Liquid Level Sensor for High Temperature Molten Salt in Confined Container

Electrical resistance measurements on different rod materials in liquid solutions, molten salts, or molten lead are considered to design a liquid level sensor in a sealed containers when the temperature of the fluid is very high (~1000ºC) and conventional measurements are not possible due to properties of the fluid or condition of the container. An analytical solution to the problem is adopted to reduce the cost of the sensor and overcome the difficulties of calibration of sensors at high temperature for prediction of the level of liquid. An electrical circuit model is suggested for analytical solution to compute the resistivity versus height of the electrode rod submerged in the liquid in a narrow container. Good prediction of circuit model for experimental results is verified by comparison of analytical results of different combination of liquid solutions and rods’ material with experimental graphs

Bandwidth enhancement : correcting magnitude and phase distortion in wideband piezoelectric transducer systems

Acoustic ultrasonic measurements are widespread and commonly use transducers exhibiting resonant behaviour due to the piezoelectric nature of their active elements, being designed to give maximum sensitivity in the bandwidth of interest. We present a characterisation of such transducers that provides both magnitude and phase information describing the way in which the receiver responds to a surface displacement over its frequency range. Consequently, these devices work efficiently and linearly over only a very narrow band of their overall frequency range. In turn, this causes phase and magnitude distortion of linear signals. To correct for this distortion, we introduce a software technique, which considers only the input and the final output signals of the whole systemwhich is therefore generally applicable to any acoustic system. By correcting for the distortion of the magnitude and phase responses, we have ensured the signal seen at the receiver replicates the desired signal. We demonstrate a bandwidth extension on the received signal from 60-130 kHz at -6dB to 40-200 kHz at -1dB in a test system. The linear chirp signal we used to demonstrate this method showed the received signal to be almost identical to the desired linear chirp. Such systemcharacterisation will improve ultrasonic techniques when investigating material properties by maximising the accuracy of magnitude and phase estimations

Transition to attack in elite soccer

Since the pioneering work of Reep and Benjamin (1968) on regained possessions, there has been a lack of detailed, informative research in the area. The aim of this study was to analyse all elements of transitions to attack in elite football. The influence of turnover zone, turnover type and ‘on the ball’ player actions upon scoring goals and creating scoring opportunities (S.O.’s) were examined. A total of 3,077 transitions from all 29 games of the 2014-15 Champion’s League knockout stages were coded. Multidimensional qualitative data using 11 ordered categorical variables were obtained to characterise each transition. Data were analysed using chi-square analysis. Winning turnovers in offensive areas increased the chance of scoring a goal and creating a S.O. (p < .001). Nearly half of all turnovers in the offensive zone, 49.45% (n=45) resulted in a S.O., and 7.69% (n=7) lead to goals. The tackle was the most productive way to turnover the ball (p < .05). Teams created significantly more S.O.s and scored more goals when the first and second actions after the turnover were forward (p < .05); successful dribbles, runs with the ball and long passes were the optimal player actions. Further analysis revealed that successful teams (top 4) created more S.O.’s from the defensive, defensive midfield and offensive midfield but not the offensive zone (p < .01). Finally teams created more S.O.s from turnovers in the offensive half, but not the defensive half, when losing or drawing the tie (p < .05). It was concluded that teams should press high to win turnovers and create S.O.’s, supporting the findings of Reep and Benjamin (1968). It was further concluded that the immediate player actions after winning the turnover are critical to the outcome of the transition

Cancer Screening Practices Among Chinese and Vietnamese in the Greater Houston Area

National data on Asian Americans indicate that compared to other groups in the US, cancer incidence and prevalence is relatively lower (Miller, Kolonel et al. 1996; American Cancer Society 2006). However, when the data is examined further based on specific Asian subgroups and for specific cancers, Asian Americans bear a disproportionate burden for cancers of infectious origin, such as cervical, liver, and stomach cancer (Chen 2005). Furthermore, Asian Americans are also experiencing increasing rates of cancers associated with “Westernization,” such as breast and prostate cancer (Kolonel, Yoshizawa et al. 1988; Whittemore, Kolonel et al. 1995; Ziegler, Hoover et al. 1996). Early detection and screening are among the frontline strategies in cancer control, yet Asian American and Pacific Islanders have the lowest cancer screening rates of all ethnic groups in the US (American Cancer Society 2006). The Asian American Health Needs Assessment (AsANA) project was designed to collect data on the rapidly growing Asian American community in the Greater Houston area. The AsANA project included a telephone survey to over 800 randomly selected households in the Chinese and Vietnamese communities, two of the largest Asian American subgroups in Texas. Included in the telephone interview were questions regarding cancer screening practices. This article describes the reported screening practices among the surveyed populations and discusses the implications for developing targeted programs that can address cancer screening disparities in this community

Lifestyle factors and ovarian cancer outcomes

Purpose: Few studies have reported on the lifestyle characteristics of ovarian cancer survivors. The objectives of this study were to characterize the associations between physical activity (PA) and body size (BS) with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and ovarian cancer recurrence in a sample of regional and distal stage ovarian cancer survivors. Methods: Epithelial ovarian cancer survivors in their first clinical remission, with no evidence of recurrent disease were identified from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center tumor registry. A total of 51 survivors consented to participate in a battery of self-reported questionnaires. Trained staff collected data on anthropometric and recurrence data were collected from the tumor registry. Generalized linear models were used to assess the relationship between PA, BS, and HRQOL. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the associations between PA, BS, and recurrence-free survival. Results: Most (59%) women were overweight or obese (BMI \u3c 25 kg/m2) , 49% met current guidelines for PA (150 minutes of moderate to vigorous PA/week), and 29% displayed characteristics of abdominal obesity (\u3e88 centimeters). Women who were not obese reported significantly higher (better) overall HRQOL (point difference = 10.8, P \u3c 0.05) and mental health (point difference = 12.4, P \u3c 0.05) scores than women who were obese. Elevated waist circumference and physical activity were not significantly associated with HRQOL outcomes and we did not find any associations between lifestyle behaviors and recurrence free survival (all P \u3e 0.05). Conclusions: Ovarian cancer survivors with characteristics of overall and abdominal obesity may be at risk for deficits in HRQOL and could benefit from interventions designed to reduce weight. More research is needed to determine whether meeting guidelines for physical activity is associated with improvements in health outcomes this population

Aquatic behaviour of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in an increasingly ice-free Arctic

This study was funded by Statoil and the Norwegian Polar Institute’s ICE Centre. The Norwegian Polar Institute, WWF and various NRC projects have also contributed to the base-line capture-recapture programme that financed telemetric deployments.Polar bears are ice-associated marine mammals that are known to swim and dive, yet their aquatic behaviour is poorly documented. Reductions in Arctic sea ice are clearly a major threat to this species, but understanding polar bears' potential behavioural plasticity with respect to the ongoing changes requires knowledge of their swimming and diving skills. This study quantified time spent in water by adult female polar bears (n = 57) via deployment of various instruments bearing saltwater switches, and in some case pressure sensors (79 deployments, 64.8 bear-years of data). There were marked seasonal patterns in aquatic behaviour, with more time spent in the water during summer, when 75% of the polar bears swam daily (May-July). Females with cubs-of-the-year spent less time in the water than other females from den emergence (April) until mid-summer, consistent with small cubs being vulnerable to hypothermia and drowning. Some bears undertook notable long-distance-swims. Dive depths up to 13.9 m were recorded, with dives ≥5 m being common. The considerable swimming and diving capacities of polar bears might provide them with tools to exploit aquatic environments previously not utilized. This is likely to be increasingly important to the species' survival in an Arctic with little or no persistent sea ice.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Body condition changes at sea: onboard calculation and telemetry of body density in diving animals

This study was supported by grants from the Office of Naval Research N00014-18-1-2822, DoD SERDP contract W912HQ20C0056, IPEV (Institut Paul Emile Victor) under the Antarctic research program 109 (C. Barbraud) and 1201 (C. Gilbert & C. Guinet), and CNES-TOSCA as part of the SNO-MEMO.The ability of marine mammals to accumulate sufficient lipid energy reserves is vital for mammals' survival and successful reproduction. However, long-term monitoring of at-sea changes in body condition, specifically lipid stores, has only been possible in elephant seals performing prolonged drift dives (low-density lipids alter the rates of depth change while drifting). This approach has limited applicability to other species. Using hydrodynamic performance analysis during transit glides, we developed and validated a novel satellite-linked data logger that calculates real-time changes in body density (∝lipid stores). As gliding is ubiquitous amongst divers, the system can assess body condition in a broad array of diving animals. The tag processes high sampling rate depth and three-axis acceleration data to identify 5 s high pitch angle glide segments at depths >100 m. Body density is estimated for each glide using gliding speed and pitch to quantify drag versus buoyancy forces acting on the gliding animal. We used tag data from 24 elephant seals (Mirounga spp.) to validate the onboard calculation of body density relative to drift rate. The new tags relayed body density estimates over 200 days and documented lipid store accumulation during migration with good correspondence between changes in body density and drift rate. Our study provided updated drag coefficient values for gliding (Cd,f = 0.03) and drifting (Cd,s = 0.12) elephant seals, both substantially lower than previous estimates. We also demonstrated post-hoc estimation of the gliding drag coefficient and body density using transmitted data, which is especially useful when drag parameters cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy before tag deployment. Our method has the potential to advance the field of marine biology by switching the research paradigm from indirectly inferring animal body condition from foraging effort to directly measuring changes in body condition relative to foraging effort, habitat, ecological factors and anthropogenic stressors in the changing oceans. Expanding the method to account for diving air volumes will expand the system's applicability to shallower-diving (<100 m) species, facilitating real-time monitoring of body condition in a broad range of breath-hold divers.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe