Tidal power Li︠a︡tkher, V. M; Hackerott, Kris
2014., 2014, 2014-04-01, 2014-04-03, c2014
eBook
As the global supply of conventional energy sources, such as fossil fuels, dwindles and becomes more and more expensive, unconventional and renewable sources of energy, such as power generation from ...water sources, is becoming more and more important. Hydropower has been around for decades, but this book suggests new methods that are more cost-effective and less intrusive to the environment for creating power sources from rivers, the tides, and other sources of water. The energy available from water currents is potentially much greater than society's needs. Presenting a detailed discussion of the costs, risks, and challenges of building power plants that run on hydropower, this highly technical explanation of tidal power plants offers engineers practical applications of highly efficient and cost-effective power systems. Not just useful to engineers working in the field, this treatise is a valuable textbook for students and researchers working in tidal power.
Seismic Loads Lyatkher, Victor M
2015, 2015-12-03
eBook
Earthquakes are a way of life on Earth, and, whether you live in an area that is often affected by earthquakes or not, every building, every road, every bridge, and, in fact, almost everything ...constructed by humans in which we walk, sleep, live, sit, or visit, has to be constructed to withstand an earthquake, by following local, regional, or national codes, laws, and regulations. Further to this, the science and engineering behind these constructions go further than what is mandated by government as a part of their practice. All construction, and, in general, all life on Earth, has some risk of seismic impacts. A comprehensive description of any seismic action may be given only on a probabilistic basis and, in general, is very bulky and quite uncertain. However, for a variety of structures or systems that meet fairly simple models of behavior during earthquakes, a general description of the seismic action is not required, for prediction of the status of such facilities or systems may be sufficient to define one or more common parameters of seismic impact. Thus, it makes sense to search for optimal parameters of influence in which optimality is understood with the greatest ease with sufficient information. This book contains a description of several models of seismic effects and examples of implementation of these models at specific sites. Using this information, scientists and engineers can design structures that are stronger, safer, and longer-lasting. It is a must-have for any scientist, engineer, or student working in or researching seismic loads and constructions with a view toward withstanding seismic activity.
Wind power Lyatkher, Victor
2013., 2013, 2013-12-03
eBook
"Wind power is the most mature technology of the major sources of renewable energy that have been developed, and more efficient and cost-effective techologies and materials are constantly being ...sought for turbines and the equipment used on them. Here is a comprehensive and thorough review of the engineering pros and cons for using different kinds of wind turbines in different areas, including offshore. With a full technical knowledge, engineers, managers, and other decision-makers in the wind energy industry can make more informed decisions about increasing capacity, cost-efficiency, and longevity. Covering the various types of wind turbines available, such as new collinear windmills, orthogonal turbines, and others, this highly technical treatment of wind turbines offers engineers, students, and researchers insight into the practical applications of these turbines and their potential for maximum efficiency."
SummaryBackgroundPathological complete response to preoperative treatment in adults with soft-tissue sarcoma can be achieved in only a few patients receiving radiotherapy. This phase 2–3 trial ...evaluated the safety and efficacy of the hafnium oxide (HfO 2) nanoparticle NBTXR3 activated by radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone as a pre-operative treatment in patients with locally advanced soft-tissue sarcoma. MethodsAct.In.Sarc is a phase 2–3 randomised, multicentre, international trial. Adults (aged ≥18 years) with locally advanced soft-tissue sarcoma of the extremity or trunk wall, of any histological grade, and requiring preoperative radiotherapy were included. Patients had to have a WHO performance status of 0–2 and a life expectancy of at least 6 months. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by an interactive web response system to receive either NBTXR3 (volume corresponding to 10% of baseline tumour volume at a fixed concentration of 53·3 g/L) as a single intratumoural administration before preoperative external-beam radiotherapy (50 Gy in 25 fractions) or radiotherapy alone, followed by surgery. Randomisation was stratified by histological subtype (myxoid liposarcoma vs others). This was an open-label study. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a pathological complete response, assessed by a central pathology review board following European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer guidelines in the intention-to-treat population full analysis set. Safety analyses were done in all patients who received at least one puncture and injection of NBTXR3 or at least one dose of radiotherapy. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02379845, and is ongoing for long-term follow-up, but recruitment is complete. FindingsBetween March 3, 2015, and Nov 21, 2017, 180 eligible patients were enrolled and randomly assigned and 179 started treatment: 89 in the NBTXR3 plus radiotherapy group and 90 in the radiotherapy alone group. Two patients in the NBTXR3 group and one patient in the radiotherapy group were excluded from the efficacy analysis because they were subsequently discovered to be ineligible; thus, a total of 176 patients were analysed for the primary endpoint in the intention-to-treat full analysis set (87 in the NBTXR3 group and 89 in the radiotherapy alone group). A pathological complete response was noted in 14 (16%) of 87 patients in the NBTXR3 group and seven (8%) of 89 in the radiotherapy alone group (p=0·044). In both treatment groups, the most common grade 3–4 treatment-emergent adverse event was postoperative wound complication (eight 9% of 89 patients in the NBTXR3 group and eight 9% of 90 in the radiotherapy alone group). The most common grade 3–4 adverse events related to NBTXR3 administration were injection site pain (four 4% of 89) and hypotension (four 4%) and the most common grade 3–4 radiotherapy-related adverse event was radiation skin injury in both groups (five 6% of 89 in the NBTXR3 group and four 4% of 90 in the radiotherapy alone group). The most common treatment-emergent grade 3–4 adverse event related to NBTXR3 was hypotension (six 7% of 89 patients). Serious adverse events were observed in 35 (39%) of 89 patients in the NBTXR3 group and 27 (30%) of 90 patients in the radiotherapy alone group. No treatment-related deaths occurred. InterpretationThis trial validates the mode of action of this new class of radioenhancer, which potentially opens a large field of clinical applications in soft-tissue sarcoma and possibly other cancers. FundingNanobiotix SA and PharmaEngine, Inc.
Approximate Global Convergence and Adaptivity for Coefficient Inverse Problems is the first book in which two new concepts of numerical solutions of multidimensional Coefficient Inverse Problems ...(CIPs) for a hyperbolic Partial Differential Equation (PDE) are presented: Approximate Global Convergence and the Adaptive Finite Element Method (adaptivity for brevity). Two central questions for CIPs are addressed: How to obtain a good approximations for the exact solution without any knowledge of a small neighborhood of this solution, and how to refine it given the approximation. The book also combines analytical convergence results with recipes for various numerical implementations of developed algorithms. The developed technique is applied to two types of blind experimental data, which are collected both in a laboratory and in the field. The result for the blind backscattering experimental data collected in the field addresses a real world problem of imaging of shallow explosives.
The Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) system serves as a community resource for comparative analysis of publicly available genomes in a comprehensive integrated context. IMG integrates publicly ...available draft and complete genomes from all three domains of life with a large number of plasmids and viruses. IMG provides tools and viewers for analyzing and reviewing the annotations of genes and genomes in a comparative context. IMG's data content and analytical capabilities have been continuously extended through regular updates since its first release in March 2005. IMG is available at http://img.jgi.doe.gov. Companion IMG systems provide support for expert review of genome annotations (IMG/ER: http://img.jgi.doe.gov/er), teaching courses and training in microbial genome analysis (IMG/EDU: http://img.jgi.doe.gov/edu) and analysis of genomes related to the Human Microbiome Project (IMG/HMP: http://www.hmpdacc-resources.org/img_hmp).
Chronic and acute overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under pathophysiologic conditions forms an integral part of the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and in particular ...atherosclerosis. These ROS are released from different sources, such as xanthine oxidase, lipoxygenase, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, the uncoupling of nitric oxide synthase and, in particular, mitochondria. Endothelial dysfunction, characterized by a loss of nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity, occurs early on in the development of atherosclerosis, and determines future vascular complications. Although the molecular mechanisms responsible for mitochondria-mediated disease processes are not clear, oxidative stress seems to play an important role. In general, ROS are essential to cell function, but adequate levels of antioxidant defenses are required in order to avoid the harmful effects of excessive ROS production. Mitochondrial oxidative stress damage and dysfunction contribute to a number of cell pathologies that manifest themselves through a range of conditions. This review considers the process of atherosclerosis from a mitochondrial perspective, and assesses strategies for the targeted delivery of antioxidants to mitochondria that are currently under development. We will provide a summary of the following areas: the cellular metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and its role in pathophysiological processes such as atherosclerosis; currently available antioxidants and possible reasons for their efficacy and inefficacy in ameliorating oxidative stress-mediated diseases; and recent developments in mitochondrially-targeted antioxidants that concentrate on the matrix-facing surface of the inner mitochondrial membrane in order to protect against mitochondrial oxidative damage, and their therapeutic potential as a treatment for atherosclerosis.
Despite of the large array of available carbon nanotube (CNT) configurations that allow different industrial and scientific applications of these nanoparticles, their impacts on aquatic organisms, ...especially on invertebrate species, are still limited. To our knowledge, no information is available on how surface chemistry alteration (functionalization) of CNTs may impact the toxicity of these NPs to bivalve species after a chronic exposure. For this reason, the impacts induced by chronic exposure (28days) to unfunctionalized MWCNTs (Nf-MWCNTs) in comparison with functionalized MWCNTs (f-MWCNTs), were evaluated in R. philippinarum, by measuring alterations induced in clams' oxidative status, neurotoxicity and metabolic capacity. The results obtained revealed that exposure to both MWCNT materials altered energy-related responses, with higher metabolic capacity and lower glycogen, protein and lipid concentrations in clams exposed to these CNTs. Moreover, R. philippinarum exposed to Nf-MWCNTs and f-MWCNTs showed oxidative stress expressed in higher lipid peroxidation and lower ratio between reduced and oxidized glutathione, despite the activation of defense mechanisms (superoxide-dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferases) in exposed clams. Additionally, neurotoxicity was observed by inhibition of Cholinesterases activity in organisms exposed to both MWCNTs.
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•Both Nf-MWCNTs and f-MWCNTs altered biochemical responses in Ruditapes philippinarum•f-MWCNTs generated greater toxicity impacts in exposed clams compared to Nf-MWCNTs•Inhibition of cholinesterases confirmed neurotoxicity of both MWCNTs materials•Ruditapes philippinarum is a potential bioindicator to monitor a variety of carbon NMs
A series of seminal technological revolutions has led to a new generation of electronic devices miniaturized to such tiny scales that the strange laws of quantum physics come into play. There is no ...doubt that, unlike scientists and engineers of the past, technology leaders of the future will have to rely on quantum mechanics in their everyday work. This makes teaching and learning the subject of paramount importance for further progress. Mastering quantum physics is a very non-trivial task and its deep understanding can only be achieved through working out real-life problems and examples. It is notoriously difficult to come up with new quantum-mechanical problems that would be solvable with a pencil and paper, and within a finite amount of time. This book presents some 700+ original problems in quantum mechanics together with detailed solutions, covering nearly 1,000 pages on all aspects of quantum science.
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