Radiological impact associated to Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (TENORM) from coal-fired power plants emissions

Certain materials used and produced in a wide range of non-nuclear industries contain enhanced activity concentrations of natural radionuclides. In particular, electricity production from coal is one of the major sources of increased human exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials. A methodology was developed to assess the radiological impact due to natural radiation background. The developed research was applied to a specific case study, the Sines coal-fired power plant, located in the southwest coastline of Portugal. Gamma radiation measurements were carried out with two different instruments: a sodium iodide scintillation detector counter (SPP2 NF, Saphymo) and a gamma ray spectrometer with energy discrimination (Falcon 5000, Canberra). Two circular survey areas were defined within 20 km of the power plant. Forty relevant measurements points were established within the sampling area: 15 urban and 25 suburban locations. Additionally, ten more measurements points were defined, mostly at the 20-km area. The registered gamma radiation varies from 20 to 98.33 counts per seconds (c.p.s.) corresponding to an external gamma exposure rate variable between 87.70 and 431.19 nGy/h. The highest values were measured at locations near the power plant and those located in an area within the 6 and 20 km from the stacks. In situ gamma radiation measurements with energy discrimination identified natural emitting nuclides as well as their decay products (Pb-212, Pb-2142, Ra-226, Th-232, Ac-228, Th-234, Pa-234, U- 235, etc.). According to the results, an influence from the stacks emissions has been identified both qualitatively and quantitatively. The developed methodology accomplished the lack of data in what concerns to radiation rate in the vicinity of Sines coal-fired power plant and consequently the resulting exposure to the nearby population.

Mobile cockpit system for enhanced electric bicycle use

This paper presents the project of a mobile cockpit system (MCS) for smartphones, which provides assistance to electric bicycle (EB) cyclists in smart cities' environment. The presented system introduces a mobile application (MCS App) with the goal to provide useful personalized information to the cyclist related to the EB's use, including EB range prediction considering the intended path, management of the cycling effort performed by the cyclist, handling of the battery charging process, and the provisioning of information regarding available public transport. This work also introduces the EB cyclist profile concept, which is based on historical data analysis previously stored in a database and collected from mobile devices' sensors. From the tests performed, the results show the importance of route guidance, taking into account the energy savings. The results also show significant changes on range prediction based on user and route taken. It is important to say that the proposed system can be used for all bicycles in general.

Biofunctional composite coating architectures based on polycaprolactone and nanohydroxyapatite for controlled corrosion activity and enhanced biocompatibility of magnesium AZ31 alloy

In this work a biofunctional composite coating architecture for controlled corrosion activity and enhanced cellular adhesion of AZ31 Mg alloys is proposed. The composite coating consists of a polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix modified with nanohydroxyapatite (HA) applied over a nanometric layer of polyetherimide (PEI). The protective properties of the coating were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), a non-disturbing technique, and the coating morphology was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results show that the composite coating protects the AZ31 substrate. The barrier properties of the coating can be optimized by changing the PCL concentration. The presence of nanohydroxyapatite particles influences the coating morphology and decreases the corrosion resistance. The biocompatibility was assessed by studying the response of osteoblastic cells on coated samples through resazurin assay, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the polycaprolactone to hydroxyapatite ratio affects the cell behavior and that the presence of hydroxyapatite induces high osteoblastic differentiation. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced PCA-based localization using depth maps with missing data

In this paper a new method for self-localization of mobile robots, based on a PCA positioning sensor to operate in unstructured environments, is proposed and experimentally validated. The proposed PCA extension is able to perform the eigenvectors computation from a set of signals corrupted by missing data. The sensor package considered in this work contains a 2D depth sensor pointed upwards to the ceiling, providing depth images with missing data. The positioning sensor obtained is then integrated in a Linear Parameter Varying mobile robot model to obtain a self-localization system, based on linear Kalman filters, with globally stable position error estimates. A study consisting in adding synthetic random corrupted data to the captured depth images revealed that this extended PCA technique is able to reconstruct the signals, with improved accuracy. The self-localization system obtained is assessed in unstructured environments and the methodologies are validated even in the case of varying illumination conditions.

A proteomic approach toward the selection of proteins with enhanced intrinsic conformational stability

Journal of Proteome Research (2006)5: 2720-2726

An Enhanced WLAN Security System With FPGA Implementation for Multimedia Applications

Maintaining a high level of data security with a low impact on system performance is more challenging in wireless multimedia applications. Protocols that are used for wireless local area network (WLAN) security are known to significantly degrade performance. In this paper, we propose an enhanced security system for a WLAN. Our new design aims to decrease the processing delay and increase both the speed and throughput of the system, thereby making it more efficient for multimedia applications. Our design is based on the idea of offloading computationally intensive encryption and authentication services to the end systems’ CPUs. The security operations are performed by the hosts’ central processor (which is usually a powerful processor) before delivering the data to a wireless card (which usually has a low-performance processor). By adopting this design, we show that both the delay and the jitter are significantly reduced. At the access point, we improve the performance of network processing hardware for real-time cryptographic processing by using a specialized processor implemented with field-programmable gate array technology. Furthermore, we use enhanced techniques to implement the Counter (CTR) Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP) and the CTR protocol. Our experiments show that it requires timing in the range of 20–40 μs to perform data encryption and authentication on different end-host CPUs (e.g., Intel Core i5, i7, and AMD 6-Core) as compared with 10–50 ms when performed using the wireless card. Furthermore, when compared with the standard WiFi protected access II (WPA2), results show that our proposed security system improved the speed to up to 3.7 times.

The perception, beliefs and practices toward genitourinary schistosomiasis by inhabitants of selected endemic areas (Edo/Delta States) in south-eastern Nigeria

Well-structured questionnaire on the perception, impression and response to genitourinary bilharziasis (Genitourinary schistosomiasis) was administered and explained in local languages: 'Igbo' 'Esan' 'Ezon' Itshekiri and Bini to 33815 inhabitants of selected endemic areas in south-eastern Nigeria from January, 1999 to December, 2001. Out of this number, 3815 (11.3%) were properly filled and returned. About 42.0% of the inhabitants admitted knowledge of the disease, while 14 (0.4%) knew about the aetiologic agent. About 181 (5.0%) who responded, admitted procuring treatment, while 100 (5.0%) declined to seek treatment of any sort. The relationships between water-bodies and human activities, and infection were well discussed. Amongst those who admitted knowledge of the disease but no knowledge of its etiologic agent, declined seeking treatment of any kind, but believe the disease is a natural phenomenon in ones developmental stage and therefore of no morbidity and mortality. Laboratory analysis of urine, faeces, semen and HVS was employed to assess questionnaire responses, and in some cases, physical examination was utilized to augment laboratory analysis in confirming urinal diagnosis. Haematuria was only directly related to egg count in the early part of life. Females were significantly haematuric and excreted more ova than males (p < 0.05). Headache (43.0%) and fever (31.0%) were major clinical signs while sexual pains (22.0%) were the least.

Three-Dimensional Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Pulmonary Angiography in the Study of Pulmonary Vascular Pathology

OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility of performing pulmonary angiography using MRI with contrast enhancement in patients with pulmonary vascular disease. METHODS: We present our experience in ten individuals, two controls and eight patients who underwent the exam after injection of a gadolinium-based contrast agent on a 1 Tesla MR scanner using a time-of-flight sequence and breath-holding during injection of contrast. RESULTS: Pathology in the main pulmonary artery and its major branches was detected easily while resolution at the segmental and subsegmental levels was inadequate. CONCLUSION: Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance pulmonary angiography is feasible on a 1 Tesla MR scanner for the study of pathology of the main pulmonary artery and its major branches, like massive pulmonary embolism. However its ability to detect and define distal vessel pathology as found in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and small pulmonary emboli is limited.

How does gender affect visiting a world heritage site?

To date few studies have been undertaken in Portugal dealing with the attitudes, motivations, and profile of tourists who visit World Heritage Sites. Also, few studies have dealt with destination image (e.g., Agapito, Mendes & Valle, 2010; Lopes, 2011). As far as it is known, none have approached the issue of gender differences in the choice of a Portuguese heritage destination. Since cultural tourism destinations need to differentiate themselves from each other, appropriate market segmentation must be based on a deep understanding of the customers’ motivations and preferences. Keeping in mind results from empirical literature (e.g., Silberberg, 1995; Beerli & Martin, 2004; Richards, 2004; Pérez, 2009; Sheng, Shen, & Chen, 2008), gender seems to be a possible approach to market segmentation, whether for Guimarães or for other cultural tourism destinations around the world. Located in the north-western region of Portugal, Guimarães is a city of strong symbolic and cultural significance, and the nomination of its historical centre as a World Heritage Site in 2001 enhanced its tourism potential. This study analyses the possible relation between gender and attitudes and motivations towards a World Heritage Site, such as Guimarães. Additionally, the empirical approach used in the study tries to capture differences in the perceived attributes of the city. Commonalities and distinctions within and between groups of tourists, by focusing on the specific characteristic of gender, were analysed. The study addressed two main questions: first, whether males and females have similar or different preferences in choosing the city as their destination; and, second, whether there are gender differences in the perception of the attributes of Guimarães. A better understanding of the gendered nature of the destination is a valuable cue for shaping products and services according to visitors’ preferences.

Structured Light System Calibration for Perception in Underwater Tanks

The process of visually exploring underwater environments is still a complex problem. Underwater vision systems require complementary means of sensor information to help overcome water disturbances. This work proposes the development of calibration methods for a structured light based system consisting on a camera and a laser with a line beam. Two different calibration procedures that require only two images from different viewpoints were developed and tested in dry and underwater environments. Results obtained show, an accurate calibration for the camera/projector pair with errors close to 1 mm even in the presence of a small stereos baseline.

Simulation Environment for Multi-Robot Cooperative 3D Target Perception

4th International Conference, SIMPAR 2014, Bergamo, Italy, October 20-23, 2014

Digit Ratio (2D:4D) in Newborns: Influences of Prenatal Testosterone and Maternal Environment

Introduction: The 2D:4D digit ratio is sexually-dimorphic, probably due to testosterone action through the perinatal period. We characterize the 2D:4D ratio in newborn (NB) infants, in between the pre- and postnatal surges of testosterone, and relate it to the mother's 2D:4D and to testosterone levels in the amniotic fluid (AF). Subjects and methods: Testosterone was assayed in samples of maternal plasma and AF collected at amniocentesis. Shortly after birth, 106 NBs and their mothers were measured for 2D:4D ratio. Results: NB males had lower mean 2D:4D ratios than females but this dimorphism was significant only for the left hand (males: 0.927; females: 0.950; p=0.004). Mothers who had sons had lower 2D:4D ratios than those who had daughters and the mother's 2D:4D were higher than those of NBs regardless of sex. Both hands of NB females were negatively correlated with AF testosterone and positively correlated with the mother's 2D:4D, but males showed no significant associations. Maternal plasma testosterone also showed a negative weak correlation with NB's digit ratio in both sexes. Conclusions: Sexual dimorphism at birth was only significant for the left hand, in contrast with reports of greater right hand dimorphism, suggesting that postnatal testosterone is determinant for 2D:4D stabilization. The lower 2D:4D ratios in mothers who had sons support claims that hormone levels in parents are influential for determining their children's sex. NB female's digit ratio, but not males', was associated to the level of AF testosterone. The mother's 2D:4D ratios were positively correlated with their daughters' 2D:4D, but the same was not observed for male NBs, suggesting that prenatal testosterone levels in male fetus lead their 2D:4D ratios to stray from their mothers' with high individual variability.