Improved Alignment Technique for Dish Concentrators

Author(s):  
Charles E. Andraka ◽  
Richard B. Diver ◽  
K. Scott Rawlinson

Parabolic dish concentrators have shown significant promise of generating competitive electric energy for grid and off-grid applications. The efficiency of a dish-electric system is strongly affected by the quality of the concentrator optics. Most parabolic systems consist of a number of facets mounted to a support structure in an approximate parabolic arrangement, where the individual facets have spherical or parabolic optical shapes. The individual facets must be accurately aligned because improper alignment can compromise performance or create hot spots that can reduce receiver life. A number of techniques have been used over the years to align concentrator facets. In the Advanced Dish Development System (ADDS) project, a color look-back alignment approach that accurately aligns facets (mirror panels) and in addition indicates quantitative information about the focal length was developed. Key factors influencing the alignment, some of which had very large effects on the quality of the alignment, were also identified. The influence of some of the key factors was characterized with a flux mapping system on the second-generation ADDS concentrator. Some of these factors also affect other alignment approaches. The approach was also successfully applied to two other concentrators with differing facet arrangements. Finally, we have extended the method to a 2-f approach that eliminates the need for a distant line-of-sight to the dish and permits alignment at near vertical dish attitudes. In this paper, we outline the color look-back alignment approach, discuss the key alignment factors and their effect on flux distribution, and discuss extensions to non-gore dishes. A companion paper discusses the 2-f color alignment approach in detail.

World Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (6(46)) ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Кариева Г. Ж.

When preparing graduates for final certification, special attention should be paid to determining the key factors affecting the exam results in external summative assessment. The purpose of the study is to highlight the main factors, such as the individual quality of students and the level of independent work skills that affect the successful outcome of the exams. Methodology: а questionnaire survey was carried out and a correlation analysis of the results was presented. The mathematical statistics methods in Excel application were used for processing the survey data. Research methods: data collection, statistical mathematical data processing, analysis of the results, and interviewsThe results of the study: In the process of preparing the final certification of graduates, the success of the exam results is closely related to the level of students' independent work skills. and self-education. In turn, the readiness for self-education cannot be carried out without independent work, the attitude to which was determined as a result of the conducted research. Outcome of the study: Successful completion of school exams is closely related to the ability to work independently. Therefore, to increase the academic knowledge of students, it is necessary to focus on the ability of students to work independently in the learning process and to develop effective teaching methods for self-improvement.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 228-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariane Froidevaux ◽  
Andreas Hirschi ◽  
Mo Wang

In an aging society, dealing with the disengagement from one’s work-related identity and the quality of retirement adjustment become major concerns for individuals and organizations. However, the processes through which retirement adjustment can be achieved and upon which conditions this depends are only partially understood, especially regarding identity transition processes. To address this issue, we suggest that identity incongruence, identity transition negotiation, and the variety of high-quality exchange relationships represent key factors that explain the different experiences in retirement adjustment quality. Integrating social identity, self-categorization, identity negotiation, and interpersonal perspectives, we develop a theoretical model with 12 propositions highlighting the dynamic changes in identity incongruence across time and the possible coexistence of the work-related identity and the retiree identity. We also discuss the potential boundary conditions of the model, outline directions for future research, and suggest practical implications at the individual and organizational levels.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Huang ◽  
Roland Bruderer ◽  
Jan Muntel ◽  
Yue Xuan ◽  
Olga Vitek ◽  
...  

In bottom-up, label-free discovery proteomics, biological samples are acquired in a data-dependent (DDA) or data-independent (DIA) manner, with peptide signals recorded in an intact (MS1) and fragmented (MS2) form. While DDA has only the MS1 space for quantification, DIA contains both MS1 and MS2 at high quantitative quality. DIA profiles of complex biological matrices such as tissues or cells can contain quantitative interferences, and the interferences at the MS1 and the MS2 signals are often independent. When comparing biological conditions, the interferences can compromise the detection of differential peptide or protein abundance and lead to false positive or false negative conclusions.We hypothesized that the combined use of MS1 and MS2 quantitative signals could improve our ability to detect differentially abundant proteins. Therefore, we developed a statistical procedure incorporating both MS1 and MS2 quantitative information of DIA. We benchmarked the performance of the MS1-MS2-combined method to the individual use of MS1 or MS2 in DIA using four previously published controlled mixtures, as well as in two previously unpublished controlled mixtures. In the majority of the comparisons, the combined method outperformed the individual use of MS1 or MS2. This was particularly true for comparisons with low fold changes, few replicates, and situations where MS1 and MS2 were of similar quality. When applied to a previously unpublished investigation of lung cancer, the MS1-MS2-combined method increased the coverage of known activated pathways.Since recent technological developments continue to increase the quality of MS1 signals (e.g. using the BoxCar scan mode for Orbitrap instruments), the combination of the MS1 and MS2 information has a high potential for future statistical analysis of DIA data.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bagavandas m

Abstract BackgroundThe main objective of this study is to develop multilevel multi-factor index to assess the quality of life of Malayali tribal population of India at the individual and village levels based on nine domains, namely, Demography, Economy, Health, Human Development, Infrastructure Development, Work Participation, Recreation, Social Capital and Self Perception. Also, an attempt is made to classify the individuals as well as villages on the basis of the overall scores of multifactor index within a community which will help policy makers to develop concrete policy recommendations for the improvement of quality of life of this tribal group.MethodMultilevel factor analysis is utilized to determine uncorrelated meaningful factors and their respective weights using Mplus software from the nested dataset consists of values of nine domains of 1096 individuals collected from 19 villages. Multilevel multifactor index is constructed using the weights of these factors. The qualities of lives of different households and of different villages are assessed using the scores of this index.ResultsThree different factors are identified at household as well as village levels. The quality of life at Households and at villages levels are classified as poor, low, moderate, good and excellent based on five quintiles of the scores of the multifactor index and the contribution of each domain in this classification is ascertained.DiscussionThis study finds that at household as well as at village levels, the quality of life of the individuals of this tribal population increases with increase in education, income and occupation status which make them to lead a healthy life and also make them to find time and money to spend on recreation. Infrastructure does not play a significant role at the house hold level whereas it is a matter at village level. ConclusionThe main purpose of developing this kind of multifactor index at different levels is to provide a tool for tribal development based on realistic data which can be used to monitor the key factors that encompass the social, health, environmental and economic dimensions of quality of lives at the individual/household and community levels of this tribal people.


Author(s):  
B. Carragher ◽  
M. Whittaker

Techniques for three-dimensional reconstruction of macromolecular complexes from electron micrographs have been successfully used for many years. These include methods which take advantage of the natural symmetry properties of the structure (for example helical or icosahedral) as well as those that use single axis or other tilting geometries to reconstruct from a set of projection images. These techniques have traditionally relied on a very experienced operator to manually perform the often numerous and time consuming steps required to obtain the final reconstruction. While the guidance and oversight of an experienced and critical operator will always be an essential component of these techniques, recent advances in computer technology, microprocessor controlled microscopes and the availability of high quality CCD cameras have provided the means to automate many of the individual steps.During the acquisition of data automation provides benefits not only in terms of convenience and time saving but also in circumstances where manual procedures limit the quality of the final reconstruction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 14-15
Author(s):  
Jay Blaisdell ◽  
James B. Talmage

Abstract Ratings for “non-specific chronic, or chronic reoccurring, back pain” are based on the diagnosis-based impairment method whereby an impairment class, usually representing a range of impairment values within a cell of a grid, is selected by diagnosis and “specific criteria” (key factors). Within the impairment class, the default impairment value then can be modified using non-key factors or “grade modifiers” such as functional history, physical examination, and clinical studies using the net adjustment formula. The diagnosis of “nonspecific chronic, or chronic reoccurring, back pain” can be rated in class 0 and 1; the former has a default value of 0%, and the latter has a default value of 2% before any modifications. The key concept here is that the physician believes that the patient is experiencing pain, yet there are no related objective findings, most notably radiculopathy as distinguished from “nonverifiable radicular complaints.” If the individual is found not to have radiculopathy and the medical record shows that the patient has never had clinically verifiable radiculopathy, then the diagnosis of “intervertebral disk herniation and/or AOMSI [alteration of motion segment integrity] cannot be used.” If the patient is asymptomatic at maximum medical improvement, then impairment Class 0 should be chosen, not Class 1; a final whole person impairment rating of 1% indicates incorrect use of the methodology.


2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-36
Author(s):  
Vaia Touna

This paper argues that the rise of what is commonly termed "personal religion" during the Classic-Hellenistic period is not the result of an inner need or even quality of the self, as often argued by those who see in ancient Greece foreshadowing of Christianity, but rather was the result of social, economic, and political conditions that made it possible for Hellenistic Greeks to redefine the perception of the individual and its relationship to others.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Cristofaro

From a phenomenological perspective, the reflective quality of water has a visually dramatic impact, especially when combined with the light of celestial phenomena. However, the possible presence of water as a means for reflecting the sky is often undervalued when interpreting archaeoastronomical sites. From artificial water spaces, such as ditches, huacas and wells to natural ones such as rivers, lakes and puddles, water spaces add a layer of interacting reflections to landscapes. In the cosmological understanding of skyscapes and waterscapes, a cross-cultural metaphorical association between water spaces and the underworld is often revealed. In this research, water-skyscapes are explored through the practice of auto-ethnography and reflexive phenomenology. The mirroring of the sky in water opens up themes such as the continuity, delimitation and manipulation of sky phenomena on land: water spaces act as a continuation of the sky on earth; depending on water spaces’ spatial extension, selected celestial phenomena can be periodically reflected within architectures, so as to make the heavenly dimension easily accessible and a possible object of manipulation. Water-skyscapes appear as specular worlds, where water spaces are assumed to be doorways to the inner reality of the unconscious. The fluid properties of water have the visual effect of dissipating borders, of merging shapes, and, therefore, of dissolving identities; in the inner landscape, this process may represent symbolic death experiences and rituals of initiation, where the annihilation of the individual allows the creative process of a new life cycle. These contextually generalisable results aim to inspire new perspectives on sky-and-water related case studies and give value to the practice of reflexive phenomenology as crucial method of research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 122-131
Author(s):  
S. Thowseaf ◽  
M. Ayisha Millath ◽  
K. Malik Ali

Tax is an important source of income for the country. It is through tax; country strengthens its defense system, infrastructure, and government. Hence, tax system plays a predominant role in developing country’s economy. The complication in taxation system and liberty for taxpayers are key factors generating loopholes for corruption. GST is superior taxation system over VAT but, if neither properly implemented nor scrutinized according to the economy, it is people residing get affected.  GST taxation system is capable of increasing legal transaction, reducing corruption and complexity that exists in current taxation. India is 166th country to adopt GST and GST taxation slab in India is 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.  Although average Tax levied is 14.8750% in India, it is 28% tax that is levied for most of the commodities, which are directly or indirectly used in everyday life of common individuals. Despite, GST being favorable to distributor in-terms of profit and government to attain tax by increasing legal transaction through invoice. It is noted that for the same percentage of taxation, the amount does not vary for VAT and GST. The tax slab decreased for 71 commodities and no change in 21 commodities; there has been an increase in tax slab for 60 commodities. 26% taxation was levied for most commodities considered was currently levied by 28% taxation which is greater than before. It was found that average tax percentage reduced was calculated to be 6.07143. The average tax percentage increase was calculated to be 4.7833 percentage for the considered commodities. The overall tax average tax percentage is estimated to be 14.8750% which does not have a significant difference concerning tax levied before GST, which was calculated to be 15.7829% for considered commodities. Therefore, the consumer purchasing power and overall living standard of the individual in India will remain almost same.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Kiiza Mwesiga ◽  
Noeline Nakasujja ◽  
Lawrence Nankaba ◽  
Juliet Nakku ◽  
Seggane Musisi

Introduction: Individual and group level interventions have the largest effect on outcomes in patients with the first episode of psychosis. The quality of these individual and group level interventions provided to first-episode psychosis patients in Uganda is unclear.Methods: The study was performed at Butabika National Psychiatric Teaching and referral hospital in Uganda. A retrospective chart review of recently discharged adult in-patients with the first episode of psychosis was first performed to determine the proportion of participants who received the different essential components for individual and group level interventions. From the different proportions, the quality of the services across the individual and group interventions was determined using the first-Episode Psychosis Services Fidelity Scale (FEPS-FS). The FEPS-FS assigns a grade of 1-5 on a Likert scale depending on the proportion of patients received the different components of the intervention. Results: The final sample included 156 first-episode psychosis patients. The median age was 27 years [IOR (24-36)] with 55% of participants of the female gender. 13 essential components across the individual and group interventions were assessed and their quality quantified. All 13 essential components had poor quality with the range of scores on the FEPS-FS of 1-3. Only one essential component assessed (use of single antipsychotics) had moderate quality.Discussion: Among current services at the National psychiatric hospital of Uganda, the essential for individual and group level interventions for psychotic disorders are of low quality. Further studies are required on how the quality of these interventions can be improved.


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