Limit cycle properties of rhythmic forearm movements.

The kinematics of 1- and 2-armed rhythmic forearm movements were examined using the methodology and limit cycle modeling strategy of B. A. Kay, J. A. S. Kelso, E. L. Saltzman, and G. Schoner (see record 1987-23926-001). As frequency was paced from 1 to 6 Hz (in steps of 1 Hz), amplitude decreased in all 7 participants, whereas peak velocity showed different trends for different participants. The data of 2 of the 7 participants could be described with Kay et al.'s model. To account for the data of the remaining 5 participants, a new model was proposed with a dissipative structure involving a frequency-dependent Rayleigh term and a standard Van der Pol term. For 2 of these 5 participants, the coefficient of the Van der Pol term was not significantly different from zero. Contrary to Kay et al.'s model, the new model suggests that the energy bookkeeping of rhythmic forearm oscillations is affected by the frequency of movement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Source Term and Mobilization Assessment in NSSR-1 of ITER

We describe the radioactive sources in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The most important sources are co-deposited tritium, tritiated water, tokamak dust, and corrosion products. The co-deposited tritium is limited to 1 kg-T; the total on-site tritium inventory in the Basic Performance Phase (BPP) is 4 kg-T. Tritiated water concentrations are kept below 0.2 g-T/m³ in the divertor; other coolant loops have lower tritium concentrations. The in-vessel dust inventory is up to 100 kg-W, 100 kg-Be, and 200 kg-C. The activated corrosion product inventory is kept below 10 kg per loop.     

Measurements of Particle Residence Time Distributions in A Co-Current Spray Dryer

Measurements of particle residence time distributions by means of tracer analysis were done in a co-current pilot plant spray dryer operated with a pressure-nozzle. A system is described for injecting tracer into the feedstream just before the nozzle. Tracer concentrations were measured in two product streams: the tower product stream (mean particle size 134 microns) and the cyclone product stream (mean particle size 67 microns). The measurements show a very wide range of residence times: some particles have residence times shorter than 3 seconds, others have residence times longer than 10 minutes. The median of the distribution is 58·5 _s for the tower product stream and 42.2 _s for the cyclone product stream.     

Overview of Safety and Environmental Issues for Inertial Fusion Energy

This paper summarizes safety and environmental issues of Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE): inventories, effluents, maintenance, accident safety, waste management, and recycling. The fusion confinement approach among inertial and magnetic options affects how the fusion reaction is maintained and which materials surround the reaction chamber. The target fill technology has a major impact on the target factory tritium inventory. IFE fusion reaction chambers usually employ some means to protect the first structural wall from fusion pulses. This protective fluid or granular bed also moderates and absorbs most neutrons before they reach the first structural wall. Although the protective fluid activates, most candidate fluids have low activation hazard. Hands-on maintenance seems practical for the driver, target factory, and secondary coolant systems; remote maintenance is likely required for the reaction chamber, primary coolant, and vacuum exhaust cleanup systems. The driver and fuel target facility are well separated from the main reaction chamber.     

Low temperature corrosion in domestic refuse boilers monitored with cooled corrosion probes and test heat exchangers

Corrosion properties of materials for utilizing of flue gas energy by cooling the gas below the acid dew point have been studied with cooled corrosion probes. The U-tube corrosion probe is found to be a reliable method where tests can be done in the actual plant environment. Results from one domestic refuse boiler plant with severe low temperature corrosion problems are reported and the results described indicating a minimum temperature of 75°C to avoid corrosion. Another set of results is reported with flue gas cleaning and cooling in an experimental heat exchanger. Unalloyed steel is found to show the same level of corrosion in both raw uncleaned and cleaned flue gas. AISI 316 and 254 SMO stainless steels have shown high corrosion rates in the raw gas but a satisfactory resistance in the cleaned gas.     

Employment effects of changes in transportation infrastructure: methodological aspects of the gravity model

Assessing the employment effects of changes in transport infrastructure, such as the construction of the Channel Tunnel or high-speed rail connections, is not an easy task. The gravity model is sometimes used to analyse changes in the potentials of the regions concerned. One sttep further would be the translation of changes in potentials into changes in employment per region. This paper will be devoted to analysing some properties and limitation of such a translation process. Special attention is paid to an operational model developed by Evers et al. (1987) for this purpose. It is shown that this model is almost consistent with the theory of locational behaviou of firms.     

Treg-Resistant Cytotoxic CD4+ T Cells Dictate T Helper Cells in Their Vicinity: TH17 Skewing and Modulation of Proliferation

Cytotoxic CD4⁺ T cells (CD4 CTL) are terminally differentiated T helper cells that contribute to autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. We developed a novel triple co-culture transwell assay to study mutual interactions between CD4 CTL, conventional TH cells, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) simultaneously. We show that, while CD4 CTL are resistant to suppression by Tregs in vitro, the conditioned medium of CD4 CTL accentuates the suppressive phenotype of Tregs by upregulating IL-10, Granzyme B, CTLA-4, and PD-1. We demonstrate that CD4 CTL conditioned medium skews memory TH cells to a TH17 phenotype, suggesting that the CD4 CTL induce bystander polarization. In our triple co-culture assay, the CD4 CTL secretome promotes the proliferation of TH cells, even in the presence of Tregs. However, when cell−cell contact is established between CD4 CTL and TH cells, the proliferation of TH cells is no longer increased and Treg-mediated suppression is restored. Taken together, our results suggest that when TH cells acquire cytotoxic properties, these Treg-resistant CD4 CTL affect the proliferation and phenotype of conventional TH cells in their vicinity. By creating such a pro-inflammatory microenvironment, CD4 CTL may favor their own persistence and expansion, and that of other potentially pathogenic TH cells, thereby contributing to pathogenic responses in autoimmune disorders.     

Investigation of the Efficiencies of Bioaerosol Samplers for Collecting Aerosolized Bacteria Using a Fluorescent Tracer. I: Effects of Non-sampling Processes on Bacterial Culturability

By sampling aerosolized microorganisms, the efficiency of a bioaerosol sampler can be calculated depending on its ability both to collect microorganisms and to preserve their culturability during a sampling process. However, those culturability losses in the non-sampling processes should not be counted toward the sampling efficiency. Prior to the efficiency assessment, this study was designed to investigate the culturability losses in three non-sampling processes: (1) the tracer uranine induced loss; (2) the loss during aerosolization (pre-sampling process); and (3) the bacteria and uranine recovery in air sample handling procedures for the samples of the Andersen 6-stage impactor and the Airport MD8 (post-sampling process). The results indicated that uranine had no significant effect on the culturability of Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Mycoplasma synoviae in suspensions (P > 0.05), but negatively affected the culturability of Campylobacter jejuni (P = 0.01). The culturability of E. faecalis, E. coli, and M. synoviae was not affected by stresses caused by aerosolization (P > 0.05). Only 29% of C. jejuni were still culturable during aerosolization (P = 0.02). In the air sample handling procedures, the four species of bacteria were recovered without significant losses from the samples of the Andersen impactor, but only 33–60% uranine was recovered. E. faecalis, E. coli, and M. synoviae were recovered without significant losses from the samples of the Airport MD8. More C. jejuni was recovered (172%), probably due to multiplication or counting variation. It is suggested that tracer and bacteria should be aerosolized separately when the tracer negatively affects the bacterial culturability. In both pre- and post-sampling processes, losses of bacterial culturability (or multiplication) may occur, which should be taken into account when assessing the efficiencies of bioaerosol samplers.     

X-ray absorption study of drying cement paste and mortar

X-ray absorption was used to observe water evaporation with hydration time in paste and mortar specimens, with the aim of studying the influence of water/cement (w/c) ratio, presence of aggregates, curing conditions on drying during early hydration. For the samples subjected to surface drying immediately after mixing, there exists a moisture gradient within the internal part of the specimen. However, obvious top-down drying only occurs within a small zone near the surface for early age cement pastes and mortars. The evaporation rate of water is very high in the first day after casting and is drastically reduced afterwards due to the formation of a microstructure that greatly improves specimens resistance to moisture loss. Mortars reveal a slightly lower evaporation rate since the aggregate increases the length of the transport route because of a larger tortuosity. However, the effect of sealed curing is much more important than the tortuosity effect of the aggregates.