Statistical Data Bank Research Articles

Spatial Analysis of Scorpion Accidents in Brazil: Its Relation to Climate and Urbanization

Abstract. This essay has the objective of performing a spatial analysis and of identifying spatial pattern configurations of scorpion accidents, in order to assist in the implementation of projects and interventions for the prevention and control of areas infested by venomous animals. Between the data surveys and statistical data bank organizations we can quote the Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde - DATASUS (Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System), agency of the Secretaria de Gestão Estratégica e Participativa do Ministério da Saúde (Office of Strategic and Participatory Management at the Ministry of Health), in the years of 2019 and 2020, for the Brazilian territory. The modeling and data collection were developed, and organized into a geographic database, exploratory data analysis, spatial analysis, as well as the production of thematic maps, with identified spatial patterns. As a result a systematized set of thematic maps was obtained which presents the distribution of scorpion-caused accidents. Finally, a geographic analysis was conducted in order to analyze the data and results found, as well as the information conveyed in terms of demographic factors. It was found then a certain concentration of cases, which can generate a relationship between tropical climates and with the distribution of urbanized areas.

Indicators of the risk of death when performing professional duties in personnel of the operational services of the EMERCOM of Russia

Relevance. Extreme conditions of activity of the personnel of the operational units of the EMERCOM of Russia while on duty for emergency elimination of the consequences of accidents, disasters, fires and other emergency situations (ES), probably cause excessive stress on the functional reserves of the body, along with professionally accelerated diseases, erroneous actions, injuries and even death.Intention – To conduct an analysis of the risks of death by causes of fatal injuries, type of activity, categories of personnel and operational services of the EMERCOM of Russia for 10 years from 2012 to 2021.Methodology. The indicators of fatal injuries among personnel (military, employees with special ranks, and workers) of the operational units of the EMERCOM of Russia were obtained from the statistical data bank on morbidity, injuries, disability and death in the line of duty. Deaths of personnel were correlated with activities (liquidation of ES consequences, education and sports, everyday activities), 18 circumstances of injury were classified by causes (technical, organizational, psychophysiological and dangerous ES factors). Risks of death were calculated per 100 thousand ( ×10–5) personnel. Arithmetic means and their errors (M ± m) are indicated. Results and Discussion. Over 10 years (2012–2021), 202 staff members of the EMERCOM of Russia died on duty due to fatal injuries, on average (20 ± 3) people per year. The average annual risk of death in the operational services of the EMERCOM of Russia was (9.49 ± 1.37) ∙ 10–5, for male workers in the Russian economy it was almost the same, (9.84 ± 0.56) ∙ 10–5, for firefighters from the created array from 32 countries – statistically significantly lower, (2.27 ± 0.29) ∙ 10–5 (p < 0.001). Technical factors were associated with (0.87 ± 0.58) ∙ 10–5 risk of death and accounted for 9.4% of fatalities; organizational factors – with (1.09 ± 0.43) ∙ 10–5 risk of death and 11.4% of fatalities; psychophysiological factors – with (3.70 ± 0.32) ∙ 10–5 risk of death and 39.1 % of fatalities; ES hazards – with (3.83 ± 0.85) ∙ 10–5 risk of death and 41.1% fatalities. Operational activities were associated with (5.31 ± 1.26) ∙ 10–5 risk of death and 55.9 % of all the fatalities; training and sports – with (0.75 ± 0.24) ∙ 10–5 and 8 % of all the fatalities; daily activities were associated with (3.44 ± 0.44) ∙ 10–5 risk of death and 36.1 % all the fatalities.For the operational staff, risk of death turned out to be (9.06 ± 1.06) ∙ 10–5 and 63.9 %, respectively, for the prevention staff – (5.61 ± 1.42) ∙ 10–5 and 4 %, respectively; for the technical staff – (13.83 ± 5.96) ∙ 10–5 and 15.8 %, respectively, for managers – (10.26 ± 2.64) ∙ 10–5 and 16.8 %, respectively. For the personnel of the Federal Fire Service of the EMERCOM of Russia the risk of death was (7.80 ± 0.74) ∙ 10–5 and 73.8 %, respectively; for the Rescue military units of the EMERCOM of Russia – (37.32 ±19.10) ∙ 10–5 and 13.4 %, respectively; for the Search and Rescue and Emergency rescue units of the EMERCOM of Russia – (20.45 ± 8.13) ∙ 10–5 and 5 %, respectively, for Paramilitary mine rescue units of the EMERCOM of Russia – (38.65 ± 20.14) ∙ 10–5 and 6.4 %, respectively; for the State Inspectorate for Small Vessels of the EMERCOM of Russia – ( 5.36 ± 3.81) ∙ 10–5 and 1.5 %, respectively. The risk of death was low for prevention personnel, medium for operational staff and management personnel, and high for technical personnel. A low risk of death was observed among the personnel of the State Inspectorate for Small Vessels of the EMERCOM of Russia, medium risk was observed among the personnel of the Federal Fire Service of the EMERCOM of Russia, and a high risk was observed in the other analyzed services.Conclusion. Injury prevention will help improve the safety of personnel, and taking into account the level, structure and dynamics of injuries will optimize the forces and means of the Russian EMERCOM.

Occupational injuries in categories of personnel of Federal Fire Service of EMERCOM of Russia (2006–2020)

Relevance. Occupational injuries - a set of injuries received by workers in the workplace and caused by non-compliance with working conditions for a certain period of time, for example, for 1 year. Industrial injuries - a controlled process and an indicator of occupational safety. Intention. To analyze occupational injuries among the personnel of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) of the EMERCOM of Russia by category for 15 years from 2006 to 2020. Methodology. The injury rates for personnel (with special ranks and employees) of the FFS of the EMERCOM of Russia were obtained from the statistical data bank on morbidity, injuries, disability and death of personnel of the EMERCOM of Russia units during the performance of their duties. Injury rates per 10,000 firefighters were calculated. The received injuries were correlated with the categories of personnel (operational personnel, preventive, technical and managerial personnel) and activities (fire fighting, training / sports and everyday activities). The circumstances of receiving injuries were generalized by causes: technical, organizational, psycho-physiological and dangerous fire-related factors. The results were checked for normality of distribution. Arithmetic mean values and their errors are presented. The dynamics of receiving injuries was assessed using time series and 2nd order polynomial trends. Consistency (congruence) of the studied trends was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficients. Results and Discussion. There is a decrease in occupational injuries in all categories of personnel of the EMERCOM of Russia FFS. Average annual level of occupational injuries in 2006-2020 was (14.66 ± 2.01) per 10,000 firefighters. Russian workers overall tended to have higher levels (17.87 ± 1.56) per 10,000 Russian workforce (nonsignificant difference). The consistency of the trends is strong positive and statistically significant (r = 0.833; p < 0.001), which may indicate the influence of unidirectional factors in recieving injuries. The proportion of injuries among operational personnel was 67.1% of the structure of all occupational injuries, the average annual injury rate was (14.47 ± 2.06) per 10 thousand firefighters; among preventive personnel - 6.6 % and (12.33 ? 2.33) per 10 thousand, respectively; among technical personnel - 6.5 % and (10.86 ± 1.58) per 10 thousand, respectively; among managerial personnel - 19.8 % and (18.65 ± 2.49) per 10 thousand firefighters, respectively. The highest level of occupational injuries and the proportion of injuries among the operational staff were due to psychophysiological causes during daily activities - (4.31 ± 0.86) per 10 thousand firefighters and 19.5 % of the structure of all injuries and fire hazards during fire extinguishing - (4.03 ± 0.45) per 10 thousand and 18.2 %, respectively. For preventive, technical and managerial personnel, the leading causes of injuries were psychophysiological factors during daily activities - (7.21 ± 1.43) per 10 thousand and 3.8 %; (6.19 ± 0.95) per 10 thousand and 3.7 %; (6.55 ± 0.81) per 10 thousand firefighters and 7.2 %, respectively. The average annual risk of receiving injury during firefighting among the personnel of the EMERCOM of Russia FFS in 2009-2020 amounted to (0.18 ± 0.01) x 10-3 injuries/(fire x year), for the operational staff -(0.15 ± 0.01) x 10-3 injuries/(fire x year). There is a tendency to reducing risks of injury. Risks of injury turned out not to depend on the number of fires; the congruence of trends for fires and risks in the personnel and operational staff is weak positive and statistically nonsignificant (r = 0.208 and r = 0.201, respectively; p > 0.05 for both coefficients). Conclusion. Occupational injuries can become manageable only if all injuries are taken into account and a wide range of concerned professionals (firefighters, managers, engineers, doctors, etc.) are involved in the analysis of their causes.

An Empirical Evidence of the Impact of Government Tax Revenue on Nigerian Public Debt

Objective The major objective of this paper is to examine the existence of a mutual consen-sus on the effect of tax revenue and non-tax revenue on public debt in Nigeria.Design/methodology – The study uses documentary research design. Data was collect-ed using secondary method of data collection from Debt Management office and Bureau of statistics and Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin data bank. Ordinary Least Square Multi regression model was used in analyzing the dataResults – The research found out that there is a negative an insignificant relationship be-tween tax revenue, non-tax revenue and interest rate in relation to Nigerian public debt. Moreover, the paper found out that exchange rate and population rate had significant and positive relationship with Nigerian public debt.Limitation/Suggestion – The implication of the study is that, the contribution of tax revenue to the reduction of public debt is minimal as could be shown from the results. While, non-tax revenue contributed more than tax revenue in public debt reduction in Nigeria. In addition, increase in exchange rate, and population rate contributed more to increase in pub-lic debt, while, an increase in interest rate does not increase public debt but rather it discour-ages the government from collecting more debt and push the government to go for other rev-enue sources that where not assessed. The study recommended that; government should harness untapped taxes to increase tax revenue generation to pay interest on loan and princi-pal. Must of the information at the researcher disposal used for the study was for 15 years, from 2003 to 2018. Thus, studies need to be conducted involving more year like from 20 years upward to see whether it will change the result.Novelty/Originality – The originality of this research lies on the government inability to generate enough tax revenue and non-tax revenue to meet expenditure without collecting debt. This is because collection of debt always leads to frequent increase in debt burden in Nigeria. Fewer or no one has carried out a careful analysis of the relationship between tax and non-tax revenue against total debt in Nigeria.

Non-parametric decomposition of total factor productivity growth in yam production in North-Central Nigeria

Abstract. Non-parametric analysis of total factor productivity change in yam production in North-Central Nigeria from 1992 to 2016 was carried out with the use of secondary data. The secondary production data of yam for that period were collected from Food and Agriculture Statistical (FAOSTAT) data bank. Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index (MTFPI) based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), was used to empirically analyse the total factor productivity of the yam, while Tobit regression was used to analyse the determinants of total factor productivity in the study area. The results of the MTFPI analysis reveal that yam contributed 1.4% of technical efficiency change to productivity growth over the period studied. The technological contributions to productivity growth regressed at 1.8%. The study revealed the productivity growth of yam to be 0.2%. Tobit regression result showed credit borrowed, government policy (Agricultural Transformation Agenda – ATA), capital, and labour to have significant and positive relationships with the productivity of the crop at either p≤0.05 or p≤0.001 level of probability, which implies that increase in them led to increase in the crop’s productivity. Capital-labour was statistically significant but negatively related to yam productivity at p≤0.01, which implied that utilization of labour in a greater proportion than capital led to reduction or regress in its productivity growth. The study recommends farmers’ training on farm practices and techniques to increase yam productivity. They should be encouraged to accept improved yam varieties from research institutes, properly allocate the production resources and adopt improved technology to achieve productivity growth in the study area.

A Semi-empirical Model to Predict the Attached Axisymmetric Shock Shape

In this work, a simple semi-empirical model is proposed, based on Response Surface Model, RSM, to determine the shape of an attached oblique shock wave emanating from a pointed axisymmetric nose at zero angle of attack. Extensive supersonic visualization images have been compiled from various nose shapes at different Mach numbers, along with some others performed by the author for the present paper. The method is based on the relationship between the body shape and the shock shape. The body shape and the free stream Mach number determine the shape of the oblique shock standing ahead. From the statistical data bank containing the visualization tests and employing the RSM, an analytic relationship has been established between the body and the shock shape. From this relationship, knowing the body shape and the Mach number, one can simply determine the shock shape. The visualization tests performed by the author for some other cases have approved the accuracy of the proposed relationship. However, the approach is restricted to attached shocks emanating from sharp noses at zero angle of attack. Despite the limitations, this relationship can effectively be used in model scale determination for wind tunnel tests to prevent shock reflection from the walls that could lead to erroneous results.

Digital marketing technologies as an effective tool for promotion of tourism in the republic of Moldova

The article notes that tourism is one of the most important driving forces of the world economy and one of the main sources of employment. At the same time, in the Republic of Moldova, this sector, despite the presence of quite significant tourism potential. A critical analysis of the state of the tourism industry of the Republic allows us to assert about its initial stage of development. The problem of management and promotion of the tourism product of the Republic of remains underdeveloped and requires methodological development. In this regard, one of the most relevant ways of effective promotion and development of this industry can be the wider use of digital marketing technologies in tourism. The article discusses the main determinants of digital marketing and their importance for the tourism industry in Moldova. Keywords: digital marketing, tourism, tourism industry, tourism product, tourist flow, Internet promotion. DOI: 10.15276/mdt.2.3.2018.5 Law on the organization and implementation of tourism activities in the Republic of 352-XVI. (2006, 24 November). Retrieved from: lex.justice.md/document_eng.php?id =A5028999:391F4418 [in Moldovan]. State Information Agency «MOLDPRES». The mobile application Moldova Wine Route was launched on the tourist market. www.moldpres.md Retrieved from: www.moldpres.md/en/news/2017/11/28/17009292. Mirsayakova, V.A. (2016). The Importance of Tourism in the World Economy. Young Scientist, 5, 17-19 [in Russian]. Retrieved from: moluch.ru/archive/109/26821. Mikolaychuk, A.A., & Lankovskaya, E.K. (2016). Internet marketing as an effective tool for promoting tourist destinations in the Crimea. Tavrichesky scientific observer,1 (6), 39-43 [in Russian]. National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. Statistical Data Bank. statbank.statistica.md. Monitorul Fiscal. International experts: has become less attractive for tourists. monitorul.fisc.md Retrieved from: monitorul.fisc.md/mic/mezhdunarodnye-eksperty-moldova-stala-menee-privlekatelnoy-dlya-turistov.html. UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. 2017 International Tourism results: the highest in seven year. tourlib.net Retrieved from: tourlib.net/wto/UNWTO_Barometer_2018_01.pdf. World Economic Forum. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017. www.weforum.org Retrieved from: www.weforum.org/reports/the-travel-tourism-competitiveness-report-2017. Oklander, M.A. (2002). Problemy formuvannia marketynhovoi systemy krainy [Problems of the formation of the country's marketing system]. Kyiv: Naukova dumka [in Ukrainian]. Oklander, M.A. (2003). Makromarketynh: marketynh v sektori zahalnoho derzhavnoho upravlinnia [Macro Marketing: Marketing in the General Government]. Marketynh v Ukraini [Marketing in Ukraine], 6 (22), 31–37 [in Ukrainian]. Oklander, M.A., Oklander, T.O., & Yashkina, O.I. (2017). Tsyfrovyi marketynh – model marketynhu ХХІ storichchia [Digital Marketing – The Marketing Model of the 21st Century]. Oklander, M.A. (Ed.). Odesa: Astroprint [in Ukrainian].

Economic situation and occupational accidents in Poland: 2002-2014 panel data regional study.

Occupational accidents constitute a substantial health and economic burden for societies around the world and a variety of factors determine the frequency of accidents at work. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the economic situation and the rate of occupational accidents in Poland. The analysis comprised data for 66 Polish sub-regions taken from the Central Statistical Office's Local Data Bank. The regression analysis with panel data for period 2002-2014 was applied to identify the relationships involved. Four measures of accidents were used: the rates of total occupational accidents, accidents among men and women separately as well as days of incapacity to work due to accidents at work per employee. Four alternative measures assessed the economic situation: gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, average remuneration, the unemployment rate and number of dwelling permits. The confounding variables included were: employment in hazardous conditions and the size of enterprises. The results of the regression estimates show that the number of occupational accidents in Poland exhibits procyclical behavior, which means that more accidents are observed during the times of economic expansion. Stronger relationships were observed in the equations explaining men's accident rates as well as total rates. A weaker and not always statistically significant impact of economic situation was identified for women's accident rates and days of incapacity to work. The results have important implications for occupational health and safety actions. In the periods of higher work intensity employers should focus on appropriate training and supervision of inexperienced workers as well as on ensuring enough time for already experienced employees to recuperate. In terms of public health actions, policy makers should focus on scrutinizing working conditions, educating employers and counteracting possible discrimination of injured employees. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(2):151-164.

Anthropometric Study of External Ear: A Comparative Study in Medical Students of Nepalgunj Medical College in Nepal

Background: Anthropometry is the measurements of the body parts in the living or dead persons with the help of instruments. Many studies in the past are done for various purposes such as: adding data to statistical data bank, to estimate stature, age differences. The study on the measurement of ear is also helpful to forensic expert for individual identity, to cosmetic surgeon to correct shape and size or reconstruct the auricle, to electronic companies to prepare hearing aids and lastly to prosthetic makers who required average measurement of the auricle to prepare prosthesis.
 Aim and objective of the study: The aim of the study was to determine the normal anthropometric measurement of external ear in male and female Nepalese and Indian medical students.
 Material and methods: This study was conducted on 200 medical students (Nepalese students 134 and Indian student 66). The study was conducted during October 2017 to November 2017. All the important parameters were obtained using vernier caliper.
 Results: In Indian male auricular height and lobular height was found more than Nepalese. Auricular width was equal in both. Lobular width was more in left auricle and equal in right auricle in female. All parameters are more in Indian than Nepalese.
 Conclusion: These measurements are helpful for forensic expert in individual identity, for cosmetic surgeries, correction of anomalies of auricle, for designing hearing aids and prepare prosthesis.

Sample representativeness verification of the FADN CZ farm business sample

Sample representativeness verification is one of the key stages of statistical work. After having joined the European Union the Czech Republic joined also the Farm Accountancy Data Network system of the Union. This is a sample of bodies and companies doing business in agriculture. Detailed production and economic data on the results of farming business are collected from that sample annually and results for the entire population of the country´s farms are then estimated and assessed. It is important hence, that the sample be representative. Representativeness is to be assessed as to the number of farms included in the survey and also as to the degree of accordance of the measures and indices as related to the population. The paper deals with the special statistical techniques and methods of the FADN CZ sample representativeness verification including the necessary sample size statement procedure. The Czech farm population data have been obtained from the Czech Statistical Office data bank.

Spatial Spillovers and Innovation Activity in European Regions

This paper explores the spatial distribution of innovative activity and the role of technological spillovers in the process of knowledge creation across 138 regions of 17 countries in Europe (the 15 members of the European Union plus Switzerland and Norway). The analysis is based on an original statistical databank set up by CRENoS on regional patenting at the European Patent Office spanning from 1978 to 1997 and classified by ISIC sectors (3 digit). In a first step, a deep exploratory spatial data analysis of the dissemination of innovative activity in Europe is performed. Some global and local indicators for spatial association are presented, summarising the presence of a dependence process in the distribution of innovative activity for different periods and sectors. Secondly, we attempt to model the behaviour of innovative activity at the regional level on the basis of a knowledge production function. Econometric results points to the relevance of internal factors (R&D expenditure, economic performance, agglomeration economies). Moreover, the production of knowledge by European regions seems to be also affected by spatial spillovers due to innovative activity performed in other regions.

Bifurcation in Compressive Behavior of Concrete

The fundamental mechanism of the statistical variation of the compressive behavior of cylindrical concrete specimens is explained through a synthesis and a reconstruction of the bifurcation theory. Initial imperfections of the specimens, which denote the deviation of various kinds of physical properties among them, are employed to explain such statistical variation. A series of compression tests on cylindrical concrete specimens are conducted to construct a statistical data bank of compressive stress versus train curves. An imperfection sensitivity law is employed to describe the variation in these curves, and hence to identify the existence of bifurcation that triggers the softening of the curves. The curves, in addition, are simulated well by means of the so-called bifurcation equation. The theory of the stochasticity of initial imperfections is employed to explain the probabilistic variation of the maximum axial stresses. The predominant role of bifurcation in the compressive behavior of concrete has thus been demonstrated.

Crime institute's profile

Established in 1969 within the French Ministry of Justice, Cesdip (Centre de recherches sociologiques sur le Droit et les Institutions P6nales) has been affiliated with the CNRS since 1976. Increasing our knowledge of criminal justice policies, based on scrutiny and analysis of the way policy is shaped and enforced has developed into one of the major missions of Cesdip. Both the historical framework and social context of delinquency and violence have emerged as prominent political issues playing a significant role on current education, employment and welfare services debates. The opening of European borders, the hazards of economic restructuring and increased geographic mobility with all the pressures bought to bear on the social fabric of society, have secured a new audience amongst the public for crime and criminal justice issues. Cesdip has prioritized four major areas of research. A first priority has been, under the heading of "Creation of criminal laws the interaction of social actors in that process'. In essence, how society's interests and priorities are transformed through the intervention of public power into legal norms. This research is often framed within a contemporary historical perspective. A second line of research 'Utilisation of penal resources' gives us insight into the ideological context of the mobilisation of resources by various social groups in the current debate on criminal justice policies. Thirdly, 'Organization of law enforcement', its institutions and the means available to the actors in those institutions. Finally, the fourth group of research projects has focused on the 'Logistics and statistical analysis of the criminal justice system'. The updating of our statistical data bank and reviewing and monitoring of research projects are additional areas of responsibility. The Documentation Service of Cesdip contains over 5,600 items and periodicals. It also administers a local databank containing 5,300 catalogued documents indexed by a special vocabulary. It manages the sociological reference system FRANCIS (CNRS=INIST) as well as the international reference system ICPIN in the area of delinquency

Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS): Current diffusion and main advantages

The FMS statistical data bank was prepared at IIASA to analyze flexible manufacturing systems in the world. Apart from identification data, the bank includes 24 main variables concerning FMS application, technical complexity, economic and operation data, and relative advantages. The total number of systems included is 400, which accounts for 60–70% of the FMS world population. The FMS distribution over the variables is a main form of analysis. The portrait of a “typical FMS” becomes clear from this investigation, which also gives a description of the most sophisticated cases and national peculiarities. This paper presents an important conclusion, i.e., that FMS installations can be divided into two flows: mass-type systems and experimental, sophisticated ones.

Statistical data bank services in Denmark

Statistical data bank services in Denmark

A computer-augmented procedure for commercial aircraft configurationdevelopment and optimization

Based on an idealized computational model of the aircraft, the computer-augmented preliminary design procedure (CAPDA) for commercial aircraft design and optimization has been developed. Contrary to the sophisticated approach of existing complex CAD systems, which consider structural and aerodynamic aspects in more detail and even lead to a CAM interface, in the system presented here the configurational development is emphasized, with special focus on parametric studies and optimization. The iterative synthesis that is established on a corresponding analysis level and uses input data from an extensive statistical data bank results in a numerical representation of geometry and performance. For the development of an optimized baseline configuration, an optimization module based on a direct search strategy can be applied. The capabilities of the program system are demonstrated in several design examples.

Experiences in data structuring gained from running a general statistical data bank system

L'Office Statistique Central d'Australie a mis sur pied une banque de donnees statistiques qui offre aux agences gouvernementales, comme aux instituts de recherche ou aux entreprises privees non seulement un eventail tres large de donnees mais encore la possibilite de leur traitement mathematique ou statistique a l'aide de programmes adaptes. La structure de base, originale des donnees, l'organisation generale de la banque et les procedures d'assistance a la recherche sont concues de telle sorte que la transparence du systeme soit toujours respectee

Confidentiality of Statistical Records: A Threat-Monitoring Scheme for On Line Dialogue

From a statistical data bank containing only anonymous records, the records sometimes may be identified and then retrieved, as personal records, by on line dialogue. The risk mainly applies to statistical data sets representing populations, or samples with a high ratio n/N. On the other hand, access controls are unsatisfactory as a general means of protection for statistical data banks, which should be open to large user communities. A threat monitoring scheme is proposed, which will largely block the techniques for retrieval of complete records. If combined with additional measures (e.g., slight modifications of output), it may be expected to render, from a cost-benefit point of view, intrusion attempts by dialogue valueless, if not absolutely impossible. The bona fide user has to pay by some loss of information, but considerable flexibility in evaluation is retained. The proposal of controlled classification included in the scheme may also be useful for off line dialogue systems.

Review of experience with water reactor fuels 1968–1973

This review of water reactor fuel performance from 1968 to 1973 shows that defect levels in Zircaloy-clad UO2 fuels have, at times, been up to 1 in 3 bundles/reactor yr or ∼1 in 100 pins. Among the consequences of such events, are considerable efforts by manufacturers, designers and operators to understand the mechanisms of defection. As a result it has been possible to feed back the operating experience to give improvement in defect level to ∼1 in 200 bundles/reactor yr or between 1 in 103 and 1 in 104 fuel pins. The various types of defects and limiting features of Zircaloy clad fuel have been classified and fitted to well established reliability technology. There is justification for establishing a statistical data bank on water reactor fuel performance, to establish models and confirm acceptable defect levels, similar to those available on reactor plant. Few defects can yet be described as ‘life limiting’ in that incore lifetime is currently decided on economic grounds. Some potential life-limiting features have been identified during the review which should be the subject of further work to improve the long term performance of water reactor fuel.

Identification and Retrieval of Personal Records from a Statistical Data Bank

From a statistical data bank containing anonymous but individual records which may be evaluated by dialogue—e.g., by entering logical conditions which the system answers by returning absolute frequencies—personal records may often be retrieved. First a user has to identify the record in question, using previous knowledge. An experiment with authentic data is described providing some information on the amount of preknowledge needed for identification. Once identified, parts or the whole of a record may be retrieved by various techniques. The efficiency of a technique already known is studied. A new technique permitting retrieval of complete personal records is described, which is resistant to conventional output restrictions. It becomes feasible as soon as AND plus at least one of the logical operations NOT and OR are available. Some possible countermeasures are discussed.