7,792 research outputs found
Water resource problems of energy projects in the Colorado River Basin
The successful development of western coal and oil shale deposits
is dependent, to a significant degree, on the availability of adequate
water supplies. EQL is involved in a study of the aggregate effects
of various energy activities in the upper Colorado River Basin on
downstream water quantity and quality. These activities will tend
to reduce the available water in the river, and could increase its
salinity, which is already so high as to interfere with downstream
domestic and agricultural use
Extremely high room-temperature two-dimensional hole gas mobility in Ge/Si0.33Ge0.67/Si(001) p-type modulation-doped heterostructures
To extract the room-temperature drift mobility and sheet carrier density of two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) that form in Ge strained channels of various thicknesses in Ge/Si0.33Ge0.67/Si(001) p-type modulation-doped heterostructures, the magnetic field dependences of the magnetoresistance and Hall resistance at temperature of 295 K were measured and the technique of maximum entropy mobility spectrum analysis was applied. This technique allows a unique determination of mobility and sheet carrier density of each group of carriers present in parallel conducting multilayers semiconductor heterostructures. Extremely high room-temperature drift mobility (at sheet carrier density) of 2DHG 2940 cm2 V–1 s–1 (5.11×1011 cm–2) was obtained in a sample with a 20 nm thick Ge strained channel
Statistical Basis for Predicting Technological Progress
Forecasting technological progress is of great interest to engineers, policy
makers, and private investors. Several models have been proposed for predicting
technological improvement, but how well do these models perform? An early
hypothesis made by Theodore Wright in 1936 is that cost decreases as a power
law of cumulative production. An alternative hypothesis is Moore's law, which
can be generalized to say that technologies improve exponentially with time.
Other alternatives were proposed by Goddard, Sinclair et al., and Nordhaus.
These hypotheses have not previously been rigorously tested. Using a new
database on the cost and production of 62 different technologies, which is the
most expansive of its kind, we test the ability of six different postulated
laws to predict future costs. Our approach involves hindcasting and developing
a statistical model to rank the performance of the postulated laws. Wright's
law produces the best forecasts, but Moore's law is not far behind. We discover
a previously unobserved regularity that production tends to increase
exponentially. A combination of an exponential decrease in cost and an
exponential increase in production would make Moore's law and Wright's law
indistinguishable, as originally pointed out by Sahal. We show for the first
time that these regularities are observed in data to such a degree that the
performance of these two laws is nearly tied. Our results show that
technological progress is forecastable, with the square root of the logarithmic
error growing linearly with the forecasting horizon at a typical rate of 2.5%
per year. These results have implications for theories of technological change,
and assessments of candidate technologies and policies for climate change
mitigation
Role of detrusor PDGFRα+ cells in mouse model of cyclophosphamide-induced detrusor overactivity
Cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced cystitis is a rodent model that shares many features common to the cystitis occurring in patients, including detrusor overactivity (DO). Platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha positive (PDGFRα(+)) cells have been proposed to regulate muscle excitability in murine bladders during filling. PDGFRα(+) cells express small conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels (predominantly SK3) that provide stabilization of membrane potential during filling. We hypothesized that down-regulation of the regulatory functions of PDGFRα(+) cells and/or loss of PDGFRα(+) cells generates the DO in CYP-treated mice. After CYP treatment, transcripts of Pdgfrα and Kcnn3 and PDGFRα and SK3 protein were reduced in detrusor muscle extracts. The distribution of PDGFRα(+) cells was also reduced. Inflammatory markers were increased in CYP-treated detrusor muscles. An SK channel agonist, CyPPA, increased outward current and hyperpolarization in PDGFRα(+) cells. This response was significantly depressed in PDGFRα(+) cells from CYP-treated bladders. Contractile experiments and ex vivo cystometry showed increased spontaneous contractions and transient contractions, respectively in CYP-treated bladders with a reduction of apamin sensitivity, that could be attributable to the reduction in the SK conductance expressed by PDGFRα(+) cells. In summary, PDGFRα(+) cells were reduced and the SK3 conductance was downregulated in CYP-treated bladders. These changes are consistent with the development of DO after CYP treatment
Using CO2 to Determine Inhaled Contaminant Volumes and Blower Effectiveness in Several Types of Respirators
This experiment was conducted to determine how much contaminant could be expected to be inhaled when overbreathing several different types of respirators. These included several tight-fitting and loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) and one air-purifying respirator (APR). CO2 was used as a tracer gas in the ambient air, and several loose-and tight-fitting respirators were tested on the head form of a breathing machine. CO2 concentration in the exhaled breath was monitored as well as CO2 concentration in the ambient air. This concentration ratio was able to give a measurement of protection factor, not for the respirator necessarily, but for the wearer. Flow rates in the filter/blower inlet and breathing machine outlet were also monitored, so blower effectiveness (defined as the blower contribution to inhaled air) could also be determined. Wearer protection factors were found to range from 1.1 for the Racal AirMate loose-fitting PAPR to infinity for the 3M Hood, 3M Breath-Easy PAPR, and SE 400 breath-responsive PAPR. Inhaled contaminant volumes depended on tidal volume but ranged from 2.02 L to 0 L for the same respirators, respectively. Blower effectiveness was about 1.0 for tight-fitting APRs, 0.18 for the Racal, and greater than 1.0 for two of the loose-fitting PAPRs. With blower effectiveness greater than 1.0, some blower flow during the exhalation phase contributes to the subsequent inhalation. Results from this experiment point to different ways to measure respirator efficacy
Hydraulic modeling of thermal outfall diffusers for the San Onofre nuclear power plant
Various hydraulic model tests were performed in connection with the design and performance of the offshore thermal outfalls for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (jointly owned by the Southern California Edison Company and the San Diego Gas and Electric Company)near San Clemente, California. These include model investigations of: (i) the multiple port discharges for the proposed Units 2 and 3, (ii) the existing submerged single outlet from Unit 1, (iii) the discharge of heated water from the Units 2 and 3 intakes during heat treatment, and (iv) hydraulic characteristics of discharge ports.
On the basis of these investigations, the diffusion structure for each of the proposed new units was designed to be 2500 feet long aligned perpendicular to shore. The diffuser for Unit 3 will extend from 3500 to 6000 feet from shore, and that for Unit 2 from 6000 to 8500 feet from shore. Each diffuser will have 63 discharge nozzles aimed offshore (±25° from the pipe axis, 20° above horizontal). The momentum of the discharge produces and offshore drift of the diluted warm-water plume.
The maximum temperature rise on the surface caused by the discharge was found to decrease with increasing longshore current speed, and the discharge momentum from the jets was effective in preventing significant re-entrainment in the event of reversing or low currents.
Although the California thermal discharge requirements specify a maximum surface temperature increase of 4°F (beyond 1000 feet from the discharge structure), the laboratory target maximum was established at 2.5°F, to account for possible model-prototype differences and unmodeled effects. The hydraulic model studies showed that the proposed outfall design meets the laboratory target value for a variety of possible longshore current conditions; therefore, it is predicted that the prototype outfall operation will meet the California thermal discharge requirements
Autonomous FMCW Radar Survey of Antarctic Shear Zone
Radar survey of the Antarctic shear zone was conducted using an ultra-wideband (2-10 GHz) frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar. The radar was mounted on a sled and pulled by a robot that was specifically designed to operate in a harsh polar environment. Our FMCW radar had good penetration through Antarctic snow and we observed snow stratigraphy to a depth of 20 m. The radar images also revealed multiple crevasses in the shear zone. Our results demonstrate that autonomous survey using high frequency radar is feasible and safe approach for detecting hidden crevasses
Noncommutative field gas driven inflation
We investigate early time inflationary scenarios in an Universe filled with a
dilute noncommutative bosonic gas at high temperature. A noncommutative bosonic
gas is a gas composed of bosonic scalar field with noncommutative field space
on a commutative spacetime. Such noncommutative field theories was recently
introduced as a generalization of quantum mechanics on a noncommutative
spacetime. As key features of these theories are Lorentz invariance violation
and CPT violation. In the present study we use a noncommutative bosonic field
theory that besides the noncommutative parameter shows up a further
parameter . This parameter controls the range of the
noncommutativity and acts as a regulator for the theory. Both parameters play a
key role in the modified dispersion relations of the noncommutative bosonic
field, leading to possible striking consequences for phenomenology. In this
work we obtain an equation of state for the
noncommutative bosonic gas relating pressure and energy density , in
the limit of high temperature. We analyse possible behaviours for this gas
parameters , and , so that , which
is the region where the Universe enters an accelerated phase.Comment: Reference added. Version to appear in Journal of Cosmology and
Astroparticle Physics - JCA
Pauli spin blockade and lifetime-enhanced transport in a Si/SiGe double quantum dot
We analyze electron transport data through a Si/SiGe double quantum dot in
terms of spin blockade and lifetime-enhanced transport (LET), which is
transport through excited states that is enabled by long spin relaxation times.
We present a series of low-bias voltage measurements showing the sudden
appearance of a strong tail of current that we argue is an unambiguous
signature of LET appearing when the bias voltage becomes greater than the
singlet-triplet splitting for the (2,0) electron state. We present eight
independent data sets, four in the forward bias (spin-blockade) regime and four
in the reverse bias (lifetime-enhanced transport) regime, and show that all
eight data sets can be fit to one consistent set of parameters. We also perform
a detailed analysis of the reverse bias (LET) regime, using transport rate
equations that include both singlet and triplet transport channels. The model
also includes the energy dependent tunneling of electrons across the quantum
barriers, and resonant and inelastic tunneling effects. In this way, we obtain
excellent fits to the experimental data, and we obtain quantitative estimates
for the tunneling rates and transport currents throughout the reverse bias
regime. We provide a physical understanding of the different blockade regimes
and present detailed predictions for the conditions under which LET may be
observed.Comment: published version, 18 page
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