Undetermined Loss Research Articles

Estimating the Period Prevalence of Mothers Who Have Abortions: A Population Based Study of Inclusive Pregnancy Outcomes.

Introduction:The prevalence of induced abortion among women with children has been estimated indirectly by projections derived from survey research. However, an empirically derived, population-based conclusion on this question is absent from the published literature.Objective:The objective of this study was to describe the period prevalence of abortion among all other possible pregnancy outcomes within the reproductive histories of Medicaid-eligible women in the U.S.Methods:A retrospective, cross-sectional, longitudinal analysis of the pregnancy outcome sequences of eligible women over age 13 from the 17 states where Medicaid included coverage of most abortions, with at least one identifiable pregnancy between 1999 and 2014. A total of 1360 pregnancy outcome sequences were grouped into 8 categories which characterize various combinations of the 4 possible pregnancy outcomes: birth, abortion, natural loss, and undetermined loss. The reproductive histories of 4,884,101 women representing 7,799,784 pregnancy outcomes were distributed into these categories.Results:Women who had live births but no abortions or undetermined pregnancy losses represented 74.2% of the study population and accounted for 87.6% of total births. Women who have only abortions but no births constitute 6.6% of the study population, but they are 53.5% of women with abortions and have 51.5% of all abortions. Women with both births and abortions represent 5.7% of the study population and have 7.2% of total births.Conclusion:Abortion among low-income women with children is exceedingly uncommon, if not rare. The period prevalence of mothers without abortion is 13 times that of mothers with abortion.

Data Reconciliation Applied to Loss Identification in the Sugar Industry

Pursuit of the identification and reduction of losses, and consequently of increased industrial efficiency, is a constant challenge in sugarcane industries. However, little attention is given to the undetermined losses, despite the high impact they can have on industrial efficiency. Therefore, this work aimed to quantify the contribution of the sugar-manufacturing sector to the total undetermined losses of a sugar and ethanol plant, presenting a method that could be applied to any equipment or sector of the industry in order to help identify sugar losses. The method was based on data reconciliation for the process flow rates and concentrations and was applied to the juice concentration sector. A mass balance was then applied to the subsequent sectors (crystallization, centrifugation, and drying) with the purpose of calculating the sugar production and comparing it with the real production. Considering the entire period studied, the calculated sugar production was 1.0% higher than the real production, and 37.3% of undetermined losses were found to occur between juice concentration and sugar bagging.

Evaluación, análisis y cuantificación de pérdidas de sacarosa de miel final en los procesos de cristalización, agotamiento y centrifugación del Ingenio María Luisa

El proceso de elaboración de azúcar origina pérdidas de sacarosa determinadas, que se pueden evaluar y controlar; e indeterminadas, que son inevitables pero que se deben controlar y minimizar. Las pérdidas de sacarosa en miel final pueden representar hasta el 6% del total de la sacarosa contenida en la caña de azúcar y con ello producir deficiencia en el proceso, reducir la recuperación de azúcar y afectar económicamente a la empresa. Esta investigación se abordó aplicando la metodología de solución de problemas empleando el ciclo PHVA y herramientas estadísticas básicas usadas en el control y mejoramiento de la calidad. En su primera etapa se hizo un diagnóstico y análisis detallado de las pérdidas, tomando como base datos históricos. En las siguientes, se desarrollaron actividades como análisis de laboratorio y mediciones fisicoquímicas y se realizaron las acciones necesarias para cumplir las metas propuestas. El proyecto tuvo logros importantes en los ámbitos económico, social, cultural y tecnológico, e hizo posible que el ingenio alcanzara por primera vez sus metas de pureza y pérdida de azúcar en miel final.

Results of a Self-Absorption Study on the Versapor 3000 47-mm Filters for Radioactive Particulate Air Stack Sampling

Since the mid-1980's the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has used a value of 0.85 as a correction factor for the self absorption of activity for particulate radioactive air samples collected from building exhaust for environmental monitoring. More recently, an effort was made to evaluate the current particulate radioactive air sample filters (Versapor 3000, 47-mm diameter) used at PNNL for self absorption effects. There were two methods used to characterize the samples. Sixty samples were selected from the archive for acid digestion to compare the radioactivity measured by direct gas-flow proportional counting of filters to the results obtained after acid digestion of the filter and counting again by gas-flow proportional detection. Thirty different sample filters were selected for visible light microscopy to evaluate filter loading and particulate characteristics. Mass-loading effects were also considered. Large error is associated with the sample filter analysis comparison and subsequently with the estimation of the absorption factor resulting in an inadequate method to estimate losses from self-absorption in the sample filter. The mass loading on the sample filter as determined after digestion and drying was approximately 0.08 mg cm; however, this value may not represent the total filter mass loading given that there may be undetermined losses associated with the digestion process. While it is difficult to determine how much material is imbedded in the filter, observations from the microscopy analysis indicate that the vast majority of the particles remain on the top of the filter. In comparing the results obtained, the continued use of 0.85 as a conservative correction factor is recommended.

Nuisance biomass levels of periphytic algae in streams

Relative coverage of filamentous periphytic algae increased with chlorophyll a (chl a) biomass on natural substrata in 22 northwestern United States and Swedish streams. A biomass range of 100–150 mg chl a m−2 may represent a critical level for an aesthetic nuisance; below those levels, filamentous coverage was less than 20%. Other indices of water quality (dissolved oxygen content and measures of benthic macroinvertebrate diversity) were apparently unaffected by periphytic biomass or filamentous coverage in these streams. Neither was biomass related to limiting nutrient content (soluble reactive phosphorus, SRP), as has been observed in previous experiments using bare rocks in streams and slides in artificial channels. Ambient SRP concentration may not be a useful predicter of periphyton accrual on natural substrates, due to uptake and recycling of P throughout the stream and undetermined losses such as sloughing and grazing.

The surprising amount of energy which can be collected from gases after the electric discharge has passed

It was found in earlier work (Rayleigh 1940 b ) that a piece of gold sheet, say 1 cm. square, hung up in a stream of glowing active nitrogen became red hot, and collected an amount of energy which was very surprising. It was necessary to assume that every molecule of nitrogen in the stream imparted 10 eV to the gold plate. In this form of experiment it was impossible to avoid large and undetermined losses of energy; thus the energy actually given up by each molecule was probably much larger still. A new form of experiment is now described in which this loss is avoided. A platinum strip is kept hot by periodic discharges, and by making the experiment (1) with the platinum exposed to the gas and (2) with the platinum protected by a thin glass sheath it is possible to determine what part of the total energy is to be attributed to catalytic action of the discharge products. This amount of energy is found to be very great. Reckoning in electron-volts per molecule of gas present it increased rapidly as the gas pressure was lowered and at the lowest pressure used it rose as high as 223 eV/mol. Results of the same order were obtained with other gases, so it is not clear that the glow of active nitrogen is the essential condition. This great liberation of energy much exceeds what can be explained by dissociation of the molecules and single ionization of every atom which results, which would only afford 36 V.