Safety implications of cultural and cognitive issues in nuclear power plant operation

This research project was designed to investigate cultural and cognitive issues related to the work of nuclear power plant operators during their time on the job in the control room and during simulator training (emergency situations), in order to show how these issues impact on plant safety. The modeling of the operators work deals with the use of operational procedures, the constant changes in the focus of attention and the dynamics of the conflicting activities. The paper focuses on the relationships between the courses of action of the different operators and the constraints imposed by their working environment. It shows that the safety implications of the control room operators' cognitive and cultural issues go far beyond the formal organizational constructs usually implied. Our findings indicate that the competence required for the operators are concerned with developing the possibility of constructing situation awareness, managing conflicts, gaps and time problems created by ongoing task procedures, and dealing with distractions, developing skills for collaborative work.     

Effect of telescope alignment on a stellar interferometer

For a ground-based stellar interferometer, we investigate the effect of wave-front distortions that are due to telescope alignment errors and other factors. We apply the results to the IR/Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) interferometer. We present the computational method used in our simulation program to calculate explicitly the wave-front shape from an arbitrarily misaligned telescope. We calculate the wave-front shape and variance for a suite of misalignment conditions and interpret these results to find allowable tolerances on the positions and tilts of the telescope mirrors. We calculate the expected Strehl ratios from a total of ten types of factor, including telescope alignment, that are expected to be important in a real interferometer. Ranking the expected wave-front perturbations, we find that three of them, the wave-front curvature from atmospheric turbulence, the servo system time constant, and the flatness of the relay optics surfaces, are more significant than the telescope alignment factor. We compare observational experience at IOTA with our model estimate of the overall Strehl ratio in the visual and the infrared, finding moderately good agreement and, more important, a guide for future instrumental improvements.     

General strategy for biosensor design and construction employing multifunctional surface-tethered components

Biosensors function by reversibly linking bioreceptor-target analyte binding with closely integrated signal generation and can either continuously monitor analyte concentrations or be returned to baseline readout values by removal of analyte. We present an approach for producing fully reversible, reagentless, self-assembling biosensors on surfaces. In the prototype biosensor, quencher-dye-labeled biotin-linked E. coli maltose binding protein (MBP) bound in a specific orientation to a NeutrAvidin-coated surface is employed as a bioreceptor. To complete sensor formation, a modular tether arm consisting of a flexible biotinylated DNA oligonucleotide, a fluorescence resonance energy-transfer (FRET) donor dye, and a distal beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) analyte analogue is bound in an equimolar amount to the same surface by means of DNA-directed immobilization. After self-assembly, a baseline level of FRET quenching is observed due to specific interaction between the beta-CD of the flexible tether arm and the sugar binding site of MBP, which brings the two dyes into proximity. Addition of the target analyte, the nutrient maltose, displaces the linked beta-CD-dye of the DNA-based tether arm, and a concentration-dependent change in FRET results. Biosensor sensitivity and dynamic range can be controlled by either using MBP variants having different binding constants or by binding of modulator DNA oligonucleotides that are complementary to the flexible DNA tether. The sensor can be regenerated and returned to baseline quenching levels by washing away analyte. A complex set of interactions apparently exists on the sensing surface that may contribute to sensor behavior and range. This approach may represent a general way to assemble a wide range of useful biosensors.     

Multiplexed toxin analysis using four colors of quantum dot fluororeagents

Quantum dots (QDs) have the potential to simplify the performance of multiplexed analysis. In this work, we prepared bioinorganic conjugates made with highly luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals (CdSe-ZnS core-shell QDs) and antibodies to perform multiplexed fluoroimmunoassays. Sandwich immunoassays for the detection of cholera toxin, ricin, shiga-like toxin 1, and staphylococcal enterotoxin B were performed simultaneously in single wells of a microtiter plate. Initially the assay performance for the detection of each toxin was examined. We then demonstrated the simultaneous detection of the four toxins from a single sample probed with a mixture of all four QD-antibody reagents. Using a simple linear equation-based algorithm, it was possible to deconvolute the signal from mixed toxin samples, which allowed quantitation of all four toxins simultaneously.     

Amplitude-modulated laser imager

Laser systems have been developed to image underwater objects. However, the performance of these systems can be severely degraded in turbid water. We have developed a technique using modulated light to improve underwater detection and imaging. A program, Modulated Vision System (MVS), which is based on a new theoretical approach, has been developed to predict modulated laser imaging performance. Experiments have been conducted in a controlled laboratory environment to test the accuracy of the theory as a function of system and environmental parameters. Results show a strong correlation between experiment and theory and indicate that the MVS program can be used to predict future system performance.     

Quantum information processing with trapped Ca(+) ions

Quantum information processing is performed with single trapped Ca(+) ions, stored in a linear Paul trap and laser-cooled to the ground state of their harmonic quantum motion. Composite laser-pulse sequences were used to implement SWAP gate, phase gate and controlled-NOT gate operations. Stark shifts on the quantum-bit transitions were precisely measured and compensated. For a demonstration of quantum information processing, a Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm has been implemented using two quantum bits encoded on a single ion.     

Self-assembled nanoscale biosensors based on quantum dot FRET donors

The potential of luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) to enable development of hybrid inorganic-bioreceptor sensing materials has remained largely unrealized. We report the design, formation and testing of QD-protein assemblies that function as chemical sensors. In these assemblies, multiple copies of Escherichia coli maltose-binding protein (MBP) coordinate to each QD by a C-terminal oligohistidine segment and function as sugar receptors. Sensors are self-assembled in solution in a controllable manner. In one configuration, a beta-cyclodextrin-QSY9 dark quencher conjugate bound in the MBP saccharide binding site results in fluorescence resonance energy-transfer (FRET) quenching of QD photoluminescence. Added maltose displaces the beta-cyclodextrin-QSY9, and QD photoluminescence increases in a systematic manner. A second maltose sensor assembly consists of QDs coupled with Cy3-labelled MBP bound to beta-cyclodextrin-Cy3.5. In this case, the QD donor drives sensor function through a two-step FRET mechanism that overcomes inherent QD donor-acceptor distance limitations. Quantum dot-biomolecule assemblies constructed using these methods may facilitate development of new hybrid sensing materials.     

用判别式分析法对茶叶样品进行分类

西班牙用多变量分析法联用图形识别法对绿茶和红茶进行分类。采用判别式来判别,以水提液(EXT)、总多酚(POL)、总游离氨基酸(AA)、咖啡碱(CA)、可可碱(TB)