A pilot study on quantification of training load: The use of HRV in training practice.

Recent laboratory studies have suggested that heart rate variability (HRV) may be an appropriate criterion for training load (TL) quantification. The aim of this study was to validate a novel HRV index that may be used to assess TL in field conditions. Eleven well-trained long-distance male runners performed four exercises of different duration and intensity. TL was evaluated using Foster and Banister methods. In addition, HRV measurements were performed 5 minutes before exercise and 5 and 30 minutes after exercise. We calculated HRV index (TLHRV) based on the ratio between HRV decrease during exercise and HRV increase during recovery. HRV decrease during exercise was strongly correlated with exercise intensity (R = -0.70; p < 0.01) but not with exercise duration or training volume. TLHRV index was correlated with Foster (R = 0.61; p = 0.01) and Banister (R = 0.57; p = 0.01) methods. This study confirms that HRV changes during exercise and recovery phase are affected by both intensity and physiological impact of the exercise. Since the TLHRV formula takes into account the disturbance and the return to homeostatic balance induced by exercise, this new method provides an objective and rational TL index. However, some simplification of the protocol measurement could be envisaged for field use.

Role of rhinovirus load in the upper respiratory tract and severity of symptoms in lung transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Rhinovirus is the most common cause of respiratory viral infections and leads to frequent respiratory symptoms in lung transplant recipients. However, it remains unknown whether the rhinovirus load correlates with the severity of symptoms. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to better characterize the pathogenesis of rhinoviral infection and the way in which viral load correlates with symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: We assessed rhinovirus load in positive upper respiratory specimens of patients enrolled prospectively in a cohort of 116 lung transplant recipients. Rhinovirus load was quantified according to a validated in-house, real-time, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in pooled nasopharyngeal and pharyngeal swabs. Symptoms were recorded in a standardised case report form completed at each screening/routine follow-up visit, or during any emergency visit occurring during the 3-year study. RESULTS: Rhinovirus infections were very frequent, including in asymptomatic patients not seeking a specific medical consultation. Rhinovirus load ranged between 4.1 and 8.3 log copies/ml according to the type of visit and clinical presentation. Patients with highest symptom scores tended to have higher viral loads, particularly those presenting systemic symptoms. When considering symptoms individually, rhinovirus load was significantly higher in the presence of symptoms such as sore throat, fever, sputum production, cough, and fatigue. There was no association between tacrolimus levels and rhinovirus load. CONCLUSIONS: Rhinovirus infections are very frequent in lung transplant recipients and rhinoviral load in the upper respiratory tract is relatively high even in asymptomatic patients. Patients with the highest symptom scores tend to have a higher rhinovirus load.

Anomalous optical and electrical recovery process of photoquenched EL2 defect produced by oxygen and boron ion implantation in gallium arsenide

The optical and electrical recovery processes of the metastable state of the EL2 defect artificially created in n‐type GaAs by boron or oxygen implantation are analyzed at 80 K using optical isothermal transient spectroscopy. In both cases, we have found an inhibition of the electrical recovery and the existence of an optical recovery in the range 1.1-1.4 eV, competing with the photoquenching effect. The similar results obtained with both elements and the different behavior observed in comparison with the native EL2 defect has been related to the network damage produced by the implantation process. From the different behavior with the technological process, it can be deduced that the electrical and optical anomalies have a different origin. The electrical inhibition is due to the existence of an interaction between the EL2 defect and other implantation‐created defects. However, the optical recovery seems to be related to a change in the microscopic metastable state configuration involving the presence of vacancies

Electrical pump & probe and injected carrier losses quantification in Er doped Si slot waveguides

Electrically driven Er3+ doped Si slot waveguides emitting at 1530 nm are demonstrated. Two different Er3+ doped active layers were fabricated in the slot region: a pure SiO2 and a Si-rich oxide. Pulsed polarization driving of the waveguides was used to characterize the time response of the electroluminescence (EL) and of the signal probe transmission in 1 mm long waveguides. Injected carrier absorption losses modulate the EL signal and, since the carrier lifetime is much smaller than that of Er3+ ions, a sharp EL peak was observed when the polarization was switched off. A time-resolved electrical pump & probe measurement in combination with lock-in amplifier techniques allowed to quantify the injected carrier absorption losses. We found an extinction ratio of 6 dB, passive propagation losses of about 4 dB/mm, and a spectral bandwidth > 25 nm at an effective d.c. power consumption of 120 μW. All these performances suggest the usage of these devices as electro-optical modulators.

Electrical signature of modern and ancient tectonic processes in the crust of the Atlas mountains of Morocco.

The Atlas Mountains in Morocco are considered as type examples of intracontinental chains, with high topography that contrasts with moderate crustal shortening and thickening. Whereas recent geological studies and geodynamic modeling have suggested the existence of dynamic topography to explain this apparent contradiction, there is a lack of modern geophysical data at the crustal scale to corroborate this hypothesis. Newly-acquired magnetotelluric data image the electrical resistivity distribution of the crust from the Middle Atlas to the Anti-Atlas, crossing the tabular Moulouya Plain and the High Atlas. All the units show different and unique electrical signatures throughout the crust reflecting the tectonic history of development of each one. In the upper crust electrical resistivity values may be associated to sediment sequences in the Moulouya and Anti-Atlas and to crustal scale fault systems in the High Atlas developed during the Cenozoic times. In the lower crust the low resistivity anomaly found below the Mouluya plain, together with other geophysical (low velocity anomaly, lack of earthquakes and minimum Bouguer anomaly) and geochemical (Neogene-Quaternary intraplate alkaline volcanic fields) evidence, infer the existence of a small degree of partial melt at the base of the lower crust. The low resistivity anomaly found below the Anti-Atlas may be associated with a relict subduction of Precambrian oceanic sediments, or to precipitated minerals during the release of fluids from the mantle during the accretion of the Anti-Atlas to the West African Supercontinent during the Panafrican orogeny ca. 685 Ma).

Merituulivoiman kannattavuus Kokkolan seudun rannikolla

Tässä diplomityössä selvitetään teollisen mittakaavan merituulipuistojen taloudellisia ja osin myös teknisiä rakentamisedellytyksiä Kokkolan seudun rannikolla. Lisäksi työssä tarkastellaan erilaisten tukitoimien vaikutusta tuulivoiman kannattavuuteen sekä selvitetään lyhyesti merituulivoiman hallinnollisia ja oikeudellisia edellytyksiä. Esimerkkikohteina tarkastellaan viittä Kokkolan edustalle suunniteltua merituulipuistoa, joiden tehot ovat 20 – 100 MW ja yksikkökoot 1,8 – 5 MW. Tuulipuistojen tuuliolot on arvioitu läheisten mittauspisteiden tietojen perusteella ja niiden pohjalta on laskettu puistojen energiantuotto. Tuulivoimaloiden huipunkäyttöajoiksi on saatu noin 2400 – 2500 h/a. Puistojen investointikustannukset ovat noin 6 500 –10 200 mk/kW: itse turbiinin lisäksi suurimpia kustannuseriä ovat perustukset ja sähköverkkoliitäntä. Vuosittaisten käyttö- ja kunnossapitokustannusten suuruudeksi on arvioitu noin 3 % investointikustannuksista. Kannattavuustarkastelut on suoritettu 5 % laskentakorolla ja 25 vuoden pitoajalle. Tuotantokustannukset ovat ilman tukia noin 27 – 38 p/kWh. Kun sähkön hintana on 150 mk/MWh, ei taloudellista kannattavuutta voida saavuttaa edes nykyisin käytössä olevan investointi- ja tuotantotuen avulla. Tuulisähköstä saatava mahdollinen ”vihreän sähkön lisä” tai päästökaupan aloittaminen voisivat mahdollistaa tuulivoiman taloudellisen kannattavuuden myös silloin, kun sähkön hintataso on matala. Kannattavuutta voitaisiin parantaa myös tukijärjestelmällä, joka painottaa nykyistä enemmän tuotantoa.

Single acquisition electrical property mapping based on relative coil sensitivities: A proof-of-concept demonstration.

PURPOSE: All methods presented to date to map both conductivity and permittivity rely on multiple acquisitions to compute quantitatively the magnitude of radiofrequency transmit fields, B1+. In this work, we propose a method to compute both conductivity and permittivity based solely on relative receive coil sensitivities ( B1-) that can be obtained in one single measurement without the need to neither explicitly perform transmit/receive phase separation nor make assumptions regarding those phases. THEORY AND METHODS: To demonstrate the validity and the noise sensitivity of our method we used electromagnetic finite differences simulations of a 16-channel transceiver array. To experimentally validate our methodology at 7 Tesla, multi compartment phantom data was acquired using a standard 32-channel receive coil system and two-dimensional (2D) and 3D gradient echo acquisition. The reconstructed electric properties were correlated to those measured using dielectric probes. RESULTS: The method was demonstrated both in simulations and in phantom data with correlations to both the modeled and bench measurements being close to identity. The noise properties were modeled and understood. CONCLUSION: The proposed methodology allows to quantitatively determine the electrical properties of a sample using any MR contrast, with the only constraint being the need to have 4 or more receive coils and high SNR. Magn Reson Med, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of rotating drum under mechanical and thermal load

A variable temperature field sets exacting demands to the structure under mechanical load. Most of all the lifetime of the rotating drum structure depends on temperature differences between parts inside the drum. The temperature difference was known because of the measurements made before. The list of demands was created based on customers’ needs. The limits of this paper were set to the inner structure of the drum. Creation of ideas for the inner structure was started open minded. The main principle in the creation process was to create new ideas for the function of the product with the help of sub-functions. The sub-functions were created as independent as possible. The best sub-functions were combined together and the new working principles were created based on them. Every working principle was calculated separately and criticized at the end of the calculation process. The main objective was to create the new kind of structure, which is not based too much to the old, inoperative structure. The affect of own weight of the inner structure to the stress values was quite small but it was also taken into consideration when calculating the maximum stress value of the structure. Because of very complex structures all of the calculations were made with the help of the ProE – Mechanica software. The fatigue analyze was made also for the best structure solution.

The Effect of Load Follow Operation on Fuel Behaviour in Loviisa NPP

Työn tarkoituksena oli analysoida polttoainesauvojen käyttäytymistä Loviisan ydinvoimalaitoksen tehonsäätöajossa. Sähkömarkkinoiden vapautuminen Pohjoismaissa sekä tämän seurauksena vaihteleva sähkön markkinahinta ovat ajaneet sähkötuottajat tilanteeseen, jossa tuotanto aiempaa enemmän mukautuu markkinatilanteeseen. Näin ollen myös Loviisan ydinvoimalaitoksen osallistuminen sähkön tuotannon säätelyyn saattaa tulevaisuudessa olla ajankohtaista. Ennen kuin reaktorin tehonsäätöajoa voidaan alkaa toteuttaa, tulee varmistua siitä, että polttoainesauvassa tehonsäätöjen seurauksena tapahtuvat muutokset eivät aiheuta epäsuotuisia käyttäytymisilmiöitä. Työssä tarkastellaan kahden Loviisan ydinvoimalaitoksen polttoainetoimittajan, British Nuclear Fuels plc:n ja venäläisen TVEL:n ensinippujen polttoainesauvan käyttäytymistä tehonsäätötapauksissa. Työssä tarkastellut tehonsäätötapaukset on pyritty valitsemaan niin, että ne kuvaisivat tulevaisuudessa mahdollisesti toteutettavia tehonsäätöjä. Laskentatapauksien sauvatehohistoriat on generoitu HEXBU-3D sydänsimulaattoriohjelmalla lasketun nelivuotisen perustehohistorian pohjalta lisäämällä säätösauvan aiheuttama reaktoritehon muutos, säätösauvan viereisen polttoainenipun aksiaalitehon muutos sekä säätösauvan rakenteen aiheuttama paikallinen tehopiikki säätösauvan vieressä. Työssä tarkastellaan tehonsäätöjen toteuttamista eri tehotasoille ja vaihtelevilla määrillä tehonsäätösyklejä. Työssä käsitellyt laskentatapaukset on jaoteltu reaktorin ajotavan mukaan seuraavasti: peruskuorma-ajo, viikonloppusäätö ja päiväsäätö. Laskenta suoritettiin ydinpolttoaineen käyttäytymistä kuvaavaa ENIGMA-B 7.3.0 ohjelmaa apuna käyttäen. Laskelmien tulokset osoittavat, että molempien polttoainetoimittajien ensinippujen sauvat kestävät reaktorin tehonsäätöajoa rajoituksetta tarkastelluissa laskentatapauksissa. ENIGMA-ohjelman sisältämät mallit, jotka ennustavat polttoainesauvan suojakuoren vaurioitumistodennäköisyyden jännityskorroosion tai väsymismurtuman kautta, eivät näytä mitään merkkejä vaurioitumisesta. BNFL:n polttoainesauva saavuttaa kuitenkin suurempia väsymismurtumatodennäköisyyden arvoja. Tämä johtuu siitä, että polttoainepelletin ja suojakuoren välinen mekaaninen vuorovaikutus syntyy BNFL:n sauvassa aikaisemmin, joka taas johtaa suurempaan määrään sauvaa rasittavia muodonmuutoksia tehonnostotilanteissa. TVEL:n Zr1%Nb -materiaalista valmistetun suojakuoren käyttäytymistä ei voida kuitenkaan suoraan näiden laskujen perusteella arvioida, sillä ENIGMA-ohjelman mallit perustuvat Zircaloy-suojakuorimateriaaleilla suoritettuihin kokeisiin.