Search results for "CKS"
showing 10 items of 611 documents
Calibration of a thermoluminescent dosimeter worn over lead aprons in fluoroscopy guided procedures
2018
Fluoroscopy guided interventional procedures provide remarkable benefits to patients. However, medical staff working near the scattered radiation field may be exposed to high cumulative equivalent doses, thus requiring shielding devices such as lead aprons and thyroid collars. In this situation, it remains an acceptable practice to derive equivalent doses to the eye lenses or other unprotected soft tissues with a dosimeter placed above these protective devices. Nevertheless, the radiation backscattered by the lead shield differs from that generated during dosimeter calibration with a water phantom. In this study, a passive personal thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) was modelled by means of …
Variation of lattice constant and cluster formation in GaAsBi
2013
We investigate the structural properties of GaAsBi layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs at substrate temperatures between 220–315 C. Irrespective of the growth temperature, the structures exhibited similar Bi compositions, and good overall crystal quality as deduced from X-Ray diffraction measurements. After thermal annealing at temperatures as low as 500 C, the GaAsBi layers grown at the lowest temperatures exhibited a significant reduction of the lattice constant. The lattice variation was significantly larger for Bi-containing samples than for Bi-free low-temperature GaAs samples grown as a reference. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry gave no evidence of Bi diffusing out o…
Nucleation and growth of ZnO on PMMA by low-temperature atomic layer deposition
2015
ZnO films were grown by atomic layer deposition at 35 °C on poly(methyl methacrylate) substrates using diethylzinc and water precursors. The film growth, morphology, and crystallinity were studied using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The uniform film growth was reached after several hundreds of deposition cycles, preceded by the precursor penetration into the porous bulk and island-type growth. After the full surface coverage, the ZnO films were stoichiometric, and consisted of large grains (diameter 30 nm) with a film surface roughness up to 6 nm (RMS). T…
Improving Performance of Evolutionary Algorithms with Application to Fuzzy Control of Truck Backer-Upper System
2013
Published version of an article in the journal: Mathematical Problems in Engineering. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/709027 Open access We propose a method to improve the performance of evolutionary algorithms (EA). The proposed approach defines operators which can modify the performance of EA, including Levy distribution function as a strategy parameters adaptation, calculating mean point for finding proper region of breeding offspring, and shifting strategy parameters to change the sequence of these parameters. Thereafter, a set of benchmark cost functions is utilized to compare the results of the proposed method with some other well-known algorithms.…
Approximation-Based Adaptive Fuzzy Tracking Control for a Class of Nonstrict-Feedback Stochastic Nonlinear Time-Delay Systems
2015
This paper focuses on the problem of approximation-based adaptive fuzzy tracking control for a class of stochastic nonlinear time-delay systems with a nonstrict-feedback structure. A variable separation approach is introduced to overcome the design difficulty from the nonstrict-feedback structure. Mamdani-type fuzzy logic systems are utilized to model the unknown nonlinear functions in the process of controller design, and an adaptive fuzzy tracking controller is systematically designed by using a backstepping technique. It is shown that the proposed controller guarantees that all signals in the closed-loop system are fourth-moment semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded, and the tracking…
Electrostatic backscattering by insulating obstacles
2012
AbstractWe introduce and analyze backscattering data for a three-dimensional obstacle problem in electrostatics. In particular, we investigate the asymptotic behavior of these data as (i) the measurement point goes to infinity and (ii) the obstacles shrink to individual points. We also provide numerical simulations of these data.
Cascade Controller Including Backstepping for Hydraulic-Mechanical Systems
2012
Abstract Development of a cascade controller structure including adaptive backstepping for a nonlinear hydraulic-mechanical system is considered in this paper where a dynamic friction (LuGre) model is included to obtain the necessary accuracy. The paper compares the performance of two variants of an adaptive backstepping tracking controller with earlier results. The new control architecture is analysed and enhanced tracking performance is demonstrated when including the extended friction model. The complexity of the backstepping procedure is significantly reduced due to the cascade structure. Hence, the proposed control structure is better suited to real-time implementation.
Analysis of four years of ceilometer-derived aerosol backscatter profiles in a coastal site of the western Mediterranean
2018
Abstract We present the analysis of four years of measurements by a CL51 ceilometer in Burjassot (39.51 N, 0.42 W), a research station in the western Mediterranean coast. The 1-min resolution profiles of the CL51 are corrected, calibrated, grouped and cloud-screened to create a 1-h resolution database of aerosol backscatter profiles at 910 nm (βa) spanning from July 2013 to August 2017. A total of 21,247 βa profiles are obtained, covering 58% of the considered period. The analysis of the βa profiles as a function of the main aerosol in the atmosphere reveals that dust arrives at Burjassot mainly in the form of elevated layers, with a highest impact between 1 and 4 km. The βa profiles obtain…
Fatal necrotising fasciitis associated with intramuscular injection of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs after uncomplicated endoscopic polypectom…
2007
Summary Necrotising fasciitis is a life-threatening infection of the superficial muscle fascia and the adjacent deep layer of subcutaneous tissue that is often fatal. A 46-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) three days after an uncomplicated endoscopic polypectomy because of necrotising fasciitis of left tight, buttock and retroperitoneal space and septic shock. Six hours after the polypectomy she was given an intramuscular injection of ketorolac in the left tight because of moderate low abdominal pain. Twelve and 24h later she was treated with another two intramuscular injection of diclofenac in the left tight for severe pains in the left hip joint region. The shoc…
Nuclear rDNA-based molecular clock of the evolution of Triatominae (Hemiptera : Reduviidae), vectors of Chagas disease
2000
The evolutionary history and times of divergence of triatomine bug lineages are estimated from molecular clocks inferred from nucleotide sequences of the small subunit SSU (18S) and the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA of these reduviids. The 18S rDNA molecular clock rate in Triatominae, and Prosorrhynchan Hemiptera in general, appears to be of 1.8% per 100 million years (my). The ITS-2 molecular clock rate in Triatominae is estimated to be around 0.4-1% per 1 my, indicating that ITS-2 evolves 23-55 times faster than 18S rDNA. Inferred chronological data about the evolution of Triatominae fit well with current hypotheses on their evolutionary histories…