A unique accelerated aging chamber for experimentally determining the life of nuclear grade high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters was designed, implemented, and characterized. A design document was developed under the Nuclear Quality Assurance program (NQA-1). The aging process is achieved by sustaining an elevated humidity condition inside the chamber for an extended period of time. Elevated humidity conditions expose the media to commonly occurring stressors that mimic the degradation a typical filter in practical applications would experience. The aged media may then be analyzed using autopsy methodology resulting in data that can be used to better understand the useful life of HEPA filters. The chamber allows age studies to be conducted in a fraction of the time. The industry requires a more complete understanding of the useful life of HEPA filters as opposed to the rule of thumb which states to dispose filters 10 years after the manufacture date.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the differences on gifted student&rsquo / s attitudes toward science and their preferred classroom climate during science classes based on gender and grade level. Two questionnaires, the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA) and the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), were used as survey tools in this study. A group of 163 gifted and talented students among four academic levels which are eighth grade, English prep class, ninth and eleventh grade were assigned to take part in this study. The data obtained from administration of measuring instrument were analyzed by using Two-Analyses of Variance (ANOVA). Result indicated that grade level of students had a significant effect on attitudes towards science. The study found, first, lower-grade students show more positive attitudes toward science than the students at higher-grade level. Secondly, there are significant differences were found among students in their perceptions of the science classroom environment based on their gender and grade level. Female students expected more personalization than male students, higher grade students preferred to have more independence and more differentiated classroom environment than lower grade students while they are learning.