments that are considered high priority by the reviewers and the CLS team but cannot be completed for Version 1.0 are listed as long-term recommendations.« less

A Critical Assessment of Marine Aquarist Biodiversity Data and Commercial Aquaculture: Identifying Gaps in Culture Initiatives to Inform Local Fisheries Managers

PubMed Central

Murray, Joanna M.; Watson, Gordon J.

2014-01-01

It is widely accepted that if well managed, the marine aquarium trade could provide socio-economic stability to local communities while incentivising the maintenance of coral reefs. However, the trade has also been implicated as having potentially widespread environmental impacts that has in part driven developments in aquaculture to relieve wild collection pressures. This study investigates the biodiversity in hobbyist aquaria (using an online survey) and those species currently available from an aquaculture source (commercial data and hobbyist initiatives) in the context of a traffic light system to highlight gaps in aquaculture effort and identify groups that require fisheries assessments. Two hundred and sixty nine species including clown fish, damsels, dotty backs, angelfish, gobies, sea horses and blennies, have reported breeding successes by hobbyists, a pattern mirrored by the European and US commercial organisations. However, there is a mismatch (high demand and low/non-existent aquaculture) for a number of groups including tangs, starfish, anemones and hermit crabs, which we recommend are priority candidates for local stock assessments. Hobbyist perception towards the concept of a sustainable aquarium trade is also explored with results demonstrating that only 40% of respondents were in agreement with industry and scientists who believe the trade could be an exemplar of a sustainable use of coral reefs. We believe that a more transparent evidence base, including the publication of the species collected and cultured, will go some way to align the concept of a sustainable trade across industry stakeholders and better inform the hobbyist when purchasing their aquaria stock. We conclude by proposing that a certification scheme established with government support is the most effective way to move towards a self-regulating industry. It would prevent industry “greenwashing” from multiple certification schemes, alleviate conservation concerns, and, ultimately, support aquaculture initiatives alongside well managed ornamental fisheries. PMID:25207538

A critical assessment of marine aquarist biodiversity data and commercial aquaculture: identifying gaps in culture initiatives to inform local fisheries managers.

PubMed

Murray, Joanna M; Watson, Gordon J

2014-01-01

It is widely accepted that if well managed, the marine aquarium trade could provide socio-economic stability to local communities while incentivising the maintenance of coral reefs. However, the trade has also been implicated as having potentially widespread environmental impacts that has in part driven developments in aquaculture to relieve wild collection pressures. This study investigates the biodiversity in hobbyist aquaria (using an online survey) and those species currently available from an aquaculture source (commercial data and hobbyist initiatives) in the context of a traffic light system to highlight gaps in aquaculture effort and identify groups that require fisheries assessments. Two hundred and sixty nine species including clown fish, damsels, dotty backs, angelfish, gobies, sea horses and blennies, have reported breeding successes by hobbyists, a pattern mirrored by the European and US commercial organisations. However, there is a mismatch (high demand and low/non-existent aquaculture) for a number of groups including tangs, starfish, anemones and hermit crabs, which we recommend are priority candidates for local stock assessments. Hobbyist perception towards the concept of a sustainable aquarium trade is also explored with results demonstrating that only 40% of respondents were in agreement with industry and scientists who believe the trade could be an exemplar of a sustainable use of coral reefs. We believe that a more transparent evidence base, including the publication of the species collected and cultured, will go some way to align the concept of a sustainable trade across industry stakeholders and better inform the hobbyist when purchasing their aquaria stock. We conclude by proposing that a certification scheme established with government support is the most effective way to move towards a self-regulating industry. It would prevent industry "greenwashing" from multiple certification schemes, alleviate conservation concerns, and, ultimately, support aquaculture initiatives alongside well managed ornamental fisheries.

Unsafe and violent behavior in commercials aired during televised major sporting events.

PubMed

Tamburro, Robert F; Gordon, Patricia L; D'Apolito, James P; Howard, Scott C

2004-12-01

Injuries are the leading cause of death in children, and media exposure seems to increase children's risk-taking behavior. Televised sports are commonly viewed by children. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of commercials that depict violence or other unsafe behavior during major televised sporting events that are aired before 9:00 pm. We obtained a list of the 50 sports programs that were most highly rated by Nielsen Media Research and that were televised between September 1, 2001, and September 1, 2002. These 50 programs included Winter Olympics events (n = 15), National Football League (NFL) regular season games (n = 14), NFL playoff games (n = 10), Major League Baseball World Series and playoff games (n = 7), the NFL Super Bowl (n = 1), the National Basketball Association Western Conference Final Game (n = 1), the College Football Rose Bowl (n = 1), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Championship game (n = 1). Two other events were reviewed as well: the final round of the Masters Golf Championship, because it was the only sporting event rated in the top 50 of the previous year that was not represented by a similar sporting event in the study year, and the Daytona 500 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing race, because it was the only event rated among the top 75 of the study year that was not represented by a similar event (ie, there were no other golfing or auto racing events reviewed). These events were included because different sporting events may attract different viewers and different advertisements; thus, their inclusion provides a more comprehensive evaluation of the topic. For sporting events with >3 programs in the top 50 (NFL regular season games, NFL playoff games, Winter Olympic events, and Major League Baseball World Series), representative samples of events were assessed. Surrogate events were analyzed for programs that were aired after 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) to control for the reduced likelihood of viewing by children after 9:00 PM. For example, afternoon telecasts of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regional Final and National Semifinal games were assessed in place of the Championship game, which started after 9:00 PM. Weekend afternoon telecasts of the Winter Olympics (3 successive weekends) were assessed as surrogates for all Olympics telecasts. For the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the National Basketball Association Conference Championship games, which began before 9:00 PM but ended after that time, we evaluated only commercials that aired before 9:00 PM. All commercials that were aired during these programs were reviewed at standard speed for unsafe behavior or violence. Commercials that were aired during pregame, postgame, or halftime periods were not assessed. Commercials were categorized according to the product being advertised. Unsafe behavior was simply defined as any action that could have harmful consequences or that contravened the injury prevention recommendations of national organizations. Violence was defined as any intentional physical contact by an aggressor that had the potential to inflict injury or harm or the legitimate threat of such action. All commercials were reviewed by at least 2 investigators; when the 2 could not agree on the findings, a third investigator was used to resolve differences. The percentage of commercials and of commercial breaks that portrayed violent or unsafe behavior was determined for each category of event and advertised product. A commercial break was defined as a series of commercials shown during a single break from the sporting event. chi2 analysis was used for all analyses, and relative risks with 95% confidence intervals were determined. The proportion of commercials that depicted unsafe behavior and/or violence during each sporting event was compared with the proportion of such commercials that were observed during the Masters Golf Tournament (which had the lowest proportion of commercials depicting such behavior). The proportion of commercials that contained violent/unsafe behavior for each advertised product was compared with the proportion of such commercials that advertised food or nonalcoholic beverages. Food and nonalcoholic beverage commercials were selected as the reference because they are a well-defined, common category of commercial. Of the 1185 commercials assessed, 14% (n = 165) displayed unsafe behavior and 6% (n = 66) depicted violence. Of the 322 commercial breaks, 158 (49%) contained at least 1 commercial showing unsafe behavior or violence. Sixty-three commercials required review by a third investigator to adjudicate violence or unsafe behavior; 20 of 52 were ultimately judged to portray unsafe behavior, and 4 of 11 were ultimately judged to portray violence. Sporting events differed in the proportion of commercials that showed violence or unsafe behavior. The Super Bowl had the highest proportion of such commercials, and the Masters Golf Tournament had the least (relative risk: 4.3; 95% confidence interval: 1.4-12.5). The Masters Golf Tournament was noteworthy for the complete absence of violent commercials. Only 18% of reviewed commercials advertised movies or television programs, yet these commercials accounted for 86% of all violent commercials. Forty-eight percent of commercials that contained violence were for movies, and an additional 38% were for television programs. Nearly two thirds of all commercials for movies contained violence, whereas 15% of all commercials for television programs contained violence, a rate that increased to 22% when commercials for other sporting events were excluded. Several categories of commercials portrayed unsafe behaviors; commercials for automobiles accounted for the most. In 8 different categories, 10% or more of the commercials depicted unsafe behavior, and 7 were significantly more likely to depict such behavior than a food or beverage commercial. Children who watch televised sports view a significant amount of violent and unsafe behavior. In accordance with American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for television viewing, parents should both limit and directly supervise children's viewing of these events. Our findings suggest that parents should remain present during commercials or should consider implementing commercial-skipping technology. In addition, efforts should be made to regulate the content of commercials that promote television programs and movies on the basis of the hour at which the sporting event is aired. Moreover, the sports, movie, and television industries should be encouraged to adopt models of advertising that limit or eliminate such content. These efforts could help to ensure that the viewing of televised sporting events is a safe and positive experience for children.

Subcutaneous insulin therapy - end of the road after 80 years?

PubMed

Leifke, E; Strack, T R

2014-02-01

Subcutaneous (SC) insulin therapy has been a mainstay of pharmacological diabetes management from the moment insulin was successfully developed as treatment. Insulin formulations have become more refined and less allergenic over time, and ancillary technologies such as injection devices and glucose measurement tools have evolved to the extent of permitting closed-loop therapy. However, investigations have continued exploring alternative routes of administration with the ultimate goal of implantable islet replacements, whether cell- or "silicon"-based. Progress on these lines of research, however, has been slow to present patients with viable options: alternative delivery routes have failed to deliver insulin reliably and with commercially viable efficiency, while beta cell transplantation continues to struggle with tissue availability and in vivo viability. In the meantime, SC insulin formulations have advanced for rapid- and long-acting formulations, to better meet typical insulin requirements across the day. Thus, SC insulin will likely remain a key technology for the foreseeable future in order to address the needs of an ever larger number of insulin-dependent patients with diabetes. Copyright 2014 Prous Science, S.A.U. or its licensors. All rights reserved.

SEM-microphotogrammetry, a new take on an old method for generating high-resolution 3D models from SEM images.

PubMed

Ball, A D; Job, P A; Walker, A E L

2017-08-01

The method we present here uses a scanning electron microscope programmed via macros to automatically capture dozens of images at suitable angles to generate accurate, detailed three-dimensional (3D) surface models with micron-scale resolution. We demonstrate that it is possible to use these Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images in conjunction with commercially available software originally developed for photogrammetry reconstructions from Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras and to reconstruct 3D models of the specimen. These 3D models can then be exported as polygon meshes and eventually 3D printed. This technique offers the potential to obtain data suitable to reconstruct very tiny features (e.g. diatoms, butterfly scales and mineral fabrics) at nanometre resolution. Ultimately, we foresee this as being a useful tool for better understanding spatial relationships at very high resolution. However, our motivation is also to use it to produce 3D models to be used in public outreach events and exhibitions, especially for the blind or partially sighted. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2017 Royal Microscopical Society.

SCOC3: A Brand New Heart for Space Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poupat, Jean-Luc; Lefevre, Aurelien

2012-08-01

Satellites are controlled via a platform On Board Computer (OBC) that manages different parameters (attitude, orbit, modes, temperatures ...) with respect to its payload mission (telecommunication, earth observation, scientific mission). The platform OBC is connected to the satellite and the ground control via digital links, and executes on board software.The main functions of a platform OBC are to provide the satellite flight segment with the following features: o Processing resources for the flight mission softwareo TM/TC services and interfaces with the RF communication chaino General communication services with the Avionics and payload equipments through on- board communication buso Time synchronization and distributiono Failure tolerant architecture based on the use of redounded reconfiguration units and redundancy implementationIn order to reach an ultimate level of integration, Astrium has designed an ASIC gathering on a single chip all these required digital functions: the SCOC3 ASIC.This paper presents in a first part the major innovations introduced by Astrium for SCOC3, in a second part the development tools associated to SCOC3, and in a third part the status concerning its commercialization.

Laser Printing of Superhydrophobic Patterns from Mixtures of Hydrophobic Silica Nanoparticles and Toner Powder.

PubMed

Ngo, Chi-Vinh; Chun, Doo-Man

2016-11-08

In this work, a new and facile dry printing method was developed for the direct fabrication of superhydrophobic patterns based on silica nanoparticles. Mixtures of hydrophobic fumed silica nanoparticles and toner powder were printed on paper and polymer sheets using a commercial laser printer to produce the superhydrophobic patterns. The mixing ratio of the toner powder (for the laser printer) to hydrophobic silica was also investigated to optimize both the printing quality and the superhydrophobicity of the printed areas. The proper mixing ratio was then used to print various superhydrophobic patterns, including triangular, square, circular, and complex arrangements, to demonstrate that superhydrophobic surfaces with different patterns can be fabricated in a few seconds without any post-processing. The superhydrophobicity of each sample was evaluated by contact angle measurements, and all printed areas showed contact angles greater than 150°. The research described here opens the possibility of rapid production of superhydrophobic surfaces with various patterns. Ultimately, the obtained findings may have a significant impact on applications related to self-cleaning, control of water geometry and position, fluid mixing and fluid transport.

Laser Printing of Superhydrophobic Patterns from Mixtures of Hydrophobic Silica Nanoparticles and Toner Powder

PubMed Central

Ngo, Chi-Vinh; Chun, Doo-Man

2016-01-01

In this work, a new and facile dry printing method was developed for the direct fabrication of superhydrophobic patterns based on silica nanoparticles. Mixtures of hydrophobic fumed silica nanoparticles and toner powder were printed on paper and polymer sheets using a commercial laser printer to produce the superhydrophobic patterns. The mixing ratio of the toner powder (for the laser printer) to hydrophobic silica was also investigated to optimize both the printing quality and the superhydrophobicity of the printed areas. The proper mixing ratio was then used to print various superhydrophobic patterns, including triangular, square, circular, and complex arrangements, to demonstrate that superhydrophobic surfaces with different patterns can be fabricated in a few seconds without any post-processing. The superhydrophobicity of each sample was evaluated by contact angle measurements, and all printed areas showed contact angles greater than 150°. The research described here opens the possibility of rapid production of superhydrophobic surfaces with various patterns. Ultimately, the obtained findings may have a significant impact on applications related to self-cleaning, control of water geometry and position, fluid mixing and fluid transport. PMID:27824132

The Increasing Urgency for Standards in Basic Biological Research

PubMed Central

Freedman, Leonard P.; Inglese, James

2016-01-01

Research advances build upon the validity and reproducibility of previously published data and findings. Yet irreproducibility in basic biological and preclinical research is pervasive in both academic and commercial settings. Lack of reproducibility has led to invalidated research breakthroughs, retracted papers, and aborted clinical trials. Concerns and requirements for transparent, reproducible, and translatable research are accelerated by the rapid growth of “post-publication peer review,” open access publishing, and data sharing that facilitate the identification of irreproducible data/studies; they are magnified by the explosion of high-throughput technologies, genomics, and other data-intensive disciplines. Collectively, these changes and challenges are decreasing the effectiveness of traditional research quality mechanisms and are contributing to unacceptable—and unsustainable—levels of irreproducibility. The global oncology and basic biological research communities can no longer tolerate or afford widespread irreproducible research. This article discusses (1) how irreproducibility in preclinical research can ultimately be traced to an absence of a unifying life science standards framework, and (2) makes an urgent case for the expanded development and use of consensus-based standards to both enhance reproducibility and drive innovations in cancer research. PMID:25035389

Selection of Cultivars for use in Controlled Environment Life Support System (CELSS) Human Rated Test Facility (HRTF) Trials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langhans, Robert W.

1997-01-01

The aims under this training grant, as under the subsequent fellowship, were to elaborate the theory and technique of cultivar evaluation for specialized controlled environments, then to employ the technique on selected crops, ultimately conducting cultivar trials, and making the knowledge gained available for use in NASA's space program. We undertook a comprehensive search of the Cornell agricultural library (Mann library) and its data-bases for any and all material relating to cultivar evaluation of vegetable crops, and also developed the logic of how to go about narrowing down the field of contending cultivars when undertaking cultivar trials. The results of this work, the principal outcome of the grant, are reflected in his MS thesis, particularly in Chapter 2, "Commercial and Scientific Literature," and even more so in Chapter 8, "Selecting cultivars and lines for screening." David also attended annual conferences of vegetable crop plant breeders, annual yield trials and breeding trials for vegetable crops, as well as relevant professional conferences such as the ASHS annual meetings, and the others.

Introduction of Environmentally Degradable Parameters to Evaluate the Biodegradability of Biodegradable Polymers

PubMed Central

Yang, Chao; Song, Cunjiang; Geng, Weitao; Li, Qiang; Wang, Yuanyuan; Kong, Meimei; Wang, Shufang

2012-01-01

Environmentally Degradable Parameter (Ed K) is of importance in the describing of biodegradability of environmentally biodegradable polymers (BDPs). In this study, a concept Ed K was introduced. A test procedure of using the ISO 14852 method and detecting the evolved carbon dioxide as an analytical parameter was developed, and the calculated Ed K was used as an indicator for the ultimate biodegradability of materials. Starch and polyethylene used as reference materials were defined as the Ed K values of 100 and 0, respectively. Natural soil samples were inoculated into bioreactors, followed by determining the rates of biodegradation of the reference materials and 15 commercial BDPs over a 2-week test period. Finally, a formula was deduced to calculate the value of Ed K for each material. The Ed K values of the tested materials have a positive correlation to their biodegradation rates in the simulated soil environment, and they indicated the relative biodegradation rate of each material among all the tested materials. Therefore, the Ed K was shown to be a reliable indicator for quantitatively evaluating the potential biodegradability of BDPs in the natural environment. PMID:22675455

B-mode Ultrasound Versus Color Doppler Twinkling Artifact in Detecting Kidney Stones

PubMed Central

Harper, Jonathan D.; Hsi, Ryan S.; Shah, Anup R.; Dighe, Manjiri K.; Carter, Stephen J.; Moshiri, Mariam; Paun, Marla; Lu, Wei; Bailey, Michael R.

2013-01-01

Abstract Purpose To compare color Doppler twinkling artifact and B-mode ultrasonography in detecting kidney stones. Patients and Methods Nine patients with recent CT scans prospectively underwent B-mode and twinkling artifact color Doppler ultrasonography on a commercial ultrasound machine. Video segments of the upper pole, interpolar area, and lower pole were created, randomized, and independently reviewed by three radiologists. Receiver operator characteristics were determined. Results There were 32 stones in 18 kidneys with a mean stone size of 8.9±7.5 mm. B-mode ultrasonography had 71% sensitivity, 48% specificity, 52% positive predictive value, and 68% negative predictive value, while twinkling artifact Doppler ultrasonography had 56% sensitivity, 74% specificity, 62% positive predictive value, and 68% negative predictive value. Conclusions When used alone, B-mode is more sensitive, but twinkling artifact is more specific in detecting kidney stones. This information may help users employ twinkling and B-mode to identify stones and developers to improve signal processing to harness the fundamental acoustic differences to ultimately improve stone detection. PMID:23067207

Enabling Sustainable Exploration through the Commercial Development of Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nall, Mark; Casas, Joseph

2003-01-01

The commercial development of space offers enabling benefits to space exploration. This paper examines how those benefits can be realized, and how the Space Product Development Office of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is taking the first steps towards opening the space frontier through vital and sustainable industrial development. The Space Product Development Office manages 15 Commercial Space Centers that partner with US industry to develop opportunities for commerce in space. This partnership directly benefits NASA exploration in four primary ways. First, by actively involving traditional and non-traditional companies in commercial space activities, it seeks and encourages to the maximum extent possible the fullest commercial use of space, as directed by NASA's charter. Second, the commercial research and technologies pursued and developed in the program often have direct applicability to NASA priority mission areas. This dual use strategy for research and technology has the potential to greatly expand what the NASA scientific community can do. Third, the commercial experiment hardware developed by the Commercial Space Centers and their industrial partners is available for use by NASA researchers in support of priority NASA research. By utilizing low cost and existing commercial hardware, essential NASA research can be more readily accomplished. Fourth, by assisting industry in understanding the use of the environment of space and in helping industry enhance the tools and technologies for NASA and commercial space systems, the market for commercial space utilization and the capability for meeting the future growing market needs is being developed. These two activities taken together form the beginning of a new space economy that will enable sustainable NASA exploration of the universe.

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

Brosha, Eric L; Mukundan, Rangachary; Nelson, Mark A

The purpose of this research effort is to develop a low cost on-board Nitrogen Oxide (NO{sub x})/Ammonia (NH{sub 3}) sensor that can not only be used for emissions control but has the potential to improve efficiency through better monitoring of the combustion process and feedback control in both vehicle and stationary systems. Over the past decade, Los AJamos National Laboratory (LANL) has developed a unique class of electrochemical gas sensors for the detection of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, hydrogen and nitrogen oxides. These sensors are based on the mixed-potential phenomenon and are a modification of the existing automotive lambda (oxygen) sensormore » and have the potential to meet the stringent sensitivity, selectivity and stability requirements of an on-board emissions/engine control sensor system. The current state of the art LANL technology is based on the stabilization of the electrochemical interfaces and relies on an externally heated, hand-made, tape cast device. We are now poised to apply our patented sensing principles in a mass production sensor platform that is more suitable for real world engine-out testing such as on dynamometers for vehicle applications and for exhaust-out testing in heavy boilers/SCR systems in power plants. In this present work, our goal is to advance towards commercialization of this technology by packaging the unique LANL sensor design in a standard automotive sensor-type platform. This work is being performed with the help of a leading US technical ceramics firm, utilizing commercial manufacturing techniques. Initial tape cast platforms with screen printed metal oxide and Pt sensor electrodes have shown promising results but also clearly show the need for us to optimize the electrode and electrolyte compositions/morphologies and interfaces of these devices in order to demonstrate a sensitive, selective, and stable NO{sub x} sensor. Our previous methods and routes to preparing stable and reproducible mixed potential sensors - in bulk, tape cast, and thin film variants - need to be adapted as a necessary adjunct to address materials challenges resulting from the implementation of commercial manufacturing methods. We also modified the electrodes to demonstrate a NH{sub 3} sensor that can be used in conjunction with the NO{sub x} sensor for feedback control of emissions systems. Once desirable properties are achieved, we will work closely with potential customers in order to dynamometer and boiler test these devices. Ultimately, this will accurately gauge the level of readiness of mixed potential sensor technology for commercialization and eventual use of this important electrochemical technology.« less

How Contextualized Learning Settings Enhance Meaningful Nature of Science Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bilican, K.; Cakiroglu, J.; Oztekin, C.

2015-01-01

Exploring different contexts to facilitate in-depth nature of science (NOS) views were seen as critical for better professional development of pre-service science teachers, which ultimately would assure better students' NOS understanding and achieve an ultimate goal of current science education reforms. This study aimed to reduce the lack of…

NASA's commercial research plans and opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnold, Ray J.

1992-01-01

One of the primary goals of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) commercial space development plan is to encourage the development of space-based products and markets, along with the infrastructure and transportation that will support those products and markets. A three phased program has been instituted to carry out this program. The first phase utilizes government grants through the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) for space-related, industry driven research; the development of a technology data base; and the development of commercial space transportation and infrastructure. The second phase includes the development of these technologies by industry for new commercial markets, and features unique industry/government collaborations such as Joint Endeavor Agreements. The final phase will feature technical applications actually brought to the marketplace. The government's role will be to support industry required infrastructure to encourage start-up markets and industries through follow-on development agreements such as the Space Systems Development Agreement. The Office of Commercial Programs has an aggressive flight program underway on the Space Shuttle, suborbital rockets, orbital expendable launch vehicles, and the Commercial Middeck Accommodation Module with SPACEHAB Inc. The Office of Commercial Program's has been allocated 35 percent of the U.S. share of the Space Station Freedom resources for 1997 utilization. A utilization plan has been developed with the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space and has identified eleven materials processing and biotechnology payloads occupying 5 double racks in the pressurized module as well as two payloads external to the module in materials exposure and environment monitoring. The Office of Commercial Programs will rely on the Space Station Freedom to provide the long duration laboratory component for space-based commercial research.

NASA's commercial research plans and opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, Ray J.

One of the primary goals of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) commercial space development plan is to encourage the development of space-based products and markets, along with the infrastructure and transportation that will support those products and markets. A three phased program has been instituted to carry out this program. The first phase utilizes government grants through the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) for space-related, industry driven research; the development of a technology data base; and the development of commercial space transportation and infrastructure. The second phase includes the development of these technologies by industry for new commercial markets, and features unique industry/government collaborations such as Joint Endeavor Agreements. The final phase will feature technical applications actually brought to the marketplace. The government's role will be to support industry required infrastructure to encourage start-up markets and industries through follow-on development agreements such as the Space Systems Development Agreement. The Office of Commercial Programs has an aggressive flight program underway on the Space Shuttle, suborbital rockets, orbital expendable launch vehicles, and the Commercial Middeck Accommodation Module with SPACEHAB Inc. The Office of Commercial Program's has been allocated 35 percent of the U.S. share of the Space Station Freedom resources for 1997 utilization. A utilization plan has been developed with the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space and has identified eleven materials processing and biotechnology payloads occupying 5 double racks in the pressurized module as well as two payloads external to the module in materials exposure and environment monitoring. The Office of Commercial Programs will rely on the Space Station Freedom to provide the long duration laboratory component for space-based commercial research.

Non-Magnetic, Tough, Corrosion- and Wear-Resistant Knives From Bulk Metallic Glasses and Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, Douglas C.; Potter, Benjamin

2013-01-01

Quality knives are typically fabricated from high-strength steel alloys. Depending on the application, there are different requirements for mechanical and physical properties that cause problems for steel alloys. For example, diver's knives are generally used in salt water, which causes rust in steel knives. Titanium diver's knives are a popular alternative due to their salt water corrosion resistance, but are too soft to maintain a sharp cutting edge. Steel knives are also magnetic, which is undesirable for military applications where the knives are used as a tactical tool for diffusing magnetic mines. Steel is also significantly denser than titanium (8 g/cu cm vs. 4.5 g/cu cm), which results in heavier knives for the same size. Steel is hard and wear-resistant, compared with titanium, and can keep a sharp edge during service. A major drawback of both steel and titanium knives is that they must be ground or machined into the final knife shape from a billet. Since most knives have a mirrored surface and a complex shape, manufacturing them is complex. It would be more desirable if the knife could be cast into a net or near-net shape in a single step. The solution to the deficiencies of titanium, steel, and ceramic knives is to fabricate them using bulk metallic glasses (or composites). These alloys can be cast into net or near-net shaped knives with a combination of properties that exceed both titanium and steel. A commercially viable BMG (bulk metallic glass) or composite knife is one that exhibits one or all of the following properties: It is based on titanium, has a self-sharpening edge, can retain an edge during service, is hard, is non-magnetic, is corrosion-resistant against a variety of corrosive environments, is tough (to allow for prying), can be cast into a net-shape with a mirror finish and a complex shape, has excellent wear resistance, and is low-density. These properties can be achieved in BMG and composites through alloy chemistry and processing. For each desired property for knife fabrication and performance, there is an alloy development strategy that optimizes behavior. Although BMG knives have been demonstrated as far back as 1995, they never found commercial success because they had to be ground (which presented problems because the alloys contained beryllium), they weren't low cost (because they weren't cast to a net-shape), they were brittle (because they were made with a low-quality commercial material), and they had extremely poor corrosion resistance (because corrosion was not well-understood in these materials). Ultimately, these shortcomings prevented the widespread commercialization. In the current work, the inventors have applied more than a decade of research on BMGs from Caltech and JPL to develop a better understanding of how to make BMG knives that exhibit an optimal combination of properties, processing and cost. Alloys have been developed based in titanium (and other metals), that exhibit high toughness, high hardness, excellent corrosion resistance, no ferromagnetism, edge-retaining selfsharpening, and the ability to be cast like a plastic using commercially available casting techniques (currently used by commercial companies such as Liquidmetal Technologies and Visser Precision Casting). The inventors argue that depending on the application (diving, military, tactical, utility, etc.) there is an optimal combination of design and alloy composition. Moreover, with new casting technologies not available at the inception of these materials, net-shaped knives can be cast into complex shapes that require no aftermarket forming, except for sharpening using water-cooled polishing wheel. These combinations of discoveries seek to make low-cost BMG knives commercially viable products that have no equal among metal or ceramic knives. Current work at JPL focuses on net-shape casting of these alloys and testing their mechanical properties versus commercially available knives to demonstrate their benefits.

Role of the Space Station in Private Development of Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uhran, M. L.

2002-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is well underway in the assembly process and progressing toward completion. In February 2001, the United States laboratory "Destiny" was successfully deployed and the course of space utilization, for laboratory-based research and development (R&D) purposes, entered a new era - continuous on-orbit operations. By completion, the ISS complex will include pressurized laboratory elements from Europe, Japan, Russia and the U.S., as well as external platforms which can serve as observatories and technology development test beds serviced by a Canadian robotic manipulator. The international vision for a continuously operating, full service R&D complex in the unique environment of low-Earth orbit is becoming increasingly focused. This R&D complex will offer great opportunities for economic return as the basic research program proceeds on a global scale and the competitive advantages of the microgravity and ultravacuum environments are elucidated through empirical studies. In parallel, the ISS offers a new vantage point, both as a source for viewing of Earth and the Cosmos and as the subject of view for a global population that has grown during the dawning of the space age. In this regard, the ISS is both a working laboratory and a powerful symbol for human achievement in science and technology. Each of these aspects bears consideration as we seek to develop the beneficial attributes of space and pursue innovative approaches to expanding this space complex through private investment. Ultimately, the success of the ISS will be measured by the outcome at the end of its design lifetime. Will this incredible complex be de-orbited in a fiery finale, as have previous space platforms? Will another, perhaps still larger, space station be built through global government funding? Will the ISS ownership be transferred to a global, non-government organization for refurbishment and continuation of the mission on a privately financed basis? Steps taken by the ISS partnership today will effect the later outcome. This paper reviews the range of activities underway in the U.S., as well those being pursued on a multilateral basis across the partnership. It will report on the status of NASA planning for establishment of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to manage the U.S. share of ISS user resources and accommodations. This initiative is unprecedented for a human-rated space craft of ISS magnitude and represents an extraordinarily complex undertaking due to the multi-mission, multi-partner nature of the program. Nonetheless, major advances are scheduled for 2002, as a new NASA Administrator takes the helm and declares the study phase is over. On the global front, the ISS Partners have formed a Multilateral Commercialization Group (MCG) charged to develop Recommended Guidelines for ISS Commercial Activities. Areas such as advertising, merchandising, entertainment, and sponsorship are actively under consideration with plans to advance to the long-awaited decision phase. In conjunction with this project, the challenging issue of how to create, protect, and potentially market the ISS brand to the benefit of the Partners, as well as the scientific, technological and commercial users of the station, is approaching resolution. In the area of space product development, the NASA Commercial Space Centers are entering the era of the space station with new operating principles and practices that promise a focused and sustainable research and development program. This portfolio of seventeen cooperative agreements spans applications in biotechnology, agriculture, remote sensing, and advanced materials. The rate-limiting step has long been access to space and we now stand ready to seize the opportunities afforded by a continuously operating, full-service laboratory in orbit. Each of these initiatives will have a marked effect on evolution of the space station program from a commercial development perspective and each offers the potential to open up economic development of low-Earth orbit in the first half of the 21st century.

U.S. commercial space activities - Returning the U.S. to preeminence in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, Barbara A.

1987-01-01

The current status of NASA's activities related to the commercial development of space is reviewed with particular reference to the emerging new commercial space activities and the post-Challenger policy developments affecting space commerce. The discussion covers the development of U.S. private sector launching capabilities, cooperative agreements with the private sector, the NASA technology utilization program, the technology applications activities of the Office of Commercial Programs, and the activities of the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space program.

LASERS: Ultimate energy parameters of the radiation emitted from neodymium-glass laser systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eshmemet'eva, E. V.; Korolev, V. I.; Mesnyankin, E. P.; Serebryakov, V. A.; Shashkin, V. V.; Yashin, V. E.

1992-09-01

An experimental investigation was made of the energy conversion efficiency and of the effects of stimulated Brillouin scattering and of optical breakdown, limiting the maximum energy density obtained from several phosphate and silicate neodymium glasses when the duration of the output pulses was 50-150 ns. The experimental results were used to develop a numerical model for calculation of the gain allowing for these processes. A design was developed for an amplifier with ultimate radiation characteristics.

Reliable, Practical Kilowatt-class Cryogenics for Superconducting Devices

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

Spoor, Philip

2016-12-15

Following the successful development of a Flexibly-Attached Remote cryocooler for ~200W at 80K under a Phase II DOE grant, Clever Fellows Innovation Consortium, Inc. (dba CFIC-Qdrive; acquired by Chart Industries in 2012) was invited by the DOE to scale up this technology to ~1000W/80K in a Phase III program. This target is responsive to the “Cryogenics Roadmap” developed by the DOE to accelerate the development of cryogenic cooling necessary to support the emerging superconducting power applications. Mirroring the Roadmap, our proposal included a capacity target (1000W at 80K) and a cost target (<$40/watt, at 80K), but unlike the Roadmap, wemore » did not formally propose to meet a specific efficiency target. We achieved 75% of the capacity target, with a record-size coaxial “pulse-tube” coldfinger, but only by working on the project well beyond the original “period of performance” on unfunded extension. We believe 100% of the capacity target was within reach, but our own budget and time constraints forbade additional effort. We were less successful in meeting the cost targets. Ultimately, the specific configuration that was the subject of Phase III was not commercialized, largely because the market for superconducting devices has not been nearly as robust as was expected at the advent of the Roadmap.« less

An Overview of the Launch Vehicle Blast Environments Development Efforts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richardson, Erin; Bangham, Mike; Blackwood, James; Skinner, Troy; Hays, Michael; Jackson, Austin; Richman, Ben

2014-01-01

NASA has been funding an ongoing development program to characterize the explosive environments produced during a catastrophic launch vehicle accident. These studies and small-scale tests are focused on the near field environments that threaten the crew. The results indicate that these environments are unlikely to result in immediate destruction of the crew modules. The effort began as an independent assessment by NASA safety organizations, followed by the Ares program and NASA Engineering and Safety Center and now as a Space Launch Systems (SLS) focused effort. The development effort is using the test and accident data available from public or NASA sources as well as focused scaled tests that are examining the fundamental aspects of uncontained explosions of Hydrogen and air and Hydrogen and Oxygen. The primary risk to the crew appears to be the high-energy fragments and these are being characterized for the SLS. The development efforts will characterize the thermal environment of the explosions as well to ensure that the risk is well understood and to document the overall energy balance of an explosion. The effort is multi-path in that analytical, computational and focused testing is being used to develop the knowledge to understand potential SLS explosions. This is an ongoing program with plans that expand the development from fundamental testing at small-scale levels to large-scale tests that can be used to validate models for commercial programs. The ultimate goal is to develop a knowledge base that can be used by vehicle designers to maximize crew survival in an explosion.

NASA's approach to the commercial use of space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillam, I. T., IV

1984-01-01

NASA planning activities in the area of commercial development of space resources are reviewed. Examples of specific types of commercial space ventures are given, according to three different categories: new commercial high-technology ventures; new commercial application of existing space technology, and commercial ventures resulting from the transfer of existing space programs to the private sector. Basic objectives for reducing technical, financial and institutional risks for commercial space operations are considered. Attention is given to the cooperative working environment encouraged by Joint Endeavor Agreements (JEAs) and Technical Exchange Agreements (TEAs) between industrial organizations in the development of space systems. Benefits of the commercial development of space resources include the production of purer pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancers, kidney diseases, and diabetes; and the development of ultra-pure semiconductor crystals for use in next generation electronic equipment.

Magnetic shielding of interplanetary spacecraft against solar flare radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cocks, Franklin H.; Watkins, Seth

1993-01-01

The ultimate objective of this work is to design, build, and fly a dual-purpose, piggyback payload whose function is to produce a large volume, low intensity magnetic field and to test the concept of using such a magnetic field (1) to protect spacecraft against solar flare protons, (2) to produce a thrust of sufficient magnitude to stabilize low satellite orbits against orbital decay from atmospheric drag, and (3) to test the magsail concept. These all appear to be capable of being tested using the same deployed high temperature superconducting coil. In certain orbits, high temperature superconducting wire, which has now been developed to the point where silver-sheathed high T sub c wires one mm in diameter are commercially available, can be used to produce the magnetic moments required for shielding without requiring any mechanical cooling system. The potential benefits of this concept apply directly to both earth-orbital and interplanetary missions. The usefulness of a protective shield for manned missions needs scarcely to be emphasized. Similarly, the usefulness of increasing orbit perigee without expenditure of propellant is obvious. This payload would be a first step in assessing the true potential of large volume magnetic fields in the US space program. The objective of this design research is to develop an innovative, prototype deployed high temperature superconducting coil (DHTSC) system.

Radial Modulation Contrast Imaging Using a 20-MHz Single-Element Intravascular Ultrasound Catheter

PubMed Central

Yu, Francois T. H.; Villanueva, Flordeliza S.; Chen, Xucai

2014-01-01

Contrast-enhanced intravascular ultrasound imaging is a promising tool for the characterization of coronary vasa vasorum proliferation, which has been identified as a marker of, and possible etiologic factor in, the development of high-risk atherosclerotic plaques. Resonance-based nonlinear detection methods have required the development of prototype catheters which are not commercially available, thus limiting clinical translation. In this study, we investigated the performances of a radial modulation imaging approach (25/3 MHz combination) using simulations, implemented it on a clinical 20-MHz rotating catheter, and tested it in a wall-less tissue-mimicking flow phantom perfused with lipid-encapsulated microbubbles (MBs). The effects of the phase lag, low-frequency pressure, and MB concentration on the envelope subtracted radial modulation signals were investigated as a function of depth. Our dual-pulse dual-frequency approach produced contrast-specific images with contrast-to-tissue improvements over B-mode of 15.1 ± 2.1 dB at 2 mm and 6.8 ± 0.1 dB at 4 mm depths. Using this imaging strategy, 200-μm-diameter cellulose tubing perfused with MBs could be resolved while surrounding tissue scattering was suppressed. These results raise promise for the detection of coronary vasa vasorum and may ultimately facilitate the detection of plaque at risk for rupture. PMID:24803134

The systems approach for applying artificial intelligence to space station automation (Invited Paper)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grose, Vernon L.

1985-12-01

The progress of technology is marked by fragmentation -- dividing research and development into ever narrower fields of specialization. Ultimately, specialists know everything about nothing. And hope for integrating those slender slivers of specialty into a whole fades. Without an integrated, all-encompassing perspective, technology becomes applied in a lopsided and often inefficient manner. A decisionary model, developed and applied for NASA's Chief Engineer toward establishment of commercial space operations, can be adapted to the identification, evaluation, and selection of optimum application of artificial intelligence for space station automation -- restoring wholeness to a situation that is otherwise chaotic due to increasing subdivision of effort. Issues such as functional assignments for space station task, domain, and symptom modules can be resolved in a manner understood by all parties rather than just the person with assigned responsibility -- and ranked by overall significance to mission accomplishment. Ranking is based on the three basic parameters of cost, performance, and schedule. This approach has successfully integrated many diverse specialties in situations like worldwide terrorism control, coal mining safety, medical malpractice risk, grain elevator explosion prevention, offshore drilling hazards, and criminal justice resource allocation -- all of which would have otherwise been subject to "squeaky wheel" emphasis and support of decision-makers.

Building renewable electricity supply in Bangladesh

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

Fulton, L.M.

1997-12-31

Bangladesh is experiencing a severe electric power capacity crisis that is only likely to worsen over the next 15 years. Further, over 80% of Bangladesh`s population still lives with no electricity, and the rate of grid expansion to connect rural villages is threatened by the looming capacity shortage. There are a number of underlying reasons for the crisis, but ultimately the country lacks the fossil fuel resources required to conduct a large scale grid-expansion program. Alternative approaches to electrifying the country must be found. This paper outlines the prospects for wind and solar power in Bangladesh, and estimates the potentialmore » for commercial applications now and in the future. This includes a technical assessment, a market assessment, an environmental assessment, and a policy assessment. The paper concludes that Bangladesh holds the potential to cost-effectively meet a significant fraction of its future electricity demand through the use of renewable generation technologies, possibly adding as much renewable capacity as the current overall electric power capacity of the country. Many parts of the country have favorable solar and wind conditions and there are many potentially cost-effective applications. But the country must develop a policy framework that allows and encourages private investors to develop renewable energy projects in order to realize the enormous potential of renewables.« less

Design guidelines for use of adhesives in hybrid microcircuits. [for electronic equipment in space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caruso, S. V.; Perkins, K. L.; Licari, J. J.

1973-01-01

Although it is generally accepted that the use of adhesives in the assembly of hybrid microcircuits offers advantages over other bonding methods, there currently does not exist a set of guidelines for the selection of adhesives which will insure that hybrid microcircuits assembled with them will meet the long use-life, high-reliability requirements of electronic equipment for space applications. This study was directed to the identification of the properties of electrically insulative adhesives that potentially could cause problems in such an application, and to the development of evaluation tests to quantify these properties and thus form the basis for establishing suitable guidelines and, ultimately, specifications. Bond strength, outgassing after cure, and corrosivity were selected for detailed attention since they are considered to be especially critical. Introductory discussion includes enumeration and brief comments on the properties of adhesives considered to be important for the proposed application, a general review of polymeric types of adhesives, and identification of the major types of adhesives commercially available and specifically designed for microelectronic use. The specific tests developed to evaluate bond strength, outgassing after cure, and corrosivity are discussed in detail, and comparative results obtained for selected adhesives representative of the major types are given.

The Wind and Beyond: A Documentary Journey into the History of Aerodynamics in America. Volume 1; The Ascent of the Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, James R. (Editor); Taylor, D. Bryan; Kinney, Jeremy; Lee, J. Lawrence

2003-01-01

This first volume, plus the succeeding five now in preparation, covers the impact of aerodynamic development on the evolution of the airplane in America. As the six-volume series will ultimately demonstrate, just as the airplane is a defining technology of the twentieth century, aerodynamics has been the defining element of the airplane. Volumes two through six will proceed in roughly chronological order, covering such developments as the biplane, the advent of commercial airliners, flying boats, rotary aircraft, supersonic flight, and hypersonic flight. This series is designed as an aeronautics companion to the Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program (NASA SP-4407) series of books. As with Exploring the Unknown, the documents collected during this research project were assembled from a diverse number of public and private sources. A major repository of primary source materials relative to the history of the civil space program is the NASA Historical Reference Collection in the NASA Headquarters History Office. Historical materials housed at NASA field centers, academic institutions, and Presidential libraries were other sources of documents considered for inclusion, as were papers in the archives of private individuals and corporations.

Migrants and the language of instruction: Is the EU policy deficit driving new innovations in social inclusion?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cullen, Joe

2017-08-01

Language learning has long been seen as an important tool for achieving European Union (EU) targets for social inclusion. However, "mainstream" policy instruments like the Action Plan on Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity and the European Charter for Minority Languages have been undermined in recent years by the effects of the global financial crisis, which has contributed to the widespread decimation of welfare budgets in many EU member states. This has been accompanied by the increasing influence of a "neo-liberal" discourse in welfare and social service policies and practices, leading to the delegation of responsibility for service provision from central, regional and local government to commercial enterprises, civil society and, ultimately, to citizens themselves. At the same time, the gaps in service provision that have resulted from this "financial crisis" have opened up new opportunities for social innovators. New kinds of organisations are beginning to develop and apply new approaches using language learning to deliver innovative services aimed, for example, at supporting the integration of immigrants in society. Using case study analysis, this paper explores how these new approaches have developed, what kinds of innovation are being delivered and the contribution these social innovations are making to broader EU social inclusion objectives.

Alternatives to antibiotics for maximizing growth performance and feed efficiency in poultry: a review.

PubMed

Gadde, U; Kim, W H; Oh, S T; Lillehoj, Hyun S

2017-06-01

With the increase in regulations regarding the use of antibiotic growth promoters and the rise in consumer demand for poultry products from 'Raised Without Antibiotics' or 'No Antibiotics Ever' flocks, the quest for alternative products or approaches has intensified in recent years. A great deal of research has focused on the development of antibiotic alternatives to maintain or improve poultry health and performance. This review describes the potential for the various alternatives available to increase animal productivity and help poultry perform to their genetic potential under existing commercial conditions. The classes of alternatives described include probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, organic acids, enzymes, phytogenics, antimicrobial peptides, hyperimmune egg antibodies, bacteriophages, clay, and metals. A brief description of the mechanism of action, efficacy, and advantages and disadvantages of their uses are also presented. Though the beneficial effects of many of the alternatives developed have been well demonstrated, the general consensus is that these products lack consistency and the results vary greatly from farm to farm. Furthermore, their mode of action needs to be better defined. Optimal combinations of various alternatives coupled with good management and husbandry practices will be the key to maximize performance and maintain animal productivity, while we move forward with the ultimate goal of reducing antibiotic use in the animal industry.

Navigator GPS Receiver for Fast Acquisition and Weak Signal Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winternitz, Luke; Moreau, Michael; Boegner, Gregory J.; Sirotzky, Steve

2004-01-01

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is developing a new space-borne GPS receiver that can operate effectively in the full range of Earth orbiting missions from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to geostationary and beyond. Navigator is designed to be a fully space flight qualified GPS receiver optimized for fast signal acquisition and weak signal tracking. The fast acquisition capabilities provide exceptional time to first fix performance (TIFF) with no a priori receiver state or GPS almanac information, even in the presence of high Doppler shifts present in LEO (or near perigee in highly eccentric orbits). The fast acquisition capability also makes it feasible to implement extended correlation intervals and therefore significantly reduce Navigator s acquisition threshold. This greatly improves GPS observability when the receiver is above the GPS constellation (and satellites must be tracked from the opposite side of the Earth) by providing at least 10 dB of increased acquisition sensitivity. Fast acquisition and weak signal tracking algorithms have been implemented and validated on a hardware development board. A fully functional version of the receiver, employing most of the flight parts, with integrated navigation software is expected by mid 2005. An ultimate goal of this project is to license the Navigator design to an industry partner who will then market the receiver as a commercial product.

History of veterinary public health in Australasia.

PubMed

Hughes, K L

1991-12-01

The geographic isolation of Australasia has played a significant role in preventing the introduction of exotic diseases or in limiting the spread of many diseases which entered after settlement. Some infections such as psoroptic mange, tuberculosis and brucellosis became widely dispersed and some were ultimately to require novel methods to curtail them, e.g. greater use of rail and road transportation to convey stock, improved methods to locate and muster livestock in bush terrain (helicopters), improved diagnostic tests and the introduction of effective methods for tracing diseases found at abattoirs to the farms of origin. From the 1860s to the 1880s, there were such high mortalities from anthrax in Australia that a business syndicate associated with the Pasteur Institute established a laboratory in Sydney to produce anthrax vaccine from 1890 to 1898. The two-dose vaccine developed by Pasteur was unable to compete with a single dose spore vaccine later pioneered locally by Gunn and McGarvie-Smith. The most important achievements in veterinary public health in Australasia have been the successful eradication of brucellosis, the virtual eradication of hydatid disease in New Zealand and Tasmania, the substantial progress made in the eradication of tuberculosis from all but small regions of Australasia, and the development of a commercial vaccine to prevent Q fever in humans.

From Protein Engineering to Immobilization: Promising Strategies for the Upgrade of Industrial Enzymes

PubMed Central

Singh, Raushan Kumar; Tiwari, Manish Kumar; Singh, Ranjitha; Lee, Jung-Kul

2013-01-01

Enzymes found in nature have been exploited in industry due to their inherent catalytic properties in complex chemical processes under mild experimental and environmental conditions. The desired industrial goal is often difficult to achieve using the native form of the enzyme. Recent developments in protein engineering have revolutionized the development of commercially available enzymes into better industrial catalysts. Protein engineering aims at modifying the sequence of a protein, and hence its structure, to create enzymes with improved functional properties such as stability, specific activity, inhibition by reaction products, and selectivity towards non-natural substrates. Soluble enzymes are often immobilized onto solid insoluble supports to be reused in continuous processes and to facilitate the economical recovery of the enzyme after the reaction without any significant loss to its biochemical properties. Immobilization confers considerable stability towards temperature variations and organic solvents. Multipoint and multisubunit covalent attachments of enzymes on appropriately functionalized supports via linkers provide rigidity to the immobilized enzyme structure, ultimately resulting in improved enzyme stability. Protein engineering and immobilization techniques are sequential and compatible approaches for the improvement of enzyme properties. The present review highlights and summarizes various studies that have aimed to improve the biochemical properties of industrially significant enzymes. PMID:23306150

Lightweight thermal energy recovery system based on shape memory alloys: a DOE ARPA-E initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Browne, Alan L.; Keefe, Andrew C.; Alexander, Paul W.; Mankame, Nilesh; Usoro, Patrick; Johnson, Nancy L.; Aase, Jan; Sarosi, Peter; McKnight, Geoffrey P.; Herrera, Guillermo; Churchill, Christopher; Shaw, John; Brown, Jeff

2012-04-01

Over 60% of energy that is generated is lost as waste heat with close to 90% of this waste heat being classified as low grade being at temperatures less than 200°C. Many technologies such as thermoelectrics have been proposed as means for harvesting this lost thermal energy. Among them, that of SMA (shape memory alloy) heat engines appears to be a strong candidate for converting this low grade thermal output to useful mechanical work. Unfortunately, though proposed initially in the late 60's and the subject of significant development work in the 70's, significant technical roadblocks have existed preventing this technology from moving from a scientific curiosity to a practical reality. This paper/presentation provides an overview of the work performed on SMA heat engines under the US DOE (Department of Energy) ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy) initiative. It begins with a review of the previous art, covers the identified technical roadblocks to past advancement, presents the solution path taken to remove these roadblocks, and describes significant breakthroughs during the project. The presentation concludes with details of the functioning prototypes developed, which, being able to operate in air as well as fluids, dramatically expand the operational envelop and make significant strides towards the ultimate goal of commercial viability.

Experimental Evaluation of Acoustic Engine Liner Models Developed with COMSOL Multiphysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schiller, Noah H.; Jones, Michael G.; Bertolucci, Brandon

2017-01-01

Accurate modeling tools are needed to design new engine liners capable of reducing aircraft noise. The purpose of this study is to determine if a commercially-available finite element package, COMSOL Multiphysics, can be used to accurately model a range of different acoustic engine liner designs, and in the process, collect and document a benchmark dataset that can be used in both current and future code evaluation activities. To achieve these goals, a variety of liner samples, ranging from conventional perforate-over-honeycomb to extended-reaction designs, were installed in one wall of the grazing flow impedance tube at the NASA Langley Research Center. The liners were exposed to high sound pressure levels and grazing flow, and the effect of the liner on the sound field in the flow duct was measured. These measurements were then compared with predictions. While this report only includes comparisons for a subset of the configurations, the full database of all measurements and predictions is available in electronic format upon request. The results demonstrate that both conventional perforate-over-honeycomb and extended-reaction liners can be accurately modeled using COMSOL. Therefore, this modeling tool can be used with confidence to supplement the current suite of acoustic propagation codes, and ultimately develop new acoustic engine liners designed to reduce aircraft noise.

Advances in In Vitro and In Silico Tools for Toxicokinetic Dose ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Recent advances in vitro assays, in silico tools, and systems biology approaches provide opportunities for refined mechanistic understanding for chemical safety assessment that will ultimately lead to reduced reliance on animal-based methods. With the U.S. commercial chemical landscape encompassing thousands of chemicals with limited data, safety assessment strategies that reliably predict in vivo systemic exposures and subsequent in vivo effects efficiently are a priority. Quantitative in vitro-in vivo extrapolation (QIVIVE) is a methodology that facilitates the explicit and quantitative application of in vitro experimental data and in silico modeling to predict in vivo system behaviors and can be applied to predict chemical toxicokinetics, toxicodynamics and also population variability. Tiered strategies that incorporate sufficient information to reliably inform the relevant decision context will facilitate acceptance of these alternative data streams for safety assessments. This abstract does not necessarily reflect U.S. EPA policy. This talk will provide an update to an international audience on the state of science being conducted within the EPA’s Office of Research and Development to develop and refine approaches that estimate internal chemical concentrations following a given exposure, known as toxicokinetics. Toxicokinetic approaches hold great potential in their ability to link in vitro activities or toxicities identified during high-throughput screen

Quantitative Surface Emissivity and Temperature Measurements of a Burning Solid Fuel Accompanied by Soot Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piltch, Nancy D.; Pettegrew, Richard D.; Ferkul, Paul; Sacksteder, K. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Surface radiometry is an established technique for noncontact temperature measurement of solids. We adapt this technique to the study of solid surface combustion where the solid fuel undergoes physical and chemical changes as pyrolysis proceeds, and additionally may produce soot. The physical and chemical changes alter the fuel surface emissivity, and soot contributes to the infrared signature in the same spectral band as the signal of interest. We have developed a measurement that isolates the fuel's surface emissions in the presence of soot, and determine the surface emissivity as a function of temperature. A commercially available infrared camera images the two-dimensional surface of ashless filter paper burning in concurrent flow. The camera is sensitive in the 2 to 5 gm band, but spectrally filtered to reduce the interference from hot gas phase combustion products. Results show a strong functional dependence of emissivity on temperature, attributed to the combined effects of thermal and oxidative processes. Using the measured emissivity, radiance measurements from several burning samples were corrected for the presence of soot and for changes in emissivity, to yield quantitative surface temperature measurements. Ultimately the results will be used to develop a full-field, non-contact temperature measurement that will be used in spacebased combustion investigations.

Design of a cost-effective, hemodynamically adjustable model for resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) simulation.

PubMed

Keller, Benjamin A; Salcedo, Edgardo S; Williams, Timothy K; Neff, Lucas P; Carden, Anthony J; Li, Yiran; Gotlib, Oren; Tran, Nam K; Galante, Joseph M

2016-09-01

Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is an adjunct technique for salvaging patients with noncompressible torso hemorrhage. Current REBOA training paradigms require large animals, virtual reality simulators, or human cadavers for acquisition of skills. These training strategies are expensive and resource intensive, which may prevent widespread dissemination of REBOA. We have developed a low-cost, near-physiologic, pulsatile REBOA simulator by connecting an anatomic vascular circuit constructed out of latex and polyvinyl chloride tubing to a commercially available pump. This pulsatile simulator is capable of generating cardiac outputs ranging from 1.7 to 6.8 L/min with corresponding arterial blood pressures of 54 to 226/14 to 121 mmHg. The simulator accommodates a 12 French introducer sheath and a CODA balloon catheter. Upon balloon inflation, the arterial waveform distal to the occlusion flattens, distal pulsation within the simulator is lost, and systolic blood pressures proximal to the balloon catheter increase by up to 62 mmHg. Further development and validation of this simulator will allow for refinement, reduction, and replacement of large animal models, costly virtual reality simulators, and perfused cadavers for training purposes. This will ultimately facilitate the low-cost, high-fidelity REBOA simulation needed for the widespread dissemination of this life-saving technique.

Commercial Contributions to the Success of the HEDS Enterprise: A Working Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nall, Mark; Askew, Ray

2000-01-01

The future of NASA involves the exploration of space beyond the confines of orbit about the Earth. This includes robotic investigations and Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS). The HEDS Strategic Plan states: "HEDS will join with the private sector to stimulate opportunities for commercial development in space as a key to future settlement. Near-term efforts will emphasize joint pilot projects that provide clear benefit to Earth from the development of near-Earth space." In support of this endeavor, NASA has established the Commercial Development of Space as a prime goal and is exploring all the ways in which NASA might make contributions to this development. NASA has long supported the development of space for commercial use. In 1985 it formally established and provided funds to support a program which created a number of joint ventures between universities and industry for this purpose. These were known as Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS). In 1999 NASA established a broader policy on commercialization with the aim of encouraging near-term commercial investment in conjunction with the International Space Station. Joint pilot projects will be initiated to stimulate this near-term investment. The long-term development of commercial concepts utilizing space access continues through the activities of the Commercial Space Centers (CSC), a sub-set of the original CCDS group. These Centers primarily require access to space for the conduct of their work. The remainder of the initial Centers focus on the development of tools and infrastructure to support users of the space environment. It is in this arena that long term development for commercial use and infrastructure development will occur. This paper will provide a retrospective examination of the Commercial Centers, the variety of models employed, the lessons learned, and the progress to date. This review will provide the bases for how successful models can be employed to accelerate private investment in the development of the infrastructure necessary for the success of the HEDS enterprise.

Cooked Food Waste-An Efficient and Less Expensive Precursor for the Generation of Activated Carbon.

PubMed

Krithiga, Thangavelu; Sabina, Xavier Janet; Rajesh, Baskaran; Ilbeygi, Hamid; Shetty, Adka Nityananda; Reddy, Ramanjaneya; Karthikeyan, Jayabalan

2018-06-01

Activated carbon was synthesized from cooked food waste, especially dehydrated rice kernels, by chemical activation method using NaOH and KOH as activating agents. It was then characterized by ultimate and proximate analysis, BET surface analysis, XRD, FTIR, Raman and SEM. The XRD patterns and Raman spectra confirmed the amorphous nature of the prepared activated carbons. Ultimate analysis showed an increase in the carbon content after activation of the raw carbon samples. Upon activation with NaOH and KOH, the surface area of the carbon sample was found to have increased from 0.3424 to 539.78 and 306.83 m2g-1 respectively. The SEM images revealed the formation of heterogeneous pores on the surface of the activated samples. The samples were then tested for their adsorption activity using acetic acid and methylene blue. Based on the regression coefficients, the adsorption kinetics of methylene blue dye were fitted with pseudo-second order model for both samples. Similarly, the Freundlich isotherm was found to be a better fit than Langmuir isotherm for both samples. The activity of thus prepared activated carbons was found to be comparable with the commercial carbon.

Design and fabrication of a micron scale free-standing specimen for uniaxial micro-tensile tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Jun; Wang, Hong; Li, Shi Chen; Liu, Rui; Mao, Sheng Ping; Li, Xue Ping; Zhang, Cong Chun; Ding, Guifu

2009-10-01

This paper presents a novel design and fabrication of test chips with a nickel free-standing specimen for the micro uniaxial tensile test. To fabricate test chips on the quartz substrate significantly reduces the fabrication time, minimizes the number of steps and eliminates the effect of the wet anisotropic etching process on mechanical properties. The test chip can be gripped tightly to the test machine and aligned accurately in the pulling direction; furthermore, the approximately straight design of the specimen rather than the traditional dog-bone structure enables the strain be directly measured by a displacement sensor. Both finite-element method (FEM) analysis and experimental results indicate the reliability of the new design. The test chip can also be extended to other materials. The experimental measured Young's modulus of a thin nickel film and the ultimate tensile strength are approximately 94.5 Gpa and 1.76 Gpa, respectively. The results were substantially supported by the experiment on larger gauge specimens by a commercial dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) instrument. These specimens were electroplated under the same conditions. The low Young's modulus and the high ultimate tensile strength might be explained by the fine grain in the electroplated structure.

An Integrated Economics Model for ISRU in Support of a Mars Colony - Initial Status Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shishko, Robert; Fradet, Rene; Saydam, Serkan; Tapia-Cortez, Carlos; Dempster, Andrew G.; Coulton, Jeff

2015-01-01

The aim of this effort is to develop an integrated set of risk-based financial and technical models to evaluate multiple Off-Earth Mining (OEM) scenarios. This quantitative, scenario- and simulation-based tool will help identify combinations of market variables, technical parameters, and policy levers that will enable the expansion of the global economy into the solar system and return economic benefits. Human ventures in space are entering a new phase in which missions formerly driven by government agencies are now being replaced by those led by commercial enterprises - in launch, satellite deployment, resupply of the International Space Station, and space tourism. In the not-too-distant future, commercial opportunities will also include the mining of asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. This investigation will examine the role of OEM in a growing space economy. (In this investigation, the term 'mining' is taken to embrace minerals, ice/water, and other in situ resources.) OEM can be the engine that drives the space economy, so it would be useful to understand what OEM market conditions and technology requirements are needed for that economy to prosper. These specific elements will be studied in the wider context of creating an economy that could ultimately support a sustainable Mars Colony. Such a colony will need in situ resources not only for its own survival, but to prosper and grow, it must create viable business ventures, essentially by fulfilling the demand for in situ resources from and on Mars. This investigation will focus on understanding the role and economic prospect for OEM associated with the Human Colonization of Mars (HCM).

Tobacco prevention advertising: lessons from the commercial world.

PubMed

Rust, L

1999-01-01

This paper presents observations on how commercial TV advertising usually works with young people, discusses the special circumstances using advertising as a smoking prevention tool, and suggests research to guide future efforts. It is important for prevention efforts to recognize that in everyday life many young people are not systematic decision-makers; their intentions are extremely volatile and context-dependent, and they are highly spontaneous. So trying to change their smoking risk status with a TV ad that affects their conscious intentions toward smoking may not impact how they react when someone offers to share a cigarette with them behind the garage--even if it affects how they answer a "Do you think you'll ever take up smoking?" question right after seeing the ad. Advertising is good at getting consumers to focus on products--either in creating new brands, or in keeping familiar brands foremost in mind. Advertising is also good at providing models of concrete behaviors for people to imitate. Prevention efforts need to use advertising for what it is good at, and by and large this means being very concrete. Ultimately, for research to contribute to better prevention advertising, it needs to give the people who actually create that advertising a set of vivid, compelling images of who it is they are trying to reach and what it is that moves them. Some research methods which, when done properly, can serve this function are focus groups, anthropological studies, psychographic segmentations, moment-by-moment observational measurement, improved copy-testing methodology, and grounded-theory development.

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Reactor Safety Technologies Pathway Technical Program Plan

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

Corradini, M. L.; Peko, D.; Farmer, M.

In the aftermath of the March 2011 multi-unit accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (Fukushima), the nuclear community has been reassessing certain safety assumptions about nuclear reactor plant design, operations and emergency actions, particularly with respect to extreme events that might occur and that are beyond each plant’s current design basis. Because of our significant domestic investment in nuclear reactor technology (99 operating reactors in the fleet of commercial LWRs with five under construction), the United States has been a major leader internationally in these activities. The U.S. nuclear industry is voluntarily pursuing a number of additional safetymore » initiatives. The NRC continues to evaluate and, where deemed appropriate, establish new requirements for ensuring adequate protection of public health and safety in the occurrence of low probability events at nuclear plants; (e.g., mitigation strategies for beyond design basis events initiated by external events like seismic or flooding initiators). The DOE has also played a major role in the U.S. response to the Fukushima accident. Initially, DOE worked with the Japanese and the international community to help develop a more complete understanding of the Fukushima accident progression and its consequences, and to respond to various safety concerns emerging from uncertainties about the nature of and the effects from the accident. DOE R&D activities are focused on providing scientific and technical insights, data, analyses methods that ultimately support industry efforts to enhance safety. These activities are expected to further enhance the safety performance of currently operating U.S. nuclear power plants as well as better characterize the safety performance of future U.S. plants. In pursuing this area of R&D, DOE recognizes that the commercial nuclear industry is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of licensed nuclear facilities. As such, industry is considered the primary “end user” of the results from this DOE-sponsored work. The response to the Fukushima accident has been global, and there is a continuing multinational interest in collaborations to better quantify accident consequences and to incorporate lessons learned from the accident. DOE will continue to seek opportunities to facilitate collaborations that are of value to the U.S. industry, particularly where the collaboration provides access to vital data from the accident or otherwise supports or leverages other important R&D work. The purpose of the Reactor Safety Technology R&D is to improve understanding of beyond design basis events and reduce uncertainty in severe accident progression, phenomenology, and outcomes using existing analytical codes and information gleaned from severe accidents, in particular the Fukushima Daiichi events. This information will be used to aid in developing mitigating strategies and improving severe accident management guidelines for the current light water reactor fleet.« less

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program: Reactor Safety Technologies Pathway Technical Program Plan

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

Corradini, M. L.

In the aftermath of the March 2011 multi-unit accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (Fukushima), the nuclear community has been reassessing certain safety assumptions about nuclear reactor plant design, operations and emergency actions, particularly with respect to extreme events that might occur and that are beyond each plant’s current design basis. Because of our significant domestic investment in nuclear reactor technology (99 operating reactors in the fleet of commercial LWRs with five under construction), the United States has been a major leader internationally in these activities. The U.S. nuclear industry is voluntarily pursuing a number of additional safetymore » initiatives. The NRC continues to evaluate and, where deemed appropriate, establish new requirements for ensuring adequate protection of public health and safety in the occurrence of low probability events at nuclear plants; (e.g., mitigation strategies for beyond design basis events initiated by external events like seismic or flooding initiators). The DOE has also played a major role in the U.S. response to the Fukushima accident. Initially, DOE worked with the Japanese and the international community to help develop a more complete understanding of the Fukushima accident progression and its consequences, and to respond to various safety concerns emerging from uncertainties about the nature of and the effects from the accident. DOE R&D activities are focused on providing scientific and technical insights, data, analyses methods that ultimately support industry efforts to enhance safety. These activities are expected to further enhance the safety performance of currently operating U.S. nuclear power plants as well as better characterize the safety performance of future U.S. plants. In pursuing this area of R&D, DOE recognizes that the commercial nuclear industry is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of licensed nuclear facilities. As such, industry is considered the primary “end user” of the results from this DOE-sponsored work. The response to the Fukushima accident has been global, and there is a continuing multinational interest in collaborations to better quantify accident consequences and to incorporate lessons learned from the accident. DOE will continue to seek opportunities to facilitate collaborations that are of value to the U.S. industry, particularly where the collaboration provides access to vital data from the accident or otherwise supports or leverages other important R&D work. The purpose of the Reactor Safety Technology R&D is to improve understanding of beyond design basis events and reduce uncertainty in severe accident progression, phenomenology, and outcomes using existing analytical codes and information gleaned from severe accidents, in particular the Fukushima Daiichi events. This information will be used to aid in developing mitigating strategies and improving severe accident management guidelines for the current light water reactor fleet.« less

The Marine Corps Enlisted Assignment Process: The Customer’s Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-01

continue service in the Marine Corps or to leave. Additionally, this process affects career development, quality of life , and ultimately their lives...retention goals. If not, the Marine Corps may increase quality of life by introducing new assignment processes or systems. These changes could also increase enlisted Marines’ retention rate, and ultimately personnel readiness.

A Vision of Quantitative Imaging Technology for Validation of Advanced Flight Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horvath, Thomas J.; Kerns, Robert V.; Jones, Kenneth M.; Grinstead, Jay H.; Schwartz, Richard J.; Gibson, David M.; Taylor, Jeff C.; Tack, Steve; Dantowitz, Ronald F.

2011-01-01

Flight-testing is traditionally an expensive but critical element in the development and ultimate validation and certification of technologies destined for future operational capabilities. Measurements obtained in relevant flight environments also provide unique opportunities to observe flow phenomenon that are often beyond the capabilities of ground testing facilities and computational tools to simulate or duplicate. However, the challenges of minimizing vehicle weight and internal complexity as well as instrumentation bandwidth limitations often restrict the ability to make high-density, in-situ measurements with discrete sensors. Remote imaging offers a potential opportunity to noninvasively obtain such flight data in a complementary fashion. The NASA Hypersonic Thermodynamic Infrared Measurements Project has demonstrated such a capability to obtain calibrated thermal imagery on a hypersonic vehicle in flight. Through the application of existing and accessible technologies, the acreage surface temperature of the Shuttle lower surface was measured during reentry. Future hypersonic cruise vehicles, launcher configurations and reentry vehicles will, however, challenge current remote imaging capability. As NASA embarks on the design and deployment of a new Space Launch System architecture for access beyond earth orbit (and the commercial sector focused on low earth orbit), an opportunity exists to implement an imagery system and its supporting infrastructure that provides sufficient flexibility to incorporate changing technology to address the future needs of the flight test community. A long term vision is offered that supports the application of advanced multi-waveband sensing technology to aid in the development of future aerospace systems and critical technologies to enable highly responsive vehicle operations across the aerospace continuum, spanning launch, reusable space access and global reach. Motivations for development of an Agency level imagery-based measurement capability to support cross cutting applications that span the Agency mission directorates as well as meeting potential needs of the commercial sector and national interests of the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance community are explored. A recommendation is made for an assessment study to baseline current imaging technology including the identification of future mission requirements. Development of requirements fostered by the applications suggested in this paper would be used to identify technology gaps and direct roadmapping for implementation of an affordable and sustainable next generation sensor/platform system.

Transformational System Concepts and Technologies for Our Future in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Joe T.; Mankins, John C.

2004-01-01

Continued constrained budgets and growing national and international interests in the commercialization and development of space requires NASA to be constantly vigilant, to be creative, and to seize every opportunity for assuring the maximum return on space infrastructure investments. Accordingly, efforts are underway to forge new and innovative approaches to transform our space systems in the future to ultimately achieve two or three or five times as much with the same resources. This bold undertaking can be achieved only through extensive cooperative efforts throughout the aerospace community and truly effective planning to pursue advanced space system design concepts and high-risk/high-leverage research and technology. Definitive implementation strategies and roadmaps containing new methodologies and revolutionary approaches must be developed to economically accommodate the continued exploration and development of space. Transformation can be realized through modular design and stepping stone development. This approach involves sustainable budget levels and multi-purpose systems development of supporting capabilities that lead to a diverse amy of sustainable future space activities. Transformational design and development requires revolutionary advances by using modular designs and a planned, stepping stone development process. A modular approach to space systems potentially offers many improvements over traditional one-of-a-kind space systems comprised of different subsystem element with little standardization in interfaces or functionality. Modular systems must be more flexible, scaleable, reconfigurable, and evolvable. Costs can be reduced through learning curve effects and economies of scale, and by enabling servicing and repair that would not otherwise be feasible. This paper briefly discusses achieving a promising approach to transforming space systems planning and evolution into a meaningful stepping stone design, development, and implementation process. The success of this well planned and orchestrated approach holds great promise for achieving innovation and revolutionary technology development for supporting future exploration and development of space.

Advanced Aero-Propulsive Mid-Lift-to-Drag Ratio Entry Vehicle for Future Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, C. H.; Stosaric, R. R; Cerimele, C. J.; Wong, K. A.; Valle, G. D.; Garcia, J. A.; Melton, J. E.; Munk, M. M.; Blades, E.; Kuruvila, G.;

Technical/commercial feasibility study of the production of fuel-grade ethanol from corn: 100-million-gallon-per-year production facility in Myrtle Grove, Louisiana. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-05-01

An executive summary is given of a detailed feasibility study for a 100 million gallon per year power alcohol plant using corn as feedstock. The proposed plant will ultimately have the capability to produce 100 million gallons per year of anhydrous alcohol from an estimated 40 million bushels of corn and will be designed so as to allow construction in modules of 25 million gallons each. Alcohol produced at this plant is intended essentially for use as a gasoline octane booster, a motor fuel in gasoline/alcohol blends and as a chemical feedstock. In addition, the plant will produce a number of by-products, each of which has existing commercial markets; namely, 236,400 tons of CO2, 237,600 tons of protein meal mixture (40.2% protein), or 124,000 tons of gluten meal (41% protein), 20,000 tons of yeast, 68,400 tons of corn bran, 89,600 tons of corn germ cake and 4,584,000 gallons of corn oil (food grade).

Step-and-Repeat Nanoimprint-, Photo- and Laser Lithography from One Customised CNC Machine.

PubMed

Greer, Andrew Im; Della-Rosa, Benoit; Khokhar, Ali Z; Gadegaard, Nikolaj

2016-12-01

The conversion of a computer numerical control machine into a nanoimprint step-and-repeat tool with additional laser- and photolithography capacity is documented here. All three processes, each demonstrated on a variety of photoresists, are performed successfully and analysed so as to enable the reader to relate their known lithography process(es) to the findings. Using the converted tool, 1 cm(2) of nanopattern may be exposed in 6 s, over 3300 times faster than the electron beam equivalent. Nanoimprint tools are commercially available, but these can cost around 1000 times more than this customised computer numerical control (CNC) machine. The converted equipment facilitates rapid production and large area micro- and nanoscale research on small grants, ultimately enabling faster and more diverse growth in this field of science. In comparison to commercial tools, this converted CNC also boasts capacity to handle larger substrates, temperature control and active force control, up to ten times more curing dose and compactness. Actual devices are fabricated using the machine including an expanded nanotopographic array and microfluidic PDMS Y-channel mixers.

Banana by-products: an under-utilized renewable food biomass with great potential.

PubMed

Padam, Birdie Scott; Tin, Hoe Seng; Chye, Fook Yee; Abdullah, Mohd Ismail

2014-12-01

Banana (Musaceae) is one of the world's most important fruit crops that is widely cultivated in tropical countries for its valuable applications in food industry. Its enormous by-products are an excellent source of highly valuable raw materials for other industries by recycling agricultural waste. This prevents an ultimate loss of huge amount of untapped biomass and environmental issues. This review discusses extensively the breakthrough in the utilization of banana by-products such as peels, leaves, pseudostem, stalk and inflorescence in various food and non-food applications serving as thickening agent, coloring and flavor, alternative source for macro and micronutrients, nutraceuticals, livestock feed, natural fibers, and sources of natural bioactive compounds and bio-fertilizers. Future prospects and challenges are the important key factors discussed in association to the sustainability and feasibility of utilizing these by-products. It is important that all available by-products be turned into highly commercial outputs in order to sustain this renewable resource and provide additional income to small scale farming industries without compromising its quality and safety in competing with other commercial products.

Effect of chemical treatment on the acute toxicity of two commercial textile dye carriers.

PubMed

Arsian-Alaton, I; Iskender, G; Ozerkan, B; Germirli Babuna, F; Okay, O

2007-01-01

In the present experimental study, the effect of chemical treatment (coagulation-flocculation) on the acute toxicity exerted by two commercial dye carriers (called Carrier A and B herein) often used in the textile industry was investigated. Two different test organisms were selected to elucidate the situations in activated sludge treatment systems (activated sludge microorganisms) as well as in receiving water bodies (ultimate marine discharge). According to the results of a comprehensive analysis covering COD removal efficiencies, sludge settling characteristics and operating costs involved in coagulation-flocculation, the optimum treatment conditions were defined as follows; application of 750 mg/L ferrous sulphate at a pH of 9.0 for Carrier A; and application of 550 mg/L ferrous sulphate at a pH of 9.0 for Carrier B. The acute toxicities of both dye carriers towards marine microalgea Phaeodactylum tricornutum could be reduced significantly after being subjected to coagulation-flocculation. Fair toxicity removals (towards heterotrophic mixed bacterial culture accommodated in activated sludge treatment) were obtained with coagulation-flocculation for both of the carriers under investigation.

Step-and-Repeat Nanoimprint-, Photo- and Laser Lithography from One Customised CNC Machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greer, Andrew IM; Della-Rosa, Benoit; Khokhar, Ali Z.; Gadegaard, Nikolaj

2016-03-01

The conversion of a computer numerical control machine into a nanoimprint step-and-repeat tool with additional laser- and photolithography capacity is documented here. All three processes, each demonstrated on a variety of photoresists, are performed successfully and analysed so as to enable the reader to relate their known lithography process(es) to the findings. Using the converted tool, 1 cm2 of nanopattern may be exposed in 6 s, over 3300 times faster than the electron beam equivalent. Nanoimprint tools are commercially available, but these can cost around 1000 times more than this customised computer numerical control (CNC) machine. The converted equipment facilitates rapid production and large area micro- and nanoscale research on small grants, ultimately enabling faster and more diverse growth in this field of science. In comparison to commercial tools, this converted CNC also boasts capacity to handle larger substrates, temperature control and active force control, up to ten times more curing dose and compactness. Actual devices are fabricated using the machine including an expanded nanotopographic array and microfluidic PDMS Y-channel mixers.

Commercialization and the Commercial Internet Exchange: How the CIX Can Help Further the Commercialization of the Internet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Estrada, Susan

1992-01-01

To promote successful commercialization of the Internet, the Commercial Internet Exchange Association (CIX) acts on behalf of its members to increase cooperation and an open exchange of ideas regarding networking issues. Of concern are federal regulation, development of standards and pricing agreements, and the development of user friendly…

Analysis technique for controlling system wavefront error with active/adaptive optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genberg, Victor L.; Michels, Gregory J.

2017-08-01

The ultimate goal of an active mirror system is to control system level wavefront error (WFE). In the past, the use of this technique was limited by the difficulty of obtaining a linear optics model. In this paper, an automated method for controlling system level WFE using a linear optics model is presented. An error estimate is included in the analysis output for both surface error disturbance fitting and actuator influence function fitting. To control adaptive optics, the technique has been extended to write system WFE in state space matrix form. The technique is demonstrated by example with SigFit, a commercially available tool integrating mechanical analysis with optical analysis.

Using integrated models to minimize environmentally induced wavefront error in optomechanical design and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genberg, Victor L.; Michels, Gregory J.

2017-08-01

The ultimate design goal of an optical system subjected to dynamic loads is to minimize system level wavefront error (WFE). In random response analysis, system WFE is difficult to predict from finite element results due to the loss of phase information. In the past, the use of ystem WFE was limited by the difficulty of obtaining a linear optics model. In this paper, an automated method for determining system level WFE using a linear optics model is presented. An error estimate is included in the analysis output based on fitting errors of mode shapes. The technique is demonstrated by example with SigFit, a commercially available tool integrating mechanical analysis with optical analysis.

Optical design considerations for high-concentration photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garboushian, Vahan; Gordon, Robert

2006-08-01

Over the past 15 years, major advances in Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) have been achieved. Ultra-efficient Si solar cells have produced commercial concentration systems which are being fielded today and are competitively priced. Advanced research has primarily focused on significantly more efficient multi-junction solar cells for tomorrow's systems. This effort has produced sophisticated solar cells that significantly improve power production. Additional performance and cost improvements, especially in the optical system area and system integration, must be made before CPV can realize its ultimate commercial potential. Structural integrity and reliability are vital for commercial success. As incremental technical improvements are made in solar cell technologies, evaluation and 'fine-tuning' of optical systems properly matched to the solar cell are becoming increasingly necessary. As we move forward, it is increasingly important to optimize all of the interrelated elements of a CPV system for high performance without sacrificing the marketable cost and structural requirements of the system. Areas such as wavelength absorption of refractive optics need to be carefully matched to the solar cell technology employed. Reflective optics require advanced engineering models to insure uniform flux distribution without excessive losses. In Situ measurement of the 'fine-grain' improvements are difficult as multiple variables such as solar insolation, temperature, wind, altitude, etc. infringe on analytical data. This paper discusses design considerations based on 10 years of field trials of high concentration systems and their relevance for tomorrow's advanced CPV systems.

Stable isotopes reveal the effect of trawl fisheries on the diet of commercially exploited species.

PubMed

Hinz, Hilmar; Moranta, Joan; Balestrini, Stephen; Sciberras, Marija; Pantin, Julia R; Monnington, James; Zalewski, Alex; Kaiser, Michel J; Sköld, Mattias; Jonsson, Patrik; Bastardie, Francois; Hiddink, Jan Geert

2017-07-24

Bottom trawling can change food availability for benthivorous demersal species by (i) changing benthic prey composition through physical seabed impacts and (ii) by removing overall benthic consumer biomass increasing the net availability of benthic prey for remaining individuals. Thus trawling may both negatively and positively influence the quantity and quality of food available. Using δ 13 C and δ 15 N we investigated potential diet changes of three commercially exploited species across trawling gradients in the Kattegat (plaice, dab and Norway lobster (Nephrops)) and the Irish Sea (Nephrops). In the Kattegat, trawling affected primarily the biomass of benthic consumers, lowering competition. Nephrops showed significant positive relationships for δ 13 C and a domed relationship for δ 15 N with trawling. In the Irish Sea, intense trawling had a negative effect on benthic prey. δ 13 C and δ 15 N thus showed the inverse relationships to those observed in the Kattegat. Plaice from the Kattegat, showed a significant relationship with trawling intensity for δ 13 C, but not for δ 15 N. No relationship was found for dab. Changes of δ 13 C and δ 15 N correlated with changes in condition of species. The results show that the removal of demersal competitors and benthos by trawling can change the diets of commercial species, ultimately affecting their body condition.

Open Source software and social networks: disruptive alternatives for medical imaging.

PubMed

Ratib, Osman; Rosset, Antoine; Heuberger, Joris

2011-05-01

In recent decades several major changes in computer and communication technology have pushed the limits of imaging informatics and PACS beyond the traditional system architecture providing new perspectives and innovative approach to a traditionally conservative medical community. Disruptive technologies such as the world-wide-web, wireless networking, Open Source software and recent emergence of cyber communities and social networks have imposed an accelerated pace and major quantum leaps in the progress of computer and technology infrastructure applicable to medical imaging applications. This paper reviews the impact and potential benefits of two major trends in consumer market software development and how they will influence the future of medical imaging informatics. Open Source software is emerging as an attractive and cost effective alternative to traditional commercial software developments and collaborative social networks provide a new model of communication that is better suited to the needs of the medical community. Evidence shows that successful Open Source software tools have penetrated the medical market and have proven to be more robust and cost effective than their commercial counterparts. Developed by developers that are themselves part of the user community, these tools are usually better adapted to the user's need and are more robust than traditional software programs being developed and tested by a large number of contributing users. This context allows a much faster and more appropriate development and evolution of the software platforms. Similarly, communication technology has opened up to the general public in a way that has changed the social behavior and habits adding a new dimension to the way people communicate and interact with each other. The new paradigms have also slowly penetrated the professional market and ultimately the medical community. Secure social networks allowing groups of people to easily communicate and exchange information is a new model that is particularly suitable for some specific groups of healthcare professional and for physicians. It has also changed the expectations of how patients wish to communicate with their physicians. Emerging disruptive technologies and innovative paradigm such as Open Source software are leading the way to a new generation of information systems that slowly will change the way physicians and healthcare providers as well as patients will interact and communicate in the future. The impact of these new technologies is particularly effective in image communication, PACS and teleradiology. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Space Resources Development: The Link Between Human Exploration and the Long-Term Commercialization of Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanders, Gerald B.

2000-01-01

In a letter to the NASA Administrator, Dan Goldin, in January of 1999, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stated the following . OMB recommends that NASA consider commercialization in a broader context than the more focused efforts to date on space station and space shuttle commercialization. We suggest that NASA examine architectures that take advantage of a potentially robust future commercial infrastructure that could dramatically lower the cost of future human exploration." In response to this letter, the NASA Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) Enterprise launched the BEDS Technology & Commercialization Initiative (HTCI) to link technology and system development for human exploration with the commercial development of space to emphasize the "D" (Development) in BEDS. The development of technologies and capabilities to utilize space resources is the first of six primary focus areas in this program. It is clear that Space Resources Development (SRD) is key for both long-term human exploration of our solar system and to the long-term commercialization of space since: a) it provides the technologies, products, and raw materials to support efficient space transportation and in-space construction and manufacturing, and b) it provides the capabilities and infrastructure to allow outpost growth, self-sufficiency, and commercial space service and utility industry activities.

Multi-Channel Optical Coherence Elastography Using Relative and Absolute Shear-Wave Time of Flight

PubMed Central

Elyas, Eli; Grimwood, Alex; Erler, Janine T.; Robinson, Simon P.; Cox, Thomas R.; Woods, Daniel; Clowes, Peter; De Luca, Ramona; Marinozzi, Franco; Fromageau, Jérémie; Bamber, Jeffrey C.

2017-01-01

Elastography, the imaging of elastic properties of soft tissues, is well developed for macroscopic clinical imaging of soft tissues and can provide useful information about various pathological processes which is complementary to that provided by the original modality. Scaling down of this technique should ply the field of cellular biology with valuable information with regard to elastic properties of cells and their environment. This paper evaluates the potential to develop such a tool by modifying a commercial optical coherence tomography (OCT) device to measure the speed of shear waves propagating in a three-dimensional (3D) medium. A needle, embedded in the gel, was excited to vibrate along its long axis and the displacement as a function of time and distance from the needle associated with the resulting shear waves was detected using four M-mode images acquired simultaneously using a commercial four-channel swept-source OCT system. Shear-wave time of arrival (TOA) was detected by tracking the axial OCT-speckle motion using cross-correlation methods. Shear-wave speed was then calculated from inter-channel differences of TOA for a single burst (the relative TOA method) and compared with the shear-wave speed determined from positional differences of TOA for a single channel over multiple bursts (the absolute TOA method). For homogeneous gels the relative method provided shear-wave speed with acceptable precision and accuracy when judged against the expected linear dependence of shear modulus on gelatine concentration (R2 = 0.95) and ultimate resolution capabilities limited by 184μm inter-channel distance. This overall approach shows promise for its eventual provision as a research tool in cancer cell biology. Further work is required to optimize parameters such as vibration frequency, burst length and amplitude, and to assess the lateral and axial resolutions of this type of device as well as to create 3D elastograms. PMID:28107368

Empirical Profiling of Cold Hydrogen Plumes Formed from Venting Of LH2 Storage Vessels: Preprint

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

Buttner, William J; Rivkin, Carl H; Schmidt, Kara

Liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage is a viable approach to assuring sufficient hydrogen capacity at commercial fuelling stations. Presently, LH2 is produced at remote facilities and then transported to the end-use site by road vehicles (i.e., LH2 tanker trucks). Venting of hydrogen to depressurize the transport storage tank is a routine part of the LH2 delivery process. The behaviour of cold hydrogen plumes has not been well-characterized because empirical field data is essentially non-existent. The NFPA 2 Hydrogen Storage Safety Task Group, which consists of hydrogen producers, safety experts, and CFD modellers, has identified the lack of understanding of hydrogen dispersionmore » during LH2 venting of storage vessel as a critical gap for establishing safety distances at LH2 facilities, especially commercial hydrogen fuelling stations. To address this need, the NREL sensor laboratory, in collaboration with the NFPA 2 Safety Task Group developed the Cold Hydrogen Plume Analyzer to empirically characterize the hydrogen plume formed during LH2 storage tank venting. A prototype Analyzer was developed and field-deployed at an actual LH2 venting operation with critical findings that included: - H2 being detected as much as 2 m lower than the release point, which is not predicted by existing models - A small and inconsistent correlation between oxygen depletion and the hydrogen concentration - A negligible to non-existent correlation between in-situ temperature and the hydrogen concentration The Analyzer is currently being upgraded for enhanced metrological capabilities including improved real-time spatial and temporal profiling of the plume and tracking of prevailing weather conditions. Additional deployments are planned to monitor plume behaviour under different wind, humidity, and temperatures. This data will be shared with the NFPA 2 Safety Task Group and ultimately will be used support theoretical models and code requirements prescribed in NFPA 2.« less

Sonic boom predictions using a modified Euler code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siclari, Michael J.

1992-01-01

The environmental impact of a next generation fleet of high-speed civil transports (HSCT) is of great concern in the evaluation of the commercial development of such a transport. One of the potential environmental impacts of a high speed civilian transport is the sonic boom generated by the aircraft and its effects on the population, wildlife, and structures in the vicinity of its flight path. If an HSCT aircraft is restricted from flying overland routes due to excessive booms, the commercial feasibility of such a venture may be questionable. NASA has taken the lead in evaluating and resolving the issues surrounding the development of a high speed civilian transport through its High-Speed Research Program (HSRP). The present paper discusses the usage of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) nonlinear code in predicting the pressure signature and ultimately the sonic boom generated by a high speed civilian transport. NASA had designed, built, and wind tunnel tested two low boom configurations for flight at Mach 2 and Mach 3. Experimental data was taken at several distances from these models up to a body length from the axis of the aircraft. The near field experimental data serves as a test bed for computational fluid dynamic codes in evaluating their accuracy and reliability for predicting the behavior of future HSCT designs. Sonic boom prediction methodology exists which is based on modified linear theory. These methods can be used reliably if near field signatures are available at distances from the aircraft where nonlinear and three dimensional effects have diminished in importance. Up to the present time, the only reliable method to obtain this data was via the wind tunnel with costly model construction and testing. It is the intent of the present paper to apply a modified three dimensional Euler code to predict the near field signatures of the two low boom configurations recently tested by NASA.

Strategic framework for education and training in Quality by Design (QbD) and process analytical technology (PAT).

PubMed

de Matas, Marcel; De Beer, Thomas; Folestad, Staffan; Ketolainen, Jarkko; Lindén, Hans; Lopes, João Almeida; Oostra, Wim; Weimer, Marco; Öhrngren, Per; Rantanen, Jukka

2016-07-30

The regulatory and technical landscape of the pharmaceutical field is rapidly evolving from one focused predominantly on development of small molecules, using well established manufacturing technologies towards an environment in which biologicals and complex modalities are being developed using advanced science and technology coupled with the application of modern Quality by Design (QbD) principles. In order that Europe keeps pace with these changes and sustains its position as major player in the development and commercialization of medicines, it is essential that measures are put in place to maintain a highly skilled workforce. A number of challenges however exist to equipping academic, industrial and health agency staff with the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to develop the next generation of medicines. In this regard, the EUFEPS QbD and PAT Sciences Network has proposed a structured framework for education, training and continued professional development, which comprises a number of pillars covering the fundamental principles of modern pharmaceutical development including the underpinning aspects of science, engineering and technology innovation. The framework is not prescriptive and is not aimed at describing specific course content in detail. It should however be used as a point of reference for those institutions delivering pharmaceutical based educational courses, to ensure that the necessary skills, knowledge and experience for successful pharmaceutical development are maintained. A positive start has been made and a number of examples of formal higher education courses and short training programs containing elements of this framework have been described. The ultimate vision for this framework however, is to see widespread adoption and proliferation of this curriculum with it forming the backbone of QbD and PAT science based skills development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Commercial potential of remote sensing data from the Earth observing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merry, Carolyn J.; Tomlin, Sandra M.

1992-01-01

The purpose was to assess the market potential of remote sensing value-added products from the Earth Observing System (EOS) platform. Sensors on the EOS platform were evaluated to determine which qualities and capabilities could be useful to the commercial user. The approach was to investigate past and future satellite data distribution programs. A questionnaire was developed for use in a telephone survey. Based on the results of the survey of companies that add value to remotely sensed data, conversations with the principal investigators in charge of each EOS sensor, a study of past commercial satellite data ventures, and reading from the commercial remote sensing industry literature, three recommendations were developed: develop a strategic plan for commercialization of EOS data, define a procedure for commercial users within the EOS data stream, and develop an Earth Observations Commercial Applications Program-like demonstration program within NASA using EOS simulated data.

Summary of Research Report Cooperative Agreement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Several areas of work related to commercialization of technology developed at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) are discussed in this report. The areas are: (1) perform a feasibility study to develop a software commercialization center is at ARC; (2) perform preliminary work for formation of joint development of sensor technology for telemedicine applications; (3) development of a discovery interview process and staff training to assist the commercialization of technology developed at Ames, specifically aimed at working with researchers; (4) develop partners to further develop and commercialize image compression technology developed at AMES; (5) assist efforts to commercialize a software technology which imparts the ability to establish relevance-based retrieval in the handling of large repositories of information; (6) explore the development of cryocooler technology using pulse tube refrigeration; (7) assess interest in commercialization of a new method of measuring skin friction drag on wind tunnel models using liquid crystal material; (8) attempt to incorporate emerging technologies in the infrastructure of natural hazards mitigation; and (9) forming a nonprofit organization, "The Bootstrap Alliance", whose mission is to promote the use of digital technologies for collaborative problem solving. The results of these initiatives are discussed.

Optimization and Prediction of Ultimate Tensile Strength in Metal Active Gas Welding.

PubMed

Ampaiboon, Anusit; Lasunon, On-Uma; Bubphachot, Bopit

2015-01-01

We investigated the effect of welding parameters on ultimate tensile strength of structural steel, ST37-2, welded by Metal Active Gas welding. A fractional factorial design was used for determining the significance of six parameters: wire feed rate, welding voltage, welding speed, travel angle, tip-to-work distance, and shielded gas flow rate. A regression model to predict ultimate tensile strength was developed. Finally, we verified optimization of the process parameters experimentally. We achieved an optimum tensile strength (558 MPa) and wire feed rate, 19 m/min, had the greatest effect, followed by tip-to-work distance, 7 mm, welding speed, 200 mm/min, welding voltage, 30 V, and travel angle, 60°. Shield gas flow rate, 10 L/min, was slightly better but had little effect in the 10-20 L/min range. Tests showed that our regression model was able to predict the ultimate tensile strength within 4%.

Chairside CAD/CAM materials. Part 1: Measurement of elastic constants and microstructural characterization.

PubMed

Belli, Renan; Wendler, Michael; de Ligny, Dominique; Cicconi, Maria Rita; Petschelt, Anselm; Peterlik, Herwig; Lohbauer, Ulrich

2017-01-01

A deeper understanding of the mechanical behavior of dental restorative materials requires an insight into the materials elastic constants and microstructure. Here we aim to use complementary methodologies to thoroughly characterize chairside CAD/CAM materials and discuss the benefits and limitations of different analytical strategies. Eight commercial CAM/CAM materials, ranging from polycrystalline zirconia (e.max ZirCAD, Ivoclar-Vivadent), reinforced glasses (Vitablocs Mark II, VITA; Empress CAD, Ivoclar-Vivadent) and glass-ceramics (e.max CAD, Ivoclar-Vivadent; Suprinity, VITA; Celtra Duo, Dentsply) to hybrid materials (Enamic, VITA; Lava Ultimate, 3M ESPE) have been selected. Elastic constants were evaluated using three methods: Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS), Resonant Beam Technique (RBT) and Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo (PE). The microstructures were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Raman Spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Young's modulus (E), Shear modulus (G), Bulk modulus (B) and Poisson's ratio (ν) were obtained for each material. E and ν reached values ranging from 10.9 (Lava Ultimate) to 201.4 (e.max ZirCAD) and 0.173 (Empress CAD) to 0.47 (Lava Ultimate), respectively. RUS showed to be the most complex and reliable method, while the PE method the easiest to perform but most unreliable. All dynamic methods have shown limitations in measuring the elastic constants of materials showing high damping behavior (hybrid materials). SEM images, Raman spectra and XRD patterns were made available for each material, showing to be complementary tools in the characterization of their crystal phases. Here different methodologies are compared for the measurement of elastic constants and microstructural characterization of CAD/CAM restorative materials. The elastic properties and crystal phases of eight materials are herein fully characterized. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Space Commercial Opportunities for Fluid Physics and Transport Phenomena Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gavert, R.

2000-01-01

Microgravity research at NASA has been an undertaking that has included both science and commercial approaches since the late 80s and early 90s. The Fluid Physics and Transport Phenomena community has been developed, through NASA's science grants, into a valuable base of expertise in microgravity science. This was achieved through both ground and flight scientific research. Commercial microgravity research has been primarily promoted thorough NASA sponsored Centers for Space Commercialization which develop cost sharing partnerships with industry. As an example, the Center for Advanced Microgravity Materials Processing (CAMMP)at Northeastern University has been working with cost sharing industry partners in developing Zeolites and zeo-type materials as an efficient storage medium for hydrogen fuel. Greater commercial interest is emerging. The U.S. Congress has passed the Commercial Space Act of 1998 to encourage the development of a commercial space industry in the United States. The Act has provisions for the commercialization of the International Space Station (ISS). Increased efforts have been made by NASA to enable industrial ventures on-board the ISS. A Web site has been established at http://commercial/nasa/gov which includes two important special announcements. One is an open request for entrepreneurial offers related to the commercial development and use of the ISS. The second is a price structure and schedule for U.S. resources and accommodations. The purpose of the presentation is to make the Fluid Physics and Transport Phenomena community, which understands the importance of microgravity experimentation, aware of important aspects of ISS commercial development. It is a desire that this awareness will be translated into a recognition of Fluid Physics and Transport Phenomena application opportunities coordinated through the broad contacts of this community with industry.

Discovering latent commercial networks from online financial news articles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Yunqing; Su, Weifeng; Lau, Raymond Y. K.; Liu, Yi

2013-08-01

Unlike most online social networks where explicit links among individual users are defined, the relations among commercial entities (e.g. firms) may not be explicitly declared in commercial Web sites. One main contribution of this article is the development of a novel computational model for the discovery of the latent relations among commercial entities from online financial news. More specifically, a CRF model which can exploit both structural and contextual features is applied to commercial entity recognition. In addition, a point-wise mutual information (PMI)-based unsupervised learning method is developed for commercial relation identification. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed computational methods, a prototype system called CoNet has been developed. Based on the financial news articles crawled from Google finance, the CoNet system achieves average F-scores of 0.681 and 0.754 in commercial entity recognition and commercial relation identification, respectively. Our experimental results confirm that the proposed shallow natural language processing methods are effective for the discovery of latent commercial networks from online financial news.

Implications of previous space commercialization experiences for the reusable launch vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obermann, Richard M.; Williamson, Ray A.

2003-07-01

The United States' 1994 National Space Transportation Policy directed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to work with industry on the development of technologies required for a reusable launch vehicle (RLV). In the partnership that has evolved from that directive, NASA envisions its role as providing support for technological risk reduction and for developing space transportation to serve government needs. NASA officials assume that the development of an operational, commercial RLV will be carried out by the private sector without use of government funds. Under that scenario, the Federal government will simply become a customer for commercial RLV services. In evaluating the prospects for the development of a commercially viable RLV, it may be useful to examine "lessons learned" from previous space commercialization efforts—both those that succeeded and those that did not. It can be argued that several distinct streams of market and technological development may have to converge for successful commercialization of space systems to occur. Potential factors influencing the prospects for commercialization include the size and growth rate of the potential customer base, the extent to which a governmental customer exists to underpin the market, the development of associated "value-added" markets, the stability of governmental policies, the levels of technological and business risk, and the degree to which competitive markets exist. This paper examines two previous space commercialization experiences, evaluates the relative importance of the various factors that influence the prospects for success of commercialization efforts, and assesses the implications of those factors for the commercial viability of the proposed RLV.

The essential nature of sharing in science.

PubMed

Fischer, Beth A; Zigmond, Michael J

2010-12-01

Advances in science are the combined result of the efforts of a great many scientists, and in many cases, their willingness to share the products of their research. These products include data sets, both small and large, and unique research resources not commercially available, such as cell lines and software programs. The sharing of these resources enhances both the scope and the depth of research, while making more efficient use of time and money. However, sharing is not without costs, many of which are borne by the individual who develops the research resource. Sharing, for example, reduces the uniqueness of the resources available to a scientist, potentially influencing the originator's perceived productivity and ultimately his or her competitiveness for jobs, promotions, and grants. Nevertheless, for most researchers-particularly those using public funds-sharing is no longer optional but must be considered an obligation to science, the funding agency, and ultimately society at large. Most funding agencies, journals, and professional societies now require a researcher who has published work involving a unique resource to make that resource available to other investigators. Changes could be implemented to mitigate some of the costs. The creator of the resource could explore the possibility of collaborating with those who request it. In addition, institutions that employ and fund researchers could change their policies and practices to make sharing a more attractive and viable option. For example, when evaluating an individual's productivity, institutions could provide credit for the impact a researcher has had on their field through the provision of their unique resources to other investigators, regardless of whether that impact is reflected in the researcher's list of publications. In addition, increased funding for the development and maintenance of user-friendly public repositories for data and research resources would also help to reduce barriers to sharing by minimizing the time, effort, and funding needed by individual investigators to comply with requests for their unique resource. Indeed, sharing is an imperative, but it is also essential to find ways to protect for both the original owner of the resource and those wishing to share it.

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

Rudkevich, Aleksandr; Goldis, Evgeniy

This research conducted by the Newton Energy Group, LLC (NEG) is dedicated to the development of pCloud: a Cloud-based Power Market Simulation Environment. pCloud is offering power industry stakeholders the capability to model electricity markets and is organized around the Software as a Service (SaaS) concept -- a software application delivery model in which software is centrally hosted and provided to many users via the internet. During the Phase I of this project NEG developed a prototype design for pCloud as a SaaS-based commercial service offering, system architecture supporting that design, ensured feasibility of key architecture's elements, formed technological partnershipsmore » and negotiated commercial agreements with partners, conducted market research and other related activities and secured funding for continue development of pCloud between the end of Phase I and beginning of Phase II, if awarded. Based on the results of Phase I activities, NEG has established that the development of a cloud-based power market simulation environment within the Windows Azure platform is technologically feasible, can be accomplished within the budget and timeframe available through the Phase II SBIR award with additional external funding. NEG believes that pCloud has the potential to become a game-changing technology for the modeling and analysis of electricity markets. This potential is due to the following critical advantages of pCloud over its competition: - Standardized access to advanced and proven power market simulators offered by third parties. - Automated parallelization of simulations and dynamic provisioning of computing resources on the cloud. This combination of automation and scalability dramatically reduces turn-around time while offering the capability to increase the number of analyzed scenarios by a factor of 10, 100 or even 1000. - Access to ready-to-use data and to cloud-based resources leading to a reduction in software, hardware, and IT costs. - Competitive pricing structure, which will make high-volume usage of simulation services affordable. - Availability and affordability of high quality power simulators, which presently only large corporate clients can afford, will level the playing field in developing regional energy policies, determining prudent cost recovery mechanisms and assuring just and reasonable rates to consumers. - Users that presently do not have the resources to internally maintain modeling capabilities will now be able to run simulations. This will invite more players into the industry, ultimately leading to more transparent and liquid power markets.« less

Physicists and Economic Growth: Preparing the Next Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arion, Douglas

2012-02-01

For many years it has been recognized that many physicists are ``hidden'' -- deep in the industrial world or holding positions not named ``physicist.'' In parallel with this phenomenon is the recognition that many new and innovative product ideas are, in fact, generated by physicists. There are many more ideas that could be brought to market to the benefit of both society and the inventor, but physicists don't often see themselves as the innovators and inventors that they actually are. A number of education programs have arisen to try to address this issue and to engender a greater entrepreneurial spirit in the scientific community. The ScienceWorks program at Carthage College was one of the first to do so, and has for nearly twenty years prepared undergraduate science majors to understand and practice innovation and value creation. Other programs, such as professional masters degrees, also serve to bridge the technical and business universes. As it is no doubt easier to teach a scientist the world of business than it is to teach a businessperson the world of physics, providing educational experiences in innovation and commercialization to physics students can have tremendous economic impact, and will also better prepare them for whatever career direction they may ultimately pursue, even if it is the traditional tenure-track university position. This talk will discuss education programs that have been effective at preparing physics students for the professional work environment, and some of the positive outcomes that have resulted. Also discussed will be the variety of opportunities and resources that exist for faculty and students to develop the skills, knowledge and abilities to recognize and successfully commercialize innovations.

Blow Collection as a Non-Invasive Method for Measuring Cortisol in the Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas)

PubMed Central

Thompson, Laura A.; Spoon, Tracey R.; Goertz, Caroline E. C.; Hobbs, Roderick C.; Romano, Tracy A.

2014-01-01

Non-invasive sampling techniques are increasingly being used to monitor glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, as indicators of stressor load and fitness in zoo and wildlife conservation, research and medicine. For cetaceans, exhaled breath condensate (blow) provides a unique sampling matrix for such purposes. The purpose of this work was to develop an appropriate collection methodology and validate the use of a commercially available EIA for measuring cortisol in blow samples collected from belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Nitex membrane stretched over a petri dish provided the optimal method for collecting blow. A commercially available cortisol EIA for measuring human cortisol (detection limit 35 pg ml−1) was adapted and validated for beluga cortisol using tests of parallelism, accuracy and recovery. Blow samples were collected from aquarium belugas during monthly health checks and during out of water examination, as well as from wild belugas. Two aquarium belugas showed increased blow cortisol between baseline samples and 30 minutes out of water (Baseline, 0.21 and 0.04 µg dl−1; 30 minutes, 0.95 and 0.14 µg dl−1). Six wild belugas also showed increases in blow cortisol between pre and post 1.5 hour examination (Pre 0.03, 0.23, 0.13, 0.19, 0.13, 0.04 µg dl−1, Post 0.60, 0.31, 0.36, 0.24, 0.14, 0.16 µg dl−1). Though this methodology needs further investigation, this study suggests that blow sampling is a good candidate for non-invasive monitoring of cortisol in belugas. It can be collected from both wild and aquarium animals efficiently for the purposes of health monitoring and research, and may ultimately be useful in obtaining data on wild populations, including endangered species, which are difficult to handle directly. PMID:25464121

A Community Standard Format for the Representation of Protein Affinity Reagents*

PubMed Central

Gloriam, David E.; Orchard, Sandra; Bertinetti, Daniela; Björling, Erik; Bongcam-Rudloff, Erik; Borrebaeck, Carl A. K.; Bourbeillon, Julie; Bradbury, Andrew R. M.; de Daruvar, Antoine; Dübel, Stefan; Frank, Ronald; Gibson, Toby J.; Gold, Larry; Haslam, Niall; Herberg, Friedrich W.; Hiltke, Tara; Hoheisel, Jörg D.; Kerrien, Samuel; Koegl, Manfred; Konthur, Zoltán; Korn, Bernhard; Landegren, Ulf; Montecchi-Palazzi, Luisa; Palcy, Sandrine; Rodriguez, Henry; Schweinsberg, Sonja; Sievert, Volker; Stoevesandt, Oda; Taussig, Michael J.; Ueffing, Marius; Uhlén, Mathias; van der Maarel, Silvère; Wingren, Christer; Woollard, Peter; Sherman, David J.; Hermjakob, Henning

2010-01-01

Protein affinity reagents (PARs), most commonly antibodies, are essential reagents for protein characterization in basic research, biotechnology, and diagnostics as well as the fastest growing class of therapeutics. Large numbers of PARs are available commercially; however, their quality is often uncertain. In addition, currently available PARs cover only a fraction of the human proteome, and their cost is prohibitive for proteome scale applications. This situation has triggered several initiatives involving large scale generation and validation of antibodies, for example the Swedish Human Protein Atlas and the German Antibody Factory. Antibodies targeting specific subproteomes are being pursued by members of Human Proteome Organisation (plasma and liver proteome projects) and the United States National Cancer Institute (cancer-associated antigens). ProteomeBinders, a European consortium, aims to set up a resource of consistently quality-controlled protein-binding reagents for the whole human proteome. An ultimate PAR database resource would allow consumers to visit one on-line warehouse and find all available affinity reagents from different providers together with documentation that facilitates easy comparison of their cost and quality. However, in contrast to, for example, nucleotide databases among which data are synchronized between the major data providers, current PAR producers, quality control centers, and commercial companies all use incompatible formats, hindering data exchange. Here we propose Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI)-PAR as a global community standard format for the representation and exchange of protein affinity reagent data. The PSI-PAR format is maintained by the Human Proteome Organisation PSI and was developed within the context of ProteomeBinders by building on a mature proteomics standard format, PSI-molecular interaction, which is a widely accepted and established community standard for molecular interaction data. Further information and documentation are available on the PSI-PAR web site. PMID:19674966

Evaluating the Potential of Commercial GIS for Accelerator Configuration Management

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

T.L. Larrieu; Y.R. Roblin; K. White

2005-10-10

The Geographic Information System (GIS) is a tool used by industries needing to track information about spatially distributed assets. A water utility, for example, must know not only the precise location of each pipe and pump, but also the respective pressure rating and flow rate of each. In many ways, an accelerator such as CEBAF (Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility) can be viewed as an ''electron utility''. Whereas the water utility uses pipes and pumps, the ''electron utility'' uses magnets and RF cavities. At Jefferson lab we are exploring the possibility of implementing ESRI's ArcGIS as the framework for buildingmore » an all-encompassing accelerator configuration database that integrates location, configuration, maintenance, and connectivity details of all hardware and software. The possibilities of doing so are intriguing. From the GIS, software such as the model server could always extract the most-up-to-date layout information maintained by the Survey & Alignment for lattice modeling. The Mechanical Engineering department could use ArcGIS tools to generate CAD drawings of machine segments from the same database. Ultimately, the greatest benefit of the GIS implementation could be to liberate operators and engineers from the limitations of the current system-by-system view of machine configuration and allow a more integrated regional approach. The commercial GIS package provides a rich set of tools for database-connectivity, versioning, distributed editing, importing and exporting, and graphical analysis and querying, and therefore obviates the need for much custom development. However, formidable challenges to implementation exist and these challenges are not only technical and manpower issues, but also organizational ones. The GIS approach would crosscut organizational boundaries and require departments, which heretofore have had free reign to manage their own data, to cede some control and agree to a centralized framework.« less

Blow collection as a non-invasive method for measuring cortisol in the beluga (Delphinapterus leucas).

PubMed

Thompson, Laura A; Spoon, Tracey R; Goertz, Caroline E C; Hobbs, Roderick C; Romano, Tracy A

2014-01-01

Non-invasive sampling techniques are increasingly being used to monitor glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, as indicators of stressor load and fitness in zoo and wildlife conservation, research and medicine. For cetaceans, exhaled breath condensate (blow) provides a unique sampling matrix for such purposes. The purpose of this work was to develop an appropriate collection methodology and validate the use of a commercially available EIA for measuring cortisol in blow samples collected from belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Nitex membrane stretched over a petri dish provided the optimal method for collecting blow. A commercially available cortisol EIA for measuring human cortisol (detection limit 35 pg ml-1) was adapted and validated for beluga cortisol using tests of parallelism, accuracy and recovery. Blow samples were collected from aquarium belugas during monthly health checks and during out of water examination, as well as from wild belugas. Two aquarium belugas showed increased blow cortisol between baseline samples and 30 minutes out of water (Baseline, 0.21 and 0.04 µg dl-1; 30 minutes, 0.95 and 0.14 µg dl-1). Six wild belugas also showed increases in blow cortisol between pre and post 1.5 hour examination (Pre 0.03, 0.23, 0.13, 0.19, 0.13, 0.04 µg dl-1, Post 0.60, 0.31, 0.36, 0.24, 0.14, 0.16 µg dl-1). Though this methodology needs further investigation, this study suggests that blow sampling is a good candidate for non-invasive monitoring of cortisol in belugas. It can be collected from both wild and aquarium animals efficiently for the purposes of health monitoring and research, and may ultimately be useful in obtaining data on wild populations, including endangered species, which are difficult to handle directly.

Heavy-Duty Vehicle Port Drayage Drive Cycle Characterization and Development

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

Prohaska, Robert; Konan, Arnaud; Kelly, Kenneth

In an effort to better understand the operational requirements of port drayage vehicles and their potential for adoption of advanced technologies, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers collected over 36,000 miles of in-use duty cycle data from 30 Class 8 drayage trucks operating at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles in Southern California. These data include 1-Hz global positioning system location and SAE J1939 high-speed controller area network information. Researchers processed the data through NREL's Drive-Cycle Rapid Investigation, Visualization, and Evaluation tool to examine vehicle kinematic and dynamic patterns across the spectrum of operations. Using themore » k-medoids clustering method, a repeatable and quantitative process for multi-mode drive cycle segmentation, the analysis led to the creation of multiple drive cycles representing four distinct modes of operation that can be used independently or in combination. These drive cycles are statistically representative of real-world operation of port drayage vehicles. When combined with modeling and simulation tools, these representative test cycles allow advanced vehicle or systems developers to efficiently and accurately evaluate vehicle technology performance requirements to reduce cost and development time while ultimately leading to the commercialization of advanced technologies that meet the performance requirements of the port drayage vocation. The drive cycles, which are suitable for chassis dynamometer testing, were compared to several existing test cycles. This paper presents the clustering methodology, accompanying results of the port drayage duty cycle analysis and custom drive cycle creation.« less

Heavy-Duty Vehicle Port Drayage Drive Cycle Characterization and Development: Preprint

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

Prohaska, Robert; Konan, Arnaud; Kelly, Kenneth

In an effort to better understand the operational requirements of port drayage vehicles and their potential for adoption of advanced technologies, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers collected over 36,000 miles of in-use duty cycle data from 30 Class 8 drayage trucks operating at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles in Southern California. These data include 1-Hz global positioning system location and SAE J1939 high-speed controller area network information. Researchers processed the data through NREL's Drive-Cycle Rapid Investigation, Visualization, and Evaluation tool to examine vehicle kinematic and dynamic patterns across the spectrum of operations. Using themore » k-medoids clustering method, a repeatable and quantitative process for multi-mode drive cycle segmentation, the analysis led to the creation of multiple drive cycles representing four distinct modes of operation that can be used independently or in combination. These drive cycles are statistically representative of real-world operation of port drayage vehicles. When combined with modeling and simulation tools, these representative test cycles allow advanced vehicle or systems developers to efficiently and accurately evaluate vehicle technology performance requirements to reduce cost and development time while ultimately leading to the commercialization of advanced technologies that meet the performance requirements of the port drayage vocation. The drive cycles, which are suitable for chassis dynamometer testing, were compared to several existing test cycles. This paper presents the clustering methodology, accompanying results of the port drayage duty cycle analysis and custom drive cycle creation.« less

Development of Advanced Materials for Electro-Ceramic Application Final Report CRADA No. TC-1331-96

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

Caplan, M.; Olstad, R.; McMillan, L.

The goal of this project was to further develop and characterize the electrochemical methods originating in Russia for producing ultra high purity organometallic compounds utilized as precursors in the production of high quality electro-ceramic materials. Symetrix planned to use electro-ceramic materials with high dielectric constant for microelectronic memory circuit applications. General Atomics planned to use the barium titanate type ceramics with low loss tangent for producing a high power ferroelectric tuner used to match radio frequency power into their Dill-D fusion machine. Phase I of the project was scheduled to have a large number of organometallic (alkoxides) chemical samples producedmore » using various methods. These would be analyzed by LLNL, Soliton and Symetrix independently to determine the level of chemical impurities thus verifying each other's analysis. The goal was to demonstrate a cost-effective production method, which could be implemented in a large commercial facility to produce high purity organometallic compounds. In addition, various compositions of barium-strontium-titanate ceramics were to be produced and analyzed in order to develop an electroceramic capacitor material having the desired characteristics with respect to dielectric constant, loss tangent, temperature characteristics and non-linear behavior under applied voltage. Upon optimizing the barium titanate material, 50 capacitor preforms would be produced from this material demonstrating the ability to produce, in quantity, the pills ultimately required for the ferroelectric tuner (approx 2000-3000 ceramic pills).« less

Heavy-Duty Vehicle Port Drayage Drive Cycle Characterization and Development

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

Prohaska, Robert; Konan, Arnaud; Kelly, Kenneth

2016-05-02

In an effort to better understand the operational requirements of port drayage vehicles and their potential for adoption of advanced technologies, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers collected over 36,000 miles of in-use duty cycle data from 30 Class 8 drayage trucks operating at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles in Southern California. These data include 1-Hz global positioning system location and SAE J1939 high-speed controller area network information. Researchers processed the data through NREL's Drive-Cycle Rapid Investigation, Visualization, and Evaluation tool to examine vehicle kinematic and dynamic patterns across the spectrum of operations. Using themore » k-medoids clustering method, a repeatable and quantitative process for multi-mode drive cycle segmentation, the analysis led to the creation of multiple drive cycles representing four distinct modes of operation that can be used independently or in combination. These drive cycles are statistically representative of real-world operation of port drayage vehicles. When combined with modeling and simulation tools, these representative test cycles allow advanced vehicle or systems developers to efficiently and accurately evaluate vehicle technology performance requirements to reduce cost and development time while ultimately leading to the commercialization of advanced technologies that meet the performance requirements of the port drayage vocation. The drive cycles, which are suitable for chassis dynamometer testing, were compared to several existing test cycles. This paper presents the clustering methodology, accompanying results of the port drayage duty cycle analysis and custom drive cycle creation.« less

The merger of electrochemistry and molecular electronics.

PubMed

McCreery, Richard L

2012-02-01

Molecular Electronics has the potential to greatly enhance existing silicon-based microelectronics to realize new functions, higher device density, lower power consumption, and lower cost. Although the investigation of electron transport through single molecules and molecular monolayers in "molecular junctions" is a recent development, many of the relevant concepts and phenomena are derived from electrochemistry, as practiced for the past several decades. The past 10+ years have seen an explosion of research activity directed toward how the structure of molecules affects electron transport in molecular junctions, with the ultimate objective of "rational design" of molecular components with new electronic functions, such as chemical sensing, interactions with light, and low-cost, low-power consumer electronics. In order to achieve these scientifically and commercially important objectives, the factors controlling charge transport in molecules "connected" to conducting contacts must be understood, and methods for massively parallel manufacturing of molecular circuits must be developed. This Personal Account describes the development of reproducible and robust molecular electronic devices, starting with modified electrodes used in electrochemistry and progressing to manufacturable molecular junctions. Although the field faced some early difficulties in reliability and characterization, the pieces are now in place for rapid advances in understanding charge transport at the molecular level. Inherent in the field of Molecular Electronics are many electrochemical concepts, including tunneling, redox exchange, activated electron transfer, and electron coupling between molecules and conducting contacts. Copyright © 2012 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Challenges and Progress in the Development of High-Temperature Shape Memory Alloys Based on NiTiX Compositions for High-Force Actuator Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Padula, Santo, II; Bigelow, Glen; Noebe, Ronald; Gaydosh, Darrell; Garg, Anita

2006-01-01

Interest in high-temperature shape memory alloys (HTSMA) has been growing in the aerospace, automotive, process control, and energy industries. However, actual materials development has seriously lagged component design, with current commercial NiTi alloys severely limited in their temperature capability. Additions of Pd, Pt, Au, Hf, and Zr at levels greater than 10 at.% have been shown to increase the transformation temperature of NiTi alloys, but with few exceptions, the shape memory behavior (strain recovery) of these NiTiX systems has been determined only under stress free conditions. Given the limited amount of basic mechanical test data and general lack of information regarding the work attributes of these materials, a program to investigate the mechanical behavior of potential HTSMAs, with transformation temperatures between 100 and 500 C, was initiated. This paper summarizes the results of studies, focusing on both the practical temperature limitations for ternary TiNiPd and TiNiPt systems based on the work output of these alloys and the ability of these alloys to undergo repeated thermal cycling under load without significant permanent deformation or "walking". These issues are ultimately controlled by the detwinning stress of the martensite and resistance to dislocation slip of the individual martensite and austenite phases. Finally, general rules that govern the development of useful, high work output, next-generation HTSMA materials, based on the lessons learned in this work, will be provided

Characteristics of products generated by selective sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cariapa, Vikram

1993-01-01

The trend in the modern global economy towards free market policies has motivated companies to use rapid prototyping technologies to not only reduce product development cycle time but also to maintain their competitive edge. A rapid prototyping technology is one which combines computer aided design with computer controlled tracking of focussed high energy source (eg. lasers, heat) on modern ceramic powders, metallic powders, plastics or photosensitive liquid resins in order to produce prototypes or models. At present, except for the process of shape melting, most rapid prototyping processes generate products that are only dimensionally similar to those of the desired end product. There is an urgent need, therefore, to enhance the understanding of the characteristics of these processes in order to realize their potential for production. Currently, the commercial market is dominated by four rapid prototyping processes, namely selective laser sintering, stereolithography, fused deposition modelling and laminated object manufacturing. This phase of the research has focussed on the selective laser sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes. A theoretical model for these processes is under development. Different rapid prototyping sites supplied test specimens (based on ASTM 638-84, Type I) that have been measured and tested to provide a data base on surface finish, dimensional variation and ultimate tensile strength. Further plans call for developing and verifying the theoretical models by carefully designed experiments. This will be a joint effort between NASA and other prototyping centers to generate a larger database, thus encouraging more widespread usage by product designers.

Space station as a vital focus for advancing the technologies of automation and robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Varsi, Giulio; Herman, Daniel H.

1988-01-01

A major guideline for the design of the U.S. Space Station is that the Space Station address a wide variety of functions. These functions include the servicing of unmanned assets in space, the support of commercial labs in space and the efficient management of the Space Station itself; the largest space asset. The technologies of Automation and Robotics have the promise to help in reducing Space Station operating costs and to achieve a highly efficient use of the human in space. The use of advanced automation and artificial intelligence techniques, such as expert systems, in Space Station subsystems for activity planning and failure mode management will enable us to reduce dependency on a mission control center and could ultimately result in breaking the umbilical link from Earth to the Space Station. The application of robotic technologies with advanced perception capability and hierarchical intelligent control to servicing system will enable the servicing of assets either in space or in situ with a high degree of human efficiency. The results of studies leading toward the formulation of an automation and robotics plan for Space Station development are presented.

Electrical gain in interband cascade infrared photodetectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wenxiang; Li, Lu; Lei, Lin; Massengale, Jeremy A.; Yang, Rui Q.; Mishima, Tetsuya D.; Santos, Michael B.

2018-03-01

In order to achieve improved understanding and gain insights into the device operation of interband cascade infrared photodetectors (ICIPs) and ultimately to optimize the design, we present a comparative study of five long-wavelength (LW) ICIPs based on a type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice. This study shows how the device responsivity is affected by the individual absorber thicknesses and the number of cascade stages, through the impact of light attenuation. Additionally, this study further validates that the electrical gain universally exists in non-current-matched ICIPs. With multiple cascade stages to suppress noise, these LW ICIPs achieved superior device performance at high temperatures, in terms of Johnson-noise limited detectivities, compared to commercial MCT detectors. Furthermore, a theory is developed to quantitatively describe the electrical gain in ICIPs and our calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Based on the theory, the optimal number of stages for maximizing the device detectivity D* is identified with inclusion of the electrical gain. Our calculation shows that this optimal number of stages is relatively large in the presence of the gain and the maximized D* has a relatively weak dependence on the absorber thickness when it is sufficiently thin.

Ecosystem transformations of the Laurentian Great Lake Michigan by nonindigenous biological invaders.

PubMed

Cuhel, Russell L; Aguilar, Carmen

2013-01-01

Lake Michigan, a 58,000-km(2) freshwater inland sea, is large enough to have persistent basin-scale circulation yet small enough to enable development of approximately balanced budgets for water, energy, and elements including carbon and silicon. Introduction of nonindigenous species-whether through invasion, intentional stocking, or accidental transplantation-has transformed the lake's ecosystem function and habitat structure. Of the 79 nonindigenous species known to have established reproductive populations in the lake, only a few have brought considerable ecological pressure to bear. Four of these were chosen for this review to exemplify top-down (sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus), middle-out (alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus), and bottom-up (the dreissenid zebra and quagga mussels, Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis, respectively) transformations of Lake Michigan ecology, habitability, and ultimately physical environment. Lampreys attacked and extirpated indigenous lake trout, the top predator. Alewives outcompeted native planktivorous fish and curtailed invertebrate populations. Dreissenid mussels-especially quagga mussels, which have had a much greater impact than the preceding zebra mussels-moved ecosystem metabolism basin-wide from water column to bottom dominance and engineered structures throughout the lake. Each of these non indigenous species exerted devastating effects on commercial and sport fisheries through ecosystem structure modification.

Experimental study and analysis of lubricants dispersed with nano Cu and TiO2 in a four-stroke two wheeler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarma, Pullela K.; Srinivas, Vadapalli; Rao, Vedula Dharma; Kumar, Ayyagari Kiran

2011-12-01

The present investigation summarizes detailed experimental studies with standard lubricants of commercial quality known as Racer-4 of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (India) dispersed with different mass concentrations of nanoparticles of Cu and TiO2. The test bench is fabricated with a four-stroke Hero-Honda motorbike hydraulically loaded at the rear wheel with proper instrumentation to record the fuel consumption, the load on the rear wheel, and the linear velocity. The whole range of data obtained on a stationery bike is subjected to regression analysis to arrive at various relationships between fuel consumption as a function of brake power, linear velocity, and percentage mass concentration of nanoparticles in the lubricant. The empirical relation correlates with the observed data with reasonable accuracy. Further, extension of the analysis by developing a mathematical model has revealed a definite improvement in brake thermal efficiency which ultimately affects the fuel economy by diminishing frictional power in the system with the introduction of nanoparticles into the lubricant. The performance of the engine seems to be better with nano Cu-Racer-4 combination than the one with nano TiO2.

A new fibre optic pulse oximeter probe for monitoring splanchnic organ arterial blood oxygen saturation.

PubMed

Hickey, M; Samuels, N; Randive, N; Langford, R; Kyriacou, P A

2012-12-01

A new, continuous method of monitoring splanchnic organ oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) would make the early detection of inadequate tissue oxygenation feasible, reducing the risk of hypoperfusion, severe ischaemia, and, ultimately, death. In an attempt to provide such a device, a new fibre optic based reflectance pulse oximeter probe and processing system were developed followed by an in vivo evaluation of the technology on seventeen patients undergoing elective laparotomy. Photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals of good quality and high signal-to-noise ratio were obtained from the small bowel, large bowel, liver and stomach. Simultaneous peripheral PPG signals from the finger were also obtained for comparison purposes. Analysis of the amplitudes of all acquired PPG signals indicated much larger amplitudes for those signals obtained from splanchnic organs than those obtained from the finger. Estimated SpO(2) values for splanchnic organs showed good agreement with those obtained from the finger fibre optic probe and those obtained from a commercial device. These preliminary results suggest that a miniaturized 'indwelling' fibre optic sensor may be a suitable method for pre-operative and post-operative evaluation of splanchnic organ SpO(2) and their health. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing an Acoustic Sensing Yarn for Health Surveillance in a Military Setting.

PubMed

Hughes-Riley, Theodore; Dias, Tilak

2018-05-17

Overexposure to high levels of noise can cause permanent hearing disorders, which have a significant adverse effect on the quality of life of those affected. Injury due to noise can affect people in a variety of careers including construction workers, factory workers, and members of the armed forces. By monitoring the noise exposure of workers, overexposure can be avoided and suitable protective equipment can be provided. This work focused on the creation of a noise dosimeter suitable for use by members of the armed forces, where a discrete dosimeter was integrated into a textile helmet cover. In this way the sensing elements could be incorporated very close to the ears, providing a highly representative indication of the sound level entering the body, and also creating a device that would not interfere with military activities. This was achieved by utilising commercial microelectromechanical system microphones integrated within the fibres of yarn to create an acoustic sensing yarn. The acoustic sensing yarns were fully characterised over a range of relevant sound levels and frequencies at each stage in the yarn production process. The yarns were ultimately integrated into a knitted helmet cover to create a functional acoustic sensing helmet cover prototype.

Experimental study and analysis of lubricants dispersed with nano Cu and TiO2 in a four-stroke two wheeler

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The present investigation summarizes detailed experimental studies with standard lubricants of commercial quality known as Racer-4 of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (India) dispersed with different mass concentrations of nanoparticles of Cu and TiO2. The test bench is fabricated with a four-stroke Hero-Honda motorbike hydraulically loaded at the rear wheel with proper instrumentation to record the fuel consumption, the load on the rear wheel, and the linear velocity. The whole range of data obtained on a stationery bike is subjected to regression analysis to arrive at various relationships between fuel consumption as a function of brake power, linear velocity, and percentage mass concentration of nanoparticles in the lubricant. The empirical relation correlates with the observed data with reasonable accuracy. Further, extension of the analysis by developing a mathematical model has revealed a definite improvement in brake thermal efficiency which ultimately affects the fuel economy by diminishing frictional power in the system with the introduction of nanoparticles into the lubricant. The performance of the engine seems to be better with nano Cu-Racer-4 combination than the one with nano TiO2. PMID:21711765

On the Problems of Cracking and the Question of Structural Integrity of Engineering Composite Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beaumont, Peter W. R.

2014-02-01

Predicting precisely where a crack will develop in a material under stress and exactly when in time catastrophic fracture of the component will occur is one the oldest unsolved mysteries in the design and building of large engineering structures. Where human life depends upon engineering ingenuity, the burden of testing to prove a "fracture safe design" is immense. For example, when human life depends upon structural integrity as an essential design requirement, it takes ten thousand material test coupons per composite laminate configuration to evaluate an airframe plus loading to ultimate failure tails, wing boxes, and fuselages to achieve a commercial aircraft airworthiness certification. Fitness considerations for long-life implementation of aerospace composites include understanding phenomena such as impact, fatigue, creep, and stress corrosion cracking that affect reliability, life expectancy, and durability of structure. Structural integrity analysis treats the design, the materials used, and figures out how best components and parts can be joined. Furthermore, SI takes into account service duty. However, there are conflicting aims in the complete design process of designing simultaneously for high efficiency and safety assurance throughout an economically viable lifetime with an acceptable level of risk.

A Comprehensive System of Energy Intensity Indicators for the U.S.: Methods, Data and Key Trends

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

Belzer, David B.

2014-08-31

This report describes a comprehensive system of energy intensity indicators for the United States that has been developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) over the past decade. This system of indicators is hierarchical in nature, beginning with detailed indexes of energy intensity for various sectors of the economy, which are ultimately aggregated to an overall energy intensity index for the economy as a whole. The aggregation of energy intensity indexes to higher levels in the hierarchy is performed with a version of the Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method. Based upon themore » data and methods in the system of indicators, the economy-wide energy intensity index shows a decline of about 14% in 2010 relative to a 1985 base year. Discussion of energy intensity indicators for each of the broad end-use sectors of the economy—residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation—is presented in the report. An analysis of recent changes in the efficiency of electricity generation in the U.S. is also included. A detailed appendix describes the data sources and methodology behind the energy intensity indicators for each sector.« less

Phelan-McDermid syndrome due to SHANK3 mutation in an intellectually disabled adult male: successful treatment with lithium.

PubMed

Egger, Jos I M; Verhoeven, Willem M A; Groenendijk-Reijenga, Renske; Kant, Sarina G

2017-09-28

For 30 years, Phelan and co-workers described a syndrome characterised by neonatal hypotonia, global developmental delay, strongly impaired speech, sleep disturbances and hyperreactivity to sensory stimuli. This Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS), also presenting with symptoms from the autism spectrum and a higher risk of developing seizure disorders, may be caused by a deletion of chromosome 22q13 or by a mutation in the SHANK3 gene. Its core psychopathological phenotype comprises symptoms from the bipolar spectrum for which generally treatment with a mood-stabilising anticonvulsant in combination with an atypical antipsychotic seems to be most effective. In addition to two elsewhere published adolescent patients, we here describe in detail the history of an adult male patient with PMS caused by a SHANK3 mutation in whom successive treatment regimens with antipsychotics and mood-stabilising anticonvulsants were all ineffective. Ultimately, addition of lithium to existing olanzapine therapy led to enduring stabilisation of mood and behaviour. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Developing an Acoustic Sensing Yarn for Health Surveillance in a Military Setting

PubMed Central

Dias, Tilak

2018-01-01

Overexposure to high levels of noise can cause permanent hearing disorders, which have a significant adverse effect on the quality of life of those affected. Injury due to noise can affect people in a variety of careers including construction workers, factory workers, and members of the armed forces. By monitoring the noise exposure of workers, overexposure can be avoided and suitable protective equipment can be provided. This work focused on the creation of a noise dosimeter suitable for use by members of the armed forces, where a discrete dosimeter was integrated into a textile helmet cover. In this way the sensing elements could be incorporated very close to the ears, providing a highly representative indication of the sound level entering the body, and also creating a device that would not interfere with military activities. This was achieved by utilising commercial microelectromechanical system microphones integrated within the fibres of yarn to create an acoustic sensing yarn. The acoustic sensing yarns were fully characterised over a range of relevant sound levels and frequencies at each stage in the yarn production process. The yarns were ultimately integrated into a knitted helmet cover to create a functional acoustic sensing helmet cover prototype. PMID:29772756

Target strengths of two abundant mesopelagic fish species.

PubMed

Scoulding, Ben; Chu, Dezhang; Ona, Egil; Fernandes, Paul G

2015-02-01

Mesopelagic fish of the Myctophidae and Sternoptychidae families dominate the biomass of the oceanic deep scattering layers and, therefore, have important ecological roles within these ecosystems. Interest in the commercial exploitation of these fish is growing, so the development of techniques for estimating their abundance, distribution and, ultimately, sustainable exploitation are essential. The acoustic backscattering characteristics for two size classes of Maurolicus muelleri and Benthosema glaciale are reported here based on swimbladder morphology derived from digitized soft x-ray images, and empirical (in situ) measurements of target strength (TS) derived from an acoustic survey in a Norwegian Sea. A backscattering model based on a gas-filled prolate spheroid was used to predict the theoretical TS for both species across a frequency range between 0 and 250 kHz. Sensitivity analyses of the TS model to the modeling parameters indicate that TS is rather sensitive to the viscosity, swimbladder volume ratio, and tilt, which can result in substantial changes to the TS. Theoretical TS predictions close to the resonance frequency were in good agreement (±2 dB) with mean in situ TS derived from the areas acoustically surveyed that were spatially and temporally consistent with the trawl information for both species.

Experimental study and analysis of lubricants dispersed with nano Cu and TiO2 in a four-stroke two wheeler.

PubMed

Sarma, Pullela K; Srinivas, Vadapalli; Rao, Vedula Dharma; Kumar, Ayyagari Kiran

2011-03-17

The present investigation summarizes detailed experimental studies with standard lubricants of commercial quality known as Racer-4 of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (India) dispersed with different mass concentrations of nanoparticles of Cu and TiO2. The test bench is fabricated with a four-stroke Hero-Honda motorbike hydraulically loaded at the rear wheel with proper instrumentation to record the fuel consumption, the load on the rear wheel, and the linear velocity. The whole range of data obtained on a stationery bike is subjected to regression analysis to arrive at various relationships between fuel consumption as a function of brake power, linear velocity, and percentage mass concentration of nanoparticles in the lubricant. The empirical relation correlates with the observed data with reasonable accuracy. Further, extension of the analysis by developing a mathematical model has revealed a definite improvement in brake thermal efficiency which ultimately affects the fuel economy by diminishing frictional power in the system with the introduction of nanoparticles into the lubricant. The performance of the engine seems to be better with nano Cu-Racer-4 combination than the one with nano TiO2.

Parallel algorithms for quantum chemistry. I. Integral transformations on a hypercube multiprocessor

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

Whiteside, R.A.; Binkley, J.S.; Colvin, M.E.

1987-02-15

For many years it has been recognized that fundamental physical constraints such as the speed of light will limit the ultimate speed of single processor computers to less than about three billion floating point operations per second (3 GFLOPS). This limitation is becoming increasingly restrictive as commercially available machines are now within an order of magnitude of this asymptotic limit. A natural way to avoid this limit is to harness together many processors to work on a single computational problem. In principle, these parallel processing computers have speeds limited only by the number of processors one chooses to acquire. Themore » usefulness of potentially unlimited processing speed to a computationally intensive field such as quantum chemistry is obvious. If these methods are to be applied to significantly larger chemical systems, parallel schemes will have to be employed. For this reason we have developed distributed-memory algorithms for a number of standard quantum chemical methods. We are currently implementing these on a 32 processor Intel hypercube. In this paper we present our algorithm and benchmark results for one of the bottleneck steps in quantum chemical calculations: the four index integral transformation.« less

Effects of agriculture and urbanization on quality of shallow ground water in the arid to semiarid western United States, 1993-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paul, Angela P.; Seiler, Ralph L.; Rowe, Timothy G.; Rosen, Michael R.

2007-01-01

Within the Western United States, agricultural and rural lands are being developed into commercial and residential areas. With changes in land use and increasing population, greater demands are placed on water resources for agricultural, industrial, and domestic supplies. Many areas in the Western United States rely exclusively on ground water as their source of drinking water. Areas that use surface-water resources often need to supplement this supply with ground water.Generally, shallow ground water is susceptible to fluctuating water quality within relatively short time scales and therefore can be used as an indicator of land-use stresses that may, in time, affect deep aquifer systems. This regional study examines data on shallow ground-water quality collected from 1993 to 2004 from 273 agricultural and 181 urban wells from 7 U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment study units in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, south-central Colorado, and Utah. This report determines important influences that land-use practices may have on the quality of recently recharged ground water, which may ultimately affect deep water supplies within the region.

Gender- and sex-specific sports-related injury research in emergency medicine: a consensus on future research direction and focused application.

PubMed

Raukar, Neha P; Zonfrillo, Mark R; Kane, Kathleen; Davenport, Moira; Espinoza, Tamara R; Weiland, Jessica; Franco, Vanessa; Vaca, Federico E

2014-12-01

Title IX, the commercialization of sports, the social change in sports participation, and the response to the obesity epidemic have contributed to the rapid proliferation of participation in both competitive organized sports and nontraditional athletic events. As a consequence, emergency physicians are regularly involved in the acute diagnosis, management, disposition, and counseling of a broad range of sports-related pathology. Three important and highly publicized mechanisms of injury in sports relevant to emergency medicine (EM) include concussion, heat illness, and sudden cardiac death. In conjunction with the 2014 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference "Gender-specific Research in Emergency Care: Investigate, Understand, and Translate How Gender Affects Patient Outcomes," a consensus group consisting of experts in EM, emergency neurology, sports medicine, and public health convened to deliberate and develop research questions that could ultimately advance the field of sports medicine and allow for meaningful application in the emergency department (ED) clinical setting. Sex differences in injury risk, diagnosis, ED treatment, and counseling are identified in each of these themes. This article presents the consensus-based priority research agenda. © 2014 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Modeling RF-induced Plasma-Surface Interactions with VSim

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas G.; Smithe, David N.; Pankin, Alexei Y.; Roark, Christine M.; Stoltz, Peter H.; Zhou, Sean C.-D.; Kruger, Scott E.

2014-10-01

An overview of ongoing enhancements to the Plasma Discharge (PD) module of Tech-X's VSim software tool is presented. A sub-grid kinetic sheath model, developed for the accurate computation of sheath potentials near metal and dielectric-coated walls, enables the physical effects of DC and RF sheath dynamics to be included in macroscopic-scale plasma simulations that need not explicitly resolve sheath scale lengths. Sheath potential evolution, together with particle behavior near the sheath (e.g. sputtering), can thus be simulated in complex, experimentally relevant geometries. Simulations of RF sheath-enhanced impurity production near surfaces of the C-Mod field-aligned ICRF antenna are presented to illustrate the model; impurity mitigation techniques are also explored. Model extensions to capture the physics of secondary electron emission and of multispecies plasmas are summarized, together with a discussion of improved tools for plasma chemistry and IEDF/EEDF visualization and modeling. The latter tools are also highly relevant for commercial plasma processing applications. Ultimately, we aim to establish VSimPD as a robust, efficient computational tool for modeling fusion and industrial plasma processes. Supported by U.S. DoE SBIR Phase I/II Award DE-SC0009501.

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

Belzer, David B.; Bender, Sadie R.; Cort, Katherine A.

This report provides an update to a previously published (Rev 1) report that describes a comprehensive system of energy intensity indicators for the United States that has been developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) over the past decade. This system of indicators is hierarchical in nature, beginning with detailed indexes of energy intensity for various sectors of the economy, which are ultimately aggregated to an overall energy intensity index for the economy as a whole. The aggregation of energy intensity indexes to higher levels in the hierarchy is performed with a versionmore » of the Log Mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. Based upon the data and methods in the system of indicators, the economy-wide energy intensity index shows a decline of about 14% in 2011 relative to a 1985 base year. Discussion of energy intensity indicators for each of the broad end-use sectors of the economy—residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation—is presented in the report. An analysis of recent changes in the efficiency of electricity generation in the U.S. is also included. A detailed appendix describes the data sources and methodology behind the energy intensity indicators for each sector.« less

A new era of semiconductor genetics using ion-sensitive field-effect transistors: the gene-sensitive integrated cell.

PubMed

Toumazou, Christofer; Thay, Tan Sri Lim Kok; Georgiou, Pantelis

2014-03-28

Semiconductor genetics is now disrupting the field of healthcare owing to the rapid parallelization and scaling of DNA sensing using ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) fabricated using commercial complementary metal -oxide semiconductor technology. The enabling concept of DNA reaction monitoring introduced by Toumazou has made this a reality and we are now seeing relentless scaling with Moore's law ultimately achieving the $100 genome. In this paper, we present the next evolution of this technology through the creation of the gene-sensitive integrated cell (GSIC) for label-free real-time analysis based on ISFETs. This device is derived from the traditional metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and has electrical performance identical to that of a MOSFET in a standard semiconductor process, yet is capable of incorporating DNA reaction chemistries for applications in single nucleotide polymorphism microarrays and DNA sequencing. Just as application-specific integrated circuits, which are developed in much the same way, have shaped our consumer electronics industry and modern communications and memory technology, so, too, do GSICs based on a single underlying technology principle have the capacity to transform the life science and healthcare industries.

Metabolomics for Plant Improvement: Status and Prospects

PubMed Central

Kumar, Rakesh; Bohra, Abhishek; Pandey, Arun K.; Pandey, Manish K.; Kumar, Anirudh

2017-01-01

Post-genomics era has witnessed the development of cutting-edge technologies that have offered cost-efficient and high-throughput ways for molecular characterization of the function of a cell or organism. Large-scale metabolite profiling assays have allowed researchers to access the global data sets of metabolites and the corresponding metabolic pathways in an unprecedented way. Recent efforts in metabolomics have been directed to improve the quality along with a major focus on yield related traits. Importantly, an integration of metabolomics with other approaches such as quantitative genetics, transcriptomics and genetic modification has established its immense relevance to plant improvement. An effective combination of these modern approaches guides researchers to pinpoint the functional gene(s) and the characterization of massive metabolites, in order to prioritize the candidate genes for downstream analyses and ultimately, offering trait specific markers to improve commercially important traits. This in turn will improve the ability of a plant breeder by allowing him to make more informed decisions. Given this, the present review captures the significant leads gained in the past decade in the field of plant metabolomics accompanied by a brief discussion on the current contribution and the future scope of metabolomics to accelerate plant improvement. PMID:28824660

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

Kalnaus, Sergiy; Wang, Yanli; Turner, John A.

We determine and compare anisotropic mechanical properties for three types of commercially available Li-ion battery separators: Celgard 2325, Celgard PP2075 dry-processed polymer separators, and DreamWeaver Gold 40 non-woven separator. Significant amount of anisotropy of properties was determined, with the Young's modulus being different by up to a factor of 5 and ultimate strength being different by a factor of 10 between orthogonal directions within a polymer separator layer. Strain rate sensitivity was investigated by applying strain rates ranging from 1•10 -4 s -1 to 0.1 s -1. Significant strengthening was observed and the strain rate strengthening coefficients were determined formore » both elastic modulus and yield stress in case of polymer separators. Digital image correlation technique was used to measure and map the strains over the specimen's gage section. A significant strain concentration in bands running perpendicular to the tensile axis was observed in polymer separator samples oriented in transverse direction. Such localized necking allows for extremely high strains close to 300% to develop in the material. Furthermore, the failure mode was remarkably different for all three types of separators which adds additional variable in safe design of Li-ion batteries for prevention of internal short circuits.« less

Polymer Coats Leads on Implantable Medical Device

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Langley Research Center s Soluble Imide (LaRC-SI) was discovered by accident. While researching resins and adhesives for advanced composites for high-speed aircraft, Robert Bryant, a Langley engineer, noticed that one of the polymers he was working with did not behave as predicted. After putting the compound through a two-stage controlled chemical reaction, expecting it to precipitate as a powder after the second stage, he was surprised to see that the compound remained soluble. This novel characteristic ended up making this polymer a very significant finding, eventually leading Bryant and his team to win several NASA technology awards, and an "R&D 100" award. The unique feature of this compound is the way that it lends itself to easy processing. Most polyimides (members of a group of remarkably strong and incredibly heat- and chemical-resistant polymers) require complex curing cycles before they are usable. LaRC-SI remains soluble in its final form, so no further chemical processing is required to produce final materials, like thin films and varnishes. Since producing LaRC-SI does not require complex manufacturing techniques, it has been processed into useful forms for a variety of applications, including mechanical parts, magnetic components, ceramics, adhesives, composites, flexible circuits, multilayer printed circuits, and coatings on fiber optics, wires, and metals. Bryant s team was, at the time, heavily involved with the aircraft polymer project and could not afford to further develop the polymer resin. Believing it was worth further exploration, though, he developed a plan for funding development and submitted it to Langley s chief scientist, who endorsed the experimentation. Bryant then left the high-speed civil transport project to develop LaRC-SI. The result is an extremely tough, lightweight thermoplastic that is not only solvent-resistant, but also has the ability to withstand temperature ranges from cryogenic levels to above 200 C. The thermoplastic s unique characteristics lend it to many commercial applications; uses that Bryant believed would ultimately benefit industry and the Nation. "LaRC-SI," he explains, "is a product created in a government laboratory, funded with money from the tax-paying public. What we discovered helps further the economic competitiveness of the United States, and it was our goal to initiate the technology transfer process to ensure that our work benefited the widest range of people." Several NASA centers, including Langley, have explored methods for using LaRC-SI in a number of applications from radiation shielding and as an adhesive to uses involving replacement of conventional rigid circuit boards. In the commercial realm, LaRC-SI can now be found in several commercial products, including the thin-layer composite unimorph ferroelectric driver and sensor (THUNDER) piezoelectric actuator, another "R&D 100" award winner (Spinoff 2005).

Preventing Commercial Colonialism and Retaining Sovereignty Over National Policy and Military Strategy in Space

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-04-09

29 National Interests in Space – Commercial or State-Driven Celestial Expansion? ....... 31 Celestial Market Opportunities – When Will Commercial...Space Markets Open? ...... 38 Implications of Commercial Space Operations ............................................................ 45 Chapter 5...Successful development of competitiveness involves seeking to dominate or control an existing or emergent market . The development of market domination into

KSC-2011-7000

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-16

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Phil McAlister (left), director, Commercial Spaceflight Development in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, and Brent Jeff, deputy director, Commercial Crew Program, brief representatives from aerospace industry partners and the media during a strategy forum on the next steps for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The goal of the Commercial Crew Program is to have a commercially developed, human-capable, certified spacecraft safely flying astronauts into orbit and to the International Space Station by the middle of the decade. For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Photodegradation of surfactants on the nanosized TiO2 prepared by hydrolysis of the alkoxide titanium.

PubMed

Zhang, Rubing; Gao, Lian; Zhang, Qinghong

2004-01-01

Nanosized TiO(2) was synthesized by hydrolysis of titanium tetraisopropoxide in the nanodroplets of microemulsions. The microemulsion provided by functionalized surfactants derived from the mixture of the commercially available sodium dodecylbenzensulfonate (DBS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (DS). The resulting TiO(2) nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential thermal analysis. Nanosized TiO(2) of anatase was found to show good photocatalytic properties in the photodegradation of DBS and DS surfactants. The cleavage of the aromatic moiety, the intermediate products and ultimate mineralization to CO(2) were examined in the process of photodegradation. A mechanism is also proposed on the basis of these experimental results.

Effect of Heat Index on Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Friction Stir Processed AZ31

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Wei; Mishra, Rajiv S.

Friction stir processing modifies the micro structure and properties of metals through intense plastic deformation. The frictional heat input affects the microstructure evolution and resulting mechanical properties. 2 mm thick commercial AZ31B-H24 Mg alloy was friction stir processed under various process parameter combinations to investigate the effect of heat index on micro structure and properties. Recrystallized grain structure in the nugget region was observed for all processing conditions with decrease in hardness. Results indicate a reduced tensile yield strength and ultimate tensile strength compared to the as-received material in H-temper, but with an improved hardening capacity. The strain hardening behavior of friction stir processed material is discussed.

Identification of a starting point of breast skin tears during chicken plucking.

PubMed

Pitcovski, J; Ohana, N; Amzaleg, L; Krispel, S; Bercovich, D; Pinchasov, Y

1997-02-01

A site (STP) was identified on the skin of the chicken, during defeathering in the slaughter house, at which about 90% of breast skin tears started. This site is on the ventral side of the pectoral tract area. There was no difference in location of this site with respect to different commercial lines, sexes, flocks, or time of the day. In order to demonstrate the importance of a small skin tear to ultimate damage, defeathered chickens with a minor tear at a particular site and undamaged defeathered chickens were passed through the defeathering machine a second time. Thirty-six percent of the STP chickens were torn further, but only a small percentage (about 4%) of the undamaged chickens were harmed.

Strategies For Human Exploration Leading To Human Colonization of Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smitherman, David; Everett, Harmon

2009-01-01

Enabling the commercial development of space is key to the future colonization of space and key to a viable space exploration program. Without commercial development following in the footsteps of exploration it is difficult to justify and maintain public interest in the efforts. NASA's exploration program has suffered from the lack of a good commercial economic strategy for decades. Only small advances in commercial space have moved forward, and only up to Earth orbit with the commercial satellite industry. A way to move beyond this phase is to begin the establishment of human commercial activities in space in partnership with the human exploration program. In 2007 and 2008, the authors researched scenarios to make space exploration and commercial space development more feasible as part of their graduate work in the Space Architecture Program at the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas. Through this research it became apparent that the problems facing future colonization are much larger than the technology being developed or the international missions that our space agencies are pursuing. These issues are addressed in this paper with recommendations for space exploration, commercial development, and space policy that are needed to form a strategic plan for human expansion into space. In conclusion, the authors found that the current direction in space as carried out by our space agencies around the world is definitely needed, but is inadequate and incapable of resolving all of the issues that inhibit commercial space development. A bolder vision with strategic planning designed to grow infrastructures and set up a legal framework for commercial markets will go a long way toward enabling the future colonization of space.

Reengineering the National Clinical and Translational Research Enterprise: The Strategic Plan of the National Clinical and Translational Science Awards Consortium

PubMed Central

Reis, Steven E.; Berglund, Lars; Bernard, Gordon R.; Califf, Robert M.; FitzGerald, Garret A.; Johnson, Peter C.

2009-01-01

Advances in human health require the efficient and rapid translation of scientific discoveries into effective clinical treatments; this process in turn depends upon observational data gathered from patients, communities, and public-health research that can be used to guide basic scientific investigation. Such bidirectional translational science, however, faces unprecedented challenges due to the rapid pace of scientific and technological development, as well as the difficulties of negotiating increasingly complex regulatory and commercial environments that overlap the research domain. Further, numerous barriers to translational science have emerged among the nation’s academic research centers, including basic structural and cultural impediments to innovation and collaboration, shortages of trained investigators, and inadequate funding. To address these serious and systemic problems, in 2006, the National Institutes of Health created the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, which aims to catalyze the transformation of biomedical research at a national level, speeding the discovery and development of therapies, fostering collaboration, engaging communities, and training succeeding generations of clinical and translational researchers. The authors report in detail on the planning process, begun in 2008, that was used to engage stakeholders and to identify, refine, and ultimately implement the CTSA program’s overarching strategic goals. They also discuss the implications and likely impact of this strategic planning process as it is applied among the nation’s academic health centers. PMID:20182119

Special requirements for electronic health record systems in ophthalmology.

PubMed

Chiang, Michael F; Boland, Michael V; Brewer, Allen; Epley, K David; Horton, Mark B; Lim, Michele C; McCannel, Colin A; Patel, Sayjal J; Silverstone, David E; Wedemeyer, Linda; Lum, Flora

2011-08-01

The field of ophthalmology has a number of unique features compared with other medical and surgical specialties regarding clinical workflow and data management. This has important implications for the design of electronic health record (EHR) systems that can be used intuitively and efficiently by ophthalmologists and that can promote improved quality of care. Ophthalmologists often lament the absence of these specialty-specific features in EHRs, particularly in systems that were developed originally for primary care physicians or other medical specialists. The purpose of this article is to summarize the special requirements of EHRs that are important for ophthalmology. The hope is that this will help ophthalmologists to identify important features when searching for EHR systems, to stimulate vendors to recognize and incorporate these functions into systems, and to assist federal agencies to develop future guidelines regarding meaningful use of EHRs. More broadly, the American Academy of Ophthalmology believes that these functions are elements of good system design that will improve access to relevant information at the point of care between the ophthalmologist and the patient, will enhance timely communications between primary care providers and ophthalmologists, will mitigate risk, and ultimately will improve the ability of physicians to deliver the highest-quality medical care. Proprietary or commercial interest disclosure may be found after the references. Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategy to Conduct Quantitative Ecohydrologic Analysis of a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, E. M.; Gorelick, S.; Hadly, E. A.

2016-12-01

The 6000 km2 Peace-Athabasca Delta ("Delta") in northeastern Alberta, Canada, is a Ramsar Convention Wetland and UNESCO World Heritage Site ("in Danger" status pending) where hydropower development and climate change are creating ecological impacts through desiccation and reduction in Delta shoreline habitat. We focus on ecohydrologic changes and mitigation and adaptation options to advance the field of ecohydrology using interdisciplinary technology by combining, for the first time, satellite remote sensing and hydrologic simulation with individual-based population modeling of muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), a species native to the Delta whose population dynamics are strongly controlled by the hydrology of floodplain lakes. We are building a conceptual and quantitative modeling framework linking climate change, upstream water demand, and hydrologic change in the floodplain to muskrat population dynamics with the objective of exploring the impacts of these stressors on this ecosystem. We explicitly account for cultural and humanistic influences and are committed to effective communication with the regional subsistence community that depends on muskrat for food and income. Our modeling framework can ultimately serve as the basis for improved stewardship and sustainable development upstream of stressed freshwater deltaic, coastal and lake systems worldwide affected by climate change, providing a predictive tool to quantify population changes of animals relevant to regional subsistence food security and commercial trapping.

Prediction of Agglomeration, Fouling, and Corrosion Tendency of Fuels in CFB Co-Combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barišć, Vesna; Zabetta, Edgardo Coda; Sarkki, Juha

Prediction of agglomeration, fouling, and corrosion tendency of fuels is essential to the design of any CFB boiler. During the years, tools have been successfully developed at Foster Wheeler to help with such predictions for the most commercial fuels. However, changes in fuel market and the ever-growing demand for co-combustion capabilities pose a continuous need for development. This paper presents results from recently upgraded models used at Foster Wheeler to predict agglomeration, fouling, and corrosion tendency of a variety of fuels and mixtures. The models, subject of this paper, are semi-empirical computer tools that combine the theoretical basics of agglomeration/fouling/corrosion phenomena with empirical correlations. Correlations are derived from Foster Wheeler's experience in fluidized beds, including nearly 10,000 fuel samples and over 1,000 tests in about 150 CFB units. In these models, fuels are evaluated based on their classification, their chemical and physical properties by standard analyses (proximate, ultimate, fuel ash composition, etc.;.) alongside with Foster Wheeler own characterization methods. Mixtures are then evaluated taking into account the component fuels. This paper presents the predictive capabilities of the agglomeration/fouling/corrosion probability models for selected fuels and mixtures fired in full-scale. The selected fuels include coals and different types of biomass. The models are capable to predict the behavior of most fuels and mixtures, but also offer possibilities for further improvements.

Final Technical Report

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

Newmarker, Marc; Campbell, Mark

2012-03-16

Design, validate at prototype level, and then demonstrate a full size, 800 MWht Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system based on Phase Changing Material (PCM) TES modules with round trip efficiency in excess of 93%. The PCM TES module would be the building block of a TES system which can be deployed at costs inline with the DOE benchmark of 2020. The development of a reliable, unsophisticated, modular, and scalable TES system designed to be massmanufactured utilizing advanced automated fabrication and assembly processes and field installed in the most cost-effective configuration could facilitate the attainment of a Levelized Cost of Energymore » (LCOE) of $.07/kWh by 2015. It was believed that the DOE targets can be attained by finding the best combinationTES module size, its optimal integration in the power cycle, and readily available PCM. Work under this project ultimately focused on the development and performance evaluation of a 100kWht prototype heat exchanger. The design utilizes a commercially available heat exchanger product to create a unique latent heat PCM storage module. The novel ideal associated with this technology is the inclusion of an agitation mechanism that is activated during the discharge process to improve heat transfer. The prototype unit did not meet the performance goals estimated through modeling, nor did the estimated costs of the system fall in line with the goals established by DOE.« less

Compact atomic clocks and stabilised laser for space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mileti, Gaetano; Affolderbach, Christoph; Matthey-de-l'Endroit, Renaud

2016-07-01

We present our developments towards next generation compact vapour-cell based atomic frequency standards using a tunable laser diode instead of a traditional discharge lamp. The realisation of two types of Rubidium clocks addressing specific applications is in progress: high performance frequency standards for demanding applications such as satellite navigation, and chip-scale atomic clocks, allowing further miniaturisation of the system. The stabilised laser source constitutes the main technological novelty of these new standards, allowing a more efficient preparation and interrogation of the atoms and hence an improvement of the clock performances. However, before this key component may be employed in a commercial and ultimately in a space-qualified instrument, further studies are necessary to demonstrate their suitability, in particular concerning their reliability and long-term operation. The talk will present our preliminary investigations on this subject. The stabilised laser diode technology developed for our atomic clocks has several other applications on ground and in space. We will conclude our talk by illustrating this for the example of a recently completed ESA project on a 1.6 microns wavelength reference for a future space-borne Lidar. This source is based on a Rubidium vapour cell providing the necessary stability and accuracy, while a second harmonic generator and a compact optical comb generated from an electro-optic modulator allow to transfer these properties from the Rubidium wavelength (780nm) to the desired spectral range.

Reengineering the national clinical and translational research enterprise: the strategic plan of the National Clinical and Translational Science Awards Consortium.

PubMed

Reis, Steven E; Berglund, Lars; Bernard, Gordon R; Califf, Robert M; Fitzgerald, Garret A; Johnson, Peter C

2010-03-01

Advances in human health require the efficient and rapid translation of scientific discoveries into effective clinical treatments; this process, in turn, depends on observational data gathered from patients, communities, and public health research that can be used to guide basic scientific investigation. Such bidirectional translational science, however, faces unprecedented challenges due to the rapid pace of scientific and technological development, as well as the difficulties of negotiating increasingly complex regulatory and commercial environments that overlap the research domain. Further, numerous barriers to translational science have emerged among the nation's academic research centers, including basic structural and cultural impediments to innovation and collaboration, shortages of trained investigators, and inadequate funding.To address these serious and systemic problems, in 2006 the National Institutes of Health created the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, which aims to catalyze the transformation of biomedical research at a national level, speeding the discovery and development of therapies, fostering collaboration, engaging communities, and training succeeding generations of clinical and translational researchers. The authors report in detail on the planning process, begun in 2008, that was used to engage stakeholders and to identify, refine, and ultimately implement the CTSA program's overarching strategic goals. They also discuss the implications and likely impact of this strategic planning process as it is applied among the nation's academic health centers.

NREL Quickens its Tech Transfer Efforts

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

Lammers, H.

2012-02-01

Innovations and 'aha' movements in renewable energy and energy efficiency, while exciting in the lab, only truly live up to their promise once they find a place in homes or business. Late last year President Obama issued a directive to all federal agencies to increase their efforts to transfer technologies to the private sector in order to achieve greater societal and economic impacts of federal research investments. The president's call to action includes efforts to establish technology transfer goals and to measure progress, to engage in efforts to increase the speed of technology transfer and to enhance local and regionalmore » innovation partnerships. But, even before the White House began its initiative to restructure the commercialization process, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory had a major effort underway designed to increase the speed and impact of technology transfer activities and had already made sure its innovations had a streamlined path to the private sector. For the last three years, NREL has been actively setting commercialization goals and tracking progress against those goals. For example, NREL sought to triple the number of innovations over a five-year period that began in 2009. Through best practices associated with inventor engagement, education and collaboration, NREL quadrupled the number of innovations in just three years. Similar progress has been made in patenting, licensing transactions, income generation and rewards to inventors. 'NREL is known nationally for our cutting-edge research and companies know to call us when they are ready to collaborate,' William Farris, vice president for commercialization and technology transfer, said. 'Once a team is ready to dive in, they don't want be mired in paperwork. We've worked to make our process for licensing NREL technology faster; it now takes less than 60 days for us to come to an agreement and start work with a company interested in our research.' While NREL maintains a robust patent portfolio, often companies are looking to do more than just license a technology. These relationships are invaluable in successfully moving technologies from NREL to the marketplace. 'We may generate new and potentially valuable innovations, but our commercialization partners do the heavy work of building a successful business around our technology,' Farris said. Tools such as CRADAs (Cooperative Research and Development Agreements) allow NREL to continue working with companies to refine and develop technologies. And, working with businesses is an area where NREL excels. NREL is responsible for one quarter of the CRADAs in the DOE system. 'When you look at the results of our CRADA program, you can demonstrate that we are actively engaged with companies in collaborating on research and moving technologies to market,' Farris said. NREL is first among DOE labs with 186 active CRADAs. And last year, NREL also was first with the number of new CRADAs signed. 'Part of the success in our working with industry goes back to NREL's mission to grow and support new industries,' Farris added. 'NREL has basic research capabilities, but we are never going to be the ultimate producer of a commercial product. That is the role of the private sector.' Farris also credits the advocacy and support that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE provides for these technology transfer activities. 'EERE's support is critical to our success,' Farris said. To assist the private sector in moving a technology from the lab to the manufacturing line, NREL has a number of programs in place to give that first, or even final, nudge toward commercialization. For instance, the Commercialization Assistance Program helps startups overcome technical barriers by granting free access to 40 hours of work at the lab. Through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, NREL also helps clean energy businesses develop strong links with the financial community, as well as other key stakeholders in the commercialization process. In March, NREL formally opened the Colorado Center for Renewable Energy and Economic Development a cooperative program with the state of Colorado designed to bring together stakeholders and service providers that support the growth of cleantech companies. CREED currently is working with more than 25 stakeholders - governmental partners, universities, industry associations, venture capital organizations and small businesses - to improve the access these groups have to technologies developed at NREL and to provide services such as classes and workshops for entrepreneurs. When it comes to bringing together cleantech stakeholders, NREL's Industry Growth Forum is the marquee event. At the forum, clean energy entrepreneurs have the opportunity to present their business cases to an expert panel of investors and energy executives. Companies that have presented have raised $3.4 billion in funding to date.« less

NASA's Earth Observations Commercialization Applications Program: A model for government promotion of commercial space opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macauley, Molly K.

1995-01-01

The role of government in promoting space commerce is a topic of discussion in every spacefaring nation. This article describes a new approach to government intervention which, based on its five-year track record, appears to have met with success. The approach, developed in NASA's Earth Observations Commercialization Application Program (EOCAP), offer several lessons for effective government sponsorship of commercial space development in general and of commercial remote sensing in particular.

Status of commercial fuel cell powerplant system development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warshay, Marvin

1987-01-01

The primary focus is on the development of commercial Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC) powerplant systems because the PAFC, which has undergone extensive development, is currently the closest fuel cell system to commercialization. Shorter discussions are included on the high temperature fuel cell systems which are not as mature in their development, such as the Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) and the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). The alkaline and the Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) fuel cell systems, are also included, but their discussions are limited to their prospects for commercial development. Currently, although the alkaline fuel cell continues to be used for important space applications there are no commercial development programs of significant size in the USA and only small efforts outside. The market place for fuel cells and the status of fuel cell programs in the USA receive extensive treatment. The fuel cell efforts outside the USA, especially the large Japanese programs, are also discussed.

Material Constitutive Models for Creep and Rupture of SiC/SiC Ceramic-Matrix Composites (CMCs) Under Multiaxial Loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grujicic, Mica; Galgalikar, R.; Snipes, J. S.; Ramaswami, S.

2016-05-01

Material constitutive models for creep deformation and creep rupture of the SiC/SiC ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs) under general three-dimensional stress states have been developed and parameterized using one set of available experimental data for the effect of stress magnitude and temperature on the time-dependent creep deformation and rupture. To validate the models developed, another set of available experimental data was utilized for each model. The models were subsequently implemented in a user-material subroutine and coupled with a commercial finite element package in order to enable computational analysis of the performance and durability of CMC components used in high-temperature high-stress applications, such as those encountered in gas-turbine engines. In the last portion of the work, the problem of creep-controlled contact of a gas-turbine engine blade with the shroud is investigated computationally. It is assumed that the blade is made of the SiC/SiC CMC, and that the creep behavior of this material can be accounted for using the material constitutive models developed in the present work. The results clearly show that the blade-tip/shroud clearance decreases and ultimately becomes zero (the condition which must be avoided) as a function of time. In addition, the analysis revealed that if the blade is trimmed at its tip to enable additional creep deformation before blade-tip/shroud contact, creep-rupture conditions can develop in the region of the blade adjacent to its attachment to the high-rotational-speed hub.

Challenges in image-guided therapy system design.

PubMed

Dimaio, Simon; Kapur, Tina; Cleary, Kevin; Aylward, Stephen; Kazanzides, Peter; Vosburgh, Kirby; Ellis, Randy; Duncan, James; Farahani, Keyvan; Lemke, Heinz; Peters, Terry; Lorensen, William Bill; Gobbi, David; Haller, John; Clarke, Laurence Larry; Pizer, Stephen; Taylor, Russell; Galloway, Robert; Fichtinger, Gabor; Hata, Nobuhiko; Lawson, Kimberly; Tempany, Clare; Kikinis, Ron; Jolesz, Ferenc

2007-01-01

System development for image-guided therapy (IGT), or image-guided interventions (IGI), continues to be an area of active interest across academic and industry groups. This is an emerging field that is growing rapidly: major academic institutions and medical device manufacturers have produced IGT technologies that are in routine clinical use, dozens of high-impact publications are published in well regarded journals each year, and several small companies have successfully commercialized sophisticated IGT systems. In meetings between IGT investigators over the last two years, a consensus has emerged that several key areas must be addressed collaboratively by the community to reach the next level of impact and efficiency in IGT research and development to improve patient care. These meetings culminated in a two-day workshop that brought together several academic and industrial leaders in the field today. The goals of the workshop were to identify gaps in the engineering infrastructure available to IGT researchers, develop the role of research funding agencies and the recently established US-based National Center for Image Guided Therapy (NCIGT), and ultimately to facilitate the transfer of technology among research centers that are sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Workshop discussions spanned many of the current challenges in the development and deployment of new IGT systems. Key challenges were identified in a number of areas, including: validation standards; workflows, use-cases, and application requirements; component reusability; and device interface standards. This report elaborates on these key points and proposes research challenges that are to be addressed by a joint effort between academic, industry, and NIH participants.

Recent progress in preparation and application of microfluidic chip electrophoresis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cong, Hailin; Xu, Xiaodan; Yu, Bing; Yuan, Hua; Peng, Qiaohong; Tian, Chao

2015-05-01

Since its discovery in 1990, microfluidic chip electrophoresis (MCE) has allowed the development of applications with small size, fast analysis, low cost, high integration density and automatic level, which are easy to carry and have made commercialization efficient. MCE has been widely used in the areas of environmental protection, biochemistry, medicine and health, clinical testing, judicial expertise, food sanitation, pharmaceutical checking, drug testing, agrochemistry, biomedical engineering and life science. As one of the foremost fields in the research of capillary electrophoresis, MCE is the ultimate frontier to develop the miniaturized, integrated, automated all-in-one instruments needed in modern analytical chemistry. By adopting the advanced technologies of micro-machining, lasers and microelectronics, and the latest research achievements in analytical chemistry and biochemistry, the sampling, separation and detection systems of commonly used capillary electrophoresis are integrated with high densities onto glass, quartz, silicon or polymer wafers to form the MCE, which can finish the analysis of multi-step operations such as injection, enrichment, reaction, derivatization, separation, and collection of samples in a portable, efficient and super high speed manner. With reference to the different technological achievements in this area, the latest developments in MCE are reviewed in this article. The preparation mechanisms, surface modifications, and properties of different materials in MCE are compared, and the different sampling, separation and detection systems in MCE are summarized. The performance of MCE in analysis of fluorescent substance, metallic ion, sugar, medicine, nucleic acid, DNA, amino acid, polypeptide and protein is discussed, and the future direction of development is forecast.

Multi-fuel reformers for fuel cells used in transportation. Phase 1: Multi-fuel reformers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-05-01

DOE has established the goal, through the Fuel Cells in Transportation Program, of fostering the rapid development and commercialization of fuel cells as economic competitors for the internal combustion engine. Central to this goal is a safe feasible means of supplying hydrogen of the required purity to the vehicular fuel cell system. Two basic strategies are being considered: (1) on-board fuel processing whereby alternative fuels such as methanol, ethanol or natural gas stored on the vehicle undergo reformation and subsequent processing to produce hydrogen, and (2) on-board storage of pure hydrogen provided by stationary fuel processing plants. This report analyzes fuel processor technologies, types of fuel and fuel cell options for on-board reformation. As the Phase 1 of a multi-phased program to develop a prototype multi-fuel reformer system for a fuel cell powered vehicle, the objective of this program was to evaluate the feasibility of a multi-fuel reformer concept and to select a reforming technology for further development in the Phase 2 program, with the ultimate goal of integration with a DOE-designated fuel cell and vehicle configuration. The basic reformer processes examined in this study included catalytic steam reforming (SR), non-catalytic partial oxidation (POX) and catalytic partial oxidation (also known as Autothermal Reforming, or ATR). Fuels under consideration in this study included methanol, ethanol, and natural gas. A systematic evaluation of reforming technologies, fuels, and transportation fuel cell applications was conducted for the purpose of selecting a suitable multi-fuel processor for further development and demonstration in a transportation application.

Status of Commercial Programs at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groen, Frank

2011-01-01

NASA's strategy is two-fold: (1) Use Space Act Agreements to support the development of commercial crew transportation capabilities. (2) Use FAR-based contracts for the certification of commercially developed capabilities and for the procurement of crew transportation services to and from the ISS to meet NASA requirements. Focus is on reducing the risk and uncertainties of the development environment and on the incentives provided through competition by separating the design and early development content from the longer-term CTS Certification activities. CCP expects to develop, demonstrate, and certify U.S. commercial crew space transportation capabilities that meet ISS crew transportation needs by the end of FY 2017.

Space station needs, attributes, and architectural options: Commercial opportunities in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolbers, H. L., Jr.

1983-01-01

The roles of government and industry in the commercialization of space are examined and an approach for stimulating the interests of potential users is described. Several illustrative examples of potential commercial developments are presented. The role of manned space systems in space commercialization is discussed as well as some of the issues and opportunities that are likely to be encountered in the commercial exploitation of the unique characteristics of space. Results suggest that interest in space facilities can be found among a number of commercially oriented users. In order to develop and maintain the involvement of these potential users, however, space demonstrations are required, and commercial growth or evolution depends on the results of the initial in situ experience. Manned facilities are required for the conceptual research and development phases and for maintenance and servicing operations during production or operational missions. Space facilities must be easily accessible by dependable and regularly scheduled means.

Survey of Thai Commercial Food Products That Have Been Reported to Contain No Wheat, Rye, Barley, or Gluten According to Their Labels.

PubMed

Surojanametakul, Vipa; Srikulnath, Sirinrat; Chamnansin, Pailin; Shoji, Masahiro; Tamura, Hirotoshi

2017-01-01

Celiac disease (CD) and gluten-related disorders are significant health and social issues in Western countries, and CD individuals need to exclude gluten from their diets. The adverse health impacts of CD have extended to Asian countries in which CD was not a problem previously. Thai commercial food products that do not contain wheat, rye, barley, or gluten on their labels were surveyed as to whether they were suitable for CD individuals by examining the absence of gluten or the presence of gluten <20 ppm. In Thailand, ELISA tested for gluten content in 129 commercial food products that contained neither wheat, rye, barley, nor gluten on their labels. One hundred nineteen of these 129 products included <20 ppm gluten, and 10 products contained >20 ppm gluten. Surprisingly, four products showed gluten levels >1%. In these 10 products, wheat presence was confirmed by PCR analysis. Our survey suggests that CD individuals can consume most of the examined Thai food products, and the survey showed the potential of these Thai products as new diets for CD patients so as to expand the limited food choices from different food cultures, and ultimately to improve the quality of life for all CD individuals globally. The appropriate gluten management strategies need to be implemented by Thai food manufacturers to ensure accurate labeling and to protect the safety of consumers with CD.

Viewpoint: the elephant in medical professionalism's kitchen.

PubMed

Hafferty, Fred

2006-10-01

The rise of the corporation within health care during the 1980s and early 1990s was met by organized medicine with a deluge of editorials, articles, and books that identified a singular enemy--commercialism--and depicted it as corrosive of, and antithetical to, medical professionalism. Medicine's ire proved prognostic as scores of highly publicized corporate-medical scandals began to crater the landscape of a rapidly emerging "medical marketplace." Medicine's main weapon in this counteroffensive was a renewed call to medical professionalism. Numerous organizations hosted conferences and underwrote initiatives to define, measure, and ultimately inculcate professionalism as a core medical competency. Nonetheless, an examination of medicine's overall response to the threat of commercialism reveals inconsistencies and schisms between these praiseworthy efforts and a parallel absence of action at the community practitioner and peer-review levels. The most recent salvo in this war on commercialism is a policy proposal by influential medical leaders who call for an end to the market incentives linking academic health centers and medical schools with industry. These forthright proposals nevertheless appear once again not to address the heartbeat of professional social control: community-based peer review, including a vigorous and proactive role by state medical boards. The author concludes by examining the implications of a professionalism bereft of peer review and explores the societal-level responsibilities of organized medicine to protect, nurture, and expand the role of the physician to maintain the values and ideals of professionalism against the countervailing social forces of the free market and bureaucracy.

Mechanical Behavior of Commercially Pure Titanium Weldments at Lower Temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, R. K.; Anil Kumar, V.; Xavier, X. Roshan

2018-05-01

Commercially pure titanium is used for low-temperature applications due to good toughness attributed to single-phase microstructure (α). Electron beam welding (EBW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) processes have been used for welding two grades of commercially pure titanium (Grade 2 and Grade 4). Martensitic microstructure is found to be finer in the case of EBW joint as compared to GTAW joint due to faster rate of cooling in the former process. Weldments have been characterized to study the mechanical behavior at ambient (298 K) and cryogenic temperatures (20 and 77 K). Strength of weldments increases with the decrease in temperature, which is found to be more prominent in case of Grade 4 titanium as compared to Grade 2. Weld efficiency of Grade 4 is found to be higher at all the temperatures (ambient, 77 and 20 K). However, ultimate tensile strength/yield strength ratio is higher for Grade 2 as compared to Grade 4. % Elongation is found to increase/retained at cryogenic temperatures for Grade 2, and it is found to decrease for Grade 4. Electron backscattered diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy of deformed samples confirmed the presence of extensive twinning in Grade 2 and the presence of finer martensitic structure in Grade 4. Fractography analysis of tested specimens revealed the presence of cleavage facets in Grade 4 and dimples in specimens of Grade 2. Higher strength in Grade 4 is attributed to higher oxygen restricting the twin-assisted slip, which is otherwise prominent in Grade 2 titanium.

Modeling small cell lung cancer (SCLC) biology through deterministic and stochastic mathematical models.

PubMed

Salgia, Ravi; Mambetsariev, Isa; Hewelt, Blake; Achuthan, Srisairam; Li, Haiqing; Poroyko, Valeriy; Wang, Yingyu; Sattler, Martin

2018-05-25

Mathematical cancer models are immensely powerful tools that are based in part on the fractal nature of biological structures, such as the geometry of the lung. Cancers of the lung provide an opportune model to develop and apply algorithms that capture changes and disease phenotypes. We reviewed mathematical models that have been developed for biological sciences and applied them in the context of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) growth, mutational heterogeneity, and mechanisms of metastasis. The ultimate goal is to develop the stochastic and deterministic nature of this disease, to link this comprehensive set of tools back to its fractalness and to provide a platform for accurate biomarker development. These techniques may be particularly useful in the context of drug development research, such as combination with existing omics approaches. The integration of these tools will be important to further understand the biology of SCLC and ultimately develop novel therapeutics.

Career Development: A Systems Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slavenski, Lynn

1987-01-01

The author describes a comprehensive career development system implemented by Coca-Cola USA. The system's objectives are (1) to promote from within, (2) to develop talent for the future, (3) to make managers responsible for development efforts, and (4) to make individuals ultimately responsible for their development. (CH)

Commercial integration and partnering at Savannah River Site

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

Steele, J.R.; Babione, R.A.; Shikashio, L.A.

1994-06-01

Savannah River Site (SRS), particularly the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) with the experience from the first successful Integrated Technology Demonstration, can provide an excellent foundation for meeting DOE-EM`s objectives with the new DOE-EM five focus area approach. With this in mind, SRTC established an activity to pursue full commercialization of environmental technologies. This report is an assessment of the status of commercialization at SRS and provides recommendations for enhancement as well as some tools critical to implementation. A review was made of the current situation at SRS with regards to taking technology development to commercial fruition. This was donemore » from the perspective of comparing it to known commercialization models and processes. It was found that SRTC already works through many of the steps in these processes. With integration and action-oriented efforts of the inclusion of business and market factors, SRTC could become an aggressive, successful developer of commercialized technologies. Commercial success criteria tools were developed with regards to integrating them with SRTC selection criteria to ensure that all critical factors are covered in technology commercialization project evaluations. Private investors are very clear that their interest lies in funding commercial enterprises, not merely technologies. Mobilizing private capital is critical to real job growth and long-term economic development. Also, potential industry partners were identified that are willing to be involved with SRS` technology applications and regional development efforts. As another important component to success, regional support organizations were reviewed and evaluated.« less

Nonaltruistic kidney donations in contemporary Jewish law and ethics.

PubMed

Grazi, Richard V; Wolowelsky, Joel B

2003-01-27

In 2000, the Consensus Statement on the Live Organ Donor reported that "direct financial compensation for an organ from a living donor remains controversial and illegal in the United States" and took note of the position of the Transplantation Society that "Organs and tissue should be given without commercial consideration or commercial profit." Christian authorities insist that organ donors must not accrue economic advantage, and "selling" organs deprives the donation of its ethical quality. The writings of major contemporary authorities of Jewish law and ethics whose halakhic positions on bioethical issues are regularly considered by Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform ethicists were reviewed. Their positions on this issue were contrasted with those of various contemporary secular and religious authorities. These Jewish authorities reject the notion that generosity and charity, rather than monetary gain and greed, must serve as the exclusive basis for donation of functioning organs. Although nonaltruistic sale of kidneys may be theoretically ethical, ultimately its ethical status in Jewish ethics and law is inextricably connected to solving a series of pragmatic programs, such as creating a system that ensures that potential vendors and donors are properly informed and not exploited. Lacking such arrangements, ethical nonaltruistic kidney donations remain but a theoretical possibility.

Saving genetic resources of native pigs in Occidental and Oriental countries - practical examples of the characterization and utilization of native pigs in Hungary and Laos.

PubMed

Rátky, Jozsef; Egerszegi, Istvan; Toth, Peter; Keonuchan, Soukanh; Nagai, Takashi; Kikuchi, Kazuhiro; Manabe, Noboru; Brüssow, Klaus-Peter

2013-10-01

Worldwide, only a few "fatty" pig breeds exist with different and/or regional utilization. Using the Hungarian Mangalica, which almost went extinct in Europe and the Lao Moo Lat pig, which still has a large population in South-East Asia as exemples, we wanted to demonstrate that indigenous (fatty) pig breeds may represent both national value and tremendous economic potential. Since these less prolific and less productive breeds cannot contribute to mass production, new market roles and methods should be established for them in the premium segment of pork trading. Thus their preservation and propagation needs the comprehensive collaboration of commercial, governmental actors and researchers. Briefly summarizing the history, we report the current results of reproductive physiology research. The commercial renaissance of Mangalica pigs is indebted to the enthusiastic efforts of basic scientists, pig breeding experts and dedicated Mangalica producers. Scientific achievements were applied to practical breeding and production of delicious pork and processed products, which ultimately made the economic success in the Mangalica sector possible. Both, research on and utilization of endangered (pig) breeds maintain not only breed diversities, but also may improve the livelihood of farmers worldwide.

Chikungunya, climate change, and human rights.

PubMed

Meason, Braden; Paterson, Ryan

2014-06-14

Chikungunya is a re-emerging arbovirus that causes significant morbidity and some mortality. Global climate change leading to warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns allow mosquito vectors to thrive at altitudes and at locations where they previously have not, ultimately leading to a spread of mosquito-borne diseases. While mutations to the chikungunya virus are responsible for some portion of the re-emergence, chikungunya epidemiology is closely tied with weather patterns in Southeast Asia. Extrapolation of this regional pattern, combined with known climate factors impacting the spread of malaria and dengue, summate to a dark picture of climate change and the spread of this disease from south Asia and Africa into Europe and North America. This review describes chikungunya and collates current data regarding its spread in which climate change plays an important part. We also examine human rights obligations of States and others to protect against this disease. Copyright © 2014 Meason, Paterson. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Generation of transgenic goats by pronuclear microinjection: a retrospective analysis of a commercial operation (1995-2012).

PubMed

Gavin, W; Blash, S; Buzzell, N; Pollock, D; Chen, L; Hawkins, N; Howe, J; Miner, K; Pollock, J; Porter, C; Schofield, M; Echelard, Y; Meade, H

2018-02-01

Production of transgenic founder goats involves introducing and stably integrating an engineered piece of DNA into the genome of the animal. At LFB USA, the ultimate use of these transgenic goats is for the production of recombinant human protein therapeutics in the milk of these dairy animals. The transgene or construct typically links a milk protein specific promoter sequence, the coding sequence for the gene of interest, and the necessary downstream regulatory sequences thereby directing expression of the recombinant protein in the milk during the lactation period. Over the time period indicated (1995-2012), pronuclear microinjection was used in a number of programs to insert transgenes into 18,120, 1- or 2- cell stage fertilized embryos. These embryos were transferred into 4180 synchronized recipient females with 1934 (47%) recipients becoming pregnant, 2594 offspring generated, and a 109 (4.2%) of those offspring determined to be transgenic. Even with new and improving genome editing tools now available, pronuclear microinjection is still the predominant and proven technology used in this commercial setting supporting regulatory filings and market authorizations when producing founder transgenic animals with large transgenes (> 10 kb) such as those necessary for directing monoclonal antibody production in milk.

Reliability modeling of fault-tolerant computer based systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bavuso, Salvatore J.

1987-01-01

Digital fault-tolerant computer-based systems have become commonplace in military and commercial avionics. These systems hold the promise of increased availability, reliability, and maintainability over conventional analog-based systems through the application of replicated digital computers arranged in fault-tolerant configurations. Three tightly coupled factors of paramount importance, ultimately determining the viability of these systems, are reliability, safety, and profitability. Reliability, the major driver affects virtually every aspect of design, packaging, and field operations, and eventually produces profit for commercial applications or increased national security. However, the utilization of digital computer systems makes the task of producing credible reliability assessment a formidable one for the reliability engineer. The root of the problem lies in the digital computer's unique adaptability to changing requirements, computational power, and ability to test itself efficiently. Addressed here are the nuances of modeling the reliability of systems with large state sizes, in the Markov sense, which result from systems based on replicated redundant hardware and to discuss the modeling of factors which can reduce reliability without concomitant depletion of hardware. Advanced fault-handling models are described and methods of acquiring and measuring parameters for these models are delineated.

Investigation of prospects for forecasting non-linear time series by example of drilling oil and gas wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlasenko, A. V.; Sizonenko, A. B.; Zhdanov, A. A.

2018-05-01

Discrete time series or mappings are proposed for describing the dynamics of a nonlinear system. The article considers the problems of forecasting the dynamics of the system from the time series generated by it. In particular, the commercial rate of drilling oil and gas wells can be considered as a series where each next value depends on the previous one. The main parameter here is the technical drilling speed. With the aim of eliminating the measurement error and presenting the commercial speed of the object to the current with a good accuracy, future or any of the elapsed time points, the use of the Kalman filter is suggested. For the transition from a deterministic model to a probabilistic one, the use of ensemble modeling is suggested. Ensemble systems can provide a wide range of visual output, which helps the user to evaluate the measure of confidence in the model. In particular, the availability of information on the estimated calendar duration of the construction of oil and gas wells will allow drilling companies to optimize production planning by rationalizing the approach to loading drilling rigs, which ultimately leads to maximization of profit and an increase of their competitiveness.

NASA's commercial space program - Initiatives for the future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rose, James T.; Stone, Barbara A.

1990-01-01

NASA's commercial development of the space program aimed at the stimulation and assistance of expanded private sector involvement and investment in civil space activities is discussed, focusing on major new program initiatives and their implementation. NASA's Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) program, composed of competitively selected consortia of universities, industries, and government involved in early research and testing phases of potentially commercially viable technologies is described. The 16 centers concentrate on seven different technical areas such as automation and robotics; remote sensing; life sciences; and space power, propulsion, and structures. Private sector participation, CCDS technology development, government and commercially supplied access to space in support of CCDS programs, CCDS hardware development, and CCDS spinoffs are discussed together with various cooperative and reimbursable agreements between NASA and the private sector.

INTEGRITY -- Integrated Human Exploration Mission Simulation Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henninger, D.; Tri, T.; Daues, K.

It is proposed to develop a high -fidelity ground facil ity to carry out long-duration human exploration mission simulations. These would not be merely computer simulations - they would in fact comprise a series of actual missions that just happen to stay on earth. These missions would include all elements of an actual mission, using actual technologies that would be used for the real mission. These missions would also include such elements as extravehicular activities, robotic systems, telepresence and teleoperation, surface drilling technology--all using a simulated planetary landscape. A sequence of missions would be defined that get progressively longer and more robust, perhaps a series of five or six missions over a span of 10 to 15 years ranging in durat ion from 180 days up to 1000 days. This high-fidelity ground facility would operate hand-in-hand with a host of other terrestrial analog sites such as the Antarctic, Haughton Crater, and the Arizona desert. Of course, all of these analog mission simulations will be conducted here on earth in 1-g, and NASA will still need the Shuttle and ISS to carry out all the microgravity and hypogravity science experiments and technology validations. The proposed missions would have sufficient definition such that definitive requirements could be derived from them to serve as direction for all the program elements of the mission. Additionally, specific milestones would be established for the "launch" date of each mission so that R&D programs would have both good requirements and solid milestones from which to build their implementation plans. Mission aspects that could not be directly incorporated into the ground facility would be simulated via software. New management techniques would be developed for evaluation in this ground test facility program. These new techniques would have embedded metrics which would allow them to be continuously evaluated and adjusted so that by the time the sequence of missions is completed, the best management techniques will have been developed, implemented, and validated. A trained cadre of managers experienced with a large, complex program would then be available. Three other critical items of this approach are as follows: 1) International Cooperation/Collaboration. New paradigms and new techniques for international collaboration would be developed. These paradigms can be developed to include built-in metrics to allow for improvements ultimately to yield proven paradigms for application in the real mission. Note that since this approach is much lower cost than an actual flight mission, smaller countries that could not afford to participate in a program as large as the ISS can become partners. As a result, these nations--along with their citizens--become advocates for human space exploration as well. Since eventual human planetary exploration missions are likely to be truly international, the means for building the requisite working relationships are through cooperative research and technology development activities. 2) Commercial Partnering. Improved paradigms for commercial partnering would be developed - both U.S. and international commercial entities. An examination of what commercial entities would like to gain, what they would expect to contribute, and what NASA wants out of such a relationship would be determined to develop appropriate paradigms. Again, metrics would be included such that continual evaluations can be conducted and adjustments can be made to the working paradigms. Then, after these ground missions are completed, a proven set of paradigms (and a cadre of people trained and comfortable with their use) would be available for the actual mission. Again, since this is a much lower cost program (lower than an actual flight mission), smaller domestic and international commercial entities can participate. 3) Academic Partnering. Improved paradigms for academic partnering can be developed -- both U.S. and international academic institutions. Academic institutions represent a tremendous pool of expertise and creative talent - just what is need for a human planetary exp loration mission. Academia would likely view this ground test facility as a tremendous teaching tool for a variety of disciplines, including science, engineering, medicine, and management.

Advanced Natural Gas Reciprocating Engine(s)

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

Kwok, Doris; Boucher, Cheryl

Energy independence and fuel savings are hallmarks of the nation’s energy strategy. The advancement of natural gas reciprocating engine power generation technology is critical to the nation’s future. A new engine platform that meets the efficiency, emissions, fuel flexibility, cost and reliability/maintainability targets will enable American manufacturers to have highly competitive products that provide substantial environmental and economic benefits in the US and in international markets. Along with Cummins and Waukesha, Caterpillar participated in a multiyear cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy to create a 50% efficiency natural gas powered reciprocating engine system with a 95% reduction in NOxmore » emissions by the year 2013. This platform developed under this agreement will be a significant contributor to the US energy strategy and will enable gas engine technology to remain a highly competitive choice, meeting customer cost of electricity targets, and regulatory environmental standard. Engine development under the Advanced Reciprocating Engine System (ARES) program was divided into phases, with the ultimate goal being approached in a series of incremental steps. This incremental approach would promote the commercialization of ARES technologies as soon as they emerged from development and would provide a technical and commercial foundation of later-developing technologies. Demonstrations of the Phase I and Phase II technology were completed in 2004 and 2008, respectively. Program tasks in Phase III included component and system development and testing from 2009-2012. Two advanced ignition technology evaluations were investigated under the ARES program: laser ignition and distributed ignition (DIGN). In collaboration with Colorado State University (CSU), a laser ignition system was developed to provide ignition at lean burn and high boost conditions. Much work has been performed in Caterpillar’s DIGN program under the ARES program. This work has consisted of both modeling and single cylinder engine experiments to quantify DIGN performance. The air handling systems of natural gas engines dissipate a percentage of available energy as a result of both flow losses and turbomachinery inefficiencies. An analytical study was initiated to increase compressor efficiency by employing a 2-stage inter-cooled compressor. Caterpillar also studied a turbo-compound system that employs a power turbine to recover energy from the exhaust gases for improved engine efficiency. Several other component and system investigations were undertaken during the final phase of the program to reach the ultimate ARES goals. An intake valve actuation system was developed and tested to improve engine efficiency, durability and load acceptance. Analytical modeling and materials testing were performed to evaluate the performance of steel pistons and compacted graphite iron cylinder head. Effort was made to improve the detonation sensing system by studying and comparing the performance of different pressure sensors. To reduce unburned hydrocarbon emissions, different camshafts were designed and built to investigate the effect of exhaust valve opening timing and value overlap. 1-D & 3-D coupled simulation was used to study intake and exhaust manifold dynamics with the goal of reducing load in-balance between cylinders. Selective catalytic reduction with on-board reductant generation to reduce NOx emissions was also engine tested. An effective mean to successfully deploy ARES technologies into the energy markets is to deploy demonstration projects in the field. In 2010, NETL and Caterpillar agreed to include a new “opportunity fuel” deliverable and two field demonstrations in the ARES program. An Organic Rankine Cycle system was designed with production intent incorporating lessons learned from the Phase II demonstration. Unfortunately, business conditions caused Caterpillar to cancel this demonstration in 2011. Nonetheless, Caterpillar partnered with a local dealer to deploy an ARES class engine using syngas from a biomass gasifier as the DE-FC26-01CH11079 primary combustion fuel in Gleason, TN. Upon the successful start-up and commissioning of the demonstration unit, ownership of the system was transferred to the dealer. In order to further our understanding of syngas combustion, a fundamental combustion study on syngas combustion at high pressure and lean condition was conducted through the collaboration with University of Southern California. A Methane program was also developed to rate engine performance for various compositions of syngas using empirical data obtained at CSU. While much work remains in terms of extending and integrating these developments into commercial products, it is evident that engine manufacturers on our own or through private consortium efforts could not have overcome the financial hurdles to drive these improvements into reciprocating engine and system capabilities, helping maintain the natural gas reciprocating engine power generation technology as a strong option for electric power markets, both in the United States and worldwide.« less

BioServe space technologies: A NASA Center for the Commercial Development of Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

BioServe Space Technologies, a NASA Center for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS), was established in 1987. As is characteristic of each CCDS designated by NASA, the goals of this commercial center are aimed at stimulating high technology research that takes advantage of the space environment and at leading in the development of new products and services which have commercial potential or that contribute to possible new commercial ventures. BioServe's efforts in these areas focus upon space life science studies and the development of enabling devices that will facilitate ground-based experiments as well as the conversion of such to the microgravity environment. A direct result of BioServe's hardware development and life sciences studies is the training of the next generation of bioengineers who will be knowledgeable and comfortable working with the challenges of the space frontier.

Commercial Skills Test Information Management System final report and self-sustainability plan : [technology brief].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

The Commercial Skills Test Information Management System (CSTIMS) was developed to address the fraudulent issuance of commercial drivers licenses (CDLs) across the United States. CSTIMS was developed as a Web-based, software-as-a-service system to...

Development of a shuttle recovery Commercial Materials Processing in Space (CMPS) program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

The work performed has covered the following tasks: update commercial users requirements; assess availability of carriers and facilities; shuttle availability assessment; development of optimum accommodations plan; and payload documentation requirements assessment. The results from the first four tasks are presented. To update commercial user requirements, contacts were made with the JEA and CCDS partners to obtain copies of their most recent official flight requests. From these requests the commercial partners' short and long range plans for flight dates, flight frequency, experiment hardware and carriers was determined. A 34 by 44 inch chart was completed to give a snapshot view of the progress of commercialization in space. Further, an assessment was made of the availability of carriers and facilities. Both existing carriers and those under development were identified for use by the commercial partners. A data base was compiled to show the capabilities of the carriers. A shuttle availability assessment was performed using the primary and secondary shuttle manifests released by NASA. Analysis of the manifest produced a flight-by-flight list of flight opportunities available to commercial users. Using inputs from the first three tasks, an Optimum Accommodations Plan was developed. The Accommodation Plan shows the commercial users manifested by flight, the experiment flown, the carrier used and complete list of commercial users that could not be manifested in each calendar year.

The story of artesunate–mefloquine (ASMQ), innovative partnerships in drug development: case study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for profit organization committed to providing affordable medicines and access to treatments in resource-poor settings. Traditionally drug development has happened “in house” within pharmaceutical companies, with research and development costs ultimately recuperated through drug sales. The development of drugs for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases requires a completely different model that goes beyond the scope of market-driven research and development. Artesunate and mefloquine are well-established drugs for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria, with a strong safety record based on many years of field-based studies and use. The administration of such artemisinin-based combination therapy in a fixed-dose combination is expected to improve patient compliance and to reduce the risk of emerging drug resistance. Case description DNDi developed an innovative approach to drug development, reliant on strong collaborations with a wide range of partners from the commercial world, academia, government institutions and NGOs, each of which had a specific role to play in the development of a fixed dose combination of artesunate and mefloquine. Discussion and evaluation DNDi undertook the development of a fixed-dose combination of artesunate with mefloquine. Partnerships were formed across five continents, addressing formulation, control and production through to clinical trials and product registration, resulting in a safe and efficacious fixed dose combination treatment which is now available to treat patients in resource-poor settings. The south-south technology transfer of production from Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz in Brazil to Cipla Ltd in India was the first of its kind. Of additional benefit was the increased capacity within the knowledge base and infrastructure in developing countries. Conclusions This collaborative approach to drug development involving international partnerships and independent funding mechanisms is a powerful new way to develop drugs for tropical diseases. PMID:23433060

Medical device development: managing conflicts of interest encountered by physicians.

PubMed

Baim, Donald S; Donovan, Aine; Smith, John J; Briefs, Nancy; Geoffrion, Richard; Feigal, David; Kaplan, Aaron V

2007-04-01

New technologies introduced over the past three decades have transformed medical diagnosis and treatment, and significantly improved patient outcomes. These changes have been mediated by the introduction of new medical devices, particularly for the treatment of cardiovascular, orthopedic, and ophthalmic disorders. These devices, in turn, have created large markets and spawned a burgeoning medical device industry, including six Fortune 500 companies whose combined market capitalization now exceeds 400 billion dollars. This success story, which has unquestionably benefited patients and society alike, has been dependent upon an intense collaboration among industry, clinicians, and regulatory authorities. However, when physicians actively involved in patient care participate in such collaborations, they are increasingly vulnerable to creating potential conflicts between these two (clinical and device development) roles. Such conflicts, which may ultimately erode public trust, have important consequences not only for the individual physicians, but also for their parent institutions, their patients, sponsoring companies, and the entire clinical research enterprise that makes the development and introduction of new devices possible. The third Dartmouth Device Development Symposium held in October 2005 brought together thought leaders within the medical device community, including academicians, clinical investigators, regulators from the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), large and small device manufacturers and the financial (venture capital and investment banks) community. The Symposium examined the conflicts of interest encountered during the early development and commercialization of a medical device. The goal of these discussions was to (1) identify and characterize the conflicts that arise and (2) provide strategies to address these conflicts. This manuscript was prepared by a writing committee to provide a summary report of those discussions.

High Speed, Low Cost Telemetry Access from Space Development Update on Programmable Ultra Lightweight System Adaptable Radio (PULSAR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simms, William Herbert, III; Varnavas, Kosta; Eberly, Eric

2014-01-01

Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology has been proven in the commercial sector since the early 1990's. Today's rapid advancement in mobile telephone reliability and power management capabilities exemplifies the effectiveness of the SDR technology for the modern communications market. In contrast, the foundations of transponder technology presently qualified for satellite applications were developed during the early space program of the 1960's. Conventional transponders are built to a specific platform and must be redesigned for every new bus while the SDR is adaptive in nature and can fit numerous applications with no hardware modifications. A SDR uses a minimum amount of analog / Radio Frequency (RF) components to up/down-convert the RF signal to/from a digital format. Once the signal is digitized, all processing is performed using hardware or software logic. Typical SDR digital processes include; filtering, modulation, up/down converting and demodulation. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Programmable Ultra Lightweight System Adaptable Radio (PULSAR) leverages existing MSFC SDR designs and commercial sector enhanced capabilities to provide a path to a radiation tolerant SDR transponder. These innovations (1) reduce the cost of NASA Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Deep Space standard transponders, (2) decrease power requirements, and (3) commensurately reduce volume. A second pay-off is the increased SDR flexibility by allowing the same hardware to implement multiple transponder types simply by altering hardware logic - no change of hardware is required - all of which will ultimately be accomplished in orbit. Development of SDR technology for space applications will provide a highly capable, low cost transponder to programs of all sizes. The MSFC PULSAR Project results in a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 low-cost telemetry system available to Smallsat and CubeSat missions, as well as other platforms. This paper documents the continued development and verification/validation of the MSFC SDR, called PULSAR, which contributes to advancing the state-of-the-art in transponder design - directly applicable to the SmallSat and CubeSat communities. This paper focuses on lessons learned on the first sub-orbital flight (high altitude balloon) and the follow-on steps taken to validate PULSAR. A sounding rocket launch, currently planned for 03/2015, will further expose PULSAR to the high dynamics of sub-orbital flights. Future opportunities for orbiting satellite incorporation reside in the small satellite missions (FASTSat, CubeSat. etc.).

Rapid population growth and environmental degradation: ultimate versus proximate factors.

PubMed

Shaw, R P

1989-01-01

This philosophical review of 2 arguments about responsibility for and solutions to environmental degradation concludes that both sides are correct: the ultimate and the proximal causes. Ultimate causes of pollution are defined as the technology responsible for a given type of pollution, such as burning fossil fuel; proximate causes are defined as situation-specific factors confounding the problem, such as population density or rate of growth. Commoner and others argue that developed countries with low or negative population growth rates are responsible for 80% of world pollution, primarily in polluting technologies such as automobiles, power generation, plastics, pesticides, toxic wastes, garbage, warfaring, and nuclear weapons wastes. Distortionary policies also contribute; examples are agricultural trade protection, land mismanagement, urban bias in expenditures, and institutional rigidity., Poor nations are responsible for very little pollution because poverty allows little waste or expenditures for polluting, synthetic technologies. The proximal causes of pollution include numbers and rate of growth of populations responsible for the pollution. Since change in the ultimate cause of pollution remains out of reach, altering the numbers of polluters can make a difference. Predictions are made for proportions of the world's total waste production, assuming current 1.6 tons/capita for developed countries and 0.17 tons/capita for developing countries. If developing countries grow at current rates and become more wealthy, they will be emitting half the world's waste by 2025. ON the other hand, unsustainable population growth goes along with inadequate investment in human capital: education, health, employment, infrastructure. The solution is to improve farming technologies in the 117 non-self-sufficient countries, fund development in the most unsustainable enclaves of growing countries, break institutionalized socio-political rigidity in these enclaves, and focus on educating and empowering women in these enclaves. Women are in charge of birth spacing and all aspects of management of energy, food, water and the local environment, more so than men, in most countries.

Deployment, Design, and Commercialization of Carbon-Negative Energy Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, Daniel Lucio

Climate change mitigation requires gigaton-scale carbon dioxide removal technologies, yet few examples exist beyond niche markets. This dissertation informs large-scale implementation of bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS), a carbon-negative energy technology. It builds on existing literature with a novel focus on deployment, design, commercialization, and communication of BECCS. BECCS, combined with aggressive renewable deployment and fossil emission reductions, can enable a carbon-negative power system in Western North America by 2050, with up to 145% emissions reduction from 1990 levels. BECCS complements other sources of renewable energy, and can be deployed in a manner consistent with regional policies and design considerations. The amount of biomass resource available limits the level of fossil CO2 emissions that can still satisfy carbon emissions caps. Offsets produced by BECCS are more valuable to the power system than the electricity it provides. Implied costs of carbon for BECCS are relatively low ( 75/ton CO2 at scale) for a capital-intensive technology. Optimal scales for BECCS are an order of magnitude larger than proposed scales found in existing literature. Deviations from optimal scaled size have little effect on overall systems costs - suggesting that other factors, including regulatory, political, or logistical considerations, may ultimately have a greater influence on plant size than the techno-economic factors considered. The flexibility of thermochemical conversion enables a viable transition pathway for firms, utilities and governments to achieve net-negative CO 2 emissions in production of electricity and fuels given increasingly stringent climate policy. Primary research, development (R&D), and deployment needs are in large-scale biomass logistics, gasification, gas cleaning, and geological CO2 storage. R&D programs, subsidies, and policy that recognize co-conversion processes can support this pathway to commercialization. Here, firms can embrace a gradual transition pathway to deep decarbonization, limiting economic dislocation and increasing transfer of knowledge between the fossil and renewable sectors. Global cumulative capital investment needs for BECCS through 2050 are over 1.9 trillion (2015$, 4% real interest rate) for scenarios likely to limit global warming to 2 °C. This scenario envisions deployment of as much as 24 GW/yr of BECCS by 2040 in the electricity sector. To achieve theses rates of deployment within 15-20 years, governments and firms must commit to research, development, and deployment on an unprecedented scale. Three primary issues complicate emissions accounting for BECCS: cross-sector CO2 accounting, regrowth, and timing. Switchgrass integration decreases lifecycle greenhouse gas impacts of co-conversion systems with CCS, across a wide range of land-use change scenarios. Risks at commercial scale include adverse effects on food security, land conservation, social equity, and biodiversity, as well as competition for water resources. This dissertation argues for an iterative risk management approach to BECCS sustainability, with standards being updated as more knowledge is gained through deployment. Sustainability impacts and public opposition to BECCS may be reduced with transparent measurement and communication. Commercial-scale deployment is dependent on the coordination of a wide range of actors, many with different incentives and worldviews. Despite this problem, this dissertation challenges governments, industry incumbents, and emerging players to research, support, and deploy BECCS.

KSC-2011-6999

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-16

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Representatives from aerospace industry partners and the media are given an overview on NASA's Commercial Crew Program's next steps during a strategy forum held in the Press Site auditorium at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On the dais, from left, are Candrea Thomas, NASA Public Affairs; Phil McAlister, director, Commercial Spaceflight Development in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, and Brent Jeff, deputy director, Commercial Crew Program. The goal of the Commercial Crew Program is to have a commercially developed, human-capable, certified spacecraft safely flying astronauts into orbit and to the International Space Station by the middle of the decade. For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

The Commercial Course: Defense et Illustration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scavillo, Anthony

The development of commercial foreign language courses by colleges and universities would help to satisfy the need for language enrollments and the expressed need of the international business community for foreign language skills in American business employees. Three major problems inhibit commercial language course development: limited…

Low-cost Solar Array Project. Feasibility of the Silane Process for Producing Semiconductor-grade Silicon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The feasibility of Union Carbide's silane process for commercial application was established. An integrated process design for an experimental process system development unit and a commercial facility were developed. The corresponding commercial plant economic performance was then estimated.

NewSpace: The Emerging Commercial Space Industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Gary

2017-01-01

We are at a turning point in the history of space exploration and development, where new industries are being born to use space in non-traditional ways. Established state-run industrial space sector is no longer the only game in town; commercial space is becoming competitive. Many new entrepreneurial companies, such as SpaceX, Deep Space Industries, etc. are developing new markets, such as Orbital, Suborbital, and Deep Space. Together, government and private industry can facilitate the birth of this new industry. The U.S. national policy on commercial space is to develop a robust and competitive U.S. commercial space sector and to energize competitive domestic industries to participate in global markets. NASA can do this by purchasing and using commercial space capabilities and services; exploring the use of nontraditional arrangements for acquiring space capabilities and services; refraining from activities that preclude, discourage, or compete with commercial space activities; and pursuing opportunities to transfer some functions to the commercial space sector, where beneficial. Commercial space must be competitive, while the government has other priorities such as safety, jobs, etc.

Commercial space opportunities - Advanced concepts and technology overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reck, Gregory M.

1993-01-01

The paper discusses the status of current and future commercial space opportunities. The goal is to pioneer innovative, customer-focused space concepts and technologies, leveraged through industrial, academic, and government alliance, to ensure U.S. commercial competitiveness and preeminence in space. The strategy is to develop technologies which enable new products and processes, deploy existing technology into commercial and military products and processes, and integrate military and commercial research and production activities. Technology development areas include information infrastructure, electronics design and manufacture, health care technology, environment technology, and aeronautical technologies.

Participating in commercial space ventures: Introduction to NASA Centers for the Commercial Development of Space and the Cooperative Agreements Programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

In response to a Presidential directive, NASA has implemented a space policy which actively supports and encourages U.S. industry investment and participation in commercial space ventures. NASA's Office of Commercial Programs (OCP) has played a significant role in stimulating the growth of commercial space activity. Through a variety of programs, OCP encourages commercial interest and involvement in space endeavors by providing access to NASA resources and opportunities for the emerging space industry to reduce the technical, financial, and business risks associated with space-related activities. This manual describes NASA's Commercial Uses of Space Program and introduces participants to four major OCP Commercial programs: Technology Utilization (TU), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Centers for the Commercial Development of Space Flight Agreement (CCDSFA), and Cooperative Agreements Programs. The objective of this manual is to assist U.S. industry identify and pursue the appropriate agreement for participation in a commercial space venture.

End-of-life vehicle recycling : state of the art of resource recovery from shredder residue.

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

Jody, B. J.; Daniels, E. J.; Energy Systems

Each year, more than 50 million vehicles reach the end of their service life throughout the world. More than 95% of these vehicles enter a comprehensive recycling infrastructure that includes auto parts recyclers/dismantlers, remanufacturers, and material recyclers (shredders). Today, about 75% of automotive materials are profitably recycled via (1) parts reuse and parts and components remanufacturing and (2) ultimately by the scrap processing (shredding) industry. The process by which the scrap processors recover metal scrap from automobiles involves shredding the obsolete automobiles, along with other obsolete metal-containing products (such as white goods, industrial scrap, and demolition debris), and recovering themore » metals from the shredded material. The single largest source of recycled ferrous scrap for the iron and steel industry is obsolete automobiles. The non-metallic fraction that remains after the metals are recovered from the shredded materials (about 25% of the weight of the vehicle)--commonly called shredder residue--is disposed of in landfills. Over the past 10 to 15 years, a significant amount of research and development has been undertaken to enhance the recycle rate of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), including enhancing dismantling techniques and improving remanufacturing operations. However, most of the effort has focused on developing technology to recover materials, such as polymers, from shredder residue. To make future vehicles more energy efficient, more lighter-weight materials--primarily polymers and polymer composites--will be used in manufacturing these vehicles. These materials increase the percentage of shredder residue that must be disposed of, compared with the percentage of metals. Therefore, as the complexity of automotive materials and systems increases, new technologies will be required to sustain and maximize the ultimate recycling of these materials and systems at end-of-life. Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), in cooperation with the Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP) and the American Plastics Council (APC), is working to develop technology for recycling materials from shredder residue. Several other organizations worldwide are also working on developing technology for recycling shredder residue. Without a commercially viable shredder industry, our nation may face greater environmental challenges and a decreased supply of quality scrap and be forced to turn to primary ores for the production of finished metals. This document presents a review of the state of the art in shredder residue recycling. Available technologies and emerging technologies for the recycling of materials from shredder residue are discussed.« less

The GETE approach to facilitating the commercialization and use of DOE-developed environmental technologies

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

Harvey, T.N.

The Global Environmental Technology Enterprise (GETE) was conceived to develop and implement strategies to facilitate the commercialization of innovative, cost-effective Department of Energy (DOE)-developed environmental technologies. These strategies are needed to aid DOE`s clean-up mission; to break down barriers to commercialization; and to build partnerships between the federal government and private industry in order to facilitate the development and use of innovative environmental technologies.

Test method for mechanical properties of implantable catheters according to DIN 10555-3.

PubMed

Busch, J D; Schröder, H; Sellenschloh, K; Adam, G; Ittrich, H; Huber, G

2018-06-01

To enable causal analysis of port catheter failure, this study aimed to develop an experimental setup for uniaxial tensile tests that addresses the specific requirements of highly elastic medical catheters; and to quantify parameters of the catheters' mechanical competence with respect to effects of artificial aging. Segments of 6F-polyurethane catheters were tested in their native status, after chemical and after mechanical aging. Tension experiments were performed with a rate of 220 mm/min until catheter failure. Material behavior was analyzed based on load cell measurements of the universal test system and an additional optical distance registration. The Young's modulus, the ultimate stress and the ultimate strain were determined. Chemical aging significantly decreased Young's modulus (84%; p = 0.001) and ultimate stress (83%; p < 0.001), whereas mechanical aged samples demonstrated similar results for the Young's modulus (p = 0.772) and a non-significant rise of ultimate stress (13%; p = 0.128). Ultimate strain did not differ significantly regardless of the pretreatment. The results proof reliability, reproducibility and sensitivity to quantify artificial aging induced variations and also promise to detect deviations in material features caused by long-term clinical usage of catheters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards a characterization of a motive whose ultimate goal is to increase the welfare of the world: Quixoteism.

PubMed

Salgado, Sergio; Oceja, Luis

2011-05-01

We use the term Quixoteism to refer to a new social motive. The characterization of this motive deals with two aspects: the definition of the ultimate goal (i.e., to increase the welfare of the world) and the proposal of a process that activates it (i.e., a transcendental-change orientation). Three studies were conducted to test this characterization. In Study 1 we developed an empirical measure of the transcendental-change orientation. The participants in Studies 2 and 3 were presented with a need situation. Results showed that the centrality of such an orientation was directly related to an interpretation consistent with the ultimate goal of Quixoteism (Study 2), and that its salience increases the likelihood of performing a high-cost prosocial behavior (Study 3).

Commercial Cargo Derivative Study of the Advanced Hybrid Wing Body Configuration with Over-Wing Engine Nacelles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooker, John R.; Wick, Andrew T.; Hardin, Christopher J.

2017-01-01

LM has leveraged our partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA on the advanced hybrid wing body (HWB) concept to develop a commercial freighter which addresses the NASA Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) Project goals for improved efficiency beyond 2025. The current Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Revolutionary Configurations for Energy Efficiency (RCEE) program established the HWB configuration and technologies needed for military transports to achieve aerodynamic and fuel efficiencies well beyond the commercial industry's most modern designs. This study builds upon that effort to develop a baseline commercial cargo aircraft and two HWB derivative commercial cargo aircraft to quanitify the benefit of the HWB and establish a technology roadmap for further development.

Educational Planning and Human Resources Development with Reference to Arab Countries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galaleldin, Mohamed Al Awad

Human resources development sees human beings as the means to socioeconomic development. This differs from human development which sees human beings as the immediate and ultimate goals and ends of socio-economic development. Arab states have tended to utilize the human resources development approach as part of their forecasting of manpower…

University of Utah, Energy Commercialization Center

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

Thompson, James

During the Energy Commercialization Center’s (ECC) three years in operation, the only thing constant was change. The world of commercialization and cleantech evolved significantly during the time the ECC was formed and operating, including: the availability of cleantech funding lessoned, the growth of incubators and accelerators skyrocketed, the State of Utah created an office dedicated to energy development, the University of Utah was both praised and criticized for its success in commercialization, and the Federal government temporarily shut down. During the three-year grant there were three principle investigators on the grant, as well as three directors for the University’s Commercializationmore » Office. Change can be hard for an organization,but as we instruct the companies we support, “Fail fast and fail often, because it is the fastest path to success.” Although there were some unanticipated challenges along the way, the local ecosystem is stronger because of the ECC’s efforts. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned was the importance of aligned incentives between key stakeholders in the commercialization process and the need for resources at the company and individual entrepreneur levels. The universities have systems and incentives to commercialize technologies, but creating value and companies generally rest with the individuals and entrepreneurs. Unfortunately the ECC was unable to create a viable mechanism to transfer the commercialization process that successfully aligned incentives and achieve a more effective ecosystem within the Rocky Mountain West. However, the ECC was successful in adding value to the individual ecosystems, and connecting national resources to regional and local needs. Regarding the ECC’s effectiveness in developing a cleantech commercialization ecosystem, initial inroads and relationships were established with key stakeholders. However, incentives, perceived or real competition, differences in commercialization processes, and culture all played a role in inhibiting the development and distribution of a regional ecosystem and commercialization process. Had the University and the ECC been able to develop a software platform, some of these challenges may have been overcome, but without the final development and release of the Western Innovation Network, the ECC realistically could not scale and distribute a commercialization platform. Further, cleantech startups need to engage in a more intensive customer validation process, and establish strong community connections if they are to succeed in commercializing their products. The university system incentivizes research and access to research funding and risk capital is competitive, so by nature collaboration on commercialization was difficult. Each of the local ecosystems within the Rocky Mountain West was unique. Utah did not, and does not, have a system outside of the universities to support entrepreneurs and cleantech commercialization. Through the ECC’s efforts developing a regional ecosystem, it became clear that successful ecosystems had a community and associated mechanisms that supported local entrepreneurs and startups. Most importantly the ECC aided in the creation of Utah’s cleantech ecosystem, one that supports entrepreneurs and startup companies that need help and support in their efforts to commercialize clean technologies. The absence of support for clean tech from state government and local organizations was a significant impediment to cleantech commercialization. To overcome this challenge, the ECC has formed Sustainable Startups. Sustainable Startups is a new non-profit organization designed to build a culture and community in Utah that supports and understands the importance of cleantech and sustainable development. While the ECC generated mixed success in building a regional commercialization ecosystem for cleantech, the organization did provide tremendous benefit to startups and the broader public. Over 60 companies were given direct business development support by the ECC, many of whom then generated direct economic development impacts. In addition, the ECC served an important role as community convener, educator and relationship builder through hosting numerous public and private events including: Energize 2013; Millennial Train whistle stop; business plan competition supporter; Clean Tech Open Accelerator organizer; Sustainable Startups Series developer, and much more. While the ECC did not fully apply, develop, and transmit the University of Utah’s TCO commercialization model to cleantech, it nevertheless assisted numerous inventors, entrepreneurs and institutions in furthering the growth of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies. The TCO’s commercialization model was not applied to regional clean tech initiatives for several main reasons. First, flaws with the commercialization model were realized after the ECC’s formation. Second, leadership changes within the TCO and ECC hampered early organizational development and implementation initiatives. Third, misaligned incentives between the ECC, regional universities, institutions, and the State of Utah resulted in a lack of collaboration and knowledge transfer regarding commercialization. In principle, everyone was aligned and willing to collaborate, but reality was much different and challenging.« less

R&D to Market Success: BTO-Supported Technologies Commercialized from 2010-2015

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

None, None

2017-04-01

Technology commercialization plays an essential role in almost every facet of the U.S. economy. It spurs private sector funding that supports innovative breakthroughs, drives growth through increased productivity and product development, increases American competitiveness, and creates domestic jobs. The BTO Technology Commercialization report is an annual publication offering the latest information on successfully commercialized technologies resulting in part from BTO’s research partnerships. This report defines a “commercialized technology” as a process, technique, design, machine, tool, material, or software that was developed with funds provided at least in part by BTO, and that has resulted in domestic sales or is inmore » use in the U.S. This definition also applies to open-source software products developed with support from BTO, all of which are currently distributed freely but are actively used for commercial purposes.« less

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

The Analysis of Search Results for the Clarification and Identification of Technology Emergence (AR-CITE) computer code examines a scientometric model that tracks the emergence of an identified technology from initial discovery (via original scientific and conference literature), through critical discoveries (via original scientific, conference literature and patents), transitioning through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and ultimately on to commercial currency of citations, collaboration indicators, and on-line news patterns are identified. The combinations of four distinct and separate searchable on-line networked sources (i.e. scholarly publications and citation, world patents, news archives, and on-line mapping networks) are assembled to become one collective networkmore » (a dataset for analysis of relations). This established network becomes the basis from which to quickly analyze the temporal flow of activity (searchable events) for the subject domain to be clarified and identified.« less

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of amorphous TiO2 thin films by gold nanostructures: Revealing first layer effect with thickness variation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Degioanni, S.; Jurdyc, A.-M.; Bessueille, F.; Coulm, J.; Champagnon, B.; Vouagner, D.

2013-12-01

In this paper, amorphous titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films have been deposited on a commercially available Klarite substrate using the sol-gel process to produce surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The substrate consists of square arrays of micrometer-sized pyramidal pits in silicon with a gold coating. Several thin TiO2 layers have been deposited on the surface to study the influence of film thickness. Ultimately, we obtained information on SERS of an amorphous TiO2 layer by gold nanostructures, whose range is less than a few nanometers. Mechanisms responsible for the enhancement are the product of concomitant chemical and electromagnetic effects with an important contribution from plasmon-induced charge transfer.

An acousto-optic sensor based on resonance grating waveguide structure

PubMed Central

Xie, Antonio Jou; Song, Fuchuan; Seo, Sang-Woo

2014-01-01

This paper presents an acousto-optic (AO) sensor based on resonance grating waveguide structure. The sensor is fabricated using elastic polymer materials to achieve a good sensitivity to ultrasound pressure waves. Ultrasound pressure waves modify the structural parameters of the sensor and result in the optical resonance shift of the sensor. This converts into a light intensity modulation. A commercial ultrasound transducer at 20 MHz is used to characterize a fabricated sensor and detection sensitivity at different optical source wavelength within a resonance spectrum is investigated. Practical use of the sensor at a fixed optical source wavelength is presented. Ultimately, the geometry of the planar sensor structure is suitable for two-dimensional, optical pressure imaging applications such as pressure wave detection and mapping, and ultrasound imaging. PMID:25045203

Homojunction GaAs solar cells grown by close space vapor transport

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

Boucher, Jason W.; Ritenour, Andrew J.; Greenaway, Ann L.

2014-06-08

We report on the first pn junction solar cells grown by homoepitaxy of GaAs using close space vapor transport (CSVT). Cells were grown both on commercial wafer substrates and on a CSVT absorber film, and had efficiencies reaching 8.1%, open circuit voltages reaching 909 mV, and internal quantum efficiency of 90%. The performance of these cells is partly limited by the electron diffusion lengths in the wafer substrates, as evidenced by the improved peak internal quantum efficiency in devices fabricated on a CSVT absorber film. Unoptimized highly-doped n-type emitters also limit the photocurrent, indicating that thinner emitters with reduced doping,more » and ultimately wider band gap window or surface passivation layers, are required to increase the efficiency.« less

The incommensurability of nursing as a practice and the customer service model: an evolutionary threat to the discipline.

PubMed

Austin, Wendy J

2011-07-01

Corporate and commercial values are inducing some healthcare organizations to prescribe a customer service model that reframes the provision of nursing care. In this paper it is argued that such a model is incommensurable with nursing conceived as a moral practice and ultimately places nurses at risk. Based upon understanding from ongoing research on compassion fatigue, it is proposed that compassion fatigue as currently experienced by nurses may not arise predominantly from too great a demand for compassion, but rather from barriers to enacting compassionate care. These barriers are often systemic. The paradigm shift in which healthcare environments are viewed as marketplaces rather than moral communities has the potential to radically affect the evolution of nursing as a discipline. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Radio and the commodification of natural medicine in Ecuador.

PubMed

Miles, A

1998-12-01

This paper explores the discourse that is being created around medical commodities in one Ecuadorian city in an effort to understand how desire for new medical products is generated and sustained. Commercial natural medicine, which includes vitamins, herbal remedies and tonics is a relatively new addition to the medical marketplace in Ecuador, yet the popularity of these products seems to be growing rapidly. Much of the success of natural medicines is due to promotional campaigns, most notably radio programs, that emphasize and manipulate, important cultural themes about the body, identity, morality and social success. Although on the surface natural medicine seems to be creating a radically new discourse about the body and illness causation, that discourse ultimately serves only to reinforce the unequal social relations associated with capitalist marketplaces.

CASH 2021: commercial access and space habitation.

PubMed

Aldrin, Andrew; Amara, Adam; Aris, Lodewijk; Baierl, Nida; Beatty, Patrick; Beaulieu, Catherine; Behnke, Torsten; Castegini, Roberta; Chauhan, Amitabh; Cojanis, Philip; Dayawansa, Pelawa; Diop, Marie; Eito, Kinya; Engle, Steve; Feretti, Stefano; Gassama, Hamet; Genova, Bojana; Goulding, Colin; Janjua, Jameel; Jansaeng, Thidarat; Jousset, Frederic; Kopik, Anatoly; Laurin, Catherine; Leggatt, Jason; Li, Hengnian; Mezzadri, Monica; Miura, Amane; Nolet, Simon; Ogami, Satoshi; Patry, Johanne; Patten, Laryssa; Payerne, Cyril; Peer, Guy; Prampolini, Marco; Rheaume, Caroline; Saary, Joan; Spehar, Daniela; Sufi, Atiya; Sun, Baosheng; Thompson, J Barry; Thomson, Ward; Trautner, Roland; Tursunmuratov, Murat; Venet, Vrata; Wilems, Elizabeth; Wilson, Helen; Wittwer, Karl; Wokke, Frank; Wu, Yansheng; Zhou, Shaobin; Zilioli, Ilaria

2002-01-01

Issues about commercialization of space have been a growing concern in the past decade for the space community. This paper focuses on the work from a team of 51 students attending the Summer Session Program of the International Space University in Bremen, Germany. CASH 2021 (Commercial Access and Space Habitation) documents a plan that identifies commercial opportunities for space utilization that will extend human presence in space, and will chart the way forward for the next 20 years. The group selected four commercial sectors that show the most promise for the future: tourism, entertainment, space system service, assembly and debris removal, and research and development/production. The content of this document presents the results of their research. Historical activities in each of the commercial sectors are reviewed along with the current market situation. To provide a coherent background for future commercialization possibilities a scenario has been developed. This scenario includes a postulated upon ideal future and includes social, political and economic factors that may affect the space industry over the timeline of the study. The study also presents a roadmap, within the limited optimistic scenario developed, for the successful commercialization of space leading to future human presence in space. A broad range of commercially viable opportunities, not only within the current limits of the International Space Station, but also among the many new developments that are expected by 2021 are discussed. c2002 International Astronautical Federation. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

United States Nuclear Rocket Company (USNRC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hardin, L. A.

2014-01-01

Historically, the development of advanced space technology has been accomplished by the federal government providing funding to commercial companies through the standard contracting process. Although recently, commercial space ventures, such as Space X, have begun to develop enhanced commercial space launch capabilities, and many companies provide space related services - including satellite development and operations, advanced technology development still requires (and should require) participation by the federal agency assigned this role - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). However, this standard funding model may not be the most efficient and stable means of developing the advanced technology systems. And while the federal government does not need to be involved in areas where private industry can reasonably operate, it should remain the leader in supporting the development of new and advanced space technologies to further increase our national capability. And as these technologies mature, then private industry can begin the commercialization process, freeing up resources and funds for NASA to develop the next generations of advanced space technology. In fact, simply examining the last decades of space technology development shows that there is room for improvement. Part of the problem is that there are realistically two space frontiers. There is the commercialization frontier (the realm of Space X and others) and the exploratory frontier (the realm of NASA.). Often technologies that can support the exploratory frontier can also immediately support the commercialization frontier. Yet, these technologies are still developed under the standard model of federal funding and contracting. Is that really the best way to proceed? In this paper, the argument is put forward that a new process is required, a new paradigm. A consortium of federal agencies as well as commercial companies is needed - in a collaborative rather than a contractual relationship.

76 FR 15039 - Commercial Space Transportation Grants Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-18

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Transportation... proposals for the Commercial Space Transportation Grant Program. SUMMARY: This notice solicits Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 grant proposals to continue the development of a Commercial Space Transportation...

The commercial development of space: is an international regulatory framework needed?

PubMed

Contant, Corinne M; Logsdon, John M

2004-04-01

The commercial space sector to date has failed to develop comprehensive regulations--"rules of the road"--for its international activities. Within the next 5 years, conflicts with respect to international trade in satellite sales and launch services could emerge, highlighting the need for such a regulatory framework. If the commercial space sector is to continue to develop, it is important to begin discussions now, before these conflicts become significant, on the elements of an appropriate international regulatory framework. The existing framework for space activities was developed when government, not commercial, space activities were dominant, or was adapted from regulations in other sectors such as terrestrial telecommunications. c2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recommendations for adaptation and validation of commercial kits for biomarker quantification in drug development.

PubMed

Khan, Masood U; Bowsher, Ronald R; Cameron, Mark; Devanarayan, Viswanath; Keller, Steve; King, Lindsay; Lee, Jean; Morimoto, Alyssa; Rhyne, Paul; Stephen, Laurie; Wu, Yuling; Wyant, Timothy; Lachno, D Richard

2015-01-01

Increasingly, commercial immunoassay kits are used to support drug discovery and development. Longitudinally consistent kit performance is crucial, but the degree to which kits and reagents are characterized by manufacturers is not standardized, nor are the approaches by users to adapt them and evaluate their performance through validation prior to use. These factors can negatively impact data quality. This paper offers a systematic approach to assessment, method adaptation and validation of commercial immunoassay kits for quantification of biomarkers in drug development, expanding upon previous publications and guidance. These recommendations aim to standardize and harmonize user practices, contributing to reliable biomarker data from commercial immunoassays, thus, enabling properly informed decisions during drug development.

Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants for Commercial Refrigeration Systems

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

Fricke, Brian A.; Sharma, Vishaldeep; Abdelaziz, Omar

Supermarket refrigeration systems account for approximately 50% of supermarket energy use, placing this class of equipment among the highest energy consumers in the commercial building domain. In addition, the commonly used refrigeration system in supermarket applications is the multiplex direct expansion (DX) system, which is prone to refrigerant leaks due to its long lengths of refrigerant piping. This leakage reduces the efficiency of the system and increases the impact of the system on the environment. The high Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants commonly used in these systems, coupled with the large refrigerant charge and the highmore » refrigerant leakage rates leads to significant direct emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Environmental concerns are driving regulations for the heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry towards lower GWP alternatives to HFC refrigerants. Existing lower GWP refrigerant alternatives include hydrocarbons, such as propane (R-290) and isobutane (R-600a), as well as carbon dioxide (R-744), ammonia (R-717), and R-32. In addition, new lower GWP refrigerant alternatives are currently being developed by refrigerant manufacturers, including hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) and unsaturated hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFO) refrigerants. The selection of an appropriate refrigerant for a given refrigeration application should be based on several factors, including the GWP of the refrigerant, the energy consumption of the refrigeration system over its operating lifetime, and leakage of refrigerant over the system lifetime. For example, focusing on energy efficiency alone may overlook the significant environmental impact of refrigerant leakage; while focusing on GWP alone might result in lower efficiency systems that result in higher indirect impact over the equipment lifetime. Thus, the objective of this Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Honeywell and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is to develop a Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) modeling tool for optimally designing HVAC&R equipment with lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and the selection of alternative working fluids that reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of HVAC&R equipment. In addition, an experimental evaluation program is used to measure the coefficient of performance (COP) and refrigerating capacity of various refrigerant candidates, which have differing GWP values, in commercial refrigeration equipment. Through a cooperative effort between industry and government, alternative working fluids will be chosen based on maximum reduction in greenhouse gases at minimal cost impact to the consumer. This project will ultimately result in advancing the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of low GWP working fluids and technologies for HVAC&R and appliance equipment, resulting in cost-competitive products and systems.« less

10 MW Supercritical CO2 Turbine Test

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

Turchi, Craig

2014-01-29

The Supercritical CO2 Turbine Test project was to demonstrate the inherent efficiencies of a supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO2) power turbine and associated turbomachinery under conditions and at a scale relevant to commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) projects, thereby accelerating the commercial deployment of this new power generation technology. The project involved eight partnering organizations: NREL, Sandia National Laboratories, Echogen Power Systems, Abengoa Solar, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Electric Power Research Institute, Barber-Nichols, and the CSP Program of the U.S. Department of Energy. The multi-year project planned to design, fabricate, and validate an s-CO2 power turbine of nominally 10 MWemore » that is capable of operation at up to 700°C and operates in a dry-cooled test loop. The project plan consisted of three phases: (1) system design and modeling, (2) fabrication, and (3) testing. The major accomplishments of Phase 1 included: Design of a multistage, axial-flow, s-CO2 power turbine; Design modifications to an existing turbocompressor to provide s-CO2 flow for the test system; Updated equipment and installation costs for the turbomachinery and associated support infrastructure; Development of simulation tools for the test loop itself and for more efficient cycle designs that are of greater commercial interest; Simulation of s-CO2 power cycle integration into molten-nitrate-salt CSP systems indicating a cost benefit of up to 8% in levelized cost of energy; Identification of recuperator cost as a key economic parameter; Corrosion data for multiple alloys at temperatures up to 650ºC in high-pressure CO2 and recommendations for materials-of-construction; and Revised test plan and preliminary operating conditions based on the ongoing tests of related equipment. Phase 1 established that the cost of the facility needed to test the power turbine at its full power and temperature would exceed the planned funding for Phases 2 and 3. Late in Phase 1 an opportunity arose to collaborate with another turbine-development team to construct a shared s-CO2 test facility. The synergy of the combined effort would result in greater facility capabilities than either separate project could produce and would allow for testing of both turbine designs within the combined budgets of the two projects. The project team requested a no-cost extension to Phase 1 to modify the subsequent work based on this collaborative approach. DOE authorized a brief extension, but ultimately opted not to pursue the collaborative facility and terminated the project.« less

The Constant Gardener revisited: the effect of social blackmail on the marketing concept, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

PubMed

Miles, Morgan P; Munilla, Linda S; Covin, Jeffrey G

2002-12-01

This paper discusses how adoption of the social dimensions of the marketing concept may unintentionally restrict innovation and corporate entrepreneurship, ultimately reducing social welfare. The impact of social marketing on innovation and entrepreneurship is discussed using the case of multinational pharmaceutical firms that are under pressure when marketing HIV treatments in poor countries. The argument this paper supports is that social welfare may eventually be diminished if forced social responsibility is imposed. The case of providing subsidized AIDS medication to less developed nations is used to illustrate how social blackmail may result in less innovation, entrepreneurship, and product development efforts by the pharmaceutical industry, ultimately reducing social welfare.

Design and Evaluation of Ergonomic Interventions for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders in India

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Improper workstation, work procedures and tools are found to be the risk factors for the development of musculoskeletal disorders among the informal sector workers of the developing countries. Low cost ergonomic interventions can effectively improve such adverse conditions. Case presentation In the present article some studies related to design interventions in different informal and agricultural sectors were discussed and their efficacies were analyzed. It was observed that with the help of appropriate interventions musculoskeletal disorders were reduced, adverse physiological conditions were improved when awkward postures were corrected and ultimately the organisational productivity was increased. Conclusion Proper implementation of ergonomic interventions can ultimately improve the economy of the nation. PMID:25009740