Security Vulnerability Trends Related to Electric Power Supplied at Military Installations

The United States (U.S.) electric grid is considered one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century, yet it become apparent over the past few decades that it is not without its own set of problems. The deregulation of the U.S. electric system in the late 1990s eliminated monopolies and resulted in the nation\u27s generation, transmission, and distribution systems becoming separate entities owned and operated by multiple companies. This created a market economy in which many electric companies failed to plan for the future, did not invest in maintenance and upgrades, and began to push the aggregate system to its maximum capacity. A number of cascading power outages in the late 1990s, culminated by the complete blackout of the northeastern U.S. in 2003, have subsequently caused the federal government to question the reliability of the nation\u27s deregulated electric grid and take action to remedy current issues. Therefore, the objective of this study was to leverage the trend and spatial analysis capabilities embedded in typical geographic information system (GIS) platforms to examine power outage data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Utilizing the industry standard for GIS, ArcGIS, interpolation using the inverse distance weighted approach was used to calculate preliminary vulnerability levels at military installations based on EIA’s power outage database from 2000 to 2009. The results of the study offer insight that will help key stakeholders better understand the state of the nation\u27s electric grid and identify areas of concern. This allows stakeholders to be in a better position to address associated vulnerabilities by making appropriate plans for either system upgrades or mitigation efforts

Evolution of the zirconium alloy Zr-1Nb defect structure after cold rolling

Zirconium alloys are actively used in nuclear power engineering. During the operation of these alloys, it is necessary to know the change in structural, mechanical and physical characteristics when using material in corrosive environments. In this regard, it is necessary to study the occurrence of certain defects in the material and their effect. Such defects include dislocations. This study is aimed to study the processes of the appearance and distribution of dislocations in a material by positron annihilation spectroscopy. As a result of this work, the lifetime of positrons in the dislocation of zirconium was determined and the character of dislocation distribution at different degrees of deformation was presented

Using of polypropylene fibers for cleaning of industrial waste water from the fat-soluble organic pollutants

The paper shows the perspective of using methods of ion implantation and microwave irradiation for modifying polypropylene fiber by iron (II), lanthanum (II) and iron metal ions. It was shown that this method is very useful in order to obtain a material with a high photocatalytic activity for extracting liposoluble dyes from non-aqueous media under UV and visible light

Genetic and Non-genetic Factors Associated With Constipation in Cancer Patients Receiving Opioids

Acknowledgments. We are grateful to all the researchers involved in The European Pharmacogenetic Opioid Study (EPOS) and to Gunnhild Jakobsen who organized the collection of data.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Prevention of infective endocarditis during dental extractions among Polish dentists : a contemporary nationwide survey

Introduction: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a potentially life-threatening condition. According to current ESC (European Society of Cardiology) guidelines, the use of antibiotic prophylaxis should only be reserved for specifi c dental procedures with interruption of consistency of the oral mucosa such as extractions and should be reserved for patients with the highest risk of developing IE. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of need for IE prophylaxis indefined clinical settings among Polish dentists. Material and Methods: A specially self-designed internet questionnaire was created concerning the topic of infective endocarditis prophylaxis in specific clinical scenarios for patients undergoing dental extractions during outpatient visits. The survey was made available to the dentists via internet and was active in March 2018. Results: Th ere were 352 Polish dentists who completed the survey. Antibiotic prophylaxis for IE during dental extractions was used in 93% of cases with prior IE, 89% with artifi cial heart valve, 69% with biological valve, 28% with pacemaker, 54% with coronary stent, 73% with cyanotic heart defect, 58% with diabetes mellitus, 20% after prior myocardial infarction and 54% with heart valve disease. There was a significant relationship between the time of working as a physician (>15 years) and more outdated or improper IE prophylaxis (p = 0.04). Conclusions: The management of patients for infective endocarditis prophylaxis undergoing dental extractions is suboptimal. Antibiotic therapy is overused in some clinical scenarios and on the other hand underutilized in those recommended by the current ESC guidelines

Исследование зон усталостного разрушения шнеков

Шнек - основной рабочий орган машин для переработки отходов - экструдеров. От качества его изготовления зависит производительность цеха и целостность корпуса машины. При переработке многокомпонентного сырья, которым является Refuse Derived Fuel - это общее название альтернативных видов топлива, получаемых при переработке отходов. В качестве сырья используется практически любой органический материал: целлюлоза, резина, пластик, кожа, дерево, пищевые заменители. В исследовании использован пример на базе работы с RDF-сырьем Мусороперерабатывающего комбината "Янино", Ленинградская область. Именно при работе с такими высокоабразивными отходами возникает необходимость многократно повышать ресурс шнеков за счет использования новых технологий обработки металлов, так как в составе данного сырья могут встречаться металлические компоненты и трудно размалываемые силикаты.Screw - the main working organ of machines for processing waste - extruders. From the quality of its production depends the productivity of the shop and the integrity of the machine body. When refining a multicomponent raw material, which is Refuse Derived Fuel - this is the general name for alternative fuels obtained from recycling. As raw material, almost any organic material is used: cellulose, rubber, plastic, leather, its substitutes. The study used an example based on work with RDF-raw materials of the Janino Refuse Processing Plant. Leningrad region. It is when working with such highly abrasive waste that it becomes necessary to increase the service life of screw augmentedly by using new processing technologies, since metal components and hard-to-break silicates can occur in the composition of this raw material

Sleep quality with WHO Step III opioid use for cancer pain

Peer reviewedPostprin

Knowledge on the guideline-recommended use of antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy during dental extractions : a contemporary survey among Polish dentists

Background: The number of dental patients requiring periodic or lifelong antiplatelet or anticoagulanttherapy is constantly growing. Aims: We aimed to determine the level of knowledge on antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy among Polish dentists. Methods: self‑designed online questionnaire was distributed among dentists to evaluate their knowledge on the use of antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs in clinical dental practice. Results: The study included 352 dentists. Patients requiring vitamin K antagonists were referred for a cardiac consultation by 64.52%, 57.29%, and 58.55% of dentists with < 5, 5–15, and > 15 years of experience,respectively (P = 0.003). A similar trend was observed for non–vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants among nonsurgical dentists. However, an equal percentage of surgical dentists (39.7%) performedextraction with and without consultation, and they were more likely to perform extraction withoutconsultation than nonsurgical dentists (39.7% vs 27.8%; P = 0.01). Most surgical and nonsurgical dentistspreferred to consult a cardiologist about dual antiplatelet therapy before an invasive procedure (56.9%and 73.81%, respectively; P = 0.03). Extractions in patients on aspirin were accepted by 75.81%, 70.83%, and 49.34% of dentists with < 5, 5–15, and > 15 years of experience, respectively (P = 0.004), and by 79.31%of surgical and 57.14% of nonsurgical dentists (P = 0.003). Conclusions: Knowledge on antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy in patients undergoing dental procedures is unsatisfactory among Polish dentists. Both therapies were discontinued before extractionsmore frequently than recommended in the guidelines, while extractions in patients on aspirin were common