Deceleration-Limiting Roadway Barrier

Roadway barrier system and method are disclosed for decelerating a moving vehicle in a controlled manner and for retaining the decelerated vehicle. A net or mesh of the roadway barrier system receives and captures the moving vehicle. The net or mesh is secured to anchors by energy absorbing straps. The energy absorbing straps deploy under a tensional load to decelerate the moving vehicle, the straps providing a controlled resistance to the tensional load over a predefined displacement or stroke to bring the moving vehicle to rest. Additional features include a sacrificial panel or sheet in front of the net that holds up the net or mesh while deflecting vehicles that collide only tangentially with the roadway barrier system

Safer Roadside Crash Walls Would Limit Deceleration

The figure depicts the aspects of a proposed deceleration-limiting design for crash walls at the sides of racetracks and highways. The proposal is intended to overcome the disadvantages of both rigid barriers and kinetic-energy-absorbing barriers of prior design. Rigid barriers can keep high-speed crashing motor vehicles from leaving roadways and thereby prevent injury to nearby persons and objects, but they can also subject the occupants of the vehicles to deceleration levels high enough to cause injury or death. Kinetic-energy-absorbing barriers of prior design reduce deceleration levels somewhat, but are not designed to soften impacts optimally; moreover, some of them allow debris to bounce back onto roadways or onto roadside areas, and, in cases of glancingly incident vehicles, some of them can trap the vehicles in such a manner as to cause more injury than would occur if the vehicles were allowed to skid along the rigid barriers. The proposed crash walls would (1) allow tangentially impacting vehicles to continue sliding along the racetrack without catching them, (2) catch directly impacting vehicles to prevent them from injuring nearby persons and objects, and (3) absorb kinetic energy in a more nearly optimum way to limit decelerations to levels that human occupants could survive

Monitoring for Renal Stone Recurrence in Astronauts With History of Stone

After an initial stone episode persons are at increased risk for future stone formation. A systematic approach is required to monitor the efficacy of treatment and preventive measures, and to assess the risk of developing new stones. This is important for persons working in critical jobs or austere environments, such as astronauts. A literature review of the current standards of care for renal stone monitoring and imaging was done. Military and civil aviation standards were also reviewed, as well as the medical precedents from the space program. Additionally, a new, more effective, renal stone ultrasound protocol has been developed. Using this work, a monitoring algorithm was proposed that takes into consideration the unique mission and operational environment of spaceflight. The approach to imaging persons with history of renal stones varies widely in the literature. Imaging is often done yearly or biannually, which may be too long for mission critical personnel. In the proposed algorithm astronauts with a history of renal stone, who may be under consideration for assignment, are imaged by a detailed, physiciandriven, ultrasound protocol. Unassigned personnel are monitored by yearly ultrasound and urine studies. Any positive ultrasound study is then followed by low-dose renal computed tomography scan. Other criteria are also established. The proposed algorithm provides a balanced approach between efficacy and reduced radiation exposure for the monitoring of astronauts with a renal stone history. This may eventually allow a transition from a risk-averse, to a risk-modifying approach that can enable continued service of individuals with history of renal stone that have adequately controlled risk factors

Addendum to Guarantee Testing Results from the Greenidge Multi-Pollutant Control Project: Additiona NH3, NOx, and CO Testing Results

On March 28-30 and May 1-4, 2007, CONSOL Energy Inc. Research & Development (CONSOL R&D) performed flue gas sampling at AES Greenidge to verify the performance of the multi-pollutant control system recently installed by Babcock Power Environmental Inc. (BPEI) on the 107-MW Unit 4 (Boiler 6). The multi-pollutant control system includes combustion modifications and a hybrid selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR)/in-duct selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to reduce NO{sub x} emissions, followed by a Turbosorp{reg_sign} circulating fluidized bed dry scrubber system and baghouse to reduce emissions of SO{sub 2}, SO{sub 3}, HCl, HF, and particulate matter. Mercury removal is provided via the co-benefits afforded by the in-duct SCR, dry scrubber, and baghouse and by injection of activated carbon upstream of the scrubber, as required. The testing in March and May demonstrated that the multi-pollutant control system attained its performance targets for NO{sub x} emissions, SO{sub 2} removal efficiency, acid gas (SO{sub 3}, HCl, and HF) removal efficiency, and mercury removal efficiency. However, the ammonia slip measured between the SCR outlet and air heater inlet was consistently greater than the guarantee of 2 ppmvd {at} 3% O{sub 2}. As a result, additional testing was performed on May 30-June 1 and on June 20-21, 2007, in conjunction with tuning of the hybrid NO{sub x} control system by BPEI, in an effort to achieve the performance target for ammonia slip. This additional testing occurred after the installation of a large particle ash (LPA) screen and removal system just above the SCR reactor and a fresh SCR catalyst layer in mid-May. This report describes the results of the additional tests. During the May 30-June 1 sampling period, CONSOL R&D and Clean Air Engineering (CAE) each measured flue gas ammonia concentrations at the air heater inlet, downstream of the in-duct SCR reactor. In addition, CONSOL R&D measured flue gas ammonia concentrations at the economizer outlet, upstream of the SCR reactor, and CAE measured flue gas NO{sub x} and CO concentrations at the sampling grids located at the inlet and outlet of the SCR reactor. During the June 20-21 sampling period, CONSOL R&D measured flue gas ammonia concentrations at the air heater inlet. All ammonia measurements were performed using a modified version of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Conditional Test Method (CTM) 027. The NO{sub x} and CO measurements were performed using U.S. EPA Methods 7E and 10, respectively

Guarantee Testing Results from the Greenidge Mult-Pollutant Control Project

CONSOL Energy Inc. Research & Development (CONSOL R&D) performed flue gas sampling at AES Greenidge to verify the performance of the multi-pollutant control system recently installed by Babcock Power Environmental Inc. (BPEI) on the 107-megawatt (MW) Unit 4 (Boiler 6). The multi-pollutant control system includes combustion modifications and a hybrid selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR)/induct selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to reduce NO{sub x} emissions, followed by a Turbosorp{reg_sign} circulating fluidized bed dry scrubber system and baghouse to reduce emissions of SO{sub 2}, SO{sub 3}, HCl, HF, and particulate matter. Mercury removal is provided via the co-benefits afforded by the in-duct SCR, dry scrubber, and baghouse and by injection of activated carbon upstream of the scrubber, as required. Testing was conducted through ports located at the inlet and outlet of the SCR reactor to evaluate the performance of the hybrid NO{sub x} control system, as well as through ports located at the air heater outlet and baghouse outlet or stack to determine pollutant removal efficiencies across the Turbosorp{reg_sign} scrubber and baghouse. Data from the unit's stack continuous emission monitor (CEM) were also used for determining attainment of the performance targets for NO{sub x} emissions and SO{sub 2} removal efficiency

Tunable phenotypic variability through an autoregulatory alternative sigma factor circuit.

Genetically identical individuals in bacterial populations can display significant phenotypic variability. This variability can be functional, for example by allowing a fraction of stress prepared cells to survive an otherwise lethal stress. The optimal fraction of stress prepared cells depends on environmental conditions. However, how bacterial populations modulate their level of phenotypic variability remains unclear. Here we show that the alternative sigma factor σV circuit in Bacillus subtilis generates functional phenotypic variability that can be tuned by stress level, environmental history and genetic perturbations. Using single-cell time-lapse microscopy and microfluidics, we find the fraction of cells that immediately activate σV under lysozyme stress depends on stress level and on a transcriptional memory of previous stress. Iteration between model and experiment reveals that this tunability can be explained by the autoregulatory feedback structure of the sigV operon. As predicted by the model, genetic perturbations to the operon also modulate the response variability. The conserved sigma-anti-sigma autoregulation motif is thus a simple mechanism for bacterial populations to modulate their heterogeneity based on their environment

Global parameter search reveals design principles of the mammalian circadian clock

Background: Virtually all living organisms have evolved a circadian (~24 hour) clock that controls physiological and behavioural processes with exquisite precision throughout the day/night cycle. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which generates these ~24 h rhythms in mammals, consists of several thousand neurons. Each neuron contains a gene-regulatory network generating molecular oscillations, and the individual neuron oscillations are synchronised by intercellular coupling, presumably via neurotransmitters. Although this basic mechanism is currently accepted and has been recapitulated in mathematical models, several fundamental questions about the design principles of the SCN remain little understood. For example, a remarkable property of the SCN is that the phase of the SCN rhythm resets rapidly after a 'jet lag' type experiment, i.e. when the light/ dark (LD) cycle is abruptly advanced or delayed by several hours. Results: Here, we describe an extensive parameter optimization of a previously constructed simplified model of the SCN in order to further understand its design principles. By examining the top 50 solutions from the parameter optimization, we show that the neurotransmitters' role in generating the molecular circadian rhythms is extremely important. In addition, we show that when a neurotransmitter drives the rhythm of a system of coupled damped oscillators, it exhibits very robust synchronization and is much more easily entrained to light/dark cycles. We were also able to recreate in our simulations the fast rhythm resetting seen after a 'jet lag' type experiment. Conclusion: Our work shows that a careful exploration of parameter space for even an extremely simplified model of the mammalian clock can reveal unexpected behaviours and non-trivial predictions. Our results suggest that the neurotransmitter feedback loop plays a crucial role in the robustness and phase resetting properties of the mammalian clock, even at the single neuron level

South Korea's automotive labour regime, Hyundai Motors’ global production network and trade‐based integration with the European Union

This article explores the interrelationship between global production networks(GPNs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) in the South Korean auto industry and its employment relations. It focuses on the production network of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) — the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the world — and the FTA between the EU and South Korea. This was the first of the EU’s ‘new generation’ FTAs, which among other things contained provisions designed to protect and promote labour standards. The article’s argument is twofold. First, that HMG’s production network and Korea’s political economy (of which HMG is a crucial part) limited the possibilities for the FTA’s labour provisions to take effect. Second, that the commercial provisions in this same FTA simultaneously eroded HMG’s domestic market and corporate profitability, leading to adverse consequences for auto workers in the more insecure and low-paid jobs. In making this argument, the article advances a multiscalar conceptualization of the labour regime as an analytical intermediary between GPNs and FTAs. It also provides one of the first empirical studies of the EU–South Korea FTA in terms of employment relations, drawing on 105 interviews with trade unions, employer associations, automobile companies and state officials across both parties

The narrative self, distributed memory, and evocative objects

In this article, I outline various ways in which artifacts are interwoven with autobiographical memory systems and conceptualize what this implies for the self. I first sketch the narrative approach to the self, arguing that who we are as persons is essentially our (unfolding) life story, which, in turn, determines our present beliefs and desires, but also directs our future goals and actions. I then argue that our autobiographical memory is partly anchored in our embodied interactions with an ecology of artifacts in our environment. Lifelogs, photos, videos, journals, diaries, souvenirs, jewelry, books, works of art, and many other meaningful objects trigger and sometimes constitute emotionally-laden autobiographical memories. Autobiographical memory is thus distributed across embodied agents and various environmental structures. To defend this claim, I draw on and integrate distributed cognition theory and empirical research in human-technology interaction. Based on this, I conclude that the self is neither defined by psychological states realized by the brain nor by biological states realized by the organism, but should be seen as a distributed and relational construct