Sample records for accommodating distributed resources

  1. STS payload data collection and accommodations analysis study. Volume 3: Accommodations analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1978-01-01

    Payload requirements were compared to launch site accommodations and flight accommodations for a number of Spacelab payloads. Experiment computer operating system accommodations were also considered. A summary of accommodations in terms of resources available for payload discretionary use and recommendations for Spacelab/STS accommodation improvements are presented.

  2. Recognizing and Accommodating Employees with PTSD: The Intersection of Human Resource Development, Rehabilitation, and Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hughes, Claretha; Lusk, Stephanie L.; Strause, Stephanie

    2016-01-01

    All employees within the workplace must be treated fairly and equitably including those with disabilities who may require accommodations that serve to increase access to and maintenance of competitive employment. Human Resource Development (HRD) researchers and practitioners have experience in accommodating employees with disabilities but are now…

  3. Payload accommodation and development planning tools - A Desktop Resource Leveling Model (DRLM)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hilchey, John D.; Ledbetter, Bobby; Williams, Richard C.

    1989-01-01

    The Desktop Resource Leveling Model (DRLM) has been developed as a tool to rapidly structure and manipulate accommodation, schedule, and funding profiles for any kind of experiments, payloads, facilities, and flight systems or other project hardware. The model creates detailed databases describing 'end item' parameters, such as mass, volume, power requirements or costs and schedules for payload, subsystem, or flight system elements. It automatically spreads costs by calendar quarters and sums costs or accommodation parameters by total project, payload, facility, payload launch, or program phase. Final results can be saved or printed out, automatically documenting all assumptions, inputs, and defaults.

  4. Job Accommodation Network

    MedlinePlus

    ADA LIBRARY PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES SEARCH ACCOMMODATIONS DATABASE A-Z OF DISABILITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS NEWS Hot Topics How to Use this Site JAN en Español Print this Page A A A Text Size Connect with JAN (800)526-7234 (Voice) (877)781-9403 ( ...

  5. Change in human lens dimensions, lens refractive index distribution and ciliary body ring diameter with accommodation.

    PubMed

    Khan, Adnan; Pope, James M; Verkicharla, Pavan K; Suheimat, Marwan; Atchison, David A

    2018-03-01

    We investigated changes in ciliary body ring diameter, lens dimensions and lens refractive index distributions with accommodation in young adults. A 3T clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner imaged right eyes of 38 18-29 year old participants using a multiple spin echo sequence to determine accommodation-induced changes along lens axial and equatorial directions. Accommodation stimuli were approximately 1 D and 5 D. With accommodation, ciliary body ring diameter, and equatorial lens diameter decreased (-0.43 ± 0.31 mm and -0.30 ± 0.23 mm, respectively), and axial lens thickness increased ( + 0.34 ± 0.16 mm). Lens shape changes cause redistribution of the lens internal structure, leading to change in refractive index distribution profiles. With accommodation, in the axial direction refractive index profiles became flatter in the center and steeper near the periphery of the lens, while in the equatorial direction they became steeper in the center and flatter in the periphery. The results suggest that the anatomical accuracy of lens optical models can be improved by accounting for changes in the refractive index profile during accommodation.

  6. EBooks and Accommodations: Is This the Future of Print Accommodation?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavanaugh, Terence

    2002-01-01

    This article explains the three components of eBooks: an eBook file, software to read the eBook, and a hardware device to read it on. The use of eBooks for students with special needs, the advantages of eBooks, built in accommodations, and creating accommodations are discussed. EBook resources are included. (Contains references.) (CR)

  7. Change in human lens dimensions, lens refractive index distribution and ciliary body ring diameter with accommodation

    PubMed Central

    Khan, Adnan; Pope, James M.; Verkicharla, Pavan K.; Suheimat, Marwan; Atchison, David A.

    2018-01-01

    We investigated changes in ciliary body ring diameter, lens dimensions and lens refractive index distributions with accommodation in young adults. A 3T clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanner imaged right eyes of 38 18-29 year old participants using a multiple spin echo sequence to determine accommodation-induced changes along lens axial and equatorial directions. Accommodation stimuli were approximately 1 D and 5 D. With accommodation, ciliary body ring diameter, and equatorial lens diameter decreased (–0.43 ± 0.31 mm and –0.30 ± 0.23 mm, respectively), and axial lens thickness increased ( + 0.34 ± 0.16 mm). Lens shape changes cause redistribution of the lens internal structure, leading to change in refractive index distribution profiles. With accommodation, in the axial direction refractive index profiles became flatter in the center and steeper near the periphery of the lens, while in the equatorial direction they became steeper in the center and flatter in the periphery. The results suggest that the anatomical accuracy of lens optical models can be improved by accounting for changes in the refractive index profile during accommodation. PMID:29541520

  8. DMS Advanced Applications for Accommodating High Penetrations of DERs and Microgrids

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pratt, Annabelle; Veda, Santosh; Maitra, Arindam

    Efficient and effective management of the electric distribution system requires an integrated approach to allow various systems to work in harmony, including distribution management systems (DMS), distributed energy resources (DERs), distributed energy resources management systems, and microgrids. This study highlights some outcomes from a recent project sponsored by the US Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, including information about (i) the architecture of these integrated systems and (ii) expanded functions of two example DMS applications to accommodate DERs: volt-var optimisation and fault location, isolation, and service restoration. In addition, the relevant DER group functions necessary tomore » support communications between the DMS and a microgrid controller in grid-tied mode are identified.« less

  9. DMS Advanced Applications for Accommodating High Penetrations of DERs and Microgrids: Preprint

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pratt, Annabelle; Veda, Santosh; Maitra, Arindam

    Efficient and effective management of the electrical distribution system requires an integrated system approach for Distribution Management Systems (DMS), Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS), and microgrids to work in harmony. This paper highlights some of the outcomes from a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Electricity (OE) project, including 1) Architecture of these integrated systems, and 2) Expanded functions of two example DMS applications, Volt-VAR optimization (VVO) and Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR), to accommodate DER. For these two example applications, the relevant DER Group Functions necessary to support communication between DMSmore » and Microgrid Controller (MC) in grid-tied mode are identified.« less

  10. An adequacy-constrained integrated planning method for effective accommodation of DG and electric vehicles in smart distribution systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Zhukui; Xie, Baiming; Zhao, Yuanliang; Dou, Jinyue; Yan, Tong; Liu, Bin; Zeng, Ming

    2018-06-01

    This paper presents a new integrated planning framework for effective accommodating electric vehicles in smart distribution systems (SDS). The proposed method incorporates various investment options available for the utility collectively, including distributed generation (DG), capacitors and network reinforcement. Using a back-propagation algorithm combined with cost-benefit analysis, the optimal network upgrade plan, allocation and sizing of the selected components are determined, with the purpose of minimizing the total system capital and operating costs of DG and EV accommodation. Furthermore, a new iterative reliability test method is proposed. It can check the optimization results by subsequently simulating the reliability level of the planning scheme, and modify the generation reserve margin to guarantee acceptable adequacy levels for each year of the planning horizon. Numerical results based on a 32-bus distribution system verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  11. Resource needs of an occupational health service to accommodate a hepatitis B vaccination programme.

    PubMed

    Jachuck, S J; Jones, C; Nicholls, A; Bartlett, M

    1990-01-01

    The administrative, organizational and clinical commitment of an occupational health department to implement the DHSS recommendation for a hepatitis B vaccination programme for the health care workers in a District General Hospital was reviewed to evaluate the resource implications needed to accommodate the additional workload. The deficiencies observed in the existing DHSS guidance in implementing the plan are described. It is suggested that the Department of Health, while making future recommendations for vaccination, should be more precise in identifying those at risk, in describing the desired titre to be achieved after vaccination, and in describing the follow-up plan for those who accept the vaccination, those who refuse and those who do not seroconvert. The recommendation should describe the commitment of the Health Authorities and must include recommendations for appropriate and adequate resources to support such a programme. Vaccination for 1000 employees at risk required 4000 additional consultations necessitating 16 additional hours of occupational health commitment per week. Eighteen months after initiating the vaccination programme, 677 employees had accepted the vaccine. After receiving 3 vaccines 508 (75 per cent) recipients had protective seroconversion (anti-Hbs greater than 100 I.U.) and a further 61 (9 per cent) converted after the 4th injection, thereby offering protective immunity to 84 per cent of the recipients. During the period 84 (12.4 per cent) were lost to follow-up. Recommendations have been made to accommodate the additional commitment through the vaccination programme to standardize our care and prevent disruption of the existing service.

  12. Employer benefits from making workplace accommodations.

    PubMed

    Solovieva, Tatiana I; Dowler, Denetta L; Walls, Richard T

    2011-01-01

    This study explored workplace disability accommodations and their benefits. The participants were employers and human resource professionals who had not used the services of the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). The companies included large businesses (more than 499 employees) and small businesses (fewer than 500 employees). The intent of this investigation was to assess the disability accommodations and benefits for the employers. The study used responses to online survey from194 employers to discuss disability-related accommodations for an employee or potential employee. The survey included 128 employers who reported having had a person with a disability who requested an accommodation. As reported by the employers, the most frequently mentioned direct benefits from implementing workplace accommodations were (a) retained a qualified employee, (b) increased worker productivity, and (c) eliminated the cost of training a new employee. The most frequently mentioned indirect benefits from accommodations were (a) improved interactions with coworkers, (b) increased overall company morale, and (c) increased overall company productivity. The most frequently reported types of implemented accommodations were buying equipment and changing work schedules. Most of the respondents estimated the direct benefits of having made an accommodation at more than $1000. The findings heighten awareness of benefits associated with making accommodations for people with disabilities in the workplace. These benefits signify value for business, coworkers, and individuals with disabilities for whom accommodations are critical for successful employment. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. Accommodation of Symptoms in Anorexia Nervosa: A Qualitative Study.

    PubMed

    Fox, John R E; Whittlesea, Anna

    2017-03-01

    Anorexia nervosa (AN) continues to remain poorly understood within eating disorders. Recent research and theory have moved away from understanding its aetiological causes, addressing instead potential maintaining factors. This study is focused on interpersonal maintenance factors: the response of close others. Relatives of those with AN typically carry the main burden of care, and research has found high levels of carer distress and unmet needs. Recent theories have proposed this emotional impact to contribute to expressed emotion and other unhelpful caregiver interactions which inadvertently maintain AN. One such understudied response is accommodation, described as a 'process' whereby caregivers 'assist or participate' in symptomatic behaviours of the cared for individual. There is a dearth of research relating to accommodation within eating disorders, particularly qualitative accounts. This study utilized a grounded theory methodology to explore caregivers' responses to managing AN, focusing particularly on carers' experience of accommodation. Eight participants with experience of caring for an individual diagnosed with AN were interviewed. Participants were recruited from a national eating disorder charity and regional eating disorder service. A number of themes emerged, including the importance of caregivers' emotional resources in mediating accommodation responses. Low-perceived efficacy over AN contributed to caregiver burnout. Decreased emotional resources influenced a shift in caregiving aims conducive with accommodation. Nevertheless, carers perceived accommodation as counterproductive to recovery and consequently experienced internal conflict (cognitive dissonance). Dissonance was reduced using a number of cognitive and behavioural strategies. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to existing literature. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Anorexia nervosa (AN) can be difficult to manage. Over time, carers can feel

  14. Energy Technology Allocation for Distributed Energy Resources: A Technology-Policy Framework

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mallikarjun, Sreekanth

    Distributed energy resources (DER) are emerging rapidly. New engineering technologies, materials, and designs improve the performance and extend the range of locations for DER. In contrast, constructing new or modernizing existing high voltage transmission lines for centralized generation are expensive and challenging. In addition, customer demand for reliability has increased and concerns about climate change have created a pull for swift renewable energy penetration. In this context, DER policy makers, developers, and users are interested in determining which energy technologies to use to accommodate different end-use energy demands. We present a two-stage multi-objective strategic technology-policy framework for determining the optimal energy technology allocation for DER. The framework simultaneously considers economic, technical, and environmental objectives. The first stage utilizes a Data Envelopment Analysis model for each end-use to evaluate the performance of each energy technology based on the three objectives. The second stage incorporates factor efficiencies determined in the first stage, capacity limitations, dispatchability, and renewable penetration for each technology, and demand for each end-use into a bottleneck multi-criteria decision model which provides the Pareto-optimal energy resource allocation. We conduct several case studies to understand the roles of various distributed energy technologies in different scenarios. We construct some policy implications based on the model results of set of case studies.

  15. Advanced Distribution Network Modelling with Distributed Energy Resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    O'Connell, Alison

    The addition of new distributed energy resources, such as electric vehicles, photovoltaics, and storage, to low voltage distribution networks means that these networks will undergo major changes in the future. Traditionally, distribution systems would have been a passive part of the wider power system, delivering electricity to the customer and not needing much control or management. However, the introduction of these new technologies may cause unforeseen issues for distribution networks, due to the fact that they were not considered when the networks were originally designed. This thesis examines different types of technologies that may begin to emerge on distribution systems, as well as the resulting challenges that they may impose. Three-phase models of distribution networks are developed and subsequently utilised as test cases. Various management strategies are devised for the purposes of controlling distributed resources from a distribution network perspective. The aim of the management strategies is to mitigate those issues that distributed resources may cause, while also keeping customers' preferences in mind. A rolling optimisation formulation is proposed as an operational tool which can manage distributed resources, while also accounting for the uncertainties that these resources may present. Network sensitivities for a particular feeder are extracted from a three-phase load flow methodology and incorporated into an optimisation. Electric vehicles are the focus of the work, although the method could be applied to other types of resources. The aim is to minimise the cost of electric vehicle charging over a 24-hour time horizon by controlling the charge rates and timings of the vehicles. The results demonstrate the advantage that controlled EV charging can have over an uncontrolled case, as well as the benefits provided by the rolling formulation and updated inputs in terms of cost and energy delivered to customers. Building upon the rolling optimisation, a

  16. Accommodating environmental variation in population models: metaphysiological biomass loss accounting.

    PubMed

    Owen-Smith, Norman

    2011-07-01

    1. There is a pressing need for population models that can reliably predict responses to changing environmental conditions and diagnose the causes of variation in abundance in space as well as through time. In this 'how to' article, it is outlined how standard population models can be modified to accommodate environmental variation in a heuristically conducive way. This approach is based on metaphysiological modelling concepts linking populations within food web contexts and underlying behaviour governing resource selection. Using population biomass as the currency, population changes can be considered at fine temporal scales taking into account seasonal variation. Density feedbacks are generated through the seasonal depression of resources even in the absence of interference competition. 2. Examples described include (i) metaphysiological modifications of Lotka-Volterra equations for coupled consumer-resource dynamics, accommodating seasonal variation in resource quality as well as availability, resource-dependent mortality and additive predation, (ii) spatial variation in habitat suitability evident from the population abundance attained, taking into account resource heterogeneity and consumer choice using empirical data, (iii) accommodating population structure through the variable sensitivity of life-history stages to resource deficiencies, affecting susceptibility to oscillatory dynamics and (iv) expansion of density-dependent equations to accommodate various biomass losses reducing population growth rate below its potential, including reductions in reproductive outputs. Supporting computational code and parameter values are provided. 3. The essential features of metaphysiological population models include (i) the biomass currency enabling within-year dynamics to be represented appropriately, (ii) distinguishing various processes reducing population growth below its potential, (iii) structural consistency in the representation of interacting populations and

  17. Resource Management for Distributed Parallel Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neuman, B. Clifford; Rao, Santosh

    1993-01-01

    Multiprocessor systems should exist in the the larger context of distributed systems, allowing multiprocessor resources to be shared by those that need them. Unfortunately, typical multiprocessor resource management techniques do not scale to large networks. The Prospero Resource Manager (PRM) is a scalable resource allocation system that supports the allocation of processing resources in large networks and multiprocessor systems. To manage resources in such distributed parallel systems, PRM employs three types of managers: system managers, job managers, and node managers. There exist multiple independent instances of each type of manager, reducing bottlenecks. The complexity of each manager is further reduced because each is designed to utilize information at an appropriate level of abstraction.

  18. Tonic accommodation predicts closed-loop accommodation responses.

    PubMed

    Liu, Chunming; Drew, Stefanie A; Borsting, Eric; Escobar, Amy; Stark, Lawrence; Chase, Christopher

    2016-12-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the potential relationship between tonic accommodation (TA), near work induced TA-adaptation and the steady state closed-loop accommodation response (AR). Forty-two graduate students participated in the study. Various aspects of their accommodation system were objectively measured using an open-field infrared auto-refractor (Grand Seiko WAM-5500). Tonic accommodation was assessed in a completely dark environment. The association between TA and closed-loop AR was assessed using linear regression correlations and t-test comparisons. Initial mean baseline TA was 1.84diopter (D) (SD±1.29D) with a wide distribution range (-0.43D to 5.14D). For monocular visual tasks, baseline TA was significantly correlated with the closed-loop AR. The slope of the best fit line indicated that closed-loop AR varied by approximately 0.3D for every 1D change in TA. This ratio was consistent across a variety of viewing distances and different near work tasks, including both static targets and continuous reading. Binocular reading conditions weakened the correlation between baseline TA and AR, although results remained statistically significant. The 10min near reading task with a 3D demand did not reveal significant near work induced TA-adaptation for either monocular or binocular conditions. Consistently, the TA-adaptation did not show any correlation with AR during reading. This study found a strong association between open-loop TA and closed-loop AR across a variety of viewing distances and different near work tasks. Difference between the correlations under monocular and binocular reading condition suggests a potential role for vergence compensation during binocular closed-loop AR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Utilitarianism and the disabled: distribution of resources.

    PubMed

    Stein, Mark S

    2002-02-01

    Utilitarianism is more convincing than resource egalitarianism or welfare egalitarianism as a theory of how resources should be distributed between disabled people and nondisabled people. Unlike resource egalitarianism, utilitarianism can redistribute resources to the disabled when they would benefit more from those resources than nondisabled people. Unlike welfare egalitarianism, utilitarianism can halt redistribution when the disabled would no longer benefit more than the nondisabled from additional resources. The author considers one objection to this view: it has been argued, by Sen and others, that there are circumstances under which utilitarianism would unfairly distribute fewer resources to the physically disabled than to nondisabled people, on the ground that the disabled would derive less benefit from those resources. In response, the author claims that critics of utilitarianism have fallaciously exaggerated the circumstances under which the disabled would benefit less than the nondisabled from additional resources. In those limited circumstances in which the disabled really would benefit less from resources, the author argues, it does not seem unfair to distribute fewer resources to them.

  20. Geographical distribution of radiotherapy resources in Japan: investigating the inequitable distribution of human resources by using the Gini coefficient.

    PubMed

    Tanikawa, Takumi; Ohba, Hisateru; Ogasawara, Katsuhiko; Okuda, Yasuo; Ando, Yutaka

    2012-01-01

    This is a pilot study that aims to elucidate regional disparities in the distribution of medical resources in Japan. For this purpose, we employed the Gini coefficient (GC) in order to analyze the distribution of radiotherapy resources, which are allocated to each prefecture in Japan depending on the size of its population or physical area. Our study used data obtained from the 2005 and 2007 national surveys on the structure of radiation oncology in Japan, conducted by the Japanese Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (JASTRO). Our analysis showed that the regional disparities regarding the radiation oncologists and radiotherapy technologists were small, and concluded that such resources were almost equitably distributed. However, medical physicists are inequitably distributed. Thus, policymakers should create and implement measures to train and retain medical physicists in areas with limited radiotherapy resources. Further, almost 26% of the secondary medical service areas lacked radiotherapy institutions. We attribute this observation to the existence of tertiary medical service areas, and almost all of prefectures face a shortage of such resources. Therefore, patients' accessibility to these resources in such areas should be improved.

  1. Orchestrating Distributed Resource Ensembles for Petascale Science

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Baldin, Ilya; Mandal, Anirban; Ruth, Paul

    2014-04-24

    Distributed, data-intensive computational science applications of interest to DOE scientific com- munities move large amounts of data for experiment data management, distributed analysis steps, remote visualization, and accessing scientific instruments. These applications need to orchestrate ensembles of resources from multiple resource pools and interconnect them with high-capacity multi- layered networks across multiple domains. It is highly desirable that mechanisms are designed that provide this type of resource provisioning capability to a broad class of applications. It is also important to have coherent monitoring capabilities for such complex distributed environments. In this project, we addressed these problems by designing an abstractmore » API, enabled by novel semantic resource descriptions, for provisioning complex and heterogeneous resources from multiple providers using their native provisioning mechanisms and control planes: computational, storage, and multi-layered high-speed network domains. We used an extensible resource representation based on semantic web technologies to afford maximum flexibility to applications in specifying their needs. We evaluated the effectiveness of provisioning using representative data-intensive ap- plications. We also developed mechanisms for providing feedback about resource performance to the application, to enable closed-loop feedback control and dynamic adjustments to resource allo- cations (elasticity). This was enabled through development of a novel persistent query framework that consumes disparate sources of monitoring data, including perfSONAR, and provides scalable distribution of asynchronous notifications.« less

  2. Noise coupling between accommodation and accommodative vergence

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilson, D.

    1973-01-01

    For monocular viewing, the fluctuations in accommodative lens power in the frequency range from 0.5 to 3 Hz were found to be considerably greater than those in accommodative vergence movements of the covered eye. Considering the close synkinesis between these motor responses for step changes or slow variations in accommodative stimulus, this finding is unexpected. This apparent lack of synkinesis is found to result mainly from the fact that the decrease in small-signal linear gain with increasing frequency is more rapid in the case of the accommodative vergence system than in the case of the accommodation system, rather than from some nonlinear phenomenon.

  3. Space Station accommodation of attached payloads

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Browning, Ronald K.; Gervin, Janette C.

    1987-01-01

    The Attached Payload Accommodation Equipment (APAE), which provides the structure to attach payloads to the Space Station truss assembly, to access Space Station resources, and to orient payloads relative to specified targets, is described. The main subelements of the APAE include a station interface adapter, payload interface adapter, subsystem support module, contamination monitoring system, payload pointing system, and attitude determination system. These components can be combined to provide accommodations for small single payloads, small multiple payloads, large self-supported payloads, carrier-mounted payloads, and articulated payloads. The discussion also covers the power, thermal, and data/communications subsystems and operations.

  4. Differences in the Stimulus Accommodative Convergence/Accommodation Ratio using Various Techniques and Accommodative Stimuli.

    PubMed

    Satou, Tsukasa; Ito, Misae; Shinomiya, Yuma; Takahashi, Yoshiaki; Hara, Naoto; Niida, Takahiro

    2018-04-04

    To investigate differences in the stimulus accommodative convergence/accommodation (AC/A) ratio using various techniques and accommodative stimuli, and to describe a method for determining the stimulus AC/A ratio. A total of 81 subjects with a mean age of 21 years (range, 20-23 years) were enrolled. The relationship between ocular deviation and accommodation was assessed using two methods. Ocular deviation was measured by varying the accommodative requirement using spherical plus/minus lenses to create an accommodative stimulus of 10.00 diopters (D) (in 1.00 D steps). Ocular deviation was assessed using the alternate prism cover test in method 1 at distance (5 m) and near (1/3 m), and the major amblyoscope in method 2. The stimulus AC/A ratios obtained using methods 1 and 2 were calculated and defined as the stimulus AC/A ratios with low and high accommodation, respectively, using the following analysis method. The former was calculated as the difference between the convergence response to an accommodative stimulus of 3 D and 0 D, divided by 3. The latter was calculated as the difference between the convergence response to a maximum (max) accommodative stimulus with distinct vision of the subject and an accommodative stimulus of max minus 3.00 D, divided by 3. The median stimulus AC/A ratio with low accommodation (1.0 Δ/D for method 1 at distance, 2.0 Δ/D for method 1 at near, and 2.7 Δ/D for method 2) differed significantly among the measurement methods (P < 0.01). Differences in the median stimulus AC/A ratio with high accommodation (4.0 Δ/D for method 1 at distance, 3.7 Δ/D for method 1 at near, and 4.7 Δ/D for method 2) between method 1 at distance and method 2 were statistically significant (P < 0.05), while method 1 at near was not significantly different compared with other methods. Differences in the stimulus AC/A ratio value were significant according to measurement technique and accommodative stimuli. However, differences caused by

  5. Adaptive Management of Computing and Network Resources for Spacecraft Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pfarr, Barbara; Welch, Lonnie R.; Detter, Ryan; Tjaden, Brett; Huh, Eui-Nam; Szczur, Martha R. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    It is likely that NASA's future spacecraft systems will consist of distributed processes which will handle dynamically varying workloads in response to perceived scientific events, the spacecraft environment, spacecraft anomalies and user commands. Since all situations and possible uses of sensors cannot be anticipated during pre-deployment phases, an approach for dynamically adapting the allocation of distributed computational and communication resources is needed. To address this, we are evolving the DeSiDeRaTa adaptive resource management approach to enable reconfigurable ground and space information systems. The DeSiDeRaTa approach embodies a set of middleware mechanisms for adapting resource allocations, and a framework for reasoning about the real-time performance of distributed application systems. The framework and middleware will be extended to accommodate (1) the dynamic aspects of intra-constellation network topologies, and (2) the complete real-time path from the instrument to the user. We are developing a ground-based testbed that will enable NASA to perform early evaluation of adaptive resource management techniques without the expense of first deploying them in space. The benefits of the proposed effort are numerous, including the ability to use sensors in new ways not anticipated at design time; the production of information technology that ties the sensor web together; the accommodation of greater numbers of missions with fewer resources; and the opportunity to leverage the DeSiDeRaTa project's expertise, infrastructure and models for adaptive resource management for distributed real-time systems.

  6. [Objective accommodation parameters depending on accommodation task].

    PubMed

    Tarutta, E P; Tarasova, N A; Dolzhenko, O O

    2011-01-01

    62 myopic patients were examined to study objective accommodation parameters in different conditions of accommodation stimulus presenting (use of convex lenses). Objective accommodation response (OAR) was studied using binocular open-field autorefractometer in different conditions of stimulus presenting: complete myopia correction and adding of convex lenses with increasing power from +1.0 till +3.0 D. In 88,5% of children and adolescents showed significant decrease of OAR for 1,5-2,75D in 3.0D stimulus. Additional correction with convex lenses with increasing power leads to further reduce of accommodation response. As a result induced dynamic refraction in eye-lens system is lower than accommodation task. Only addition of +2,5D lense approximates it to required index of -3.0D.

  7. 75 FR 6792 - Proposed Information Collection (Reasonable Accommodation) Activity: Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-02-10

    ... Collection (Reasonable Accommodation) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Office of Human Resources and Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Office of Human Resources and... ; or to David Walton, Office of Human Resources Management (06), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810...

  8. Overview for Attached Payload Accommodations and Environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schaffer, Craig; Cook, Gene; Nabizadeh, Rodney; Phillion, James

    2007-01-01

    External payload accommodations are provided at attach sites on the U.S provided ELC, U.S. Truss, the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM EF) and the Columbus EPF (External Payload Facilities). The Integrated Truss Segment (ITS) provides the backbone structure for the ISS. It attaches the solar and thermal control arrays to the rest of the complex, and houses cable distribution trays Extravehicular Activity (EVA) support equipment such as handholds and lighting; and providing for Extravehicular Robotic (EVR) accommodations using the Mobile Servicing System (MSS). It also provides logistics and maintenance, and payload attachment sites. The attachment sites accommodate logistics and maintenance and payloads carriers, zenith and nadir. The JEM-EF, a back porch-like attachment to the JEM Pressurized Module, accommodates up to eight payloads, which can be serviced by the crew via the JEM PM's airlock and dedicated robotic arm. The Columbus-EPF is another porch-like platform that can accommodate two zenith and two nadir looking payloads.

  9. Teleworkers with disabilities: characteristics and accommodation use.

    PubMed

    Linden, Maureen; Milchus, Karen

    2014-01-01

    The prevalence of telework among people with disabilities is not as great as the general population, despite the accommodative benefits of telework. This study of employment and accommodation use patterns of people with disabilities investigates relationships between functional abilities, work location and nature, and accommodation use. Currently employed subjects with disabilities were recruited from client lists of research, technical assistance, and service provision centers, as well as through over 100 social networking venues focused on individuals with disabilities. A national, cross-sectional survey was administered electronically. Details of accommodation use for 373 individuals were compared using Chi-Square distribution analysis. Those in white-collar and knowledge-based jobs were twice as likely to telework as other worker types, and teleworkers were twice as likely to use flexible scheduling. Only 47% of teleworkers reported telework as a job accommodation. Of those, 57% were satisfied with telework and 76% reported it as important to job task completion. Increased use of flexible scheduling, particularly among those who view telework as an accommodation, suggests the primary accommodative benefit of telework is to reduce pain and fatigue-related barriers to traditional employment. Relatively low satisfaction with telework suggests that it presents other employment-related barriers.

  10. Short-term adaptation of accommodation, accommodative vergence and disparity vergence facility.

    PubMed

    Maxwell, James; Tong, Jianliang; Schor, Clifton M

    2012-06-01

    Previous studies have found that subjects can increase the velocity of accommodation using visual exercises such as pencil push ups, flippers, Brock strings and the like and myriad papers have shown improvement in accommodation facility (speed) and sufficiency (amplitude) using subjective tests following vision training but few have objectively measured accommodation before and after training in either normal subjects or in patients diagnosed with accommodative infacility (abnormally slow dynamics). Accommodation is driven either directly by blur or indirectly by way of neural crosslinks from the vergence system. Until now, no study has objectively measured both accommodation and accommodative-vergence before and after vision training and the role vergence might play in modifying the speed of accommodation. In the present study, accommodation and accommodative-vergence were measured with a Purkinje Eye Tracker/optometer before and after normal subjects trained in a flipper-like task in which the stimulus stepped between 0 and 2.5 diopters and back for over 200 cycles. Most subjects increased their speed of accommodation as well as their speed of accommodative vergence. Accommodative vergence led the accommodation response by approximately 77 ms before training and 100 ms after training and the vergence lead was most prominent in subjects with high accommodation and vergence velocities and the vergence leads tended to increase in conjunction with increases in accommodation velocity. We surmise that volitional vergence may help increase accommodation velocity by way of vergence-accommodation cross links. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Short-Term Adaptation of Accommodation, Accommodative Vergence and Disparity Vergence Facility

    PubMed Central

    Maxwell, James; Tong, Jianliang; Schor, Clifton M.

    2012-01-01

    Previous studies have found that subjects can increase the velocity of accommodation using visual exercises such as pencil push ups, flippers, Brock strings and the like and myriad papers have shown improvement in accommodation facility (speed) and sufficiency (amplitude) using subjective tests following vision training but few have objectively measured accommodation before and after training in either normal subjects or in patients diagnosed with accommodative infacility (abnormally slow dynamics). Accommodation is driven either directly by blur or indirectly by way of neural crosslinks from the vergence system. Until now, no study has objectively measured both accommodation and accommodative-vergence before and after vision training and the role vergence might play in modifying the speed of accommodation. In the present study, accommodation and accommodative-vergence were measured with a Purkinje Eye Tracker/Optometer before and after normal subjects trained in a flipper-like task in which the stimulus stepped between 0 and 2.5 diopters and back for over 200 cycles. Most subjects increased their speed of accommodation as well as their speed of accommodative vergence. Accommodative vergence led the accommodation response by approximately 77 msec before training and 100 msec after training and the vergence lead was most prominent in subjects with high accommodation and vergence velocities and the vergence leads tended to increase in conjunction with increases in accommodation velocity. We surmise that volitional vergence may help increase accommodation velocity by way of vergence-accommodation cross links. PMID:22480879

  12. Temporal accommodation response measured by photorefractive accommodation measurement device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Byoungsub; Leportier, Thibault; Park, Min-Chul

    2017-02-01

    Although accommodation response plays an important role in the human vision system for perception of distance, some three-dimensional (3D) displays offer depth stimuli regardless of the accommodation response. The consequence is that most observers watching 3D displays have complained about visual fatigue. The measurement of the accommodation response is therefore necessary to develop human-friendly 3D displays. However, only few studies about accommodation measurement have been reported. Most of the investigations have been focused on the measurement and analysis of monocular accommodation responses only because the accommodation response works individually in each eye. Moreover, a main eye perceives dominantly the object distance. However, the binocular accommodation response should be examined because both eyes are used to watch the 3D display in natural conditions. The ophthalmic instrument that we developed enabled to measure changes in the accommodation response of the two eyes simultaneously. Two cameras acquired separately the infrared images reflected from each eyes after the reflected beams passed through a cylindrical lens. The changes in the accommodation response could then be estimated from the changes in the astigmatism ratio of the infrared images that were acquired in real time. In this paper, we compared the accommodation responses of main eye between the monocular and the binocular conditions. The two eyes were measured one by one, with only one eye opened, during measurement for monocular condition. Then the two eyes were examined simultaneously for binocular condition. The results showed similar tendencies for main eye accommodation response in both cases.

  13. Strategies for Accommodating Extension Clients Who Face Language, Vision, or Hearing Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Angima, Sam; Etuk, Lena; Maddy, Deborah

    2016-01-01

    Extension services nationwide seek to equalize access to university resources for all learners. In this article, we focus on accommodation as a tool of our trade. We discuss findings and implications from a study that documented approaches used by one state's Extension professionals to accommodate clients who face language, vision, or hearing…

  14. A Model of Supervisor Decision-Making in the Accommodation of Workers with Low Back Pain.

    PubMed

    Williams-Whitt, Kelly; Kristman, Vicki; Shaw, William S; Soklaridis, Sophie; Reguly, Paula

    2016-09-01

    Purpose To explore supervisors' perspectives and decision-making processes in the accommodation of back injured workers. Methods Twenty-three semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with supervisors from eleven Canadian organizations about their role in providing job accommodations. Supervisors were identified through an on-line survey and interviews were recorded, transcribed and entered into NVivo software. The initial analyses identified common units of meaning, which were used to develop a coding guide. Interviews were coded, and a model of supervisor decision-making was developed based on the themes, categories and connecting ideas identified in the data. Results The decision-making model includes a process element that is described as iterative "trial and error" decision-making. Medical restrictions are compared to job demands, employee abilities and available alternatives. A feasible modification is identified through brainstorming and then implemented by the supervisor. Resources used for brainstorming include information, supervisor experience and autonomy, and organizational supports. The model also incorporates the experience of accommodation as a job demand that causes strain for the supervisor. Accommodation demands affect the supervisor's attitude, brainstorming and monitoring effort, and communication with returning employees. Resources and demands have a combined effect on accommodation decision complexity, which in turn affects the quality of the accommodation option selected. If the employee is unable to complete the tasks or is reinjured during the accommodation, the decision cycle repeats. More frequent iteration through the trial and error process reduces the likelihood of return to work success. Conclusion A series of propositions is developed to illustrate the relationships among categories in the model. The model and propositions show: (a) the iterative, problem solving nature of the RTW process; (b) decision resources necessary

  15. A model of supervisor decision-making in the accommodation of workers with low back pain

    PubMed Central

    Williams-Whitt, Kelly; Kristman, Vicki; Shaw, William S.; Soklaridis, Sophie; Reguly, Paula

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE To explore supervisors’ perspectives and decision-making processes in the accommodation of back injured workers. METHODS Twenty-three semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with supervisors from eleven Canadian organizations about their role in providing job accommodations. Supervisors were identified through an on-line survey and interviews were recorded, transcribed and entered into NVivo software. The initial analyses identified common units of meaning, which were used to develop a coding guide. Interviews were coded, and a model of supervisor decision-making was developed based on the themes, categories and connecting ideas identified in the data. RESULTS The decision-making model includes a process element that is described as iterative “trial and error” decision-making. Medical restrictions are compared to job demands, employee abilities and available alternatives. A feasible modification is identified through brainstorming and then implemented by the supervisor. Resources used for brainstorming include information, supervisor experience and autonomy, and organizational supports. The model also incorporates the experience of accommodation as a job demand that causes strain for the supervisor. Accommodation demands affect the supervisor’s attitude, brainstorming and monitoring effort and communication with returning employees. Resources and demands have a combined effect on accommodation decision complexity, which in turn affects the quality of the accommodation option selected. If the employee is unable to complete the tasks or is reinjured during the accommodation, the decision cycle repeats. More frequent iteration through the trial and error process reduces the likelihood of return to work success. CONCLUSIONS A series of propositions is developed to illustrate the relationships among categories in the model. The model and propositions show: a) the iterative, problem solving nature of the RTW process; b) decision resources

  16. 75 FR 20427 - Agency Information Collection (Reasonable Accommodation) Activities Under OMB Review

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-19

    ... Collection (Reasonable Accommodation) Activities Under OMB Review AGENCY: Office of Human Resources and... Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-21), this notice announces that the Office of Human Resources... VA's OMB Desk Officer, OMB Human Resources and Housing Branch, New Executive Office Building, Room...

  17. Non-linearity of the response accommodative convergence to accommodation ratio.

    PubMed

    Johnston, Miriam S; Firth, Alison Y

    2013-09-01

    Previous studies have reported variation in stimulus accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratio across differing accommodative stimuli. Response AC/A ratio was assessed across 4 accommodative demands to determine if these differences could be due to accommodative inaccuracies to stimuli. Twenty-three student participants aged 18 to 26 years (mean age 20.3 ± 1.7 years) successfully completed all testing conditions. The modified Thorington technique was used at 4 m to measure heterophoria. The Shin Nippon SRW 5000 infrared autorefractor was used to determine accommodative change to -1.50, -3.00, -4.50, and -6.00D lens stimuli. Significant differences were found in response AC/A ratio between different minus lens stimulated accommodative demands (p < 0.001). Mean AC/A ratio values were 3.11 ± 1.29 with the -1.50D lens stimulus; 4.03 ± 2.11 with -3.00D; 4.14 ± 1.40 with -4.50D; and 4.48 ± 1.56 with -6.00D. No differences in linearity were noted between myopes and non-myopic participants, but myopes tended to have higher response AC/A ratios than non-myopes, mean 4.88 ± 1.89 for myopes vs 3.61 ± 1.47 for non-myopes (p = 0.045). Response AC/A ratio did not display linearity across 4 minus lens accommodative stimuli, but tended to increase with accommodative demand. Significant variability in response AC/A ratio was found, both within individuals to different accommodative demands, and between individuals across the data set.

  18. Interconnection of Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Reiter, Emerson

    2017-04-19

    This is a presentation on interconnection of distributed energy resources, including the relationships between different aspects of interconnection, best practices and lessons learned from different areas of the U.S., and an update on technical advances and standards for interconnection.

  19. Distribution of health care resources in Mongolia using the Gini coefficient.

    PubMed

    Erdenee, Oyunchimeg; Paramita, Sekar Ayu; Yamazaki, Chiho; Koyama, Hiroshi

    2017-08-29

    Attaining the perfect balance of health care resources is probably impracticable; however, it is possible to achieve improvements in the distribution of these resources. In terms of the distribution of health resources, equal access to these resources would make health services available to all people. The aim of this study was to compare the distributions of health care resources in urban, suburban, and rural areas of Mongolia. We compared urban and rural areas using the Mann-Whitney U test and further investigated the distribution equality of physicians, nurses, and hospital beds throughout Mongolia using the Gini coefficient-a common measure of distribution derived from the Lorenz curve. Two indicators were calculated: the distribution per 10 000 population and the distribution per 1000 km 2 area. Urban and rural areas were significantly different only in the distribution of physicians per population. However, in terms of the distribution per area, there were statistical differences in physicians, nurses, and hospital beds. We also found that distributions per population unit were equal, with Gini coefficients for physicians, nurses, and hospital beds of 0.18, 0.07, and 0.06, respectively. Distributions per area unit were highly unequal, with Gini coefficients for physicians, nurses, and hospital beds of 0.74, 0.67, and 0.69, respectively. Although the distributions of health care resources per population were adequate for the population size, a striking difference was found in terms of the distributions per geographical area. Because of the nomadic lifestyle of rural and remote populations in Mongolia, geographical imbalances need to be taken into consideration when formulating policy, rather than simply increasing the number of health care resources.

  20. Spatiotemporal resource distribution and foraging strategies of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

    PubMed Central

    Lanan, Michele

    2014-01-01

    The distribution of food resources in space and time is likely to be an important factor governing the type of foraging strategy used by ants. However, no previous systematic attempt has been made to determine whether spatiotemporal resource distribution is in fact correlated with foraging strategy across the ants. In this analysis, I present data compiled from the literature on the foraging strategy and food resource use of 402 species of ants from across the phylogenetic tree. By categorizing the distribution of resources reported in these studies in terms of size relative to colony size, spatial distribution relative to colony foraging range, frequency of occurrence in time relative to worker life span, and depletability (i.e., whether the colony can cause a change in resource frequency), I demonstrate that different foraging strategies are indeed associated with specific spatiotemporal resource attributes. The general patterns I describe here can therefore be used as a framework to inform predictions in future studies of ant foraging behavior. No differences were found between resources collected via short-term recruitment strategies (group recruitment, short-term trails, and volatile recruitment), whereas different resource distributions were associated with solitary foraging, trunk trails, long-term trail networks, group raiding, and raiding. In many cases, ant species use a combination of different foraging strategies to collect diverse resources. It is useful to consider these foraging strategies not as separate options but as modular parts of the total foraging effort of a colony. PMID:25525497

  1. Can current models of accommodation and vergence predict accommodative behavior in myopic children?

    PubMed

    Sreenivasan, Vidhyapriya; Irving, Elizabeth L; Bobier, William R

    2014-08-01

    Investigations into the progression of myopia in children have long considered the role of accommodation as a cause and solution. Myopic children show high levels of accommodative adaptation, coupled with accommodative lag and high response AC/A (accommodative convergence per diopter of accommodation). This pattern differs from that predicted by current models of interaction between accommodation and vergence, where weakened reflex responses and a high AC/A would be associated with a low not high levels of accommodative adaptation. However, studies of young myopes were limited to only part of the accommodative vergence synkinesis and the reciprocal components of vergence adaptation and convergence accommodation were not studied in tandem. Accordingly, we test the hypothesis that the accommodative behavior of myopic children is not predicted by current models and whether that departure is explained by differences in the accommodative plant of the myopic child. Responses to incongruent stimuli (-2D, +2D adds, 10 prism diopter base-out prism) were investigated in 28 myopic and 25 non-myopic children aged 7-15 years. Subjects were divided into phoria groups - exo, ortho and eso based upon their near phoria. The school aged myopes showed high levels of accommodative adaptation but with reduced accommodation and high AC/A. This pattern is not explained by current adult models and could reflect a sluggish gain of the accommodative plant (ciliary muscle and lens), changes in near triad innervation or both. Further, vergence adaptation showed a predictable reciprocal relationship with the high accommodative adaptation, suggesting that departures from adult models were limited to accommodation not vergence behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Determinants of Spatial Distribution in a Bee Community: Nesting Resources, Flower Resources, and Body Size

    PubMed Central

    Torné-Noguera, Anna; Rodrigo, Anselm; Arnan, Xavier; Osorio, Sergio; Barril-Graells, Helena; da Rocha-Filho, Léo Correia; Bosch, Jordi

    2014-01-01

    Understanding biodiversity distribution is a primary goal of community ecology. At a landscape scale, bee communities are affected by habitat composition, anthropogenic land use, and fragmentation. However, little information is available on local-scale spatial distribution of bee communities within habitats that are uniform at the landscape scale. We studied a bee community along with floral and nesting resources over a 32 km2 area of uninterrupted Mediterranean scrubland. Our objectives were (i) to analyze floral and nesting resource composition at the habitat scale. We ask whether these resources follow a geographical pattern across the scrubland at bee-foraging relevant distances; (ii) to analyze the distribution of bee composition across the scrubland. Bees being highly mobile organisms, we ask whether bee composition shows a homogeneous distribution or else varies spatially. If so, we ask whether this variation is irregular or follows a geographical pattern and whether bees respond primarily to flower or to nesting resources; and (iii) to establish whether body size influences the response to local resource availability and ultimately spatial distribution. We obtained 6580 specimens belonging to 98 species. Despite bee mobility and the absence of environmental barriers, our bee community shows a clear geographical pattern. This pattern is mostly attributable to heterogeneous distribution of small (<55 mg) species (with presumed smaller foraging ranges), and is mostly explained by flower resources rather than nesting substrates. Even then, a large proportion (54.8%) of spatial variability remains unexplained by flower or nesting resources. We conclude that bee communities are strongly conditioned by local effects and may exhibit spatial heterogeneity patterns at a scale as low as 500–1000 m in patches of homogeneous habitat. These results have important implications for local pollination dynamics and spatial variation of plant-pollinator networks. PMID

  3. Determinants of spatial distribution in a bee community: nesting resources, flower resources, and body size.

    PubMed

    Torné-Noguera, Anna; Rodrigo, Anselm; Arnan, Xavier; Osorio, Sergio; Barril-Graells, Helena; da Rocha-Filho, Léo Correia; Bosch, Jordi

    2014-01-01

    Understanding biodiversity distribution is a primary goal of community ecology. At a landscape scale, bee communities are affected by habitat composition, anthropogenic land use, and fragmentation. However, little information is available on local-scale spatial distribution of bee communities within habitats that are uniform at the landscape scale. We studied a bee community along with floral and nesting resources over a 32 km2 area of uninterrupted Mediterranean scrubland. Our objectives were (i) to analyze floral and nesting resource composition at the habitat scale. We ask whether these resources follow a geographical pattern across the scrubland at bee-foraging relevant distances; (ii) to analyze the distribution of bee composition across the scrubland. Bees being highly mobile organisms, we ask whether bee composition shows a homogeneous distribution or else varies spatially. If so, we ask whether this variation is irregular or follows a geographical pattern and whether bees respond primarily to flower or to nesting resources; and (iii) to establish whether body size influences the response to local resource availability and ultimately spatial distribution. We obtained 6580 specimens belonging to 98 species. Despite bee mobility and the absence of environmental barriers, our bee community shows a clear geographical pattern. This pattern is mostly attributable to heterogeneous distribution of small (<55 mg) species (with presumed smaller foraging ranges), and is mostly explained by flower resources rather than nesting substrates. Even then, a large proportion (54.8%) of spatial variability remains unexplained by flower or nesting resources. We conclude that bee communities are strongly conditioned by local effects and may exhibit spatial heterogeneity patterns at a scale as low as 500-1000 m in patches of homogeneous habitat. These results have important implications for local pollination dynamics and spatial variation of plant-pollinator networks.

  4. What Works? Toward a New Classification System for Mental Health Supported Accommodation Services: The Simple Taxonomy for Supported Accommodation (STAX-SA)

    PubMed Central

    McPherson, Peter; Krotofil, Joanna

    2018-01-01

    Inconsistent terminology and variation in service models have made synthesis of the supported accommodation literature challenging. To overcome this, we developed a brief, categorical taxonomy that aimed to capture the defining features of different supported accommodation models: the simple taxonomy for supported accommodation (STAX-SA). Data from a previous review of existing classification systems were used to develop the taxonomy structure. After initial testing and amendments, the STAX-SA and an existing taxonomy were applied to 132 supported accommodation service descriptions drawn from two systematic reviews and their performance compared. To assess external validity, the STAX-SA was distributed to a sample of supported accommodation managers in England and they were asked to use it to classify their services. The final version of the STAX-SA comprised of five supported accommodation ‘types’, based on four domains; Staffing location; Level of support; Emphasis on move-on; and Physical setting. The STAX-SA accurately categorized 71.1% (n = 94) of service descriptions, outperforming the comparison tool, and was not affected by publication date or research design. The STAX-SA effectively discriminated between ‘real world’ service models in England and 53.2% (n = 17) of service managers indicated that the taxonomy was ‘Very effective’ or ‘Extremely effective’ in capturing key characteristics of their service. The STAX-SA is an effective tool for classifying supported accommodation models and represents a promising approach to synthesizing the extant effectiveness literature. The authors recommend the development of reporting guidelines for future supported accommodation publications to facilitate comparison between models. PMID:29364171

  5. What Works? Toward a New Classification System for Mental Health Supported Accommodation Services: The Simple Taxonomy for Supported Accommodation (STAX-SA).

    PubMed

    McPherson, Peter; Krotofil, Joanna; Killaspy, Helen

    2018-01-24

    Inconsistent terminology and variation in service models have made synthesis of the supported accommodation literature challenging. To overcome this, we developed a brief, categorical taxonomy that aimed to capture the defining features of different supported accommodation models: the simple taxonomy for supported accommodation (STAX-SA). Data from a previous review of existing classification systems were used to develop the taxonomy structure. After initial testing and amendments, the STAX-SA and an existing taxonomy were applied to 132 supported accommodation service descriptions drawn from two systematic reviews and their performance compared. To assess external validity, the STAX-SA was distributed to a sample of supported accommodation managers in England and they were asked to use it to classify their services. The final version of the STAX-SA comprised of five supported accommodation 'types', based on four domains; Staffing location ; Level of support ; Emphasis on move-on ; and Physical setting . The STAX-SA accurately categorized 71.1% ( n = 94) of service descriptions, outperforming the comparison tool, and was not affected by publication date or research design. The STAX-SA effectively discriminated between 'real world' service models in England and 53.2% ( n = 17) of service managers indicated that the taxonomy was ' Very effective ' or ' Extremely effective ' in capturing key characteristics of their service. The STAX-SA is an effective tool for classifying supported accommodation models and represents a promising approach to synthesizing the extant effectiveness literature. The authors recommend the development of reporting guidelines for future supported accommodation publications to facilitate comparison between models.

  6. Distribution System Pricing with Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hledik, Ryan; Lazar, Jim; Schwartz, Lisa

    Technological changes in the electric utility industry bring tremendous opportunities and significant challenges. Customers are installing clean sources of on-site generation such as rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. At the same time, smart appliances and control systems that can communicate with the grid are entering the retail market. Among the opportunities these changes create are a cleaner and more diverse power system, the ability to improve system reliability and system resilience, and the potential for lower total costs. Challenges include integrating these new resources in a way that maintains system reliability, provides an equitable sharing of system costs, and avoidsmore » unbalanced impacts on different groups of customers, including those who install distributed energy resources (DERs) and low-income households who may be the least able to afford the transition.« less

  7. Demonstrating Distributed Resource Communications at NREL

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lynn, Kevin; Koehler, Scott; Simmins, John

    2017-04-10

    Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Schneider Electric are working with National Renewalbe Energy Laboratory (NREL) staff at the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to demonstrate communication technologies for distributed energy resources.

  8. Resource depletion promotes automatic processing: implications for distribution of practice.

    PubMed

    Scheel, Matthew H

    2010-12-01

    Recent models of cognition include two processing systems: an automatic system that relies on associative learning, intuition, and heuristics, and a controlled system that relies on deliberate consideration. Automatic processing requires fewer resources and is more likely when resources are depleted. This study showed that prolonged practice on a resource-depleting mental arithmetic task promoted automatic processing on a subsequent problem-solving task, as evidenced by faster responding and more errors. Distribution of practice effects (0, 60, 120, or 180 sec. between problems) on rigidity also disappeared when groups had equal time on resource-depleting tasks. These results suggest that distribution of practice effects is reducible to resource availability. The discussion includes implications for interpreting discrepancies in the traditional distribution of practice effect.

  9. Accommodating Uncertainty in Prior Distributions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Picard, Richard Roy; Vander Wiel, Scott Alan

    2017-01-19

    A fundamental premise of Bayesian methodology is that a priori information is accurately summarized by a single, precisely de ned prior distribution. In many cases, especially involving informative priors, this premise is false, and the (mis)application of Bayes methods produces posterior quantities whose apparent precisions are highly misleading. We examine the implications of uncertainty in prior distributions, and present graphical methods for dealing with them.

  10. Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Cybersecurity Standards

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saleem, Danish; Johnson, Jay

    This presentation covers the work that Sandia National Laboratories and National Renewable Energy Laboratory are doing for distributed energy resource cybersecurity standards, prepared for NREL's Annual Cybersecurity & Resilience Workshop on October 9-10, 2017.

  11. Integration of Cloud resources in the LHCb Distributed Computing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Úbeda García, Mario; Méndez Muñoz, Víctor; Stagni, Federico; Cabarrou, Baptiste; Rauschmayr, Nathalie; Charpentier, Philippe; Closier, Joel

    2014-06-01

    This contribution describes how Cloud resources have been integrated in the LHCb Distributed Computing. LHCb is using its specific Dirac extension (LHCbDirac) as an interware for its Distributed Computing. So far, it was seamlessly integrating Grid resources and Computer clusters. The cloud extension of DIRAC (VMDIRAC) allows the integration of Cloud computing infrastructures. It is able to interact with multiple types of infrastructures in commercial and institutional clouds, supported by multiple interfaces (Amazon EC2, OpenNebula, OpenStack and CloudStack) - instantiates, monitors and manages Virtual Machines running on this aggregation of Cloud resources. Moreover, specifications for institutional Cloud resources proposed by Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG), mainly by the High Energy Physics Unix Information Exchange (HEPiX) group, have been taken into account. Several initiatives and computing resource providers in the eScience environment have already deployed IaaS in production during 2013. Keeping this on mind, pros and cons of a cloud based infrasctructure have been studied in contrast with the current setup. As a result, this work addresses four different use cases which represent a major improvement on several levels of our infrastructure. We describe the solution implemented by LHCb for the contextualisation of the VMs based on the idea of Cloud Site. We report on operational experience of using in production several institutional Cloud resources that are thus becoming integral part of the LHCb Distributed Computing resources. Furthermore, we describe as well the gradual migration of our Service Infrastructure towards a fully distributed architecture following the Service as a Service (SaaS) model.

  12. Distribution of selected healthcare resources for influenza pandemic response in Cambodia

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Human influenza infection poses a serious public health threat in Cambodia, a country at risk for the emergence and spread of novel influenza viruses with pandemic potential. Prior pandemics demonstrated the adverse impact of influenza on poor communities in developing countries. Investigation of healthcare resource distribution can inform decisions regarding resource mobilization and investment for pandemic mitigation. Methods A health facility survey performed across Cambodia obtained data on availability of healthcare resources important for pandemic influenza response. Focusing on five key resources considered most necessary for treating severe influenza (inpatient beds, doctors, nurses, oseltamivir, and ventilators), resource distributions were analyzed at the Operational District (OD) and Province levels, refining data analysis from earlier studies. Resources were stratified by respondent type (hospital vs. District Health Office [DHO]). A summary index of distribution inequality was calculated using the Gini coefficient. Indices for local spatial autocorrelation were measured at the OD level using geographical information system (GIS) analysis. Finally, a potential link between socioeconomic status and resource distribution was explored by mapping resource densities against poverty rates. Results Gini coefficient calculation revealed variable inequality in distribution of the five key resources at the Province and OD levels. A greater percentage of the population resides in areas of relative under-supply (28.5%) than over-supply (21.3%). Areas with more resources per capita showed significant clustering in central Cambodia while areas with fewer resources clustered in the northern and western provinces. Hospital-based inpatient beds, doctors, and nurses were most heavily concentrated in areas of the country with the lowest poverty rates; however, beds and nurses in Non-Hospital Medical Facilities (NHMF) showed increasing concentrations at higher

  13. Distribution of selected healthcare resources for influenza pandemic response in Cambodia.

    PubMed

    Schwanke Khilji, Sara U; Rudge, James W; Drake, Tom; Chavez, Irwin; Borin, Khieu; Touch, Sok; Coker, Richard

    2013-10-04

    Human influenza infection poses a serious public health threat in Cambodia, a country at risk for the emergence and spread of novel influenza viruses with pandemic potential. Prior pandemics demonstrated the adverse impact of influenza on poor communities in developing countries. Investigation of healthcare resource distribution can inform decisions regarding resource mobilization and investment for pandemic mitigation. A health facility survey performed across Cambodia obtained data on availability of healthcare resources important for pandemic influenza response. Focusing on five key resources considered most necessary for treating severe influenza (inpatient beds, doctors, nurses, oseltamivir, and ventilators), resource distributions were analyzed at the Operational District (OD) and Province levels, refining data analysis from earlier studies. Resources were stratified by respondent type (hospital vs. District Health Office [DHO]). A summary index of distribution inequality was calculated using the Gini coefficient. Indices for local spatial autocorrelation were measured at the OD level using geographical information system (GIS) analysis. Finally, a potential link between socioeconomic status and resource distribution was explored by mapping resource densities against poverty rates. Gini coefficient calculation revealed variable inequality in distribution of the five key resources at the Province and OD levels. A greater percentage of the population resides in areas of relative under-supply (28.5%) than over-supply (21.3%). Areas with more resources per capita showed significant clustering in central Cambodia while areas with fewer resources clustered in the northern and western provinces. Hospital-based inpatient beds, doctors, and nurses were most heavily concentrated in areas of the country with the lowest poverty rates; however, beds and nurses in Non-Hospital Medical Facilities (NHMF) showed increasing concentrations at higher levels of poverty. There is

  14. The influence of interactions between accommodation and convergence on the lag of accommodation.

    PubMed

    Schor, C

    1999-03-01

    Several models of myopia predict that growth of axial length is stimulated by blur. Accommodative lag has been suggested as an important source of blur in the development of myopia and this study has modeled how cross-link interactions between accommodation and convergence might interact with uncorrected distance heterophoria and refractive error to influence accommodative lag. Accommodative lag was simulated with two models of interactions between accommodation and convergence (one with and one without adaptable tonic elements). Simulations of both models indicate that both uncorrected hyperopia and esophoria increase the lag of accommodative and uncorrected myopia and exophoria decrease the lag or introduce a lead of accommodation in response to the near (40 cm) stimulus. These effects were increased when gain of either cross-link, accommodative convergence (AC/A) or convergence accommodation (CA/C), was increased within a moderate range of values while the other was fixed at a normal value (clamped condition). These effects were exaggerated when both the AC/A and CA/C ratios were increased (covaried condition) and affects of cross-link gain were negated when an increase of one cross-link (e.g. AC/A) was accompanied by a reduction of the other cross-link (e.g. CA/C) (reciprocal condition). The inclusion of tonic adaptation in the model reduced steady state errors of accommodation for all conditions except when the AC/A ratio was very high (2 MA/D). Combinations of cross-link interactions between accommodation and convergence that resemble either clamped or reciprocal patterns occur naturally in clinical populations. Simulations suggest that these two patterns of abnormal cross-link interactions could affect the progression of myopia differently. Adaptable tonic accommodation and tonic vergence could potentially reduce the progression of myopia by reducing the lag of accommodation.

  15. Coordinated Collaboration between Heterogeneous Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE PAGES

    Abdollahy, Shahin; Lavrova, Olga; Mammoli, Andrea

    2014-01-01

    A power distribution feeder, where a heterogeneous set of distributed energy resources is deployed, is examined by simulation. The energy resources include PV, battery storage, natural gas GenSet, fuel cells, and active thermal storage for commercial buildings. The resource scenario considered is one that may exist in a not too distant future. Two cases of interaction between different resources are examined. One interaction involves a GenSet used to partially offset the duty cycle of a smoothing battery connected to a large PV system. The other example involves the coordination of twenty thermal storage devices, each associated with a commercial building.more » Storage devices are intended to provide maximum benefit to the building, but it is shown that this can have a deleterious effect on the overall system, unless the action of the individual storage devices is coordinated. A network based approach is also introduced to calculate some type of effectiveness metric to all available resources which take part in coordinated operation. The main finding is that it is possible to achieve synergy between DERs on a system; however this required a unified strategy to coordinate the action of all devices in a decentralized way.« less

  16. Optimization of tomographic reconstruction workflows on geographically distributed resources

    DOE PAGES

    Bicer, Tekin; Gursoy, Doga; Kettimuthu, Rajkumar; ...

    2016-01-01

    New technological advancements in synchrotron light sources enable data acquisitions at unprecedented levels. This emergent trend affects not only the size of the generated data but also the need for larger computational resources. Although beamline scientists and users have access to local computational resources, these are typically limited and can result in extended execution times. Applications that are based on iterative processing as in tomographic reconstruction methods require high-performance compute clusters for timely analysis of data. Here, time-sensitive analysis and processing of Advanced Photon Source data on geographically distributed resources are focused on. Two main challenges are considered: (i) modelingmore » of the performance of tomographic reconstruction workflows and (ii) transparent execution of these workflows on distributed resources. For the former, three main stages are considered: (i) data transfer between storage and computational resources, (i) wait/queue time of reconstruction jobs at compute resources, and (iii) computation of reconstruction tasks. These performance models allow evaluation and estimation of the execution time of any given iterative tomographic reconstruction workflow that runs on geographically distributed resources. For the latter challenge, a workflow management system is built, which can automate the execution of workflows and minimize the user interaction with the underlying infrastructure. The system utilizes Globus to perform secure and efficient data transfer operations. The proposed models and the workflow management system are evaluated by using three high-performance computing and two storage resources, all of which are geographically distributed. Workflows were created with different computational requirements using two compute-intensive tomographic reconstruction algorithms. Experimental evaluation shows that the proposed models and system can be used for selecting the optimum resources, which in

  17. Optimization of tomographic reconstruction workflows on geographically distributed resources

    PubMed Central

    Bicer, Tekin; Gürsoy, Doǧa; Kettimuthu, Rajkumar; De Carlo, Francesco; Foster, Ian T.

    2016-01-01

    New technological advancements in synchrotron light sources enable data acquisitions at unprecedented levels. This emergent trend affects not only the size of the generated data but also the need for larger computational resources. Although beamline scientists and users have access to local computational resources, these are typically limited and can result in extended execution times. Applications that are based on iterative processing as in tomographic reconstruction methods require high-performance compute clusters for timely analysis of data. Here, time-sensitive analysis and processing of Advanced Photon Source data on geographically distributed resources are focused on. Two main challenges are considered: (i) modeling of the performance of tomographic reconstruction workflows and (ii) transparent execution of these workflows on distributed resources. For the former, three main stages are considered: (i) data transfer between storage and computational resources, (i) wait/queue time of reconstruction jobs at compute resources, and (iii) computation of reconstruction tasks. These performance models allow evaluation and estimation of the execution time of any given iterative tomographic reconstruction workflow that runs on geographically distributed resources. For the latter challenge, a workflow management system is built, which can automate the execution of workflows and minimize the user interaction with the underlying infrastructure. The system utilizes Globus to perform secure and efficient data transfer operations. The proposed models and the workflow management system are evaluated by using three high-performance computing and two storage resources, all of which are geographically distributed. Workflows were created with different computational requirements using two compute-intensive tomographic reconstruction algorithms. Experimental evaluation shows that the proposed models and system can be used for selecting the optimum resources, which in turn can

  18. Optimization of tomographic reconstruction workflows on geographically distributed resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bicer, Tekin; Gursoy, Doga; Kettimuthu, Rajkumar

    New technological advancements in synchrotron light sources enable data acquisitions at unprecedented levels. This emergent trend affects not only the size of the generated data but also the need for larger computational resources. Although beamline scientists and users have access to local computational resources, these are typically limited and can result in extended execution times. Applications that are based on iterative processing as in tomographic reconstruction methods require high-performance compute clusters for timely analysis of data. Here, time-sensitive analysis and processing of Advanced Photon Source data on geographically distributed resources are focused on. Two main challenges are considered: (i) modelingmore » of the performance of tomographic reconstruction workflows and (ii) transparent execution of these workflows on distributed resources. For the former, three main stages are considered: (i) data transfer between storage and computational resources, (i) wait/queue time of reconstruction jobs at compute resources, and (iii) computation of reconstruction tasks. These performance models allow evaluation and estimation of the execution time of any given iterative tomographic reconstruction workflow that runs on geographically distributed resources. For the latter challenge, a workflow management system is built, which can automate the execution of workflows and minimize the user interaction with the underlying infrastructure. The system utilizes Globus to perform secure and efficient data transfer operations. The proposed models and the workflow management system are evaluated by using three high-performance computing and two storage resources, all of which are geographically distributed. Workflows were created with different computational requirements using two compute-intensive tomographic reconstruction algorithms. Experimental evaluation shows that the proposed models and system can be used for selecting the optimum resources, which in

  19. Heterogeneous game resource distributions promote cooperation in spatial prisoner's dilemma game

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Guang-Hai; Wang, Zhen; Yang, Yan-Cun; Tian, Sheng-Wen; Yue, Jun

    2018-01-01

    In social networks, individual abilities to establish interactions are always heterogeneous and independent of the number of topological neighbors. We here study the influence of heterogeneous distributions of abilities on the evolution of individual cooperation in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game. First, we introduced a prisoner's dilemma game, taking into account individual heterogeneous abilities to establish games, which are determined by the owned game resources. Second, we studied three types of game resource distributions that follow the power-law property. Simulation results show that the heterogeneous distribution of individual game resources can promote cooperation effectively, and the heterogeneous level of resource distributions has a positive influence on the maintenance of cooperation. Extensive analysis shows that cooperators with large resource capacities can foster cooperator clusters around themselves. Furthermore, when the temptation to defect is high, cooperator clusters in which the central pure cooperators have larger game resource capacities are more stable than other cooperator clusters.

  20. Multi-objective optimal dispatch of distributed energy resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Longe, Ayomide

    This thesis is composed of two papers which investigate the optimal dispatch for distributed energy resources. In the first paper, an economic dispatch problem for a community microgrid is studied. In this microgrid, each agent pursues an economic dispatch for its personal resources. In addition, each agent is capable of trading electricity with other agents through a local energy market. In this paper, a simple market structure is introduced as a framework for energy trades in a small community microgrid such as the Solar Village. It was found that both sellers and buyers benefited by participating in this market. In the second paper, Semidefinite Programming (SDP) for convex relaxation of power flow equations is used for optimal active and reactive dispatch for Distributed Energy Resources (DER). Various objective functions including voltage regulation, reduced transmission line power losses, and minimized reactive power charges for a microgrid are introduced. Combinations of these goals are attained by solving a multiobjective optimization for the proposed ORPD problem. Also, both centralized and distributed versions of this optimal dispatch are investigated. It was found that SDP made the optimal dispatch faster and distributed solution allowed for scalability.

  1. Vergence accommodation and monocular closed loop blur accommodation have similar dynamic characteristics.

    PubMed

    Suryakumar, Rajaraman; Meyers, Jason P; Irving, Elizabeth L; Bobier, William R

    2007-02-01

    Retinal blur and disparity are two different sensory signals known to cause a change in accommodative response. These inputs have differing neurological correlates that feed into a final common pathway. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dynamic properties of monocular blur driven accommodation and binocular disparity driven vergence-accommodation (VA) in human subjects. The results show that when response amplitudes are matched, blur accommodation and VA share similar dynamic properties.

  2. Random Changes of Accommodation Stimuli: An Automated Extension of the Flippers Accommodative Facility Test.

    PubMed

    Otero, Carles; Aldaba, Mikel; López, Silvia; Díaz-Doutón, Fernando; Vera-Díaz, Fuensanta A; Pujol, Jaume

    2018-06-01

    To study the accommodative dynamics for predictable and unpredictable stimuli using manual and automated accommodative facility tests Materials and Methods: Seventeen young healthy subjects were tested monocularly in two consecutive sessions, using five different conditions. Two conditions replicated the conventional monocular accommodative facility tests for far and near distances, performed with manually held flippers. The other three conditions were automated and conducted using an electro-optical system and open-field autorefractor. Two of the three automated conditions replicated the predictable manual accommodative facility tests. The last automated condition was a hybrid approach using a novel method whereby far and near-accommodative-facility tests were randomly integrated into a single test of four unpredictable accommodative demands. The within-subject standard deviations for far- and near-distance-accommodative reversals were (±1,±1) cycles per minute (cpm) for the manual flipper accommodative facility conditions and (±3, ±4) cpm for the automated conditions. The 95% limits of agreement between the manual and the automated conditions for far and near distances were poor: (-18, 12) and (-15, 3). During the hybrid unpredictable condition, the response time and accommodative response parameters were significantly (p < 0.05) larger for accommodation than disaccommodation responses for high accommodative demands only. The response times during the transitions 0.17/2.17 D and 0.50/4.50 D appeared to be indistinguishable between the hybrid unpredictable and the conventional predictable automated tests. The automated accommodative facility test does not agree with the manual flipper test results. Operator delays in flipping the lens may account for these differences. This novel test, using unpredictable stimuli, provides a more comprehensive examination of accommodative dynamics than conventional manual accommodative facility tests. Unexpectedly, the

  3. Legal, regulatory & institutional issues facing distributed resources development

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    This report describes legal, regulatory, and institutional considerations likely to shape the development and deployment of distributed resources. It is based on research co-sponsored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and four investor-owned utilities (Central & South West Services, Cinergy Corp., Florida Power Corporation, and San Diego Gas & Electric Company). The research was performed between August 1995 and March 1996 by a team of four consulting firms experienced in energy and utility law, regulation, and economics. It is the survey phase of a project known as the Distributed Resources Institutional Analysis Project.

  4. Development of Accommodation Models for Soldiers in Vehicles: Squad

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-09-01

    existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing this collection of information. Send comments...Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Data from a previous study...body armor and body borne gear. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Anthropometry , Posture, Vehicle Occupants, Accommodation 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF

  5. A survey of anthropometry and physical accommodation in ergonomics curricula.

    PubMed

    Garneau, Christopher J; Parkinson, Matthew B

    2016-01-01

    The size and shape of users are an important consideration for many products and environments. Designers and engineers in many disciplines must often accommodate these attributes to meet objectives such as fit and safety. When practitioners have academic training in addressing these issues, it is typically through courses in Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E). This paper investigates education related to physical accommodation and offers suggestions for improvement. A survey was conducted wherein 21 instructors at 18 universities in the United States provided syllabi for 29 courses, which were analysed to determine topics related to anthropometry and resources used for the courses. The results show that within the U.S., anthropometry is covered in the majority of courses discussing physical ergonomics, but important related concepts were often omitted (e.g., digital human modelling, multivariate accommodation and variability across global populations). Curricula could be improved by incorporating more accurate anthropometry, multivariate problems and interactive online tools. This paper describes a study investigating collegiate ergonomics courses within the U.S. in the area of physical accommodation. Course schedules and texts were studied for their treatment of several topics related to accommodating the spatial requirements (anthropometry) of users. Recommendations are made for improving course curricula.

  6. Disabling accommodation barriers: A study exploring how to better accommodate government employees with anxiety disorders.

    PubMed

    Mellifont, Damian; Smith-Merry, Jennifer; Scanlan, Justin Newton

    2016-11-22

    Accommodating mental health in the workplace is challenging. Despite policy efforts to encourage the availability of mental health accommodations in the workplace, employees experiencing mental illness are missing out on accommodations that they need. To inform vocational rehabilitation professionals and managers in the public service of best practice accommodations for government employees with anxiety disorders. Thematic analysis was applied to data collected from the online Accommodating Government Employees with Anxiety Disorders Survey undertaken by 71 Australian public service employees diagnosed with at least one anxiety disorder. Our research results include theme and sub-theme representations of accommodations received, accommodations reported as missing, accommodations that study participants felt they couldn't request, along with rejected accommodations. From the study participants' accounts, three key findings supporting desirable vocational outcomes become apparent. First, that the availability of 'standard' flexible work arrangements, along with personalised accommodations, can assist persons with anxiety disorders (where needed) to reach and retain government positions. Second, the chief barriers reported to making accommodation requests revolve around fears of being stigmatised and penalised. Finally, there is a need for managerial decision-makers to remain open-minded, particularly when assessing requests for accommodations that may break from government norms.

  7. Ethical evaluation of decision-making for distribution of health resources in China.

    PubMed

    Guo-Ping, Wang

    2007-06-01

    Since distribution of health resources involves various aspects of ethics, the evaluation of ethical problems should be emphasised in health decisions using criteria of fairness and fundamental principles of ethics correctly understood and chosen in order to solve the real conflicts evident in the distribution of health resources and to enable fair and reasonable distribution of health resources.

  8. [Effects of orthokeratology lenses on the magnitude of accommodative lag and accommodativeconvergence/accommodation].

    PubMed

    Ren, Qiujin; Yue, Hui; Zhou, Qing

    2016-02-01

    To evaluate the change in accommodative lag and accommodation convergence/accommodation (AC/A) after patients with myopia wear orthokeratology lenses. 
 A total of 48 myopic subjects (a test group), who wore orthokeratology lenses regularly, and 48 myopic subjects (a control group), who wore spectacles regularly, were enrolled for this study from January 2011 to January 2013 in Optometric Center, the Forth Hospital of Changsha. Accommodative lag was measured by fused cross cylinder method, where the patients should gaze at the front optotypes 40 cm away. Gradient of the AC/A ratio was measured by Von Grafe method to check closer distance heterophoria. Accommodative lag and AC/A ratio were analyzed by statistics.
 After 1-year follow-up, accommodative lag and AC/A rate in patients with low or moderate myopia in the test group was decreased in 1, 3, 6 months or 1 year compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). 
 Compared with spectacles, orthokeratology lenses are able to decrease accommodative lag and high AC/A rate in patients with low or moderate myopia. The relationship between accommodation and convergence is improved by orthokeratology lenses. Orthokeratology is an effective way to control myopia.

  9. Improving Accommodations Outcomes: Monitoring Instructional and Assessment Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christensen, Laurene L.; Thurlow, Martha L.; Wang, Ting

    2009-01-01

    This document presents a five-step process for schools, districts, and states to use in monitoring accommodations for instruction and assessment. This document was designed to be a companion to the "Council of Chief State School Officers' Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate Use of Accommodations for Instruction and…

  10. Applying a Crew Accommodations Resource Model to Future Space Vehicle Research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blume, Jennifer Linda

    2003-01-01

    The success of research and development for human space flight depends heavily on modeling. In addition, the use of such models is especially critical at the earliest phase of research and development of any manned vehicle or habitat. NASA is currently studying various innovative and futuristic propulsion technologies to enable further exploration of space by untended as well as tended vehicles. Details such as vehicle mass, volume, shape and configuration are required variables to evaluate the success of the propulsion concepts. For tended vehicles, the impact of the crew's requirements on those parameters must be included. This is especially important on long duration missions where the crew requirements become more complex. To address these issues, a crew accommodations resource model, developed as a mission planning tool for human spaceflight (Stillwell, Boutros, & Connolly), was applied to a reference mission in order to estimate the volume and mass required to sustain a crew for a variety of long duration missions. The model, which compiled information from numerous different sources and contains various attributes which can be modified to enable comparisons across different dimensions, was instrumental in deriving volume and mass required for a tended long duration space flight. With the inclusion of some additional variables, a set of volume and mass requirements were provided to the project. If due consideration to crew requirements for volume and mass had not been entertained, the assumptions behind validation of the propulsion technology could have been found to be incorrect, possibly far into development of the technology or even into the design and build of test vehicles. The availability and use of such a model contributes significantly by increasing the accuracy of human space flight research and development activities and acts as a cost saving measure by preventing inaccurate assumptions from driving design decisions.

  11. Visual accommodation trainer-tester

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Randle, R. J., Jr. (Inventor)

    1983-01-01

    An apparatus for training of the human visual accommodation system is presented, specifically, useful for training a person to volitionally control his focus to his far point (normaly infinity) from a position of myopia due to functional causes. The functional causes could be due, for example, to a behavioral accommodative spasm or the effects of an empty field. The device may also be used to measure accommodation, the accommodation resting position and the near and far points of vision.

  12. The Accommodation Operation. Accommodation Management Module. Operational Management Programme.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chapman, Janet

    This module on accommodation operation is intended to help supervisors or managers achieve a balance in the day-to-day running of the premises and plan for a smooth and successful future. Much of the material is concerned with the housekeeping aspects of accommodation management. The material is presented in a self-instructional format in seven…

  13. Cooperative Optimal Coordination for Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Tao; Wu, Di; Ren, Wei

    In this paper, we consider the optimal coordination problem for distributed energy resources (DERs) including distributed generators and energy storage devices. We propose an algorithm based on the push-sum and gradient method to optimally coordinate storage devices and distributed generators in a distributed manner. In the proposed algorithm, each DER only maintains a set of variables and updates them through information exchange with a few neighbors over a time-varying directed communication network. We show that the proposed distributed algorithm solves the optimal DER coordination problem if the time-varying directed communication network is uniformly jointly strongly connected, which is a mildmore » condition on the connectivity of communication topologies. The proposed distributed algorithm is illustrated and validated by numerical simulations.« less

  14. Towards Integrating Distributed Energy Resources and Storage Devices in Smart Grid.

    PubMed

    Xu, Guobin; Yu, Wei; Griffith, David; Golmie, Nada; Moulema, Paul

    2017-02-01

    Internet of Things (IoT) provides a generic infrastructure for different applications to integrate information communication techniques with physical components to achieve automatic data collection, transmission, exchange, and computation. The smart grid, as one of typical applications supported by IoT, denoted as a re-engineering and a modernization of the traditional power grid, aims to provide reliable, secure, and efficient energy transmission and distribution to consumers. How to effectively integrate distributed (renewable) energy resources and storage devices to satisfy the energy service requirements of users, while minimizing the power generation and transmission cost, remains a highly pressing challenge in the smart grid. To address this challenge and assess the effectiveness of integrating distributed energy resources and storage devices, in this paper we develop a theoretical framework to model and analyze three types of power grid systems: the power grid with only bulk energy generators, the power grid with distributed energy resources, and the power grid with both distributed energy resources and storage devices. Based on the metrics of the power cumulative cost and the service reliability to users, we formally model and analyze the impact of integrating distributed energy resources and storage devices in the power grid. We also use the concept of network calculus, which has been traditionally used for carrying out traffic engineering in computer networks, to derive the bounds of both power supply and user demand to achieve a high service reliability to users. Through an extensive performance evaluation, our data shows that integrating distributed energy resources conjointly with energy storage devices can reduce generation costs, smooth the curve of bulk power generation over time, reduce bulk power generation and power distribution losses, and provide a sustainable service reliability to users in the power grid.

  15. Towards Integrating Distributed Energy Resources and Storage Devices in Smart Grid

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Guobin; Yu, Wei; Griffith, David; Golmie, Nada; Moulema, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Internet of Things (IoT) provides a generic infrastructure for different applications to integrate information communication techniques with physical components to achieve automatic data collection, transmission, exchange, and computation. The smart grid, as one of typical applications supported by IoT, denoted as a re-engineering and a modernization of the traditional power grid, aims to provide reliable, secure, and efficient energy transmission and distribution to consumers. How to effectively integrate distributed (renewable) energy resources and storage devices to satisfy the energy service requirements of users, while minimizing the power generation and transmission cost, remains a highly pressing challenge in the smart grid. To address this challenge and assess the effectiveness of integrating distributed energy resources and storage devices, in this paper we develop a theoretical framework to model and analyze three types of power grid systems: the power grid with only bulk energy generators, the power grid with distributed energy resources, and the power grid with both distributed energy resources and storage devices. Based on the metrics of the power cumulative cost and the service reliability to users, we formally model and analyze the impact of integrating distributed energy resources and storage devices in the power grid. We also use the concept of network calculus, which has been traditionally used for carrying out traffic engineering in computer networks, to derive the bounds of both power supply and user demand to achieve a high service reliability to users. Through an extensive performance evaluation, our data shows that integrating distributed energy resources conjointly with energy storage devices can reduce generation costs, smooth the curve of bulk power generation over time, reduce bulk power generation and power distribution losses, and provide a sustainable service reliability to users in the power grid1. PMID:29354654

  16. [Energy and memory efficient calculation of the accommodation demand in the artificial accommodation system].

    PubMed

    Nagel, J A; Beck, C; Harms, H; Stiller, P; Guth, H; Stachs, O; Bretthauer, G

    2010-12-01

    Presbyopia and cataract are gaining more and more importance in the ageing society. Both age-related complaints are accompanied with a loss of the eye's ability to accommodate. A new approach to restore accommodation is the Artificial Accommodation System, an autonomous micro system, which will be implanted into the capsular bag instead of a rigid intraocular lens. The Artificial Accommodation System will, depending on the actual demand for accommodation, autonomously adapt the refractive power of its integrated optical element. One possibility to measure the demand for accommodation non-intrusively is to analyse eye movements. We present an efficient algorithm, based on the CORDIC technique, to calculate the demand for accommodation from magnetic field sensor data. It can be shown that specialised algorithms significantly shorten calculation time without violating precision requirements. Additionally, a communication strategy for the wireless exchange of sensor data between the implants of the left and right eye is introduced. The strategy allows for a one-sided calculation of the demand for accommodation, resulting in an overall reduction of calculation time by 50 %. The presented methods enable autonomous microsystems, such as the Artificial Accommodation System, to save significant amounts of energy, leading to extended autonomous run-times. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  17. Social justice issues related to uneven distribution of resources.

    PubMed

    Ervin, Naomi E; Bell, Sue Ellen

    2004-01-01

    This article examines the social justice issues resulting from the uneven distribution of resources. In this article, justice theories are discussed in relation to two of these issues: lack of adequate food and shelter and inequitable access to an appropriate continuum of health care. Public health nurses have the obligation to deal with the results of poverty and the uneven distribution of resources, which pose a threat to the common good in the United States and throughout the global community.

  18. Optimal dynamic control of resources in a distributed system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shin, Kang G.; Krishna, C. M.; Lee, Yann-Hang

    1989-01-01

    The authors quantitatively formulate the problem of controlling resources in a distributed system so as to optimize a reward function and derive optimal control strategies using Markov decision theory. The control variables treated are quite general; they could be control decisions related to system configuration, repair, diagnostics, files, or data. Two algorithms for resource control in distributed systems are derived for time-invariant and periodic environments, respectively. A detailed example to demonstrate the power and usefulness of the approach is provided.

  19. A multipurpose computing center with distributed resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chudoba, J.; Adam, M.; Adamová, D.; Kouba, T.; Mikula, A.; Říkal, V.; Švec, J.; Uhlířová, J.; Vokáč, P.; Svatoš, M.

    2017-10-01

    The Computing Center of the Institute of Physics (CC IoP) of the Czech Academy of Sciences serves a broad spectrum of users with various computing needs. It runs WLCG Tier-2 center for the ALICE and the ATLAS experiments; the same group of services is used by astroparticle physics projects the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) and the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). OSG stack is installed for the NOvA experiment. Other groups of users use directly local batch system. Storage capacity is distributed to several locations. DPM servers used by the ATLAS and the PAO are all in the same server room, but several xrootd servers for the ALICE experiment are operated in the Nuclear Physics Institute in Řež, about 10 km away. The storage capacity for the ATLAS and the PAO is extended by resources of the CESNET - the Czech National Grid Initiative representative. Those resources are in Plzen and Jihlava, more than 100 km away from the CC IoP. Both distant sites use a hierarchical storage solution based on disks and tapes. They installed one common dCache instance, which is published in the CC IoP BDII. ATLAS users can use these resources using the standard ATLAS tools in the same way as the local storage without noticing this geographical distribution. Computing clusters LUNA and EXMAG dedicated to users mostly from the Solid State Physics departments offer resources for parallel computing. They are part of the Czech NGI infrastructure MetaCentrum with distributed batch system based on torque with a custom scheduler. Clusters are installed remotely by the MetaCentrum team and a local contact helps only when needed. Users from IoP have exclusive access only to a part of these two clusters and take advantage of higher priorities on the rest (1500 cores in total), which can also be used by any user of the MetaCentrum. IoP researchers can also use distant resources located in several towns of the Czech Republic with a capacity of more than 12000 cores in total.

  20. Reasonable Accommodation Information Tracking System

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Reasonable Accommodation Information Tracking System (RAITS) is a case management system that allows the National Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator (NRAC) and the Local Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators (LORAC) to manage information related to Reasonable Accommodation (RA) requests. It provides a data base system in compliance with Executive Order 13164 and required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Regulations and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Bargaining Unit as described in the AFGE National Reasonable Accommodation Procedures. It is a tool that was internally developed in Lotus Notes to track requests for reasonable accommodation and was custom-configured to meet EPA's specific needs and infrastructure.

  1. Feedback-Based Projected-Gradient Method for Real-Time Optimization of Aggregations of Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dall-Anese, Emiliano; Bernstein, Andrey; Simonetto, Andrea

    This paper develops an online optimization method to maximize operational objectives of distribution-level distributed energy resources (DERs), while adjusting the aggregate power generated (or consumed) in response to services requested by grid operators. The design of the online algorithm is based on a projected-gradient method, suitably modified to accommodate appropriate measurements from the distribution network and the DERs. By virtue of this approach, the resultant algorithm can cope with inaccuracies in the representation of the AC power flows, it avoids pervasive metering to gather the state of noncontrollable resources, and it naturally lends itself to a distributed implementation. Optimality claimsmore » are established in terms of tracking of the solution of a well-posed time-varying convex optimization problem.« less

  2. Resource Guide to Competency-Based Vocational Education: Distributive Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foster, Phillip R., Comp.

    This resource guide for classroom teachers contains annotations of resources representing recent instructional development in competency-based education for distributive education. It is also intended to assist curriculum specialists, administrators, and supervisors in development of performance-based instructional programs. The guide is divided…

  3. Retinal Image Quality During Accommodation

    PubMed Central

    López-Gil, N.; Martin, J.; Liu, T.; Bradley, A.; Díaz-Muñoz, D.; Thibos, L.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose We asked if retinal image quality is maximum during accommodation, or sub-optimal due to accommodative error, when subjects perform an acuity task. Methods Subjects viewed a monochromatic (552nm), high-contrast letter target placed at various viewing distances. Wavefront aberrations of the accommodating eye were measured near the endpoint of an acuity staircase paradigm. Refractive state, defined as the optimum target vergence for maximising retinal image quality, was computed by through-focus wavefront analysis to find the power of the virtual correcting lens that maximizes visual Strehl ratio. Results Despite changes in ocular aberrations and pupil size during binocular viewing, retinal image quality and visual acuity typically remain high for all target vergences. When accommodative errors lead to sub-optimal retinal image quality, acuity and measured image quality both decline. However, the effect of accommodation errors of on visual acuity are mitigated by pupillary constriction associated with accommodation and binocular convergence and also to binocular summation of dissimilar retinal image blur. Under monocular viewing conditions some subjects displayed significant accommodative lag that reduced visual performance, an effect that was exacerbated by pharmacological dilation of the pupil. Conclusions Spurious measurement of accommodative error can be avoided when the image quality metric used to determine refractive state is compatible with the focusing criteria used by the visual system to control accommodation. Real focusing errors of the accommodating eye do not necessarily produce a reliably measurable loss of image quality or clinically significant loss of visual performance, probably because of increased depth-of-focus due to pupil constriction. When retinal image quality is close to maximum achievable (given the eye’s higher-order aberrations), acuity is also near maximum. A combination of accommodative lag, reduced image quality, and reduced

  4. Space Station Freedom resource allocation accommodation of technology payload requirements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Avery, Don E.; Collier, Lisa D.; Gartrell, Charles F.

    1990-01-01

    An overview of the Office of Aeronautics, Exploration, and Technology (OAET) Space Station Freedom Technology Payload Development Program is provided, and the OAET Station resource requirements are reviewed. The requirements are contrasted with current proposed resource allocations. A discussion of the issues and conclusions are provided. It is concluded that an overall 20 percent resource allocation is appropriate to support OAET's technology development program, that some resources are inadequate even at the 20 percent level, and that bartering resources among U.S. users and international partners and increasing the level of automation may be viable solutions to the resource constraint problem.

  5. Coordinated Optimization of Distributed Energy Resources and Smart Loads in Distribution Systems

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Rui; Zhang, Yingchen

    2016-11-14

    Distributed energy resources (DERs) and smart loads have the potential to provide flexibility to the distribution system operation. A coordinated optimization approach is proposed in this paper to actively manage DERs and smart loads in distribution systems to achieve the optimal operation status. A three-phase unbalanced Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem is developed to determine the output from DERs and smart loads with respect to the system operator's control objective. This paper focuses on coordinating PV systems and smart loads to improve the overall voltage profile in distribution systems. Simulations have been carried out in a 12-bus distribution feeder andmore » results illustrate the superior control performance of the proposed approach.« less

  6. Changes in dynamics of accommodation after accommodative facility training in myopes and emmetropes.

    PubMed

    Allen, Peter M; Charman, W Neil; Radhakrishnan, Hema

    2010-05-12

    This study evaluates the effect of accommodative facility training in myopes and emmetropes. Monocular accommodative facility was measured in nine myopes and nine emmetropes for distance and near. Subjective facility was recorded with automated flippers and objective measurements were simultaneously taken with a PowerRefractor. Accommodative facility training (a sequence of 5 min monocular right eye, 5 min monocular left eye, 5 min binocular) was given on three consecutive days and facility was re-assessed on the fifth day. The results showed that training improved the facility rate in both groups. The improvement in facility rates were linked to the time constants and peak velocity of accommodation. Some changes in amplitude seen in emmetropes indicate an improvement in facility rate at the expense of an accurate accommodation response. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Asymmetrical accommodation in hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia

    PubMed Central

    Toor, Sonia; Riddell, Patricia

    2018-01-01

    Background/aims To investigate the presence of asymmetrical accommodation in hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia. Methods Accommodation in each eye and binocular vergence were measured simultaneously using a PlusoptiX SO4 photorefractor in 26 children aged 4–8 years with hyperopic anisometropic amblyopia and 13 controls (group age-matched) while they viewed a detailed target moving in depth. Results Without spectacles, only 5 (19%) anisometropes demonstrated symmetrical accommodation (within the 95% CI of the mean gain of the sound eye of the anisometropic group), whereas 21 (81%) demonstrated asymmetrical accommodation. Of those, 15 (58%) showed aniso-accommodation and 6 (23%) demonstrated ‘anti-accommodation’ (greater accommodation for distance than for near). In those with anti-accommodation, the response gain in the sound eye was (0.93±0.20) while that of the amblyopic eye showed a negative accommodation gain of (−0.44±0.23). Anti-accommodation resolved with spectacles. Vergence gains were typical in those with symmetrical and asymmetrical accommodation. Conclusion The majority of hyperopic anisometropic amblyopes demonstrated non-consensual asymmetrical accommodation. Approximately one in four demonstrated anti-accommodation. PMID:29051327

  8. Methods and apparatus for distributed resource discovery using examples

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chang, Yuan-Chi (Inventor); Li, Chung-Sheng (Inventor); Smith, John Richard (Inventor); Hill, Matthew L. (Inventor); Bergman, Lawrence David (Inventor); Castelli, Vittorio (Inventor)

    2005-01-01

    Distributed resource discovery is an essential step for information retrieval and/or providing information services. This step is usually used for determining the location of an information or data repository which has relevant information. The most fundamental challenge is the usual lack of semantic interoperability of the requested resource. In accordance with the invention, a method is disclosed where distributed repositories achieve semantic interoperability through the exchange of examples and, optionally, classifiers. The outcome of the inventive method can be used to determine whether common labels are referring to the same semantic meaning.

  9. Optimal use of resources structures home ranges and spatial distribution of black bears

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mitchell, M.S.; Powell, R.A.

    2007-01-01

    Research has shown that territories of animals are economical. Home ranges should be similarly efficient with respect to spatially distributed resources and this should structure their distribution on a landscape, although neither has been demonstrated empirically. To test these hypotheses, we used home range models that optimize resource use according to resource-maximizing and area-minimizing strategies to evaluate the home ranges of female black bears, Ursus americanus, living in the southern Appalachian Mountains. We tested general predictions of our models using 104 home ranges of adult female bears studied in the Pisgah Bear Sanctuary, North Carolina, U.S.A., from 1981 to 2001. We also used our models to estimate home ranges for each real home range under a variety of strategies and constraints and compared similarity of simulated to real home ranges. We found that home ranges of female bears were efficient with respect to the spatial distribution of resources and were best explained by an area-minimizing strategy with moderate resource thresholds and low levels of resource depression. Although resource depression probably influenced the spatial distribution of home ranges on the landscape, levels of resource depression were too low to quantify accurately. Home ranges of lactating females had higher resource thresholds and were more susceptible to resource depression than those of breeding females. We conclude that home ranges of animals, like territories, are economical with respect to resources, and that resource depression may be the mechanism behind ideal free or ideal preemptive distributions on complex, heterogeneous landscapes. ?? 2007 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

  10. Feedback-Based Projected-Gradient Method For Real-Time Optimization of Aggregations of Energy Resources: Preprint

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dall-Anese, Emiliano; Bernstein, Andrey; Simonetto, Andrea

    This paper develops an online optimization method to maximize the operational objectives of distribution-level distributed energy resources (DERs) while adjusting the aggregate power generated (or consumed) in response to services requested by grid operators. The design of the online algorithm is based on a projected-gradient method, suitably modified to accommodate appropriate measurements from the distribution network and the DERs. By virtue of this approach, the resultant algorithm can cope with inaccuracies in the representation of the AC power, it avoids pervasive metering to gather the state of noncontrollable resources, and it naturally lends itself to a distributed implementation. Optimality claimsmore » are established in terms of tracking of the solution of a well-posed time-varying optimization problem.« less

  11. Retinal image quality during accommodation.

    PubMed

    López-Gil, Norberto; Martin, Jesson; Liu, Tao; Bradley, Arthur; Díaz-Muñoz, David; Thibos, Larry N

    2013-07-01

    We asked if retinal image quality is maximum during accommodation, or sub-optimal due to accommodative error, when subjects perform an acuity task. Subjects viewed a monochromatic (552 nm), high-contrast letter target placed at various viewing distances. Wavefront aberrations of the accommodating eye were measured near the endpoint of an acuity staircase paradigm. Refractive state, defined as the optimum target vergence for maximising retinal image quality, was computed by through-focus wavefront analysis to find the power of the virtual correcting lens that maximizes visual Strehl ratio. Despite changes in ocular aberrations and pupil size during binocular viewing, retinal image quality and visual acuity typically remain high for all target vergences. When accommodative errors lead to sub-optimal retinal image quality, acuity and measured image quality both decline. However, the effect of accommodation errors of on visual acuity are mitigated by pupillary constriction associated with accommodation and binocular convergence and also to binocular summation of dissimilar retinal image blur. Under monocular viewing conditions some subjects displayed significant accommodative lag that reduced visual performance, an effect that was exacerbated by pharmacological dilation of the pupil. Spurious measurement of accommodative error can be avoided when the image quality metric used to determine refractive state is compatible with the focusing criteria used by the visual system to control accommodation. Real focusing errors of the accommodating eye do not necessarily produce a reliably measurable loss of image quality or clinically significant loss of visual performance, probably because of increased depth-of-focus due to pupil constriction. When retinal image quality is close to maximum achievable (given the eye's higher-order aberrations), acuity is also near maximum. A combination of accommodative lag, reduced image quality, and reduced visual function may be a useful

  12. USGS Methodology for Assessing Continuous Petroleum Resources

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a new quantitative methodology for assessing resources in continuous (unconventional) petroleum deposits. Continuous petroleum resources include shale gas, coalbed gas, and other oil and gas deposits in low-permeability ("tight") reservoirs. The methodology is based on an approach combining geologic understanding with well productivities. The methodology is probabilistic, with both input and output variables as probability distributions, and uses Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the estimates. The new methodology is an improvement of previous USGS methodologies in that it better accommodates the uncertainties in undrilled or minimally drilled deposits that must be assessed using analogs. The publication is a collection of PowerPoint slides with accompanying comments.

  13. Robot-Beacon Distributed Range-Only SLAM for Resource-Constrained Operation

    PubMed Central

    Torres-González, Arturo; Martínez-de Dios, Jose Ramiro; Ollero, Anibal

    2017-01-01

    This work deals with robot-sensor network cooperation where sensor nodes (beacons) are used as landmarks for Range-Only (RO) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). Most existing RO-SLAM techniques consider beacons as passive devices disregarding the sensing, computational and communication capabilities with which they are actually endowed. SLAM is a resource-demanding task. Besides the technological constraints of the robot and beacons, many applications impose further resource consumption limitations. This paper presents a scalable distributed RO-SLAM scheme for resource-constrained operation. It is capable of exploiting robot-beacon cooperation in order to improve SLAM accuracy while meeting a given resource consumption bound expressed as the maximum number of measurements that are integrated in SLAM per iteration. The proposed scheme combines a Sparse Extended Information Filter (SEIF) SLAM method, in which each beacon gathers and integrates robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, and a distributed information-driven measurement allocation tool that dynamically selects the measurements that are integrated in SLAM, balancing uncertainty improvement and resource consumption. The scheme adopts a robot-beacon distributed approach in which each beacon participates in the selection, gathering and integration in SLAM of robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, resulting in significant estimation accuracies, resource-consumption efficiency and scalability. It has been integrated in an octorotor Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and evaluated in 3D SLAM outdoor experiments. The experimental results obtained show its performance and robustness and evidence its advantages over existing methods. PMID:28425946

  14. Robot-Beacon Distributed Range-Only SLAM for Resource-Constrained Operation.

    PubMed

    Torres-González, Arturo; Martínez-de Dios, Jose Ramiro; Ollero, Anibal

    2017-04-20

    This work deals with robot-sensor network cooperation where sensor nodes (beacons) are used as landmarks for Range-Only (RO) Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). Most existing RO-SLAM techniques consider beacons as passive devices disregarding the sensing, computational and communication capabilities with which they are actually endowed. SLAM is a resource-demanding task. Besides the technological constraints of the robot and beacons, many applications impose further resource consumption limitations. This paper presents a scalable distributed RO-SLAM scheme for resource-constrained operation. It is capable of exploiting robot-beacon cooperation in order to improve SLAM accuracy while meeting a given resource consumption bound expressed as the maximum number of measurements that are integrated in SLAM per iteration. The proposed scheme combines a Sparse Extended Information Filter (SEIF) SLAM method, in which each beacon gathers and integrates robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, and a distributed information-driven measurement allocation tool that dynamically selects the measurements that are integrated in SLAM, balancing uncertainty improvement and resource consumption. The scheme adopts a robot-beacon distributed approach in which each beacon participates in the selection, gathering and integration in SLAM of robot-beacon and inter-beacon measurements, resulting in significant estimation accuracies, resource-consumption efficiency and scalability. It has been integrated in an octorotor Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and evaluated in 3D SLAM outdoor experiments. The experimental results obtained show its performance and robustness and evidence its advantages over existing methods.

  15. Habitability sleep accommodations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fisher, H. T.

    1985-01-01

    Schematic outlines are presented with various design requirements for the accommodation of the spacecrew of Space Stations. The primary concern is for sleeping accommodations. Some other general requirements given are for a rest place, entertainment, dressing area, personal item stowage, body restraint, total privacy, external viewing, and grooming provisions. Several plans are given for sleep quarters concepts.

  16. Nonverbal Accommodation in Healthcare Communication

    PubMed Central

    D’Agostino, Thomas A.; Bylund, Carma L.

    2016-01-01

    This exploratory study examined patterns of nonverbal accommodation within healthcare interactions and investigated the impact of communication skills training and gender concordance on nonverbal accommodation behavior. The Nonverbal Accommodation Analysis System (NAAS) was used to code the nonverbal behavior of physicians and patients within 45 oncology consultations. Cases were then placed in one of seven categories based on patterns of accommodation observed across the interaction. Results indicated that across all NAAS behavior categories, physician-patient interactions were most frequently categorized as Joint Convergence, followed closely by Asymmetrical-Patient Convergence. Among paraverbal behaviors, talk time, interruption, and pausing were most frequently characterized by Joint Convergence. Among nonverbal behaviors, eye contact, laughing, and gesturing were most frequently categorized as Asymmetrical-Physician Convergence. Differences were predominantly non-significant in terms of accommodation behavior between pre and post-communication skills training interactions. Only gesturing proved significant, with post-communication skills training interactions more likely to be categorized as Joint Convergence or Asymmetrical-Physician Convergence. No differences in accommodation were noted between gender concordant and non-concordant interactions. The importance of accommodation behavior in healthcare communication is considered from a patient-centered care perspective. PMID:24138223

  17. Coordinated Optimization of Distributed Energy Resources and Smart Loads in Distribution Systems: Preprint

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Rui; Zhang, Yingchen

    2016-08-01

    Distributed energy resources (DERs) and smart loads have the potential to provide flexibility to the distribution system operation. A coordinated optimization approach is proposed in this paper to actively manage DERs and smart loads in distribution systems to achieve the optimal operation status. A three-phase unbalanced Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem is developed to determine the output from DERs and smart loads with respect to the system operator's control objective. This paper focuses on coordinating PV systems and smart loads to improve the overall voltage profile in distribution systems. Simulations have been carried out in a 12-bus distribution feeder andmore » results illustrate the superior control performance of the proposed approach.« less

  18. Parallel Harmony Search Based Distributed Energy Resource Optimization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ceylan, Oguzhan; Liu, Guodong; Tomsovic, Kevin

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a harmony search based parallel optimization algorithm to minimize voltage deviations in three phase unbalanced electrical distribution systems and to maximize active power outputs of distributed energy resources (DR). The main contribution is to reduce the adverse impacts on voltage profile during a day as photovoltaics (PVs) output or electrical vehicles (EVs) charging changes throughout a day. The IEEE 123- bus distribution test system is modified by adding DRs and EVs under different load profiles. The simulation results show that by using parallel computing techniques, heuristic methods may be used as an alternative optimization tool in electricalmore » power distribution systems operation.« less

  19. 43 CFR 17.211 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Reasonable accommodation. (a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental... that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity. (b... accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's program or activity, factors to...

  20. Distributed autonomous systems: resource management, planning, and control algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, James F., III; Nguyen, ThanhVu H.

    2005-05-01

    Distributed autonomous systems, i.e., systems that have separated distributed components, each of which, exhibit some degree of autonomy are increasingly providing solutions to naval and other DoD problems. Recently developed control, planning and resource allocation algorithms for two types of distributed autonomous systems will be discussed. The first distributed autonomous system (DAS) to be discussed consists of a collection of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are under fuzzy logic control. The UAVs fly and conduct meteorological sampling in a coordinated fashion determined by their fuzzy logic controllers to determine the atmospheric index of refraction. Once in flight no human intervention is required. A fuzzy planning algorithm determines the optimal trajectory, sampling rate and pattern for the UAVs and an interferometer platform while taking into account risk, reliability, priority for sampling in certain regions, fuel limitations, mission cost, and related uncertainties. The real-time fuzzy control algorithm running on each UAV will give the UAV limited autonomy allowing it to change course immediately without consulting with any commander, request other UAVs to help it, alter its sampling pattern and rate when observing interesting phenomena, or to terminate the mission and return to base. The algorithms developed will be compared to a resource manager (RM) developed for another DAS problem related to electronic attack (EA). This RM is based on fuzzy logic and optimized by evolutionary algorithms. It allows a group of dissimilar platforms to use EA resources distributed throughout the group. For both DAS types significant theoretical and simulation results will be presented.

  1. RTDS-Based Design and Simulation of Distributed P-Q Power Resources in Smart Grid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taylor, Zachariah David

    In this Thesis, we propose to utilize a battery system together with its power electronics interfaces and bidirectional charger as a distributed P-Q resource in power distribution networks. First, we present an optimization-based approach to operate such distributed P-Q resources based on the characteristics of the battery and charger system as well as the features and needs of the power distribution network. Then, we use the RTDS Simulator, which is an industry-standard simulation tool of power systems, to develop two RTDS-based design approaches. The first design is based on an ideal four-quadrant distributed P-Q power resource. The second design is based on a detailed four-quadrant distributed P-Q power resource that is developed using power electronics components. The hardware and power electronics circuitry as well as the control units are explained for the second design. After that, given the two-RTDS designs, we conducted extensive RTDS simulations to assess the performance of the designed distributed P-Q Power Resource in an IEEE 13 bus test system. We observed that the proposed design can noticeably improve the operational performance of the power distribution grid in at least four key aspects: reducing power loss, active power peak load shaving at substation, reactive power peak load shaving at substation, and voltage regulation. We examine these performance measures across three design cases: Case 1: There is no P-Q Power Resource available on the power distribution network. Case 2: The installed P-Q Power Resource only supports active power, i.e., it only utilizes its battery component. Case 3: The installed P-Q Power Resource supports both active and reactive power, i.e., it utilizes both its battery component and its power electronics charger component. In the end, we present insightful interpretations on the simulation results and suggest some future works.

  2. Analysis and Countermeasures of Wind Power Accommodation by Aluminum Electrolysis Pot-Lines in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Hongliang; Ran, Ling; He, Guixiong; Wang, Zhenyu; Li, Jie

    2017-10-01

    The unit energy consumption and its price have become the main obstacles for the future development of the aluminum electrolysis industry in China. Meanwhile, wind power is widely being abandoned because of its instability. In this study, a novel idea for wind power accommodation is proposed to achieve a win-win situation: the idea is for nearby aluminum electrolysis plants to absorb the wind power. The features of the wind power distribution and aluminum electrolysis industry are first summarized, and the concept of wind power accommodation by the aluminum industry is introduced. Then, based on the characteristics of aluminum reduction cells, the key problems, including the bus-bar status, thermal balance, and magnetohydrodynamics instabilities, are analyzed. In addition, a whole accommodation implementation plan for wind power by aluminum reduction is introduced to explain the theoretical value of accommodation, evaluation of the reduction cells, and the industrial experiment scheme. A numerical simulation of a typical scenario proves that there is large accommodation potential for the aluminum reduction cells. Aluminum electrolysis can accommodate wind power and remain stable under the proper technique and accommodation scheme, which will provide promising benefits for the aluminum plant and the wind energy plant.

  3. Theoretical Framework for Integrating Distributed Energy Resources into Distribution Systems

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lian, Jianming; Wu, Di; Kalsi, Karanjit

    This paper focuses on developing a novel theoretical framework for effective coordination and control of a large number of distributed energy resources in distribution systems in order to more reliably manage the future U.S. electric power grid under the high penetration of renewable generation. The proposed framework provides a systematic view of the overall structure of the future distribution systems along with the underlying information flow, functional organization, and operational procedures. It is characterized by the features of being open, flexible and interoperable with the potential to support dynamic system configuration. Under the proposed framework, the energy consumption of variousmore » DERs is coordinated and controlled in a hierarchical way by using market-based approaches. The real-time voltage control is simultaneously considered to complement the real power control in order to keep nodal voltages stable within acceptable ranges during real time. In addition, computational challenges associated with the proposed framework are also discussed with recommended practices.« less

  4. Vestibular-ocular accommodation reflex in man

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clark, B.; Randle, R. J.; Stewart, J. D.

    1975-01-01

    Stimulation of the vestibular system by angular acceleration produces widespread sensory and motor effects. The present paper studies a motor effect which has not been reported in the literature, i.e., the influence of rotary acceleration of the body on ocular accommodation. The accommodation of 10 young men was recorded before and after a high-level deceleration to zero velocity following 30 sec of rotating. Accommodation was recorded continuously on an infrared optometer for 110 sec under two conditions: while the subjects observed a target set at the far point, and while they viewed the same target through a 0.3-mm pinhole. Stimulation by high-level rotary deceleration produced positive accommodation or a pseudomyopia under both conditions, but the positive accommodation was substantially greater and lasted much longer during fixation through the pinhole. It is hypothesized that this increase in accommodation is a result of a vestibular-ocular accommodation reflex.

  5. Influence of accommodative lag upon the far-gradient measurement of accommodative convergence to accommodation ratio in strabismic patients.

    PubMed

    Miyata, Manabu; Hasebe, Satoshi; Ohtsuki, Hiroshi

    2006-01-01

    To determine the influence of the lag of accommodation (LOA) on the accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratio measured by the far-gradient method in strabismic patients. The AC/A ratio was measured with a distance target viewed with and without -3.00 diopter (D) addition lenses in 63 patients with different types of strabismus (age range, 7-34 years; range of strabismic angle, -60 to +40 prism diopters; refractive error range, -7.33 to +6.63 D). The LOA for the same lens was measured with an open-view-type autorefractometer. The stimulus AC/A ratio and the AC/A ratio adjusted by the individually measured LOA (adjusted AC/A ratio) were compared. The mean +/- SD of the LOA to the -3.00 D lenses was 1.06 +/- 0.43 D. The mean adjusted AC/A ratio was 41% greater than the stimulus AC/A ratio. The LOA differed widely among patients (0.13 to 2.14 D), and a large LOA tended to appear in myopic or young patients. The AC/A ratio obtained using the conventional far-gradient method is significantly biased by the LOA, and thus does not always represent the actual relationship between accommodation and vergence control systems. Copyright Japanese Ophthalmological Society 2006.

  6. Medial rectus Faden operations with or without recession for partially accommodative esotropia associated with a high accommodative convergence to accommodation ratio.

    PubMed

    Akar, Serpil; Gokyigit, Birsen; Sayin, Nihat; Demirok, Ahmet; Yilmaz, Omer Faruk

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate the results of Faden operations on the medial rectus (MR) muscles with or without recession for the treatment of partially accommodative esotropia associated with a high accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC : A) ratio and to determine whether there was a decrease in the effects of posterior fixation over time. In this retrospective study, 108 of 473 patients who underwent surgery for partially accommodative esotropia with a high AC : A ratio received Faden operations on both MR muscles, and 365 received symmetric MR muscle recessions combined with a Faden operation. For the Faden operation, a satisfactory outcome of 76.9% at 1 month postoperation, decreased to 71.3% by the final follow-up visit (mean 4.8 years). A moderate positive correlation was observed between the increase in the postoperative near deviation and postoperative time. For the Faden operations combined with MR recession, a satisfactory outcome of 78.9% at 1 month post-operation, decreased to 78.4% by the final follow-up visit. A Faden operation of the MR muscles with or without recession is an effective surgical option for treating partially accommodative esotropia associated with a high AC : A ratio. For Faden operations of the MR muscles without recession, the effects of the posterior fixation decline over time.

  7. Vestibular-ocular accommodation reflex in man.

    PubMed

    Clark, B R; Randle, R J; Stewart, J D

    1975-11-01

    Stimulation of the vestibular system by angular acceleration produces widespread sensory and motor effects. The present study was designed to study a motor effect which has not been reported in the literature, i.e., the influence of rotary acceleration of the body on ocular accommodation. The accommodation of 10 young men was recorded before and after a high-level deceleration to zero velocity following 30 s of rotation. Accommodation was recorded continuously on an infrared optometer for 110 s under two conditions; while the subjects observed a target set at the far point, and while they viewed the same target through a 0.3-mm pinhole. Stimulation by high-level rotary deceleration produced positive accommodation or a pseudomyopia under both conditions, but the positive accommodation was substantially greater and lasted much longer during fixation through the pinhole. It is hypothesized that this increase in accommodation is a result of a vestibular-ocular accommodation reflex.

  8. A centre for accommodative vergence motor control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilson, D.

    1973-01-01

    Latencies in accommodation, accommodative-vergence, and pupil-diameter responses to changing accommodation stimuli, as well as latencies in pupil response to light-intensity changes were measured. From the information obtained, a block diagram has been derived that uses the least number of blocks for representing the accommodation, accommodative-vergence, and pupil systems. The signal transmission delays over the various circuits of the model have been determined and compared to known experimental physiological-delay data. The results suggest the existence of a motor center that controls the accommodative vergence and is completely independent of the accommodation system.

  9. Effects of Age on Dynamic Accommodation

    PubMed Central

    Lockhart, Thurmon E.; Shi, Wen

    2010-01-01

    Visual accommodation plays a critical role in one’s visual perception and activities of daily living. Age-related accommodation loss poses an increased risk to older adults’ safety and independence. Although extensive effort has been made towards understanding the effect of age on steady-state accommodation, dynamic aspects of accommodation is still unknown. A study was therefore conducted to investigate age-related dynamic accommodative characteristics utilizing a modified autorefractor. Ten individuals from each of three age groups (i.e., younger group: 20 to 29 years old, middle-aged group: 40 to 49 years old, and older group: 60 to 69 years old) were recruited and their dynamic accommodation responses were examined. The laboratory experiment was designed to assess dynamic accommodation associated with an abrupt change from a constant far target (400 cm, 50 cd/m2) to a near target (70 cm, 100 cd/m2 or 20 cd/m2), which aimed to simulate car dashboard reading behavior while driving. The results of the study indicated that age and target intensity both had a significant impact on dynamic accommodation. These effects were attributed to both the age-related physiological limitation of the eye as well as to central neural processing delay. A method of measuring dynamic accommodation and the implications of the study are discussed. PMID:20582770

  10. Experimental study of visual accommodation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cornsweet, T. N.; Crane, H. D.

    1972-01-01

    A summary report of a research effort related to the human visual accommodation system is presented. A theoretical study of the accommodation system was made. Subsequent effort was aimed at the development of specialized instrumentation for experiments designed to lead to understanding the nature of the control system in human accommodation. The necessary instrumentation consisted primarily of: (1) an automatic optometer to measure the state of eye focus, (2) a focus stimulator device to control the apparent optical distance to any target, and (3) a two-dimensional eye tracker. The concepts and designs of the first two instruments have been published in the open literature, but this report contains the first detailed treatment of the Purkinje eye tracker developed under this program. The report also discusses an accommodation lag model to explain the ability of the eye to apparently know the polarity of focus error even though the blur on the retina is to a first-approximation an even function. The interaction of the accommodation and eye movement systems is also discussed, as is the ability to train the visual accommodation system to a surprisingly responsive condition in only a few hours of training.

  11. Automatic Management of Parallel and Distributed System Resources

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yan, Jerry; Ngai, Tin Fook; Lundstrom, Stephen F.

    1990-01-01

    Viewgraphs on automatic management of parallel and distributed system resources are presented. Topics covered include: parallel applications; intelligent management of multiprocessing systems; performance evaluation of parallel architecture; dynamic concurrent programs; compiler-directed system approach; lattice gaseous cellular automata; and sparse matrix Cholesky factorization.

  12. Distributed Optimal Dispatch of Distributed Energy Resources Over Lossy Communication Networks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wu, Junfeng; Yang, Tao; Wu, Di

    In this paper, we consider the economic dispatch problem (EDP), where a cost function that is assumed to be strictly convex is assigned to each of distributed energy resources (DERs), over packet dropping networks. The goal of a standard EDP is to minimize the total generation cost while meeting total demand and satisfying individual generator output limit. We propose a distributed algorithm for solving the EDP over networks. The proposed algorithm is resilient against packet drops over communication links. Under the assumption that the underlying communication network is strongly connected with a positive probability and the packet drops are independentmore » and identically distributed (i.i.d.), we show that the proposed algorithm is able to solve the EDP. Numerical simulation results are used to validate and illustrate the main results of the paper.« less

  13. Handbook of Reasonable Accommodation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heaton, Sandra M.; And Others

    The booklet discusses a basic concept in affirmative action and nondiscrimination for the handicapped, which requires federal agencies to make reasonable accommodation to the physical or mental limitations of a qualified handicapped applicant or employee unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the agency. Reasonable…

  14. Accommodation-Amplitudes following an Accommodative Lens Refilling Procedure — an in vivo Update

    PubMed Central

    Nishi, Okihiro; Nishi, Yutaro; Chang, S.; Nishi, Kayo

    2014-01-01

    Purpose To investigate whether a newly developed lens refilling procedure can provide some accommodation in monkey eyes and to evaluate the difference in accommodation with different degrees of capsular bag refilling. Setting Jinshikai Medical Foundation, Nishi Eye Hospital, Osaka, Japan. Design Experimental monkey study. Methods Following a central 3–4 mm continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis, phacoemulsification was performed in the usual manner. A novel accommodative membrane intraocular lens for sealing capsular opening was implanted into the capsular bag. Silicone polymers were injected beneath the intraocular lens into the capsular bag through the delivery hole. In three study groups, each with six monkey eyes, the lens capsule was refilled with 0.08 ml corresponding to 65% bag volume, 0.1 ml corresponding to 80% bag volume, and 0.125 ml of silicone polymers corresponding to 100% bag volume, respectively. To calculate the accommodation-amplitudes achieved, automated refractometry was performed before and 1 hour after the topical 4% pilocarpine application before and four weeks after surgery. Results The refilling technique was successful in all monkeys without polymer leakage. Accommodation-amplitudes attained were 2.56 ± 0.74 dioptries (D), 2.42 ± 1.00D, and 2.71 ± 0.63D, respectively, 4 weeks after surgery in the three study groups. Conclusions Using the technique, some accommodation could be obtained in the young monkey eyes. Leakage of the injectable silicone polymer and anterior capsular opacification at least in the visual axis could be avoided. The results suggest that this lens refilling procedure warrants further studies for a possible clinical application. PMID:24461501

  15. An innovative approach for distributed and integrated resources planning for the Space Station Freedom

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hornstein, Rhoda S.; Shinkle, Gerald L.; Weiler, Jerry D.; Willoughby, John K.

    1990-01-01

    This paper presents a planning approach to the Space Station Freedom program which takes into account the widely distributed nature of that program. The program management structure is organized into three major levels: a strategic level, a tactical level, and an execution level. For each level, resource availabilities are determined, the resources are distributed, schedules are built independently within the resource limits, the schedules are integrated into a single schedule, and conflicts are resolved by negotiating requirements and/or relaxing contraints. This approach distributes resources to multiple planning entities in such a way that when the multiple plans are collected, they fit together with minimal modification. The up-front distribution is planned in such a way and to a sufficient degree that a fit is virtually assured.

  16. Science and payload options for animal and plant research accommodations aboard the early Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hilchey, John D.; Arno, Roger D.; Gustan, Edith; Rudiger, C. E.

    1986-01-01

    The resources to be allocated for the development of the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) Space Station Animal and Plant Research Facility and the Growth Station Animal and Plant Vivarium and Laboratory may be limited; also, IOC accommodations for animal and plant research may be limited. An approach is presented for the development of Initial Research Capability Minilabs for animal and plant studies, which in appropriate combination and sequence can meet requirements for an evolving program of research within available accommodations and anticipated budget constraints.

  17. Collaboration Promotes Proportional Reasoning about Resource Distribution in Young Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Rowena; Heyman, Gail D.; Barner, David

    2011-01-01

    The authors investigated how children and adults evaluate the "niceness" of individuals who engage in resource distribution, with a focus on their sensitivity to the proportion of resources given. Across 3 experiments, subjects evaluated the niceness of a child who gave a quantity of pennies to another child. In Study 1 (N = 30), adults showed…

  18. Geostationary platform study: Advanced ESGP/evolutionary SSF accommodation study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    The implications on the evolutionary space station of accommodating geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) facilities including unmanned satellites and platforms, manned elements, and transportation and servicing vehicles/elements. The latest existing definitions of typical unmanned GEO facilities and transportation and servicing vehicles/elements are utilized. The physical design, functional design, and operations implications at the space station are determined. Various concepts of the space station from past studies are utilized ranging from the IOC Multifunction Space Station to a branched transportation node space station, and the implications of the accommodation the GEO infrastructure of each type are assessed. Where possible, parametric data are provided to show the implications of variations in sizes and quantities of elements, launch rates, crew sizes, etc. The use of advanced automation, robotics equipment, and an efficient mix of manned/automated support for accomplishing necessary activities at the space station are identified and assessed. The products of this study are configuration sketches, resource requirements, trade studies, and parametric data.

  19. 24 CFR 8.11 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified... accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program. (b) Reasonable accommodation may... hardship on the operation of a recipient's program, factors to be considered include: (1) The overall size...

  20. 77 FR 50675 - Virginia Resource Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Virginia Resource Advisory Committee AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Virginia Resource Advisory Committee will meet in... Contact. All reasonable accommodation requests are managed on a case by case basis. Resource Advisory...

  1. Independent and reciprocal accommodation in anisometropic amblyopia

    PubMed Central

    Horwood, Anna M.; Riddell, Patricia M

    2015-01-01

    Accommodation is considered to be a symmetrical response, and to be driven by the least ametropic and nonamblyopic eye in anisometropia. We report a case of a 4-year-old child with anisometropic amblyopia who accommodates asymmetrically, reliably demonstrating normal accommodation in the nonamblyopic eye and anti-accommodation of the amblyopic eye to near targets. The abnormal accommodation of the amblyopic eye remained largely unchanged over seven subsequent testing sessions undertaken over the course of therapy. We suggest that a congenital dysinnervation syndrome may result in relaxation of accommodation in relation to near cues and might be a hitherto-unconsidered additional etiologic factor in anisometropic amblyopia. PMID:20863728

  2. 22 CFR 217.12 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... accommodation. (a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations... the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity. (b... would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's program or activity, factors to be...

  3. Effect of heterophoria measurement technique on the clinical accommodative convergence to accommodation ratio.

    PubMed

    Escalante, Jaime Bernal; Rosenfield, Mark

    2006-05-01

    Measurement of the stimulus accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratio is a standard procedure in clinical optometric practice. Typically, heterophoria is assessed at several accommodative stimulus levels, and the gradient of the vergence to accommodation function computed. A number of procedures are available for the subjective measurement of heterophoria, but it is unclear whether the use of different vergence measurement techniques will alter the obtained AC/A value. Accordingly, the current study compared AC/A ratios measured using 3 clinical subjective heterophoria tests, namely the von Graefe (VG), Maddox Rod (MR), and Modified Thorington (MT) procedures. The AC/A ratio was measured in 60 visually normal subjects between 20 and 25 years of age using each of the 3 procedures listed above. The accommodative stimulus was varied by the introduction of +/-1.00 diopter (D) spherical lenses over the distance refractive correction while subjects viewed a target at a viewing distance of 40 cm. To examine the repeatability of each procedure, the AC/A ratio was measured on 2 separate occasions for each measurement technique, with the 2 sessions being separated by at least 24 hours. Mean values of stimulus AC/A ratio measured using the VG, MR, and MT procedures were 3.47, 2.99, and 2.46Delta/D, respectively. These differences were significant (p=0.0001). In addition, the coefficient of repeatability for the 3 techniques was 2.22, 1.99, and 1.20 Delta/D, respectively. Ratios obtained using the Modified Thorington technique with +/-1.00 D lenses showed the best repeatability, whereas the poorest repeatability was found with the von Graefe technique when only +1.00 D lenses were used to vary the accommodative stimulus. Accordingly, we recommend that that Modified Thorington procedure with +/-1.00 D lenses be used to quantify heterophoria during clinical measurement of the stimulus AC/A ratio.

  4. Well-being and fairness in the distribution of scarce health resources.

    PubMed

    Segev, Re'em

    2005-06-01

    Based on a general thesis regarding the proper resolution of interpersonal conflicts, this paper suggests a normative framework for the distribution of scarce health resources. The proposed thesis includes two basic ideas. First, individual well-being is the fundamental value. Second, interpersonal conflicts affecting well-being should be resolved in light of several conceptions of fairness, reflecting the independent value of persons and the moral significance of responsibility of individuals for the existence of interpersonal conflicts. These ideas are elaborated in several principles that are applied with respect to the distribution of scarce health resources.

  5. 46 CFR 108.143 - Accommodation space.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Accommodation space. 108.143 Section 108.143 Shipping... EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Structural Fire Protection § 108.143 Accommodation space. (a) Each corridor bulkhead in an accommodation space must be an A class or B class bulkhead except if an A class...

  6. 46 CFR 108.143 - Accommodation space.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Accommodation space. 108.143 Section 108.143 Shipping... EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Structural Fire Protection § 108.143 Accommodation space. (a) Each corridor bulkhead in an accommodation space must be an A class or B class bulkhead except if an A class...

  7. 46 CFR 108.143 - Accommodation space.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Accommodation space. 108.143 Section 108.143 Shipping... EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Structural Fire Protection § 108.143 Accommodation space. (a) Each corridor bulkhead in an accommodation space must be an A class or B class bulkhead except if an A class...

  8. 46 CFR 108.143 - Accommodation space.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Accommodation space. 108.143 Section 108.143 Shipping... EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Structural Fire Protection § 108.143 Accommodation space. (a) Each corridor bulkhead in an accommodation space must be an A class or B class bulkhead except if an A class...

  9. 46 CFR 108.143 - Accommodation space.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Accommodation space. 108.143 Section 108.143 Shipping... EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Structural Fire Protection § 108.143 Accommodation space. (a) Each corridor bulkhead in an accommodation space must be an A class or B class bulkhead except if an A class...

  10. The effect of bifocal add on accommodative lag in myopic children with high accommodative lag.

    PubMed

    Berntsen, David A; Mutti, Donald O; Zadnik, Karla

    2010-12-01

    To determine the effect of a bifocal add and manifest correction on accommodative lag in myopic children with high accommodative lag, who have been reported to have the greatest reduction in myopia progression with progressive addition lenses (PALs). Monocular accommodative lag to a 4-D Badal stimulus was measured on two occasions 6 months apart in 83 children (mean ± SD age, 9.9 ± 1.3 years) with high lag randomized to wearing single-vision lenses (SVLs) or PALs. Accommodative lag was measured with the following corrections: habitual, manifest, manifest with +2.00-D add, and habitual with +2.00-D add (6-month visit only). At baseline, accommodative lag was higher (1.72 ± 0.37 D; mean ± SD) when measured with manifest correction than with habitual correction (1.51 ± 0.50; P < 0.05). This higher lag with manifest correction correlated with a larger amount of habitual undercorrection at baseline (r = -0.29, P = 0.009). A +2.00-D add over the manifest correction reduced lag by 0.45 ± 0.34 D at baseline and 0.33 ± 0.38 D at the 6-month visit. Lag results at 6 months were not different between PAL and SVL wearers (P = 0.92). A +2.00-D bifocal add did not eliminate accommodative lag and reduced lag by less than 25% of the bifocal power, indicating that children mainly responded to a bifocal by decreasing accommodation. If myopic progression is substantial, measuring lag with full correction can overestimate the hyperopic retinal blur that a child most recently experienced. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00335049.).

  11. The Effect of Bifocal Add on Accommodative Lag in Myopic Children with High Accommodative Lag

    PubMed Central

    Mutti, Donald O.; Zadnik, Karla

    2010-01-01

    Purpose. To determine the effect of a bifocal add and manifest correction on accommodative lag in myopic children with high accommodative lag, who have been reported to have the greatest reduction in myopia progression with progressive addition lenses (PALs). Methods. Monocular accommodative lag to a 4-D Badal stimulus was measured on two occasions 6 months apart in 83 children (mean ± SD age, 9.9 ± 1.3 years) with high lag randomized to wearing single-vision lenses (SVLs) or PALs. Accommodative lag was measured with the following corrections: habitual, manifest, manifest with +2.00-D add, and habitual with +2.00-D add (6-month visit only). Results. At baseline, accommodative lag was higher (1.72 ± 0.37 D; mean ± SD) when measured with manifest correction than with habitual correction (1.51 ± 0.50; P < 0.05). This higher lag with manifest correction correlated with a larger amount of habitual undercorrection at baseline (r = −0.29, P = 0.009). A +2.00-D add over the manifest correction reduced lag by 0.45 ± 0.34 D at baseline and 0.33 ± 0.38 D at the 6-month visit. Lag results at 6 months were not different between PAL and SVL wearers (P = 0.92). Conclusions. A +2.00-D bifocal add did not eliminate accommodative lag and reduced lag by less than 25% of the bifocal power, indicating that children mainly responded to a bifocal by decreasing accommodation. If myopic progression is substantial, measuring lag with full correction can overestimate the hyperopic retinal blur that a child most recently experienced. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00335049.) PMID:20688729

  12. Stimulating human accommodation without changes in focus.

    PubMed

    Weiss, Monika; Seidemann, Anne; Schaeffel, Frank

    2004-05-01

    Inspired by the finding in chickens that preferential stimulation of the ON retinal system suppresses myopia induced by negative spectacle lens wear and that stimulation of the OFF system suppresses the hyperopia induced by positive lens wear, we sought to determine whether stimulation of the ON-OFF retinal systems could drive directional accommodation responses in humans. If emmetropisation and accommodation use similar image processing algorithms, more accommodation would be expected with OFF stimulation. Accommodation responses were measured while viewing a computer-generated pattern designed to stimulate the ON-OFF systems. The stimulus comprised a rectangular field (12 x 9.5 cm) on a black background filled with 196 discs (diameters: 0.4-1.0 cm). These were presented on an LCD monitor in a dark room at a viewing distance of 55 cm (1.8 D). Thirteen subjects aged 21-37 years took part. The individual discs had saw-tooth shaped temporal luminance profiles with the same time period but with random phases with respect to each other, so that the mean brightness of the stimulus was constant. To eliminate accommodation responses based on other cues (i.e. proximity) a 0.5 mm artificial pupil was used to open the accommodation loop. Refraction in the vertical pupil meridian was continuously recorded with an infrared photorefractor (the PowerRefractor). To verify that computer-based stimuli presented within our experimental design were effective in driving accommodation, previously studied stimuli were also tested: changes in size (looming) and incremental low pass filtering. Preferential stimulation of the ON or OFF subsystems produced a convincing depth illusion in all subjects (which was psychophysically confirmed in four subjects). Although the stimulus appeared to move in depth it did not produce accommodation responses that were consistent with that, i.e. the accommodation system did not appear to fluctuate in rhythm with the temporal oscillations of the stimulus

  13. Foundational Report Series: Advanced Distribution Management Systems for Grid Modernization, DMS Integration of Distributed Energy Resources and Microgrids

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Singh, Ravindra; Reilly, James T.; Wang, Jianhui

    Deregulation of the electric utility industry, environmental concerns associated with traditional fossil fuel-based power plants, volatility of electric energy costs, Federal and State regulatory support of “green” energy, and rapid technological developments all support the growth of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in electric utility systems and ensure an important role for DERs in the smart grid and other aspects of modern utilities. DERs include distributed generation (DG) systems, such as renewables; controllable loads (also known as demand response); and energy storage systems. This report describes the role of aggregators of DERs in providing optimal services to distribution networks, through DERmore » monitoring and control systems—collectively referred to as a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS)—and microgrids in various configurations.« less

  14. Visual accommodation trainer-tester

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Randle, Robert J. (Inventor)

    1988-01-01

    An apparatus for training the human visual accommodation system is described. Specifically, the apparatus is useful for training personnel to volitionally control focus to the far point (normally infinity) from a position of myopia due to functional causes. The functional causes could be due, for example, to a behavioral accommodative spasm or the effects of an empty field. The device may also be used to measure accommodation, the accommodation resting position and the near and far points of vision. The device comprises a number of optical elements arranged on a single optical axis. Several of the elements are arranged in order on a movable stage in fixed relationship to each other: a light source, a lens, a target, an aperture and/or a second lens. On a base and in fixed relationship to each other are eyepiece and third lens. A stage generates an image of the target and the stage is movable with respect to the base by means of a knob. The device is utilized for the various training and test functions by following a series of procedural steps, and interchanging the apertures as necessary for the selected procedure.

  15. The Gain of Resource Delegation in Distributed Computing Environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fölling, Alexander; Grimme, Christian; Lepping, Joachim; Papaspyrou, Alexander

    In this paper, we address job scheduling in Distributed Computing Infrastructures, that is a loosely coupled network of autonomous acting High Performance Computing systems. In contrast to the common approach of mutual workload exchange, we consider the more intuitive operator's viewpoint of load-dependent resource reconfiguration. In case of a site's over-utilization, the scheduling system is able to lease resources from other sites to keep up service quality for its local user community. Contrary, the granting of idle resources can increase utilization in times of low local workload and thus ensure higher efficiency. The evaluation considers real workload data and is done with respect to common service quality indicators. For two simple resource exchange policies and three basic setups we show the possible gain of this approach and analyze the dynamics in workload-adaptive reconfiguration behavior.

  16. Children's and Adults' Judgments of Equitable Resource Distributions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCrink, Koleen; Bloom, Paul; Santos, Laurie R.

    2010-01-01

    This study explored the criteria that children and adults use when evaluating the niceness of a character who is distributing resources. Four- and five-year-olds played the "Giving Game", in which two puppets with different amounts of chips each gave some portion of these chips to the children. Adults played an analogous task that mimicked the…

  17. Real-time modeling and simulation of distribution feeder and distributed resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Pawan

    The analysis of the electrical system dates back to the days when analog network analyzers were used. With the advent of digital computers, many programs were written for power-flow and short circuit analysis for the improvement of the electrical system. Real-time computer simulations can answer many what-if scenarios in the existing or the proposed power system. In this thesis, the standard IEEE 13-Node distribution feeder is developed and validated on a real-time platform OPAL-RT. The concept and the challenges of the real-time simulation are studied and addressed. Distributed energy resources include some of the commonly used distributed generation and storage devices like diesel engine, solar photovoltaic array, and battery storage system are modeled and simulated on a real-time platform. A microgrid encompasses a portion of an electric power distribution which is located downstream of the distribution substation. Normally, the microgrid operates in paralleled mode with the grid; however, scheduled or forced isolation can take place. In such conditions, the microgrid must have the ability to operate stably and autonomously. The microgrid can operate in grid connected and islanded mode, both the operating modes are studied in the last chapter. Towards the end, a simple microgrid controller modeled and simulated on the real-time platform is developed for energy management and protection for the microgrid.

  18. Dynamic accommodation responses following adaptation to defocus.

    PubMed

    Cufflin, Matthew P; Mallen, Edward A H

    2008-10-01

    Adaptation to defocus is known to influence the subjective sensitivity to blur in both emmetropes and myopes. Blur is a major contributing factor in the closed-loop dynamic accommodation response. Previous investigations have examined the magnitude of the accommodation response following blur adaptation. We have investigated whether a period of blur adaptation influences the dynamic accommodation response to step and sinusoidal changes in target vergence. Eighteen subjects (six emmetropes, six early onset myopes, and six late onset myopes) underwent 30 min of adaptation to 0.00 D (control), +1.00 D or +3.00 D myopic defocus. Following this adaptation period, accommodation responses to a 2.00 D step change and 2.00 D sinusoidal change (0.2 Hz) in target vergence were recorded continuously using an autorefractor. Adaptation to defocus failed to influence accommodation latency times, but did influence response times to a step change in target vergence. Adaptation to both +1.00 and +3.00 D induced significant increases in response times (p = 0.002 and p = 0.012, respectively) and adaptation to +3.00 D increased the change in accommodation response magnitude (p = 0.014) for a 2.00 D step change in demand. Blur adaptation also significantly increased the peak-to-peak phase lag for accommodation responses to a sinusoidally oscillating target, although failed to influence the accommodation gain. These changes in accommodative response were equivalent across all refractive groups. Adaptation to a degraded stimulus causes an increased level of accommodation for dynamic targets moving towards an observer and increases response times and phase lags. It is suggested that the contrast constancy theory may explain these changes in dynamic behavior.

  19. 46 CFR 169.317 - Accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... of the stem. The space must not be located totally below the deepest load waterline. (b) Bulkheads separating accommodations from machinery spaces, paint lockers, storerooms, washrooms, and toilet facilities... and Arrangement Living Spaces § 169.317 Accommodations. (a) Quarters must have sufficient fresh air...

  20. 46 CFR 169.317 - Accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... of the stem. The space must not be located totally below the deepest load waterline. (b) Bulkheads separating accommodations from machinery spaces, paint lockers, storerooms, washrooms, and toilet facilities... and Arrangement Living Spaces § 169.317 Accommodations. (a) Quarters must have sufficient fresh air...

  1. 46 CFR 169.317 - Accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... of the stem. The space must not be located totally below the deepest load waterline. (b) Bulkheads separating accommodations from machinery spaces, paint lockers, storerooms, washrooms, and toilet facilities... and Arrangement Living Spaces § 169.317 Accommodations. (a) Quarters must have sufficient fresh air...

  2. 46 CFR 169.317 - Accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Accommodations. 169.317 Section 169.317 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) NAUTICAL SCHOOLS SAILING SCHOOL VESSELS Construction and Arrangement Living Spaces § 169.317 Accommodations. (a) Quarters must have sufficient fresh air...

  3. 46 CFR 169.317 - Accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Accommodations. 169.317 Section 169.317 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) NAUTICAL SCHOOLS SAILING SCHOOL VESSELS Construction and Arrangement Living Spaces § 169.317 Accommodations. (a) Quarters must have sufficient fresh air...

  4. Accommodation to wavefront vergence and chromatic aberration.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yinan; Kruger, Philip B; Li, James S; Lin, Peter L; Stark, Lawrence R

    2011-05-01

    Longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) provides a cue to accommodation with small pupils. However, large pupils increase monochromatic aberrations, which may obscure chromatic blur. In this study, we examined the effect of pupil size and LCA on accommodation. Accommodation was recorded by infrared optometer while observers (nine normal trichromats) viewed a sinusoidally moving Maltese cross target in a Badal stimulus system. There were two illumination conditions: white (3000 K; 20 cd/m) and monochromatic (550 nm with 10 nm bandwidth; 20 cd/m) and two artificial pupil conditions (3 and 5.7 mm). Separately, static measurements of wavefront aberration were made with the eye accommodating to targets between 0 and 4 D (COAS, Wavefront Sciences). Large individual differences in accommodation to wavefront vergence and to LCA are a hallmark of accommodation. LCA continues to provide a signal at large pupil sizes despite higher levels of monochromatic aberrations. Monochromatic aberrations may defend against chromatic blur at high spatial frequencies, but accommodation responds best to optical vergence and to LCA at 3 c/deg where blur from higher order aberrations is less.

  5. Anthropometric accommodation in USAF cockpits

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zehner, Gregory F.

    1994-01-01

    Over the past three years, a new set of methodologies has been developed to specify and evaluate anthropometric accommodation in USAF crewstation designs. These techniques are used to improve the ability of the pilot to reach controls, to safely escape the aircraft, to achieve adequate mobility and comfort, and to assure full access to the visual field both inside and outside the aircraft. This paper summarized commonly encountered aircraft accommodation problems, explains the failure of the traditional 'percentile man' design concept to resolve these difficulties, and suggests an alternative approach for improving cockpit design to better accommodate today's more heterogeneous flying population.

  6. A Review of Worksite Lactation Accommodations.

    PubMed

    Hilliard, Elizabeth Dianne

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this review was to examine workplace lactation accommodations, and their association with breastfeeding duration, and identify strategies occupational health professionals can use to promote lactation improvements. This study included literature published from 1985 through 2015 and listed in PubMed and CINAHL. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), 11 articles were identified for review. Presence of a corporate lactation program, on-site child care, and return to work/telephone lactation consultation were consistently associated with breastfeeding at 6 months. Other breastfeeding accommodations (i.e., lactation spaces, lactation breaks, worksite lactation policies, and supervisor/coworker support) were not consistently associated with breastfeeding duration. Occupational health professionals can play key roles in improving the effectiveness of lactation accommodations. Assuring adequate implementation of accommodations, increasing communication and marketing of accommodations, and promoting supervisor and coworker support are areas that occupational health professionals should explore for improving lactation duration.

  7. Exploring the Relationship Between Students Needing Accommodations and Instructor Self-Efficacy in Complying with Accommodations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Anna M.; Meyer, Kevin R.

    2017-01-01

    The willingness and flexibility of university instructors to comply with and provide accommodations for students with disabilities is critical to academic success. The authors examine how communication between students needing accommodations and university instructors impacts instructor self-efficacy, or instructors' perception that they can meet…

  8. Accommodative spasm in siblings: A unique finding

    PubMed Central

    Rutstein, Robert P

    2010-01-01

    Accommodative spasm is a rare condition occurring in children, adolescents, and young adults. A familial tendency for this binocular vision disorder has not been reported. I describe accommodative spasm occurring in a brother and sister. Both children presented on the same day with complaints of headaches and blurred vision. Treatment included cycloplegia drops and bifocals. Siblings of patients having accommodative spasm should receive a detailed eye exam with emphasis on recognition of accommodative spasm. PMID:20534925

  9. Accommodation, accommodative convergence, and response AC/A ratios before and at the onset of myopia in children.

    PubMed

    Gwiazda, Jane; Thorn, Frank; Held, Richard

    2005-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate accommodation, accommodative convergence, and AC/A ratios before and at the onset of myopia in children. Refractive error, accommodation, and phorias were measured annually over a period of 3 years in 80 6- to 18-year-old children (mean age at first visit = 11.1 years), including 26 who acquired myopia of at least -0.50 D and 54 who remained emmetropic (-0.25 to + 0.75 D). Refraction was measured by noncycloplegic distance retinoscopy. Concomitant measures of accommodation and phorias were taken for letter targets at 4.0 m and 0.33 m using the Canon R-1 open field-of-view autorefractor with an attached motorized Risley prism and Maddox rod. The accommodation and phoria measurements were used to calculate response AC/A ratios. Compared with children who remained emmetropic, those who became myopic had elevated response AC/A ratios at 1 and 2 years before the onset of myopia, in addition to at onset and 1 year later (t's = -2.97 to -4.04, p < 0.01 at all times). The significantly higher AC/A ratios in the children who became myopic are a result of significantly reduced accommodation. Accommodative convergence was significantly greater in myopes only at onset. These findings suggest that the abnormal oculomotor factors found before the onset of myopia may contribute to myopigenesis by producing hyperopic retinal defocus when a child is engaged in near-viewing tasks.

  10. Sustainable use of renewable resources in a stylized social-ecological network model under heterogeneous resource distribution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barfuss, Wolfram; Donges, Jonathan F.; Wiedermann, Marc; Lucht, Wolfgang

    2017-04-01

    Human societies depend on the resources ecosystems provide. Particularly since the last century, human activities have transformed the relationship between nature and society at a global scale. We study this coevolutionary relationship by utilizing a stylized model of private resource use and social learning on an adaptive network. The latter process is based on two social key dynamics beyond economic paradigms: boundedly rational imitation of resource use strategies and homophily in the formation of social network ties. The private and logistically growing resources are harvested with either a sustainable (small) or non-sustainable (large) effort. We show that these social processes can have a profound influence on the environmental state, such as determining whether the private renewable resources collapse from overuse or not. Additionally, we demonstrate that heterogeneously distributed regional resource capacities shift the critical social parameters where this resource extraction system collapses. We make these points to argue that, in more advanced coevolutionary models of the planetary social-ecological system, such socio-cultural phenomena as well as regional resource heterogeneities should receive attention in addition to the processes represented in established Earth system and integrated assessment models.

  11. Accommodative Performance of Children With Unilateral Amblyopia

    PubMed Central

    Manh, Vivian; Chen, Angela M.; Tarczy-Hornoch, Kristina; Cotter, Susan A.; Candy, T. Rowan

    2015-01-01

    Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the accommodative performance of the amblyopic eye of children with unilateral amblyopia to that of their nonamblyopic eye, and also to that of children without amblyopia, during both monocular and binocular viewing. Methods. Modified Nott retinoscopy was used to measure accommodative performance of 38 subjects with unilateral amblyopia and 25 subjects with typical vision from 3 to 13 years of age during monocular and binocular viewing at target distances of 50, 33, and 25 cm. The relationship between accommodative demand and interocular difference (IOD) in accommodative error was assessed in each group. Results. The mean IOD in monocular accommodative error for amblyopic subjects across all three viewing distances was 0.49 diopters (D) (95% confidence interval [CI], ±1.12 D) in the 180° meridian and 0.54 D (95% CI, ±1.27 D) in the 90° meridian, with the amblyopic eye exhibiting greater accommodative errors on average. Interocular difference in monocular accommodative error increased significantly with increasing accommodative demand; 5%, 47%, and 58% of amblyopic subjects had monocular errors in the amblyopic eye that fell outside the upper 95% confidence limit for the better eye of control subjects at viewing distances of 50, 33, and 25 cm, respectively. Conclusions. When viewing monocularly, children with unilateral amblyopia had greater mean accommodative errors in their amblyopic eyes than in their nonamblyopic eyes, and when compared with control subjects. This could lead to unintended retinal image defocus during patching therapy for amblyopia. PMID:25626970

  12. 46 CFR 108.211 - Miscellaneous accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. 108.211 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.211 Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. (a) Each unit must have enough facilities for personnel to wash their own clothes...

  13. 46 CFR 108.211 - Miscellaneous accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. 108.211 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.211 Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. (a) Each unit must have enough facilities for personnel to wash their own clothes...

  14. 46 CFR 108.211 - Miscellaneous accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. 108.211 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.211 Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. (a) Each unit must have enough facilities for personnel to wash their own clothes...

  15. 46 CFR 108.211 - Miscellaneous accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. 108.211 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.211 Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. (a) Each unit must have enough facilities for personnel to wash their own clothes...

  16. 46 CFR 108.211 - Miscellaneous accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. 108.211 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.211 Miscellaneous accommodation spaces. (a) Each unit must have enough facilities for personnel to wash their own clothes...

  17. Employer Accommodation and Labor Supply of Disabled Workers*

    PubMed Central

    Hill, Matthew J.; Maestas, Nicole; Mullen, Kathleen J.

    2016-01-01

    We examine the factors that influence employer accommodation of newly disabled workers and how effective such accommodations are in retaining workers and discouraging disability insurance applications. Using the Health and Retirement Study, we find that only a quarter of newly disabled older workers in their 50s are accommodated by their employers in some way following onset of a disability. Importantly, we find that few employer characteristics explain which workers are accommodated; rather, employee characteristics, particularly the presence of personality traits correlated with assertiveness and open communication, are highly predictive of accommodation. We also find that if employer accommodation rates could be increased, disabled workers would be significantly more likely to delay labor force exit for up to two years. However, accommodation does not appear to reduce subsequent disability insurance claiming. PMID:27840560

  18. 46 CFR 108.195 - Location of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Location of accommodation spaces. 108.195 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.195 Location of accommodation spaces. (a) On surface type units, accommodation spaces must not be located forward of a vertical...

  19. 46 CFR 108.195 - Location of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Location of accommodation spaces. 108.195 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.195 Location of accommodation spaces. (a) On surface type units, accommodation spaces must not be located forward of a vertical...

  20. 46 CFR 108.195 - Location of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Location of accommodation spaces. 108.195 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.195 Location of accommodation spaces. (a) On surface type units, accommodation spaces must not be located forward of a vertical...

  1. 46 CFR 108.195 - Location of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Location of accommodation spaces. 108.195 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.195 Location of accommodation spaces. (a) On surface type units, accommodation spaces must not be located forward of a vertical...

  2. 46 CFR 108.195 - Location of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Location of accommodation spaces. 108.195 Section 108... DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.195 Location of accommodation spaces. (a) On surface type units, accommodation spaces must not be located forward of a vertical...

  3. Accommodation to Wavefront Vergence and Chromatic Aberration

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yinan; Kruger, Philip B.; Li, James S.; Lin, Peter L.; Stark, Lawrence R.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose Longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) provides a cue to accommodation with small pupils. However, large pupils increase monochromatic aberrations, which may obscure chromatic blur. In the present study, we examined the effect of pupil size and LCA on accommodation. Methods Accommodation was recorded by infrared optometer while observers (nine normal trichromats) viewed a sinusoidally moving Maltese cross target in a Badal stimulus system. There were two illumination conditions: white (3000 K; 20 cd/m2) and monochromatic (550 nm with 10 nm bandwidth; 20 cd/m2) and two artificial pupil conditions (3 mm and 5.7 mm). Separately, static measurements of wavefront aberration were made with the eye accommodating to targets between 0 and 4 D (COAS, Wavefront Sciences). Results Large individual differences in accommodation to wavefront vergence and to LCA are a hallmark of accommodation. LCA continues to provide a signal at large pupil sizes despite higher levels of monochromatic aberrations. Conclusions Monochromatic aberrations may defend against chromatic blur at high spatial frequencies, but accommodation responds best to optical vergence and to LCA at 3 c/deg where blur from higher order aberrations is less. PMID:21317666

  4. Energy Policy Case Study - California: Renewables and Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Homer, Juliet S.; Bender, Sadie R.; Weimar, Mark R.

    2016-09-19

    The purpose of this document is to present a case study of energy policies in California related to power system transformation and renewable and distributed energy resources (DERs). Distributed energy resources represent a broad range of technologies that can significantly impact how much, and when, electricity is demanded from the grid. Key policies and proceedings related to power system transformation and DERs are grouped into the following categories: 1.Policies that support achieving environmental and climate goals 2.Policies that promote deployment of DERs 3.Policies that support reliability and integration of DERs 4.Policies that promote market animation and support customer choice. Majormore » challenges going forward are forecasting and modeling DERs, regulatory and utility business model issues, reliability, valuation and pricing, and data management and sharing.« less

  5. Reproducibility of carbachol stimulated accommodation in rhesus monkeys.

    PubMed

    Wendt, Mark; Glasser, Adrian

    2012-06-01

    Approaches are being explored to restore accommodation to the presbyopic eye. Some of these approaches can be tested in monkeys by stimulating accommodation in various ways including using carbachol iontophoresis. Knowledge of the repeatability of carbachol iontophoresis stimulated accommodation in the monkey phakic eye is necessary to understand the variability of this method of evaluating accommodation. Data from 9 to 10 separate carbachol iontophoresis experiments performed on phakic eyes from 8 monkeys were retrospectively analyzed. For each experiment, carbachol was applied iontophoretically to the eyes of anesthetized monkeys and refraction generally measured every two minutes until accommodation reached a plateau. Repeated experiments were performed in each monkey over periods ranging from 10 to 18 months. Maximum accommodation measured for each monkey ranged from 11.1 D to 18.3 D with standard deviations from 0.8 D to 2.1 D and differences in accommodative amplitude varying from 2.2 D to 7.5 D. Time to reach maximum accommodation ranged from 18 to 64 min in individual experiments. Averaged time-courses indicate that maximum accommodation is generally achieved between 10 and 20 min after carbachol administration. Although carbachol iontophoresis is considered a reliable method to stimulate maximum accommodation in anesthetized monkeys, the amplitude achieved typically varies by more than 2 D. Presbyopia treatments evaluated in this way in phakic monkeys would need to show an increase in accommodation of over 2 D to clearly demonstrate that the treatments work when being tested with carbachol iontophoresis stimulation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Accommodation in Astigmatic Children During Visual Task Performance

    PubMed Central

    Harvey, Erin M.; Miller, Joseph M.; Apple, Howard P.; Parashar, Pavan; Twelker, J. Daniel; Crescioni, Mabel; Davis, Amy L.; Leonard-Green, Tina K.; Campus, Irene; Sherrill, Duane L.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose. To determine the accuracy and stability of accommodation in uncorrected children during visual task performance. Methods. Subjects were second- to seventh-grade children from a highly astigmatic population. Measurements of noncycloplegic right eye spherical equivalent (Mnc) were obtained while uncorrected subjects performed three visual tasks at near (40 cm) and distance (2 m). Tasks included reading sentences with stimulus letter size near acuity threshold and an age-appropriate letter size (high task demands) and viewing a video (low task demand). Repeated measures ANOVA assessed the influence of astigmatism, task demand, and accommodative demand on accuracy (mean Mnc) and variability (mean SD of Mnc) of accommodation. Results. For near and distance analyses, respectively, sample size was 321 and 247, mean age was 10.37 (SD 1.77) and 10.30 (SD 1.74) years, mean cycloplegic M was 0.48 (SD 1.10) and 0.79 diopters (D) (SD 1.00), and mean astigmatism was 0.99 (SD 1.15) and 0.75 D (SD 0.96). Poor accommodative accuracy was associated with high astigmatism, low task demand (video viewing), and high accommodative demand. The negative effect of accommodative demand on accuracy increased with increasing astigmatism, with the poorest accommodative accuracy observed in high astigmats (≥3.00 D) with high accommodative demand/high hyperopia (1.53 D and 2.05 D of underaccommodation for near and distant stimuli, respectively). Accommodative variability was greatest in high astigmats and was uniformly high across task condition. No/low and moderate astigmats showed higher variability for the video task than the reading tasks. Conclusions. Accuracy of accommodation is reduced in uncorrected children with high astigmatism and high accommodative demand/high hyperopia, but improves with increased visual task demand (reading). High astigmats showed the greatest variability in accommodation. PMID:25103265

  7. Decreased accommodation during decompensation of distance exotropia.

    PubMed

    Horwood, Anna M; Riddell, Patricia M

    2012-04-01

    Disparity cues can be a major drive to accommodation via the convergence accommodation to convergence (CA/C) linkage, but, on decompensation of exotropia, disparity cues are extinguished by suppression so this drive is lost. This study investigated accommodation and vergence responses to disparity, blur and proximal cues in a group of distance exotropes aged between 4 and 11 years both during decompensation and when exotropic. 19 participants with distance exotropia were tested using a PlusoptiXSO4 photo refractor set in a remote haploscopic device that assessed simultaneous vergence and accommodation to a range of targets incorporating different combinations of blur, disparity and proximal cues at four fixation distances between 2 m and 33 cm. Responses on decompensation were compared with those from the same children when their deviation was controlled. Manifest exotropia was more common in the more impoverished cue conditions. When decompensated for near, mean accommodation gain for the all-cue (naturalistic) target was significantly reduced (p<0.0001), with resultant mean under-accommodation of 2.33 D at 33 cm. The profile of near cues usage changed after decompensation, with blur and proximity driving residual responses, but these remaining cues did not compensate for loss of accommodation caused by the removal of disparity. Accommodation often reduces on decompensation of distance exotropia as the drive from convergence is extinguished, providing a further reason to try to prevent decompensation for near.

  8. Decreased accommodation during decompensation of distance exotropia

    PubMed Central

    Horwood, Anna M; Riddell, Patricia M

    2015-01-01

    Objective Disparity cues can be a major drive to accommodation via the CA/C (convergence accommodation to convergence) linkage but, on decompensation of exotropia, disparity cues are extinguished by suppression, so this drive is lost. This study investigated accommodation and vergence responses to disparity, blur and proximal cues in a group of distance exotropes aged between 4-11 years both during decompensation and when exotropic. Methods 19 participants with distance exotropia were tested using a PlusoptiXSO4 photorefractor set in a remote haploscopic device which assessed simultaneous vergence and accommodation to a range of targets incorporating different combinations of blur, disparity and proximal cues at four fixation distances between 2m and 33cm. Responses on decompensation were compared to those from the same children when their deviation was controlled. Results Manifest exotropia was more common in the more impoverished cue conditions. When decompensated for near, mean accommodation gain for the all-cue (naturalistic) target reduced significantly (p<0.0001), with resultant mean under-accommodation of 2.33D at 33cm. The profile of near cues usage changed after decompensation, with blur and proximity driving residual responses, but these remaining cues did not compensate for loss of accommodation caused by the removal of disparity. Conclusions Accommodation often reduces on decompensation of distance exotropia as the drive from convergence is extinguished, providing a further reason to try to prevent decompensation for near. PMID:21873311

  9. Effect of Phenylephrine on the Accommodative System

    PubMed Central

    Del Águila-Carrasco, Antonio J.; Bernal-Molina, Paula; Ferrer-Blasco, Teresa; López-Gil, Norberto; Montés-Micó, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Accommodation is controlled by the action of the ciliary muscle and mediated primarily by parasympathetic input through postganglionic fibers that originate from neurons in the ciliary and pterygopalatine ganglia. During accommodation the pupil constricts to increase the depth of focus of the eye and improve retinal image quality. Researchers have traditionally faced the challenge of measuring the accommodative properties of the eye through a small pupil and thus have relied on pharmacological agents to dilate the pupil. Achieving pupil dilation (mydriasis) without affecting the accommodative ability of the eye (cycloplegia) could be useful in many clinical and research contexts. Phenylephrine hydrochloride (PHCl) is a sympathomimetic agent that is used clinically to dilate the pupil. Nevertheless, first investigations suggested some loss of functional accommodation in the human eye after PHCl instillation. Subsequent studies, based on different measurement procedures, obtained contradictory conclusions, causing therefore an unexpected controversy that has been spread almost to the present days. This manuscript reviews and summarizes the main research studies that have been performed to analyze the effect of PHCl on the accommodative system and provides clear conclusions that could help clinicians know the real effects of PHCl on the accommodative system of the human eye. PMID:28053778

  10. Crystalline lens MTF measurement during simulated accommodation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borja, David; Takeuchi, Gaku; Ziebarth, Noel; Acosta, Ana C.; Manns, Fabrice; Parel, Jean-Marie

    2005-04-01

    Purpose: To design and test an optical system to measure the optical quality of post mortem lenses during simulated accommodation. Methods: An optical bench top system was designed to measure the point spread function and calculate the modulation transfer function (MTF) of monkey and human ex-vivo crystalline lenses. The system consists of a super luminescent diode emitting at 850nm, collimated into a 3mm beam which is focused by the ex-vivo lens under test. The intensity distribution at the focus (point spread function) is re-imaged and magnified onto a beam profiler CCD camera. The optical quality in terms of spatial frequency response (modulation transfer function) is calculated by Fourier transform of the point spread function. The system was used on ex-vivo lenses with attached zonules, ciliary body and sclera. The sclera was glued to 8 separate PMMA segments and stretched radial by 5mm on an accommodation simulating lens stretching device. The point spread function was measured for each lens in the relaxed and stretched state for 5 human (ages 38-86 years) and 5 cynomolgus monkey (ages 53 - 67 months) fresh post mortem crystalline lenses. Results: Stretching induced measurable changes in the MTF. The cutoff frequency increased from 54.4+/-13.6 lp/mm unstretched to 59.5+/-21.4 lp/mm stretched in the post-presbyopic human and from 51.9+/-24.7 lp/mm unstretched to 57.7+/-18.5 lp/mm stretched cynomolgus monkey lenses. Conclusion: The results demonstrate the feasibility of measuring the optical quality of ex-vivo human and cynomolgus monkey lenses during simulated accommodation. Additional experiments are underway to quantify changes in optical quality induced by stretching.

  11. The Inequitable Distribution of Public Education Resources across Schools: Evidence from Korea

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jeong, Dong Wook; Kim, Young-sik; Hong, Ji-young

    2013-01-01

    A dearth of literature examines across-school disparities in education resources within local government agencies, particularly in Asia Pacific countries. Little is known about what leads to their inequitable distributions. In this article, we provide some answers by decomposing the inequalities of school resources. In Korea, individual schools…

  12. The interaction between the spatial distribution of resource patches and population density: consequences for intraspecific growth and morphology.

    PubMed

    Jacobson, Bailey; Grant, James W A; Peres-Neto, Pedro R

    2015-07-01

    How individuals within a population distribute themselves across resource patches of varying quality has been an important focus of ecological theory. The ideal free distribution predicts equal fitness amongst individuals in a 1 : 1 ratio with resources, whereas resource defence theory predicts different degrees of monopolization (fitness variance) as a function of temporal and spatial resource clumping and population density. One overlooked landscape characteristic is the spatial distribution of resource patches, altering the equitability of resource accessibility and thereby the effective number of competitors. While much work has investigated the influence of morphology on competitive ability for different resource types, less is known regarding the phenotypic characteristics conferring relative ability for a single resource type, particularly when exploitative competition predominates. Here we used young-of-the-year rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to test whether and how the spatial distribution of resource patches and population density interact to influence the level and variance of individual growth, as well as if functional morphology relates to competitive ability. Feeding trials were conducted within stream channels under three spatial distributions of nine resource patches (distributed, semi-clumped and clumped) at two density levels (9 and 27 individuals). Average trial growth was greater in high-density treatments with no effect of resource distribution. Within-trial growth variance had opposite patterns across resource distributions. Here, variance decreased at low-population, but increased at high-population densities as patches became increasingly clumped as the result of changes in the levels of interference vs. exploitative competition. Within-trial growth was related to both pre- and post-trial morphology where competitive individuals were those with traits associated with swimming capacity and efficiency: larger heads/bodies/caudal fins

  13. Surface accommodation of molecular contaminants

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chen, Philip T.; Hedgeland, Randy J.; Thomson, Shaun R.

    1990-01-01

    Theoretical consideration and supporting data are presented regarding the nature of the transport mechanisms which cause the adsorption of gases on spacecraft surfaces. Particular attention is given to the concept of a sticking coefficient which is the ratio of the thermally accommodated mass to the total incident mass. Existing molecular accommodation data are examined in terms of spacecraft applications and recent contamination-control data are introduced. Two distinct yet linked concepts emerge which are the accommodation and sticking coefficients, and surface roughness contributes significantly to both coefficients. A general equation regarding the coefficients is developed, and the data are found to fit the equation basically. It is concluded that a more precise characterization of the coefficients can be obtained through experimentation under simulated spacecraft conditions.

  14. Integrated resource scheduling in a distributed scheduling environment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zoch, David; Hall, Gardiner

    1988-01-01

    The Space Station era presents a highly-complex multi-mission planning and scheduling environment exercised over a highly distributed system. In order to automate the scheduling process, customers require a mechanism for communicating their scheduling requirements to NASA. A request language that a remotely-located customer can use to specify his scheduling requirements to a NASA scheduler, thus automating the customer-scheduler interface, is described. This notation, Flexible Envelope-Request Notation (FERN), allows the user to completely specify his scheduling requirements such as resource usage, temporal constraints, and scheduling preferences and options. The FERN also contains mechanisms for representing schedule and resource availability information, which are used in the inter-scheduler inconsistency resolution process. Additionally, a scheduler is described that can accept these requests, process them, generate schedules, and return schedule and resource availability information to the requester. The Request-Oriented Scheduling Engine (ROSE) was designed to function either as an independent scheduler or as a scheduling element in a network of schedulers. When used in a network of schedulers, each ROSE communicates schedule and resource usage information to other schedulers via the FERN notation, enabling inconsistencies to be resolved between schedulers. Individual ROSE schedules are created by viewing the problem as a constraint satisfaction problem with a heuristically guided search strategy.

  15. Optimum Aggregation and Control of Spatially Distributed Flexible Resources in Smart Grid

    DOE PAGES

    Bhattarai, Bishnu; Mendaza, Iker Diaz de Cerio; Myers, Kurt S.; ...

    2017-03-24

    This paper presents an algorithm to optimally aggregate spatially distributed flexible resources at strategic microgrid/smart-grid locations. The aggregation reduces a distribution network having thousands of nodes to an equivalent network with a few aggregated nodes, thereby enabling distribution system operators (DSOs) to make faster operational decisions. Moreover, the aggregation enables flexibility from small distributed flexible resources to be traded to different power and energy markets. A hierarchical control architecture comprising a combination of centralized and decentralized control approaches is proposed to practically deploy the aggregated flexibility. The proposed method serves as a great operational tool for DSOs to decide themore » exact amount of required flexibilities from different network section(s) for solving grid constraint violations. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulation of three operational scenarios in a real low voltage distribution system having high penetrations of electric vehicles and heat pumps. Finally, the simulation results demonstrated that the aggregation helps DSOs not only in taking faster operational decisions, but also in effectively utilizing the available flexibility.« less

  16. Optimum Aggregation and Control of Spatially Distributed Flexible Resources in Smart Grid

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bhattarai, Bishnu; Mendaza, Iker Diaz de Cerio; Myers, Kurt S.

    This paper presents an algorithm to optimally aggregate spatially distributed flexible resources at strategic microgrid/smart-grid locations. The aggregation reduces a distribution network having thousands of nodes to an equivalent network with a few aggregated nodes, thereby enabling distribution system operators (DSOs) to make faster operational decisions. Moreover, the aggregation enables flexibility from small distributed flexible resources to be traded to different power and energy markets. A hierarchical control architecture comprising a combination of centralized and decentralized control approaches is proposed to practically deploy the aggregated flexibility. The proposed method serves as a great operational tool for DSOs to decide themore » exact amount of required flexibilities from different network section(s) for solving grid constraint violations. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulation of three operational scenarios in a real low voltage distribution system having high penetrations of electric vehicles and heat pumps. Finally, the simulation results demonstrated that the aggregation helps DSOs not only in taking faster operational decisions, but also in effectively utilizing the available flexibility.« less

  17. Advanced Solar Observatory (ASO) accommodations requirements study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1989-01-01

    Results of an accommodations analysis for the Advanced Solar Observatory on Space Station Freedom are reported. Concepts for the High Resolution Telescope Cluster, Pinhole/Occulter Facility, and High Energy Cluster were developed which can be accommodated on Space Station Freedom. It is shown that workable accommodations concepts are possible. Areas of emphasis for the next stage of engineering development are identified.

  18. Accommodation and Health Costs of Deinstitutionalized People with Mental Illness Living in Residential Services in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Razzouk, Denise

    2018-04-30

    Health costs are the main hindrances for expanding community mental health services. Exploring patient profiles and cost predictors may be useful for optimising financial resources. However, the deinstitutionalisation process may burden health budgets in terms of supporting multiple community services based on varying levels of need. This study assessed accommodation and health service costs, quality of life and clinical and psychosocial profiles among individuals receiving mental healthcare through residential services. Specific accommodation cost predictors were also verified. Health costs were assessed from the perspective of a public health provider using a microcosting bottom-up approach at 20 residential services in São Paulo, Brazil. Instruments used to assess health costs and patient profiles included the Brazilian version of the Client Socio-demographic and Service Receipt Inventory (CSSRI), the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale (CGI-S), the Independent Living Skills Survey (ILLS), the Social Behaviour Scale (SBS) and the Quality of Life Scale (QLS). One hundred and forty-seven residents, predominantly experiencing psychotic disorders, were interviewed. The geographical region and length of time spent living in residential services or in a psychiatric hospital predicted 66% of the variance in accommodation costs. The CGI-S and ILLS scores and years of education explained 52.7% of the variance in quality of life. Accommodation costs were not driven by patient profile variables, while region and time spent in a hospital or in residential services were the main cost predictors. Semi-staffed homes may be an alternative for resource optimisation among individuals with mild impairment, particularly if strategies for psychosocial rehabilitation and improving quality of life are implemented.

  19. 77 FR 38833 - Job Accommodation Network

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Job Accommodation Network AGENCY: Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor. Announcement Type: New Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant... cooperative agreement to manage and operate its Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a national technical...

  20. Gender differences in early accommodation and vergence development.

    PubMed

    Horwood, Anna M; Riddell, Patricia M

    2008-03-01

    A remote haploscopic photorefractor was used to assess objective binocular vergence and accommodation responses in 157 full-term healthy infants aged 1-6 months while fixating a brightly coloured target moving between fixation distances at 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.33 m. Vergence and accommodation response gain matured rapidly from 'flat' neonatal responses at an intercept of approximately 2 dioptres (D) for accommodation and 2.5 metre angles(MA) for vergence, reaching adult-like values at 4 months. Vergence gain was marginally higher in females (p = 0.064), but accommodation gain (p = 0.034) was higher and accommodative intercept closer to zero (p = 0.004) in males in the first 3 months as they relaxed accommodation more appropriately for distant targets. More females showed flat accommodation responses (p = 0.029). More males behaved hypermetropically in the first two months of life, but when these hypermetropic infants were excluded from the analysis, the gender difference remained. Gender differences disappeared after three months. Data showed variable responses and infants could behave appropriately and simultaneously on both, neither or only one measure at all ages. If accommodation was appropriate (gain between 0.7 and 1.3; r(2) > 0.7) but vergence was not, males over- and under-converged equally, while the females who accommodated appropriately were more likely to overconverge (p = 0.008). The apparent earlier maturity of the male accommodative responses may be due to refractive error differences but could also reflect gender-specific male preference for blur cues while females show earlier preference for disparity, which may underpin the earlier emerging, disparity dependent, stereopsis and full vergence found in females in other studies.

  1. Automating usability of ATLAS Distributed Computing resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tupputi, S. A.; Di Girolamo, A.; Kouba, T.; Schovancová, J.; Atlas Collaboration

    2014-06-01

    The automation of ATLAS Distributed Computing (ADC) operations is essential to reduce manpower costs and allow performance-enhancing actions, which improve the reliability of the system. In this perspective a crucial case is the automatic handling of outages of ATLAS computing sites storage resources, which are continuously exploited at the edge of their capabilities. It is challenging to adopt unambiguous decision criteria for storage resources of non-homogeneous types, sizes and roles. The recently developed Storage Area Automatic Blacklisting (SAAB) tool has provided a suitable solution, by employing an inference algorithm which processes history of storage monitoring tests outcome. SAAB accomplishes both the tasks of providing global monitoring as well as automatic operations on single sites. The implementation of the SAAB tool has been the first step in a comprehensive review of the storage areas monitoring and central management at all levels. Such review has involved the reordering and optimization of SAM tests deployment and the inclusion of SAAB results in the ATLAS Site Status Board with both dedicated metrics and views. The resulting structure allows monitoring the storage resources status with fine time-granularity and automatic actions to be taken in foreseen cases, like automatic outage handling and notifications to sites. Hence, the human actions are restricted to reporting and following up problems, where and when needed. In this work we show SAAB working principles and features. We present also the decrease of human interactions achieved within the ATLAS Computing Operation team. The automation results in a prompt reaction to failures, which leads to the optimization of resource exploitation.

  2. Chromatic aberration, accommodation, and color preference in asthenopia.

    PubMed

    Drew, Stefanie A; Borsting, Eric; Stark, Lawrence R; Chase, Chris

    2012-07-01

    Asthenopia is a common problem associated with near work and reports suggest that colored lenses or overlays may be applied to reduce symptoms. In this study, we examine the relationship between eyestrain, color preferences, and function of the accommodation and vergence system. Specifically, we examine whether symptomatic observers select colors that reduce accommodative demand based on longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA). Forty-seven undergraduate students participated in this study. Visual discomfort symptoms were assessed using the Conlon survey. A Mark 2 Intuitive Colorimeter was used to obtain optimal colored light preferences. LCA was modeled using the Chromatic Eye and spectral power density data. A comprehensive evaluation of accommodation and vergence was performed following standard procedures. A significant negative correlation (r = -0.51) was found between eyestrain symptoms and the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) v' axis of colors preferences. Additionally, a significant negative correlation (r = -0.31) was found between eyestrain symptoms and LCA accommodation. Two thirds of the participants in the high discomfort group chose colors that decreased accommodative demand. Accommodative amplitude and vergence facility also correlated with LCA, accounting for 25% of the variance. The color preferences of individuals are systematically influenced by the functioning of their accommodation and vergence systems with increased symptomatology resulting in color selections that reduce LCA accommodative stimulus demand.

  3. Adaptive Calibration of Dynamic Accommodation—Implications for Accommodating Intraocular Lenses

    PubMed Central

    Schor, Clifton M.; Bharadwaj, Shrikant R.

    2009-01-01

    PURPOSE When the aging lens is replaced with prosthetic accommodating intraocular lenses (IOLs), with effective viscoelasticities different from those of the natural lens, mismatches could arise between the neural control of accommodation and the biomechanical properties of the new lens. These mismatches could lead to either unstable oscillations or sluggishness of dynamic accommodation. Using computer simulations, we investigated whether optimal accommodative responses could be restored through recalibration of the neural control of accommodation. Using human experiments, we also investigated whether the accommodative system has the capacity for adaptive recalibration in response to changes in lens biomechanics. METHODS Dynamic performance of two accommodating IOL prototypes was simulated for a 45-year-old accommodative system, before and after neural recalibration, using a dynamic model of accommodation. Accommodating IOL I, a prototype for an injectable accommodating IOL, was less stiff and less viscous than the natural 45-year-old lens. Accommodating IOL II, a prototype for a translating accommodating IOL, was less stiff and more viscous than the natural 45-year-old lens. Short-term adaptive recalibration of dynamic accommodation was stimulated using a double-step adaptation paradigm that optically induced changes in neuromuscular effort mimicking responses to changes in lens biomechanics. RESULTS Model simulations indicate that the unstable oscillations or sluggishness of dynamic accommodation resulting from mismatches between neural control and lens biomechanics might be restored through neural recalibration. CONCLUSIONS Empirical measures reveal that the accommodative system is capable of adaptive recalibration in response to optical loads that simulate effects of changing lens biomechanics. PMID:19044245

  4. 14 CFR 1251.201 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... OF HANDICAP Employment Practices § 1251.201 Reasonable accommodation. (a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped... facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons; and (2) Job...

  5. 14 CFR 1251.201 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... OF HANDICAP Employment Practices § 1251.201 Reasonable accommodation. (a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped... facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons; and (2) Job...

  6. 14 CFR 1251.201 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... OF HANDICAP Employment Practices § 1251.201 Reasonable accommodation. (a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped... facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons; and (2) Job...

  7. 14 CFR 1251.201 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... OF HANDICAP Employment Practices § 1251.201 Reasonable accommodation. (a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped... facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons; and (2) Job...

  8. Resource acquisition, distribution and end-use efficiencies and the growth of industrial society

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jarvis, A. J.; Jarvis, S. J.; Hewitt, C. N.

    2015-10-01

    A key feature of the growth of industrial society is the acquisition of increasing quantities of resources from the environment and their distribution for end-use. With respect to energy, the growth of industrial society appears to have been near-exponential for the last 160 years. We provide evidence that indicates that the global distribution of resources that underpins this growth may be facilitated by the continual development and expansion of near-optimal directed networks (roads, railways, flight paths, pipelines, cables etc.). However, despite this continual striving for optimisation, the distribution efficiencies of these networks must decline over time as they expand due to path lengths becoming longer and more tortuous. Therefore, to maintain long-term exponential growth the physical limits placed on the distribution networks appear to be counteracted by innovations deployed elsewhere in the system, namely at the points of acquisition and end-use of resources. We postulate that the maintenance of the growth of industrial society, as measured by global energy use, at the observed rate of ~ 2.4 % yr-1 stems from an implicit desire to optimise patterns of energy use over human working lifetimes.

  9. Modelling Framework and the Quantitative Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources in Future Distribution Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Xue; Sandels, Claes; Zhu, Kun; Nordström, Lars

    2013-08-01

    There has been a large body of statements claiming that the large-scale deployment of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) could eventually reshape the future distribution grid operation in numerous ways. Thus, it is necessary to introduce a framework to measure to what extent the power system operation will be changed by various parameters of DERs. This article proposed a modelling framework for an overview analysis on the correlation between DERs. Furthermore, to validate the framework, the authors described the reference models of different categories of DERs with their unique characteristics, comprising distributed generation, active demand and electric vehicles. Subsequently, quantitative analysis was made on the basis of the current and envisioned DER deployment scenarios proposed for Sweden. Simulations are performed in two typical distribution network models for four seasons. The simulation results show that in general the DER deployment brings in the possibilities to reduce the power losses and voltage drops by compensating power from the local generation and optimizing the local load profiles.

  10. Hierarchical control framework for integrated coordination between distributed energy resources and demand response

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wu, Di; Lian, Jianming; Sun, Yannan

    Demand response is representing a significant but largely untapped resource that can greatly enhance the flexibility and reliability of power systems. In this paper, a hierarchical control framework is proposed to facilitate the integrated coordination between distributed energy resources and demand response. The proposed framework consists of coordination and device layers. In the coordination layer, various resource aggregations are optimally coordinated in a distributed manner to achieve the system-level objectives. In the device layer, individual resources are controlled in real time to follow the optimal power generation or consumption dispatched from the coordination layer. For the purpose of practical applications,more » a method is presented to determine the utility functions of controllable loads by taking into account the real-time load dynamics and the preferences of individual customers. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is validated by detailed simulation studies.« less

  11. Experimental investigations of pupil accommodation factors.

    PubMed

    Lee, Eui Chul; Lee, Ji Woo; Park, Kang Ryoung

    2011-08-17

    PURPOSE. The contraction and dilation of the iris muscle that controls the amount of light entering the retina causes pupil accommodation. In this study, experiments were performed and two of the three factors that influence pupil accommodation were analyzed: lighting conditions and depth fixations. The psychological benefits were not examined, because they could not be quantified. METHODS. A head-wearable eyeglasses-based, eye-capturing device was designed to measure pupil size. It included a near-infrared (NIR) camera and an NIR light-emitting diode. Twenty-four subjects watched two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic videos of the same content, and the changes in pupil size were measured by using the eye-capturing device and image-processing methods: RESULTS. The pupil size changed with the intensity of the videos and the disparities between the left and right images of a 3D stereoscopic video. There was correlation between the pupil size and average intensity. The pupil diameter could be estimated as being contracted from approximately 5.96 to 4.25 mm as the intensity varied from 0 to 255. Further, from the changes in the depth fixation for the pupil accommodation, it was confirmed that the depth fixation also affected accommodation of pupil size. CONCLUSIONS. It was confirmed that the lighting condition was an even more significant factor in pupil accommodation than was depth fixation (significance ratio: approximately 3.2:1) when watching 3D stereoscopic video. Pupil accommodation was more affected by depth fixation in the real world than was the binocular convergence in the 3D stereoscopic display.

  12. Energy Management of Smart Distribution Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ansari, Bananeh

    Electric power distribution systems interface the end-users of electricity with the power grid. Traditional distribution systems are operated in a centralized fashion with the distribution system owner or operator being the only decision maker. The management and control architecture of distribution systems needs to gradually transform to accommodate the emerging smart grid technologies, distributed energy resources, and active electricity end-users or prosumers. The content of this document concerns with developing multi-task multi-objective energy management schemes for: 1) commercial/large residential prosumers, and 2) distribution system operator of a smart distribution system. The first part of this document describes a method of distributed energy management of multiple commercial/ large residential prosumers. These prosumers not only consume electricity, but also generate electricity using their roof-top solar photovoltaics systems. When photovoltaics generation is larger than local consumption, excess electricity will be fed into the distribution system, creating a voltage rise along the feeder. Distribution system operator cannot tolerate a significant voltage rise. ES can help the prosumers manage their electricity exchanges with the distribution system such that minimal voltage fluctuation occurs. The proposed distributed energy management scheme sizes and schedules each prosumer's ES to reduce the electricity bill and mitigate voltage rise along the feeder. The second part of this document focuses on emergency energy management and resilience assessment of a distribution system. The developed emergency energy management system uses available resources and redundancy to restore the distribution system's functionality fully or partially. The success of the restoration maneuver depends on how resilient the distribution system is. Engineering resilience terminology is used to evaluate the resilience of distribution system. The proposed emergency energy

  13. Distribution and quantitative assessment of world crude oil reserves and resources

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Masters, Charles D.; Root, David H.; Dietzman, William D.

    1983-01-01

    World Demonstrated Reserves of crude oil are approximately 723 billion barrels of oil (BBO). Cumulative production is 445 BBO and annual production is 20 BBO. Demonstrated Reserves of crude-oil have declined over the past 10 years consistent with discoveries lagging production over the same period. The assessment of Undiscovered Resources shows a 90 percent probability that the amount discoverable lies between 321 and 1,417 BBO, 550 BBO being the most likely value. The most likely value for Ultimate recoverable resources is 1,718 BBO. The distribution of Ultimate Resources of crude oil will remain highly skewed toward the Middle East; no frontier areas that have potentials large enough to significantly affect present distribution are recognized. Rates of discovery have continued to decline over the past 20 years even though exploration activity has increased in recent years. Prudence dictates, therefore, that the low side of the assessment of Undiscovered Resources be responsibly considered and that alternate energy sources be a part of future planning. Extra-heavy oil and bitumen are assessed separately, with Reserves being figured as the annual productive capacity of installed facilities times 25 years. The annual production of extra-heavy oil is about 8 million barrels and of bitumen about 60 million barrels.

  14. Adaptive model of the aging emmetropic eye and its changes with accommodation.

    PubMed

    Navarro, Rafael

    2014-11-20

    A general schematic model of the optical system of the emmetropic human eye is proposed, capable of adapting to changes with age and accommodation through adjustment of the optical surfaces and the internal gradient index structure of the lens. The specific models of the cornea and lens consist of minor generalizations of previous work by assuming them to be the sum of a biconic plus three higher order Zernike modes. The internal gradient index distribution adapts to the external shape so that the analytical expression is invariant with the changes with age and accommodation. The model also includes tips, tilts, and decentrations of the surfaces according to experimental findings. The specific parameters of these models are either constants or functions of age and/or accommodation. The model is polychromatic, and its optical performance was evaluated along the keratometric axis. Chromatic aberrations (longitudinal and transverse), astigmatism, coma, trefoil, and spherical aberration show good agreement with experimental averages. The change of these aberrations as a function of age or accommodation is also consistent with experimental findings (except for trefoil in eyes older than 50 years). This means that the average structure seems to predict the average performance. Nevertheless, the present model is too schematic to account for other higher order aberrations, such as tetrafoil, also present in real eyes. © 2014 ARVO.

  15. Acceleration characteristics of human ocular accommodation.

    PubMed

    Bharadwaj, Shrikant R; Schor, Clifton M

    2005-01-01

    Position and velocity of accommodation are known to increase with stimulus magnitude, however, little is known about acceleration properties. We investigated three acceleration properties: peak acceleration, time-to-peak acceleration and total duration of acceleration to step changes in defocus. Peak velocity and total duration of acceleration increased with response magnitude. Peak acceleration and time-to-peak acceleration remained independent of response magnitude. Independent first-order and second-order dynamic components of accommodation demonstrate that neural control of accommodation has an initial open-loop component that is independent of response magnitude and a closed-loop component that increases with response magnitude.

  16. Appropriate Accommodations for Individual Needs Allowable by State Guidelines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jordan, Ashley Sokol

    2009-01-01

    Accommodation decisions should be based on the validity and accountability to provide the least restrictive accommodations for students with learning disabilities. Accommodations are based upon the allowable guidelines set by the Ohio Department of Education but the scribing accommodations do not meet the least restrictive criteria for many…

  17. New EEOC guidance details responsibilities for job accommodation.

    PubMed

    1999-04-02

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidelines on how employers should accommodate the needs of workers with disabilities. Guidelines address using leave as an accommodation, the duty of offering reassignment as a form of reasonable accommodation, and an employer's cost of accommodation. Among the clarifications, the EEOC states that employers do not have to provide more paid leave than workers in similar situations receive. Employees must be qualified for reassignments, and the employer is not obligated to provide training for the new position. The EEOC disagrees with the Americans with Disabilities Act reasoning that employers should not be forced to accommodate if a cost-benefit analysis reveals undue hardship on the employer. Contact information is provided.

  18. 46 CFR 177.810 - Overnight accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... TONS) CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT Passenger Accommodations § 177.810 Overnight accommodations. (a) A... three high and must be constructed of wood, fiber reinforced plastic, or metal. A berth located more... construction and arrangement of berths and other furniture must allow free and unobstructed access to each...

  19. 10 CFR 1040.67 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped applicant or employee unless the recipient can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation... accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's program or activity, factors to...

  20. 45 CFR 84.12 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped applicant or employee unless the recipient can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its... an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's program or activity...

  1. 45 CFR 1232.10 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise... accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity. (b) Reasonable... would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's program or activity, factors to be...

  2. 10 CFR 4.123 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise... would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity. (b) Reasonable accommodation... on the operation of a recipient's program or activity, factors to be considered include: (1) The...

  3. [Comparison study on subjective and objective measurements of the accommodative convergence to accommodation ratio].

    PubMed

    Xu, Jing-jing; Xu, Dan; Huang, Tao; Jiang, Jian; Lü, Fan

    2012-05-01

    To detect the accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratios measured respectively by objective and subjective methods. The differences and its relative factors were explored. Forty young volunteers were measured by eye tracker to get the amount of convergence when fixating at the target at 100 cm, 50 cm, 33 cm and 25 cm and were measured by infrared auto-refractor to get corresponding accommodative responses. AC/A ratio based on these two measurements were compared with the calculated and the gradient AC/A ratio from Von Graefe tests. Mean value of stimulated AC/A ratio measured by eye tracker was higher than the calculated and gradient AC/A ratio by Von Graefe method (P = 0.003, 0.001). There are statistic correlation (r = 0.871, P = 0.000) and difference (P = 0.000) between stimulated AC/A ratio and response AC/A ratios both measured by eye tracker, and the difference trends to be greater with the higher AC/A ratio. The objective AC/A ratio is usually higher than the clinical subjective measurement because of more proximal effect. The response AC/A ratio measured objectively may reveal realistically the mutual effect and relationship between accommodation and convergence and it seems to be more credible to be the monitor parameter on progression of myopia in clinics.

  4. Optimizing Power–Frequency Droop Characteristics of Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Guggilam, Swaroop S.; Zhao, Changhong; Dall Anese, Emiliano

    This paper outlines a procedure to design power-frequency droop slopes for distributed energy resources (DERs) installed in distribution networks to optimally participate in primary frequency response. In particular, the droop slopes are engineered such that DERs respond in proportion to their power ratings and they are not unfairly penalized in power provisioning based on their location in the distribution network. The main contribution of our approach is that a guaranteed level of frequency regulation can be guaranteed at the feeder head, while ensuring that the outputs of individual DERs conform to some well-defined notion of fairness. The approach we adoptmore » leverages an optimization-based perspective and suitable linearizations of the power-flow equations to embed notions of fairness and information regarding the physics of the power flows within the distribution network into the droop slopes. Time-domain simulations from a differential algebraic equation model of the 39-bus New England test-case system augmented with three instances of the IEEE 37-node distribution-network with frequency-sensitive DERs are provided to validate our approach.« less

  5. 46 CFR 108.197 - Construction of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Construction of accommodation spaces. 108.197 Section... UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.197 Construction of accommodation spaces. (a) Each sleeping, mess, recreational, or hospital space that is adjacent to or...

  6. 46 CFR 108.197 - Construction of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Construction of accommodation spaces. 108.197 Section... UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.197 Construction of accommodation spaces. (a) Each sleeping, mess, recreational, or hospital space that is adjacent to or...

  7. 46 CFR 108.197 - Construction of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Construction of accommodation spaces. 108.197 Section... UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.197 Construction of accommodation spaces. (a) Each sleeping, mess, recreational, or hospital space that is adjacent to or...

  8. 46 CFR 108.197 - Construction of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Construction of accommodation spaces. 108.197 Section... UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.197 Construction of accommodation spaces. (a) Each sleeping, mess, recreational, or hospital space that is adjacent to or...

  9. 46 CFR 108.197 - Construction of accommodation spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Construction of accommodation spaces. 108.197 Section... UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Construction and Arrangement Accommodation Spaces § 108.197 Construction of accommodation spaces. (a) Each sleeping, mess, recreational, or hospital space that is adjacent to or...

  10. Minus-Lens–Stimulated Accommodative Amplitude Decreases Sigmoidally with Age: A Study of Objectively Measured Accommodative Amplitudes from Age 3

    PubMed Central

    Anderson, Heather A.; Hentz, Gloria; Glasser, Adrian; Stuebing, Karla K.; Manny, Ruth E.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose Guidelines for predicting accommodative amplitude by age are often based on subjective push-up test data that overestimate the accommodative response. Studies in which objective measurements were used have defined expected amplitudes for adults, but expected amplitudes for children remain unknown. In this study, objective methods were used to measure accommodative amplitude in a wide age range of individuals, to define the relationship of amplitude and age from age 3. Methods Accommodative responses were measured in 140 subjects aged 3 to 40 years. Measurements were taken with the Grand Seiko autorefractor (RyuSyo Industrial Co., Ltd., Kagawa, Japan) as the subjects viewed a high-contrast target at 33 cm through minus lenses of increasing power until the responses showed no further increase in accommodation. Results The maximum accommodative amplitude of each subject was plotted by age, and a curvilinear function fit to the data: y = 7.33 − 0.0035(age − 3)2 (P < 0.001). Tangent analysis of the fit indicated that the accommodative amplitude remained relatively stable until age 20. Data from this study were then pooled with objective amplitudes from previous studies of adults up to age 70. A sigmoidal function was fit to the data: y = 7.083/(1 + e[0.2031(age-36.2)−0.6109]) (P < 0.001). The sigmoidal function indicated relatively stable amplitudes below age 20 years, a rapid linear decline between 20 and 50 years, and a taper to 0 beyond 50 years. Conclusions These data indicate that accommodative amplitude decreases in a curvilinear manner from 3 to 40 years. When combined with data from previous studies, a sigmoidal function describes the overall trend throughout life with the biggest decrease occurring between 20 and 50 years. PMID:18326693

  11. Long-term follow-up of acute isolated accommodation insufficiency.

    PubMed

    Lee, Jung Jin; Baek, Seung-Hee; Kim, Ungsoo Samuel

    2013-04-01

    To define the long-term results of accommodation insufficiency and to investigate the correlation between accommodation insufficiency and other factors including near point of convergence (NPC), age, and refractive errors. From January 2008 to December 2009, 11 patients with acute near vision disturbance and remote near point of accommodation (NPA) were evaluated. Full ophthalmologic examinations, including best corrected visual acuity, manifest refraction and prism cover tests were performed. Accommodation ability was measured by NPA using the push-up method. We compared accommodation insufficiency and factors including age, refractive errors and NPC. We also investigated the recovery from loss of accommodation in patients. Mean age of patients was 20 years (range, 9 to 34 years). Five of the 11 patients were female. Mean refractive error was -0.6 diopters (range, -3.5 to +0.25 diopters) and 8 of 11 patients (73%) had emmetropia (+0.50 to -0.50 diopters). No abnormalities were found in brain imaging tests. Refractive errors were not correlated with NPA or NPC (rho = 0.148, p = 0.511; rho = 0.319, p = 0.339; respectively). The correlation between age and NPA was not significant (rho = -395, p = 0.069). However, the correlation between age and NPC was negative (rho = -0.508, p = 0.016). Three of 11 patients were lost to follow-up, and 6 of 8 patients had permanent insufficiency of accommodation. Accommodation insufficiency is most common in emmetropia, however, refractive errors and age are not correlated with accommodation insufficiency. Dysfunction of accommodation can be permanent in the isolated accommodation insufficiency.

  12. Long-term Follow-up of Acute Isolated Accommodation Insufficiency

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Jung Jin; Baek, Seung-Hee

    2013-01-01

    Purpose To define the long-term results of accommodation insufficiency and to investigate the correlation between accommodation insufficiency and other factors including near point of convergence (NPC), age, and refractive errors. Methods From January 2008 to December 2009, 11 patients with acute near vision disturbance and remote near point of accommodation (NPA) were evaluated. Full ophthalmologic examinations, including best corrected visual acuity, manifest refraction and prism cover tests were performed. Accommodation ability was measured by NPA using the push-up method. We compared accommodation insufficiency and factors including age, refractive errors and NPC. We also investigated the recovery from loss of accommodation in patients. Results Mean age of patients was 20 years (range, 9 to 34 years). Five of the 11 patients were female. Mean refractive error was -0.6 diopters (range, -3.5 to +0.25 diopters) and 8 of 11 patients (73%) had emmetropia (+0.50 to -0.50 diopters). No abnormalities were found in brain imaging tests. Refractive errors were not correlated with NPA or NPC (rho = 0.148, p = 0.511; rho = 0.319, p = 0.339; respectively). The correlation between age and NPA was not significant (rho = -395, p = 0.069). However, the correlation between age and NPC was negative (rho = -0.508, p = 0.016). Three of 11 patients were lost to follow-up, and 6 of 8 patients had permanent insufficiency of accommodation. Conclusions Accommodation insufficiency is most common in emmetropia, however, refractive errors and age are not correlated with accommodation insufficiency. Dysfunction of accommodation can be permanent in the isolated accommodation insufficiency. PMID:23543051

  13. Linking dynamic habitat selection with wading bird foraging distributions across resource gradients

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Beerens, James M.; Noonberg, Erik G.; Gawlik, Dale E.

    2015-01-01

    Species distribution models (SDM) link species occurrence with a suite of environmental predictors and provide an estimate of habitat quality when the variable set captures the biological requirements of the species. SDMs are inherently more complex when they include components of a species' ecology such as conspecific attraction and behavioral flexibility to exploit resources that vary across time and space. Wading birds are highly mobile, demonstrate flexible habitat selection, and respond quickly to changes in habitat quality; thus serving as important indicator species for wetland systems. We developed a spatio-temporal, multi-SDM framework using Great Egret (Ardea alba), White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), and Wood Stork (Mycteria Americana) distributions over a decadal gradient of environmental conditions to predict species-specific abundance across space and locations used on the landscape over time. In models of temporal dynamics, species demonstrated conditional preferences for resources based on resource levels linked to differing temporal scales. Wading bird abundance was highest when prey production from optimal periods of inundation was concentrated in shallow depths. Similar responses were observed in models predicting locations used over time, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Species clustered in response to differing habitat conditions, indicating that social attraction can co-vary with foraging strategy, water-level changes, and habitat quality. This modeling framework can be applied to evaluate the multi-annual resource pulses occurring in real-time, climate change scenarios, or restorative hydrological regimes by tracking changing seasonal and annual distribution and abundance of high quality foraging patches.

  14. Accommodation training in foreign workers.

    PubMed

    Takada, Masumi; Miyao, Masaru; Matsuura, Yasuyuki; Takada, Hiroki

    2013-01-01

    By relaxing the contracted focus-adjustment muscles around the eyeball, known as the ciliary and extraocular muscles, the degree of pseudomyopia can be reduced. This understanding has led to accommodation training in which a visual target is presented in stereoscopic video clips. However, it has been pointed out that motion sickness can be induced by viewing stereoscopic video clips. In Measurement 1 of the present study, we verified whether the new 3D technology reduced the severity of motion sickness in accordance with stabilometry. We then evaluated the short-term effects of accommodation training using new stereoscopic video clips on foreign workers (11 females) suffering from eye fatigue in Measurement 2. The foreign workers were trained for three days. As a result, visual acuity was statistically improved by continuous accommodation training, which will help promote ciliary muscle stretching.

  15. 38 CFR 18.412 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... known physical or mental limitations of a handicapped applicant or employee if such accommodation would... that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity. (b... impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's program or activity, factors to be considered...

  16. Accommodation Outcomes and the ICF Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schreuer, Naomi

    2009-01-01

    Accommodation of the environment and technology is one of the key mediators of adjustment to disability and participation in community. In this article, accommodations are tested empirically as facilitators of return to work and participation, as defined by the "International Classification of Disability, Function, and Health" (ICF) and…

  17. Beyond Psychometric Evaluation of the Student--Task Determinants of Accommodation: Why Students with Learning Disabilities May Not Need to Be Accommodated

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Barbara L.

    2012-01-01

    Students with learning disabilities obtain a wide range of recommended accommodations in secondary school, which they anticipate will continue into postsecondary education. Although the student's specific learning disability (SLD) contributes to the accommodation planning process, it is not the sole determinant of appropriate accommodation.…

  18. Job Accommodation System: Project TIE (Technology in Employment).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Gary; Zimbrich, Karen; Butterworth, John; Hart, Debra

    This manual presents a comprehensive evaluation tool that can be used by employees with disabilities, by rehabilitation practitioners, and by consultants to develop job accommodations in a variety of employment settings. The Job Accommodation System is designed to help in identifying, selecting, and implementing job accommodations and consists of…

  19. Population-based learning of load balancing policies for a distributed computer system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mehra, Pankaj; Wah, Benjamin W.

    1993-01-01

    Effective load-balancing policies use dynamic resource information to schedule tasks in a distributed computer system. We present a novel method for automatically learning such policies. At each site in our system, we use a comparator neural network to predict the relative speedup of an incoming task using only the resource-utilization patterns obtained prior to the task's arrival. Outputs of these comparator networks are broadcast periodically over the distributed system, and the resource schedulers at each site use these values to determine the best site for executing an incoming task. The delays incurred in propagating workload information and tasks from one site to another, as well as the dynamic and unpredictable nature of workloads in multiprogrammed multiprocessors, may cause the workload pattern at the time of execution to differ from patterns prevailing at the times of load-index computation and decision making. Our load-balancing policy accommodates this uncertainty by using certain tunable parameters. We present a population-based machine-learning algorithm that adjusts these parameters in order to achieve high average speedups with respect to local execution. Our results show that our load-balancing policy, when combined with the comparator neural network for workload characterization, is effective in exploiting idle resources in a distributed computer system.

  20. Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities. Third Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christensen, L.; Carver, W.; VanDeZande, J.; Lazarus, S.

    2011-01-01

    The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

  1. Modeling the convergence accommodation of stereo vision for binocular endoscopy.

    PubMed

    Gao, Yuanqian; Li, Jinhua; Li, Jianmin; Wang, Shuxin

    2018-02-01

    The stereo laparoscope is an important tool for achieving depth perception in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS). A dynamic convergence accommodation algorithm is proposed to improve the viewing experience and achieve accurate depth perception. Based on the principle of the human vision system, a positional kinematic model of the binocular view system is established. The imaging plane pair is rectified to ensure that the two rectified virtual optical axes intersect at the fixation target to provide immersive depth perception. Stereo disparity was simulated with the roll and pitch movements of the binocular system. The chessboard test and the endoscopic peg transfer task were performed, and the results demonstrated the improved disparity distribution and robustness of the proposed convergence accommodation method with respect to the position of the fixation target. This method offers a new solution for effective depth perception with the stereo laparoscopes used in robot-assisted MIS. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Lenticular accommodation in relation to ametropia: the chick model.

    PubMed

    Choh, Vivian; Sivak, Jacob G

    2005-03-04

    Our goal was to determine whether experimentally induced ametropias have an effect on lenticular accommodation and spherical aberration. Form-deprivation myopia and hyperopia were induced in one eye of hatchling chicks by application of a translucent goggle and +15 D lens, respectively. After 7 days, eyes were enucleated and lenses were optically scanned prior to accommodation, during accommodation, and after accommodation. Accommodation was induced by electrical stimulation of the ciliary nerve. Lenticular focal lengths for form-deprived eyes were significantly shorter than for their controls and accommodation-associated changes in focal length were significantly smaller in myopic eyes compared to their controls. For eyes imposed with +15 D blur, focal lengths were longer than those for their controls and accommodative changes were greater. Spherical aberration of the lens increased with accommodation in both form-deprived and lens-treated birds, but induction of ametropia had no effect on lenticular spherical aberration in general. Nonmonotonicity from lenticular spherical aberration increased during accommodation but effects of refractive error were equivocal. The crystalline lens contributes to refractive error changes of the eye both in the case of myopia and hyperopia. These changes are likely attributable to global changes in the size and shape of the eye.

  3. Transitions: Times of Change and Accommodation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rice, Mabel L.; O'Brien, Marion

    1990-01-01

    The research literature is reviewed for transitions from birth to eight years. A model describes transition as a change in ecocultural niche, requiring accommodations in daily routines for a child, family, and service providers and transition impact measures the number of accommodations required and the sustainability of daily routines.…

  4. [The distribution of health resources: a hybrid model of equality and maximization].

    PubMed

    Farmer, Yanick

    2012-01-01

    In the allocation of resources for health care, it is generally acknowledged that models based exclusively either on efficiency and maximizing the cost/benefit ratio of interventions, or on equity and justice through the notion of "maximin," are unsatisfactory when taken separately. To fill this gap, this commentary suggests a hybrid model of resource allocation that integrates the idea of a random distribution of resources using a lottery. The general aim of this model is to safeguard the notions of justice and equal access to resources to the maximum extent possible in a climate where budget restrictions and the economic downturn may lead to future reductions in services.

  5. A data-driven allocation tool for in-kind resources distributed by a state health department.

    PubMed

    Peterson, Cora; Kegler, Scott R; Parker, Wende R; Sullivan, David

    2016-10-02

    The objective of this study was to leverage a state health department's operational data to allocate in-kind resources (children's car seats) to counties, with the proposition that need-based allocation could ultimately improve public health outcomes. This study used a retrospective analysis of administrative data on car seats distributed to counties statewide by the Georgia Department of Public Health and development of a need-based allocation tool (presented as interactive supplemental digital content, adaptable to other types of in-kind public health resources) that relies on current county-level injury and sociodemographic data. Car seat allocation using public health data and a need-based formula resulted in substantially different recommended allocations to individual counties compared to historic distribution. Results indicate that making an in-kind public health resource like car seats universally available results in a less equitable distribution of that resource compared to deliberate allocation according to public health need. Public health agencies can use local data to allocate in-kind resources consistent with health objectives; that is, in a manner offering the greatest potential health impact. Future analysis can determine whether the change to a more equitable allocation of resources is also more efficient, resulting in measurably improved public health outcomes.

  6. DREAM: Distributed Resources for the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) Advanced Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, D. N.

    2015-12-01

    The data associated with climate research is often generated, accessed, stored, and analyzed on a mix of unique platforms. The volume, variety, velocity, and veracity of this data creates unique challenges as climate research attempts to move beyond stand-alone platforms to a system that truly integrates dispersed resources. Today, sharing data across multiple facilities is often a challenge due to the large variance in supporting infrastructures. This results in data being accessed and downloaded many times, which requires significant amounts of resources, places a heavy analytic development burden on the end users, and mismanaged resources. Working across U.S. federal agencies, international agencies, and multiple worldwide data centers, and spanning seven international network organizations, the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) has begun to solve this problem. Its architecture employs a system of geographically distributed peer nodes that are independently administered yet united by common federation protocols and application programming interfaces. However, significant challenges remain, including workflow provenance, modular and flexible deployment, scalability of a diverse set of computational resources, and more. Expanding on the existing ESGF, the Distributed Resources for the Earth System Grid Federation Advanced Management (DREAM) will ensure that the access, storage, movement, and analysis of the large quantities of data that are processed and produced by diverse science projects can be dynamically distributed with proper resource management. This system will enable data from an infinite number of diverse sources to be organized and accessed from anywhere on any device (including mobile platforms). The approach offers a powerful roadmap for the creation and integration of a unified knowledge base of an entire ecosystem, including its many geophysical, geographical, social, political, agricultural, energy, transportation, and cyber aspects. The

  7. A novel resource sharing algorithm based on distributed construction for radiant enclosure problems

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Finzell, Peter; Bryden, Kenneth M.

    This study demonstrates a novel approach to solving inverse radiant enclosure problems based on distributed construction. Specifically, the problem of determining the temperature distribution needed on the heater surfaces to achieve a desired design surface temperature profile is recast as a distributed construction problem in which a shared resource, temperature, is distributed by computational agents moving blocks. The sharing of blocks between agents enables them to achieve their desired local state, which in turn achieves the desired global state. Each agent uses the current state of their local environment and a simple set of rules to determine when to exchangemore » blocks, each block representing a discrete unit of temperature change. This algorithm is demonstrated using the established two-dimensional inverse radiation enclosure problem. The temperature profile on the heater surfaces is adjusted to achieve a desired temperature profile on the design surfaces. The resource sharing algorithm was able to determine the needed temperatures on the heater surfaces to obtain the desired temperature distribution on the design surfaces in the nine cases examined.« less

  8. A novel resource sharing algorithm based on distributed construction for radiant enclosure problems

    DOE PAGES

    Finzell, Peter; Bryden, Kenneth M.

    2017-03-06

    This study demonstrates a novel approach to solving inverse radiant enclosure problems based on distributed construction. Specifically, the problem of determining the temperature distribution needed on the heater surfaces to achieve a desired design surface temperature profile is recast as a distributed construction problem in which a shared resource, temperature, is distributed by computational agents moving blocks. The sharing of blocks between agents enables them to achieve their desired local state, which in turn achieves the desired global state. Each agent uses the current state of their local environment and a simple set of rules to determine when to exchangemore » blocks, each block representing a discrete unit of temperature change. This algorithm is demonstrated using the established two-dimensional inverse radiation enclosure problem. The temperature profile on the heater surfaces is adjusted to achieve a desired temperature profile on the design surfaces. The resource sharing algorithm was able to determine the needed temperatures on the heater surfaces to obtain the desired temperature distribution on the design surfaces in the nine cases examined.« less

  9. Phacoemulsification and implantation of an accommodating IOL after PRK.

    PubMed

    Aslanides, loannis M; Plainis, Sotiris; Kumar, Vinod; Ginis, Harilaos

    2006-01-01

    To present a case of phacoemulsification and implantation of an accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) in a patient with cataract formation after previous refractive surgery. A 50-year-old man, who initially had photorefractive keratectomy to correct moderate myopia, developed a cataract in one eye. He subsequently underwent phacoemulsification and implantation of a 1CU accommodating IOL, as he wished to remain spectacle independent. The patient's distance vision was fully restored. However, accommodative function, which was assessed using subjective and novice objective techniques, was only partially restored. Although the accommodating IOL fully restored the patient's distance vision, accommodative function was only partially restored.

  10. Framing Appropriate Accommodations in Terms of Individual Need: Examining the Fit of Four Approaches to Selecting Test Accommodations of English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koran, Jennifer; Kopriva, Rebecca J.

    2017-01-01

    Providing appropriate test accommodations to most English language learners (ELLs) is important to facilitate meaningful inferences about learning. This study compared teacher large-scale test accommodation recommendations to those from a literature- and practitioner-grounded accommodation selection taxonomy. The taxonomy links student-specific…

  11. Electricity End Uses, Energy Efficiency, and Distributed Energy Resources Baseline

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schwartz, Lisa; Wei, Max; Morrow, William

    This report was developed by a team of analysts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with Argonne National Laboratory contributing the transportation section, and is a DOE EPSA product and part of a series of “baseline” reports intended to inform the second installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER 1.2). QER 1.2 provides a comprehensive review of the nation’s electricity system and cover the current state and key trends related to the electricity system, including generation, transmission, distribution, grid operations and planning, and end use. The baseline reports provide an overview of elements of the electricity system. This report focuses onmore » end uses, electricity consumption, electric energy efficiency, distributed energy resources (DERs) (such as demand response, distributed generation, and distributed storage), and evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) methods for energy efficiency and DERs.« less

  12. Facilitating access: what information do Texas postsecondary institutions provide on accommodations and services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing?

    PubMed

    Cawthon, Stephanie W; Nichols, Sarah K; Collier, Mike

    2009-01-01

    Students who are deaf or hard of hearing often require accommodations in order to participate in essential functions of college life. Although federal law mandates access to campus activities, real access for these students varies by site. The present study investigated the level of access of students who are deaf or hard of hearing at Texas postsecondary institutions. These schools' online accommodations policies were reviewed in fall 2006. A systematic review of published policies was used to summarize accommodations and services available for instruction, assessment, and campus life. About half of the 157 schools provided information online. Examples of classroom accommodations included note takers during class lectures and extra time for tests. Nonacademicservices included referrals to community resources and course registration assistance. Results are discussed in the context of information that prospective students may need to make informed choices regarding postsecondary education.

  13. Linking Dynamic Habitat Selection with Wading Bird Foraging Distributions across Resource Gradients

    PubMed Central

    Beerens, James M.; Noonburg, Erik G.; Gawlik, Dale E.

    2015-01-01

    Species distribution models (SDM) link species occurrence with a suite of environmental predictors and provide an estimate of habitat quality when the variable set captures the biological requirements of the species. SDMs are inherently more complex when they include components of a species’ ecology such as conspecific attraction and behavioral flexibility to exploit resources that vary across time and space. Wading birds are highly mobile, demonstrate flexible habitat selection, and respond quickly to changes in habitat quality; thus serving as important indicator species for wetland systems. We developed a spatio-temporal, multi-SDM framework using Great Egret (Ardea alba), White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), and Wood Stork (Mycteria Americana) distributions over a decadal gradient of environmental conditions to predict species-specific abundance across space and locations used on the landscape over time. In models of temporal dynamics, species demonstrated conditional preferences for resources based on resource levels linked to differing temporal scales. Wading bird abundance was highest when prey production from optimal periods of inundation was concentrated in shallow depths. Similar responses were observed in models predicting locations used over time, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Species clustered in response to differing habitat conditions, indicating that social attraction can co-vary with foraging strategy, water-level changes, and habitat quality. This modeling framework can be applied to evaluate the multi-annual resource pulses occurring in real-time, climate change scenarios, or restorative hydrological regimes by tracking changing seasonal and annual distribution and abundance of high quality foraging patches. PMID:26107386

  14. Bearing-Mounting Concept Accommodates Thermal Expansion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nespodzany, Robert; Davis, Toren S.

    1995-01-01

    Pins or splines allow radial expansion without slippage. Design concept for mounting rotary bearing accommodates differential thermal expansion between bearing and any structure(s) to which bearing connected. Prevents buildup of thermal stresses by allowing thermal expansion to occur freely but accommodating expansion in such way not to introduce looseness. Pin-in-slot configuration also maintains concentricity.

  15. Resource acquisition, distribution and end-use efficiencies and the growth of industrial society

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jarvis, A.; Jarvis, S.; Hewitt, N.

    2015-01-01

    A key feature of the growth of industrial society is the acquisition of increasing quantities of resources from the environment and their distribution for end use. With respect to energy, growth has been near exponential for the last 160 years. We attempt to show that the global distribution of resources that underpins this growth may be facilitated by the continual development and expansion of near optimal directed networks. If so, the distribution efficiencies of these networks must decline as they expand due to path lengths becoming longer and more tortuous. To maintain long-term exponential growth the physical limits placed on the distribution networks appear to be counteracted by innovations deployed elsewhere in the system: namely at the points of acquisition and end use. We postulate that the maintenance of growth at the specific rate of ~2.4% yr-1 stems from an implicit desire to optimise patterns of energy use over human working lifetimes.

  16. Corneal changes with accommodation using dual Scheimpflug photography.

    PubMed

    Sisó-Fuertes, Irene; Domínguez-Vicent, Alberto; del Águila-Carrasco, Antonio; Ferrer-Blasco, Teresa; Montés-Micó, Robert

    2015-05-01

    To assess whether corneal parameters and aberrations are affected by accommodation. Optics Department, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Prospective cross-sectional study. The Galilei G4 dual Scheimpflug device was used to obtain data on the anterior and posterior axial curvatures, total corneal power (TCP), and corneal pachymetry from 3 corneal zones (central: 0.0 up to 4.0 mm; paracentral or mid: 4.0 up to 7.0 mm; peripheral: 7.0 up to 10.0 mm) in young emmetropic eyes in the unaccommodated and 4 accommodated states (from -1.0 to -4.0 diopters [D] in 1.0 D steps). The 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-order aberrations as well as the root mean square (RMS) were also determined for the entire cornea at the same accommodative demands. The study evaluated 7 subjects (12 eyes). No significant changes in any measured parameter were found during accommodation for any corneal zone (P > .05). Statistically significant differences were found in the various corneal zones when it was assumed they were constant with accommodation (P < .01). A stable linear trend with accommodation was also found for corneal aberrations, although individual variations existed because of the high standard deviation values. Different parameters in various zones of the cornea as well as corneal aberrations were stable during accommodation. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Functional spasm of accommodation: Changes on scheimpflug imaging

    PubMed Central

    Sukhija, Jaspreet; Dogra, Mangat R.; Zadeng, Thara; Ram, Jagat

    2014-01-01

    Spasm of accommodation is a rare condition characterized by a sudden increase in myopia. It can occur in emmetropes, hypermetropes and myopes. All the physiological changes that occur in normal accommodation are exaggerated. Mostly the cause is functional disorder and the condition gradually improves. We hereby present the changes occurring in spasm of accommodation as seen on Scheimpflug imaging. PMID:25378883

  18. Age-Related Changes in Accommodative Dynamics from Preschool to Adulthood

    PubMed Central

    Glasser, Adrian; Manny, Ruth E.; Stuebing, Karla K.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose. To study variations in dynamic measures of accommodation and disaccommodation with age in subjects ranging from preschool to adulthood. Methods. Accommodative responses to a step stimulus cartoon movie alternating from distance to near were recorded with a dynamic infrared photorefractor. Subjects viewed at least three stimulus cycles of far and near for four near stimulus demands (2, 3, 4, and 5 D). Latencies, peak velocities, and the magnitude of accommodative microfluctuations were calculated from the responses and compared in 41 subjects from 3 to 38 years of age. Results. Mean accommodative and disaccommodative latencies decreased linearly with age. The magnitude of accommodative microfluctuations during sustained near accommodation had a significant quadratic relationship to age, with subjects in the first decade of life having the largest fluctuations and subjects in the third decade of life having the smallest for all stimulus demands. Accommodative peak velocities were fastest in subjects in the first two decades of life, compared with subjects in the third and fourth decades; however, disaccommodative peak velocities showed no significant age differences. Conclusions. Age-related changes in dynamics occur in accommodative and disaccommodative latencies, accommodative peak velocities, and accommodative microfluctuations, all of which decrease with increasing age from preschool to adulthood. Disaccommodative peak velocities showed no change with age. PMID:19684002

  19. From Districts to Schools: The Distribution of Resources across Schools in Big City School Districts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rubenstein, Ross; Schwartz, Amy Ellen; Stiefel, Leanna; Amor, Hella Bel Hadj

    2007-01-01

    While the distribution of resources across school districts is well studied, relatively little attention has been paid to how resources are allocated to individual schools inside those districts. This paper explores the determinants of resource allocation across schools in large districts based on factors that reflect differential school costs or…

  20. Technology Resources: Mathematics Accessibility for All Not Accommodation for Some

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duranczyk, Irene M.

    2009-01-01

    When faculty and learning assistance staff create teaching documents and web pages envisioning the widest range of users they can save time while achieving access for all. There are tools and techniques available to make mathematics visual, orally, and dynamically more accessible through multimodal presentation forms. Resources from Design…

  1. Communication Accommodation between Chinese and Australian Students and Academic Staff.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallois, Cynthia; And Others

    A study tested paths predicted by Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) in the context of interactions between 105 Chinese and 283 Anglo-Australian students and 98 academic staff in situations of potential conflict. Videotapes of student-lecturer interactions in which speakers accommodated, over-accommodated, or under-accommodated were rated by…

  2. 28 CFR 36.310 - Transportation provided by public accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Transportation provided by public... BASIS OF DISABILITY BY PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS AND IN COMMERCIAL FACILITIES Specific Requirements § 36.310 Transportation provided by public accommodations. (a) General. (1) A public accommodation that provides...

  3. [Monochromatic aberration in accommodation. Dynamic wavefront analysis].

    PubMed

    Fritzsch, M; Dawczynski, J; Jurkutat, S; Vollandt, R; Strobel, J

    2011-06-01

    Monochromatic aberrations may influence the visual acuity of the eye. They are not stable and can be affected by different factors. The subject of the following paper is the dynamic investigation of the changes in wavefront aberration with accommodation. Dynamic measurement of higher and lower order aberrations was performed with a WASCA Wavefront Analyzer (Carl-Zeiss-Meditec) and a specially constructed target device for aligning objects in far and near distances on 25 subjects aged from 15 to 27 years old. Wavefront aberrations showed some significant changes in accommodation. In addition to the characteristic sphere reaction accompanying miosis and changes in horizontal prism (Z(1) (1)) in the sense of a convergence movement of the eyeball also occurred. Furthermore defocus rose (Z(2) (0)) and astigmatism (Z(2) (-2)) changed. In higher-order aberrations a decrease in coma-like Zernike polynomials (Z(3) (-1), Z(3) (1)) was found. The most obvious change appeared in spherical aberration (Z(4) (0)) which increased and changed from positive to negative. In addition the secondary astigmatism (Z(4) (-2)) and quadrafoil (Z(4) (4)) rise also increased. The total root mean square (RMS), as well as the higher-order aberrations (RMS-HO) significantly increased in accommodation which is associated with a theoretical reduction of visual acuity. An analysis of the influence of pupil size on aberrations showed significant increases in defocus, spherical aberration, quadrafoil, RMS and RMS HO by increasing pupil diameter. By accommodation-associated miosis, the growing aberrations are partially compensated by focusing on near objects. Temporal analysis of the accommodation process with dynamic wavefront analysis revealed significant delays in pupil response and changing of prism in relation to the sphere reaction. In accommodation to near objects a discrete time ahead of third order aberrations in relation to the sphere response was found. Using dynamic wavefront measurement

  4. Operationalizing workplace accommodations for individuals with disabilities: A scoping review.

    PubMed

    Sundar, Vidya

    2017-01-01

    The provision of workplace accommodations is a proven strategy in supporting individuals with disabilities at work. Accommodations include a wide range of supports and strategies that are not very well defined beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States. Understanding the landscape of accommodations is important to measure the impact of programs that support employment of individuals with disabilities. To conduct a scoping review and thematic analysis of research literature to identify how workplace accommodations are operationalized and to identify knowledge gaps in its conceptualization. Keywords searches were conducted in seven electronic databases. Title, abstract, and full text screening was conducted followed by a thematic analysis of the content to identify how workplace accommodations are operationalized. Overall, 47 studies were selected for review. 433 different types of accommodations were identified, of which assistive technology and specialized equipment represented the most frequently reported type of accommodation (40%). A very small percentage of studies included policy changes (9%) and human assistance (5%) as an accommodation strategy. This scoping review aims to clarify how accommodations are operationalized in the research literature. Key knowledge gaps identified include the systematic exclusion of certain types of supports or disability types.

  5. Anthropometric Accommodation in Space Suit Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rajulu, Sudhakar; Thaxton, Sherry

    2007-01-01

    Design requirements for next generation hardware are in process at NASA. Anthropometry requirements are given in terms of minimum and maximum sizes for critical dimensions that hardware must accommodate. These dimensions drive vehicle design and suit design, and implicitly have an effect on crew selection and participation. At this stage in the process, stakeholders such as cockpit and suit designers were asked to provide lists of dimensions that will be critical for their design. In addition, they were asked to provide technically feasible minimum and maximum ranges for these dimensions. Using an adjusted 1988 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army (ANSUR) database to represent a future astronaut population, the accommodation ranges provided by the suit critical dimensions were calculated. This project involved participation from the Anthropometry and Biomechanics facility (ABF) as well as suit designers, with suit designers providing expertise about feasible hardware dimensions and the ABF providing accommodation analysis. The initial analysis provided the suit design team with the accommodation levels associated with the critical dimensions provided early in the study. Additional outcomes will include a comparison of principal components analysis as an alternate method for anthropometric analysis.

  6. Maximum human objectively measured pharmacologically stimulated accommodative amplitude.

    PubMed

    Grzybowski, Andrzej; Schachar, Ronald A; Gaca-Wysocka, Magdalena; Schachar, Ira H; Pierscionek, Barbara K

    2018-01-01

    To measure the maximum, objectively measured, accommodative amplitude, produced by pharmacologic stimulation. Thirty-seven healthy subjects were enrolled, with a mean age of 20.2±1.1 years, corrected visual acuity of 20/20, and mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) =-0.83±1.60 diopters. For each subject, the right pupil was dilated with phenylephrine 10%. After 30 minutes, the pupil was measured, the left eye was patched, and the right eye was autorefracted. Pilocarpine 4% was then instilled in the right eye, followed by phenylephrine. At 45 minutes after the pilocarpine, autorefraction and pupil size were again measured. Mean pupil size pre- and postpilocarpine was 8.0±0.8 mm and 4.4±1.9 mm, respectively. Pre- and postpilocarpine, the mean SER was -0.83±1.60 and -10.55±4.26 diopters, respectively. The mean pilocarpine-induced accommodative amplitude was 9.73±3.64 diopters. Five subjects had accommodative amplitudes ≥14.00 diopters. Accommodative amplitude was not significantly related to baseline SER ( p -value =0.24), pre- or postpilocarpine pupil size ( p -values =0.13 and 0.74), or change in pupil size ( p -value =0.37). Iris color did not statistically significantly affect accommodative amplitude ( p -value =0.83). Following topically applied pilocarpine, the induced objectively measured accommodation in the young eye is greater than or equal to the reported subjectively measured voluntary maximum accommodative amplitude.

  7. Restoration of accommodation: surgical options for correction of presbyopia

    PubMed Central

    Glasser, Adrian

    2010-01-01

    Accommodation is a dioptric change in the power of the eye to see clearly at near. Ciliary muscle contraction causes a release in zonular tension at the lens equator, which permits the elastic capsule to mould the young lens into an accommodated form. Presbyopia, the gradual age-related loss of accommodation, occurs primarily through a gradual age-related stiffening of the lens. While there are many possible options for relieving the symptoms of presbyopia, only relatively recently has consideration been given to surgical restoration of accommodation to the presbyopic eye. To understand how this might be achieved, it is necessary to understand the accommodative anatomy, the mechanism of accommodation and the causes of presbyopia. A variety of different kinds of surgical procedures has been considered for restoring accommodation to the presbyopic eye, including surgical expansion of the sclera, using femtosecond lasers to treat the lens or with so-called accommodative intraocular lenses (IOLs). Evidence suggests that scleral expansion cannot and does not restore accommodation. Laser treatments of the lens are in their early infancy. Development and testing of accommodative IOLs are proliferating. They are designed to produce a myopic refractive change in the eye in response to ciliary muscle contraction either through a movement of an optic or through a change in surface curvature. Three general design principles are being considered. These are single optic IOLs that rely on a forward shift of the optic, dual optic IOLs that rely on an increased separation between the two optics, or IOLs that permit a change in surface curvature to produce an increase in optical power in response to ciliary muscle contraction. Several of these different IOLs are available and being used clinically, while many are still in research and development. PMID:18399800

  8. Influence of shape and gradient refractive index in the accommodative changes of spherical aberration in nonhuman primate crystalline lenses.

    PubMed

    de Castro, Alberto; Birkenfeld, Judith; Maceo, Bianca; Manns, Fabrice; Arrieta, Esdras; Parel, Jean-Marie; Marcos, Susana

    2013-09-11

    To estimate changes in surface shape and gradient refractive index (GRIN) profile in primate lenses as a function of accommodation. To quantify the contribution of surface shape and GRIN to spherical aberration changes with accommodation. Crystalline lenses from 15 cynomolgus monkeys were studied in vitro under different levels of accommodation produced by a stretching system. Lens shape was obtained from optical coherence tomography (OCT) cross-sectional images. The GRIN was reconstructed with a search algorithm using the optical path measured from OCT images and the measured back focal length. The spherical aberration of the lens was estimated as a function of accommodation using the reconstructed GRIN and a homogeneous refractive index. The lens anterior and posterior radii of curvature decreased with increasing lens power. Both surfaces exhibited negative asphericities in the unaccommodated state. The anterior surface conic constant shifted toward less negative values with accommodation, while the value of the posterior remained constant. GRIN parameters remained constant with accommodation. The lens spherical aberration with GRIN distribution was negative and higher in magnitude than that with a homogeneous equivalent refractive index (by 29% and 53% in the unaccommodated and fully accommodated states, respectively). Spherical aberration with the equivalent refractive index shifted with accommodation toward negative values (-0.070 μm/diopter [D]), but the reconstructed GRIN shifted it farther (-0.124 μm/D). When compared with the lens with the homogeneous equivalent refractive index, the reconstructed GRIN lens has more negative spherical aberration and a larger shift toward more negative values with accommodation.

  9. Influence of Shape and Gradient Refractive Index in the Accommodative Changes of Spherical Aberration in Nonhuman Primate Crystalline Lenses

    PubMed Central

    de Castro, Alberto; Birkenfeld, Judith; Maceo, Bianca; Manns, Fabrice; Arrieta, Esdras; Parel, Jean-Marie; Marcos, Susana

    2013-01-01

    Purpose. To estimate changes in surface shape and gradient refractive index (GRIN) profile in primate lenses as a function of accommodation. To quantify the contribution of surface shape and GRIN to spherical aberration changes with accommodation. Methods. Crystalline lenses from 15 cynomolgus monkeys were studied in vitro under different levels of accommodation produced by a stretching system. Lens shape was obtained from optical coherence tomography (OCT) cross-sectional images. The GRIN was reconstructed with a search algorithm using the optical path measured from OCT images and the measured back focal length. The spherical aberration of the lens was estimated as a function of accommodation using the reconstructed GRIN and a homogeneous refractive index. Results. The lens anterior and posterior radii of curvature decreased with increasing lens power. Both surfaces exhibited negative asphericities in the unaccommodated state. The anterior surface conic constant shifted toward less negative values with accommodation, while the value of the posterior remained constant. GRIN parameters remained constant with accommodation. The lens spherical aberration with GRIN distribution was negative and higher in magnitude than that with a homogeneous equivalent refractive index (by 29% and 53% in the unaccommodated and fully accommodated states, respectively). Spherical aberration with the equivalent refractive index shifted with accommodation toward negative values (−0.070 μm/diopter [D]), but the reconstructed GRIN shifted it farther (−0.124 μm/D). Conclusions. When compared with the lens with the homogeneous equivalent refractive index, the reconstructed GRIN lens has more negative spherical aberration and a larger shift toward more negative values with accommodation. PMID:23927893

  10. Dynamic accommodation with simulated targets blurred with high order aberrations

    PubMed Central

    Gambra, Enrique; Wang, Yinan; Yuan, Jing; Kruger, Philip B.; Marcos, Susana

    2010-01-01

    High order aberrations have been suggested to play a role in determining the direction of accommodation. We have explored the effect of retinal blur induced by high order aberrations on dynamic accommodation by measuring the accommodative response to sinusoidal variations in accommodative demand (1–3 D). The targets were blurred with 0.3 and 1 μm (for a 3-mm pupil) of defocus, coma, trefoil and spherical aberration. Accommodative gain decreased significantly when 1-μm of aberration was induced. We found a strong correlation between the relative accommodative gain (and phase lag) and the contrast degradation imposed on the target at relevant spatial frequencies. PMID:20600230

  11. Developing a distributed HTML5-based search engine for geospatial resource discovery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    ZHOU, N.; XIA, J.; Nebert, D.; Yang, C.; Gui, Z.; Liu, K.

    2013-12-01

    With explosive growth of data, Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure(GCI) components are developed to manage geospatial resources, such as data discovery and data publishing. However, the efficiency of geospatial resources discovery is still challenging in that: (1) existing GCIs are usually developed for users of specific domains. Users may have to visit a number of GCIs to find appropriate resources; (2) The complexity of decentralized network environment usually results in slow response and pool user experience; (3) Users who use different browsers and devices may have very different user experiences because of the diversity of front-end platforms (e.g. Silverlight, Flash or HTML). To address these issues, we developed a distributed and HTML5-based search engine. Specifically, (1)the search engine adopts a brokering approach to retrieve geospatial metadata from various and distributed GCIs; (2) the asynchronous record retrieval mode enhances the search performance and user interactivity; (3) the search engine based on HTML5 is able to provide unified access capabilities for users with different devices (e.g. tablet and smartphone).

  12. Objective measurement of accommodative biometric changes using ultrasound biomicroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Ramasubramanian, Viswanathan; Glasser, Adrian

    2015-01-01

    PURPOSE To demonstrate that ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) can be used for objective quantitative measurements of anterior segment accommodative changes. SETTING College of Optometry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA. DESIGN Prospective cross-sectional study. METHODS Anterior segment biometric changes in response to 0 to 6.0 diopters (D) of accommodative stimuli in 1.0 D steps were measured in eyes of human subjects aged 21 to 36 years. Imaging was performed in the left eye using a 35 MHz UBM (Vumax) and an A-scan ultrasound (A-5500) while the right eye viewed the accommodative stimuli. An automated Matlab image-analysis program was developed to measure the biometry parameters from the UBM images. RESULTS The UBM-measured accommodative changes in anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness, anterior lens radius of curvature, posterior lens radius of curvature, and anterior segment length were statistically significantly (P < .0001) linearly correlated with accommodative stimulus amplitudes. Standard deviations of the UBM-measured parameters were independent of the accommodative stimulus demands (ACD 0.0176 mm, lens thickness 0.0294 mm, anterior lens radius of curvature 0.3350 mm, posterior lens radius of curvature 0.1580 mm, and anterior segment length 0.0340 mm). The mean difference between the A-scan and UBM measurements was −0.070 mm for ACD and 0.166 mm for lens thickness. CONCLUSIONS Accommodating phakic eyes imaged using UBM allowed visualization of the accommodative response, and automated image analysis of the UBM images allowed reliable, objective, quantitative measurements of the accommodative intraocular biometric changes. PMID:25804579

  13. Utilizing an Energy Management System with Distributed Resources to Manage Critical Loads and Reduce Energy Costs

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-09-01

    peak shaving, conducting power factor correction, matching critical load to most efficient distributed resource, and islanding a system during...photovoltaic arrays during islanding, and power factor correction, the implementation of the ESS by itself is likely to prove cost prohibitive. The DOD...These functions include peak shaving, conducting power factor correction, matching critical load to most efficient distributed resource, and islanding a

  14. Assessment of launch site accommodations versus Spacelab payload requirements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1977-01-01

    The Kennedy launch site capability for accommodating spacelab payload operations was assessed. Anomalies between facility accommodations and requirements for the Spacelab III (Strawman), OA Mission 83-2, Dedicated Life Sciences, and Combined Astronomy missions are noted. Recommendations for revision of the accommodations handbook are summarized.

  15. Computer-animated model of accommodation and presbyopia.

    PubMed

    Goldberg, Daniel B

    2015-02-01

    To understand, demonstrate, and further research the mechanisms of accommodation and presbyopia. Private practice, Little Silver, New Jersey, USA. Experimental study. The CAMA 2.0 computer-animated model of accommodation and presbyopia was produced in collaboration with an experienced medical animator using Autodesk Maya animation software and Adobe After Effects. The computer-animated model demonstrates the configuration and synchronous movements of all accommodative elements. A new classification of the zonular apparatus based on structure and function is proposed. There are 3 divisions of zonular fibers; that is, anterior, crossing, and posterior. The crossing zonular fibers form a scaffolding to support the lens; the anterior and posterior zonular fibers work reciprocally to achieve focused vision. The model demonstrates the important support function of Weiger ligament. Dynamic movement of the ora serrata demonstrates that the forces of ciliary muscle contraction store energy for disaccommodation in the elastic choroid. The flow of aqueous and vitreous provides strong evidence for our understanding of the hydrodynamic interactions during the accommodative cycle. The interaction may result from the elastic stretch in the choroid transmitted to the vitreous rather than from vitreous pressue. The model supports the concept that presbyopia results from loss of elasticity and increasing ocular rigidity in both the lenticular and extralenticular structures. The computer-animated model demonstrates the structures of accommodation moving in synchrony and might enhance understanding of the mechanisms of accommodation and presbyopia. Dr. Goldberg is a consultant to Acevision, Inc., and Bausch & Lomb. Copyright © 2015 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. The ISS Fluids and Combustion Facility: Experiment Accommodations Summary

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Corban, Robert R.; Simons, Stephen N. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The International Space Station's (ISS's) Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is in the process of final design and development activities to accommodate a wide range of experiments in the fields of combustion science and fluid physics. The FCF is being designed to provide potential experiments with well defined interfaces that can meet the experimenters requirements, provide the flexibility for on-orbit reconfiguration, and provide the maximum capability within the ISS resources and constraints. As a multi-disciplined facility, the FCF supports various experiments and scientific objectives, which will be developed in the future and are not completely defined at this time. Since developing experiments to be performed within FCF is a continuous process throughout the FCF's operational lifetime, each individual experiment must determine the best configuration of utilizing facility capabilities and resources with augmentation of specific experiment hardware. Configurations of potential experiments in the FCF has been on-going to better define the FCF interfaces and provide assurances that the FCF design will meet its design requirements. This paper provides a summary of ISS resources and FCF capabilities, which are available for potential ISS FCF users. Also, to better understand the utilization of the FCF a description of a various experiment layouts and associated operations in the FCF are provided.

  17. Ocular Aberrations Across the Visual Field During Accommodation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Tao

    Myopia is classically defined as a mismatch between the optical power of the relaxed eye and its dioptric length. This definition is entirely foveocentric without concern for the contributions of peripheral refractive errors to myopia development. Long periods of steady near-work was considered to cause myopia development due to inadequate accommodation. Consequently, not only the on-axis optical features but also off-axis ones should be probed to gain insight about myopia progression. Moreover, these features need to be understood not only for the relaxed eye, but also for the accommodating eye. To acquire complete data set, a custom-built Indiana Scanning Aberrometer for Wavefront (I SAW) was developed to measure wavefront aberration along 37 line-of-sights at 8 different accommodation states in the central 30 degree visual field. We found that ocular refractive state changed uniformly over the central visual field as the eye accommodates up to 6D, and the accuracy of accommodation across the central visual field is similar to that measured in the fovea. No systematic difference between emmetropic and myopic eyes was evident. Then, a linear vector-summation rule for axial and oblique astigmatism was found to account for their interaction over the central visual field. Using this combination rule, our experimental evidence revealed no systematic effect of accommodation on axial or oblique astigmatism for two adult populations. The axial and oblique astigmatism of the whole eye is less than for the cornea alone, indicating a compensatory role for internal optics at all accommodative states. This compensation mechanism was further validated theoretically with schematic eye model. Lastly, we developed a hybrid method yielding customized eye models that accurately reproduce the empirical measurements and reasonably represent the anatomical structure, thus providing a mechanistic explanation for the changes in the eye's aberration structure that occur over the central

  18. Teaching medical students about fair distribution of healthcare resources.

    PubMed

    Leget, C; Hoedemaekers, R

    2007-12-01

    Healthcare package decisions are complex. Different judgements about effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and disease burden influence the decision-making process. Moreover, different concepts of justice generate different ideas about fair distribution of healthcare resources. This paper presents a decision model that is used in medical school in order to familiarise medical students with the different concepts of justice and the ethical dimension of making concrete choices. The model is based on the four-stage decision model developed in the Netherlands by the Dunning Committee and the discussion that followed its presentation in 1991. Having to deal with 10 medical services, students working with the model learn to discern and integrate four different ideas of distributive justice that are integrated in a flow chart: libertarian, communitarian, egalitarian and utilitarian.

  19. An Analysis and Rejection of Arguments for Religious Accommodation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kline, Lisa Anne

    2009-01-01

    This dissertation provides a comprehensive critical analysis of six main arguments for religious accommodation, with a specific focus on fundamentalist religious groups and the accommodation of their practices within liberal democratic societies. This analysis reveals that the types of practices that these arguments aim to accommodate primarily…

  20. Relative inequalities in geographic distribution of health care resources in Kermanshah province, Islamic Republic of Iran.

    PubMed

    Rezaei, S; Karyani, A K; Fallah, R; Matin, B K

    2016-04-19

    This study aimed to evaluate inequalities in the geographical distribution of human and physical resources in the health sector of Kermanshah province, Islamic Republic of Iran. In a retrospective, cross-sectional study, data from the Statistical Centre of Iran were used to calculate inequality measures (Gini coefficient and index of dissimilarity) over the years 2005-11. The highest Gini coefficient for human resources was observed for pharmacists in 2005 (0.75) and the lowest for paramedics in 2010 and 2011 (0.10). The highest indices of dissimilarity were also for pharmacists in 2005 (29%) and paramedics in 2011 (3%). For physical resources, the highest and lowest Gini coefficients were for rehabilitation centres in 2010 (0.59) and health houses in 2011 (0.12) respectively. Generally, inequalities in the distribution of health care resources were lower at the end of the study period, although there was potential for more equitable distribution of pharmacists, specialists, health houses and beds.

  1. Long-term reproducibility of Edinger-Westphal stimulated accommodation in rhesus monkeys.

    PubMed

    He, Lin; Wendt, Mark; Glasser, Adrian

    2013-08-01

    If longitudinal studies of accommodation or accommodation restoration procedures are undertaken in rhesus monkeys, the methods used to induce and measure accommodation must remain reproducible over the study period. Stimulation of the Edinger-Westphal (EW) nucleus in anesthetized rhesus monkeys is a valuable method to understand various aspects of accommodation. A prior study showed reproducibility of EW-stimulated accommodation over 14 months after chronic electrode implantation. However, reproducibility over a period longer than this has not been investigated and therefore remains unknown. To address this, accommodation stimulation experiments in four eyes of two rhesus monkeys (13.7 and 13.8 years old) were evaluated over a period of 68 months. Carbachol iontophoresis stimulated accommodation was first measured with a Hartinger coincidence refractometer (HCR) two weeks before electrode implantation to determine maximum accommodative amplitudes. EW stimulus-response curves were initially measured with the HCR one month after electrode implantation and then repeated at least six times for each eye in the following 60 months. At 64 months, carbachol iontophoresis induced accommodation was measured again. At 68 months, EW stimulus-response curves were measured with an HCR and photorefraction every week over four consecutive weeks to evaluate the short-term reproducibility over one month. In the four eyes studied, long-term EW-stimulated accommodation decreased by 7.00 D, 3.33 D, 4.63 D, and 2.03 D, whereas carbachol stimulated accommodation increased by 0.18 D-0.49 D over the same time period. The short-term reproducibility of maximum EW-stimulated accommodation (standard deviations) over a period of four weeks at 68 months after electrode implantation was 0.48 D, 0.79 D, 0.55 D and 0.39 D in the four eyes. Since the long-term decrease in EW-stimulated accommodation is not matched by similar decreases in carbachol iontophoresis stimulated accommodation, the decline

  2. Accommodations: Assisting Students with Disabilities. Third Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beech, Marty

    2010-01-01

    This document updates "Accommodations: Assisting Students with Disabilities. A Guide for Educators," published by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) in 2003. This document is written to assist school district personnel and parents when making decisions about the use of accommodations by students with disabilities in instructional…

  3. 14 CFR § 1251.201 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... ON BASIS OF HANDICAP Employment Practices § 1251.201 Reasonable accommodation. (a) A recipient shall... handicapped applicant or employee unless the recipient can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an...) Making facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons; and (2) Job...

  4. 7 CFR 15b.13 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an... accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity. (b) Reasonable... undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's programs or activities, factors to be considered...

  5. Recommendations for Accommodations: Implications of (In)consistency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ketterlin-Geller, Leanne R.

    2007-01-01

    When accurately assigned and administered appropriately, testing accommodations help ameliorate the effects of personal characteristics that limit access to critical information and prevent a person from demonstrating his or her true abilities in the tested domain. Inaccurate assignment or misuse of accommodations may counteract the benefits of…

  6. 46 CFR 154.325 - Accommodation, service, and control spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Accommodation, service, and control spaces. 154.325... Equipment Ship Arrangements § 154.325 Accommodation, service, and control spaces. (a) Accommodation, service, and control spaces must be outside the cargo area. (b) If a hold space having a cargo containment...

  7. 46 CFR 154.325 - Accommodation, service, and control spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Accommodation, service, and control spaces. 154.325... Equipment Ship Arrangements § 154.325 Accommodation, service, and control spaces. (a) Accommodation, service, and control spaces must be outside the cargo area. (b) If a hold space having a cargo containment...

  8. 46 CFR 154.325 - Accommodation, service, and control spaces.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Accommodation, service, and control spaces. 154.325... Equipment Ship Arrangements § 154.325 Accommodation, service, and control spaces. (a) Accommodation, service, and control spaces must be outside the cargo area. (b) If a hold space having a cargo containment...

  9. Distributed Optimal Consensus Over Resource Allocation Network and Its Application to Dynamical Economic Dispatch.

    PubMed

    Li, Chaojie; Yu, Xinghuo; Huang, Tingwen; He, Xing; Chaojie Li; Xinghuo Yu; Tingwen Huang; Xing He; Li, Chaojie; Huang, Tingwen; He, Xing; Yu, Xinghuo

    2018-06-01

    The resource allocation problem is studied and reformulated by a distributed interior point method via a -logarithmic barrier. By the facilitation of the graph Laplacian, a fully distributed continuous-time multiagent system is developed for solving the problem. Specifically, to avoid high singularity of the -logarithmic barrier at boundary, an adaptive parameter switching strategy is introduced into this dynamical multiagent system. The convergence rate of the distributed algorithm is obtained. Moreover, a novel distributed primal-dual dynamical multiagent system is designed in a smart grid scenario to seek the saddle point of dynamical economic dispatch, which coincides with the optimal solution. The dual decomposition technique is applied to transform the optimization problem into easily solvable resource allocation subproblems with local inequality constraints. The good performance of the new dynamical systems is, respectively, verified by a numerical example and the IEEE six-bus test system-based simulations.

  10. Effects of visual imagery on the accommodation response

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Malmstrom, F. V.; Randle, R. J.

    1976-01-01

    Twenty-seven naive male subjects were tested to determine whether they could effect appropriate accommodation changes in an empty field by 'thinking near' and 'thinking far'. Evidence indicated that naive subjects could effect significant and appropriate accommodation changes, but only about a steady-state value of 1.0 diopter. Additionally, the data support the hypothesis that the resting state of accommodation is not at the visual far point, but, rather, at about 1.0 diopter.

  11. Tutorial videos of bioinformatics resources: online distribution trial in Japan named TogoTV.

    PubMed

    Kawano, Shin; Ono, Hiromasa; Takagi, Toshihisa; Bono, Hidemasa

    2012-03-01

    In recent years, biological web resources such as databases and tools have become more complex because of the enormous amounts of data generated in the field of life sciences. Traditional methods of distributing tutorials include publishing textbooks and posting web documents, but these static contents cannot adequately describe recent dynamic web services. Due to improvements in computer technology, it is now possible to create dynamic content such as video with minimal effort and low cost on most modern computers. The ease of creating and distributing video tutorials instead of static content improves accessibility for researchers, annotators and curators. This article focuses on online video repositories for educational and tutorial videos provided by resource developers and users. It also describes a project in Japan named TogoTV (http://togotv.dbcls.jp/en/) and discusses the production and distribution of high-quality tutorial videos, which would be useful to viewer, with examples. This article intends to stimulate and encourage researchers who develop and use databases and tools to distribute how-to videos as a tool to enhance product usability.

  12. Tutorial videos of bioinformatics resources: online distribution trial in Japan named TogoTV

    PubMed Central

    Kawano, Shin; Ono, Hiromasa; Takagi, Toshihisa

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, biological web resources such as databases and tools have become more complex because of the enormous amounts of data generated in the field of life sciences. Traditional methods of distributing tutorials include publishing textbooks and posting web documents, but these static contents cannot adequately describe recent dynamic web services. Due to improvements in computer technology, it is now possible to create dynamic content such as video with minimal effort and low cost on most modern computers. The ease of creating and distributing video tutorials instead of static content improves accessibility for researchers, annotators and curators. This article focuses on online video repositories for educational and tutorial videos provided by resource developers and users. It also describes a project in Japan named TogoTV (http://togotv.dbcls.jp/en/) and discusses the production and distribution of high-quality tutorial videos, which would be useful to viewer, with examples. This article intends to stimulate and encourage researchers who develop and use databases and tools to distribute how-to videos as a tool to enhance product usability. PMID:21803786

  13. Workplace accommodations for people with mental illness: a scoping review.

    PubMed

    McDowell, Caitlin; Fossey, Ellie

    2015-03-01

    Disability discrimination legislation means that employees with a disability or mental illness are legally entitled to reasonable workplace accommodations that enable them to work effectively and safely. This scoping review aims to investigate the types of workplace accommodations provided for people with mental illness, and their costs and benefits. A literature search was conducted using five electronic databases. Peer reviewed research articles published between 1993 and June 2013 were included in this scoping review and their quality was assessed. Opinion papers, reports, and case descriptions were excluded. Nine studies explored workplace accommodations for people with mental illness. The most commonly reported work-related accommodations were flexible scheduling/reduced hours, modified training and supervision, and modified job duties/descriptions. The least common type of accommodation was physical modification to the workplace. For employees with persistent mental illness who were accessing a supported employment agency, the majority of accommodations related to support from the job coach or employment specialist, such as facilitating communication with the employer during hiring or on the job. The quality of the studies varied considerably and the benefits of the accommodations are not yet well documented. There is limited evidence that a larger number of workplace accommodations are associated with longer job tenure. Workplace accommodations appear to be important to support employees with mental illness, but more accessible information about how disability discrimination legislation applies to this population is needed. Future research should address the implementation and effectiveness of mental health-related workplace accommodations.

  14. Vergence driven accommodation with simulated disparity in myopia and emmetropia.

    PubMed

    Maiello, Guido; Kerber, Kristen L; Thorn, Frank; Bex, Peter J; Vera-Diaz, Fuensanta A

    2018-01-01

    The formation of focused and corresponding foveal images requires a close synergy between the accommodation and vergence systems. This linkage is usually decoupled in virtual reality systems and may be dysfunctional in people who are at risk of developing myopia. We study how refractive error affects vergence-accommodation interactions in stereoscopic displays. Vergence and accommodative responses were measured in 21 young healthy adults (n=9 myopes, 22-31 years) while subjects viewed naturalistic stimuli on a 3D display. In Step 1, vergence was driven behind the monitor using a blurred, non-accommodative, uncrossed disparity target. In Step 2, vergence and accommodation were driven back to the monitor plane using naturalistic images that contained structured depth and focus information from size, blur and/or disparity. In Step 1, both refractive groups converged towards the stereoscopic target depth plane, but the vergence-driven accommodative change was smaller in emmetropes than in myopes (F 1,19 =5.13, p=0.036). In Step 2, there was little effect of peripheral depth cues on accommodation or vergence in either refractive group. However, vergence responses were significantly slower (F 1,19 =4.55, p=0.046) and accommodation variability was higher (F 1,19 =12.9, p=0.0019) in myopes. Vergence and accommodation responses are disrupted in virtual reality displays in both refractive groups. Accommodation responses are less stable in myopes, perhaps due to a lower sensitivity to dioptric blur. Such inaccuracies of accommodation may cause long-term blur on the retina, which has been associated with a failure of emmetropization. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Availability, need for, and use of work accommodations and benefits: are they related to employment outcomes in people with arthritis?

    PubMed

    Gignac, Monique A M; Cao, Xingshan; McAlpine, Jessica

    2015-05-01

    To examine the availability, need, and use of workplace policies for workers with osteoarthritis (OA) and inflammatory arthritis (IA) and their association with employment outcomes. Participants (n = 219) were employed, ages ≥25 years, and diagnosed with OA or IA. They were recruited through community advertising and rheumatology clinics in 2 Canadian provinces. Respondents completed a 35-45-minute telephone interview assessing demographics (age, sex), health (diagnosis, pain, activity limitations), work context (job control), employment outcomes (workplace activity limitations, absenteeism, productivity losses, reduced hours), benefits (extended health, short-term leaves), and accommodations (flexible hours, modified schedules, special equipment/adaptations, work-at-home arrangements). Regression analyses examined differences in benefit/accommodation need and use. Many participants reported that arthritis impacted their work. But with the exception of extended health benefits, ∼50-65% of participants reported not needing each individual benefit/accommodation, although only 7.3% of respondents reported needing no benefits or accommodations at all. Greater job control and education were associated with greater perceived need and use of benefits/accommodations. Need was also associated with greater activity limitations, and disclosure of arthritis was related to use of benefits/accommodations. Participants needing but not using workplace policies often had significantly poorer employment outcomes compared to those using benefits/accommodations. Findings are relevant to workers with arthritis and to employers. Results suggest that individuals with arthritis are unlikely to be a drain on workplace resources. Many individuals do not use benefits/accommodations until needed, and among those using them, there were generally positive relationships with diverse employment outcomes. © 2015, American College of Rheumatology.

  16. Extended Time Testing Accommodations: What Does the Research Say?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lovett, Benjamin J.

    2011-01-01

    Extended time is among the most common testing accommodations given to students with a wide range of disabilities. However, although school psychologists are often involved in accommodation decisions, many are unaware of research from the past decade that has changed their understanding of extended time. Used properly, testing accommodations let…

  17. Normal and Tangential Momentum Accommodation for Earth Satellite Conditions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knechtel, Earl D.; Pitts, William C.

    1973-01-01

    Momentum accommodation was determined experimentally for gas-surface interactions simulating in a practical way those of near-earth satellites. Throughout the ranges of gas energies and incidence angles of interest for earth-conditions, two components of force were measured by means of a vacuum microbalance to determine the normal and tangential momentum-accommodation coefficients for nitrogen ions on technical-quality aluminum surfaces. For these experimental conditions, the electrodynamics of ion neutralization near the surface indicate that results for nitrogen ions should differ relatively little from those for nitrogen molecules, which comprise the largest component of momentum flux for near-earth satellites. The experimental results indicated that both normal and tangential momentum-accommodation coefficients varied widely with energy, tending to be relatively well accommodated at the higher energies, but becoming progressively less accommodated as the energy was reduced to and below that for earth-satellite speeds. Both coefficients also varied greatly with incidence angle, the normal momentum becoming less accommodated as the incidence angle became more glancing, whereas the tangential momentum generally became more fully accommodated. For each momentum coefficient, an empirical correlation function was obtained which closely approximated the experimental results over the ranges of energy and incidence angle. Most of the observed variations of momentum accommodation with energy and incidence angle were qualitatively indicated by a calculation using a three-dimensional model that simulated the target surface by a one-dimensional attractive potential and hard sphere reflectors.

  18. Managing Information Resources for Accessibility.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    General Services Administration, Washington, DC. Clearinghouse on Computer Accommodation.

    This handbook presents guidance for federal managers and other personnel who are unfamiliar with the policy and practice of information accessibility to accommodate users with disabilities and to provide for their effective access to information resources. It addresses federal requirements for accessibility, adopting accessibility as a sound…

  19. 46 CFR 127.260 - Ventilation for accommodations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Ventilation for accommodations. 127.260 Section 127.260... ARRANGEMENTS Particular Construction and Arrangements § 127.260 Ventilation for accommodations. (a) Each... vessel of 100 or more gross tons must be provided with a mechanical ventilation system unless the...

  20. Trends of geographic inequalities in the distribution of human resources in healthcare system: the case of Iran.

    PubMed

    Sefiddashti, Sara Emamgholipour; Arab, Mohammad; Ghazanfari, Sadegh; Kazemi, Zhila; Rezaei, Satar; Karyani, Ali Kazemi

    2016-07-01

    Considering the scarcity of skilled workers in the health sector, the appropriate distribution of human resources in this sector is very important for improving people's health. Having information about the degree of equality in the distribution of health human resources and their time trends is necessary for better planning and efficient use of these resources. The aim of this study was to determine the trend of inequality in the allocation of human resources in the health sector in Tehran between 2007 and 2013. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran Province in Iran. The inequality in the distribution of human resources (specialists, general practitioners, pharmacists, paramedics, dentists, nurses and community health workers (Behvarz)) in 10 cities in Tehran Province was investigated using the Gini coefficient and the dissimilarity index. The time trend of inequality was examined by regression analysis. The required data were collected from the statistical yearbook of the Iran Statistics Center (ISC). The highest value of the Gini coefficient (GC) was related to nurses (GC = 0.291) in 2007. The highest value of the Gini coefficient was related to nurses and Behvarzs in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The distribution of specialists had the highest inequality in 2010 (GC = 0.298), 2011 (GC = 0.300) and 2013 (GC = 0.316). General practitioners had the lowest Gini coefficient for 2007, 2008 and 2012. Nurses for 2009 and Behvarzs for 2010, 2011 and 2013 had the lowest value of Gini coefficient. The dissimilarity indexes for specialists and general practitioners were 26.64 and 8.72 in 2013, respectively. The means of this index for included resources were 31.35, 18.27, 16.91, 22.32, 15.82, 26.74, and 24.33, respectively. The time trend analysis showed that the coefficient of time was positive for all of the human resources, except Behvarzes, and only the coefficient of general practitioners was statistically significant ( p<0.01). Over time, inequalities in

  1. Evaluations versus Expectations: Children's Divergent Beliefs about Resource Distribution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeJesus, Jasmine M.; Rhodes, Marjorie; Kinzler, Katherine D.

    2014-01-01

    Past research reveals a tension between children's preferences for egalitarianism and ingroup favoritism when distributing resources to others. Here we investigate how children's evaluations and expectations of others' behaviors compare. Four- to 10-year-old children viewed events where individuals from two different groups…

  2. Assimilation and accommodation patterns in ventral occipitotemporal cortex in learning a second writing system

    PubMed Central

    Nelson, Jessica R.; Liu, Ying; Fiez, Julie; Perfetti, Charles A.

    2017-01-01

    Using fMRI, we compared the patterns of fusiform activity produced by viewing English and Chinese for readers who were either English speakers learning Chinese, or Chinese-English bilinguals. The pattern of fusiform activity depended on both the writing system and the reader’s native language. Native Chinese speakers fluent in English recruited bilateral fusiform areas when viewing both Chinese and English. English speakers learning Chinese, however, used heavily left-lateralized fusiform regions when viewing English, but recruited an additional right fusiform region for viewing Chinese. Thus, English learners of Chinese show an accommodation pattern, in which the reading network accommodates the new writing system by adding neural resources that support its specific graphic requirements. Chinese speakers show an assimilation pattern, in which the reading network established for L1 includes procedures sufficient for the graphic demands of L2 without major change. PMID:18381767

  3. The provision of workplace accommodations following cancer: survivor, provider, and employer perspectives.

    PubMed

    Stergiou-Kita, Mary; Pritlove, Cheryl; van Eerd, Dwayne; Holness, Linn D; Kirsh, Bonnie; Duncan, Andrea; Jones, Jennifer

    2016-06-01

    With improvements in screening, diagnosis, and treatment, the number of persons surviving cancer and staying at or returning to work is increasing. While workplace accommodations optimize workers' abilities to participate in the workforce, there has been little in-depth investigation of the types of accommodations reported to have been provided to cancer survivors and the processes relevant to ensuring their successful implementation. We employed an exploratory qualitative method and conducted 40 semi-structured interviews with three groups: (i) cancers survivors (n = 16), (ii) health/vocational service providers (n = 16), and (iii) employer representatives (n = 8) to explore return to work and accommodation processes, successes, and challenges. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data. Four types of accommodations were recommended: (1) graduated return to work plans and flexible scheduling, (2) modification of work duties and performance expectations, (3) retraining and supports at the workplace, and (4) modification of the physical work environment and/or the provision of adaptive aids/technologies. Processes relevant to ensuring effective accommodations included: (1) developing knowledge about accommodations, (2) employer's ability to accommodate, (3) negotiating reasonable accommodations, (4) customizing accommodations, and (5) implementing and monitoring accommodation plans. Accommodation challenges included: (1) survivors' fears requesting accommodations, (2) developing clear and specific accommodations, (3) difficult to accommodate jobs, and (4) workplace challenges, including strained pre-cancer workplace relationships, insufficient/inflexible workplace policies, employer concerns regarding productivity and precedent setting, and limited modified duties. Accommodations need to be customized and clearly linked to survivors' specific job demands, work context, and available workplace supports. Survivors need to feel

  4. Utility accommodation and conflict tracker (UACT) : user manual

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-02-01

    Project 0-5475 performed a comprehensive analysis of utility conflict data/information flows between utility : accommodation stakeholders in the Texas Department of Transportation project development process, : developed data models to accommodate wo...

  5. Teaching medical students about fair distribution of healthcare resources

    PubMed Central

    Leget, C; Hoedemaekers, R

    2007-01-01

    Healthcare package decisions are complex. Different judgements about effectiveness, cost‐effectiveness and disease burden influence the decision‐making process. Moreover, different concepts of justice generate different ideas about fair distribution of healthcare resources. This paper presents a decision model that is used in medical school in order to familiarise medical students with the different concepts of justice and the ethical dimension of making concrete choices. The model is based on the four‐stage decision model developed in the Netherlands by the Dunning Committee and the discussion that followed its presentation in 1991. Having to deal with 10 medical services, students working with the model learn to discern and integrate four different ideas of distributive justice that are integrated in a flow chart: libertarian, communitarian, egalitarian and utilitarian. PMID:18055907

  6. Materials Science Experiment Module Accommodation within the Materials Science Research Rack (MSRR-1) on the International Space Station (ISS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Higgins, D. B.; Jayroe, R. R.; McCarley, K. S.

    2000-01-01

    The Materials Science Research Rack I (MSRR-1) of the Materials Science Research Facility (MSRF) is a modular facility designed to accommodate two Experiment Modules (EM) simultaneously on board the International Space Station (ISS). One of these EMs will be the NASA/ESA EM being, developed collaboratively by NASA and the European Space Agency. The other EM position will be occupied by various multi-user EMs that will be exchanged in-orbit to accommodate a variety of materials science investigations. This paper discusses the resources, services, and allocations available to the EMs and briefly describes performance capabilities of the EMs currently planned for flight.

  7. 46 CFR 30.10-2 - Accommodation space-TB/ALL.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Accommodation space-TB/ALL. 30.10-2 Section 30.10-2... Accommodation space—TB/ALL. The term accommodation space means any public space such as a hall, dining room... that contains no cooking appliances, and a similar space open to the passengers and crew. [CGD 74-127...

  8. 46 CFR 30.10-2 - Accommodation space-TB/ALL.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Accommodation space-TB/ALL. 30.10-2 Section 30.10-2... Accommodation space—TB/ALL. The term accommodation space means any public space such as a hall, dining room... that contains no cooking appliances, and a similar space open to the passengers and crew. [CGD 74-127...

  9. 46 CFR 30.10-2 - Accommodation space-TB/ALL.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Accommodation space-TB/ALL. 30.10-2 Section 30.10-2... Accommodation space—TB/ALL. The term accommodation space means any public space such as a hall, dining room... that contains no cooking appliances, and a similar space open to the passengers and crew. [CGD 74-127...

  10. 46 CFR 30.10-2 - Accommodation space-TB/ALL.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Accommodation space-TB/ALL. 30.10-2 Section 30.10-2... Accommodation space—TB/ALL. The term accommodation space means any public space such as a hall, dining room... that contains no cooking appliances, and a similar space open to the passengers and crew. [CGD 74-127...

  11. 46 CFR 30.10-2 - Accommodation space-TB/ALL.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Accommodation space-TB/ALL. 30.10-2 Section 30.10-2... Accommodation space—TB/ALL. The term accommodation space means any public space such as a hall, dining room... that contains no cooking appliances, and a similar space open to the passengers and crew. [CGD 74-127...

  12. Distribution, behavior, and condition of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs track algal resources.

    PubMed

    Tootell, Jesse S; Steele, Mark A

    2016-05-01

    Herbivore distribution can impact community structure and ecosystem function. On coral reefs, herbivores are thought to play an important role in promoting coral dominance, but how they are distributed relative to algae is not well known. Here, we evaluated whether the distribution, behavior, and condition of herbivorous fishes correlated with algal resource availability at six sites in the back reef environment of Moorea, French Polynesia. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that increased algal turf availability would coincide with (1) increased biomass, (2) altered foraging behavior, and (3) increased energy reserves of herbivorous fishes. Fish biomass and algal cover were visually estimated along underwater transects; behavior of herbivorous fishes was quantified by observations of focal individuals; fish were collected to assess their condition; and algal turf production rates were measured on standardized tiles. The best predictor of herbivorous fish biomass was algal turf production, with fish biomass increasing with algal production. Biomass of herbivorous fishes was also negatively related to sea urchin density, suggesting competition for limited resources. Regression models including both algal turf production and urchin density explained 94 % of the variation in herbivorous fish biomass among sites spread over ~20 km. Behavioral observations of the parrotfish Chlorurus sordidus revealed that foraging area increased as algal turf cover decreased. Additionally, energy reserves increased with algal turf production, but declined with herbivorous fish density, implying that algal turf is a limited resource for this species. Our findings support the hypothesis that herbivorous fishes can spatially track algal resources on coral reefs.

  13. Accommodating Picky Palates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lum, Lydia

    2007-01-01

    Healthy gourmet offerings are fast becoming the norm at college dining halls around the country. At a time when the children of Baby Boomers are hitting higher education in record numbers, college officials have scrambled to accommodate their picky palates and their insistence for healthier meals than were served to past generations. At the same…

  14. Resource distribution and group size in the common langur Semnopithecus entellus in southern India.

    PubMed

    Vasudev, Divya; Kumar, Ajith; Sinha, Anindya

    2008-07-01

    We investigated the influence of resource abundance and distribution on the group size and composition of the common langur Semnopithecus entellus in the contiguous forests of Bandipur National Park, Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and Nagarahole National Park in southern India. We also explored any additional effect of predator pressure and the risk of take-over on the same attributes. Data on group composition and vegetation were collected from January to May 2006. The size and composition of 94 bisexual groups were obtained. The group size varied from 7 to 40 and the groups included unimale and multimale groups. Thirty-five all-male groups were encountered. Vegetation was sampled from 17 grids of dimension 1 km x 1 km, each containing twelve 25 m x 25 m plots. The list of food species was compiled from previous studies and observations made during the study period. The mean basal area of all the food trees within each plot and its coefficient of variation at the level of the grid were used to represent resource abundance and distribution, respectively. The number of adult females and males within groups were analyzed separately to test for differential effects on age-sex categories. Group size increased as resources became spatially more heterogeneous. The abundance of resources had a negative effect on group size. This study did not find evidence supporting the direct effect of predator presence or of the risk of take-over. Contrary to what were expected, adult males reacted more strongly and predictably to resources than did adult females. The group attributes and their relationship with food resource abundance and distribution differed between two sites in the study area possibly owing to langur subspecies differences.

  15. Distributed Problem Solving: Adaptive Networks with a Computer Intermediary Resource. Intelligent Executive Computer Communication

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-06-01

    Proceedings of The National Conference on Artificial Intelligence , pages 181-184, The American Association for Aritificial Intelligence , Pittsburgh...Intermediary Resource: Intelligent Executive Computer Communication John Lyman and Carla J. Conaway University of California at Los Angeles for Contracting...Include Security Classification) Interim Report: Distributed Problem Solving: Adaptive Networks With a Computer Intermediary Resource: Intelligent

  16. Prediction of anthropometric accommodation in aircraft cockpits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zehner, Gregory Franklin

    Designing aircraft cockpits to accommodate the wide range of body sizes existing in the U.S. population has always been a difficult problem for Crewstation Engineers. The approach taken in the design of military aircraft has been to restrict the range of body sizes allowed into flight training, and then to develop standards and specifications to ensure that the majority of the pilots are accommodated. Accommodation in this instance is defined as the ability to: (1) Adequately see, reach, and actuate controls; (2) Have external visual fields so that the pilot can see to land, clear for other aircraft, and perform a wide variety of missions (ground support/attack or air to air combat); and (3) Finally, if problems arise, the pilot has to be able to escape safely. Each of these areas is directly affected by the body size of the pilot. Unfortunately, accommodation problems persist and may get worse. Currently the USAF is considering relaxing body size entrance requirements so that smaller and larger people could become pilots. This will make existing accommodation problems much worse. This dissertation describes a methodology for correcting this problem and demonstrates the method by predicting pilot fit and performance in the USAF T-38A aircraft based on anthropometric data. The methods described can be applied to a variety of design applications where fitting the human operator into a system is a major concern. A systematic approach is described which includes: defining the user population, setting functional requirements that operators must be able to perform, testing the ability of the user population to perform the functional requirements, and developing predictive equations for selecting future users of the system. Also described is a process for the development of new anthropometric design criteria and cockpit design methods that assure body size accommodation is improved in the future.

  17. Evidence that convergence rather than accommodation controls intermittent distance exotropia

    PubMed Central

    Horwood, Anna M; Riddell, Patricia M

    2015-01-01

    Purpose This study considered whether vergence drives accommodation or accommodation drives vergence during the control of distance exotropia for near fixation. High accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratios are often used to explain this control, but the role of convergence to drive accommodation (the CA/C relationship) is rarely considered. Atypical CA/C characteristics could equally, or better, explain common clinical findings. Methods 19 distance exotropes, aged 4-11 years, were compared while controlling their deviation with 27 non-exotropic controls aged 5-9 years. Simultaneous vergence and accommodation responses were measured to a range of targets incorporating different combinations of blur, disparity and looming cues at four fixation distances between 2m and 33cm. Stimulus and response AC/A and CA/C ratios were calculated. Results Accommodation responses for near targets (p=0.017) response gains (p=0.026) were greater in the exotropes than the controls. Despite higher clinical stimulus AC/A ratios, the distance exotropes showed lower laboratory response AC/A ratios (p=0.02), but significantly higher CA/C ratios (p=0.02). All the exotropes, whether the angle changed most with lenses (“controlled by accommodation”) or on occlusion (“controlled by fusion”), used binocular disparity not blur as their main cue to target distance. Conclusions Increased vergence demand to control intermittent distance exotropia for near also drives significantly more accommodation. Minus lens therapy is more likely to act by correcting over-accommodation driven by controlling convergence, rather than by inducing blur-driven vergence. The use of convergence as a major drive to accommodation explains many clinical characteristics of distance exotropia, including apparently high near stimulus AC/A ratios. PMID:22280437

  18. Accommodation measurements of horizontally scanning holographic display.

    PubMed

    Takaki, Yasuhiro; Yokouchi, Masahito

    2012-02-13

    Eye accommodation is considered to function properly for three-dimensional (3D) images generated by holography. We developed a horizontally scanning holographic display technique that enlarges both the screen size and viewing zone angle. A 3D image generated by this technique can be easily seen by both eyes. In this study, we measured the accommodation responses to a 3D image generated by the horizontally scanning holographic display technique that has a horizontal viewing zone angle of 14.6° and screen size of 4.3 in. We found that the accommodation responses to a 3D image displayed within 400 mm from the display screen were similar to those of a real object.

  19. Choosing Accommodations: Signed Language Interpreting and the Absence of Choice.

    PubMed

    Burke, Teresa Blankmeyer

    This paper carves out a topic space for discussion about the ethical question of whether input from signing Deaf consumers of interpreting services ought to be included in the provision of signed language interpreter accommodations. The first section provides background about disability accommodations and practices, including how signed language interpreting accommodations are similar and dissimilar to other kinds of disability accommodations. In the second section, I offer a personal narrative of my experience as a Deaf academic who has been excluded from the interpreter selection process, highlighting some of the harmful consequences of such exclusion. In the subsequent two sections, I describe and analyze the process of choosing interpreter accommodations, starting with the process of requesting signed language interpreters and the institutionalization of this process, followed by a brief overview of privacy and autonomy concerns from the standpoint of the signing Deaf consumer. The penultimate section considers some objections to the proposal of involving more consumer choice in signed language accommodations. I conclude the paper with some concrete suggestions for a more Deaf-centered, inclusive process for choosing interpreter accommodations.

  20. The effect of incipient presbyopia on the correspondence between accommodation and vergence.

    PubMed

    Baker, Fiona J; Gilmartin, Bernard

    2002-06-01

    To investigate the accommodation-convergence relationship during the incipient phase of presbyopia. The study aimed to differentiate between the current theories of presbyopia and to explore the mechanisms by which the oculomotor system compensates for the change in the accommodation-convergence relationship contingent on a declining amplitude of accommodation. Using a Canon R-1 open-view autorefractor and a haploscope device, measurements were made of the stimulus and response accommodative convergence/accommodation ratios and the convergence accommodation/convergence ratio of 28 subjects aged 35-45 years at the commencement of the study. Amplitude of accommodation was assessed using a push-down technique. The measurements were repeated at 4-monthly intervals over a 2-year period. The results showed that with the decline in the amplitude of accommodation there is an increase in the accommodative convergence response per unit of accommodative response and a decrease in the convergence accommodation response per unit of convergence. The results of this study fail to support the Hess-Gullstrand theory of presbyopia in that the ciliary muscle effort required to produce a unit change in accommodation increases, rather than stays constant, with age. Data show that the near vision response is limited to the maximum vergence response that can be tolerated and, despite being within the amplitude of accommodation, a stimulus may still appear blurred because the vergence component determines the proportion of available accommodation utilised during near vision.

  1. Wavefront aberration changes caused by a gradient of increasing accommodation stimuli

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, X-Y; Wang, L; Zhou, X-T; Yu, Z-Q

    2015-01-01

    Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the wavefront aberration changes in human eyes caused by a gradient of increasing accommodation stimuli. Design This is a prospective, single-site study. Methods Healthy volunteers (n=22) aged 18–28 years whose refraction states were emmetropia or mild myopia, with astigmatism <1 diopter (D), were included in this study. After dilating the right pupil with 0.5% phenylephrine drops, the wavefront aberration of the right eye was measured continuously either without or with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6D accommodation stimuli (WFA1000B psychophysical aberrometer). The root mean square (RMS) values of the total wavefront aberrations, higher-order aberrations, and 35 individual Zernike aberrations under different accommodation stimuli were calculated and compared. Results The average induced accommodations using 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6D accommodation stimuli were 0.848, 1.626, 2.375, 3.249, 4.181, or 5.085 D, respectively. The RMS of total wavefront aberrations, as well as higher-order aberrations, showed no significant effects with 1–3 D accommodation stimuli, but increased significantly under 4, 5, and 6 D accommodation stimuli compared with relaxed accommodation. Zernike coefficients of significantly decreased with increasing levels of accommodation. Conclusion Higher-order wavefront aberrations in human eyes changed with increased accommodation. These results are consistent with Schachar's accommodation theory. PMID:25341432

  2. Occlusal accommodation and mouthguards for prevention of orofacial trauma.

    PubMed

    Geary, Julian Lindsay; Clifford, Thomas Joseph; Kinirons, Martin James

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two types of occlusal accommodation on the arch separation in centric and eccentric arch positions and to assess the opposing tooth contacts in professionally made, thermoformed sports mouthguards. Maxillary and mandibular alginate impressions, a wax interocclusal record of centric occlusion together with maxillary/condylar face-bow registrations, were recorded clinically for 10 undergraduate dental students who are sports activist volunteers of the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen's University Belfast. Two ethylene vinyl acetate thermoformed maxillary mouthguards were made for each player (N = 20) using a standardised procedure. Ten mouthguards served both as the control (i.e. the non-accommodated) group and also the accommodated, occlusally 'imprinted' group. The other 10 mouthguards served as the accommodated, occlusally 'ground' group. Casts were articulated, each non-accommodated and accommodated mouthguard was seated and the extent of the interocclusal opening was recorded in all three arch relationships. The number of mouthguard and mandibular tooth contacts were also recorded in each position. The increased vertical occlusal dimension that was found in the presence of non-accommodated mouthguards equated to the full-sheet thickness of the material that was used to form the mouthguards. Only mouthguards accommodated by grinding retained high levels of occlusal contact in all arch relationships that were tested. Within the limitations of this study, the modification of the occlusal surface made by flat grinding reduced the arch separation in eccentric movements and increased the opposing tooth contacts in custom-made mouthguards. This may contribute to increased comfort, compliance and the protective effect of these appliances thus resulting in a reduction of injuries to the teeth, arches and soft tissues.

  3. Human dynamic closed-loop accommodation augmented by sympathetic inhibition.

    PubMed

    Culhane, H M; Winn, B; Gilmartin, B

    1999-05-01

    A ciliary alpha-adrenoceptor accommodative effect has been proposed, caused by a small population of alpha1-inhibitory receptors in excised human ciliary muscle. This study was intended to investigate the effect on the closed-loop dynamic accommodative process of modulating alpha1-adrenoceptor activity by topical instillation of the alpha1-adrenergic agonist, phenylephrine hydrochloride. A group of 10 visually normal subjects viewed a photopic (30 candela/m2) high-contrast Maltese cross, which was modulated sinusoidally (0.05-0.6Hz) and stepwise over a 2-D range (2-4 D). Monocular temporal accommodation responses were measured using a continuously recording dynamic tracking infrared optometer under two trial conditions: after instillation of saline control solution and 50 minutes subsequent to the instillation of 0.27 microl 0.4% benoxinate hydrochloride and 0.27 microl 2.5% phenylephrine hydrochloride. Pupil size and accommodative amplitude were measured at 90-second intervals for 50 minutes after drug instillation. All accommodative measurements were recorded through a fixed 4-mm pupil. A significant reduction in accommodative amplitude (11%; P < 0.05) was recorded, whereas pupil size showed a significant increase (33%; P < 0.05). No significant change in step-response dynamics was observed. However, phenylephrine hydrochloride caused a significant increase in accommodative gain in the low and midtemporal frequency ranges compared with the effect of a saline control treatment. No significant variation in phase lag was observed. For the first time in humans, this study shows that augmentation of the alpha1-inhibitory sympathetic contribution results in increased accommodative gain at low and midtemporal frequencies, which is consistent with findings in animal studies.

  4. Comparison of tests of accommodation for computer users.

    PubMed

    Kolker, David; Hutchinson, Robert; Nilsen, Erik

    2002-04-01

    With the increased use of computers in the workplace and at home, optometrists are finding more patients presenting with symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome. Among these symptomatic individuals, research supports that accommodative disorders are the most common vision finding. A prepresbyopic group (N= 30) and a presbyopic group (N = 30) were selected from a private practice. Assignment to a group was determined by age, accommodative amplitude, and near visual acuity with their distance prescription. Each subject was given a thorough vision and ocular health examination, then administered several nearpoint tests of accommodation at a computer working distance. All the tests produced similar results in the presbyopic group. For the prepresbyopic group, the tests yielded very different results. To effectively treat symptomatic VDT users, optometrists must assess the accommodative system along with the binocular and refractive status. For presbyopic patients, all nearpoint tests studied will yield virtually the same result. However, the method of testing accommodation, as well as the test stimulus presented, will yield significantly different responses for prepresbyopic patients. Previous research indicates that a majority of patients prefer the higher plus prescription yielded by the Gaussian image test.

  5. Accommodation in pediatric oncology: parental experiences, preferences and unmet needs.

    PubMed

    Daniel, Gunar; Wakefield, Claire E; Ryan, Barbara; Fleming, Catharine Ak; Levett, Nicole; Cohn, Richard J

    2013-01-01

    For families of children diagnosed with cancer, proximity to the treatment center and staying close to immediate family members are essential for proper patient management. Accommodation services are therefore a key consideration in pediatric oncology. This descriptive study explored the accommodation used, and preferred, by parents of pediatric cancer patients at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick (SCH), Australia, and investigated their accommodation and practical needs. Forty-two parents from 25 families participated in individual semi-structured telephone interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and coded line-by-line. Coding was facilitated by data analysis software QSR NVivo v8 (www.qsrinternational.com). Emergent themes were numerically assessed to minimize the potential for researcher bias. Nine families (36%) lived near SCH and were able to stay at their own residence during treatment (mean distance of 15.4 km from SCH). The remaining families were categorized 'local, but requiring accommodation' (n=3 families represented by five parent interviews; mean distance of 82.22 km from SCH),'inner regional' (IR) (n=8 families, 15 parent interviews; mean distance of 396.75 km from SCH) or 'outer regional' (OR) (n=3 families, 5 interviews; mean distance of 547.4 km from SCH) according to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) remoteness ratings. Accommodation provided for families from both IR and OR areas was mixed, with several families using multiple accommodation options during treatment, including Ronald Macdonald House (RMH), private accommodation or a rental property close to the hospital for the duration of the treatment. Six IR and one OR family utilized hotel or motel accommodation as an alternative to RMH due to unavailability of rooms. The majority of parents (37/42) preferred to stay on the hospital campus, near their child. Seven out of 11 IR and OR mothers preferred self-contained accommodation, while three out

  6. Distributed Multi-Cell Resource Allocation with Price Based ICI Coordination in Downlink OFDMA Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lv, Gangming; Zhu, Shihua; Hui, Hui

    Multi-cell resource allocation under minimum rate request for each user in OFDMA networks is addressed in this paper. Based on Lagrange dual decomposition theory, the joint multi-cell resource allocation problem is decomposed and modeled as a limited-cooperative game, and a distributed multi-cell resource allocation algorithm is thus proposed. Analysis and simulation results show that, compared with non-cooperative iterative water-filling algorithm, the proposed algorithm can remarkably reduce the ICI level and improve overall system performances.

  7. Accommodation and vergence latencies in human infants

    PubMed Central

    Tondel, Grazyna M.; Candy, T. Rowan

    2008-01-01

    Purpose Achieving simultaneous single and clear visual experience during postnatal development depends on the temporal relationship between accommodation and vergence, in addition to their accuracies. This study was designed to examine one component of the dynamic relationship, the latencies of the responses. Methods Infants and adults were tested in three conditions i) Binocular viewing of a target moving in depth at 5cm/s (closed loop) ii) monocular viewing of the same target (vergence open loop) iii) binocular viewing of a low spatial frequency Difference of Gaussian target during a prism induced step change in retinal disparity (accommodation open loop). Results There was a significant correlation between accommodation and vergence latencies in binocular conditions for infants from 7 to 23 weeks of age. Some of the infants, as young as 7 or 8 weeks, generated adult-like latencies of less than 0.5 s. Latencies in the vergence open loop and accommodation open loop conditions tended to be shorter for the stimulated system than the open loop system in both cases, and all latencies were typically less than 2 seconds across the infant age range. Conclusions Many infants between 7 and 23 weeks of age were able to generate accommodation and vergence responses with latencies of less than a second in full binocular closed loop conditions. The correlation between the latencies in the two systems suggests that they are limited by related factors from the earliest ages tested. PMID:18199466

  8. Accommodation and vergence latencies in human infants.

    PubMed

    Tondel, Grazyna M; Candy, T Rowan

    2008-02-01

    Achieving simultaneous single and clear visual experience during postnatal development depends on the temporal relationship between accommodation and vergence, in addition to their accuracies. This study was designed to examine one component of the dynamic relationship, the latencies of the responses. Infants and adults were tested in three conditions (i) binocular viewing of a target moving in depth at 5 cm/s (closed loop) (ii) monocular viewing of the same target (vergence open loop) (iii) binocular viewing of a low spatial frequency Difference of Gaussian target during a prism induced step change in retinal disparity (accommodation open loop). There was a significant correlation between accommodation and vergence latencies in binocular conditions for infants from 7 to 23 weeks of age. Some of the infants, as young as 7 or 8 weeks, generated adult-like latencies of less than 0.5 s. Latencies in the vergence open loop and accommodation open loop conditions tended to be shorter for the stimulated system than the open loop system in both cases, and all latencies were typically less than 2 s across the infant age range. Many infants between 7 and 23 weeks of age were able to generate accommodation and vergence responses with latencies of less than a second in full binocular closed loop conditions. The correlation between the latencies in the two systems suggests that they are limited by related factors from the earliest ages tested.

  9. A model to predict accommodations needed by disabled persons.

    PubMed

    Babski-Reeves, Kari; Williams, Sabrina; Waters, Tzer Nan; Crumpton-Young, Lesia L; McCauley-Bell, Pamela

    2005-09-01

    In this paper, several approaches to assist employers in the accommodation process for disabled employees are discussed and a mathematical model is proposed to assist employers in predicting the accommodation level needed by an individual with a mobility-related disability. This study investigates the validity and reliability of this model in assessing the accommodation level needed by individuals utilizing data collected from twelve individuals with mobility-related disabilities. Based on the results of the statistical analyses, this proposed model produces a feasible preliminary measure for assessing the accommodation level needed for persons with mobility-related disabilities. Suggestions for practical application of this model in an industrial setting are addressed.

  10. Evidence that convergence rather than accommodation controls intermittent distance exotropia.

    PubMed

    Horwood, Anna M; Riddell, Patricia M

    2012-03-01

    This study considered whether vergence drives accommodation or accommodation drives vergence during the control of distance exotropia for near fixation. High accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratios are often used to explain this control, but the role of convergence to drive accommodation (the CA/C relationship) is rarely considered. Atypical CA/C characteristics could equally, or better, explain common clinical findings. Nineteen distance exotropes, aged 4-11 years, were compared while controlling their deviation with 27 non-exotropic controls aged 5-9 years. Simultaneous vergence and accommodation responses were measured to a range of targets incorporating different combinations of blur, disparity and looming cues at four fixation distances between 2 m and 33 cm. Stimulus and response AC/A and CA/C ratios were calculated. Accommodation responses for near targets (p = 0.017) and response gains (p = 0.026) were greater in the exotropes than in the controls. Despite higher clinical stimulus AC/A ratios, the distance exotropes showed lower laboratory response AC/A ratios (p = 0.02), but significantly higher CA/C ratios (p = 0.02). All the exotropes, whether the angle changed most with lenses ('controlled by accommodation') or on occlusion ('controlled by fusion'), used binocular disparity not blur as their main cue to target distance. Increased vergence demand to control intermittent distance exotropia for near also drives significantly more accommodation. Minus lens therapy is more likely to act by correcting overaccommodation driven by controlling convergence, rather than by inducing blur-driven vergence. The use of convergence as a major drive to accommodation explains many clinical characteristics of distance exotropia, including apparently high near stimulus AC/A ratios. © 2012 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica © 2012 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.

  11. Accommodation and Phoria in Children Wearing Multifocal Contact Lenses

    PubMed Central

    Gong, Celia R; Troilo, David; Richdale, Kathryn

    2017-01-01

    Purpose To determine the effect of multifocal contact lenses on accommodation and phoria in children. Methods This was a prospective, non-dispensing, randomized, crossover, single visit study. Myopic children with normal accommodation and binocularity and no history of myopia control treatment were enrolled and fitted with Coopervision Biofinity single vision (SV) and multifocal (MF, +2.50D center distance add) contact lenses. Accommodative responses (photorefraction) and phorias (Modified Thorington) were measured at 4 distances (>3m, 100cm, 40cm, 25cm). Secondary measures included high and low contrast logMAR acuity, accommodative amplitude and facility. Differences between contact lens designs were analyzed using repeated measures regression and paired t-tests. Results A total of 16 subjects, aged 10-15 years, completed the study. There was a small decrease in high (SV: -0.08, MF: +0.01) and low illumination (SV:-0.03, MF: +0.08) (both p<0.01) visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity (SV: 2.0, MF: 1.9 log units, p=0.015) with multifocals. Subjects were more exophoric at 40 cm (SV: -0.41, MF: -2.06 Δ) and 25cm (SV: -0.83, MF: -4.30 Δ) (both p<0.01). With multifocals, subjects had decreased accommodative responses at distance (SV: -0.04; MF: -0.37 D, p=0.02), 100 cm (SV: +0.37; MF: -0.35 D, p<0.01), 40 cm (SV: +1.82; MF: +0.62 D, p<0.01), and 25 cm (SV: +3.38; MF: +1.75 D, p<0.01). There were no significant differences in accommodative amplitude (p=0.66) or facility (p=0.54). Conclusions Children wearing multifocal contact lenses exhibited reduced accommodative responses and more exophoria at increasingly higher accommodative demands than with single vision contact lenses. This suggests that children may be relaxing their accommodation and using the positive addition or increased depth of focus from added spherical aberration of the multifocals. Further studies are needed to evaluate other lens designs, different amounts of positive addition and aberrations, and

  12. Reinforcement learning techniques for controlling resources in power networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kowli, Anupama Sunil

    As power grids transition towards increased reliance on renewable generation, energy storage and demand response resources, an effective control architecture is required to harness the full functionalities of these resources. There is a critical need for control techniques that recognize the unique characteristics of the different resources and exploit the flexibility afforded by them to provide ancillary services to the grid. The work presented in this dissertation addresses these needs. Specifically, new algorithms are proposed, which allow control synthesis in settings wherein the precise distribution of the uncertainty and its temporal statistics are not known. These algorithms are based on recent developments in Markov decision theory, approximate dynamic programming and reinforcement learning. They impose minimal assumptions on the system model and allow the control to be "learned" based on the actual dynamics of the system. Furthermore, they can accommodate complex constraints such as capacity and ramping limits on generation resources, state-of-charge constraints on storage resources, comfort-related limitations on demand response resources and power flow limits on transmission lines. Numerical studies demonstrating applications of these algorithms to practical control problems in power systems are discussed. Results demonstrate how the proposed control algorithms can be used to improve the performance and reduce the computational complexity of the economic dispatch mechanism in a power network. We argue that the proposed algorithms are eminently suitable to develop operational decision-making tools for large power grids with many resources and many sources of uncertainty.

  13. Study on accommodation by autorefraction and dynamic refraction in children.

    PubMed

    Krishnacharya, Prabhakar Srinivasapur

    2014-01-01

    Childhood accommodation interferes with accurate diagnosis of the latent refractive errors. Dynamic retinoscopy offers accurate measurements of accommodative response, while an autorefractometer can predict the accommodative system activation in children. A correlation of the accommodative effort with the dynamic refraction has been investigated in emmetropic children, before and after cycloplegia. A prospective clinical study of accommodative effort in 149 emmetropic children, in the age group 3-16 years, has been conducted using TOPCON AR RM-8000B autorefractor. Dynamic refraction was performed by monocular estimation method before and after cycloplegia, using the retinoscope mirror light as target. Retinoscopic reflex produced 'with the motion' was corrected with positive spherical lenses, and that 'against the motion' was corrected with negative spherical lenses, to achieve neutralization. Mean accommodative effort measured for 149 children included in the study was -0.63±0.69D and dynamic refraction was -0.07±0.44D before cycloplegia, while the mean was+0.52D after cycloplegia, irrespective of the method used. Autorefractor measured -0.17D of accommodative effort per unit change in dynamic refraction before cycloplegia and +0.90D after cycloplegia. The performance of TOPCON AR RM-8000B autorefractor was comparable to dynamic retinoscopy. Presence of many children, and in turn, large number of accommodative response data in 11-13 and 14-15 years group is probably linked to prolonged reading/writing. The accuracy and the agreement of the actual accommodative measurements revealed after cycloplegia. Copyright © 2013 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  14. The Developmental Roots of Fairness: Infants' Reactions to Equal and Unequal Distributions of Resources

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Geraci, Alessandra; Surian, Luca

    2011-01-01

    The problem of how to distribute available resources among members of a group is a central aspect of social life. Adults react negatively to inequitable distributions and several studies have reported negative reactions to inequity also in non-human primates and dogs. We report two experiments on infants' reactions to equal and unequal…

  15. On the Use of the Beta Distribution in Probabilistic Resource Assessments

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Olea, R.A.

    2011-01-01

    The triangular distribution is a popular choice when it comes to modeling bounded continuous random variables. Its wide acceptance derives mostly from its simple analytic properties and the ease with which modelers can specify its three parameters through the extremes and the mode. On the negative side, hardly any real process follows a triangular distribution, which from the outset puts at a disadvantage any model employing triangular distributions. At a time when numerical techniques such as the Monte Carlo method are displacing analytic approaches in stochastic resource assessments, easy specification remains the most attractive characteristic of the triangular distribution. The beta distribution is another continuous distribution defined within a finite interval offering wider flexibility in style of variation, thus allowing consideration of models in which the random variables closely follow the observed or expected styles of variation. Despite its more complex definition, generation of values following a beta distribution is as straightforward as generating values following a triangular distribution, leaving the selection of parameters as the main impediment to practically considering beta distributions. This contribution intends to promote the acceptance of the beta distribution by explaining its properties and offering several suggestions to facilitate the specification of its two shape parameters. In general, given the same distributional parameters, use of the beta distributions in stochastic modeling may yield significantly different results, yet better estimates, than the triangular distribution. ?? 2011 International Association for Mathematical Geology (outside the USA).

  16. On the Use of the Beta Distribution in Probabilistic Resource Assessments

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Olea, Ricardo A., E-mail: olea@usgs.gov

    2011-12-15

    The triangular distribution is a popular choice when it comes to modeling bounded continuous random variables. Its wide acceptance derives mostly from its simple analytic properties and the ease with which modelers can specify its three parameters through the extremes and the mode. On the negative side, hardly any real process follows a triangular distribution, which from the outset puts at a disadvantage any model employing triangular distributions. At a time when numerical techniques such as the Monte Carlo method are displacing analytic approaches in stochastic resource assessments, easy specification remains the most attractive characteristic of the triangular distribution. Themore » beta distribution is another continuous distribution defined within a finite interval offering wider flexibility in style of variation, thus allowing consideration of models in which the random variables closely follow the observed or expected styles of variation. Despite its more complex definition, generation of values following a beta distribution is as straightforward as generating values following a triangular distribution, leaving the selection of parameters as the main impediment to practically considering beta distributions. This contribution intends to promote the acceptance of the beta distribution by explaining its properties and offering several suggestions to facilitate the specification of its two shape parameters. In general, given the same distributional parameters, use of the beta distributions in stochastic modeling may yield significantly different results, yet better estimates, than the triangular distribution.« less

  17. Distributed Learning: Revitalizing Anesthesiology Training in Resource-Limited Ethiopia.

    PubMed

    Patel, Krupa B; Dooley, Morgan; Abate, Ananya; Moll, Vanessa

    2017-01-01

    Ethiopia has a significant paucity of available health-care workers. Despite the increasing number of medical schools, there are not enough physician instructors. Furthermore, availability and standardization of postgraduate training are lacking. Modalities of e-learning have been shown to be successful when used to impart medical education in other resource-limited countries. The Emory University and Addis Ababa University (AAU) Departments of Anesthesiology have formed a collaboration with the intent of improving the AAU Anesthesiology residency program, one of two postgraduate training programs for anesthesiology in Ethiopia. An initial educational needs assessment identified areas in the existing training program that required improvement. In this pilot study, we describe how the current classroom-based curriculum is augmented by the introduction of interactive educational sessions and distributed learning in the form of video lectures. Video lectures covered topics based on areas identified by Ethiopian residents and faculty. Interactive sessions included hands-on ultrasound workshops and epidural placement practicums, a journal club, problem-based learning sessions, and a mock code simulation. Assessment of the additions of the newly introduced blended learning technique was conducted via pre- and posttests on the topics presented. Pre- to posttest score averages increased from 54.5% to 83.6%. An expansion of educational resources and modes of didactics are needed to fill the gaps that exist in Ethiopian anesthesiology training. Incorporating distributed learning into the existing didactic structure may lead to more efficacious instruction resulting in a higher retention rate of information.

  18. Accommodation Practices for English Language Learners in States' Mathematics Assessments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolf, Mikyung Kim; Kao, Jenny C.; Rivera, Nichole M.; Chang, Sandy M.

    2012-01-01

    Background/Context: Testing accommodations have been widely utilized as a way of increasing the validity of content assessments for English language learner (ELL) students. However, concerns have also arisen regarding the appropriateness of accommodation use, including the accessibility and fairness of accommodations. While many states have…

  19. Against the accommodation of subjective healthcare provider beliefs in medicine: counteracting supporters of conscientious objector accommodation arguments.

    PubMed

    Smalling, Ricardo; Schuklenk, Udo

    2017-04-01

    We respond in this paper to various counter arguments advanced against our stance on conscientious objection accommodation. Contra Maclure and Dumont, we show that it is impossible to develop reliable tests for conscientious objectors' claims with regard to the reasonableness of the ideological basis of their convictions, and, indeed, with regard to whether they actually hold they views they claim to hold. We demonstrate furthermore that, within the Canadian legal context, the refusal to accommodate conscientious objectors would not constitute undue hardship for such objectors. We reject concerns that refusing to accommodate conscientious objectors would limit the equality of opportunity for budding professionals holding particular ideological positions. We also clarify various misrepresentations of our views by respondents Symons, Glick and Jotkowitz, and Lyus. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  20. The rate of change of vergence-accommodation conflict affects visual discomfort.

    PubMed

    Kim, Joohwan; Kane, David; Banks, Martin S

    2014-12-01

    Stereoscopic (S3D) displays create conflicts between the distance to which the eyes must converge and the distance to which the eyes must accommodate. Such conflicts require the viewer to overcome the normal coupling between vergence and accommodation, and this effort appears to cause viewer discomfort. Vergence-accommodation coupling is driven by the phasic components of the underlying control systems, and those components respond to relatively fast changes in vergence and accommodative stimuli. Given the relationship between phasic changes and vergence-accommodation coupling, we examined how the rate of change in the vergence-accommodation conflict affects viewer discomfort. We used a stereoscopic display that allows independent manipulation of the stimuli to vergence and accommodation. We presented stimuli that simulate natural viewing (i.e., vergence and accommodative stimuli changed together) and stimuli that simulate S3D viewing (i.e., vergence stimulus changes but accommodative stimulus remains fixed). The changes occurred at 0.01, 0.05, or 0.25 Hz. The lowest rate is too slow to stimulate the phasic components while the highest rate is well within the phasic range. The results were consistent with our expectation: somewhat greater discomfort was experienced when stimulus distance changed rapidly, particularly in S3D viewing when the vergence stimulus changed but the accommodative stimulus did not. These results may help in the generation of guidelines for the creation and viewing of stereo content with acceptable viewer comfort.

  1. The Rate of Change of Vergence-Accommodation Conflict Affects Visual Discomfort

    PubMed Central

    Kane, David; Banks, Martin S.

    2014-01-01

    Stereoscopic (S3D) displays create conflicts between the distance to which the eyes must converge and the distance to which the eyes must accommodate. Such conflicts require the viewer to overcome the normal coupling between vergence and accommodation, and this effort appears to cause viewer discomfort. Vergence-accommodation coupling is driven by the phasic components of the underlying control systems, and those components respond to relatively fast changes in vergence and accommodative stimuli. Given the relationship between phasic changes and vergence-accommodation coupling, we examined how the rate of change in the vergence-accommodation conflict affects viewer discomfort. We used a stereoscopic display that allows independent manipulation of the stimuli to vergence and accommodation. We presented stimuli that simulate natural viewing (i.e., vergence and accommodative stimuli changed together) and stimuli that simulate S3D viewing (i.e., vergence stimulus changes but accommodative stimulus remains fixed). The changes occurred at 0.01, 0.05, or 0.25Hz. The lowest rate is too slow to stimulate the phasic components while the highest rate is well within the phasic range. The results were consistent with our expectation: somewhat greater discomfort was experienced when stimulus distance changed rapidly, particularly in S3D viewing when the vergence stimulus changed but the accommodative stimulus did not. These results may help in the generation of guidelines for the creation and viewing of stereo content with acceptable viewer comfort. PMID:25448713

  2. Space Station accommodation of life sciences in support of a manned Mars mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Meredith, Barry D.; Willshire, Kelli F.; Hagaman, Jane A.; Seddon, Rhea M.

    1989-01-01

    Results of a life science impact analysis for accommodation to the Space Station of a manned Mars mission are discussed. In addition to addressing such issues as on-orbit vehicle assembly and checkout, the study also assessed the impact of a life science research program on the station. A better understanding of the effects on the crew of long duration exposure to the hostile space environment and to develop controls for adverse effects was the objective. Elements and products of the life science accommodation include: the identification of critical research areas; the outline of a research program consistent with the mission timeframe; the quantification of resource requirements; the allocation of functions to station facilities; and a determination of the impact on the Space Station program and of the baseline configuration. Results indicate the need at the Space Station for two dedicated life science lab modules; a pocket lab to support a 4-meter centrifuge; a quarantine module for the Mars Sample Return Mission; 3.9 man-years of average crew time; and 20 kilowatts of electrical power.

  3. Study on accommodation by autorefraction and dynamic refraction in children

    PubMed Central

    Krishnacharya, Prabhakar Srinivasapur

    2014-01-01

    Purpose Childhood accommodation interferes with accurate diagnosis of the latent refractive errors. Dynamic retinoscopy offers accurate measurements of accommodative response, while an autorefractometer can predict the accommodative system activation in children. A correlation of the accommodative effort with the dynamic refraction has been investigated in emmetropic children, before and after cycloplegia. Methods A prospective clinical study of accommodative effort in 149 emmetropic children, in the age group 3–16 years, has been conducted using TOPCON AR RM-8000B autorefractor. Dynamic refraction was performed by monocular estimation method before and after cycloplegia, using the retinoscope mirror light as target. Retinoscopic reflex produced ‘with the motion’ was corrected with positive spherical lenses, and that ‘against the motion’ was corrected with negative spherical lenses, to achieve neutralization. Results Mean accommodative effort measured for 149 children included in the study was −0.63 ± 0.69 D and dynamic refraction was −0.07 ± 0.44 D before cycloplegia, while the mean was + 0.52 D after cycloplegia, irrespective of the method used. Autorefractor measured −0.17 D of accommodative effort per unit change in dynamic refraction before cycloplegia and +0.90 D after cycloplegia. Conclusions The performance of TOPCON AR RM-8000B autorefractor was comparable to dynamic retinoscopy. Presence of many children, and in turn, large number of accommodative response data in 11–13 and 14–15 years group is probably linked to prolonged reading/writing. The accuracy and the agreement of the actual accommodative measurements revealed after cycloplegia. PMID:25130066

  4. The impact of testing accommodations on MCAT scores: descriptive results.

    PubMed

    Julian, Ellen R; Ingersoll, Deborah J; Etienne, Patricia M; Hilger, Anthony E

    2004-04-01

    Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) examinees with disabilities who receive accommodations receive flagged scores indicating nonstandard administration. This report compares MCAT examinees who received accommodations and their performances with standard examinees. Aggregate history records of all 1994-2000 MCAT examinees were identified as flagged (2,401) or standard (297,880), then further sorted by race/ethnicity (broadly identified as underrepresented minority and non-URM, at the time of testing) and gender. Those with flagged scores were also classified by disability (LD = learning disability, ADHD = attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, LD/ADHD = learning disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Other = other disability) and type of accommodation. Mean MCAT scores were calculated for all groups. A group of 866 examinees took the MCAT first as a standard administration and subsequently with accommodations. In a separate analysis, their two sets of scores were compared. Less than 1% of examinees (2,401) had accommodations; of these, 55% were LD, 17% ADHD, 5% LD/ADHD, and 23% Other. Extended time was the most frequently provided accommodation. Mean flagged scores slightly exceeded mean standard scores on all MCAT sections. Examinees who retook the MCAT with accommodations after a standard administration increased their scores by six points, quadrupling the average gain Standard-Standard retest cohort from another study. The small but statistically significant different higher flagged scores may reflect either appropriate compensation or overly generous accommodations. Extended time had a positive impact on the scores of those who retested with this accommodation. The validity the flagged MCAT in predicting success in medical school is not known, and further investigation is underway.

  5. A meta-analysis of family accommodation and OCD symptom severity.

    PubMed

    Wu, Monica S; McGuire, Joseph F; Martino, Charitie; Phares, Vicky; Selles, Robert R; Storch, Eric A

    2016-04-01

    Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by myriad behaviors, such as modifying family routines, facilitating avoidance, and engaging in compulsions to reduce obsessional distress. It has been linked to various deleterious outcomes including increased functional impairment and poorer treatment response for OCD. Although extant literature suggests a linear relationship between family accommodation and OCD symptom severity, the magnitude and statistical significance of this association has been inconsistent across studies, indicating that moderators may be influencing this relationship. The present study examined this relationship using meta-analytic techniques, and investigated sample-dependent (age, gender, comorbid anxiety/mood disorders) and methodological (administration method and number of items used in family accommodation measure, informant type, sample size, publication year) moderators. Forty-one studies were included in the present meta-analysis, and the overall effect size (ES) for the correlation between family accommodation and OCD symptom severity was moderate (r=.42). Moderator analyses revealed that the number of items on the family accommodation scale moderated the ES. No other sample-dependent or methodological characteristics emerged as moderators. In addition to being the first systematic examination of family accommodation moderators, these results highlight the moderate relationship between family accommodation and OCD severity that is influenced by measurement scales. Findings may be used to guide clinical care and inform future investigations by providing a more nuanced understanding of family accommodation in OCD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Water Accommodation on Bare and Coated Ice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kong, Xiangrui

    2015-04-01

    A good understanding of water accommodation on ice surfaces is essential for quantitatively predicting the evolution of clouds, and therefore influences the effectiveness of climate models. However, the accommodation coefficient is poorly constrained within the literature where reported values vary by up to three orders of magnitude. In addition, the complexity of the chemical composition of the atmosphere plays an important role in ice phase behavior and dynamics. We employ an environmental molecular beam (EMB) technique to investigate molecular water interactions with bare and impurity coated ice at temperatures from 170 K to 200 K. In this work, we summarize results of water accommodation experiments on bare ice (Kong et al., 2014) and on ice coated by methanol (Thomson et al., 2013), butanol (Thomson et al., 2013) and acetic acid (Papagiannakopoulos et al., 2014), and compare those results with analogous experiments using hexanol and nitric acid coatings. Hexanol is chosen as a complementary chain alcohol to methanol and butanol, while nitric acid is a common inorganic compound in the atmosphere. The results show a strong negative temperature dependence of water accommodation on bare ice, which can be quantitatively described by a precursor model. Acidic adlayers tend to enhance water uptake indicating that the system kinetics are thoroughly changed compared to bare ice. Adsorbed alcohols influence the temperature dependence of the accommodation coefficient and water molecules generally spend less time on the surfaces before desorbing, although the measured accommodation coefficients remain high and comparable to bare ice for the investigated systems. We conclude that impurities can either enhance or restrict water uptake in ways that are influenced by several factors including temperature and type of adsorbant, with potential implications for the description of ice particle growth in the atmosphere. This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council and

  7. Exascale Virtualized and Programmable Distributed Cyber Resource Control: Final Scientific Technical Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yoo, S.J.Ben; Lauer, Gregory S.

    Extreme-science drives the need for distributed exascale processing and communications that are carefully, yet flexibly, managed. Exponential growth of data for scientific simulations, experimental data, collaborative data analyses, remote visualization and GRID computing requirements of scientists in fields as diverse as high energy physics, climate change, genomics, fusion, synchrotron radiation, material science, medicine, and other scientific disciplines cannot be accommodated by simply applying existing transport protocols to faster pipes. Further, scientific challenges today demand diverse research teams, heightening the need for and increasing the complexity of collaboration. To address these issues within the network layer and physical layer, we havemore » performed a number of research activities surrounding effective allocation and management of elastic optical network (EON) resources, particularly focusing on FlexGrid transponders. FlexGrid transponders support the opportunity to build Layer-1 connections at a wide range of bandwidths and to reconfigure them rapidly. The new flexibility supports complex new ways of using the physical layer that must be carefully managed and hidden from the scientist end-users. FlexGrid networks utilize flexible (or elastic) spectral bandwidths for each data link without using fixed wavelength grids. The flexibility in spectrum allocation brings many appealing features to network operations. Current networks are designed for the worst case impairments in transmission performance and the assigned spectrum is over-provisioned. In contrast, the FlexGrid networks can operate with the highest spectral efficiency and minimum bandwidth for the given traffic demand while meeting the minimum quality of transmission (QoT) requirement. Two primary focuses of our research are: (1) resource and spectrum allocation (RSA) for IP traffic over EONs, and (2) RSA for cross-domain optical networks. Previous work concentrates primarily on

  8. Spacelab payload accommodation handbook. Main volume

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1978-01-01

    The main characteristics of the Spacelab system are described to enable individual experimenters or payload planning groups to determine how their payload equipment can be accommodated by Spacelab. Spacelab/experiment interfaces, Spacelab payload support systems and requirements that the experiments have to comply with are described to allow experiment design and development. The basic operational aspects are outlined as far as they have an impact on experiment design. The relationship of the Spacelab Payload Accommodation Handbook to Space Transportation System documentation is outlined. Data concerning the space shuttle system are briefly described.

  9. An Accommodations Model for the Secondary Inclusive Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scanlon, David; Baker, Diana

    2012-01-01

    Despite expectations for accommodations in inclusive classrooms, little guidance for effective practice is available. Most accommodations policies and evidence-based practices address assessments. High school regular and special educators collaborated in focus groups to articulate a model based on their practices and perceptions of best practice.…

  10. Religious Observance Accommodation in Ontario Universities. Discussion Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reed, Carole Ann

    This paper highlights the religious accommodations that Ontario (Canada) universities have undertaken to create an inclusive, supportive learning community for all students, faculty, and staff. It outlines the demographic changes and public policy surrounding religious accommodation issues in Canada and in Ontario in particular, focusing on the…

  11. A Mechanism for Fair Distribution of Resources without Payments.

    PubMed

    Christoforou, Evgenia; Anta, Antonio Fernández; Santos, Agustín

    2016-01-01

    We design a mechanism for Fair and Efficient Distribution of Resources (FEDoR) in the presence of strategic agents. We consider a multiple-instances, Bayesian setting, where in each round the preference of an agent over the set of resources is a private information. We assume that in each of r rounds n agents are competing for k non-identical indivisible goods, (n > k). In each round the strategic agents declare how much they value receiving any of the goods in the specific round. The agent declaring the highest valuation receives the good with the highest value, the agent with the second highest valuation receives the second highest valued good, etc. Hence we assume a decision function that assigns goods to agents based on their valuations. The novelty of the mechanism is that no payment scheme is required to achieve truthfulness in a setting with rational/strategic agents. The FEDoR mechanism takes advantage of the repeated nature of the framework, and through a statistical test is able to punish the misreporting agents and be fair, truthful, and socially efficient. FEDoR is fair in the sense that, in expectation over the course of the rounds, all agents will receive the same good the same amount of times. FEDoR is an eligible candidate for applications that require fair distribution of resources over time. For example, equal share of bandwidth for nodes through the same point of access. But further on, FEDoR can be applied in less trivial settings like sponsored search, where payment is necessary and can be given in the form of a flat participation fee. FEDoR can be a good candidate in a setting like that to solve the problem of starvation of publicity slots for some advertisers that have a difficult time determining their true valuations. To this extent we perform a comparison with traditional mechanisms applied to sponsored search, presenting the advantage of FEDoR.

  12. A Mechanism for Fair Distribution of Resources without Payments

    PubMed Central

    Christoforou, Evgenia; Anta, Antonio Fernández; Santos, Agustín

    2016-01-01

    We design a mechanism for Fair and Efficient Distribution of Resources (FEDoR) in the presence of strategic agents. We consider a multiple-instances, Bayesian setting, where in each round the preference of an agent over the set of resources is a private information. We assume that in each of r rounds n agents are competing for k non-identical indivisible goods, (n > k). In each round the strategic agents declare how much they value receiving any of the goods in the specific round. The agent declaring the highest valuation receives the good with the highest value, the agent with the second highest valuation receives the second highest valued good, etc. Hence we assume a decision function that assigns goods to agents based on their valuations. The novelty of the mechanism is that no payment scheme is required to achieve truthfulness in a setting with rational/strategic agents. The FEDoR mechanism takes advantage of the repeated nature of the framework, and through a statistical test is able to punish the misreporting agents and be fair, truthful, and socially efficient. FEDoR is fair in the sense that, in expectation over the course of the rounds, all agents will receive the same good the same amount of times. FEDoR is an eligible candidate for applications that require fair distribution of resources over time. For example, equal share of bandwidth for nodes through the same point of access. But further on, FEDoR can be applied in less trivial settings like sponsored search, where payment is necessary and can be given in the form of a flat participation fee. FEDoR can be a good candidate in a setting like that to solve the problem of starvation of publicity slots for some advertisers that have a difficult time determining their true valuations. To this extent we perform a comparison with traditional mechanisms applied to sponsored search, presenting the advantage of FEDoR. PMID:27227992

  13. Gain and movement time of convergence-accommodation in preschool children.

    PubMed

    Suryakumar, R; Bobier, W R

    2004-11-01

    Convergence-accommodation is the synkinetic change in accommodation driven by vergence. A few studies have investigated the static and dynamic properties of this cross-link in adults but little is known about convergence-accommodation in children. The purpose of this study was to develop a technique for measuring convergence-accommodation and to study its dynamics (gain and movement time) in a sample of pre-school children. Convergence-accommodation measures were examined on thiry-seven normal pre-school children (mean age = 4.0 +/- 1.31 yrs). Stimulus CA/C (sCA/C) ratios and movement time measures of convergence-accommodation were assessed using a photorefractor while subjects viewed a DOG target. Repeated measures were obtained on eight normal adults (mean age = 23 +/- 0.2 yrs). The mean sCA/C ratios and movement times were not significantly different between adults and children (0.10 D/Delta [0.61 D/M.A.], 743 +/- 70 ms and 0.11 D/Delta [0.50 D/M.A.], 787 +/- 216 ms). Repeated measures on adults showed a non-significant mean difference of 0.001 D/Delta. The results suggest that the possible differences in crystalline lens (plant) characteristics between children and adults do not appear to influence convergence-accommodation gain or duration.

  14. Quick and Easy Adaptations and Accommodations for Early Childhood Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Breitfelder, Leisa M.

    2008-01-01

    Research-based information is used to support the idea of the use of adaptations and accommodations for early childhood students who have varying disabilities. Multiple adaptations and accommodations are outlined. A step-by-step plan is provided on how to make specific adaptations and accommodations to fit the specific needs of early childhood…

  15. Accommodative Behavior of Young Eyes Wearing Multifocal Contact Lenses.

    PubMed

    Altoaimi, Basal H; Almutairi, Meznah S; Kollbaum, Pete S; Bradley, Arthur

    2018-05-01

    The effectiveness of multifocal contact lenses (MFCLs) at slowing myopia progression may hinge on the accommodative behavior of young eyes fit with these presbyopic style lenses. Can they remove hyperopic defocus? Convergence accommodation as well as pupil size and the zonal geometry are likely to contribute to the final accommodative responses. The aim of this study was to examine the accommodation behavior of young adult eyes wearing MFCLs and the effectiveness of these MFCLs at removing foveal hyperopic defocus when viewing near targets binocularly. Using a high-resolution Shack-Hartmann aberrometer, accommodation and pupil behavior of eight young adults (27.25 ± 2.05 years) were measured while subjects fixated a 20/40 character positioned between 2 m and 20 cm (0.50 to 5.00 diopters [D]) in 0.25-D steps. Refractive states were measured while viewing binocularly and monocularly with single-vision and both center-distance and center-near +2.00 D add MFCLs. Refractive state was defined using three criteria: the dioptric power that would (1) minimize the root mean square wavefront error, (2) focus the pupil center, and (3) provide the peak image quality. Refractive state pupil maps reveal the complex optics that exist in eyes wearing MFCLs. Reduced accommodative gain beyond the far point of the near add revealed that young subjects used the added plus power to help focus near targets. During accommodation to stimuli closer than the far point generated by the add power, a midperipheral region of the pupil was approximately focused, resulting in the smallest accommodative errors for the minimum root mean square-defined measures of refractive state. Paraxial images were always hyperopically or myopically defocused in eyes viewing binocularly with center-distance or center-near MFCLs, respectively. Because of zone geometry in the concentric MFCLs tested, the highly aberrated transition zone between the distance and near optics contributed a significant proportion and

  16. The effect of proximity on open-loop accommodation responses measured with pinholes.

    PubMed

    Morrison, K A; Seidel, D; Strang, N C; Gray, L S

    2010-07-01

    Open-loop accommodation levels were measured in 41 healthy, young subjects using a Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 autorefractor in the three viewing conditions: a small physical pinhole pupil (SP), an optically projected pinhole in Maxwellian view (MV) and in the dark (DF). The target viewed through the pinholes was a high-contrast letter presented at 0 D vergence in a +5 D Badal lens system. Overall, results showed that SP open-loop accommodation levels were significantly higher than MV and DF levels. Subjects could be divided into two distinct subgroups according to their response behaviour: responders to the proximal effect of the small physical pinhole (SP accommodation > MV accommodation) and non-responders to the proximal effect of the small physical pinhole (SP accommodation approximately MV accommodation). Correlation analysis demonstrated that open-loop accommodation for both pinhole conditions was correlated with DF for the responders, while for the non-responders SP and MV accommodation were correlated, but were not related to DF accommodation. This suggests that under open-loop conditions some individuals' accommodation levels are mainly affected by proximal and cognitive factors (responders) while others are guided primarily by the presence of the more distal target (non-responders). In conclusion, MV reduces the proximal effect of the physical pinhole and produces open-loop accommodation responses which are more consistent than SP and DF responses.

  17. Are high lags of accommodation in myopic children due to motor deficits?

    PubMed

    Labhishetty, Vivek; Bobier, William R

    2017-01-01

    Children with a progressing myopia exhibit an abnormal pattern of high accommodative lags coupled with high accommodative convergence (AC/A) and high accommodative adaptation. This is not predicted by the current models of accommodation and vergence. Reduced accommodative plant gain and reduced sensitivity to blur have been suggested as potential causes for this abnormal behavior. These etiologies were tested by altering parameters (sensory, controller and plant gains) in the Simulink model of accommodation. Predictions were then compared to the static and dynamic blur accommodation (BA) measures taken using a Badal optical system on 12 children (6 emmetropes and 6 myopes, 8-13years) and 6 adults (20-35years). Other critical parameters such as CA/C, AC/A, and accommodative adaptation were also measured. Usable BA responses were classified as either typical or atypical. Typical accommodation data confirmed the abnormal pattern of myopia along with an unchanged CA/C. Main sequence relationship remained invariant between myopic and nonmyopic children. An overall reduction was noted in the response dynamics such as peak velocity and acceleration with age. Neither a reduced plant gain nor reduced blur sensitivity could predict the abnormal accommodative behavior. A model adjustment reflecting a reduced accommodative sensory gain (ASG) coupled with an increased AC cross-link gain and reduced vergence adaptive gain does predict the empirical findings. Empirical measures also showed a greater frequency of errors in accommodative response generation (atypical responses) in both myopic and control children compared to adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Convergence and Accommodation Development Is Preprogrammed in Premature Infants.

    PubMed

    Horwood, Anna M; Toor, Sonia S; Riddell, Patricia M

    2015-08-01

    This study investigated whether vergence and accommodation development in preterm infants is preprogrammed or is driven by experience. Thirty-two healthy infants, born at mean 34 weeks gestation (range, 31.2-36 weeks), were compared with 45 healthy full-term infants (mean 40.0 weeks) over a 6-month period, starting at 4 to 6 weeks postnatally. Simultaneous accommodation and convergence to a detailed target were measured using a Plusoptix PowerRefII infrared photorefractor as a target moved between 0.33 and 2 m. Stimulus/response gains and responses at 0.33 and 2 m were compared by both corrected (gestational) age and chronological (postnatal) age. When compared by their corrected age, preterm and full-term infants showed few significant differences in vergence and accommodation responses after 6 to 7 weeks of age. However, when compared by chronological age, preterm infants' responses were more variable, with significantly reduced vergence gains, reduced vergence response at 0.33 m, reduced accommodation gain, and increased accommodation at 2 m compared to full-term infants between 8 and 13 weeks after birth. When matched by corrected age, vergence and accommodation in preterm infants show few differences from full-term infants' responses. Maturation appears preprogrammed and is not advanced by visual experience. Longer periods of immature visual responses might leave preterm infants more at risk of development of oculomotor deficits such as strabismus.

  19. Parental accommodation of child anxiety and related symptoms: Range, impact, and correlates

    PubMed Central

    Thompson-Hollands, Johanna; Kerns, Caroline E.; Pincus, Donna B.; Comer, Jonathan S.

    2014-01-01

    Parental accommodation—i.e., changes in parents’ behavior in attempts to prevent or reduce child distress—has been most studied in relation to OCD. Although recent work suggests parents of children with non-OCD anxiety diagnoses also engage in accommodation, little is known about the specific forms, correlates, and associated interference of such accommodation. The present study examined the range and associated interference of parental accommodation behaviors using the newly developed Family Accommodation Checklist and Interference Scale (FACLIS) in a sample of the parents of 71 clinic-referred children with anxiety disorders (NMothers = 68; NFathers= 51). The FACLIS demonstrated good reliability and validity. Ninety-seven percent of mothers and 88% of fathers reported engaging in at least one type of accommodation in the previous two weeks, with parents reporting an average of roughly 4 interfering parental accommodation behaviors. Greater parental accommodation and associated interference were associated with higher maternal distress. Among the anxiety disorders, accommodation was most strongly associated with generalized and separation anxiety disorder, as well as specific phobias. Findings (a) offer psychometric support for the FACLIS as a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of accommodation range and impact, and (b) help clarify the considerable scope and interference associated with parental accommodation of childhood anxiety. PMID:25261837

  20. Evaluating Computer-Based Test Accommodations for English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roohr, Katrina Crotts; Sireci, Stephen G.

    2017-01-01

    Test accommodations for English learners (ELs) are intended to reduce the language barrier and level the playing field, allowing ELs to better demonstrate their true proficiencies. Computer-based accommodations for ELs show promising results for leveling that field while also providing us with additional data to more closely investigate the…

  1. Disability disclosure and workplace accommodations among youth with disabilities.

    PubMed

    Lindsay, Sally; Cagliostro, Elaine; Leck, Joanne; Shen, Winny; Stinson, Jennifer

    2018-03-20

    Many youths with disabilities find it challenging to disclose their medical condition and request workplace accommodations. Our objective was to explore when and how young people with disabilities disclose their condition and request workplace accommodations. We conducted 17 in-depth interviews (11 females, six males) with youth with disabilities aged 15-34 (mean age 26). We analyzed our data using an interpretive, qualitative, and thematic approach. Our results showed the timing of when youth disclosed their disability to their employer depended on disability type and severity, comfort level, type of job, and industry. Youth's strategies and reasons for disclosure included advocating for their needs, being knowledgeable about workplace rights, and accommodation solutions. Facilitators for disclosure included job preparation, self-confidence, and self-advocacy skills, and having an inclusive work environment. Challenges to disability disclosure included the fear of stigma and discrimination, lack of employer's knowledge about disability and accommodations, negative past experiences of disclosing, and not disclosing on your own terms. Our findings highlight that youth encounter several challenges and barriers to disclosing their condition and requesting workplace accommodations. The timing and process for disclosing is complex and further work is needed to help support youth with disclosing their condition. Implications for rehabilitation Clinicians, educators, and employers should emphasize the importance of mentoring and leadership programs to give youth the confidence and self-advocacy skills needed to disclose and ask for accommodations in the workplace. Clinicians should advocate for the inclusion of youth with disabilities in the workforce and educate employers on the importance of doing so. Youth with disabilities need more opportunities for employment training and particularly how to disclose their disability and request workplace accommodations.

  2. Prediction of accommodative optical response in prepresbyopic patients using ultrasound biomicroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Ramasubramanian, Viswanathan; Glasser, Adrian

    2015-01-01

    PURPOSE To determine whether relatively low-resolution ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) can predict the accommodative optical response in prepresbyopic eyes as well as in a previous study of young phakic subjects, despite lower accommodative amplitudes. SETTING College of Optometry, University of Houston, Houston, USA. DESIGN Observational cross-sectional study. METHODS Static accommodative optical response was measured with infrared photorefraction and an autorefractor (WR-5100K) in subjects aged 36 to 46 years. A 35 MHz UBM device (Vumax, Sonomed Escalon) was used to image the left eye, while the right eye viewed accommodative stimuli. Custom-developed Matlab image-analysis software was used to perform automated analysis of UBM images to measure the ocular biometry parameters. The accommodative optical response was predicted from biometry parameters using linear regression, 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and 95% prediction intervals. RESULTS The study evaluated 25 subjects. Per-diopter (D) accommodative changes in anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness, anterior and posterior lens radii of curvature, and anterior segment length were similar to previous values from young subjects. The standard deviations (SDs) of accommodative optical response predicted from linear regressions for UBM-measured biometry parameters were ACD, 0.15 D; lens thickness, 0.25 D; anterior lens radii of curvature, 0.09 D; posterior lens radii of curvature, 0.37 D; and anterior segment length, 0.42 D. CONCLUSIONS Ultrasound biomicroscopy parameters can, on average, predict accommodative optical response with SDs of less than 0.55 D using linear regressions and 95% CIs. Ultrasound biomicroscopy can be used to visualize and quantify accommodative biometric changes and predict accommodative optical response in prepresbyopic eyes. PMID:26049831

  3. Static and Dynamic Measurements of Accommodation in Individuals with Down Syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Manny, Ruth E.; Glasser, Adrian; Stuebing, Karla K.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose. To identify whether static and dynamic aspects of accommodation other than accuracy are deficient in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and whether poor accommodation is related to sensory or motor pathway deficits. Methods. Static aspects of accommodation (maximum accommodative response and lag) were measured with an autorefractor for both proximal and minus lens demands. Dynamic aspects of accommodation (latency, peak velocity, microfluctuations) were recorded at 30 Hz with a custom-built photorefractor as subjects viewed a movie switching between 11 m and 50, 33, 25, or 20 cm. Thirty-six subjects with DS were recruited (age 3 to 39 years), and 24 (67%) had useable responses for at least one study measurement for comparison with 140 controls (3 to 40 years) from a previously published cohort. Results. DS subjects had lower maximum accommodative responses (mean = 2.52 ± 1.66 D) and higher lags (1.81 ± 1.30 D for 33 cm demand) than controls for both proximal and minus lens stimuli. DS subjects had greater microfluctuations (one-way ANCOVA, P < 0.001), and a small percentage of the total number of latency measurements (17% accommodative and 16% disaccommodative) were longer than controls. Peak velocities of accommodation and disaccommodation were not different between groups (one-way ANCOVA, P = 0.143). Conclusions. Peak velocities of accommodation and disaccommodation (primarily motor aspects) did not differ between controls and DS subjects; however, latencies (primarily sensory) and microfluctuations (combined motor and sensory) were poorer in DS subjects. These results suggest that poor accommodative accuracy in individuals with DS may be predominantly related to sensory deficits. PMID:20739471

  4. A Daily Diary Study of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Romantic Partner Accommodation

    PubMed Central

    Campbell, Sarah B.; Renshaw, Keith D.; Kashdan, Todd B.; Curby, Timothy W.; Carter, Sarah P.

    2017-01-01

    Little is known about the role of romantic partner symptom accommodation in PTSD symptom maintenance. To explore the bidirectional associations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and romantic partner symptom accommodation over time, military servicemen (n = 64) with symptoms of PTSD and their co-habiting heterosexual civilian romantic partners (n = 64) completed a 2-week daily diary study. Cross-lagged, autoregressive models assessed the stability of men’s PTSD symptoms and partners’ accommodation, as well as the prospective associations of earlier PTSD symptoms with later accommodation and vice versa. Analyses used Bayesian estimation to provide point estimates (b) and Credible Intervals (CIs). In all models, PTSD symptoms (total and individual clusters) were highly stable (b = 0.91; CI: 0.88–0.95), and accommodation was moderately stable (b = 0.48; CI: 0.40–0.54). In all models, earlier PTSD symptoms (total and clusters) were significantly, positively associated with later accommodation (b = 0.04; CI: 0.02–0.07). In contrast, earlier accommodation was significantly associated only with later situational avoidance (b = 0.02; CI: 0.00–0.07). Thus, PTSD symptoms may lead to subsequent accommodating behaviors in romantic partners, but partner accommodation seems to contribute only to survivors’ future situational avoidance symptoms. The findings reinforce the notion that PTSD symptoms have an impact on relationship behaviors, and that accommodation from partners may sustain avoidant behaviors in particular. Clinicians should attend to romantic partners’ accommodating behaviors when working with survivors. PMID:28270332

  5. Adapting Online Learning Resources for All: Planning for Professionalism in Accessibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McAndrew, Patrick; Farrow, Robert; Cooper, Martyn

    2012-01-01

    Online resources for education offer opportunities for those with disabilities but also raise challenges on how to best adjust resources to accommodate accessibility. Automated reconfiguration could in principle remove the need for expensive and time-consuming discussions about adaptation. On the other hand, human-based systems provide much needed…

  6. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder children exhibit an impaired accommodative response.

    PubMed

    Redondo, Beatriz; Vera, Jesús; Molina, Rubén; García, José Antonio; Ouadi, Miriam; Muñoz-Hoyos, Antonio; Jiménez, Raimundo

    2018-05-01

    Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common paediatric neurobehavioural disorders causing multiple functional impairments in children. Based on the relationship between the neural system that controls attention and ocular dynamics, the present study compares the magnitude and variability of accommodation between a group of non-medicated ADHD children and an age-matched control group. The magnitude and variability of the accommodative response were objectively measured in 36 children using the WAM-5500 autorefractometer for 90 consecutive seconds at three static viewing distances (500, 40, and 20 cm). Participants were divided into ADHD (n = 18) or control (n = 18) groups based on clinically validated criteria. Children with ADHD exhibited higher lags of accommodation (p = 0.024), increasing at closer viewing distances, in comparison to the control group. Marginal statistical differences were found for the variability of accommodation (p = 0.066), with the ADHD group showing a trend towards higher variability. Our analysis showed that the magnitude and variability of accommodation did not vary over time between groups (p > 0.05). Our data suggest that children with ADHD have a less accurate accommodative response. These results provide a new ocular index that could help to clarify the relationship between accommodative response and attentional deficits, which could have a direct impact on the academic, cognitive, and visual performance of ADHD children.

  7. Testing Accommodations: Theory and Research to Inform Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kettler, Ryan J.

    2012-01-01

    This article presents a framework for practitioners in education and psychology to select accommodations based on student profiles and testing demands. A brief history of testing accommodations policy in the US and a definition of terms provide context for the discussion. A review of theory and empirical findings related to testing accommodations…

  8. Layout of personnel accommodations for the SOFIA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daughters, David M.; Bruich, J. G.; Arceneaux, Gregory P.; Zirretta, Jason; Caton, William B.

    2000-06-01

    The NASA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Observatory is based upon a refurbished and heavily modified Boeing 747 SP aircraft. The Observatory, which provides accommodations for the Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luftund Raumfahrt 2.5 m telescope, science investigator teams, scientific instruments, mission crew and support systems. The US contractor team has removed most of the aircraft original furnishings and designed a new Layout of Personnel Accommodations (LOPA) tailored to SOFIA's needs.

  9. Guidelines for Providing Accommodations Using CASAS Assessment for Learners with Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    CASAS - Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (NJ1), 2005

    2005-01-01

    These guidelines address methods for administering Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) assessments using accommodations for learners with documented disabilities. The suggested accommodations for disability categories include provisions for: (1) Accommodations in test administration procedures; and (2) Use of appropriate CASAS…

  10. Accommodative performance for chromatic displays.

    PubMed

    Lovasik, J V; Kergoat, H

    1988-01-01

    Over the past few years, video display units (VDUs) have been incorporated into many varieties of workplaces and occupational demands. The success of electro-optical displays in facilitating and improving job performance has spawned interest in extracting further advantage from VDUs by incorporating colour coding into such communication systems. However, concerns have been raised about the effect of chromatic stimuli on the visual comfort and task efficiency, because of the chromatic aberration inherent in the optics of the human eye. In this study, we used a computer aided laser speckle optometer system to measure the accommodative responses to brightness-matched chromatic letters displayed on a high-resolution RGB monitor. Twenty, visually normal, paid volunteers in a 22-35 year age category served as subjects. Stimuli were 14, 21, 28 minutes of arc letters presented in a 'monochromatic' (white, red, green or blue, on a black background) or 'multichromatic' (blue-red, blue-green, red-green, foreground-background combinations) mode at 40 and 80 cm viewing distances. The results demonstrated that while the accommodative responses were strongly influenced by the foreground-background colour combination, the group-averaged dioptric difference across colours was relatively small. Further, accommodative responses were not guided in any systematic fashion by the size of letters presented for fixation. Implications of these findings for display designs are discussed.

  11. The Measures Contribution Researches on Renewable Energy Accommodation Based on Production Simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhe, MI; Jinfang, Zhang; Jun, Liu

    2018-06-01

    This paper presents the impacts of load, source and grid factors on renewable energy accommodation in the northern region of China. Renewable energy curtailment reasons and key measures to improve accommodations are also discussed. The production simulation method is utilized to analysis renewable energy accommodation and the Shapely value method is introduced to calculate the accommodation contribution rate of different factors. The result shows that the amount of renewable energy accommodation is 389 TWh in northern region of China by the year 2020. The contribution rate of load, source and grid factors to renewable energy accommodation are 39%, 35.8% and 25.1%, respectively.

  12. Inequality in the distribution of health resources and health services in China: hospitals versus primary care institutions.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Tao; Xu, Yongjian; Ren, Jianping; Sun, Liqi; Liu, Chaojie

    2017-03-03

    Equity is one of the major goals of China's recent health system reform. This study aimed to evaluate the equality of the distribution of health resources and health services between hospitals and primary care institutions. Data of this study were drawn from the China Health Statistical Year Books. We calculated Gini coefficients based on population size and geographic size, respectively, for the indicators: number of institutions, number of health workers and number of beds; and the concentration index (CI) for the indicators: per capita outpatient visits and annual hospitalization rates. The Gini coefficients against population size ranged between 0.17 and 0.44 in the hospital sector, indicating a relatively good equality. The primary care sector showed a slightly higher level of Gini coefficients (around 0.45) in the number of health workers. However, inequality was evident in the geographic distribution of health resources. The Gini coefficients exceeded 0.7 in the geographic distribution of institutions, health workers and beds in both the hospital and the primary care sectors, indicating high levels of inequality. The CI values of hospital inpatient care and outpatient visits to primary care institutions were small (ranging from -0.02 to 0.02), indicating good wealth-related equality. The CI values of outpatient visits to hospitals ranged from 0.16 to 0.21, indicating a concentration of services towards the richer populations. By contrast, the CI values of inpatient care in primary care institutions ranged from -0.24 to -0.22, indicating a concentration of services towards the poorer populations. The eastern developed region also had a high internal inequality compared with the other less developed regions. Significant inequality in the geographic distribution of health resources is evident, despite a more equitable per capita distribution of resources. Richer people are more likely to use well-resourced hospitals for outpatient care. By contrast, poorer

  13. Subjective vs Objective Accommodative Amplitude: Preschool to Presbyopia

    PubMed Central

    Anderson, Heather A.; Stuebing, Karla K.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose This study compared subjective and objective accommodative amplitudes to characterize changes from preschool to presbyopia. Methods Monocular accommodative amplitude was measured with three techniques in random order (subjective push-up, objective minus lens stimulated, and objective proximal stimulated) on 236 subjects 3–64 years using a 1.5mm letter. Subjective push-up amplitudes were the dioptric distance at which the target first blurred along a near-point rod. Objective minus lens stimulated amplitudes were the greatest accommodative response obtained by Grand Seiko autorefraction as subjects viewed the stimulus at 33cm through increasing minus lens powers. Objective proximal stimulated amplitudes were the greatest accommodative response obtained by Grand Seiko autorefraction as subjects viewed the stimulus at increasing proximity from 40cm up to 3.33cm. Results In comparison with subjective push-up amplitudes, objective amplitudes were lower at all ages, with the most dramatic difference occurring in the 3–5 year group (subjective push-up = 16.00 ± 4.98D versus objective proximal stimulated = 7.94 ± 2.37D and objective lens stimulated = 6.20 ± 1.99D). Objective proximal and lens stimulated amplitudes were largest in the 6–10 year group (8.81 ± 1.24D and 8.05 ± 1.82D, respectively) and gradually decreased until the fourth decade of life when a rapid decline to presbyopia occurred. There was a significant linear relationship between objective techniques (y = 0.74 + 0.96x, R2 = 0.85, p<0.001) with greater amplitudes measured for the proximal stimulated technique (mean difference = 0.55D). Conclusions Objective measurements of accommodation demonstrate that accommodative amplitude is substantially less than that measured by the subjective push-up technique, particularly in young children. These findings have important clinical implications for the management of uncorrected hyperopia. PMID:25602235

  14. Simulation of diatomic gas-wall interaction and accommodation coefficients for negative ion sources and accelerators.

    PubMed

    Sartori, E; Brescaccin, L; Serianni, G

    2016-02-01

    Particle-wall interactions determine in different ways the operating conditions of plasma sources, ion accelerators, and beams operating in vacuum. For instance, a contribution to gas heating is given by ion neutralization at walls; beam losses and stray particle production-detrimental for high current negative ion systems such as beam sources for fusion-are caused by collisional processes with residual gas, with the gas density profile that is determined by the scattering of neutral particles at the walls. This paper shows that Molecular Dynamics (MD) studies at the nano-scale can provide accommodation parameters for gas-wall interactions, such as the momentum accommodation coefficient and energy accommodation coefficient: in non-isothermal flows (such as the neutral gas in the accelerator, coming from the plasma source), these affect the gas density gradients and influence efficiency and losses in particular of negative ion accelerators. For ideal surfaces, the computation also provides the angular distribution of scattered particles. Classical MD method has been applied to the case of diatomic hydrogen molecules. Single collision events, against a frozen wall or a fully thermal lattice, have been simulated by using probe molecules. Different modelling approximations are compared.

  15. Simulation of diatomic gas-wall interaction and accommodation coefficients for negative ion sources and accelerators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sartori, E., E-mail: emanuele.sartori@igi.cnr.it; Serianni, G.; Brescaccin, L.

    2016-02-15

    Particle-wall interactions determine in different ways the operating conditions of plasma sources, ion accelerators, and beams operating in vacuum. For instance, a contribution to gas heating is given by ion neutralization at walls; beam losses and stray particle production—detrimental for high current negative ion systems such as beam sources for fusion—are caused by collisional processes with residual gas, with the gas density profile that is determined by the scattering of neutral particles at the walls. This paper shows that Molecular Dynamics (MD) studies at the nano-scale can provide accommodation parameters for gas-wall interactions, such as the momentum accommodation coefficient andmore » energy accommodation coefficient: in non-isothermal flows (such as the neutral gas in the accelerator, coming from the plasma source), these affect the gas density gradients and influence efficiency and losses in particular of negative ion accelerators. For ideal surfaces, the computation also provides the angular distribution of scattered particles. Classical MD method has been applied to the case of diatomic hydrogen molecules. Single collision events, against a frozen wall or a fully thermal lattice, have been simulated by using probe molecules. Different modelling approximations are compared.« less

  16. Coordinative Voltage Control Strategy with Multiple Resources for Distribution Systems of High PV Penetration: Preprint

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhu, Xiangqi; Zhang, Yingchen

    This paper presents an optimal voltage control methodology with coordination among different voltage-regulating resources, including controllable loads, distributed energy resources such as energy storage and photovoltaics (PV), and utility voltage-regulating devices such as voltage regulators and capacitors. The proposed methodology could effectively tackle the overvoltage and voltage regulation device distortion problems brought by high penetrations of PV to improve grid operation reliability. A voltage-load sensitivity matrix and voltage-regulator sensitivity matrix are used to deploy the resources along the feeder to achieve the control objectives. Mixed-integer nonlinear programming is used to solve the formulated optimization control problem. The methodology has beenmore » tested on the IEEE 123-feeder test system, and the results demonstrate that the proposed approach could actively tackle the voltage problem brought about by high penetrations of PV and improve the reliability of distribution system operation.« less

  17. Caffeine intake is associated with pupil dilation and enhanced accommodation

    PubMed Central

    Abokyi, S; Owusu-Mensah, J; Osei, K A

    2017-01-01

    Purpose It is purported that caffeine, an autonomic stimulant, affects visual performance. This study sought to assess whether caffeine intake was associated with changes in pupil size and/or amplitude of accommodation. Patients and methods A double-masked, crossover study was conducted in 50 healthy subjects of age range 19 to 25 years. Subjects were randomized to treatments such that subjects consumed either 250 mg caffeine drink or vehicle on separate days. Amplitude of accommodation was measured by the push-up technique, and pupil size using a millimeter ruler fixed to a slit lamp biomicroscope in dim illumination (5 lux). Amplitude of accommodation and pupil size were taken at baseline, and at 30, 60 and 90 min time points post treatment. Repeated measures one-way ANOVA and paired t-test were used in analyzing data. Results Amplitude of accommodation and pupil size after caffeine intake were significantly greater than vehicle (P<0.001) at each time point. Consumption of the caffeine beverage was associated with significant increases in amplitude of accommodation and pupil size with time (P<0.001). Amplitude of accommodation rose from 12.4 (±2.2 D) at baseline to 15.8(±2.6 D) at 90 min. Similarly, pupil size increased from 3.4 (±0.4 mm) at baseline to 4.5 (±0.72 mm) at 90 min. Consumption of vehicle was not associated with increase in amplitude of accommodation or pupil size with time. Conclusion Pupil size and accommodation are affected after ingestion of caffeine. This study suggests caffeine may have some influence on visual functions. PMID:27983733

  18. Measuring Changes in Ciliary Muscle Thickness with Accommodation in Young Adults

    PubMed Central

    Lossing, Laura Ashley; Sinnott, Loraine T.; Kao, Chiu-Yen; Richdale, Kathryn; Bailey, Melissa D.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose To develop a measurement protocol for changes in the shape and size of the ciliary muscle with accommodation using the Zeiss Visante™ Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomographer (AS-OCT) and to determine the test-retest repeatability of these measurements. Methods Subjects were 25 adults ages 23–28 years. The ciliary muscle was imaged at two visits with the Visante™ while accommodative response was monitored during imaging using the PowerRefractor. Ciliary muscle thickness was measured at 1 mm (CMT1), 2 mm (CMT2), and 3 mm (CMT3) posterior to the scleral spur and at the point of maximal thickness (CMTMAX). Thickness was measured at these locations while subjects viewed a target at distance and at a 4.00-D accommodative stimulus. Outcome measures were the change in thickness between distance and the 4.00-D stimulus and the change in thickness per diopter of accommodative response (PowerRefractor). Finally, the repeatability measurements between visit 1 and visit 2 were determined with a Bland-Altman analysis. Results The statistically significant modeled changes in ciliary muscle thickness were as follows: CMTMAX = 69.2 μm (4.00-D stimulus) and 18.1 μm (per diopter of accommodation); CMT1 = 45.2 μm (4.00-D stimulus) and 12.3 μm (per diopter of accommodation); and CMT3 = −45.9 μm (4.00-D stimulus) and −12.0 μm (per diopter of accommodation); p < 0.0001 for all. Conclusions The combination of the Visante™ and the PowerRefractor is a feasible tool for measuring thickening of ciliary muscle at more anterior locations and thinning at more posterior locations during accommodation. We noted a wide range of accommodative responses during the time of image capture in this study indicating that the most accurate estimates of the change in ciliary muscle dimensions with accommodation may be obtained by using accommodative response rather than stimulus values and by using measurements taken simultaneously with image capture. PMID:22504328

  19. Smart Operations in Distributed Energy Resources System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Li; Jie, Shu; Zhang-XianYong; Qing, Zhou

    Smart grid capabilities are being proposed to help solve the challenges concerning system operations due to that the trade-offs between energy and environmental needs will be constantly negotiated while a reliable supply of electricity needs even greater assurance in case of that threats of disruption have risen. This paper mainly explores models for distributed energy resources system (DG, storage, and load),and also reviews the evolving nature of electricity markets to deal with this complexity and a change of emphasis on signals from these markets to affect power system control. Smart grid capabilities will also impact reliable operations, while cyber security issues must be solved as a culture change that influences all system design, implementation, and maintenance. Lastly, the paper explores significant questions for further research and the need for a simulation environment that supports such investigation and informs deployments to mitigate operational issues as they arise.

  20. Comparison of the ocular wavefront aberration between pharmacologically-induced and stimulus-driven accommodation.

    PubMed

    Plainis, S; Plevridi, E; Pallikaris, I G

    2009-05-01

    To compare the ocular wavefront aberration between pharmacologically- and stimulus-driven accommodation in phakic eyes of young subjects. The aberration structure of the tested eye when accommodating was measured using the Complete Ophthalmic Analysis System (COAS; AMO WaveFront Sciences, Albuquerque, NM, USA). It was used in conjunction with a purposely-modified Badal optometer to allow blur-driven accommodation to be stimulated by a high contrast letter E with a vergence range between +0.84 D and -8.00 D. Pharmacological accommodation was induced with one drop of pilocarpine 4%. Data from six subjects (age range: 23-36 years) with dark irides were collected. No correlation was found between the maximal levels of accommodative response achieved with an 8 D blur-driven stimulus and pharmacological stimulation. Pharmacological accommodation varied considerably among subjects: maximum accommodation, achieved within 38-85 min following application of pilocarpine, ranged from 2.7 D to 10.0 D. Furthermore, although the changes of spherical aberration and coma as a function of accommodation were indistinguishable between the two methods for low levels of response, a characteristic break in the pattern of aberration occurred at higher levels of pilocarpine-induced accommodation. This probably resulted from differences in the time course of biometric changes occurring with the two methods. Measuring the pilocarpine-induced accommodative response at only one time point after its application may lead to misleading results. The considerable inter-individual differences in the time course of drug-induced accommodative response and its magnitude may lead to overestimation or underestimation of the corresponding amplitude of normal, blur-driven accommodation. Stimulating accommodation by topical application of pilocarpine is inappropriate for evaluating the efficacy of 'accommodating' IOLs.

  1. A Multi-Scale Distribution Model for Non-Equilibrium Populations Suggests Resource Limitation in an Endangered Rodent

    PubMed Central

    Bean, William T.; Stafford, Robert; Butterfield, H. Scott; Brashares, Justin S.

    2014-01-01

    Species distributions are known to be limited by biotic and abiotic factors at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Species distribution models, however, frequently assume a population at equilibrium in both time and space. Studies of habitat selection have repeatedly shown the difficulty of estimating resource selection if the scale or extent of analysis is incorrect. Here, we present a multi-step approach to estimate the realized and potential distribution of the endangered giant kangaroo rat. First, we estimate the potential distribution by modeling suitability at a range-wide scale using static bioclimatic variables. We then examine annual changes in extent at a population-level. We define “available” habitat based on the total suitable potential distribution at the range-wide scale. Then, within the available habitat, model changes in population extent driven by multiple measures of resource availability. By modeling distributions for a population with robust estimates of population extent through time, and ecologically relevant predictor variables, we improved the predictive ability of SDMs, as well as revealed an unanticipated relationship between population extent and precipitation at multiple scales. At a range-wide scale, the best model indicated the giant kangaroo rat was limited to areas that received little to no precipitation in the summer months. In contrast, the best model for shorter time scales showed a positive relation with resource abundance, driven by precipitation, in the current and previous year. These results suggest that the distribution of the giant kangaroo rat was limited to the wettest parts of the drier areas within the study region. This multi-step approach reinforces the differing relationship species may have with environmental variables at different scales, provides a novel method for defining “available” habitat in habitat selection studies, and suggests a way to create distribution models at spatial and temporal scales

  2. Interoperability between loose-coupled distributed resources and application across autonomous systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arrott, M.; Orcutt, J.; Chave, A.

    2005-12-01

    The following is an example to illustrate the concept, possibilities and issues associated with the interoperability between loose-coupled distributed resources and application across autonomous systems. Take, for example, printing. If you are in your office (or home office) environment, it is likely that you select "Print" in your application, select a printer from the list of printers offered those "loaded" onto your computer, and your computer communicates directly with the selected printer to produce a paper copy of your document. If you are sitting in a coffee shop, however, selecting the same printer likely produces no immediate results. Imagine if, in contrast to the scenario just outlined, your selection of the "Print" command produced a list of printers available at nearby copy service shops (e.g., Ali's Copy & Print), public libraries and "friends you forgot you had." This list might include information regarding how far the printer is from your current location and how much you would be charged to print your document on it. Deciding that you'll gladly pay .30 cents to save a half mile walk, you select Ali's Copy & Print. Your system authorizes payment, Ali's Copy & Print authorizes service, and your document appears on Ali's printer, ready for pickup. This latter scenario requires the introduction of a layer of negotiation between producers and consumers of network services that is not available today. Rather than a resource consumer (your application) seeking to connect to a specific resource (your printer), a resource consumer presents a request for service which one or more producers offer to fill. The beginning and the end of the transaction remain unchanged: you select the print command and the system presents potential printers, and, eventually, your system presents a command to a printer: however, an intermediate negotiation takes place to determine the when, where who and how. The implication of this model is that, fundamentally, networks must

  3. Topical and intravenous pilocarpine stimulated accommodation in anesthetized rhesus monkeys.

    PubMed

    Wendt, Mark; Glasser, Adrian

    2010-05-01

    Many studies have used pilocarpine to stimulate accommodation in both humans and monkeys. However, the concentrations of pilocarpine used and the methods of administration vary. In this study, three different methods of pilocarpine administration are evaluated for their effectiveness in stimulating accommodation in rhesus monkeys. Experiments were performed in 17 iridectomized, anesthetized rhesus monkeys aged 4-16 years. Maximum accommodation was stimulated in all these monkeys with a 2% pilocarpine solution maintained on the cornea for at least 30 min in a specially designed perfusion lens. In subsequent topical pilocarpine experiments, baseline refraction was measured with a Hartinger coincidence refractometer and then while the monkeys were upright and facing forward, commercially available pilocarpine (2, 4, or 6%) was applied topically to the cornea as 2 or 4 drops in two applications or 6 drops in three applications over a five minute period with the eyelids closed between applications. Alternatively, while supine, 10-12 drops of pilocarpine were maintained on the cornea in a scleral cup for 5 min. Refraction measurements were begun 5 min after the second application of pilocarpine and continued for at least 30 min after initial administration until no further change in refraction occurred. In intravenous experiments, pilocarpine was given either as boluses ranging from 0.1mg/kg to 2mg/kg or boluses followed by a constant infusion at rates between 3.06 mg/kg/h and 11.6 mg/kg/h. Constant 2% pilocarpine solution on the eye in the perfusion lens produced 10.88+/-2.73 D (mean+/-SD) of accommodation. Topically applied pilocarpine produced 3.81 D+/-2.41, 5.49 D+/-4.08, and 5.55 D+/-3.27 using 2%, 4%, and 6% solutions respectively. When expressed as a percentage of the accommodative response amplitude obtained in the same monkey with constant 2% pilocarpine solution on the eye, the responses were 34.7% for 2% pilocarpine, 48.4% for 4% pilocarpine, and 44.6% for 6

  4. Variations in accommodation and convergence responses in a minimally controlled photorefractive setting.

    PubMed

    Horwood, A M; Turner, J E; Houston, S M; Riddell, P M

    2001-11-01

    A remote haploscopic photorefractor, designed for assessment of accommodation and convergence in infants and clinical groups, was used to determine heterophoria accommodative convergence/accommodation (AC/A) ratios in normal naïve adults. These were compared with conventional clinical measures. Twenty-one naïve subjects were used to compare occluded and unoccluded prism cover test responses with the remote haploscopic photorefractor using a text and picture target. Although luminance was generally low for both targets, binocular vergences were appropriate for target demand in both studies. Binocular accommodation showed greater lag for the highest target accommodative demand and the less demanding target. Occlusion not only reduced vergence response, but also frequently caused a marked reduction in accommodation, especially to the picture target. Normal mean AC/A values were found, but with wide variations between individual subjects. Although mean accommodation, vergence, and AC/A values were comparable with published data, we suggest that in these conditions using naïve subjects, accommodation is frequently inaccurate, especially on occlusion, without concomitant loss of vergence, at least at low light levels. Accommodative convergence may play a less important part in, and other cues contribute more to, the near reflex than has been previously suggested.

  5. Accommodation and pupil responses to random-dot stereograms

    PubMed Central

    Suryakumar, Rajaraman; Allison, Robert

    2015-01-01

    We investigated the dynamics of accommodative and pupillary responses to random-dot stereograms presented in crossed and uncrossed disparity in six visually normal young adult subjects (mean age = 25.8 ± 3.1 years). Accommodation and pupil measures were monitored monocularly with a custom built photorefraction system while subjects fixated at the center of a random-dot stereogram. On each trial, the stereogram initially depicted a flat plane and then changed to depict a sinusoidal corrugation in depth while fixation remained constant. Increase in disparity specified depth resulted in pupil constriction during both crossed and uncrossed disparity presentations. The change in pupil size between crossed and uncrossed disparity conditions was not significantly different (p > 0.05). The change in pupil size was also accompanied by a small concomitant increase in accommodation. In addition, the dynamic properties of pupil responses varied as a function of their initial (starting) diameter. The finding that accommodation and pupil responses increased with disparity regardless of the sign of retinal disparity suggests that these responses were driven by apparent depth rather than shifts in mean simulated distance of the stimulus. Presumably the need for the increased depth of focus when viewing stimuli extended in depth results in pupil constriction which also results in a concomitant change in accommodation. Starting position effects in pupil response confirm the non-linearity in the operating range of the pupil. PMID:25891121

  6. New methods for the assessment of accommodative convergence.

    PubMed

    Asakawa, Ken; Ishikawa, Hitoshi; Shoji, Nobuyuki

    2009-01-01

    The authors introduced a new objective method for measuring horizontal eye movements based on the first Purkinje image with the use of infrared charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras and compared stimulus accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratios as determined by a standard gradient method. The study included 20 patients, 5 to 9 years old, who had intermittent exotropia (10 eyes) and accommodative esotropia (10 eyes). Measurement of horizontal eye movements in millimeters (mm), based on the first Purkinje image, was obtained with a TriIRIS C9000 instrument (Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu, Japan). The stimulus AC/A ratio was determined with the far gradient method. The average values of horizontal eye movements (mm) and eye deviation (Delta) (a) before and (b) after an accommodative stimulus of 3.00 diopters (D) were calculated with the following formula: horizontal eye movements (mm/D) and stimulus AC/A ratio (Delta/D) = (b - a)/3. The average values of the horizontal eye movements and the stimulus AC/A ratio were 0.5 mm/D and 3.8 Delta/D, respectively. Correlation analysis showed a strong positive correlation between these two parameters (r = 0.92). Moreover, horizontal eye movements are directly proportional to the AC/A ratio measured with the gradient method. The methods used in this study allow objective recordings of accommodative convergence to be obtained in many clinical situations. Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.

  7. Future Opportunities and Challenges with Using Demand Response as a Resource in Distribution System Operation and Planning Activities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cappers, Peter; MacDonald, Jason; Page, Janie

    2016-01-01

    This scoping study focuses on identifying the ability for current and future demand response opportunities to contribute to distribution system management. To do so, this scoping study will identify the needs of a distribution system to operate efficiently, safely and reliably; summarize both benefits and challenges for the operation of the distribution system with high penetration levels of distributed energy resources; define a suite of services based on those changing operational needs that could be provided by resources; identify existing demand response opportunities sponsored by distribution utilities and/or aggregators of retail customers; assess the extent to which distribution system servicesmore » can be provided via DR opportunities both in their current form and with alterations to their design; and provide a qualitative assessment of coordination issues that bulk power and distribution system providers of DR opportunities will need to address.« less

  8. Cultural value orientations, internalized homophobia, and accommodation in romantic relationships.

    PubMed

    Gaines, Stanley O; Henderson, Michael C; Kim, Mary; Gilstrap, Samuel; Yi, Jennifer; Rusbult, Caryl E; Hardin, Deletha P; Gaertner, Lowell

    2005-01-01

    In the present study, we examined the impact of cultural value orientations (i.e., the personally oriented value of individualism, and the socially oriented values of collectivism, familism, romanticism, and spiritualism) on accommodation (i.e., voice and loyalty, rather than exit and neglect, responses to partners' anger or criticism) in heterosexual and gay relationships; and we examined the impact of internalized homophobia (i.e., attitudes toward self, other, and disclosure) on accommodation specifically in gay relationships. A total of 262 heterosexuals (102 men and 162 women) and 857 gays (474 men and 383 women) participated in the present study. Consistent with hypotheses, among heterosexuals and gays, socially oriented values were significantly and positively related to accommodation (whereas the personally oriented value of individualism was unrelated to accommodation); and among gays in particular, internalized homophobia was significantly and negatively related to accommodation. Implications for the study of heterosexual and gay relationships are discussed.

  9. Barriers to Accommodation Use for Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lyman, Michael James

    2013-01-01

    Students with disabilities at the postsecondary level face a number of different barriers to accommodation use. Past research has shown that students with disabilities that use accommodations obtain greater academic achievement and higher graduation rates. Limited research has been conducted to identify barriers to accommodation use, and the…

  10. Teaching Adolescent Students with Learning Disabilities to Self-Advocate for Accommodations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prater, Mary Anne; Redman, Ashleigh Smith; Anderson, Darlene; Gibb, Gordon S.

    2014-01-01

    In the general education classroom students with learning disabilities (LD) often need academic accommodations to be successful. These accommodations are typically selected and implemented by their general education teachers, not by the students themselves. High school students with LD were taught to recognize when an accommodation was needed,…

  11. Modeling of thermal storage systems in MILP distributed energy resource models

    DOE PAGES

    Steen, David; Stadler, Michael; Cardoso, Gonçalo; ...

    2014-08-04

    Thermal energy storage (TES) and distributed generation technologies, such as combined heat and power (CHP) or photovoltaics (PV), can be used to reduce energy costs and decrease CO 2 emissions from buildings by shifting energy consumption to times with less emissions and/or lower energy prices. To determine the feasibility of investing in TES in combination with other distributed energy resources (DER), mixed integer linear programming (MILP) can be used. Such a MILP model is the well-established Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM); however, it currently uses only a simplified TES model to guarantee linearity and short run-times. Loss calculationsmore » are based only on the energy contained in the storage. This paper presents a new DER-CAM TES model that allows improved tracking of losses based on ambient and storage temperatures, and compares results with the previous version. A multi-layer TES model is introduced that retains linearity and avoids creating an endogenous optimization problem. The improved model increases the accuracy of the estimated storage losses and enables use of heat pumps for low temperature storage charging. Ultimately,results indicate that the previous model overestimates the attractiveness of TES investments for cases without possibility to invest in heat pumps and underestimates it for some locations when heat pumps are allowed. Despite a variation in optimal technology selection between the two models, the objective function value stays quite stable, illustrating the complexity of optimal DER sizing problems in buildings and microgrids.« less

  12. Common Accounting System for Monitoring the ATLAS Distributed Computing Resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karavakis, E.; Andreeva, J.; Campana, S.; Gayazov, S.; Jezequel, S.; Saiz, P.; Sargsyan, L.; Schovancova, J.; Ueda, I.; Atlas Collaboration

    2014-06-01

    This paper covers in detail a variety of accounting tools used to monitor the utilisation of the available computational and storage resources within the ATLAS Distributed Computing during the first three years of Large Hadron Collider data taking. The Experiment Dashboard provides a set of common accounting tools that combine monitoring information originating from many different information sources; either generic or ATLAS specific. This set of tools provides quality and scalable solutions that are flexible enough to support the constantly evolving requirements of the ATLAS user community.

  13. Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders: a five-year update

    PubMed Central

    Lebowitz, Eli R.; Panza, Kaitlyn E.; Bloch, Michael H.

    2016-01-01

    Family accommodation describes changes that individuals make to their behavior, to help their relative who is dealing with a psychiatric and/or psychological disorder(s), avoid or alleviate distress related to the disorder. Research on family accommodation has advanced rapidly. In this update we aim to provide a synthesis of findings from the past five years. A search of available, peer-reviewed, English language papers was conducted through PubMed and PsycINFO, cross referencing psychiatric disorders with accommodation and other family-related terms. The resulting 121 papers were individually reviewed and evaluated and the main findings were discussed. Family accommodation is common in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and in anxiety disorders, and manifests similarly across these disorders. Family accommodation is associated with more severe psychopathology and poorer clinical outcomes. Treatments have begun to focus on the reduction of family accommodation as a primary therapeutic goal and finally, neurobiological underpinnings of family accommodation are beginning to be investigated. PMID:26613396

  14. Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders: a five-year update.

    PubMed

    Lebowitz, Eli R; Panza, Kaitlyn E; Bloch, Michael H

    2016-01-01

    Family accommodation describes changes that individuals make to their behavior, to help their relative who is dealing with a psychiatric and/or psychological disorder(s), avoid or alleviate distress related to the disorder. Research on family accommodation has advanced rapidly. In this update we aim to provide a synthesis of findings from the past five years. A search of available, peer-reviewed, English language papers was conducted through PubMed and PsycINFO, cross referencing psychiatric disorders with accommodation and other family-related terms. The resulting 121 papers were individually reviewed and evaluated and the main findings were discussed. Family accommodation is common in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and in anxiety disorders, and manifests similarly across these disorders. Family accommodation is associated with more severe psychopathology and poorer clinical outcomes. Treatments have begun to focus on the reduction of family accommodation as a primary therapeutic goal and finally, neurobiological underpinnings of family accommodation are beginning to be investigated.

  15. Amplitude, Latency, and Peak Velocity in Accommodation and Disaccommodation Dynamics

    PubMed Central

    Papadatou, Eleni; Ferrer-Blasco, Teresa; Montés-Micó, Robert

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this work was to ascertain whether there are differences in amplitude, latency, and peak velocity of accommodation and disaccommodation responses when different analysis strategies are used to compute them, such as fitting different functions to the responses or for smoothing them prior to computing the parameters. Accommodation and disaccommodation responses from four subjects to pulse changes in demand were recorded by means of aberrometry. Three different strategies were followed to analyze such responses: fitting an exponential function to the experimental data; fitting a Boltzmann sigmoid function to the data; and smoothing the data. Amplitude, latency, and peak velocity of the responses were extracted. Significant differences were found between the peak velocity in accommodation computed by fitting an exponential function and smoothing the experimental data (mean difference 2.36 D/s). Regarding disaccommodation, significant differences were found between latency and peak velocity, calculated with the two same strategies (mean difference of 0.15 s and −3.56 D/s, resp.). The strategy used to analyze accommodation and disaccommodation responses seems to affect the parameters that describe accommodation and disaccommodation dynamics. These results highlight the importance of choosing the most adequate analysis strategy in each individual to obtain the parameters that characterize accommodation and disaccommodation dynamics. PMID:29226128

  16. Foundational Report Series. Advanced Distribution management Systems for Grid Modernization (Importance of DMS for Distribution Grid Modernization)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Jianhui

    2015-09-01

    Grid modernization is transforming the operation and management of electric distribution systems from manual, paper-driven business processes to electronic, computer-assisted decisionmaking. At the center of this business transformation is the distribution management system (DMS), which provides a foundation from which optimal levels of performance can be achieved in an increasingly complex business and operating environment. Electric distribution utilities are facing many new challenges that are dramatically increasing the complexity of operating and managing the electric distribution system: growing customer expectations for service reliability and power quality, pressure to achieve better efficiency and utilization of existing distribution system assets, and reductionmore » of greenhouse gas emissions by accommodating high penetration levels of distributed generating resources powered by renewable energy sources (wind, solar, etc.). Recent “storm of the century” events in the northeastern United States and the lengthy power outages and customer hardships that followed have greatly elevated the need to make power delivery systems more resilient to major storm events and to provide a more effective electric utility response during such regional power grid emergencies. Despite these newly emerging challenges for electric distribution system operators, only a small percentage of electric utilities have actually implemented a DMS. This paper discusses reasons why a DMS is needed and why the DMS may emerge as a mission-critical system that will soon be considered essential as electric utilities roll out their grid modernization strategies.« less

  17. Hyperelastic modelling of the crystalline lens: Accommodation and presbyopia

    PubMed Central

    Lanchares, Elena; Navarro, Rafael; Calvo, Begoña

    2012-01-01

    Purpose The modification of the mechanical properties of the human crystalline lens with age can be a major cause of presbyopia. Since these properties cannot be measured in vivo, numerical simulation can be used to estimate them. We propose an inverse method to determine age-dependent change in the material properties of the tissues composing the human crystalline lens. Methods A finite element model of a 30-year-old lens in the accommodated state was developed. The force necessary to achieve full accommodation in a 30-year-old lens of known external geometry was computed using this model. Two additional numerical models of the lens corresponding to the ages of 40 and 50 years were then built. Assuming that the accommodative force applied to the lens remains constant with age, the material properties of nucleus and cortex were estimated by inverse analysis. Results The zonular force necessary to reshape the model of a 30-year-old lens from the accommodated to the unaccommodated geometry was 0.078 newton (N). Both nucleus and cortex became stiffer with age. The stiffness of the nucleus increased with age at a higher rate than the cortex. Conclusions In agreement with the classical theory of Helmholtz, on which we based our model, our results indicate that a major cause of presbyopia is that both nucleus and cortex become stiffer with age; therefore, a constant value of the zonular forces with aging does not achieve full accommodation, that is, the accommodation capability decreases.

  18. Family accommodation mediates the association between anxiety symptoms in mothers and children.

    PubMed

    Jones, Johnna D; Lebowitz, Eli R; Marin, Carla E; Stark, Kevin D

    2015-01-01

    The link between child anxiety and maternal anxiety has been well established but the factors underlying this association are not well understood. One potential factor is family accommodation, which describes ways in which parents change their behaviour to help a child avoid or alleviate anxiety. Family accommodation has been associated with greater symptom severity, more impairment and poorer treatment outcomes in the child. The aim of this study was to investigate whether maternal accommodation mediates the relation between parent and child anxiety. Mothers of children (N = 85) aged 7-17 years (M = 11.79) completed measures of their own anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)), their child's anxiety (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)), and family accommodation (Family Accommodation Scale Anxiety (FASA)). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the mediational role of accommodation linking parent and child anxiety. Family accommodation was found to significantly mediate the link between maternal anxiety and child anxiety. These results inform theory and imply that the development of interventions designed to target family accommodation may improve the prognosis of those diagnosed with paediatric anxiety disorders and youth with subclinical anxiety symptoms by reducing both parent and child anxiety.

  19. 14 CFR 1204.1510 - Efforts to accommodate intergovernmental concerns.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Efforts to accommodate intergovernmental concerns. 1204.1510 Section 1204.1510 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION... Programs and Activities § 1204.1510 Efforts to accommodate intergovernmental concerns. (a) If a state...

  20. Circadian rhythms of visual accommodation responses and physiological correlations.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, M. R.; Randle, R. J.; Williams, B. A.

    1972-01-01

    Use of a recently developed servocontrolled infrared optometer to continuously record the state of monocular focus while subjects viewed a visual target for which the stimulus to focus was systematically varied. Calculated parameters form recorded data - e.g., speeds of accommodation to approaching and receding targets, magnitude of accommodation to step changes in target distance, and amplitude and phase lag of response to sinusoidally varying stimuli were submitted to periodicity analyses. Ear canal temperature (ECT) and heart rate (HR) rhythms were also recorded for physiological correlation with accommodation rhythms. HR demonstrated a 24-hr rhythm, but ECT data did not.

  1. Effect of third-order aberrations on dynamic accommodation.

    PubMed

    López-Gil, Norberto; Rucker, Frances J; Stark, Lawrence R; Badar, Mustanser; Borgovan, Theodore; Burke, Sean; Kruger, Philip B

    2007-03-01

    We investigate the potential for the third-order aberrations coma and trefoil to provide a signed cue to accommodation. It is first demonstrated theoretically (with some assumptions) that the point spread function is insensitive to the sign of spherical defocus in the presence of odd-order aberrations. In an experimental investigation, the accommodation response to a sinusoidal change in vergence (1-3D, 0.2Hz) of a monochromatic stimulus was obtained with a dynamic infrared optometer. Measurements were obtained in 10 young visually normal individuals with and without custom contact lenses that induced low and high values of r.m.s. trefoil (0.25, 1.03 microm) and coma (0.34, 0.94 microm). Despite variation between subjects, we did not find any statistically significant increase or decrease in the accommodative gain for low levels of trefoil and coma, although effects approached or reached significance for the high levels of trefoil and coma. Theoretical and experimental results indicate that the presence of Zernike third-order aberrations on the eye does not seem to play a crucial role in the dynamics of the accommodation response.

  2. Aerobrake assembly with minimum Space Station accommodation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Katzberg, Steven J.; Butler, David H.; Doggett, William R.; Russell, James W.; Hurban, Theresa

    1991-01-01

    The minimum Space Station Freedom accommodations required for initial assembly, repair, and refurbishment of the Lunar aerobrake were investigated. Baseline Space Station Freedom support services were assumed, as well as reasonable earth-to-orbit possibilities. A set of three aerobrake configurations representative of the major themes in aerobraking were developed. Structural assembly concepts, along with on-orbit assembly and refurbishment scenarios were created. The scenarios were exercised to identify required Space Station Freedom accommodations. Finally, important areas for follow-on study were also identified.

  3. Model Predictive Control-based Optimal Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mayhorn, Ebony T.; Kalsi, Karanjit; Lian, Jianming

    2013-01-07

    Distributed energy resources, such as renewable energy resources (wind, solar), energy storage and demand response, can be used to complement conventional generators. The uncertainty and variability due to high penetration of wind makes reliable system operations and controls challenging, especially in isolated systems. In this paper, an optimal control strategy is proposed to coordinate energy storage and diesel generators to maximize wind penetration while maintaining system economics and normal operation performance. The goals of the optimization problem are to minimize fuel costs and maximize the utilization of wind while considering equipment life of generators and energy storage. Model predictive controlmore » (MPC) is used to solve a look-ahead dispatch optimization problem and the performance is compared to an open loop look-ahead dispatch problem. Simulation studies are performed to demonstrate the efficacy of the closed loop MPC in compensating for uncertainties and variability caused in the system.« less

  4. Model Predictive Control-based Optimal Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mayhorn, Ebony T.; Kalsi, Karanjit; Lian, Jianming

    2013-04-03

    Distributed energy resources, such as renewable energy resources (wind, solar), energy storage and demand response, can be used to complement conventional generators. The uncertainty and variability due to high penetration of wind makes reliable system operations and controls challenging, especially in isolated systems. In this paper, an optimal control strategy is proposed to coordinate energy storage and diesel generators to maximize wind penetration while maintaining system economics and normal operation performance. The goals of the optimization problem are to minimize fuel costs and maximize the utilization of wind while considering equipment life of generators and energy storage. Model predictive controlmore » (MPC) is used to solve a look-ahead dispatch optimization problem and the performance is compared to an open loop look-ahead dispatch problem. Simulation studies are performed to demonstrate the efficacy of the closed loop MPC in compensating for uncertainties and variability caused in the system.« less

  5. Frequency of convergence and accommodative disorders in a clinical population of Mashhad, Iran.

    PubMed

    Hoseini-Yazdi, Seyed Hosein; Yekta, AbbasAli; Nouri, Hosein; Heravian, Javad; Ostadimoghaddam, Hadi; Khabazkhoob, Mehdi

    2015-01-01

    To investigate the frequency of convergence and accommodation anomalies in an optometric clinical setting in Mashhad, Iran, and to determine tests with highest accuracy in diagnosing these anomalies. From 261 patients who came to the optometric clinics of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences during a month, 83 of them were included in the study based on the inclusion criteria. Near point of convergence (NPC), near and distance heterophoria, monocular and binocular accommodative facility (MAF and BAF, respectively), lag of accommodation, positive and negative fusional vergences (PFV and NFV, respectively), AC/A ratio, relative accommodation, and amplitude of accommodation (AA) were measured to diagnose the convergence and accommodation anomalies. The results were also compared between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The accuracy of these tests was explored using sensitivity (S), specificity (Sp), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+, LR-). Mean age of the patients was 21.3 ± 3.5 years and 14.5% of them had specific binocular and accommodative symptoms. Convergence and accommodative anomalies were found in 19.3% of the patients; accommodative excess (4.8%) and convergence insufficiency (3.6%) were the most common accommodative and convergence disorders, respectively. Symptomatic patients showed lower values for BAF (p = .003), MAF (p = .001), as well as AA (p = .001) compared with asymptomatic patients. Moreover, BAF (S = 75%, Sp = 62%) and MAF (S = 62%, Sp = 89%) were the most accurate tests for detecting accommodative and convergence disorders in terms of both sensitivity and specificity. Convergence and accommodative anomalies are the most common binocular disorders in optometric patients. Including tests of monocular and binocular accommodative facility in routine eye examinations as accurate tests to diagnose these anomalies requires further investigation.

  6. Accommodation in Untextured Stimulus Fields.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-05-01

    that accommodation is notably inaccurate with reduced illumination, textural cue removal, or small aper ture viewing. These situational ametropias are...dark focus. Although, for any individual, large correlations exist among these ametropias , statistically reliable differen ces occur among them as well

  7. A Mini Resource File: Programming for Independent Maturity.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstein, Judith E.

    1981-01-01

    A selection of available resources from various agencies is presented to inform the older adult about such issues as: (1) special travel arrangements for travelers with unusual needs; (2) accommodations; (3) local transportation, (4) recreational activities; and (5) fashions for the changing body. (JN)

  8. Success in baccalaureate nursing programs: a matter of accommodation?

    PubMed

    Haislett, J; Hughes, R B; Atkinson, G; Williams, C L

    1993-02-01

    This article explores student learning styles as an important variable in four-year baccalaureate nursing programs. Student learning styles were assessed by Kolb's Learning Style Inventory-1985 (LSI-1985), which identifies the accommodator, diverger, assimilator, and converger learning styles. The authors examined the relationship between learning style and academic performance as measured by grade-point ratio (GPR) and studied behaviors and attitudes as measured by Brown and Holtzman's (1964) Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes. Analysis indicated that this sample (N = 100) included mainly assimilators and divergers, making reflective observation the most common mode of learning. Compared to the accommodator/converger group, the assimilator/diverger group earned a significantly higher GPR, significantly better scores on the study habits variable of Work Methods (WM), and moderately better scores on the study attitude variable of Educational Acceptance (EA). Accommodators were identified as the most at-risk learning style group, and specific interventions were suggested to assist accommodators in adapting to the academic rigors of a nursing curriculum.

  9. Efficient Allocation of Resources for Defense of Spatially Distributed Networks Using Agent-Based Simulation.

    PubMed

    Kroshl, William M; Sarkani, Shahram; Mazzuchi, Thomas A

    2015-09-01

    This article presents ongoing research that focuses on efficient allocation of defense resources to minimize the damage inflicted on a spatially distributed physical network such as a pipeline, water system, or power distribution system from an attack by an active adversary, recognizing the fundamental difference between preparing for natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or even accidental systems failures and the problem of allocating resources to defend against an opponent who is aware of, and anticipating, the defender's efforts to mitigate the threat. Our approach is to utilize a combination of integer programming and agent-based modeling to allocate the defensive resources. We conceptualize the problem as a Stackelberg "leader follower" game where the defender first places his assets to defend key areas of the network, and the attacker then seeks to inflict the maximum damage possible within the constraints of resources and network structure. The criticality of arcs in the network is estimated by a deterministic network interdiction formulation, which then informs an evolutionary agent-based simulation. The evolutionary agent-based simulation is used to determine the allocation of resources for attackers and defenders that results in evolutionary stable strategies, where actions by either side alone cannot increase its share of victories. We demonstrate these techniques on an example network, comparing the evolutionary agent-based results to a more traditional, probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) approach. Our results show that the agent-based approach results in a greater percentage of defender victories than does the PRA-based approach. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  10. Exponential Arithmetic Based Self-Healing Group Key Distribution Scheme with Backward Secrecy under the Resource-Constrained Wireless Networks

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Hua; Zheng, Yandong; Zhang, Xiyong; Li, Zhoujun

    2016-01-01

    In resource-constrained wireless networks, resources such as storage space and communication bandwidth are limited. To guarantee secure communication in resource-constrained wireless networks, group keys should be distributed to users. The self-healing group key distribution (SGKD) scheme is a promising cryptographic tool, which can be used to distribute and update the group key for the secure group communication over unreliable wireless networks. Among all known SGKD schemes, exponential arithmetic based SGKD (E-SGKD) schemes reduce the storage overhead to constant, thus is suitable for the the resource-constrained wireless networks. In this paper, we provide a new mechanism to achieve E-SGKD schemes with backward secrecy. We first propose a basic E-SGKD scheme based on a known polynomial-based SGKD, where it has optimal storage overhead while having no backward secrecy. To obtain the backward secrecy and reduce the communication overhead, we introduce a novel approach for message broadcasting and self-healing. Compared with other E-SGKD schemes, our new E-SGKD scheme has the optimal storage overhead, high communication efficiency and satisfactory security. The simulation results in Zigbee-based networks show that the proposed scheme is suitable for the resource-restrained wireless networks. Finally, we show the application of our proposed scheme. PMID:27136550

  11. Accommodating Presuppositions Is Inappropriate in Implausible Contexts.

    PubMed

    Singh, Raj; Fedorenko, Evelina; Mahowald, Kyle; Gibson, Edward

    2016-04-01

    According to one view of linguistic information (Karttunen, 1974; Stalnaker, 1974), a speaker can convey contextually new information in one of two ways: (a) by asserting the content as new information; or (b) by presupposing the content as given information which would then have to be accommodated. This distinction predicts that it is conversationally more appropriate to assert implausible information rather than presuppose it (e.g., von Fintel, 2008; Heim, 1992; Stalnaker, 2002). A second view rejects the assumption that presuppositions are accommodated; instead, presuppositions are assimilated into asserted content and both are correspondingly open to challenge (e.g., Gazdar, 1979; van der Sandt, 1992). Under this view, we should not expect to find a difference in conversational appropriateness between asserting implausible information and presupposing it. To distinguish between these two views of linguistic information, we performed two self-paced reading experiments with an on-line stops-making-sense judgment. The results of the two experiments-using the presupposition triggers the and too-show that accommodation is inappropriate (makes less sense) relative to non-presuppositional controls when the presupposed information is implausible but not when it is plausible. These results provide support for the first view of linguistic information: the contrast in implausible contexts can only be explained if there is a presupposition-assertion distinction and accommodation is a mechanism dedicated to reasoning about presuppositions. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  12. Extralenticular and lenticular aspects of accommodation and presbyopia in human versus monkey eyes.

    PubMed

    Croft, Mary Ann; McDonald, Jared P; Katz, Alexander; Lin, Ting-Li; Lütjen-Drecoll, Elke; Kaufman, Paul L

    2013-07-26

    To determine if the accommodative forward movements of the vitreous zonule and lens equator occur in the human eye, as they do in the rhesus monkey eye; to investigate the connection between the vitreous zonule posterior insertion zone and the posterior lens equator; and to determine which components-muscle apex width, lens thickness, lens equator position, vitreous zonule, circumlental space, and/or other intraocular dimensions, including those stated in the objectives above-are most important in predicting accommodative amplitude and presbyopia. Accommodation was induced pharmacologically in 12 visually normal human subjects (ages 19-65 years) and by midbrain electrical stimulation in 11 rhesus monkeys (ages 6-27 years). Ultrasound biomicroscopy imaged the entire ciliary body, anterior and posterior lens surfaces, and the zonule. Relevant distances were measured in the resting and accommodated eyes. Stepwise regression analysis determined which variables were the most important predictors. The human vitreous zonule and lens equator move forward (anteriorly) during accommodation, and their movements decline with age, as in the monkey. Over all ages studied, age could explain accommodative amplitude, but not as well as accommodative lens thickening and resting muscle apex thickness did together. Accommodative change in distances between the vitreous zonule insertion zone and the posterior lens equator or muscle apex were important for predicting accommodative lens thickening. Our findings quantify the movements of the zonule and ciliary muscle during accommodation, and identify their age-related changes that could impact the optical change that occurs during accommodation and IOL function.

  13. Disabilities in the workplace: recruitment, accommodation, and retention.

    PubMed

    Davis, Linda

    2005-07-01

    Who has never had a need for accommodation to perform a job because of age-related changes, gender issues related to family care, religious practices, health status, or disability? Who has never had the benefit of universal accommodations designed to provide access for individuals with disabilities, such as using the handicap button to open a door when one's arms are loaded? All of society has had the benefit of inclusion of individuals with disabilities within the work force. Occupational health nurses are essential to accommodating new employees with disabilities, assisting ill or injured employees in returning to work, and changing attitudes toward disabled workers. Additionally, nurses have the skills and knowledge for leading and managing newly emerging disease management programs for workers with disabilities caused by chronic illness.

  14. Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Farage, Miranda A.; Miller, Kenneth W.; Ajayi, Funmi; Hutchins, Deborah

    2012-01-01

    The global population is aging. In many industrial countries, almost one in five people are over age 65. As people age, gradual changes ensue in vision, hearing, balance, coordination, and memory. Products, communication materials, and the physical environment must be thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of people of all ages. This article summarizes normal changes in sensory function, mobility, balance, memory, and attention that occur with age. It presents practical guidelines that allow design professionals to accommodate these changes and better meet the needs of older adults. Designing for older adults is inclusive design: it accommodates a range of physical and cognitive abilities and promotes simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use for people of any age. PMID:22980147

  15. Design principles to accommodate older adults.

    PubMed

    Farage, Miranda A; Miller, Kenneth W; Ajayi, Funmi; Hutchins, Deborah

    2012-02-29

    The global population is aging. In many industrial countries, almost one in five people are over age 65. As people age, gradual changes ensue in vision, hearing, balance, coordination, and memory. Products, communication materials, and the physical environment must be thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of people of all ages. This article summarizes normal changes in sensory function, mobility, balance, memory, and attention that occur with age. It presents practical guidelines that allow design professionals to accommodate these changes and better meet the needs of older adults. Designing for older adults is inclusive design: it accommodates a range of physical and cognitive abilities and promotes simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use for people of any age.

  16. Intraocular Pressure Changes during Accommodation in Progressing Myopes, Stable Myopes and Emmetropes

    PubMed Central

    Jiang, Xiaodan; Hu, Xiaodan; Zhang, Mingzhou; Li, Xuemin

    2015-01-01

    Purpose To investigate the changes of intraocular pressure (IOP) induced by 3-diopter (3 D) accommodation in progressing myopes, stable myopes and emmetropes. Design Cross-sectional study. Participants 318 subjects including 270 myopes and 48 emmetropes. Methods 195 progressing myopes, 75 stable myopes and 48 emmetropes participated in this study. All subjects had their IOP measured using iCare rebound tonometer while accommodative stimuli of 0 D and 3 D were presented. Main Outcome Measures IOP values without accommodation and with 3 D accommodation were measured in all subjects. Baseline IOPs and IOP changes were compared within and between groups. Results There was no significant difference in IOPs between progressing myopes, stable myopes and emmetropes when no accommodation was induced (17.47±3.46, 16.62±2.98 and 16.80±3.62 respectively, p>0.05). IOP experienced an insignificantly slight decrease after 3 D accommodation in three groups (mean change -0.19±2.16, -0.03±1.68 and -0.39±2.65 respectively, p>0.05). Subgroup analysis showed in progressing myopic group, IOP of children (<18 years old) declined with accommodation while IOP of adults (≥18 years) increased, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.008). However, after excluding the age factor, accommodation induced IOP changes of high progressing myopes (≤-6 D), low, moderate and non-myopes (>-6 D) was not significantly different after Bonferroni correction (p = 0.838). Conclusions Although no difference was detected between the baseline IOPs and accommodation induced IOP changes in progressing myopes, stable myopes and emmetropes, this study found accommodation could cause transient IOP elevation in adult progressing myopes. PMID:26517725

  17. Utility accommodation and conflict tracker (UACT) installation and configuration manual.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-02-01

    Project 0-5475 performed a comprehensive analysis of utility conflict data/information flows between utility : accommodation stakeholders in the Texas Department of Transportation project development process, : developed data models to accommodate wo...

  18. 46 CFR 127.270 - Location of accommodations and pilothouse.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Section 127.270 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS... waterline. (d) No hawse pipe or chain pipe may pass through accommodations for crew members or offshore... accommodations and chain lockers, cargo spaces, or machinery spaces. (f) No sounding tubes, or vents from fuel...

  19. 46 CFR 127.270 - Location of accommodations and pilothouse.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Section 127.270 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS... waterline. (d) No hawse pipe or chain pipe may pass through accommodations for crew members or offshore... accommodations and chain lockers, cargo spaces, or machinery spaces. (f) No sounding tubes, or vents from fuel...

  20. 46 CFR 127.270 - Location of accommodations and pilothouse.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Section 127.270 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS... waterline. (d) No hawse pipe or chain pipe may pass through accommodations for crew members or offshore... accommodations and chain lockers, cargo spaces, or machinery spaces. (f) No sounding tubes, or vents from fuel...

  1. Testing the Contingency Theory of Accommodation in Public Relations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cancel, Amanda E.; Mitrook, Michael A.; Cameron, Glen T.

    1999-01-01

    Interviews 18 public-relations professionals to provide grounding and refinement of the contingency theory of accommodation in public relations. Supports a continuum from pure accommodation to pure advocacy and a matrix of variables affecting the continuum. Concludes that the practitioners' view of their communication world offers validity to the…

  2. 46 CFR 127.270 - Location of accommodations and pilothouse.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Section 127.270 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS... waterline. (d) No hawse pipe or chain pipe may pass through accommodations for crew members or offshore... accommodations and chain lockers, cargo spaces, or machinery spaces. (f) No sounding tubes, or vents from fuel...

  3. 46 CFR 127.270 - Location of accommodations and pilothouse.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Section 127.270 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) OFFSHORE SUPPLY VESSELS... waterline. (d) No hawse pipe or chain pipe may pass through accommodations for crew members or offshore... accommodations and chain lockers, cargo spaces, or machinery spaces. (f) No sounding tubes, or vents from fuel...

  4. Relationship of ocular accommodation and motor skills performance in developmental coordination disorder.

    PubMed

    Rafique, Sara A; Northway, Nadia

    2015-08-01

    Ocular accommodation provides a well-focussed image, feedback for accurate eye movement control, and cues for depth perception. To accurately perform visually guided motor tasks, integration of ocular motor systems is essential. Children with motor coordination impairment are established to be at higher risk of accommodation anomalies. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between ocular accommodation and motor tasks, which are often overlooked, in order to better understand the problems experienced by children with motor coordination impairment. Visual function, gross and fine motor skills were assessed in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and typically developing control children. Children with DCD had significantly poorer accommodation facility and amplitude dynamics compared to controls. Results indicate a relationship between impaired accommodation and motor skills. Specifically, accommodation anomalies correlated with visual motor, upper limb and fine dexterity task performance. Consequently, we argue accommodation anomalies influence the ineffective coordination of action and perception in DCD. Furthermore, reading disabilities were related to poorer motor performance. We postulate the role of the fastigial nucleus as a common pathway for accommodation and motor deficits. Implications of the findings and recommended visual screening protocols are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. The effects of a convex rear-view mirror on ocular accommodative responses.

    PubMed

    Nagata, Tatsuo; Iwasaki, Tsuneto; Kondo, Hiroyuki; Tawara, Akihiko

    2013-11-01

    Convex mirrors are universally used as rear-view mirrors in automobiles. However, the ocular accommodative responses during the use of these mirrors have not yet been examined. This study investigated the effects of a convex mirror on the ocular accommodative systems. Seven young adults with normal visual functions were ordered to binocularly watch an object in a convex or plane mirror. The accommodative responses were measured with an infrared optometer. The average of the accommodation of all subjects while viewing the object in the convex mirror were significantly nearer than in the plane mirror, although all subjects perceived the position of the object in the convex mirror as being farther away. Moreover, the fluctuations of accommodation were significantly larger for the convex mirror. The convex mirror caused the 'false recognition of distance', which induced the large accommodative fluctuations and blurred vision. Manufactures should consider the ocular accommodative responses as a new indicator for increasing automotive safety. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  6. Full-Field Accommodation in Rhesus Monkeys Measured Using Infrared Photorefraction

    PubMed Central

    He, Lin; Wendt, Mark

    2012-01-01

    Purpose. Full-field photorefraction was measured during accommodation in anesthetized monkeys to better understand the monkey as a model of human accommodation and how accommodation affects off-axis refraction. Methods. A photorefraction camera was rotated on a 30-cm-long rod in a horizontal arc, with the eye at the center of curvature of the arc so that the measurement distance remained constant. The resistance of a potentiometer attached to the rotation center of the rod changed proportionally with the rotation angle. Photorefraction and rotation angle were simultaneously measured at 30 Hz. Trial-lens calibrations were performed on-axis and across the full field in each eye. Full-field refraction measurements were compared using on-axis and full-field calibrations. In five iridectomized monkeys (mean age in years ± SD: 12.8 ± 0.9), full-field refraction was measured before and during carbachol iontophoresis stimulated accommodation, a total of seven times (with one repeat each in two monkeys). Results. Measurements over approximately 20 seconds had <0.1 D of variance and an angular resolution of 0.1°, from at least −30° to 30°. Photorefraction calibrations performed over the full field had a maximum variation in the calibration slopes within one eye of 90%. Applying full-field calibrations versus on-axis calibrations resulted in a decrease in the maximum SDs of the calculated refractions from 1.99 to 0.89 D for relative peripheral refractive error and from 4.68 to 1.99 D for relative accommodation. Conclusions. By applying full-field calibrations, relative accommodation in pharmacologically stimulated monkeys was found to be similar to that reported with voluntary accommodation in humans. PMID:22125278

  7. Accommodating Elementary Students' Learning Styles.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wallace, James

    1995-01-01

    Examines the perceptual learning style preferences of sixth- and seventh-grade students in the Philippines. Finds that the visual modality was the most preferred and the auditory modality was the least preferred. Offers suggestions for accommodating visual, tactile, and kinesthetic preferences. (RS)

  8. Cultural Accommodation Model of Counseling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leong, Frederick T. L.

    2011-01-01

    The current article provides an overview to the cultural accommodation model (CAM) of counseling (Leong & Lee, 2006) that may help guide employment counselors' work. The integrative multidimensional model of cross-cultural counseling (Leong, 1996), a precursor to the CAM, is also reviewed.

  9. An Analysis of State Assessment Policies Addressing the Accommodation of English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivera, Carlene; Collum, Eric

    2004-01-01

    This paper reviews 15 research studies that: (1) examined effects of particular accommodations or groups of accommodations on performance: and (2) employed experimental and quasi-experimental research designs that allowed examination of the effect of the accommodation(s) on English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs. Studies looked at one or…

  10. Geographic Distribution of Healthy Resources and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Young, Christopher; Laurent, Olivier; Chung, Judith H; Wu, Jun

    2016-08-01

    Objective To determine the risk of gestational diabetes (GDM) and preeclampsia associated with various community resources. Methods An ecological study was performed in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California. Fast food restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores, gyms, health clubs and green space were identified using Google © Maps Extractor and through the Southern California Association of Government. California Birth Certificate data was used to identify cases of GDM and preeclampsia. Unadjusted and adjusted risk ratios were calculated using negative binomial regression. Results There were 9692 cases of GDM and 6288 cases of preeclampsia corresponding to incidences of 2.5 and 1.4 % respectively. The adjusted risk of GDM was reduced in zip codes with greater concentration of grocery stores [relative risk (RR) 0.95, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.92-0.99] and supermarkets (RR 0.94, 95 % CI 0.90-0.98). There were no significant relationships between preeclampsia and the concentration of fast food restaurants, grocery store, supermarkets or the amount of green space. Conclusion The distribution of community resources has a significant association with the risk of developing GDM but not preeclampsia.

  11. Frequency-Accommodating Manchester Decoder

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vasquez, Mario J.

    1988-01-01

    No adjustment necessary to cover a 10:1 frequency range. Decoding circuit converts biphase-level pulse-code modulation to nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ)-level pulse-code modulation plus clock signal. Circuit accommodates input data rate of 50 to 500 kb/s. Tracks gradual changes in rate automatically, eliminating need for extra circuits and manual switching to adjust to different rates.

  12. Accommodation and convergence during sustained computer work.

    PubMed

    Collier, Juanita D; Rosenfield, Mark

    2011-07-01

    With computer usage becoming almost universal in contemporary society, the reported prevalence of computer vision syndrome (CVS) is extremely high. However, the precise physiological mechanisms underlying CVS remain unclear. Although abnormal accommodation and vergence responses have been cited as being responsible for the symptoms produced, there is little objective evidence to support this claim. Accordingly, this study measured both of these oculomotor parameters during a sustained period of computer use. Subjects (N = 20) were required to read text aloud from a laptop computer at a viewing distance of 50 cm for a sustained 30-minute period through their habitual refractive correction. At 2-minute intervals, the accommodative response (AR) to the computer screen was measured objectively using a Grand Seiko WAM 5500 optometer (Grand Seiko, Hiroshima, Japan). Additionally, the vergence response was assessed by measuring the associated phoria (AP), i.e., prism to eliminate fixation disparity, using a customized fixation disparity target that appeared on the computer screen. Subjects were asked to rate the degree of difficulty of the reading task on a scale from 1 to 10. Mean accommodation and AP values during the task were 1.07 diopters and 0.74∆ base-in (BI), respectively. The mean discomfort score was 4.9. No significant changes in accommodation or vergence were observed during the course of the 30-minute test period. There was no significant difference in the AR as a function of subjective difficulty. However, the mean AP for the subjects who reported the least and greatest discomfort during the task was 1.55∆ BI and 0, respectively (P = 0.02). CVS, after 30 minutes was worse in subjects exhibiting zero fixation disparity when compared with those subjects having a BI AP but does not appear to be related to differences in accommodation. A slightly reduced vergence response increases subject comfort during the task. Copyright © 2011 American Optometric

  13. [Effects of visual optical stimuli for accommodation-convergence system on asthenopia].

    PubMed

    Iwasaki, Tsuneto; Tawara, Akihiko; Miyake, Nobuyuki

    2006-01-01

    We investigated the effect on eyestrain of optical stimuli that we designed for accommodation and convergence systems. Eight female students were given optical stimuli for accommodation and convergence systems for 1.5 min immediately after 20 min of a sustained task on a 3-D display. Before and after the trial, their ocular functions were measured and their symptoms were assessed. The optical stimuli were applied by moving targets of scenery images far and near around the far point position of both eyes on a horizonal place, which induced divergence in the direction of the eye position of rest. In a control group, subjects rested with closed eyes for 1.5 min instead of applying the optical stimuli. There were significant changes in the accommodative contraction time (from far to near) and the accommodative relaxation time (from near to far) and the lag of accommodation at near target, from 1.26 s to 1.62 s and from 1.49 s to 1.63 s and from 0.5 D to 0.65 D, respectively, and in the symptoms in the control group after the duration of closed-eye rest. In the stimulus group, however, the changes of those functions were smaller than in the control group. From these results, we suggest that our designed optical stimuli for accommodation and convergence systems are effective on asthenopia following accommodative dysfunction.

  14. Examining the psychometric properties of the Hindi version of Family Accommodation Scale-Self-Report (FAS-SR).

    PubMed

    Mahapatra, Ananya; Gupta, Rishi; Patnaik, Kuppili Pooja; Pattanaik, Raman Deep; Khandelwal, Sudhir Kumar

    2017-10-01

    Family accommodation (FA) is the phenomenon whereby caregivers assist or facilitate rituals or behaviours related to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). There is a need for a self-rated instrument to assess this construct in resource-strained clinical settings of India. To explore the factor structure of Hindi version of Family Accommodation Scale-Self Rated version (FAS-SR) and compare its validity with the gold standard Family Accommodation Scale-Interviewer Rated (FAS-IR) scale. The Hindi version of FAS-SR scale and FAS-IR scale was applied on 105 caregivers of patients with OCD. The initial factor analysis yielded three-factor models with an eigenvalue of >1 and the total variance explained by these factors was 72.017%. The internal consistency of the 19-item scale was 0.93 indicating good inter-item correlation. There was a significant positive correlation between FAS-IR scale total score and all the factors of the FAS-SR Scale. The average measure ICC was 0.889 with a 95% confidence interval from 0.783 to 0.981 (F (62,84)=37.547, p<001) indicating high degree of reliability between the Hindi version of FAS-SR and the FAS-IR scale. FAS-SR is a practical alternative to FAS-IR and has the potential to be used widely in an Indian setting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Species distribution of kobs (Kobus kob) in the Shai Hills Resource Reserve: an exploratory analysis.

    PubMed

    Antwi, Raymond Agyepong; Owusu, Erasmus Henaku; Attuquayefio, Daniel Korley

    2018-02-01

    The well-being of a species fundamentally rests on understanding its biology, home range, and distribution. The highly seasonal distribution of kobs poses conservation and management difficulties, particularly because of the capricious nature of the ever-changing ecological and vegetation dynamics of the ecosystem. Assessing the distribution of kobs and their associated vegetation provides insight into the vulnerability and conservation status of the species. Species distribution and habitat suitability maps were developed and created respectively for the management of kobs in the Shai Hills Resource Reserve. Kob presence data collected was analyzed using the spatial analyst and Hawth's tool in the ArcGIS software where the gradients of kob distribution within the protected area landscape were plotted and mapped. Seven environmental variables including location, land cover/use, slope/elevation, nearness to dams and rivers, temperature, and rainfall were considered to have effect on kob distribution pattern and as such used in the development of species distribution and habitat suitability maps. The results indicated that kobs in the Shai Hills Resource Reserve (SHRR) assume a clumped or contagious distribution pattern where individual kobs are aggregated in patches. Rainfall, temperature, nearness to dams and rivers, slope/elevation, and land cover/use had influence in kob distribution. Of all the cataloged habitats, 86, 13, and 1% were moderately suitable, suitable, and unsuitable, respectively. Long-term survival of species depends on adequately large areas of suitable habitats and opportunities for home range activities between such areas. As such, it is recommended that suitable habitats for kobs be dedicated and designated as conservation areas, especially areas along the western boundary.

  16. Magnifications of Single and Dual Element Accommodative Intraocular Lenses: Paraxial Optics Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Ale, Jit B; Manns, Fabrice; Ho, Arthur

    2010-01-01

    Purpose Using an analytical approach of paraxial optics, we evaluated the magnification of a model eye implanted with single-element (1E) and dual-element (2E) translating-optics accommodative intraocular lenses (AIOL) with an objective of understanding key control parameters relevant to their design. Potential clinical implications of the results arising from pseudophakic accommodation were also considered. Methods Lateral and angular magnifications in a pseudophakic model eye were analyzed using the matrix method of paraxial optics. The effects of key control parameters such as direction (forward or backward) and distance (0 to 2 mm) of translation, power combinations of the 2E-AIOL elements (front element power range +20.0 D to +40.0 D), and amplitudes of accommodation (0 to 4 D) were tested. Relative magnification, defined as the ratio of the retinal image size of the accommodated eye to that of unaccommodated phakic (rLM1) or pseudophakic (rLM2) model eyes, was computed to determine how retinal image size changes with pseudophakic accommodation. Results Both lateral and angular magnifications increased with increased power of the front element in 2E-AIOL and amplitude of accommodation. For a 2E-AIOL with front element power of +35 D, rLM1 and rLM2 increased by 17.0% and 16.3%, respectively, per millimetre of forward translation of the element, compared to the magnification at distance focus (unaccommodated). These changes correspond to a change of 9.4% and 6.5% per dioptre of accommodation, respectively. Angular magnification also increased with pseudophakic accommodation. 1E-AIOLs produced consistently less magnification than 2E-AIOLs. Relative retinal image size decreased at a rate of 0.25% with each dioptre of accommodation in the phakic model eye. The position of the image space nodal point shifted away from the retina (towards the cornea) with both phakic and pseudophakic accommodation. Conclusion Power of the mobile element, and amount and direction of

  17. [Study on spatial distribution characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine resource species richness based on national census of Chinese medicine resources (pilot)].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiao-Bo; Wang, Hui; Jing, Zhi-Xian; Li, Meng; Guo, Lan-Ping; Huang, Lu-Qi

    2017-11-01

    Based on the data collected by the census team in the national census information management system, the spatial autocorrelation analysis method was used to analyze the similarity of the richness of Chinese herbal medicine resources in the investigated counties. The results showed that the species richness in the investigated counties appeared a tendency to focus on the distribution of the characteristics. Among them, the areas with sparse resources are concentrated in most areas of the north of the Yangtze River, northwest and most areas of Tibet. The areas with abundant resources are concentrated in the areas south of the Yangtze River. The results showed that there were significant differences in the abundance of traditional Chinese medicine resources between regions. The results showed that there were significant differences in the abundance of traditional Chinese medicine resources between regions. Due to the large differences in the land area between the county and the richness of the types of traditional Chinese medicine resources, it is proposed to increase the land area of the traditional Chinese medicine resource census when allocating the fourth national census of Chinese medicine resources by the "factor method", and the richness of traditional Chinese medicine and other indicators, in order to give full play to the efficiency of transfer payment system. Based on the county area and the rich variety of traditional Chinese medicine resources, combined with the national drug resources census pilot work carried out, it is recommended to focus on attention and support in the national medicine resources census work, personnel team, funding, summary of results on the western and southern provinces. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  18. Distribution of Health Resource Allocation in the Fars Province Using the Scalogram Analysis Technique in 2011.

    PubMed

    Hatam, Nahid; Kafashi, Shahnaz; Kavosi, Zahra

    2015-07-01

    The importance of health indicators in the recent years has created challenges in resource allocation. Balanced and fair distribution of health resources is one of the main principles in achieving equity. The goal of this cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in 2010, was to classify health structural indicators in the Fars province using the scalogram technique. Health structural indicators were selected and classified in three categories; namely institutional, human resources, and rural health. The data were obtained from the statistical yearbook of Iran and was analyzed according to the scalogram technique. The distribution map of the Fars province was drawn using ArcGIS (geographic information system). The results showed an interesting health structural indicator map across the province. Our findings revealed that the city of Mohr with 85 and Zarindasht with 36 had the highest and the lowest scores, respectively. This information is valuable to provincial health policymakers to plan appropriately based on factual data and minimize chaos in allocating health resources. Based on such data and reflecting on the local needs, one could develop equity based resource allocation policies and prevent inequality. It is concluded that, as top priority, the provincial policymakers should place dedicated deprivation programs for Farashband, Eghlid and Zaindasht regions.

  19. Extralenticular and Lenticular Aspects of Accommodation and Presbyopia in Human Versus Monkey Eyes

    PubMed Central

    Croft, Mary Ann; McDonald, Jared P.; Katz, Alexander; Lin, Ting-Li; Lütjen-Drecoll, Elke; Kaufman, Paul L.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose. To determine if the accommodative forward movements of the vitreous zonule and lens equator occur in the human eye, as they do in the rhesus monkey eye; to investigate the connection between the vitreous zonule posterior insertion zone and the posterior lens equator; and to determine which components—muscle apex width, lens thickness, lens equator position, vitreous zonule, circumlental space, and/or other intraocular dimensions, including those stated in the objectives above—are most important in predicting accommodative amplitude and presbyopia. Methods. Accommodation was induced pharmacologically in 12 visually normal human subjects (ages 19–65 years) and by midbrain electrical stimulation in 11 rhesus monkeys (ages 6–27 years). Ultrasound biomicroscopy imaged the entire ciliary body, anterior and posterior lens surfaces, and the zonule. Relevant distances were measured in the resting and accommodated eyes. Stepwise regression analysis determined which variables were the most important predictors. Results. The human vitreous zonule and lens equator move forward (anteriorly) during accommodation, and their movements decline with age, as in the monkey. Over all ages studied, age could explain accommodative amplitude, but not as well as accommodative lens thickening and resting muscle apex thickness did together. Accommodative change in distances between the vitreous zonule insertion zone and the posterior lens equator or muscle apex were important for predicting accommodative lens thickening. Conclusions. Our findings quantify the movements of the zonule and ciliary muscle during accommodation, and identify their age-related changes that could impact the optical change that occurs during accommodation and IOL function. PMID:23745002

  20. Short-Term Adaptive Modification of Dynamic Ocular Accommodation

    PubMed Central

    Bharadwaj, Shrikant R.; Vedamurthy, Indu; Schor, Clifton M.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose Indirect observations suggest that the neural control of accommodation may undergo adaptive recalibration in response to age-related biomechanical changes in the accommodative system. However, there has been no direct demonstration of such an adaptive capability. This investigation was conducted to demonstrate short-term adaptation of accommodative step response dynamics to optically induced changes in neuromuscular demands. Methods Repetitive changes in accommodative effort were induced in 15 subjects (18–34 years) with a double-step adaptation paradigm wherein an initial 2-D step change in blur was followed 350 ms later by either a 2-D step increase in blur (increasing-step paradigm) or a 1.75-D step decrease in blur (decreasing-step paradigm). Peak velocity, peak acceleration, and latency of 2-D single-step test responses were assessed before and after 1.5 hours of training with these paradigms. Results Peak velocity and peak acceleration of 2-D step responses increased after adaptation to the increasing-step paradigm (9/12 subjects), and they decreased after adaptation to the decreasing-step paradigm (4/9 subjects). Adaptive changes in peak velocity and peak acceleration generalized to responses that were smaller (1 D) and larger (3 D) than the 2-D adaptation stimulus. The magnitude of adaptation correlated poorly with the subject's age, but it was significantly negatively correlated with the preadaptation dynamics. Response latency decreased after adaptation, irrespective of the direction of adaptation. Conclusions Short-term adaptive changes in accommodative step response dynamics could be induced, at least in some of our subjects between 18 and 34 years, with a directional bias toward increasing rather than decreasing the dynamics. PMID:19255153

  1. Accommodations for Multiple Choice Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trammell, Jack

    2011-01-01

    Students with learning or learning-related disabilities frequently struggle with multiple choice assessments due to difficulty discriminating between items, filtering out distracters, and framing a mental best answer. This Practice Brief suggests accommodations and strategies that disability service providers can utilize in conjunction with…

  2. Objective Amplitude of Accommodation Computed from Optical Quality Metrics Applied to Wavefront Outcomes

    PubMed Central

    López-Gil, Norberto; Fernández-Sánchez, Vicente; Thibos, Larry N.; Montés-Micó, Robert

    2010-01-01

    Purpose We studied the accuracy and precision of 32 objective wavefront methods for finding the amplitude of accommodation obtained in 180 eyes. Methods Ocular accommodation was stimulated with 0.5 D steps in target vergence spanning the full range of accommodation for each subject. Subjective monocular amplitude of accommodation was measured using two clinical methods, using negative lenses and with a custom Badal optometer. Results Both subjective methods gave similar results. Results obtained from the Badal optometer where used to test the accuracy of the objective methods. All objective methods showed lower amplitude of accommodation that the subjective ones by an amount that varied from 0.2 to 1.1 D depending on the method. The precision in this prediction also varied between subjects, with an average standard error of the mean of 0.1 D that decreased with age. Conclusions Depth of field increases subjective of amplitude of accommodation overestimating the objective amplitude obtained with all the metrics used. The change in the negative direction of spherical aberration during accommodation increases the amplitude of accommodation by an amount that varies with age.

  3. Partner Accommodation Moderates Treatment Outcomes for Couple Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Fredman, Steffany J.; Pukay-Martin, Nicole D.; Macdonald, Alexandra; Wagner, Anne C.; Vorstenbosch, Valerie; Monson, Candice M.

    2015-01-01

    Objective Partner accommodation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (i.e., altering one’s own behaviors to minimize patient distress and/or relationship conflict due to patients’ PTSD symptoms) has been shown to be positively associated with patient and partner psychopathology and negatively associated with patient and partner relationship satisfaction cross-sectionally. However, the prognostic value of partner accommodation in treatment outcomes is unknown. The goals of the present study were to determine if partner accommodation decreases as a function of couple therapy for PTSD and if pretreatment partner accommodation moderates the efficacy of couple therapy for PTSD. Method Thirty-nine patients with PTSD and their intimate partners (n = 39) were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy (CBCT) for PTSD (Monson & Fredman, 2012) and received CBCT for PTSD immediately or after three months of waiting. Blinded assessors determined clinician-rated PTSD symptoms and patient-rated PTSD and depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction at baseline, mid-treatment/4 weeks of waiting, and posttreatment/12 weeks of waiting. Results Contrary to expectation, partner accommodation levels did not change over time for either treatment condition. However, baseline partner accommodation significantly moderated treatment outcomes. Higher levels of partner accommodation were associated with greater improvements in PTSD, depressive symptoms, and relationship satisfaction among patients receiving CBCT for PTSD compared with waiting list. At lower levels of partner accommodation, patients in both groups improved or remained at low levels of these outcomes. Conclusions Individuals with PTSD who have more accommodating partners may be particularly well-suited for couple therapy for PTSD. PMID:26501498

  4. Spasm of accommodation associated with closed head trauma.

    PubMed

    Chan, R V Paul; Trobe, Jonathan D

    2002-03-01

    Spasm of accommodation, creating pseudomyopia, is generally associated with miosis and excess convergence as part of spasm of the near reflex. It may also exist as an isolated entity, usually attributed to psychogenic causes. We present six cases of accommodative spasm associated with closed head injury. All patients were male, ranging in age between 16 and 37 years. The degree of pseudomyopia, defined as the difference between manifest and cycloplegic refraction, was 1.5 to 2 diopters. A 3-year trial of pharmacologically induced cycloplegia in one patient did not lead to reversal of the spasm when the cycloplegia was stopped. All patients required the manifest refraction to see clearly at distance. The pseudomyopia endured for at least 7 years following head trauma. This phenomenon may represent traumatic activation or disinhibition of putative brain stem accommodation centers in young individuals.

  5. Static and dynamic crystalline lens accommodation evaluated using quantitative 3-D OCT.

    PubMed

    Gambra, Enrique; Ortiz, Sergio; Perez-Merino, Pablo; Gora, Michalina; Wojtkowski, Maciej; Marcos, Susana

    2013-01-01

    Custom high-resolution high-speed anterior segment spectral domain Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) provided with automatic quantification and distortion correction algorithms was used to characterize three-dimensionally (3-D) the human crystalline lens in vivo in four subjects, for accommodative demands between 0 to 6 D in 1 D steps. Anterior and posterior lens radii of curvature decreased with accommodative demand at rates of 0.73 and 0.20 mm/D, resulting in an increase of the estimated optical power of the eye of 0.62 D per diopter of accommodative demand. Dynamic fluctuations in crystalline lens radii of curvature, anterior chamber depth and lens thickness were also estimated from dynamic 2-D OCT images (14 Hz), acquired during 5-s of steady fixation, for different accommodative demands. Estimates of the eye power from dynamical geometrical measurements revealed an increase of the fluctuations of the accommodative response from 0.07 D to 0.47 D between 0 and 6 D (0.044 D per D of accommodative demand). A sensitivity analysis showed that the fluctuations of accommodation were driven by dynamic changes in the lens surfaces, particularly in the posterior lens surface.

  6. Static and dynamic crystalline lens accommodation evaluated using quantitative 3-D OCT

    PubMed Central

    Gambra, Enrique; Ortiz, Sergio; Perez-Merino, Pablo; Gora, Michalina; Wojtkowski, Maciej; Marcos, Susana

    2013-01-01

    Custom high-resolution high-speed anterior segment spectral domain Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) provided with automatic quantification and distortion correction algorithms was used to characterize three-dimensionally (3-D) the human crystalline lens in vivo in four subjects, for accommodative demands between 0 to 6 D in 1 D steps. Anterior and posterior lens radii of curvature decreased with accommodative demand at rates of 0.73 and 0.20 mm/D, resulting in an increase of the estimated optical power of the eye of 0.62 D per diopter of accommodative demand. Dynamic fluctuations in crystalline lens radii of curvature, anterior chamber depth and lens thickness were also estimated from dynamic 2-D OCT images (14 Hz), acquired during 5-s of steady fixation, for different accommodative demands. Estimates of the eye power from dynamical geometrical measurements revealed an increase of the fluctuations of the accommodative response from 0.07 D to 0.47 D between 0 and 6 D (0.044 D per D of accommodative demand). A sensitivity analysis showed that the fluctuations of accommodation were driven by dynamic changes in the lens surfaces, particularly in the posterior lens surface. PMID:24049680

  7. Accommodative Lag by Autorefraction and Two Dynamic Retinoscopy Methods

    PubMed Central

    2008-01-01

    Purpose To evaluate two clinical procedures, MEM and Nott retinoscopy, for detecting accommodative lags 1.00 diopter (D) or greater in children as identified by an open-field autorefractor. Methods 168 children 8 to <12 years old with low myopia, normal visual acuity, and no strabismus participated as part of an ancillary study within the screening process for a randomized trial. Accommodative response to a 3.00 D demand was first assessed by MEM and Nott retinoscopy, viewing binocularly with spherocylindrical refractive error corrected, with testing order randomized and each performed by a different masked examiner. The response was then determined viewing monocularly with spherical equivalent refractive error corrected, using an open-field autorefractor, which was the gold standard used for eligibility for the clinical trial. Sensitivity and specificity for accommodative lags of 1.00 D or more were calculated for each retinoscopy method compared to the autorefractor. Results 116 (69%) of the 168 children had accommodative lag of 1.00 D or more by autorefraction. MEM identified 66 children identified by autorefraction for a sensitivity of 57% (95% CI = 47% to 66%) and a specificity of 63% (95% CI = 49% to 76%). Nott retinoscopy identified 35 children for a sensitivity of 30% (95% CI = 22% to 39%) and a specificity of 81% (95% CI = 67% to 90%). Analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves constructed for MEM and for Nott retinoscopy failed to reveal alternate cut points that would improve the combination of sensitivity and specificity for identifying accommodative lag ≥ 1.00 D as defined by autorefraction. Conclusions Neither MEM nor Nott retinoscopy provided adequate sensitivity and specificity to identify myopic children with accommodative lag ≥ 1.00 D as determined by autorefraction. A variety of methodological differences between the techniques may contribute to the modest to poor agreement. PMID:19214130

  8. The stability of steady state accommodation in human infants

    PubMed Central

    Candy, T. Rowan; Bharadwaj, Shrikant R.

    2009-01-01

    Retinal image quality in infants is largely determined by the accuracy and the stability of their accommodative responses. Although the accuracy of infants’ accommodation has been investigated previously, little is known about the stability of their responses. We performed two experiments that characterized the stability of infants’ steady state accommodation. Analyses were performed in the time domain (root mean square [RMS] deviation) and in the frequency domain (spectral analysis). In Experiment 1, accommodation responses were recorded for a period of 3 s from the left eye of four groups of infants (8–10, 11–13, 14–19, and 20–30 weeks of age) and eight prepresbyopic adults while they focused on a small toy placed at a dioptric viewing distance of 1.0 D (at 1 m). In Experiment 2, accommodation responses were recorded for a period of 14 s from the left eye of a group of 8- to 12-week-old infants and six prepresbyopic adults while they focused on a cartoon image placed at three different dioptric viewing distances (1.25, 2.0, and 3.0 D). The data, collected using a photorefractor sampling at 25 Hz, showed two important characteristics. First, the RMS deviations and the power were quantitatively similar across different infant age groups, and they were significantly larger in infants than in adults. Second, the overall and relative power also increased with the dioptric viewing distance both in infants and adults. At all three dioptric viewing distances, the measures of power were larger in infants than in adults. These data demonstrate that infants’ accommodative responses contain instabilities that are qualitatively very similar to those observed in adults. However, the larger RMS deviations suggest that infants are likely to experience larger fluctuations in retinal image quality than adults. PMID:17997659

  9. Accommodating World Englishes in Developing EFL Learners' Oral Communication

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mukminatien, Nur

    2012-01-01

    This article aims to discuss issues of World Englishes (WEs) and the implications in ELT. It explores the extent to which WEs are taken into account as emerging English varieties different from inner circle varieties, how WEs should be accommodated by English teachers, and which standard to adopt to accommodate learner's linguistic needs for…

  10. Convergence and accommodation development is pre-programmed in premature infants

    PubMed Central

    Horwood, Anna M; Toor, Sonia S; Riddell, Patricia M

    2015-01-01

    Purpose This study investigated whether vergence and accommodation development in pre-term infants is pre-programmed or is driven by experience. Methods 32 healthy infants, born at mean 34 weeks gestation (range 31.2-36 weeks) were compared with 45 healthy full-term infants (mean 40.0 weeks) over a 6 month period, starting at 4-6 weeks post-natally. Simultaneous accommodation and convergence to a detailed target were measured using a Plusoptix PowerRefII infra-red photorefractor as a target moved between 0.33m and 2m. Stimulus/response gains and responses at 0.33m and 2m were compared by both corrected (gestational) age and chronological (post-natal) age. Results When compared by their corrected age, pre-term and full-term infants showed few significant differences in vergence and accommodation responses after 6-7 weeks of age. However, when compared by chronological age, pre-term infants’ responses were more variable, with significantly reduced vergence gains, reduced vergence response at 0.33m, reduced accommodation gain, and increased accommodation at 2m, compared to full-term infants between 8-13 weeks after birth. Conclusions When matched by corrected age, vergence and accommodation in pre-term infants show few differences from full-term infants’ responses. Maturation appears pre-programmed and is not advanced by visual experience. Longer periods of immature visual responses might leave pre-term infants more at risk of development of oculomotor deficits such as strabismus. PMID:26275135

  11. Design and implementation of distributed multimedia surveillance system based on object-oriented middleware

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Xuesong; Jiang, Ling; Hu, Ruimin

    2006-10-01

    Currently, the applications of surveillance system have been increasingly widespread. But there are few surveillance platforms that can meet the requirement of large-scale, cross-regional, and flexible surveillance business. In the paper, we present a distributed surveillance system platform to improve safety and security of the society. The system is constructed by an object-oriented middleware called as Internet Communications Engine (ICE). This middleware helps our platform to integrate a lot of surveillance resource of the society and accommodate diverse range of surveillance industry requirements. In the follow sections, we will describe in detail the design concepts of system and introduce traits of ICE.

  12. Resource distribution influences positive edge effects in a seagrass fish.

    PubMed

    Macreadie, Peter I; Hindell, Jeremy S; Keough, Michael J; Jenkins, Gregory P; Connolly, Rod M

    2010-07-01

    According to conceptual models, the distribution of resources plays a critical role in determining how organisms distribute themselves near habitat edges. These models are frequently used to achieve a mechanistic understanding of edge effects, but because they are based predominantly on correlative studies, there is need for a demonstration of causality, which is best done through experimentation. Using artificial seagrass habitat as an experimental system, we determined a likely mechanism underpinning edge effects in a seagrass fish. To test for edge effects, we measured fish abundance at edges (0-0.5 m) and interiors (0.5-1 m) of two patch configurations: continuous (single, continuous 9-m2 patches) and patchy (four discrete 1-m2 patches within a 9-m2 area). In continuous configurations, pipefish (Stigmatopora argus) were three times more abundant at edges than interiors (positive edge effect), but in patchy configurations there was no difference. The lack of edge effect in patchy configurations might be because patchy seagrass consisted entirely of edge habitat. We then used two approaches to test whether observed edge effects in continuous configurations were caused by increased availability of food at edges. First, we estimated the abundance of the major prey of pipefish, small crustaceans, across continuous seagrass configurations. Crustacean abundances were highest at seagrass edges, where they were 16% greater than in patch interiors. Second, we supplemented interiors of continuous treatment patches with live crustaceans, while control patches were supplemented with seawater. After five hours of supplementation, numbers of pipefish were similar between edges and interiors of treatment patches, while the strong edge effects were maintained in controls. This indicated that fish were moving from patch edges to interiors in response to food supplementation. These approaches strongly suggest that a numerically dominant fish species is more abundant at seagrass

  13. Cranial biomechanics underpins high sauropod diversity in resource-poor environments

    PubMed Central

    Button, David J.; Rayfield, Emily J.; Barrett, Paul M.

    2014-01-01

    High megaherbivore species richness is documented in both fossil and contemporary ecosystems despite their high individual energy requirements. An extreme example of this is the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation, which was dominated by sauropod dinosaurs, the largest known terrestrial vertebrates. High sauropod diversity within the resource-limited Morrison is paradoxical, but might be explicable through sophisticated resource partitioning. This hypothesis was tested through finite-element analysis of the crania of the Morrison taxa Camarasaurus and Diplodocus. Results demonstrate divergent specialization, with Camarasaurus capable of exerting and accommodating greater bite forces than Diplodocus, permitting consumption of harder food items. Analysis of craniodental biomechanical characters taken from 35 sauropod taxa demonstrates a functional dichotomy in terms of bite force, cranial robustness and occlusal relationships yielding two polyphyletic functional ‘grades’. Morrison taxa are widely distributed within and between these two morphotypes, reflecting distinctive foraging specializations that formed a biomechanical basis for niche partitioning between them. This partitioning, coupled with benefits associated with large body size, would have enabled the high sauropod diversities present in the Morrison Formation. Further, this provides insight into the mechanisms responsible for supporting the high diversities of large megaherbivores observed in other Mesozoic and Cenozoic communities, particularly those occurring in resource-limited environments. PMID:25297869

  14. Impacts of Using Distributed Energy Resources to Reduce Peak Loads in Vermont

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ruth, Mark F.; Lunacek, Monte S.; Jones, Birk

    To help the United States develop a modern electricity grid that provides reliable power from multiple resources as well as resiliency under extreme conditions, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is leading the Grid Modernization Initiative (GMI) to help shape the future of the nation's grid. Under the GMI, DOE funded the Vermont Regional Initiative project to provide the technical support and analysis to utilities that need to mitigate possible impacts of increasing renewable generation required by statewide goals. Advanced control of distributed energy resources (DER) can both support higher penetrations of renewable energy by balancing controllable loads to windmore » and photovoltaic (PV) solar generation and reduce peak demand by shedding noncritical loads. This work focuses on the latter. This document reports on an experiment that evaluated and quantified the potential benefits and impacts of reducing the peak load through demand response (DR) using centrally controllable electric water heaters (EWHs) and batteries on two Green Mountain Power (GMP) feeders. The experiment simulated various hypothetical scenarios that varied the number of controllable EWHs, the amount of distributed PV systems, and the number of distributed residential batteries. The control schemes were designed with several objectives. For the first objective, the primary simulations focused on reducing the load during the independent system operator (ISO) peak when capacity charges were the primary concern. The second objective was to mitigate DR rebound to avoid new peak loads and high ramp rates. The final objective was to minimize customers' discomfort, which is defined by the lack of hot water when it is needed. We performed the simulations using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Integrated Energy System Model (IESM) because it can simulate both electric power distribution feeder and appliance end use performance and it includes the ability to simulate multiple

  15. Legionella species in year-round vs. seasonal accommodation water supply systems.

    PubMed

    Rakić, Anita; Perić, Jelena; Štambuk-Giljanović, Nives; Mikrut, Antonija; Bakavić, Ana-Spomenka

    2011-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of hot water between eleven hotels in the Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia that are open year round and 10 summer season hotels and retirement homes with irregular use of water. We took 122 samples between May and December 2009. Water temperature and free residual chlorine were measured in situ. Physical and chemical analysis included pH, electrical conductivity, and concentrations of iron, manganese, copper, zinc, calcium, and magnesium that were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, while the Legionella species were determined using a cultivation method on buffered charcoal yeast extract agar. Differences in metal concentrations between the seasonal and year-round accommodation facilities were negligible, save for zinc that was higher in year-round (0.341 mg L(-1)) than in seasonal facilities (0.130 mg L(-1)). Samples from all year-round and six summer season hotels were negative to the Legionella species, but four seasonal facilities turned up with positive samples to Legionella pneumophila. Our study has demonstrated that water quality differs between year-round and seasonal accommodation facilities. These findings suggest that metal plumbing components and associated corrosion products are important factors in the survival and growth of Legionella species in water distribution systems.

  16. Equality in the distribution of health material and human resources in Guangxi: evidence from Southern China.

    PubMed

    Sun, Jian

    2017-08-29

    The aim of this study was to assess the equality in the distribution of health material and human resources in Guangxi, and put forward proposal to improve the equality status of the health material and human resources. We used concentration index to evaluate the degree of income-related equality of health material and human resources. The concentration index values of the five resources ranged from -0.0847 to 0.1416 from 2011 to 2015. Health institution was concentrated among the poorer populations, while other four resources were concentrated among the richer populations. Overall, the equality status of health institutions, health care beds, health technical personnel, and certified nurses got better from 2011 to 2015. However, the equality status of practicing physicians has got worse since 2014.

  17. 14 CFR 382.81 - For which passengers must carriers make seating accommodations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false For which passengers must carriers make seating accommodations? 382.81 Section 382.81 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... TRAVEL Seating Accommodations § 382.81 For which passengers must carriers make seating accommodations? As...

  18. 14 CFR 382.83 - Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations? 382.83 Section 382.83 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... TRAVEL Seating Accommodations § 382.83 Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations...

  19. 14 CFR 382.81 - For which passengers must carriers make seating accommodations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false For which passengers must carriers make seating accommodations? 382.81 Section 382.81 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... TRAVEL Seating Accommodations § 382.81 For which passengers must carriers make seating accommodations? As...

  20. 14 CFR 382.83 - Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations? 382.83 Section 382.83 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... TRAVEL Seating Accommodations § 382.83 Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations...

  1. 14 CFR 382.83 - Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations? 382.83 Section 382.83 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... TRAVEL Seating Accommodations § 382.83 Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations...

  2. 14 CFR 382.83 - Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations? 382.83 Section 382.83 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... TRAVEL Seating Accommodations § 382.83 Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations...

  3. 14 CFR 382.83 - Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations? 382.83 Section 382.83 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF... TRAVEL Seating Accommodations § 382.83 Through what mechanisms do carriers make seating accommodations...

  4. Red-green opponent channel mediation of control of human ocular accommodation.

    PubMed Central

    Kotulak, J C; Morse, S E; Billock, V A

    1995-01-01

    1. It has been hypothesized, but not verified empirically, that the control of human ocular accommodation is mediated by either the red-green or yellow-blue colour channels. Our goal was to determine experimentally whether the red-green channel by itself could influence the accommodative response. 2. To find out, we isolated the red-green channel through chromatic bandpass filtering and measured accommodation under dynamic and static conditions. The effect of this filtering was to modulate the red-green channel without disturbing either the yellow-blue or luminance channels. 3. Accommodative gain (ratio of response to stimulus amplitude) declined monotonically with decreasing bandwidth under dynamic conditions. Because the outputs of both the luminance and yellow-blue colour channels did not vary with bandwidth, the only explanation is that the red-green opponent process was responsible for the effect. 4. Under static conditions, however, accommodation was independent of bandwidth. This may be attributable to the decreased sensitivity to chromatic contrast that occurs at low temporal frequencies. PMID:7738858

  5. Analysis the Transient Process of Wind Power Resources when there are Voltage Sags in Distribution Grid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nhu Y, Do

    2018-03-01

    Vietnam has many advantages of wind power resources. Time by time there are more and more capacity as well as number of wind power project in Vietnam. Corresponding to the increase of wind power emitted into national grid, It is necessary to research and analyze in order to ensure the safety and reliability of win power connection. In national distribution grid, voltage sag occurs regularly, it can strongly influence on the operation of wind power. The most serious consequence is the disconnection. The paper presents the analysis of distribution grid's transient process when voltage is sagged. Base on the analysis, the solutions will be recommended to improve the reliability and effective operation of wind power resources.

  6. 78 FR 79567 - Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Income Deductions and Resource Eligibility...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-31

    ...The final rule entitled Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Income Deductions and Resource Eligibility was published on August 27, 2013. The Office of Management and Budget cleared the associated information collection requirements (ICR) on September 26, 2013. This document announces approval of the ICR.

  7. 28 CFR 42.511 - Reasonable accommodation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... needed. A reasonable accommodation may require a recipient to bear more than an insignificant economic... inconvenience which does not bear on the ability of the handicapped individual to perform the essential duties...

  8. Are prenatal care resources distributed efficiently across high-risk and low-risk mothers?

    PubMed

    Mukhopadhyay, Sankar; Wendel, Jeanne

    2008-09-01

    The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement recommends reducing the number of prenatal care visits recommended for low-risk women, citing evidence from a randomized clinical trial indicating that the reduction would not adversely impact infant health. We investigate the implicit hypothesis that prenatal care resources are not distributed efficiently across high-risk and low-risk women. Using clinic-reported prenatal care and an inclusive measure of infant health, we report evidence indicating inefficient resource utilization: prenatal care only boosts infant health when mothers have specific pre-existing diagnoses, but women with high potential to benefit from care do not obtain more care than other women.

  9. Changes in Central Walker Lane Strain Accommodation near Bridgeport, California; as told by the Stanislaus Group

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carlson, C. W.; Pluhar, C. J.; Glen, J. M.; Farner, M. J.

    2012-12-01

    Accommodating ~20-25% of the dextral-motion between the Pacific and North American plates the Walker Lane is represented as an elongate, NW oriented, region of active tectonics positioned between the northwesterly-translating Sierra Nevada microplate and the east-west extension of the Basin and Range. This region of transtension is being variably accommodated on regional-scale systems of predominantly strike-slip faulting. At the western edge of the central Walker Lane (ca. 38°-39°N latitude) is a region of crustal-scale blocks bounded by wedge-shaped depositional-basins and normal-fault systems, here defined as the west-central Walker Lane (WCWL). Devoid of obvious strike-slip faulting, the presence of tectonic-block vertical-axis rotations in the WCWL represents unrecognized components of dextral-shearing and/or changes of strain-accommodation over time. We use paleomagnetic reference directions for Eureka Valley Tuff (EVT) members of the late Miocene Stanislaus Group as spatial and temporal markers for documentation of tectonic-block vertical-axis rotations near Bridgeport, CA. Study-site rotations revealed discrete rotational domains of mean vertical-axis rotation ranging from ~10°-30° with heterogeneous regional distribution. Additionally, the highest measured magnitudes of vertical-axis rotation (~50°-60° CW) define a 'Region of High Strain' that includes the wedge-shaped Bridgeport Valley (Basin). This study revealed previously-unrecognized tectonic rotation of reference direction sites from prior studies for two (By-Day and Upper) of the three members of the EVT, resulting in under-estimates of regional strain accommodation by these studies. Mean remanent directions and virtual geomagnetic poles utilized in our study yielded a recalculated reference direction for the By-Day member of: Dec.=353.2°; Inc.= 43.7°; α95=10.1, in agreement with new measurements in the stable Sierra Nevada. This recalculated direction confirmed the presence of previously

  10. OCT-based full crystalline lens shape change during accommodation in vivo.

    PubMed

    Martinez-Enriquez, Eduardo; Pérez-Merino, Pablo; Velasco-Ocana, Miriam; Marcos, Susana

    2017-02-01

    The full shape of the accommodating crystalline lens was estimated using custom three-dimensional (3-D) spectral OCT and image processing algorithms. Automatic segmentation and distortion correction were used to construct 3-D models of the lens region visible through the pupil. The lens peripheral region was estimated with a trained and validated parametric model. Nineteen young eyes were measured at 0-6 D accommodative demands in 1.5 D steps. Lens volume, surface area, diameter, and equatorial plane position were automatically quantified. Lens diameter & surface area correlated negatively and equatorial plane position positively with accommodation response. Lens volume remained constant and surface area decreased with accommodation, indicating that the lens material is incompressible and the capsular bag elastic.

  11. Reasonable Accommodation in Training Safety.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandoz, Jeff

    A pictograph and icon-driven training program has been specifically designed for educators who are responsible for teaching the developmentally disabled regarding the safe use of hazardous chemicals. In alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it offers "reasonable accommodation" by those who educate and train this special…

  12. Cost of workplace accommodations for individuals with disabilities: with or without personal assistance services.

    PubMed

    Solovieva, Tatiana I; Walls, Richard T; Hendricks, Deborah J; Dowler, Denetta L

    2009-10-01

    This study compared the expense associated with use of personal assistance services (PAS) for individuals with disabilities to the expense incurred by individuals with disabilities who did not use PAS. The intent of this investigation was to assess the disability accommodation costs and benefits of PAS and non-PAS cases. The study uses 1,182 follow-up telephone surveys and 24 telephone interviews of employers who had previously contacted the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) to discuss disability-related accommodations for an employee or potential employee that were conducted from January 2004 through December 2006. The survey included 69 employers who had considered PAS. The surveys were conducted by the University of Iowa's Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center, which contacted employers who had previously contacted JAN for consultation on workplace accommodations. The interviews were conducted by the International Center for Disability Information at West Virginia University. Key findings point to the costs associated with PAS cases and with cases not involving PAS accommodations. As reported by the employers, the median "one-time cost" of accommodations (not $0) for non-PAS cases was $500. The median "one-time cost" of accommodations (not $0) for PAS cases was $1,850. When $0 cost of accommodations on PAS cases was factored in with "one-time cost" of accommodations for PAS cases, the median cost was $0. For non-PAS cases of accommodations, when $0 cost of accommodations was considered, the outcome was a median cost of $0. The annual cost for PAS accommodations was a median cost of $8,000 in comparison to $2,000 for non-PAS. The median dollar amount estimates of direct benefits were $1,600 for PAS accommodations, similar to $1,500 for non-PAS. The most frequently mentioned benefits from PAS accommodations were (a) increased productivity, (b) increased diversity, (c) retention of a valued employee, (d) improved interactions with co-workers, (e) increased

  13. Workplace Accommodation for Persons With IBD: What Is Needed and What Is Accessed.

    PubMed

    Chhibba, Tarun; Walker, John R; Sexton, Kathryn; Restall, Gayle; Ivekovic, Melony; Shafer, Leigh Ann; Singh, Harminder; Targownik, Laura E; Bernstein, Charles N

    2017-10-01

    People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often experience periods of illness that interfere with their ability to work. We aimed to understand the need for workplace accommodation during periods of acute illness among persons IBD. Participants were recruited from the population-based University of Manitoba Research Registry and received a survey including questions assessing experiences with workplace accommodations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression modelling. A total of 1143 individuals responded to the survey (46% response rate), of whom 881 had experienced IBD symptoms in the workplace and were included in the analysis. The mean age was 48.3 years (standard deviation, 10.9); 61% were female. Mean IBD duration was 20.6 years (standard deviation, 10.5). Most respondents (73%) described IBD symptoms experienced in the workplace as severe to very severe. The most commonly required accommodations were time to go to medical appointments during working hours (81%), easy access to a toilet (71%), and a chance to take a break when not feeling well (54%). Most accommodations were arranged informally or through a supervisor. The accommodations required were very or somewhat easy to arrange about half the time. Being female, having high symptom severity, and high level of current distress were associated with a need for more accommodations, difficulty implementing accommodations, and not asking for needed accommodations. This study provides important information as to the types of accommodations that are necessary, common practices arranging for these, and level of difficulty arranging accommodations. Furthermore, characteristics associated with greater need for accommodation, reluctance to ask for them, and difficulty in arranging them were identified. Copyright © 2017 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Targeting hunter distribution based on host resource selection and kill sites to manage disease risk.

    PubMed

    Dugal, Cherie J; van Beest, Floris M; Vander Wal, Eric; Brook, Ryan K

    2013-10-01

    Endemic and emerging diseases are rarely uniform in their spatial distribution or prevalence among cohorts of wildlife. Spatial models that quantify risk-driven differences in resource selection and hunter mortality of animals at fine spatial scales can assist disease management by identifying high-risk areas and individuals. We used resource selection functions (RSFs) and selection ratios (SRs) to quantify sex- and age-specific resource selection patterns of collared (n = 67) and hunter-killed (n = 796) nonmigratory elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) during the hunting season between 2002 and 2012, in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Distance to protected area was the most important covariate influencing resource selection and hunter-kill sites of elk (AICw = 1.00). Collared adult males (which are most likely to be infected with bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) and chronic wasting disease) rarely selected for sites outside of parks during the hunting season in contrast to adult females and juvenile males. The RSFs showed selection by adult females and juvenile males to be negatively associated with landscape-level forest cover, high road density, and water cover, whereas hunter-kill sites of these cohorts were positively associated with landscape-level forest cover and increasing distance to streams and negatively associated with high road density. Local-level forest was positively associated with collared animal locations and hunter-kill sites; however, selection was stronger for collared juvenile males and hunter-killed adult females. In instances where disease infects a metapopulation and eradication is infeasible, a principle goal of management is to limit the spread of disease among infected animals. We map high-risk areas that are regularly used by potentially infectious hosts but currently underrepresented in the distribution of kill sites. We present a novel application of widely available data to target hunter distribution based on host resource

  15. [Finite Element Modelling of the Eye for the Investigation of Accommodation].

    PubMed

    Martin, H; Stachs, O; Guthoff, R; Grabow, N

    2016-12-01

    Background: Accommodation research increasingly uses engineering methods. This article presents the use of the finite element method in accommodation research. Material and Methods: Geometry, material data and boundary conditions are prerequisites for the application of the finite element method. Published data on geometry and materials are reviewed. It is shown how boundary conditions are important and how they influence the results. Results: Two dimensional and three dimensional models of the anterior chamber of the eye are presented. With simple two dimensional models, it is shown that realistic results for the accommodation amplitude can always be achieved. More complex three dimensional models of the accommodation mechanism - including the ciliary muscle - require further investigations of the material data and of the morphology of the ciliary muscle, if they are to achieve realistic results for accommodation. Discussion and Conclusion: The efficiency and the limitations of the finite element method are especially clear for accommodation. Application of the method requires extensive preparation, including acquisition of geometric and material data and experimental validation. However, a validated model can be used as a basis for parametric studies, by systematically varying material data and geometric dimensions. This allows systematic investigation of how essential input parameters influence the results. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. Transition to Postsecondary: New Documentation Guidance for Access to Accommodations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klotz, Mary Beth

    2012-01-01

    The Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) recently developed a conceptual framework that substantially revises its guidance for disability documentation for accommodations in higher education settings. This new document, "Supporting Accommodation Requests: Guidance on Documentation Practices," was written in response to the…

  17. Is There a Downside of Job Accommodations? An Employee Perspective on Individual Change Processes

    PubMed Central

    Kensbock, Julia M.; Boehm, Stephan A.; Bourovoi, Kirill

    2017-01-01

    By modifying the work environments, work routines, and work tasks of employees with health restrictions, organizations can effectively help them continue to perform their jobs successfully. As such, job accommodations are an effective tool to secure the continued employment of aging workers who develop disabilities across their life span. However, while accommodations tackle health-related performance problems, they might create new challenges on the part of the affected employee. Building on the organizational change and accommodations literatures, we propose a theoretical framework of negative experiences during accommodation processes and apply it to qualitative data from group interviews with 73 manufacturing workers at a German industrial company who were part of the company's job accommodation program. Although problems associated with health-related impairments were mostly solved by accommodation, affected employees with disabilities reported about interpersonal problems and conflicts similar to those that typically occur during organizational change. Lack of social support as well as poor communication and information were raised as criticisms. Furthermore, our findings indicate that discrimination, bullying, and maltreatment appear to be common during accommodation processes. To make accommodation processes more successful, we derive recommendations from the organizational change literature and apply it to the accommodation context. We also emphasize unique characteristics of the accommodation setting and translate these into practical implications. PMID:28979218

  18. Accommodations Quality for Students Who Are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cawthon, Stephanie W.; Leppo, Rachel

    2013-01-01

    Students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing often receive accommodations that are intended to increase access to the educational environment. The authors provide the results of a large national study of accommodations use in secondary and postsecondary settings. The article focuses on three aspects of accommodations use: access, quality, and…

  19. Visual-Accommodation Trainer/Tester

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Randle, Robert J., Jr.

    1986-01-01

    Ophthalmic instrument tests and helps develop focusing ability. Movable stage on a fixed base permits adjustment of effective target position as perceived by subject. Various apertures used to perform tests and training procedures. Ophthalmic instrument provides four functions: it measures visual near and far points; provides focus stimulus in vision research; measures visual-accommodation resting position; can be used to train for volitional control of person's focus response.

  20. Human resources for health: A narrative review of adequacy and distribution of clinical and nonclinical human resources in hospitals of Iran.

    PubMed

    Nobakht, Samin; Shirdel, Arash; Molavi-Taleghani, Yasamin; Doustmohammadi, Mohammad M; Sheikhbardsiri, Hojjat

    2018-03-15

    Human resource supply is considered as one of the most vital factors in achieving organizational goals, and human resources are the most valuable factor in the production and delivery of services. Labor shortages and surpluses could downgrade the quality of services offered to patients. Considering the seriousness of this issue, this study aimed to investigate the status of human resources in Iran hospitals. The narrative review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. The key terms "Human Resource," "Human Resource Management," "Staff," "Workforce," "Hospital," "emergency," "staff nursing," "medical," "clinical personnel," "administration," "physician personnel," "non clinical personnel," "hospital personnel," "human development," and "Iran" were used in combination with Boolean operators OR and AND. The Institute for Scientific Information's Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Ovid, ProQuest, Wiley, Google Scholar, and the Persian database were searched. The research findings revealed that Iran's hospitals have no uniform distribution of human resources. In spite of the concentration of labor forces in some positions (eg, laboratory, radiology, operating room, anesthesia, and midwifery), other positions occupied by physicians and nurses are experiencing serious shortages of human resources, affecting the quality of the provided services. With respect to the study findings, planning to compensate for staff shortages and achieving personnel standard levels as well as providing the grounds for training the heads of wards for proper human resource management and planning would lead to an increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of hospital activities. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. The effect of a beta-adrenoceptor antagonist on accommodative adaptation in Hong Kong children.

    PubMed

    Chen, Jennifer C; Schmid, Katrina L; Brown, Brian; Edwards, Marion H

    2005-03-01

    Increased susceptibility to nearwork-induced accommodative adaptation has been suggested as a risk factor for myopia development. We investigated whether accommodative adaptation may explain in part the high prevalence of myopia in Hong Kong children and examined the effect of beta-antagonism with topical timolol maleate on accommodative adaptation. Thirty children (10 emmetropes and 20 myopes) aged between 8 and 12 years were recruited. Tonic accommodation was measured before and after 5 min of video game-playing using an open-field Shin-Nippon autorefractor. Measurements were repeated 30 min after timolol instillation. Children with progressing myopia demonstrated accommodative adaptation following the near task, whereas stable myopes showed counter-adaptive, hyperopic accommodative changes. Timolol increased the magnitude of accommodative adaptation in the stable myopes but had little effect on responses of the progressing myopes or emmetropes. Neuropharmacological modulation of the accommodative system may have a possible etiological role in the progression of myopia.

  2. Injured workers' perspectives on how workplace accommodations are conceptualized and delivered following electrical injuries.

    PubMed

    Stergiou-Kita, Mary; Mansfield, Elizabeth; Colantonio, Angela

    2014-06-01

    Returning to work following an electrical injury can be challenging due to the confluence of physical, cognitive and emotional impairments. Workplace accommodations can facilitate return to work. However, while electrical injuries can have potentially devastating consequences, there is a dearth of understanding of how workplace accommodations are obtained following electrical injury. This paper explores workers' experiences of returning to work and accommodations following an occupation electrical injury. Thirteen semi-structured qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with injured workers recruited from acute and rehabilitation burns programs in Ontario, Canada. Thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to the request and provision of accommodations. Findings reveal that accommodations are most frequently narrowly defined in relation to physical work restrictions, leading to the exclusion of cognitive and psychosocial concerns. Challenges within the accommodations process such as perceived legitimacy, a do-it-yourself approach to accommodations, and concerns regarding job security can also influence workers' decisions to request accommodations. Process elements that facilitate the effective provision of workplace accommodations include: (1) finding a "just right" fit between workers' abilities and assigned tasks and duties (2) establishing effective lines of communication between relevant stakeholders; (3) prompt response to needs; (4) having a knowledgeable individual in a position of power to advocate on workers' behalf. Further education regarding electrical injuries and workplace accommodations is warranted to increase workers', employers', health and insurance personnels' knowledge about electrical injury and best practices for providing workplace accommodations.

  3. OCT-based full crystalline lens shape change during accommodation in vivo

    PubMed Central

    Martinez-Enriquez, Eduardo; Pérez-Merino, Pablo; Velasco-Ocana, Miriam; Marcos, Susana

    2017-01-01

    The full shape of the accommodating crystalline lens was estimated using custom three-dimensional (3-D) spectral OCT and image processing algorithms. Automatic segmentation and distortion correction were used to construct 3-D models of the lens region visible through the pupil. The lens peripheral region was estimated with a trained and validated parametric model. Nineteen young eyes were measured at 0-6 D accommodative demands in 1.5 D steps. Lens volume, surface area, diameter, and equatorial plane position were automatically quantified. Lens diameter & surface area correlated negatively and equatorial plane position positively with accommodation response. Lens volume remained constant and surface area decreased with accommodation, indicating that the lens material is incompressible and the capsular bag elastic. PMID:28270993

  4. Accommodation-induced variations in retinal thickness measured by spectral domain optical coherence tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Shanhui; Sun, Yong; Dai, Cuixia; Zheng, Haihua; Ren, Qiushi; Jiao, Shuliang; Zhou, Chuanqing

    2014-09-01

    To research retinal stretching or distortion with accommodation, accommodation-induced changes in retinal thickness (RT) in the macular area were investigated in a population of young adults (n=23) by using a dual-channel spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system manufactured in-house for this study. This dual-channel SD-OCT is capable of imaging the cornea and retina simultaneously with an imaging speed of 24 kHz A-line scan rate, which can provide the anatomical dimensions of the eye, including the RT and axial length. Thus, the modification of the RT with accommodation can be calculated. A significant decrease in the RT (13.50±1.25 μm) was observed during maximum accommodation. In the 4 mm×4 mm macular area centered at the fovea, we did not find a significant quadrant-dependent difference in retinal volume change, which indicates that neither retinal stretching nor distortion was quadrant-dependent during accommodation. We speculate that the changes in RT with maximum accommodation resulted from accommodation-induced ciliary muscle contractions.

  5. Improving Meaningful Use of Accommodations by Multilingual Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shafer Willner, Lynn; Mokhtari, Kouider

    2018-01-01

    For more than two decades, accommodations have served as the primary strategy for ensuring the valid participation of multilingual learners (MLLs) in high-stakes summative assessments. Using historical analyses of the evolution of testing accommodation guidelines and related instructional practices, the authors explain how the application of…

  6. Semicommunication and Accommodation: Observations from the Linguistic Situation in Scandinavia.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Braunmuller, Kurt

    2002-01-01

    Focuses on semicommunication and accommodation and discusses two longer extracts from a large corpus of authentic communication from Scandinavia. Various aspects of a comprehensive model of semicommunication are presented and discussed, showing code switching and accommodation are not considered antagonistic but rather as scalar phenomena covering…

  7. Voltage-controlled IPMC actuators for accommodating intra-ocular lens systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horiuchi, Tetsuya; Mihashi, Toshifumi; Fujikado, Takashi; Oshika, Tetsuro; Asaka, Kinji

    2017-04-01

    An ion polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator has unique performance characteristics that were applied in this study for use within the eye. Cataracts are a common eye disease causing clouding of the lens. To treat cataracts, surgeons replace clouded lenses with intraocular lenses (IOLs). However, patients who receive this treatment must still wear reading glasses for tasks requiring close-up vision. We suggest a new voltage-controlled accommodating IOL consisting of an IPMC actuator to change the lens’ focus. We examined the relationship between the displacement performance of an IPMC actuator and the accommodating range of the IOL using in vitro experiments. We show that this system has an accommodating range of approximately 1.15 D under an applied voltage of ±1.2 V. By Lagrange interpolation, we estimate that with an IPMC actuator displacement of 0.14 mm, we can achieve a refractive power of 4 D, which is equivalent to the accommodating range of a 40 year old person.

  8. Accommodating Autistics and Treating Autism: Can We Have Both?

    PubMed

    Lim, Chong-Ming

    2015-10-01

    One of the central claims of the neurodiversity movement is that society should accommodate the needs of autistics, rather than try to treat autism. People have variously tried to reject this accommodation thesis as applicable to all autistics. One instance is Pier Jaarsma and Stellan Welin, who argue that the thesis should apply to some but not all autistics. They do so via separating autistics into high- and low-functioning, on the basis of IQ and social effectiveness or functionings. I reject their grounds for separating autistics. IQ is an irrelevant basis for separating autistics. Charitably rendering it as referring to more general capacities still leaves us mistaken about the roles they play in supporting the accommodation thesis. The appeal to social effectiveness or functionings relies on standards that are inapplicable to autistics, and which risks being deaf to the point of their claims. I then consider if their remaining argument concerning autistic culture may succeed independently of the line they draw. I argue that construing autistics' claims as beginning from culture mistakes their status, and may even detract from their aims. Via my discussion of Jaarsma and Welin, I hope to point to why the more general strategy of separating autistics, in response to the accommodation thesis, does not fully succeed. Finally, I sketch some directions for future discussions, arguing that we should instead shift our attention to consider another set of questions concerning the costs and extent of change required to accommodate all autistics. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Complex Households and the Distribution of Multiple Resources in Later Life: Findings From a National Survey.

    PubMed

    Kim, Juyeon; Waite, Linda J

    2016-02-01

    The availability of social and financial resources has profound implications for health and well-being in later life. Older adults often share resources with others who live with them, sometimes in households including relatives or friends. We examine differences in social support, social connections, money, and the household environment across types of living arrangements, develop hypotheses from two theoretical perspectives, one focusing on obligations toward kin, and one focused on social exchange within households, and test them using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. We find that availability of resources is not consistently associated with the presence of grandchildren and other young relatives, but often differs with presence of other adults. These findings suggest that a single type of resource tells us little about the distribution of the resources of older adults, and call on us to examine multiple resources simultaneously. © The Author(s) 2015.

  10. Complex Households and the Distribution of Multiple Resources in Later Life: Findings from A National Survey

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Juyeon; Link, Arts; Waite, Linda

    2016-01-01

    The availability of social and financial resources has profound implications for health and well-being in later life. Older adults often share resources with others who live with them, sometimes in households including relatives or friends. We examine differences in social support, social connections, money, and the household environment across types of living arrangements, develop hypotheses from two theoretical perspectives, one focusing on obligations toward kin, and one focused on social exchange within households, and test them using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. We find that availability of resources is not consistently associated with the presence of grandchildren and other young relatives, but often differs with presence of other adults. These findings suggest that a single type of resource tells us little about the distribution of the resources of older adults, and call on us to examine multiple resources simultaneously. PMID:25904682

  11. Accommodative and convergence response to computer screen and printed text

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ferreira, Andreia; Lira, Madalena; Franco, Sandra

    2011-05-01

    The aim of this work was to find out if differences exist in accommodative and convergence response for different computer monitors' and a printed text. It was also tried to relate the horizontal heterophoria value and accommodative response with the symptoms associated with computer use. Two independents experiments were carried out in this study. The first experiment was measuring the accommodative response on 89 subjects using the Grand Seiko WAM-5500 (Grand Seiko Co., Ltd., Japan). The accommodative response was measured using three computer monitors: a 17-inch cathode ray tube (CRT), two liquid crystal displays LCDs, one 17-inch (LCD17) and one 15 inches (LCD15) and a printed text. The text displayed was always the same for all the subjects and tests. A second experiment aimed to measure the value of habitual horizontal heterophoria on 80 subjects using the Von Graefe technique. The measurements were obtained using the same target presented on two different computer monitors, one 19-inch cathode ray tube (CRT) and other 19 inches liquid crystal displays (LCD) and printed on paper. A small survey about the incidence and prevalence of symptoms was performed similarly in both experiments. In the first experiment, the accommodation response was higher in the CRT and LCD's than for paper. There were not found significantly different response for both LCD monitors'. The second experiment showed that, the heterophoria values were similar for all the stimuli. On average, participants presented a small exophoria. In both experiments, asthenopia was the symptom that presented higher incidence. There are different accommodative responses when reading on paper or on computer monitors. This difference is more significant for CRT monitors. On the other hand, there was no difference in the values of convergence for the computer monitors' and paper. The symptoms associated with the use of computers are not related with the increase in accommodation and with the horizontal

  12. CyberShake: Running Seismic Hazard Workflows on Distributed HPC Resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Callaghan, S.; Maechling, P. J.; Graves, R. W.; Gill, D.; Olsen, K. B.; Milner, K. R.; Yu, J.; Jordan, T. H.

    2013-12-01

    As part of its program of earthquake system science research, the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) has developed a simulation platform, CyberShake, to perform physics-based probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) using 3D deterministic wave propagation simulations. CyberShake performs PSHA by simulating a tensor-valued wavefield of Strain Green Tensors, and then using seismic reciprocity to calculate synthetic seismograms for about 415,000 events per site of interest. These seismograms are processed to compute ground motion intensity measures, which are then combined with probabilities from an earthquake rupture forecast to produce a site-specific hazard curve. Seismic hazard curves for hundreds of sites in a region can be used to calculate a seismic hazard map, representing the seismic hazard for a region. We present a recently completed PHSA study in which we calculated four CyberShake seismic hazard maps for the Southern California area to compare how CyberShake hazard results are affected by different SGT computational codes (AWP-ODC and AWP-RWG) and different community velocity models (Community Velocity Model - SCEC (CVM-S4) v11.11 and Community Velocity Model - Harvard (CVM-H) v11.9). We present our approach to running workflow applications on distributed HPC resources, including systems without support for remote job submission. We show how our approach extends the benefits of scientific workflows, such as job and data management, to large-scale applications on Track 1 and Leadership class open-science HPC resources. We used our distributed workflow approach to perform CyberShake Study 13.4 on two new NSF open-science HPC computing resources, Blue Waters and Stampede, executing over 470 million tasks to calculate physics-based hazard curves for 286 locations in the Southern California region. For each location, we calculated seismic hazard curves with two different community velocity models and two different SGT codes, resulting in over

  13. An initial study of family accommodation in children and adolescents with chronic tic disorders.

    PubMed

    Storch, Eric A; Johnco, Carly; McGuire, Joseph F; Wu, Monica S; McBride, Nicole M; Lewin, Adam B; Murphy, Tanya K

    2017-01-01

    This initial study examined the nature, incidence, and clinical correlates of family accommodation in youth with tic disorders, and validated a brief self-report measure of tic-related family accommodation, the Tic Family Accommodation Scale (TFAS). Seventy-five youth aged 6-18 who were diagnosed with a tic disorder and their parent completed a diagnostic clinical interview, and clinician and parent-report measures of tic severity, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, behavioral problems, family accommodation and impairment. An exploratory factor analysis of the TFAS showed a two-factor structure, with good internal consistency for the Total score, Modification of Child Environment and Modification of Parent Environment subscales (α = 0.88, 0.86, and 0.81, respectively). Family accommodation was not associated with tic severity. Family accommodation was associated with increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, higher externalizing, rule breaking, aggressive behaviors and social problems, and with greater tic-related functional impairment. Anxiety and externalizing problems (but not depressive symptoms) predicted family accommodation when controlling for tic severity. Family accommodation predicted high levels of functional impairment over and above the effect of tic severity, anxiety, depression and externalizing problems. Family accommodation is a common phenomenon for youth with tic disorders, with modifications typically encompassing changes to the child and/or parent environments. Accommodation was not associated with tic severity, but was related to higher levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, externalizing symptoms, aggression, and rule breaking behaviors. Results suggest that other emotional symptoms are more likely to drive accommodation practices than the tic symptoms per se.

  14. Quantifying large-scale historical formation of accommodation in the Mississippi Delta

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Morton, Robert A.; Bernier, Julie C.; Kelso, Kyle W.; Barras, John A.

    2010-01-01

    Large volumes of new accommodation have formed within the Mississippi Delta plain since the mid-1950s in association with rapid conversion of coastal wetlands to open water. The three-dimensional aspects and processes responsible for accommodation formation were quantified by comparing surface elevations, water depths, and vertical displacements of stratigraphic contacts that were correlated between short sediment cores. Integration of data from remotely sensed images, sediment cores, and water-depth surveys at 10 geologically diverse areas in the delta plain provided a basis for estimating the total volume of accommodation formed by interior-wetland subsidence and subsequent erosion. Results indicate that at most of the study areas subsidence was a greater contributor than erosion to the formation of accommodation associated with wetland loss. Tens of millions of cubic meters of accommodation formed rapidly at each of the large open-water bodies that were formerly continuous interior delta-plain marsh. Together the individual study areas account for more than 440 × 106 × m3 of new accommodation that formed as holes in the Mississippi River delta-plain fabric between 1956 and 2004. This large volume provides an estimate of the new sediment that would be needed just at the study areas to restore the delta-plain wetlands to their pre-1956 areal extent and elevations.

  15. Disclosure, accommodations and self-care at work among adolescents with disabilities.

    PubMed

    Lindsay, Sally; McDougall, Carolyn; Sanford, Robyn

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore whether adolescents with disabilities disclose their condition and what types of accommodations are requested at work. In-depth, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 adolescents with a physical and/or mobility-related disability. We also reviewed their self- and staff assessments completed throughout an employment training program in which they took part. The findings show that most youth were able to disclose their conditions and recognize some of their limitations in performing tasks at work. Youth requested physical accommodations, more time to complete tasks and cognitive accommodations. Youth also performed several self-care tasks to manage their disability at work including personal care, pain management and fatigue. Within the context of this employment training program, youth were able to disclose their condition to their employer, ask for accommodations and manage their disability in the workplace. Educators and clinicians should: Assist youth in understanding whether, when and how to disclose their disability to their potential employer. Help youth to understand what accommodations are available to them in the workplace and how to access them, to help them to perform their job effectively. Coach youth on how to manage their disability in a work context, especially with regard to personal care, pain management and fatigue. Encourage and facilitate participation in experience-based opportunities to practice disclosure, requesting accommodations and self-management.

  16. Molecular-dynamics study on characteristics of energy and tangential momentum accommodation coefficients

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamaguchi, Hiroki; Matsuda, Yu; Niimi, Tomohide

    2017-07-01

    Gas-surface interaction is studied by the molecular dynamics method to investigate qualitatively characteristics of accommodation coefficients. A large number of trajectories of gas molecules colliding to and scattering from a surface are statistically analyzed to calculate the energy (thermal) accommodation coefficient (EAC) and the tangential momentum accommodation coefficient (TMAC). Considering experimental measurements of the accommodation coefficients, the incident velocities are stochastically sampled to represent a bulk condition. The accommodation coefficients for noble gases show qualitative coincidence with experimental values. To investigate characteristics of these accommodation coefficients in detail, the gas-surface interaction is parametrically studied by varying the molecular mass of gas, the gas-surface interaction strength, and the molecular size of gas, one by one. EAC increases with increasing every parameter, while TMAC increases with increasing the interaction strength, but decreases with increasing the molecular mass and the molecular size. Thus, contradictory results in experimentally measured TMAC for noble gases could result from the difference between the surface conditions employed in the measurements in the balance among the effective parameters of molecular mass, interaction strength, and molecular size, due to surface roughness and/or adsorbed molecules. The accommodation coefficients for a thermo-fluid dynamics field with a temperature difference between gas and surface and a bulk flow at the same time are also investigated.

  17. [Spasm of accommodation].

    PubMed

    Lindberg, Laura

    2014-01-01

    Spasm of accommodation refers to prolonged contraction of the ciliary muscle, most commonly causing pseudomyopia to varying degrees in both eyes by keeping the lens in a state of short sightedness. It may also be manifested as inability to allow the adaptation spasticity prevailing in the ciliary muscle relax without measurable myopia. As a rule, this is a functional ailment triggered by prolonged near work and stress. The most common symptoms include blurring of distance vision, varying visual acuity as well as pains in the orbital region and the head, progressing into a chronic state. Cycloplegic eye drops are used as the treatment.

  18. Accuracy of accommodation in heterophoric patients: testing an interaction model in a large clinical sample.

    PubMed

    Hasebe, Satoshi; Nonaka, Fumitaka; Ohtsuki, Hiroshi

    2005-11-01

    A model of the cross-link interactions between accommodation and convergence predicted that heterophoria can induce large accommodation errors (Schor, Ophthalmic Physiol. Opt. 1999;19:134-150). In 99 consecutive patients with intermittent tropia or decompensated phoria, we tested these interactions by comparing their accommodative responses to a 2.50-D target under binocular fused conditions (BFC) and monocular occluded conditions (MOC). The accommodative response in BFC frequently differed from that in MOC. The magnitude of the accommodative errors in BFC, ranging from an accommodative lag of 1.80 D (in an esophoric patient) to an accommodative lead of 1.56 D (in an exophoric patient), was correlated with distance heterophoria and uncorrected refractive errors. These results indicate that heterophoria affects the accuracy of accommodation to various degrees, as the model predicted, and that an accommodative error larger than the depth of focus of the eye occurs in exchange for binocular single vision in some heterophoric patients.

  19. The effect of lens-induced anisometropia on accommodation and vergence during human visual development.

    PubMed

    Bharadwaj, Shrikant R; Candy, T Rowan

    2011-06-01

    Clear and single binocular vision, a prerequisite for normal human visual development, is achieved through accommodation and vergence. Anisometropia is associated with abnormal visual development, but its impact on accommodation and vergence, and therefore on the individual's visual experience, is not known. This study determined the impact of transiently induced anisometropia on accommodative and vergence performance of the typically developing human visual system. One hundred eighteen subjects (age range, 2.9 months to 41.1 years) watched a cartoon movie that moved between 80 and 33 cm under six different viewing conditions: binocular and monocular, and with ±2 diopters (D) and ±4 D of lens-induced anisometropia. Twenty-one subjects (age range, 3.1 months to 12.1 years) also watched the movie with 11% induced aniseikonia. Accommodation and vergence were recorded in both eyes using a videoretinoscope (25 Hz). The main effect of viewing condition was statistically significant for both accommodation and vergence (both P < 0.001), with monocular accommodative and vergence gains statistically significantly smaller than the binocular and four induced anisometropia conditions (P < 0.001 for both accommodation and vergence). The main effect of age approached significance for accommodation (P = 0.06) and was not significant for vergence (P = 0.32). Accommodative and vergence gains with induced aniseikonia were not statistically significantly different from the binocular condition (both P > 0.5). Accommodative and vergence gains of the typically developing visual system deteriorated marginally (accommodation more than vergence) with transiently induced anisometropia (up to ±4 D) and did not deteriorate significantly with induced aniseikonia of 11%. Some binocular cues remained with ±4 D of induced anisometropia and 11% induced aniseikonia, as indicated by the accommodative and vergence gains being higher than in monocular viewing.

  20. The Effect of Lens-Induced Anisometropia on Accommodation and Vergence during Human Visual Development

    PubMed Central

    Candy, T. Rowan

    2011-01-01

    Purpose. Clear and single binocular vision, a prerequisite for normal human visual development, is achieved through accommodation and vergence. Anisometropia is associated with abnormal visual development, but its impact on accommodation and vergence, and therefore on the individual's visual experience, is not known. This study determined the impact of transiently induced anisometropia on accommodative and vergence performance of the typically developing human visual system. Methods. One hundred eighteen subjects (age range, 2.9 months to 41.1 years) watched a cartoon movie that moved between 80 and 33 cm under six different viewing conditions: binocular and monocular, and with ±2 diopters (D) and ±4 D of lens-induced anisometropia. Twenty-one subjects (age range, 3.1 months to 12.1 years) also watched the movie with 11% induced aniseikonia. Accommodation and vergence were recorded in both eyes using a videoretinoscope (25 Hz). Results. The main effect of viewing condition was statistically significant for both accommodation and vergence (both P < 0.001), with monocular accommodative and vergence gains statistically significantly smaller than the binocular and four induced anisometropia conditions (P < 0.001 for both accommodation and vergence). The main effect of age approached significance for accommodation (P = 0.06) and was not significant for vergence (P = 0.32). Accommodative and vergence gains with induced aniseikonia were not statistically significantly different from the binocular condition (both P > 0.5). Conclusions. Accommodative and vergence gains of the typically developing visual system deteriorated marginally (accommodation more than vergence) with transiently induced anisometropia (up to ±4 D) and did not deteriorate significantly with induced aniseikonia of 11%. Some binocular cues remained with ±4 D of induced anisometropia and 11% induced aniseikonia, as indicated by the accommodative and vergence gains being higher than in monocular viewing

  1. Reducing the lag of accommodation by auditory biofeedback: A pilot study.

    PubMed

    Wagner, Sandra; Ohlendorf, Arne; Schaeffel, Frank; Wahl, Siegfried

    2016-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a reduction of the accommodative lag is possible by training the accuracy of accommodation using auditory biofeedback. Accommodation responses were measured in thirty-one young adults with myopia for dioptric target distances of 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0D using an eccentric infrared photorefractor. For the biofeedback training, subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental (n=15) or a control group (n=16). Subjects of the experimental group were provided with two tones while fixating a target, one tone was related to their accommodative response and the second to the target distance. Their task was to match these tones. The control group did not receive any auditory biofeedback. Two different training methods were applied, a continuous training of 200s, and ten consecutive sessions of 20s each. The training effects on the lag of accommodation (change Δ) were highly variable. Regarding the entire study group, the observed change in the accommodative lag was greater at closer distances, while no difference between the two training methods was revealed. Nevertheless, seven experimental subjects reduced their lag by ⩾0.3D (3.0D target distance: Δ long =-0.29±0.20D, Δ short =-0.24±0.21D). This reduction was also seen in two control subjects. Remeasurement revealed that the average training effect cannot be preserved over a period of 5-7days. The current investigation has shown that the accuracy of accommodation can be trained in some subjects using auditory biofeedback for target distances of 2.5D or closer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. 49 CFR 595.7 - Requirements for vehicle modifications to accommodate people with disabilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... accommodate people with disabilities. 595.7 Section 595.7 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... (CONTINUED) MAKE INOPERATIVE EXEMPTIONS Vehicle Modifications To Accommodate People With Disabilities § 595.7 Requirements for vehicle modifications to accommodate people with disabilities. (a) Any motor vehicle repair...

  3. Workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities: A multilevel model of employer decision-making.

    PubMed

    Telwatte, Apsara; Anglim, Jeromy; Wynton, Sarah K A; Moulding, Richard

    2017-02-01

    Existing research suggests that the decision to grant or deny workplace accommodations for people with disabilities is influenced by a range of legal and nonlegal factors. However, less is known about how these factors operate at the within-person level. Thus, we proposed and tested a multilevel model of the accommodation decision-making process, which we applied to better understand why people with psychological disabilities often experience greater challenges in obtaining accommodations. A sample of 159 Australian adults, composed mostly of managers and HR professionals, read 12 vignettes involving requests for accommodations from existing employees. The requests differed in whether they were for psychological or physical disabilities. For each vignette, participants rated their empathy with the employee, the legitimacy of the employee's disability, the necessity for productivity, the perceived cost, and the reasonableness, and indicated whether they would grant the accommodation. Multilevel modeling indicated that greater empathy, legitimacy, and necessity, and lower perceived cost predicted perceptions of greater reasonableness and greater granting. Accommodation requests from employees with psychological disabilities were seen as less reasonable and were less likely to be granted; much of this effect seemed to be driven by perceptions that such accommodations were less necessary for productivity. Ratings on accommodations were influenced both by general between-person tendencies and within-person appraisals of particular scenarios. The study points to a need for organizations to more clearly establish guidelines for how decision-makers should fairly evaluate accommodation requests for employees with psychological disabilities and disability more broadly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Peripheral Design of Progressive Addition Lenses and the Lag of Accommodation in Myopes.

    PubMed

    Schilling, Tim; Ohlendorf, Arne; Varnas, Saulius R; Wahl, Siegfried

    2017-07-01

    Insufficient accommodative response is assumed to result in myopia progression. We have investigated if the accommodative lag in myopes is different between a single vision lens (SVL) and the progressive addition lens PAL 2, clinically trialled for its ability to reduce progression of myopia, and if there exist differences in accommodative lag between PAL 2 and other PALs with the same addition power (+1.50 D). The influence of spherical SVL and four different designs of PALs that differ in the near zone width (PAL 1) or that have different signs and magnitude of horizontal gradients of mean power adjacent to their near vision zones (PAL 3 and PAL 4) on the accommodative response was investigated for different near viewing distances (40, 33, and 25 cm) in 31 subjects, aged 18 to 25 years. The SVL correction resulted in insufficient accommodative response for the near object viewing distances tested. PAL 2 did significantly reduce accommodative lag for all near object distances tested. The PAL design with a more negative horizontal mean power gradient (PAL 4) provided a lower lag of accommodation when compared with PAL 2 at the shortest object distance of 25 cm (P = 0.03) and was able to reduce the lag of accommodation to a level below the depth of focus for the higher near working distances tested. Designs of PAL with more negative horizontal mean power gradients are the most effective in lowering the lag of accommodation in myopes. This could make them good test candidates for myopia control applications.

  5. OCT-based crystalline lens topography in accommodating eyes.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Merino, Pablo; Velasco-Ocana, Miriam; Martinez-Enriquez, Eduardo; Marcos, Susana

    2015-12-01

    Custom Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) provided with automatic quantification and distortion correction algorithms was used to measure anterior and posterior crystalline lens surface elevation in accommodating eyes and to evaluate relationships between anterior segment surfaces. Nine young eyes were measured at different accommodative demands. Anterior and posterior lens radii of curvature decreased at a rate of 0.78 ± 0.18 and 0.13 ± 0.07 mm/D, anterior chamber depth decreased at 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/D and lens thickness increased at 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/D with accommodation. Three-dimensional surface elevations were estimated by subtracting best fitting spheres. In the relaxed state, the spherical term accounted for most of the surface irregularity in the anterior lens (47%) and astigmatism (70%) in the posterior lens. However, in accommodated lenses astigmatism was the predominant surface irregularity (90%) in the anterior lens. The RMS of high-order irregularities of the posterior lens surface was statistically significantly higher than that of the anterior lens surface (x2.02, p<0.0001). There was significant negative correlation in vertical coma (Z3 (-1)) and oblique trefoil (Z3 (-3)) between lens surfaces. The astigmatic angle showed high degree of alignment between corneal surfaces, moderate between corneal and anterior lens surface (~27 deg), but differed by ~80 deg between the anterior and posterior lens surfaces (including relative anterior/posterior lens astigmatic angle shifts (10-20 deg).

  6. OCT-based crystalline lens topography in accommodating eyes

    PubMed Central

    Pérez-Merino, Pablo; Velasco-Ocana, Miriam; Martinez-Enriquez, Eduardo; Marcos, Susana

    2015-01-01

    Custom Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) provided with automatic quantification and distortion correction algorithms was used to measure anterior and posterior crystalline lens surface elevation in accommodating eyes and to evaluate relationships between anterior segment surfaces. Nine young eyes were measured at different accommodative demands. Anterior and posterior lens radii of curvature decreased at a rate of 0.78 ± 0.18 and 0.13 ± 0.07 mm/D, anterior chamber depth decreased at 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/D and lens thickness increased at 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/D with accommodation. Three-dimensional surface elevations were estimated by subtracting best fitting spheres. In the relaxed state, the spherical term accounted for most of the surface irregularity in the anterior lens (47%) and astigmatism (70%) in the posterior lens. However, in accommodated lenses astigmatism was the predominant surface irregularity (90%) in the anterior lens. The RMS of high-order irregularities of the posterior lens surface was statistically significantly higher than that of the anterior lens surface (x2.02, p<0.0001). There was significant negative correlation in vertical coma (Z3−1) and oblique trefoil (Z3−3) between lens surfaces. The astigmatic angle showed high degree of alignment between corneal surfaces, moderate between corneal and anterior lens surface (~27 deg), but differed by ~80 deg between the anterior and posterior lens surfaces (including relative anterior/posterior lens astigmatic angle shifts (10-20 deg). PMID:26713216

  7. An empirical description of the dispersion of 5th and 95th percentiles in worldwide anthropometric data applied to estimating accommodation with unknown correlation values.

    PubMed

    Albin, Thomas J; Vink, Peter

    2015-01-01

    Anthropometric data are assumed to have a Gaussian (Normal) distribution, but if non-Gaussian, accommodation estimates are affected. When data are limited, users may choose to combine anthropometric elements by Combining Percentiles (CP) (adding or subtracting), despite known adverse effects. This study examined whether global anthropometric data are Gaussian distributed. It compared the Median Correlation Method (MCM) of combining anthropometric elements with unknown correlations to CP to determine if MCM provides better estimates of percentile values and accommodation. Percentile values of 604 male and female anthropometric data drawn from seven countries worldwide were expressed as standard scores. The standard scores were tested to determine if they were consistent with a Gaussian distribution. Empirical multipliers for determining percentile values were developed.In a test case, five anthropometric elements descriptive of seating were combined in addition and subtraction models. Percentile values were estimated for each model by CP, MCM with Gaussian distributed data, or MCM with empirically distributed data. The 5th and 95th percentile values of a dataset of global anthropometric data are shown to be asymmetrically distributed. MCM with empirical multipliers gave more accurate estimates of 5th and 95th percentiles values. Anthropometric data are not Gaussian distributed. The MCM method is more accurate than adding or subtracting percentiles.

  8. Vergence analysis reveals the influence of axial distances on accommodation with age and axial ametropia.

    PubMed

    Davies, Leon N; Dunne, Mark C M; Gibson, George A; Wolffsohn, James S

    2010-07-01

    Despite numerous investigations, the aetiology and mechanism of accommodation and presbyopia remains equivocal. Using Gaussian first-order ray tracing calculations, we examine the contribution that ocular axial distances make to the accommodation response. Further, the influence of age and ametropia are also considered. The data show that all changes in axial distances during accommodation reduce the accommodation response, with the reduction in anterior chamber depth contributing most to this overall attenuation. Although the total power loss due to the changes in axial distances remained constant with increasing age, hyperopes exhibited less accommodation than myopes. The study, therefore, enhances our understanding of biometric accommodative changes and demonstrates the utility of vergence analysis in the assessment of accommodation.

  9. Pallet use in grocery distribution affects forest resource consumption location: a spatial model of grocery pallet use

    Treesearch

    R. Bruce Anderson; R. Bruce Anderson

    1991-01-01

    To assess the impact of grocery pallet production on future hardwood resources, better information is needed on the current use of reusable pallets by the grocery and related products industry. A spatial model of pallet use in the grocery distribution system that identifies the locational aspects of grocery pallet production and distribution, determines how these...

  10. Cybersecurity for distributed energy resources and smart inverters

    DOE PAGES

    Qi, Junjian; Hahn, Adam; Lu, Xiaonan; ...

    2016-12-01

    The increased penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) will significantly increase the number of devices that are owned and controlled by consumers and third parties. These devices have a significant dependency on digital communication and control, which presents a growing risk from cyber attacks. This paper proposes a holistic attack-resilient framework to protect the the integrated DER and the critical power grid infrastructure from malicious cyber attacks, helping ensure the secure integration of DER without harming the grid reliability and stability. Specifically, we discuss the architecture of the cyber-physical power system with a high penetration of DER and analyze themore » unique cybersecurity challenges introduced by DER integration. Next, we summarize important attack scenarios against DER, propose a systematic DER resilience analysis methodology, and develop effective and quantifiable resilience metrics and design principles. Lastly, we introduce attack prevention, detection, and response measures specifically designed for DER integration across cyber, physical device, and utility layers of the future smart grid.« less

  11. Cybersecurity for distributed energy resources and smart inverters

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qi, Junjian; Hahn, Adam; Lu, Xiaonan

    The increased penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) will significantly increase the number of devices that are owned and controlled by consumers and third parties. These devices have a significant dependency on digital communication and control, which presents a growing risk from cyber attacks. This paper proposes a holistic attack-resilient framework to protect the the integrated DER and the critical power grid infrastructure from malicious cyber attacks, helping ensure the secure integration of DER without harming the grid reliability and stability. Specifically, we discuss the architecture of the cyber-physical power system with a high penetration of DER and analyze themore » unique cybersecurity challenges introduced by DER integration. Next, we summarize important attack scenarios against DER, propose a systematic DER resilience analysis methodology, and develop effective and quantifiable resilience metrics and design principles. Lastly, we introduce attack prevention, detection, and response measures specifically designed for DER integration across cyber, physical device, and utility layers of the future smart grid.« less

  12. Regional Sign Language Varieties in Contact: Investigating Patterns of Accommodation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stamp, Rose; Schembri, Adam; Evans, Bronwen G.; Cormier, Kearsy

    2016-01-01

    Short-term linguistic accommodation has been observed in a number of spoken language studies. The first of its kind in sign language research, this study aims to investigate the effects of regional varieties in contact and lexical accommodation in British Sign Language (BSL). Twenty-five participants were recruited from Belfast, Glasgow,…

  13. Accommodative insufficiency in a student population in Iran.

    PubMed

    Hashemi, Hassan; Khabazkhoob, Mehdi; Nabovati, Payam; Shahraki, Fatemeh Azad; Ostadimoghaddam, Hadi; Faghihi, Mohammad; Aghamirsalim, Mohamadreza; Doostdar, Asgar; Yekta, Abbasali

    2018-05-22

    To determine the prevalence of accommodative insufficiency (AI) and its relation with age, gender, and refractive errors in a college-age student population in Iran. The present study was conducted cross-sectionally in 2017. All students had optometric tests including measurement of visual acuity, objective and subjective refraction, as well as binocular vision and accommodative examinations. Amplitude of accommodation was measured with the Donders' push-up method using the Royal Air Force (RAF) rule. Monocular accommodative facility was measured with ±2.00diopter flipper lenses. The accommodative response was tested using dynamic retinoscopy with the monocular estimation method (MEM). The prevalence of AI in the studied population was 4.07% (95% CI: 2.61-5.52). The rate was 6.04% (95% CI: 3.58-8.50) in females and 2.01% (95% CI: 0.53-3.48) in males, and logistic regression showed a significantly higher odds of AI in females (OR=3.14, 95% CI: 1.33-7.45, p-value=0.009). The prevalence of AI was 2.59% (95% CI: 0.55-7.56) in the 18-19-year-old age group and 4.08% (95% CI: 0.09-8.07) in the 24-25-year-old group (p-value=0.848). The prevalence of AI among emmetropic, myopic, and hyperopic individuals was 3.74% (95% CI: 1.88-5.61), 4.44% (95% CI: 2.07-6.81), and 5.26% (95% CI: 4.79-16.32), respectively (p-value=0.869). In the multiple regression model, only gender showed significant relationship with AI (Odds ratio=3.14, 95% CI: 1.33-7.45; p-values=0.009). The prevalence of AI in the present study is lower than the most prevalence rates reported in previous studies. In the present study, gender and AI showed a strong association, such that AI prevalence was significantly higher in females than males. Copyright © 2018 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  14. Predicting Accommodative Response Using Paraxial Schematic Eye Models

    PubMed Central

    Ramasubramanian, Viswanathan; Glasser, Adrian

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Prior ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) studies showed that accommodative optical response (AOR) can be predicted from accommodative biometric changes in a young and a pre-presbyopic population from linear relationships between accommodative optical and biometric changes, with a standard deviation of less than 0.55D. Here, paraxial schematic eyes (SE) were constructed from measured accommodative ocular biometry parameters to see if predictions are improved. Methods Measured ocular biometry (OCT, A-scan and UBM) parameters from 24 young and 24 pre-presbyopic subjects were used to construct paraxial SEs for each individual subject (individual SEs) for three different lens equivalent refractive index methods. Refraction and AOR calculated from the individual SEs were compared with Grand Seiko (GS) autorefractor measured refraction and AOR. Refraction and AOR were also calculated from individual SEs constructed using the average population accommodative change in UBM measured parameters (average SEs). Results Schematic eye calculated and GS measured AOR were linearly related (young subjects: slope = 0.77; r2 = 0.86; pre-presbyopic subjects: slope = 0.64; r2 = 0.55). The mean difference in AOR (GS - individual SEs) for the young subjects was −0.27D and for the pre-presbyopic subjects was 0.33D. For individual SEs, the mean ± SD of the absolute differences in AOR between the GS and SEs was 0.50 ± 0.39D for the young subjects and 0.50 ± 0.37D for the pre-presbyopic subjects. For average SEs, the mean ± SD of the absolute differences in AOR between the GS and the SEs was 0.77 ± 0.88D for the young subjects and 0.51 ± 0.49D for the pre-presbyopic subjects. Conclusions Individual paraxial SEs predict AOR, on average, with a standard deviation of 0.50D in young and pre-presbyopic subject populations. Although this prediction is only marginally better than from individual linear regressions, it does consider all the ocular biometric parameters. PMID:27092928

  15. Receding and disparity cues aid relaxation of accommodation

    PubMed Central

    Horwood, Anna M; Riddell, Patricia M

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Accommodation can mask hyperopia and reduce the accuracy of non-cycloplegic refraction. It is therefore important to minimize accommodation to obtain as accurate a measure of hyperopia as possible. In order to characterize the parameters required to measure the maximally hyperopic error using photorefraction, we used different target types and distances to determine which target was most likely to maximally relax accommodation and thus more accurately detect hyperopia in an individual. Methods A PlusoptiX SO4 infra-red photorefractor was mounted in a remote haploscope which presented the targets. All participants were tested with targets at four fixation distances between 0.3m and 2m containing all combinations of blur, disparity and proximity/looming cues. 38 infants (6-44 wks) were studied longitudinally, and 104 children (4 -15 yrs (mean 6.4)) and 85 adults, with a range of refractive errors and binocular vision status, were tested once. Cycloplegic refraction data was available for a sub-set of 59 participants spread across the age range. Results The maximally hyperopic refraction (MHR) found at any time in the session was most frequently found when fixating the most distant targets and those containing disparity and dynamic proximity/looming cues. Presence or absence of blur was less significant, and targets in which only single cues to depth were present were also less likely to produce MHR. MHR correlated closely with cycloplegic refraction (r = 0.93,mean difference 0.07D,p=n.s.,95%CI ±<0.25D) after correction by a calibration factor. Conclusion Maximum relaxation of accommodation occurred for binocular targets receding into the distance. Proximal and disparity cues aid relaxation of accommodation to a greater extent than blur, and thus non-cycloplegic refraction targets should incorporate these cues. This is especially important in screening contexts with a brief opportunity to test for significant hyperopia. MHR in our laboratory was found to be a

  16. Quantum key distribution with finite resources: Secret key rates via Renyi entropies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Abruzzo, Silvestre; Kampermann, Hermann; Mertz, Markus

    A realistic quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol necessarily deals with finite resources, such as the number of signals exchanged by the two parties. We derive a bound on the secret key rate which is expressed as an optimization problem over Renyi entropies. Under the assumption of collective attacks by an eavesdropper, a computable estimate of our bound for the six-state protocol is provided. This bound leads to improved key rates in comparison to previous results.

  17. Comparison between carbachol iontophoresis and intravenous pilocarpine stimulated accommodation in anesthetized rhesus monkeys.

    PubMed

    Wendt, Mark; He, Lin; Glasser, Adrian

    2013-10-01

    Rhesus monkeys are an animal model for human accommodation and presbyopia and consistent and repeatable methods are needed to stimulate and measure accommodation in anesthetized rhesus monkeys. Accommodation has typically been pharmacologically stimulated with topical pilocarpine or carbachol iontophoresis. Intravenous (i.v.) pilocarpine has recently been shown to produce more natural, rapid and reproducible accommodative responses compared to topical pilocarpine. Here, i.v. pilocarpine was compared to carbachol iontophoresis stimulated accommodation. Experiments were performed under anaesthesia on five previously iridectomized monkeys aged 10-16 years. In three monkeys, accommodation was stimulated with carbachol iontophoresis in five successive experiments and refraction measured with a Hartinger coincidence refractometer. In separate experiments, accommodation was stimulated using a 5 mg/kg bolus of i.v. pilocarpine given over 30 s followed by a continuous infusion of 20 mg/kg/hr for 5.5 min in three successive experiments with the same monkeys as well as in single experiments with two additional monkeys. Refraction was measured continuously using photorefraction with baseline and accommodated refraction also measured with the Hartinger. In subsequent i.v. pilocarpine experiments with each monkey, accommodative changes in lens equatorial diameter were measured in real-time with video-image analysis. Maximum accommodation of three monkeys with carbachol iontophoresis (five repeats) was (mean ± SD; range) 14.0 ± 3.5; 9.9-20.3 D and with i.v. pilocarpine stimulation (three repeats) was 11.1 ± 1.1; 9.9-13.0 D. The average of the standard deviations of maximum accommodation from each monkey was 0.8 ± 0.3 D from carbachol iontophoresis and 0.3 ± 0.2 from i.v. pilocarpine. The average latency to the start of the response after carbachol iontophoresis was 2.5 ± 3.9; 0.0-12.0 min with a time constant of 12.7 ± 9.5; 2.3-29.2 min. The average

  18. Distributed event-triggered consensus strategy for multi-agent systems under limited resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noorbakhsh, S. Mohammad; Ghaisari, Jafar

    2016-01-01

    The paper proposes a distributed structure to address an event-triggered consensus problem for multi-agent systems which aims at concurrent reduction in inter-agent communication, control input actuation and energy consumption. Following the proposed approach, asymptotic convergence of all agents to consensus requires that each agent broadcasts its sampled-state to the neighbours and updates its control input only at its own triggering instants, unlike the existing related works. Obviously, it decreases the network bandwidth usage, sensor energy consumption, computation resources usage and actuator wears. As a result, it facilitates the implementation of the proposed consensus protocol in the real-world applications with limited resources. The stability of the closed-loop system under an event-based protocol is proved analytically. Some numerical results are presented which confirm the analytical discussion on the effectiveness of the proposed design.

  19. Quantifying interactions between accommodation and vergence in a binocularly normal population.

    PubMed

    Sweeney, Laura E; Seidel, Dirk; Day, Mhairi; Gray, Lyle S

    2014-12-01

    Stimulation of the accommodation system results in a response in the vergence system via accommodative vergence cross-link interactions, and stimulation of the vergence system results in an accommodation response via vergence accommodation cross-link interactions. Cross-link interactions are necessary in order to ensure simultaneous responses in the accommodation and vergence systems. The crosslink interactions are represented most comprehensively by the response AC/A (accommodative vergence) and CA/C (vergence accommodation) ratios, although the stimulus AC/A ratio is measured clinically, and the stimulus CA/C ratio is seldom measured in clinical practice. The present study aims to quantify both stimulus and response AC/A and CA/C ratios in a binocularly normal population, and determine the relationship between them. 25 Subjects (mean ± SD age 21.0 ± 1.9 years) were recruited from the university population. A significant linear relationship was found between the stimulus and response ratios, for both AC/A (r² = 0.96, p < 0.001) and CA/C ratios (r² = 0.40, p < 0.05). Good agreement was found between the stimulus and response AC/A ratios (95% CI -0.06 to 0.24 MA/D). Stimulus and response CA/C ratios are linearly related. Stimulus CA/C ratios were higher than response ratios at low values, and lower than response ratios at high values (95% CI -0.46 to 0.42 D/MA). Agreement between stimulus and response CA/C ratios is poorer than that found for AC/A ratios due to increased variability in vergence responses when viewing the Gaussian blurred target. This study has shown that more work is needed to refine the methodology of CA/C ratio measurement.

  20. Optimal Control of Distributed Energy Resources using Model Predictive Control

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mayhorn, Ebony T.; Kalsi, Karanjit; Elizondo, Marcelo A.

    2012-07-22

    In an isolated power system (rural microgrid), Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) such as renewable energy resources (wind, solar), energy storage and demand response can be used to complement fossil fueled generators. The uncertainty and variability due to high penetration of wind makes reliable system operations and controls challenging. In this paper, an optimal control strategy is proposed to coordinate energy storage and diesel generators to maximize wind penetration while maintaining system economics and normal operation. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem with the goals of minimizing fuel costs and changes in power output of diesel generators, minimizingmore » costs associated with low battery life of energy storage and maintaining system frequency at the nominal operating value. Two control modes are considered for controlling the energy storage to compensate either net load variability or wind variability. Model predictive control (MPC) is used to solve the aforementioned problem and the performance is compared to an open-loop look-ahead dispatch problem. Simulation studies using high and low wind profiles, as well as, different MPC prediction horizons demonstrate the efficacy of the closed-loop MPC in compensating for uncertainties in wind and demand.« less