Conformity Assessment of Lead Aprons Used in Conventional Radiology: A Multi-Centre Survey in Togo

Aim: Lead aprons are used to protect against scattered radiation from the patient during interventional procedures and certain special conventional radiological examinations. Given the importance of the role lead aprons are supposed to play in radiation protection, we propose to assess their conformity in medical imaging departments in public and religious hospitals in Togo. Materials and method: A multi-centre survey conducted from 26 November to 06 December 2021 in the radiology departments of public and religious health facilities in Togo. All aprons in use were included. The evaluation criteria were physical (visual), quantitative (radiographic) and qualitative (dosimetric). Results: We had registred 43 aprons among wich 27 (62.79%) leaded aprons were labelled non-compliant and 16 (37.21%) were labelled compliant. Of the aprons judged to be non-compliant, 70.37% were more than 10 years old and 96.30% showed defects on the radiographic images. The most common defects were vampire marks (18.64%), multiple folds (16.96%), cracks (16.96%), multiple cracks (15.25%), tears (8.47%), absence of lead (5.08%), holes (3.39%) and lead corrosion (1.69%). Defective aprons (62.96%) had at least two defects. The defects were of thoraco-abdomino-pelvic (74.07%), thoracic (14.82%) and abdomino-pelvic (11.11%) topography. For indirect exposure at 50 and 70 kilovolts, all the aprons had an attenuation factor greater than 90%. After dosimetric measurement, 13.95% of aprons had attenuation factors below 90% for indirect exposure at 100 kilovolts. Conclusion: The compliance of the leaded decks is trifactorial (physical, radiographic and dosimetric). However, there is no significant difference in X-ray attenuation capacity between defective and normal decks.

Comparison of Flow Field Distribution and Characteristic on Different Compact Spinning Systems

Numerical simulation models of compact spinning with perforated drum, punched apron and lattice apron were established and computerized with computational fluid dynamics(CFD) software. Characteristics of airflow in condensing zone were achieved. Velocity vectors of the flow on different systems were contrasted and discussed. Then, trajectories of fibers in condensing zone were simulated by a specially designed MATLAB program routine. The result of the simulation clarified the compact mechanism of the compact spinning systems. Also, it applied a guideline for reasonable utilization of the airflow in condensing zone.

胶质气体泡沫水基钻井液流变性及封堵性研究

胶质气体泡沫(Apron)桥接在储层岩石孔隙中可以有效降低钻井液滤失量,减少对地层的损害。本文研究了Apron水基钻井液的稳定性、流变性、滤失性和封堵性,对钻井液中聚合物的种类、表面活性剂种类及浓度进行了优选。实验结果表明,表面活性剂十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)和十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(HTAB)均能提高钻井液塑性黏度(PV)和表观黏度(AV),降低钻井液密度,其中SDS效果优于HTAB,SDS产生的微气泡更为稳定,平均粒径可以达到65μm,在黄原胶(XG)质量浓度为6 g/L的泡沫钻井液中,当SDS质量浓度为2 g/L时,可以将钻井液密度由977.03 g/L降低到400.42 g/L。此外,研究了钻井液不同的pH值对其性能的影响,结果表明pH值为9时,Apron性能最好。在保持钻井液性能的同时,为了进一步降低成本,可将瓜尔胶(GG)与XG配比使用,XG与GG的最佳质量比为3∶1,此时可以将滤失量降低至21.04 mL。

Additional Twists of Yarn Produced by System of Compact Spinning with Lattice Apron

Based on the flow simulation in the condensing zone of compact spinning with lattice apron and a bead-elastic rod dynamic model of the flexible fiber,trajectories of fibers with different negative pressure are simulated by specially designed Matlab procedure.Then displacement components of fibers at YZ profile under different negative pressure conditions are extracted and compared.The results show that the fibers of different initial positions gradually converge,and are interlaced for position change in yarn cross-section,caused by the airflow in the condensing zone.Finally,compact-spun yarn with different negative pressure and conventional ring spun yarn are produced and their twists are tested.Both the results of simulation and experiments illustrate the existence of additional twists.Also the relationship between additional twists and negative pressure is verified.

Simulation and Analysis of Fiber Motion in Condensing Zone of Compact Spinning with Lattice Apron

To get fiber motion in condensing zone of compact spinning,velocity of this area is achieved by simulation,and then a bead-elastic rod fiber model is established.Based on simulation and dynamic analysis on this zone,governing equations are constructed and Runge-Kutta approach is used.Lastly,trajectories of fibers are calculated by specially designed Matlab procedure according to the principles mentioned above.Results show that fiber motions at different initial positions are different;X-axis velocity component makes fibers gathering on sides of suction slot;Y-axis airflow gets fibers gradually close and then stick to the surface of lattice apron.Fiber motions also reflect that the compact spinning process in condensing zone can be divided into three parts:fast convergence zone,adjustment convergence zone,and steady convergence zone.

SA-FRCNN:An Improved Object Detection Method for Airport Apron Scenes

The airport apron scene contains rich contextual information about the spatial position relationship.Traditional object detectors only considered visual appearance and ignored the contextual information.In addition,the detection accuracy of some categories in the apron dataset was low.Therefore,an improved object detection method using spatial-aware features in apron scenes called SA-FRCNN is presented.The method uses graph convolutional networks to capture the relative spatial relationship between objects in the apron scene,incorporating this spatial context into feature learning.Moreover,an attention mechanism is introduced into the feature extraction process,with the goal to focus on the spatial position and key features,and distance-IoU loss is used to achieve a more accurate regression.The experimental results show that the mean average precision of the apron object detection based on SAFRCNN can reach 95.75%,and the detection effect of some hard-to-detect categories has been significantly improved.The proposed method effectively improves the detection accuracy on the apron dataset,which has a leading advantage over other methods.

The Coarse-Grained Lacustrine Slope Apron Deposits in the Moliqing Area,Yitong Basin,Northeast China

Overlapping gravity accumulation bodies were formed on the northwestern steep slope of the Shuangyang Formation in the Moliqing fault depression of northeast China.This study analyzed in detail the spatial distribution of the lithofacies and lithofacies associations of these accumulation bodies based on more than 600 m of core sections,and summarized 12 major types of lithofacies and three types of lithofacies associations：（1） the proximal zone consists of gravelly debris flows dominated by alluvial channel conglomerates;（2） the middle zone is dominated by various gravity flow deposits and traction flow deposits;and（3） the distal zone is dominated by mudstones with intercalations of sandy debris and turbidites.Combining with the grain size cumulative probability curves analysis,we determined the transformation of debris flows to sandy debris flows and to turbidity currents in the slope zone of the basin margin,and further proposed a lacustrine slope apron model that is characterized by（1） an inconstant multiple source（line source）,（2） an alternation of gravity flow deposits and traction flow deposits dominated by periodical changes in a source flood flow system,and（3） the transformation of sandy debris flow deposits into distal turbidity current deposits.This sedimentary model may be applicable to other fault depressions for predicting reservoir distribution.

Low-Clearance Truck’s Vertical Requirements at Roundabouts

While roundabouts have already been proven to be an effective intersection treatment, there are many instances where low-clearance vehicles have problems using roundabouts. Low-clearance vehicles, such as lowboy trailer trucks, have problems, damaging the curbs and truck aprons at roundabouts when there is not sufficient ground clearance. This area has been generally neglected by designers and U.S. states. The latest roundabout manual has guidelines available to design various features of the roundabouts, but they are not specific for low-clearance vehicles. While some previous studies have identified roundabout locations with ground-clearance problems for lowboy trailers that have truck-apron heights that are greater than three inches, no published information is available about truck-apron heights based on three-dimensional analyses. This study addresses the ground-clearance problems for low-clearance vehicles at roundabouts by proposing a procedure where truck-apron heights, truck-apron slope, circulatory roadway slope, and approach roadway slope are analyzed to determine the optimum design measurements for a roundabout’s vertical profile in order to accommodate low-clearance vehicles without terrain conflict. The study procedure was demonstrated on standard single-lane roundabouts and double-lane roundabouts designed according to latest roundabout guide, and recommendations were provided for truck-apron heights and the grade for various features of the roundabouts. This research can guide transportation planners and decision makers when determining the optimum roundabout vertical-profile design when low-clearance vehicles are expected. The study uses TORUS software to design roundabouts, and the AUTOTURN and AUTOTURN Pro 3D software for generating two-dimensional and three-dimensional vehicle simulations as well as for conducting three-dimensional vehicle-clearance analysis.

Effect of Flood Stress on Soybean Seed Germination in the Field

Flooding is an abiotic stress that impacts soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] growth and reduces seed germination. Effect of flooding on soybean plant grown at different growth stage has been previously conducted and reported. However, soybean seed germination responses to flood stress are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to elucidate flooding influence on soybean seed germination after planting in the field. The research showed that seed germination rate (SGR) of each genotype, without flood stress, was significantly different and ranged between 64.7% to 84.0% and 69.0% to 90.7% while using untreated and fungicide-treated seed (P < 0.0001), respectively. Results indicated that fungicide treatment improved soybean seed survival and germination in the field. The average of SGR of high-yielding soybean group was significantly higher than those of non-high-yielding soybean (P < 0.0001). The results indicated that high-yielding trait of each genotype was correlated with seed germination and survival. Under flood stress in the field, SGR means of untreated and fungicide-treated seed significantly decreased over eight flooding treatment times (P Flooding effect on germination between untreated and fungicide-treated seed was not significantly different (P = 0.1559). Furthermore, comparing the high-yielding and flood-tolerant soybean groups showed no difference in their SGR means over eight flooding treatment times (P = 0.7687 and P = 0.8490), indicating that soybean seed germination did not depend on genotype, yield, and flood tolerance trait, and seed treated by fungicide did not increase its germination in the field under the flood stress. Hence, it is necessary to develop new soybean seed pelleting to improve seed germination in the field under flooding conditions.

A New Approach in Design of a Pavement Reinforced by A Geosynthetic Layer in Severely Stressed Area of the Airport Pavement to Accommodate Stresses Imposed by Aircraft Landing and Ground Movements

Pavements of airport runway and apron are subjected to stern stresses imposed by landing and ground movements of aircraft. The stresses are primarily concentrated in touchdown zone and wheel path areas of the pavement structure. This paper proposes that this area can be designed using geosynthetic layer reinforcement to minimise deflection and deterioration of the structure. The reinforcement can reduce the vertical stresses on the underground fuel pipes in the apron area, if used. The concept of ditch conduit reinforcement is suggested where a geosynthetic layer is used within a soil backfill to redistribute load over a conduit leading to stress redistribution. It is observed that the vertical load is significantly reduced by the arching action of the soil mass overlying the conduit. The load can be reduced further by placing a geosynthetic reinforcement layer within the soil backfill above the conduit. It is suggested that the inclusion of a geosynthetic layer in the granular backfill reduces the vertical load on a ditch conduit and the amount of reduction depends upon the tensile modulus, deflection of the geosynthetic and soil arching action. This leads to believe that a reinforced pavement structure for runway and aerodrome apron area improves the load carrying capacity of the pavement to sustain the operations of heavy transport aircraft, including occasional overloading of the pavement. Hence, this paper explores a possibility of using a geosynthetic layer under the runway pavement to provide reinforcement.

Experimental Study for the Determination of the Material Diameter of the Riprap Bed Protection

Bed protection in apron downstream was installed to use riprap or gabion mattress. In the case of bed protection using riprap, the decision on the riprap diameter is very important because riprap diameter means the capacity to withstand the flow. Initial formulas for the decision on the riprap diameter applied velocity and weight as main factors. Since the main factors gradually expanded to depth, bed slope, and turbulence intensity, decision formulas for the riprap diameter were detailed. Because turbulence intensity was considered to be a main factor of the formula, the decision formulas for the riprap diameter could be expanded to apply to bed protection around hydraulic structures. Escarameia and May conducted a study on the riprap diameter of a strong turbulence area around the downstream of hydraulic structures. For the formula of Escarameia and May, the basis of the formula was the Izbash type, and the main factor was turbulence intensity. This study was an experimental study for deciding the riprap diameter installed around apron downstream and was based on the study results of Escarameia and May. The experiment measured the velocity upon change of discharge and riprap diameter to the installed weir model and analyzed the correlation of threshold velocity by diameter. The experimental formula in this study expanded the turbulence intensity limits of the Escarameia and May formula and increased application to turbulence intensity in weir downstream.

Initiation and evolution of coarse-grained deposits in the Late Quaternary Lake Chenghai source-to-sink system:From subaqueous colluvial apron(subaqueous fans)to Gilbert-type delta

Investigating the formation and evolution of coarse-grained deposits in modern lakes and the relevant controlling conditions is indispensable to the prediction of reservoir sandbodies, disaster prediction,and limnological research. The source-to-sink system of coarse-grained deposits in Lake Chenghai, a deep,scarped Late Quaternary lake, was investigated in this study based on 62 outcrops, Advanced Land Observing Satellite(ALOS) digital elevation model(DEM) data, and regional geological survey data. The findings include the following:(1) the source areas of coarse-grained deposits in Lake Chenghai were lithologically classified into carbonate source areas, basaltic source areas and siliciclastic source areas, and were geomorphically categorized as scarp type or confluence type. Subaqueous colluvial aprons have formed downstream of the carbonate source areas and scarp-type basaltic source areas, while Gilbert-type deltas have formed downstream of siliciclastic source areas and confluence-type basaltic source areas.(2) The formation and evolution of coarse-grained deposits are controlled by the sediment flux that evolves in synchrony with the geomorphic evolution of the source areas and the sink regimes. Scarps represent the initial landform of the source areas.Source material rolls off or slides down scarps or forms small-scale debris flows before entering the lake. The source material initially formed subaqueous colluvial apron(synonymous with subaqueous fans) where sufficient space was present to accommodate sediments and the basement angle exceeded than the natural angle of repose. As weathering and denudation have progressed, the initial scarps have transformed into confluencetype slopes, and the source material has formed medium-and large-scale debris flows that have entered the lake, resulting in an increase in sediment flux. Consequently, the subaqueous colluvial aprons have rapidly grown and developed subaerial deposits, which have evolved into larger-scale Gilbert-type deltas that overlie the initial aprons.(3) The morphology and distribution of coarse-grained deposits vary in response to differences in quantity and composition of materials from different source areas, which resulting from different rates of weathering and denudation and different sediment input regimes. Firstly, the size and surface slope angle of a subaqueous colluvial apron from a carbonate source are smaller than those of a subaqueous colluvial apron of basaltic origin. Secondly, a Gilbert-type delta from a basaltic source features a greater slope angle and a thicker topset than does a Gilbert-type delta of siliciclastic origin, and the latter exhibits a longer foreset and a thicker bottomset than in the former. Thirdly, the sizes of subaqueous colluvial aprons are not strongly correlated with the sizes of the source areas, while the sizes of Gilbert-type deltas are.

THE RANDOM ANALYSIS OF APRON SLAB MISSING STABILITY UNDER WATER JET LASHING

The jet flow with high water head happens very often in hydraulic engineering. In this paper, starting from the viewpoint of random hydraulics, the experimental research work on the problem of percussion action of the jet flow related to the apron slab.Stochastic theory and random time series are employed to analyse the sample function x(t) ,its x(t) and x(t) and their corelations μ on M. The working process of the apron during the variation of flow discharge has been observed and the machanism of failure of apron slab is discussed. The lift force due to the action of jet flow is analysed and the conditions of improving the safety factors of apron slab are presented.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON FREQUENCY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLUCTUATING PRESSURE ACTING ON THE APRON OF STILLING BASINS WITH LOW FROUDE NUMBER

Using four types of stilling basin models,this paper studies frequency characteris- tics of the fluctuating pressure acting on the stilling basin apron when Froude number is not greater than 4.5.The testing results show that the frequency of fluctuating pressure,f_s in the ranges of 0. 4Hz≤f_s≤1.1Hz.0.2Hz≤f_s≤2.5Hz and 0.4Hz≤f_s≤3.3Hz.can be used as the design frequency corresponding to three patterns of hydraulic jump.The reliability of f_s for three jump patterns is all nearly equal to 90%.