Different types of pausing modes during transcription initiation.

PubMed

Lerner, Eitan; Ingargiola, Antonino; Lee, Jookyung J; Borukhov, Sergei; Michalet, Xavier; Weiss, Shimon

2017-08-08

In many cases, initiation is rate limiting to transcription. This due in part to the multiple cycles of abortive transcription that delay promoter escape and the transition from initiation to elongation. Pausing of transcription in initiation can further delay promoter escape. The previously hypothesized pausing in initiation was confirmed by two recent studies from Duchi et al. 1 and from Lerner, Chung et al. 2 In both studies, pausing is attributed to a lack of forward translocation of the nascent transcript during initiation. However, the two works report on different pausing mechanisms. Duchi et al. report on pausing that occurs during initiation predominantly on-pathway of transcript synthesis. Lerner, Chung et al. report on pausing during initiation as a result of RNAP backtracking, which is off-pathway to transcript synthesis. Here, we discuss these studies, together with additional experimental results from single-molecule FRET focusing on a specific distance within the transcription bubble. We show that the results of these studies are complementary to each other and are consistent with a model involving two types of pauses in initiation: a short-lived pause that occurs in the translocation of a 6-mer nascent transcript and a long-lived pause that occurs as a result of 1-2 nucleotide backtracking of a 7-mer transcript.

Data visualization methods, data visualization devices, data visualization apparatuses, and articles of manufacture

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

Turner, Alan E.; Crow, Vernon L.; Payne, Deborah A.

Data visualization methods, data visualization devices, data visualization apparatuses, and articles of manufacture are described according to some aspects. In one aspect, a data visualization method includes accessing a plurality of initial documents at a first moment in time, first processing the initial documents providing processed initial documents, first identifying a plurality of first associations of the initial documents using the processed initial documents, generating a first visualization depicting the first associations, accessing a plurality of additional documents at a second moment in time after the first moment in time, second processing the additional documents providing processed additional documents, secondmore » identifying a plurality of second associations of the additional documents and at least some of the initial documents, wherein the second identifying comprises identifying using the processed initial documents and the processed additional documents, and generating a second visualization depicting the second associations.« less

Variables Affecting Pharmacy Students’ Patient Care Interventions during Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

PubMed Central

Patterson, Brandon J.; Sen, Sanchita; Bingham, Angela L.; Bowen, Jane F.; Ereshefsky, Benjamin; Siemianowski, Laura A.

2016-01-01

Objective. To identify the temporal effect and factors associated with student pharmacist self-initiation of interventions during acute patient care advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE). Methods. During the APPE, student pharmacists at an academic medical center recorded their therapeutic interventions and who initiated the intervention throughout clinical rotations. At the end of the APPE student pharmacists completed a demographic survey. Results. Sixty-two student pharmacists were included. Factors associated with lower rates of self-initiated interventions were infectious diseases and pediatrics APPEs and an intention to pursue a postgraduate residency. Timing of the APPE, previous specialty elective course completion, and previous hospital experience did not result in any significant difference in self-initiated recommendations. Conclusion. Preceptors should not base practice experience expectations for self-initiated interventions on previous student experience or future intentions. Additionally, factors leading to lower rates of self-initiated interventions on infectious diseases or pediatrics APPEs should be explored. PMID:27756924

Acetobacter pasteurianus metabolic change induced by initial acetic acid to adapt to acetic acid fermentation conditions.

PubMed

Zheng, Yu; Zhang, Renkuan; Yin, Haisong; Bai, Xiaolei; Chang, Yangang; Xia, Menglei; Wang, Min

2017-09-01

Initial acetic acid can improve the ethanol oxidation rate of acetic acid bacteria for acetic acid fermentation. In this work, Acetobacter pasteurianus was cultured in ethanol-free medium, and energy production was found to increase by 150% through glucose consumption induced by initial acetic acid. However, oxidation of ethanol, instead of glucose, became the main energy production pathway when upon culturing ethanol containing medium. Proteome assay was used to analyze the metabolism change induced by initial acetic acid, which provided insight into carbon metabolic and energy regulation of A. pasteurianus to adapt to acetic acid fermentation conditions. Results were further confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. In summary, decreased intracellular ATP as a result of initial acetic acid inhibition improved the energy metabolism to produce more energy and thus adapt to the acetic acid fermentation conditions. A. pasteurianus upregulated the expression of enzymes related to TCA and ethanol oxidation to improve the energy metabolism pathway upon the addition of initial acetic acid. However, enzymes involved in the pentose phosphate pathway, the main pathway of glucose metabolism, were downregulated to induce a change in carbon metabolism. Additionally, the enhancement of alcohol dehydrogenase expression promoted ethanol oxidation and strengthened the acetification rate, thereby producing a strong proton motive force that was necessary for energy production and cell tolerance to acetic acid.

The Collaboration Readiness of Transdisciplinary Research Teams and Centers

PubMed Central

Hall, Kara L.; Stokols, Daniel; Moser, Richard P.; Taylor, Brandie K.; Thornquist, Mark D.; Nebeling, Linda C.; Ehret, Carolyn C.; Barnett, Matthew J.; McTiernan, Anne; Berger, Nathan A.; Goran, Michael I.; Jeffery, Robert W.

2009-01-01

Growing interest in promoting cross-disciplinary collaboration among health scientists has prompted several federal agencies, including the NIH, to establish large, multicenter initiatives intended to foster collaborative research and training. In order to assess whether these initiatives are effective in promoting scientific collaboration that ultimately results in public health improvements, it is necessary to develop new strategies for evaluating research processes and products as well as the longer-term societal outcomes associated with these programs. Ideally, evaluative measures should be administered over the entire course of large initiatives, including their near-term and later phases. The present study focuses on the development of new tools for assessing the readiness for collaboration among health scientists at the outset (during Year One) of their participation in the National Cancer Institute’s Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) initiative. Indexes of collaborative readiness, along with additional measures of near-term collaborative processes, were administered as part of the TREC Year-One evaluation survey. Additionally, early progress toward scientific collaboration and integration was assessed, using a protocol for evaluating written research products. Results from the Year-One survey and the ratings of written products provide evidence of cross-disciplinary collaboration among participants during the first year of the initiative, and also reveal opportunities for enhancing collaborative processes and outcomes during subsequent phases of the project. The implications of these findings for future evaluations of team science initiatives are discussed. PMID:18619396

Dissection of TALE-dependent gene activation reveals that they induce transcription cooperatively and in both orientations

PubMed Central

Streubel, Jana; Baum, Heidi; Grau, Jan; Stuttman, Johannes; Boch, Jens

2017-01-01

Plant-pathogenic Xanthomonas bacteria inject transcription activator-like effector proteins (TALEs) into host cells to specifically induce transcription of plant genes and enhance susceptibility. Although the DNA-binding mode is well-understood it is still ambiguous how TALEs initiate transcription and whether additional promoter elements are needed to support this. To systematically dissect prerequisites for transcriptional initiation the activity of one TALE was compared on different synthetic Bs4 promoter fragments. In addition, a large collection of artificial TALEs spanning the OsSWEET14 promoter was compared. We show that the presence of a TALE alone is not sufficient to initiate transcription suggesting the requirement of additional supporting promoter elements. At the OsSWEET14 promoter TALEs can initiate transcription from various positions, in a synergistic manner of multiple TALEs binding in parallel to the promoter, and even by binding in reverse orientation. TALEs are known to shift the transcriptional start site, but our data show that this shift depends on the individual position of a TALE within a promoter context. Our results implicate that TALEs function like classical enhancer-binding proteins and initiate transcription in both orientations which has consequences for in planta target gene prediction and design of artificial activators. PMID:28301511

Dissection of TALE-dependent gene activation reveals that they induce transcription cooperatively and in both orientations.

PubMed

Streubel, Jana; Baum, Heidi; Grau, Jan; Stuttman, Johannes; Boch, Jens

2017-01-01

Plant-pathogenic Xanthomonas bacteria inject transcription activator-like effector proteins (TALEs) into host cells to specifically induce transcription of plant genes and enhance susceptibility. Although the DNA-binding mode is well-understood it is still ambiguous how TALEs initiate transcription and whether additional promoter elements are needed to support this. To systematically dissect prerequisites for transcriptional initiation the activity of one TALE was compared on different synthetic Bs4 promoter fragments. In addition, a large collection of artificial TALEs spanning the OsSWEET14 promoter was compared. We show that the presence of a TALE alone is not sufficient to initiate transcription suggesting the requirement of additional supporting promoter elements. At the OsSWEET14 promoter TALEs can initiate transcription from various positions, in a synergistic manner of multiple TALEs binding in parallel to the promoter, and even by binding in reverse orientation. TALEs are known to shift the transcriptional start site, but our data show that this shift depends on the individual position of a TALE within a promoter context. Our results implicate that TALEs function like classical enhancer-binding proteins and initiate transcription in both orientations which has consequences for in planta target gene prediction and design of artificial activators.

Care initiation area yields dramatic results.

PubMed

2009-03-01

The ED at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, NC, has achieved dramatic results in key department metrics with a Care Initiation Area (CIA) and a physician in triage. Here's how the ED arrived at this winning solution: Leadership was trained in and implemented the Kaizen method, which eliminates redundant or inefficient process steps. Simulation software helped determine additional space needed by analyzing arrival patterns and other key data. After only two days of meetings, new ideas were implemented and tested.

Reasons Associated with Total Thyroidectomy as Initial Surgical Management of an Indeterminate Thyroid Nodule.

PubMed

Angell, Trevor E; Vyas, Chirag M; Barletta, Justine A; Cibas, Edmund S; Cho, Nancy L; Doherty, Gerard M; Gawande, Atul A; Howitt, Brooke E; Krane, Jeffrey F; Marqusee, Ellen; Strickland, Kyle C; Alexander, Erik K; Moore, Francis D; Nehs, Matthew A

2018-05-01

Diagnostic hemithyroidectomy (HT) is the most widely recommended surgical procedure for a nodule with indeterminate cytology; however, additional details may make initial total thyroidectomy (TT) preferable. We sought to identify patient-specific factors (PSFs) associated with initial TT in patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules. Retrospective analysis of all patients with a thyroid nodule ≥ 1 cm and initial cytology of atypia of undetermined significance or suspicious for follicular neoplasm between 2012 and 2015 who underwent thyroidectomy. Medical records were reviewed for patient demographics, neck symptoms, nodule size, cytology, molecular test results, final histopathology, and additional PSFs influencing surgical management. Variables were analyzed to determine associations with the use of initial TT. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent associations. Of 325 included patients, 182/325 (56.0%) had HT and 143/325 (44.0%) had TT. While patient age and sex, nodule size, and cytology result were not associated with initial treatment, five PSFs were associated with initial TT (p < 0.0001). These included contralateral nodules, hypothyroidism, fluorodeoxyglucose avidity on positron emission tomography scan, family history of thyroid cancer, and increased surgical risk. At least one PSF was present in 126/143 (88.1%) TT patients versus 47/182 (25.8%) HT patients (p < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that these variables were the strongest independent predictor of TT (odds ratio 45.93, 95% confidence interval 18.80-112.23, p < 0.001). When surgical management of an indeterminate cytology thyroid nodule was performed, several PSFs were associated with a preference by surgeons and patients for initial TT, which may be useful to consider in making decisions on initial operative extent.

Small deformations of extreme five dimensional Myers-Perry black hole initial data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alaee, Aghil; Kunduri, Hari K.

2015-02-01

We demonstrate the existence of a one-parameter family of initial data for the vacuum Einstein equations in five dimensions representing small deformations of the extreme Myers-Perry black hole. This initial data set has `' symmetry and preserves the angular momenta and horizon geometry of the extreme solution. Our proof is based upon an earlier result of Dain and Gabach-Clement concerning the existence of -invariant initial data sets which preserve the geometry of extreme Kerr (at least for short times). In addition, we construct a general class of transverse, traceless symmetric rank 2 tensors in these geometries.

Photoionization mass spectrometric measurements of initial reaction pathways in low-temperature oxidation of 2,5-dimethylhexane

DOE PAGES

Rotavera, Brandon; Zádor, Judit; Welz, Oliver; ...

2014-09-19

The product formation from R + O 2 reactions relevant to low-temperature autoignition chemistry was studied for 2,5-dimethylhexane, a symmetrically branched octane isomer, at 550 and 650 K using Cl-atom initiated oxidation and multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry (MPIMS). The interpretation of time- and photon-energy-resolved mass spectra led to three specific results important to characterizing the initial oxidation steps: (1) quantified isomer-resolved branching ratios for HO 2 + alkene channels; (2) 2,2,5,5-tetramethyltetrahydrofuran is formed in substantial yield from addition of O 2 to tertiary 2,5-dimethylhex-2-yl followed by isomerization of the resulting ROO adduct to tertiary hydroperoxyalkyl (QOOH) and exhibits a positivemore » dependence on temperature over the range covered leading to a higher flux relative to aggregate cyclic ether yield. The higher relative flux is explained by a 1,5-hydrogen atom shift reaction that converts the initial primary alkyl radical (2,5-dimethylhex-1-yl) to the tertiary alkyl radical 2,5-dimethylhex-2-yl, providing an additional source of tertiary alkyl radicals. Furthermore, quantum-chemical and master-equation calculations of the unimolecular decomposition of the primary alkyl radical reveal that isomerization to the tertiary alkyl radical is the most favorable pathway, and is favored over O 2-addition at 650 K under the conditions herein. The isomerization pathway to tertiary alkyl radicals therefore contributes an additional mechanism to 2,2,5,5-tetramethyltetrahydrofuran formation; (3) carbonyl species (acetone, propanal, and methylpropanal) consistent with β-scission of QOOH radicals were formed in significant yield, indicating unimolecular QOOH decomposition into carbonyl + alkene + OH.« less

Corrosion behavior of high-strength spring steel for high-speed railway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Gang; Chen, Yin-li; Wu, Hui-bin; Wang, Xuan; Tang, Di

2018-05-01

The corrosion resistance and evolution of corrosion products in medium-carbon high-strength spring steels were investigated in a neutral salt spray (5wt% NaCl solution). A formation model of γ-FeOOH and a transformation model describing the conversion of γ-FeOOH to α-FeOOH were constructed. The results indicated that, at the initial corrosion stage, the corrosion resistance was gradually improved with the addition of Cr; however, with the addition of alloying element V, the corrosion resistance decreased. These results were attributed mainly to the initial corrosion stage being closely related to the matrix microstructure parameters such as grain-boundary character and dislocation density. After the rust layer was formed at a later corrosion stage, the corrosion resistance was reinforced with the addition of Cr and V because Cr strongly influenced the composition, structure, and morphology of the corrosion products. The results presented herein show that Cr was conducive to the transformation of γ-FeOOH into α-FeOOH. Moreover, V and Cr exhibited obvious synergy and were enriched in the inner layer of the corrosion products.

Impacts of Non-Divergence-Free Flows on the Coalescence of Initially Distant Buoyant Scalars on a Turbulent Free Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratt, K.; Crimaldi, J. P.

2016-02-01

Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) have been shown to play a predictive role in the coalescence of initially distant scalars in incompressible flows. Buoyant scalars on the free surface of a 3D incompressible turbulent fluid, however, are advected by a 2D compressible velocity field, resulting in scalar distributions that differ from those seen in a 2D incompressible flow. Our research uses both numerical and experimental approaches to investigate the coalescence of two initially distant reactive scalars to infer the impact of non-divergence-free behavior on buoyant scalar coalescence. Preliminary numerical results, utilizing incompressible and compressible chaotic 2D models, indicate that non-divergence-free behavior increases the likelihood of scalar coalescence and therefore enhances any interactions or reactions between the scalars. In addition, the shape and distribution of LCS is altered in compressible flows, which may explain the increased likelihood of scalar coalescence. Experimentally, we have constructed a 60 X 60 X 60 cm tank that generates three-dimensional turbulence via random pulsing of 36 jets on the tank bottom. Buoyant fluorescent red and green particles are used to quantify coalescence. Through the addition of a thin surfactant film on the free surface, results for incompressible flow cases are also obtained and directly compared to the compressible results. From these results, we hope to elucidate the role of free-surface flow on the coalescence of initially distant buoyant scalars, and extend these results to oceanic mixing problems, such as the transport of phytoplankton blooms and oil spills.

An initial investigation into methods of computing transonic aerodynamic sensitivity coefficients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlson, Leland A.

1991-01-01

Continuing studies associated with the development of the quasi-analytical (QA) sensitivity method for three dimensional transonic flow about wings are presented. Furthermore, initial results using the quasi-analytical approach were obtained and compared to those computed using the finite difference (FD) approach. The basic goals achieved were: (1) carrying out various debugging operations pertaining to the quasi-analytical method; (2) addition of section design variables to the sensitivity equation in the form of multiple right hand sides; (3) reconfiguring the analysis/sensitivity package in order to facilitate the execution of analysis/FD/QA test cases; and (4) enhancing the display of output data to allow careful examination of the results and to permit various comparisons of sensitivity derivatives obtained using the FC/QA methods to be conducted easily and quickly. In addition to discussing the above goals, the results of executing subcritical and supercritical test cases are presented.

The Iodochlorination of Styrene: An Experiment that Makes a Difference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amiet, R. Gary; Urban, Sylvia

2008-01-01

The iodochlorination of styrene, involving the addition of iodine monochloride to styrene, followed by the sodium methoxide-initiated dehydrohalogenation of the product results in a variable mixture of substituted styrenes by way of various substitution and elimination reaction mechanisms. As a result individual results are obtained for each…

Environmental and plant community determinants of species loss following nitrogen enrichment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, C.M.; Cleland, E.E.; Collins, S.L.; Fargione, J.E.; Gough, L.; Gross, K.L.; Pennings, S.C.; Suding, K.N.; Grace, J.B.

2007-01-01

Global energy use and food production have increased nitrogen inputs to ecosystems worldwide, impacting plant community diversity, composition, and function. Previous studies show considerable variation across terrestrial herbaceous ecosystems in the magnitude of species loss following nitrogen (N) enrichment. What controls this variation remains unknown. We present results from 23 N-addition experiments across North America, representing a range of climatic, soil and plant community properties, to determine conditions that lead to greater diversity decline. Species loss in these communities ranged from 0 to 65% of control richness. Using hierarchical structural equation modelling, we found greater species loss in communities with a lower soil cation exchange capacity, colder regional temperature, and larger production increase following N addition, independent of initial species richness, plant productivity, and the relative abundance of most plant functional groups. Our results indicate sensitivity to N addition is co-determined by environmental conditions and production responsiveness, which overwhelm the effects of initial community structure and composition. ?? 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Vascular plant abundance and diversity in an alpine heath under observed and simulated global change

PubMed Central

Alatalo, Juha M.; Little, Chelsea J.; Jägerbrand, Annika K.; Molau, Ulf

2015-01-01

Global change is predicted to cause shifts in species distributions and biodiversity in arctic tundra. We applied factorial warming and nutrient manipulation to a nutrient and species poor alpine/arctic heath community for seven years. Vascular plant abundance in control plots increased by 31%. There were also notable changes in cover in the nutrient and combined nutrient and warming treatments, with deciduous and evergreen shrubs declining, grasses overgrowing these plots. Sedge abundance initially increased significantly with nutrient amendment and then declined, going below initial values in the combined nutrient and warming treatment. Nutrient addition resulted in a change in dominance hierarchy from deciduous shrubs to grasses. We found significant declines in vascular plant diversity and evenness in the warming treatment and a decline in diversity in the combined warming and nutrient addition treatment, while nutrient addition caused a decline in species richness. The results give some experimental support that species poor plant communities with low diversity may be more vulnerable to loss of species diversity than communities with higher initial diversity. The projected increase in nutrient deposition and warming may therefore have negative impacts on ecosystem processes, functioning and services due to loss of species diversity in an already impoverished environment. PMID:25950370

Prevailing Torque Locking Feature in Threaded Fasteners Using Anaerobic Adhesive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hernandez, Alan; Hess, Daniel P.

2016-01-01

This paper presents results from tests to assess the use of anaerobic adhesive for providing a prevailing torque locking feature in threaded fasteners. Test procedures are developed and tests are performed on three fastener materials, four anaerobic adhesives, and both unseated assembly conditions. Five to ten samples are tested for each combination. Tests for initial use, reuse without additional adhesive, and reuse with additional adhesive are performed for all samples. A 48-hour cure time was used for all initial use and reuse tests. Test data are presented as removal torque versus removal angle with the specification required prevailing torque range added for performance assessment. Percent specification pass rates for the all combinations of fastener material, adhesive, and assembly condition are tabulated and reveal use of anaerobic adhesive as a prevailing torque locking feature is viable. Although not every possible fastener material and anaerobic adhesive combination provides prevailing torque values within specification, any combination can be assessed using the test procedures presented. Reuse without additional anaerobic adhesive generally provides some prevailing torque, and in some cases within specification. Reuse with additional adhesive often provides comparable removal torque data as in initial use.

Parafoveal preview during reading: Effects of sentence position

PubMed Central

White, Sarah J.; Warren, Tessa; Reichle, Erik D.

2011-01-01

Two experiments examined parafoveal preview for words located in the middle of sentences and at sentence boundaries. Parafoveal processing was shown to occur for words at sentence-initial, mid-sentence, and sentence-final positions. Both Experiments 1 and 2 showed reduced effects of preview on regressions out for sentence-initial words. In addition, Experiment 2 showed reduced preview effects on first-pass reading times for sentence-initial words. These effects of sentence position on preview could result from reduced parafoveal processing for sentence-initial words, or other processes specific to word reading at sentence boundaries. In addition to the effects of preview, the experiments also demonstrate variability in the effects of sentence wrap-up on different reading measures, indicating that the presence and time course of wrap-up effects may be modulated by text-specific factors. We also report simulations of Experiment 2 using version 10 of E-Z Reader (Reichle, Warren, & McConnell, 2009), designed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying parafoveal preview at sentence boundaries. PMID:21500948

Algorithm for loading shot noise microbunching in multi-dimensional, free-electron laser simulation codes

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

Fawley, William M.

We discuss the underlying reasoning behind and the details of the numerical algorithm used in the GINGER free-electron laser(FEL) simulation code to load the initial shot noise microbunching on the electron beam. In particular, we point out that there are some additional subtleties which must be followed for multi-dimensional codes which are not necessary for one-dimensional formulations. Moreover, requiring that the higher harmonics of the microbunching also be properly initialized with the correct statistics leads to additional complexities. We present some numerical results including the predicted incoherent, spontaneous emission as tests of the shot noise algorithm's correctness.

21 CFR 170.15 - Adoption of regulation on initiative of Commissioner.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 170.15 Adoption of regulation on initiative of..., with respect to any particular use of a food additive, the conditions under which such additive may be... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Adoption of regulation on initiative of...

Detonability of H/sub 2/-air-diluent mixtures

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

Tieszen, S.R.; Sherman, M.P.; Benedick, W.B.

1987-06-01

This report describes the Heated Detonation Tube (HDT). Detonation cell width and velocity results are presented for H/sub 2/-air mixtures, undiluted and diluted with CO/sub 2/ and H/sub 2/O for a range of H/sub 2/ concentration, initial temperature and pressure. The results show that the addition of either CO/sub 2/ or H/sub 2/O significantly increases the detonation cell width and hence reduces the detonability of the mixture. The results also show that the detonation cell width is reduced (detonability is increased) for increased initial temperature and/or pressure.

Experiments and simulations of Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability with measured,volumetric initial conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sewell, Everest; Ferguson, Kevin; Jacobs, Jeffrey; Greenough, Jeff; Krivets, Vitaliy

2016-11-01

We describe experiments of single-shock Richtmyer-Meskhov Instability (RMI) performed on the shock tube apparatus at the University of Arizona in which the initial conditions are volumetrically imaged prior to shock wave arrival. Initial perturbations play a major role in the evolution of RMI, and previous experimental efforts only capture a single plane of the initial condition. The method presented uses a rastered laser sheet to capture additional images throughout the depth of the initial condition immediately before the shock arrival time. These images are then used to reconstruct a volumetric approximation of the experimental perturbation. Analysis of the initial perturbations is performed, and then used as initial conditions in simulations using the hydrodynamics code ARES, developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Experiments are presented and comparisons are made with simulation results.

Challenges and opportunities of health care supply chain management in the United States.

PubMed

Elmuti, Dean; Khoury, Grace; Omran, Omar; Abou-Zaid, Ahmed S

2013-01-01

This article explores current supply chain management challenges and initiatives and identifies problems that affect supply chain management success in the U.S. health-care industry. In addition, it investigates the impact of health care supply chain management (SCM) initiatives on the overall organizational effectiveness. The attitudinal results, as well as the performance results presented in this study support the claim of health care proponents that the SCM allows organizations to reduce cost, improve quality, and reduce cycle time, and leads to high performance.

NASA Standard Initiator Susceptibility to UHF and S-Band Radio Frequency Power and Lightning Strikes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burnham, Karen; Scully, Robert; Norgard, John

2013-01-01

The NASA Standard Initiator (NSI) is an important piece of pyrotechnic equipment used in many space applications. This presentation will outline the results of a series of tests done at UHF and S-Band frequencies to determine NSI susceptibility to Radio Frequency (RF) power. The results show significant susceptibility to pulsed RF power in the S-Band region. Additional testing with lightning pulses injected into the firing line harness, modelling the indirect effects of a lightning strike to a spacecraft, showed no vulnerability

NASA Standard Initiator Susceptibility to UHF and S-Band Radio Frequency Power and Lightning Strikes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burnham, Karen; Scully, Robert C.; Norgard, John D.

2013-01-01

The NASA Standard Initiator (NSI) is an important piece of pyrotechnic equipment used in many space applications. This paper outlines the results of a series of tests done at UHF and S-Band frequencies to determine NSI susceptibility to Radio Frequency (RF) power. The results show significant susceptibility to pulsed RF power in the S-Band region. Additional testing with lightning pulses injected into the firing line harness, modelling the indirect effects of a lightning strike to a spacecraft, showed no vulnerability.

Construction of an Exploratory List of Chemicals to Initiate the Search for Halon Alternatives

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-06-01

of owne-depletion effectiveness is based on atmospheric modeling. The only experimental work is the determination of possible reaction paths and...results, and additional relevant comments. These compounds should be tested in a selective series of experiments based on the insights used in the...will generate initial information with regard to the relative ordering of the compounds in terms of screen properties. Careful experimentation will

Translational repression of mouse mu opioid receptor expression via leaky scanning

PubMed Central

Song, Kyu Young; Hwang, Cheol Kyu; Kim, Chun Sung; Choi, Hack Sun; Law, Ping-Yee; Wei, Li-Na; Loh, Horace H.

2007-01-01

Mu opioid receptor (MOR) expression is under temporal and spatial controls, but expression levels of the MOR gene are relatively low in vivo. In addition to transcriptional regulations, upstream AUGs (uAUGs) and open reading frames (uORFs) profoundly affect the translation of the primary ORF and thus the protein levels in several genes. The 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of mouse MOR mRNA contains three uORFs preceding the MOR main initiation codon. In MOR-fused EGFP or MOR promoter/luciferase reporter constructs, mutating each uAUG individually or in combinations increased MOR transient heterologous expression in neuroblastoma NMB and HEK293 cells significantly. Translation of such constructs increased up to 3-fold without altering the mRNA levels if either the third uAUG or both the second and third AUGs were mutated. Additionally, these uAUG-mediated translational inhibitions were independent of their peptide as confirmed by internal mutation analyses in each uORF. Translational studies indicated that protein syntheses were initiated at these uAUG initiation sites, with the third uAUG initiating the highest translation level. These results support the hypothesis that uORFs in mouse MOR mRNA act as negative regulators through a ribosome leaky scanning mechanism. Such leaky scanning resulted in the suppression of mouse MOR under normal conditions. PMID:17284463

Hydrogen peroxide-enhanced iron-mediated aeration for the treatment of mature landfill leachate.

PubMed

Deng, Yang; Englehardt, James D

2008-05-01

Municipal landfill leachate is being disallowed for biological treatment by some sewer authorities due to its recalcitrance and corrosiveness, and therefore physicochemical treatment may be needed. In this paper, hydrogen peroxide-enhanced iron (Fe(0))-mediated aeration (IMA) was studied as an alternative for the treatment of mature landfill leachate. Bench-scale Taguchi array screening tests and full factorial tests were conducted. Iron grade, initial pH, H(2)O(2) addition rate, and aeration rate significantly influenced both overall chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and iron consumption. In the enhanced IMA-treated leachate at an initial pH of 8.2, COD was reduced by 50% due to oxidation and coagulation, a level almost equivalent to those obtained by Fenton treatment. Meanwhile, the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(5))/COD ratio was increased from 0.02 to 0.17. In particular, the effect of initial pH became minor at H(2)O(2) addition rate greater than the theoretical demand for complete oxidation of organics by H(2)O(2). In addition, 83% of 300 mg/L ammonia nitrogen and 38% of 8.30 mS/cm electrical conductivity were removed when the initial pH was not adjusted. Based on these results, the process appears suitable for treatment of mature leachate.

Time-dependent efficiency measurements of polymer solar cells with dye additives: unexpected initial increase of efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandaccari, Kyle J.; Chesmore, Grace E.; Bugaj, Mitchel; Valverde, Parisa Tajalli-Tehrani; Barber, Richard P.; McNelis, Brian J.

2018-04-01

We report the effects of the addition of two azo-dye additives on the time-dependent efficiency of polymer solar cells. Although the maximum efficiencies of devices containing different amounts of dye do not vary greatly over the selected concentration range, the time dependence results reveal a surprising initial increase in efficiency in some samples. We observe this effect to be correlated with a leakage current, although a specific mechanism is not yet identified. We also present the measured lifetimes of these solar cells, and find that variations in dye concentrations produce a small effect at most. Characterization of the bulk heterojunction layer (active layer) morphology using atomic-force microscope (AFM) imaging reveals reordering patterns which suggest that the primary effects of the dyes arise via structural, not absorptive, characteristics.

Treatment intensification using long-acting insulin -predictors of future basal insulin supported oral therapy in the DIVE registry.

PubMed

Danne, Thomas; Bluhmki, Tobias; Seufert, Jochen; Kaltheuner, Matthias; Rathmann, Wolfgang; Beyersmann, Jan; Bramlage, Peter

2015-10-07

In patients with type-2 diabetes receiving oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs), the addition of insulin is frequently required to achieve sufficient control over blood glucose levels. It is, however, difficult to predict if, when and in which patients insulin therapy will be needed. We aimed to identify patient related variables associated with the addition of basal insulin to oral therapy resulting in a basal supported oral therapy (BOT). DIVE (DIabetes Versorgungs-Evaluation) is a prospective, observational, multi-centre diabetes registry established in Germany in 2011. For the present explorative analysis, 31,008 patients with type-2 diabetes prescribed at least one OAD were included. Patients who had previously received insulin and those over 90 years old were excluded. The event of interest was defined as the initiation of BOT during the observational period. Cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models based on a competing risk framework were applied for risk quantification. Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios demonstrated that longer diabetes duration, higher BMI, poorer glycaemic control, documentation of any micro- or macrovascular comorbidity, the presence of concomitant non-antidiabetic pharmacotherapies, and greater numbers of prescribed OADs increased the likelihood of BOT initiation. On the other hand BOT initiation was less likely in patients with older age and female gender. Analysing the likelihood of OAD termination without initiation of BOT provided supportive evidence for the variables predictive of BOT initiation. Analysis of the DIVE registry has resulted in the identification of a number of factors that may be predictive for the initiation of BOT for type-2 diabetes patients initially prescribed one or more OADs. Poor glycaemic control, the presence of vascular comorbidities and concomitant medications, and a greater number of OADs were all detected to increase the risk of a switch to BOT. Female gender and younger age showed protective properties. The close monitoring of patients displaying these characteristics may help to identify individuals who might benefit from early addition of insulin therapy to their oral treatment regimen.

A workplace breast cancer screening program. Costs and components.

PubMed

Schrammel, P; Griffiths, R I; Griffiths, C B

1998-11-01

Screening for breast cancer can result in early detection of malignancies and lives saved. Many employers now offer periodic screening as an employee health benefit, and some have established screening programs in the workplace. This study was performed to identify the employer costs of breast cancer screening in the workplace, referrals for suspicious findings, and initial treatment of malignant disease. Additionally, the costs for these same services, had they been obtained outside of a workplace screening program, were estimated. Data on program components and associated costs for an established employer based breast cancer screening program were obtained. These costs were compared to those among a hypothetical cohort of women not enrolled in the workplace screening program. From 1989 through 1995, 1,416 women participated in the program. Nearly 2,500 screening mammograms and approximately 2,773 clinical breast examinations were performed, resulting in 292 referrals to physicians outside of the program for additional diagnostic procedures and treatment as needed. These referrals resulted in the detection of 12 malignancies: 8 Stage I; 3 Stage II; and 1 Stage III. Mammographic and clinical breast examination screening cost $249,041; referrals resulting in benign disease or no detectable disease cost $185,002; and referrals resulting in malignant disease, followed by initial treatment, cost $148,530. Therefore, the total cost was $582,573. Approximately 47% of the cost of referrals and initial treatment were due to employee lost productivity. Total cost in the hypothetical cohort was $1,067,948 under the assumptions that all women received screening outside of the workplace, and that the same number of malignancies were detected at the same stage as in the workplace program. These findings indicate referrals resulting in detection of benign disease or no disease accounted for a substantial proportion of the total cost of the program. In addition, employee lost productivity accounted for almost 50% of the cost of all referrals and initial treatment. Workplace screening is a relatively efficient approach for early detection of breast cancer when compared to off site screening or no screening. The efficiency could be improved with a reduction in the number and cost of unnecessary referrals.

Insulin-loaded biodegradable PLGA microcapsules: initial burst release controlled by hydrophilic additives.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, Y; Takenaga, M; Kitagawa, A; Ogawa, Y; Mizushima, Y; Igarashi, R

2002-06-17

We investigated the controlled release of human insulin at an initial stage from poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA, M(w) 6600) spherical matrices. PLGA microcapsules were prepared by the novel solvent evaporation multiple emulsion process. When the crystalline insulin was dispersed in dichloromethane as solid-in-oil (S/O) dispersion, it was found that most of insulin molecules were inlaid on the surface of PLGA microcapsules. Consequently, insulin-loaded PLGA microcapsules exhibited marked rapid release of insulin within several hours in both in vivo and in vitro experiments. On the other hand, the addition of glycerol or water in the primary dichloromethane dispersion results in drastically suppressed initial release. It was found by SEM observation that water- or glycerol-in-oil (W/O or G/O) type mini-emulsion droplets with a mean diameter of 300-500 nm were formed in this primary solution. This phenomenon can be theoretically presumed to occur because insulin and PLGA molecules, having amphiphilic properties, converge on the interface between the hydrophilic additive and dichloromethane. Hence, insulin molecules heterogeneously located in the inside of PLGA microcapsules, not on the surface, would be gradually released with PLGA hydrolytic decomposition. As an additional effect of glycerol, the initial burst was further suppressed due to the decrease of the glass transition temperature of PLGA from 42.5 to 36.7 degrees C. Since the annealing of PLGA molecules took place at around 37 degrees C, the porous structure of microspheres immediately disappeared after immersion in PBS or subcutaneous administration. The insulin diffusion through the water-filled pores would be effectively prevented. The strict controlled initial release of insulin from the PLGA microsphere suggested the possibility of utilization in insulin therapy for type I diabetic patients who need construction of a basal insulin profile.

Real-Time X-ray Imaging Reveals Interfacial Growth, Suppression, and Dissolution of Zinc Dendrites Dependent on Anions of Ionic Liquid Additives for Rechargeable Battery Applications.

PubMed

Song, Yuexian; Hu, Jiugang; Tang, Jia; Gu, Wanmiao; He, Lili; Ji, Xiaobo

2016-11-23

The dynamic interfacial growth, suppression, and dissolution of zinc dendrites have been studied with the imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) as additives on the basis of in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray imaging. The phase contrast difference of real-time images indicates that zinc dendrites are preferentially developed on the substrate surface in the ammoniacal electrolytes. After adding imidazolium ILs, both nucleation overpotential and polarization extent increase in the order of additive-free < EMI-Cl < EMI-PF 6 < EMI-TFSA < EMI-DCA. The real-time X-ray images show that the EMI-Cl can suppress zinc dendrites, but result in the formation of the loose deposits. The EMI-PF 6 and EMI-TFSA additives can smooth the deposit morphology through suppressing the initiation and growth of dendritic zinc. The addition of EMI-DCA increases the number of dendrite initiation sites, whereas it decreases the growth rate of dendrites. Furthermore, the dissolution behaviors of zinc deposits are compared. The zinc dendrites show a slow dissolution process in the additive-free electrolyte, whereas zinc deposits are easily detached from the substrate in the presence of EMI-Cl, EMI-PF 6 , or EMI-TFSA due to the formation of the loose structure. Hence, the dependence of zinc dendrites on anions of imidazolium IL additives during both electrodeposition and dissolution processes has been elucidated. These results could provide the valuable information in perfecting the performance of zinc-based rechargeable batteries.

Benefits and Risks of Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy When It Is Initiated Soon After Menopause

PubMed Central

Manson, JoAnn E.; Langer, Robert D.; Anderson, Garnet L.; Pettinger, Mary; Jackson, Rebecca D.; Johnson, Karen C.; Kuller, Lewis H.; Lane, Dorothy S.; Wactawski-Wende, Jean; Brzyski, Robert; Allison, Matthew; Ockene, Judith; Sarto, Gloria; Rossouw, Jacques E.

2009-01-01

The authors further analyzed results from the Women's Health Initiative randomized trials (1993–2004) of conjugated equine estrogens, with or without medroxyprogesterone acetate, focusing on health benefits versus risks among women who initiated hormone therapy soon after menopause. Data from the Women's Health Initiative observational study (1993–2004) were included in some analyses for additional precision. Results are presented here for incident coronary heart disease, stroke, venous thromboembolism, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, or hip fracture; death from other causes; a summary global index; total cancer; and total mortality. Hazard ratios for breast cancer and total cancer were comparatively higher (P < 0.05) among women who initiated hormone therapy soon after menopause, for both regimens. Among these women, use of conjugated equine estrogens appeared to produce elevations in venous thromboembolism and stroke and a reduction in hip fracture. Estrogen plus progestin results among women who initiated use soon after menopause were similar for venous thromboembolism, stroke, and hip fracture but also included evidence of longer-term elevations in breast cancer, total cancer, and the global index. These analyses provide little support for the hypothesis of favorable effects among women who initiate postmenopausal estrogen use soon after menopause, either for coronary heart disease or for health benefits versus risk indices considered. PMID:19468079

Synthesis and testing of ZnO nanoparticles for photo-initiation: experimental observation of two different non-migration initiators for bulk polymerization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitt, M.

2015-05-01

The migration and transport of polymerization initiators are problematic for commercially used polymerization procedures. For example, UV printing of packaging generates products with potentially harmful components that come in contact with food. Enlarging the size of the initiator is the only way to prevent contamination, e.g., by gas phase transport. In this manuscript, the synthesis and advanced and full analyses of novel nanoparticle-based types of non-migration, fragmenting and non-fragmenting photo-initiators will be presented in detail. This study introduces non-fragmenting/``Norrish type II'' and fragmenting/``Norrish type I'' ZnO nanoparticle-based initiators and compares them with two commercial products, a ``Norrish type I'' initiator and a ``Norrish type II'' initiator. Therefore, inter alia, the recently developed analysis involves examining the solidification by UV-vis and the double bond content by Raman. Irradiation is performed using absolute and spectrally calibrated xenon flash lights. A novel procedure for absolute and spectral calibration of such light sources is also presented. The non-optimized ``Norrish type II'' particle-based initiator is already many times faster than benzophenone, which is a molecular initiator of the same non-fragmenting type. This experimentally observed difference in reactive particle-based systems without co-initiators is unexpected. Co-initiators are normally an additional molecular species, which leads to migration problems. The discovery of significant initiation potential resulting in a very well-dispersed organic-inorganic hybrid material suggests a new field of research opportunities at the interface of physical chemistry, polymer chemistry and engineering science, with enormous value for human health.The migration and transport of polymerization initiators are problematic for commercially used polymerization procedures. For example, UV printing of packaging generates products with potentially harmful components that come in contact with food. Enlarging the size of the initiator is the only way to prevent contamination, e.g., by gas phase transport. In this manuscript, the synthesis and advanced and full analyses of novel nanoparticle-based types of non-migration, fragmenting and non-fragmenting photo-initiators will be presented in detail. This study introduces non-fragmenting/``Norrish type II'' and fragmenting/``Norrish type I'' ZnO nanoparticle-based initiators and compares them with two commercial products, a ``Norrish type I'' initiator and a ``Norrish type II'' initiator. Therefore, inter alia, the recently developed analysis involves examining the solidification by UV-vis and the double bond content by Raman. Irradiation is performed using absolute and spectrally calibrated xenon flash lights. A novel procedure for absolute and spectral calibration of such light sources is also presented. The non-optimized ``Norrish type II'' particle-based initiator is already many times faster than benzophenone, which is a molecular initiator of the same non-fragmenting type. This experimentally observed difference in reactive particle-based systems without co-initiators is unexpected. Co-initiators are normally an additional molecular species, which leads to migration problems. The discovery of significant initiation potential resulting in a very well-dispersed organic-inorganic hybrid material suggests a new field of research opportunities at the interface of physical chemistry, polymer chemistry and engineering science, with enormous value for human health. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Multiple additional figures and images concerning the synthesis, characterization, data evaluation, TEMs and ESR spectra are available free of charge. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr00850f

75 FR 79419 - Training and Employment Guidance (TEGL) Letter No. 13-10: Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 State Initial...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

...) Letter No. 13-10: Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 State Initial Allocations and the Process for Requesting...-10 entitled, FY 2011 State Initial Allocations and the Process for Requesting Additional TAA Program... INFORMATION: Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 State Initial Allocations and the Process for Requesting Additional Trade...

The effects of work engagement and self-efficacy on personal initiative and performance.

PubMed

Lisbona, Ana; Palaci, Francisco; Salanova, Marisa; Frese, Michael

2018-02-01

Two popular concepts, work engagement and personal initiative, are different but related constructs. This study is based on and extends the Frese and Fay (2001) model of personal initiative (PI) by including work engagement (WE) and self-efficacy as antecedents of PI, and performance as a consequence. Two studies (study 1, with a cross-sectional design using N = 396 participants from 22 organizations, and study 2, with a longitudinal design conducted in two waves with N = 118 participants from 15 organizations) test the hypotheses. Structural equation modeling and the PROCESS SPSS Macro were used to test the hypothesized mediating role of personal initiative in work engagement and performance, and the results show the indirect effect of WE on performance through PI. The results of these two studies confirmed our hypotheses: WE and self-efficacy lead to higher PI, which, in turn, leads to higher performance. In addition to considering WE as an antecedent of PI, the results lead to considering PI as an antecedent of performance.

Initial experiences in the photoacoustic detection of melanoma metastases in resected lymph nodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grootendorst, D.; Jose, J.; Van der Jagt, P.; Van der Weg, W.; Nagel, K.; Wouters, M.; Van Boven, H.; Van Leeuwen, T. G.; Steenbergen, W.; Ruers, T.; Manohar, S.

2011-03-01

Accurate lymph node analysis is essential to determine the prognosis and treatment of patients suffering from melanoma. The initial results of a tomographic photoacoustic modality to detect melanoma metastases in resected lymph nodes are presented based on phantom models and a human lymph node. The results show melanoma metastases detection is feasible and the setup is capable of distinguishing absorbing structures down to 1 mm. In addition, the use of longer laser wavelengths could result in an image containing a higher contrast ratio. Future research shall be focused on using the melanin characteristics to improve contrast and detection possibilities.

Spacecraft formation flying for Earth-crossing object deflections using a power limited laser ablating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Sung-Moon; Song, Young-Joo; Park, Sang-Young; Choi, Kyu-Hong

2009-06-01

A formation flying strategy with an Earth-crossing object (ECO) is proposed to avoid the Earth collision. Assuming that a future conceptual spacecraft equipped with a powerful laser ablation tool already rendezvoused with a fictitious Earth collision object, the optimal required laser operating duration and direction histories are accurately derived to miss the Earth. Based on these results, the concept of formation flying between the object and the spacecraft is applied and analyzed as to establish the spacecraft's orbital motion design strategy. A fictitious "Apophis"-like object is established to impact with the Earth and two major deflection scenarios are designed and analyzed. These scenarios include the cases for the both short and long laser operating duration to avoid the Earth impact. Also, requirement of onboard laser tool's for both cases are discussed. As a result, the optimal initial conditions for the spacecraft to maintain its relative trajectory to the object are discovered. Additionally, the discovered optimal initial conditions also satisfied the optimal required laser operating conditions with no additional spacecraft's own fuel expenditure to achieve the spacecraft formation flying with the ECO. The initial conditions founded in the current research can be used as a spacecraft's initial rendezvous points with the ECO when designing the future deflection missions with laser ablation tools. The results with proposed strategy are expected to make more advances in the fields of the conceptual studies, especially for the future deflection missions using powerful laser ablation tools.

[Safety of food additives from a German and European point of view].

PubMed

Gürtler, R

2010-06-01

There are about 300 food additives permitted in the EU for which a re-evaluation program was initiated recently. Occasionally, it is speculated that the use of single food additives might be of safety concern. First results of the re-evaluation could give an impression on how such concerns were taken into account by responsible authorities, such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). For some of the food additives, the lowest dose resulting in adverse effects was lower in recent studies compared to previous studies. Thus, the acceptable daily intake (ADI) derived applying the common uncertainty factor was lower than the ADI derived using data from previous studies. Therefore, it has to be considered whether the conditions of use need to be modified for these food additives.

Microenergetic Shock Initiation Studies on Deposited Films of PETN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tappan, Alexander S.; Wixom, Ryan R.; Trott, Wayne M.; Long, Gregory T.; Knepper, Robert; Brundage, Aaron L.; Jones, David A.

2009-06-01

Films of the high explosive PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) up to 500-μm thick have been deposited through physical vapor deposition, with the intent of creating well-defined samples for shock-initiation studies. PETN films were characterized with surface profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and focused ion beam nanotomography. These high-density films were subjected to strong shocks in both the in-plane and out-of-plane orientations. Initiation behavior was monitored with high-speed framing and streak camera photography. Direct initiation with a donor explosive (either RDX with binder, or CL-20 with binder) was possible in both orientations, but with the addition of a thin aluminum buffer plate (in-plane configuration only), initiation proved to be difficult due to the attenuated shock and the high density of the PETN films. Mesoscale models of microenergetic samples were created using the shock physics code CTH and compared with experimental results. The results of these experiments will be discussed in the context of small sample geometry, deposited film morphology, and density.

Combination of graph heuristics in producing initial solution of curriculum based course timetabling problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahid, Juliana; Hussin, Naimah Mohd

2016-08-01

The construction of population of initial solution is a crucial task in population-based metaheuristic approach for solving curriculum-based university course timetabling problem because it can affect the convergence speed and also the quality of the final solution. This paper presents an exploration on combination of graph heuristics in construction approach in curriculum based course timetabling problem to produce a population of initial solutions. The graph heuristics were set as single and combination of two heuristics. In addition, several ways of assigning courses into room and timeslot are implemented. All settings of heuristics are then tested on the same curriculum based course timetabling problem instances and are compared with each other in terms of number of population produced. The result shows that combination of saturation degree followed by largest degree heuristic produce the highest number of population of initial solutions. The results from this study can be used in the improvement phase of algorithm that uses population of initial solutions.

Electron and ion heating by whistler turbulence: Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations

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

Hughes, R. Scott; Gary, S. Peter; Wang, Joseph

2014-12-17

Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of decaying whistler turbulence are carried out on a collisionless, homogeneous, magnetized, electron-ion plasma model. In addition, the simulations use an initial ensemble of relatively long wavelength whistler modes with a broad range of initial propagation directions with an initial electron beta β e = 0.05. The computations follow the temporal evolution of the fluctuations as they cascade into broadband turbulent spectra at shorter wavelengths. Three simulations correspond to successively larger simulation boxes and successively longer wavelengths of the initial fluctuations. The computations confirm previous results showing electron heating is preferentially parallel to the background magnetic fieldmore » B o, and ion heating is preferentially perpendicular to B o. The new results here are that larger simulation boxes and longer initial whistler wavelengths yield weaker overall dissipation, consistent with linear dispersion theory predictions of decreased damping, stronger ion heating, consistent with a stronger ion Landau resonance, and weaker electron heating.« less

Simulations of the Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability with experimentally measured volumetric initial conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferguson, Kevin; Sewell, Everest; Krivets, Vitaliy; Greenough, Jeffrey; Jacobs, Jeffrey

2016-11-01

Initial conditions for the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) are measured in three dimensions in the University of Arizona Vertical Shock Tube using a moving magnet galvanometer system. The resulting volumetric data is used as initial conditions for the simulation of the RMI using ARES at Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The heavy gas is sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and the light gas is air. The perturbations are generated by harmonically oscillating the gasses vertically using two loudspeakers mounted to the shock tube which cause Faraday resonance, producing a random short wavelength perturbation on the interface. Planar Mie scattering is used to illuminate the flow field through the addition of propylene glycol particles seeded in the heavy gas. An M=1.2 shock impulsively accelerates the interface, initiating instability growth. Images of the initial condition and instability growth are captured at a rate of 6 kHz using high speed cameras. Comparisons between experimental and simulation results, mixing diagnostics, and mixing zone growth are presented.

The New Jersey Nursing Initiative: building sustainable collaboration.

PubMed

Bakewell-Sachs, Susan; Mertz, Lynn M; Egreczky, Dana; Ladden, Maryjoan

2011-01-01

The New Jersey Nursing Initiative was publically launched in 2009 as a 5-year, $22 million program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It was reauthorized in 2011 through 2016 for an additional $8.5 million. The initiative includes a faculty preparation program and strategic tracks of work focusing on building education capacity, increasing current faculty capacity, making nurse faculty a preferred career, leading policy initiatives, creating sustainable funding in support of nursing education, and ultimately, building local, regional, and statewide collaborative networks. The tagline, "So a Nurse will be there for You," emphasizes both the reality of an aging nursing workforce needing replacement and the expected health care transformation that will result in the need for new knowledge and skills in the future nursing workforce. The purpose of this article was to describe the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, emphasizing the partnerships that have resulted from the project to date. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Making intelligent systems team players: Additional case studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Schreckenghost, Debra L.; Rhoads, Ron W.

1993-01-01

Observations from a case study of intelligent systems are reported as part of a multi-year interdisciplinary effort to provide guidance and assistance for designers of intelligent systems and their user interfaces. A series of studies were conducted to investigate issues in designing intelligent fault management systems in aerospace applications for effective human-computer interaction. The results of the initial study are documented in two NASA technical memoranda: TM 104738 Making Intelligent Systems Team Players: Case Studies and Design Issues, Volumes 1 and 2; and TM 104751, Making Intelligent Systems Team Players: Overview for Designers. The objective of this additional study was to broaden the investigation of human-computer interaction design issues beyond the focus on monitoring and fault detection in the initial study. The results of this second study are documented which is intended as a supplement to the original design guidance documents. These results should be of interest to designers of intelligent systems for use in real-time operations, and to researchers in the areas of human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence.

Initiation of oncogenic transformation in human mammary epithelial cells by charged particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, T. C.; Georgy, K. A.; Craise, L. M.; Durante, M.

1997-01-01

Experimental studies have shown that high linear-energy transfer (LET) charged particles can be more effective than x-rays and gamma-rays in inducing oncogenic transformation in cultured cells and tumors in animals. Based on these results, experiments were designed and performed with an immortal human mammary epithelial cell line (H184B5), and several clones transformed by heavy ions were obtained. Cell fusion experiments were subsequently done, and results indicate that the transforming gene(s) is recessive. Chromosome analysis with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques also showed additional translocations in transformed human mammary epithelial cells. In addition, studies with these cell lines indicate that heavy ions can effectively induce deletion, break, and dicentrics. Deletion of tumor suppressor gene(s) and/or formation of translocation through DNA double strand breaks is a likely mechanism for the initiation of oncogenic transformation in human mammary epithelial cells.

Strategies for Selecting Routes through Real-World Environments: Relative Topography, Initial Route Straightness, and Cardinal Direction

PubMed Central

Brunyé, Tad T.; Collier, Zachary A.; Cantelon, Julie; Holmes, Amanda; Wood, Matthew D.; Linkov, Igor; Taylor, Holly A.

2015-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated that route planners use several reliable strategies for selecting between alternate routes. Strategies include selecting straight rather than winding routes leaving an origin, selecting generally south- rather than north-going routes, and selecting routes that avoid traversal of complex topography. The contribution of this paper is characterizing the relative influence and potential interactions of these strategies. We also examine whether individual differences would predict any strategy reliance. Results showed evidence for independent and additive influences of all three strategies, with a strong influence of topography and initial segment straightness, and relatively weak influence of cardinal direction. Additively, routes were also disproportionately selected when they traversed relatively flat regions, had relatively straight initial segments, and went generally south rather than north. Two individual differences, extraversion and sense of direction, predicted the extent of some effects. Under real-world conditions navigators indeed consider a route’s initial straightness, cardinal direction, and topography, but these cues differ in relative influence and vary in their application across individuals. PMID:25992685

Thermodynamic Effect of Platinum Addition to beta-NiAl: An Initial Investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

An initial investigation was conducted to determine the effect of platinum addition on the activities of aluminum and nickel in beta-NiAl(Pt) over the temperature range 1354 to 1692 K. These measurements were made with a multiple effusion-cell configured mass spectrometer (multi-cell KEMS). The results of this study show that Pt additions act to decreased alpha(Al) and increased the alpha(Ni) in beta-NiAl(Pt) for constant X(sub Ni)/X(sub Al) approx. = 1.13, while at constant X(sub Al) the affect of Pt on Al is greatly reduced. The measured partial enthalpies of mixing indicate Al-atoms have a strong self interaction while Ni- and Pt-atoms in have similar interactions with Al-atoms. Conversely the binding of Ni-atoms in beta-NiAl decreases with Pt addition independent of Al concentration. These initial results prove the technique can be applied to the Ni-Al-Pt system but more activity measurements are required to fully understand the thermodynamics of this system and how Pt additions improved the scaling behavior of nickel-based superalloys. In addition, with the choice of a suitable oxide material for the effusion-cell, the "closed" isothermal nature of the effusion-cell allows the direct investigation of an alloy-oxide equilibrium which resembles the "local-equilibrium" description of the metal-scale interface observed during high temperature oxidation. It is proposed that with an Al(l) + Al2O3(s) experimental reference state together with the route measurement of the relative partial-pressures of Al(g) and Al2O(g) allows the activities of O and Al2O3 to be determined along with the activities of Ni and Al. These measurements provide a direct method of investigating the thermodynamics of the metal-scale interface of a TGO-scale.

Phytohormonal Networks Promote Differentiation of Fiber Initials on Pre-Anthesis Cotton Ovules Grown In Vitro and In Planta

PubMed Central

Kim, Hee Jin; Hinchliffe, Doug J.; Triplett, Barbara A.; Chen, Z. Jeffrey; Stelly, David M.; Yeater, Kathleen M.; Moon, Hong S.; Gilbert, Matthew K.; Thyssen, Gregory N.; Turley, Rickie B.; Fang, David D.

2015-01-01

The number of cotton (Gossypium sp.) ovule epidermal cells differentiating into fiber initials is an important factor affecting cotton yield and fiber quality. Despite extensive efforts in determining the molecular mechanisms regulating fiber initial differentiation, only a few genes responsible for fiber initial differentiation have been discovered. To identify putative genes directly involved in the fiber initiation process, we used a cotton ovule culture technique that controls the timing of fiber initial differentiation by exogenous phytohormone application in combination with comparative expression analyses between wild type and three fiberless mutants. The addition of exogenous auxin and gibberellins to pre-anthesis wild type ovules that did not have visible fiber initials increased the expression of genes affecting auxin, ethylene, ABA and jasmonic acid signaling pathways within 1 h after treatment. Most transcripts expressed differentially by the phytohormone treatment in vitro were also differentially expressed in the ovules of wild type and fiberless mutants that were grown in planta. In addition to MYB25-like, a gene that was previously shown to be associated with the differentiation of fiber initials, several other differentially expressed genes, including auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (AUX/IAA) involved in auxin signaling, ACC oxidase involved in ethylene biosynthesis, and abscisic acid (ABA) 8'-hydroxylase an enzyme that controls the rate of ABA catabolism, were co-regulated in the pre-anthesis ovules of both wild type and fiberless mutants. These results support the hypothesis that phytohormonal signaling networks regulate the temporal expression of genes responsible for differentiation of cotton fiber initials in vitro and in planta. PMID:25927364

SRB Environment Evaluation and Analysis. Volume 3: ASRB Plume Induced Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bender, R. L.; Brown, J. R.; Reardon, J. E.; Everson, J.; Coons, L. W.; Stuckey, C. I.; Fulton, M. S.

1991-01-01

Contract NAS8-37891 was expanded in late 1989 to initiate analysis of Shuttle plume induced environments as a result of the substitution of the Advanced Solid Rocket Booster (ASRB) for the Redesigned Solid Rocket Booster (RSRB). To support this analysis, REMTECH became involved in subscale and full-scale solid rocket motor test programs which further expanded the scope of work. Later contract modifications included additional tasks to produce initial design cycle environments and to specify development flight instrumentation. Volume 3 of the final report describes these analyses and contains a summary of reports resulting from various studies.

Preservation of Quantum Fisher Information and Geometric Phase of a Single Qubit System in a Dissipative Reservoir Through the Addition of Qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Y. N.; Tian, Q. L.; Mo, Y. F.; Zhang, G. L.; Zeng, K.

2018-04-01

In this paper, we have investigated the preservation of quantum Fisher information (QFI) of a single-qubit system coupled to a common zero temperature reservoir through the addition of noninteracting qubits. The results show that, the QFI is completely protected in both Markovian and non-Markovian regimes by increasing the number of additional qubits. Besides, the phenomena of QFI display monotonic decay or non-monotonic with revival oscillations depending on the number of additional qubits N - 1 in a common dissipative reservoir. If N < N c (a critical number depending on the reservoirs parameters), the behavior of QFI with monotonic decay occurs. However, if N ≥ N c , QFI exhibits non-monotonic behavior with revival oscillations. Moreover, we extend this model to investigate the effect of additional qubits and the initial conditions of the system on the geometric phase (GP). It is found that, the robustness of GP against the dissipative reservoir has been demonstrated by increasing gradually the number of additional qubits N - 1. Besides, the GP is sensitive to the initial parameter 𝜃, and possesses symmetric in a range regime [0,2 π].

A 10-Year Mechatronics Curriculum Development Initiative: Relevance, Content, and Results--Part I

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Das, S.; Yost, S. A.; Krishnan, M.

2010-01-01

This paper describes the first phase of a Mechatronics Curriculum Development effort--the design of an "Introduction to Mechatronics" course, the infusion of mechatronics activities throughout the curriculum and in outreach activities, and assessment results. In addition, the relevance and impact of such a curriculum on the education of engineers…

Dinuclear Tricyclic Transition State Model for Carbonyl Addition of Organotitanium Reagents: DFT Study on the Activity and Enantioselectivity of BINOLate Titanium Catalysts.

PubMed

Harada, Toshiro

2018-06-08

In the presence of a catalytic amount of chiral BINOL derivatives (or BINOLs), a mixture of various organometallic compounds with Ti(O i Pr) 4 undergoes enantioselective addition to aldehydes and ketones. Although the catalyst and reacting nucleophile of the reaction have been elucidated to be ( BINOLate)Ti 2 (O i Pr) 6 and RTi(O i Pr) 3 , respectively, little is known about the properties of short-lived intermediates and transition structures. In this work, the mechanism of this reaction is investigated with the aid of DFT (M06) calculations. The study provides support for the following mechanistic understandings: (i) The direct racemic reaction proceeds through a pathway involving initial aggregation of RTi(O i Pr) 3 with Ti(O i Pr) 4 followed by carbonyl addition of the resulting dinuclear aggregate. (ii) The enantioselective reaction takes place through a pathway involving initial ligand exchange of RTi(O i Pr) 3 with ( BINOLate)Ti 2 (O i Pr) 6 followed by the addition of the resulting chiral dinuclear titanium species via a chiral BINOLate-chelated, tricyclic transition structure. (iii) The enantioselective pathway is favorable not because BINOLate ligands accelerate the carbonyl addition but because the ligands stabilize the chiral dinuclear species against deaggregation through a chelating bridge. (iv) The chiral transition structure serves as a model accounting for the re-face addition generally observed in the reaction of aldehydes with ( R)- BINOLs.

Reactivity-worth estimates of the OSMOSE samples in the MINERVE reactor R1-MOX, R2-UO2 and MORGANE/R configurations.

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

Zhong, Z.; Klann, R. T.; Nuclear Engineering Division

2007-08-03

An initial series of calculations of the reactivity-worth of the OSMOSE samples in the MINERVE reactor with the R2-UO2 and MORGANE/R core configuration were completed. The calculation model was generated using the lattice physics code DRAGON. In addition, an initial comparison of calculated values to experimental measurements was performed based on preliminary results for the R1-MOX configuration.

The performance and decolourization kinetics of O3/H2O2 oxidation of reactive green 19 dye in wastewater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabri, S. N.; Abidin, C. Z. A.; Fahmi; Kow, S. H.; Razali, N. A.

2018-03-01

The degradations characteristic of azo dye Reactive Green 19 (RG19) was investigated using advanced oxidation process (AOPs). It was evaluated based on colour and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. The effect of operational parameters such as initial dye concentration, initial dosage of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), contact time, and pH was also being studied. The samples were treated by ozonation (O3) and peroxone O3/H2O2 process. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) involve two stages of oxidation; firstly is the formation of strong oxidant and secondly the reaction of organic contaminants in water. In addition, the term advanced oxidation is referring to the processes in which oxidation of organic contaminants occurs primarily through reactions with hydroxyl radicals. There are several analyses that use to determine the efficiency of the treatment process, which are UV-Vis absorption spectra, COD, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), and pH. The results demonstrated that the ozone oxidation was efficient in decolourization and good in mineralization, based on the reduction of colour and COD. Additionally, results indicate that H2O2 is able to perform better than ozonation in order to decolourize the dye wastewater with 0.5 mL H2O2/L dye dosage of H2O2 at different initial concentration, initial pH, with contact time.

Access to Oral Osteoporosis Drugs among Female Medicare Part D Beneficiaries

PubMed Central

Lin, Chia-Wei; Karaca-Mandic, Pinar; McCullough, Jeffrey S.; Weaver, Lesley

2014-01-01

Background For women living with osteoporosis, high out-of-pocket drug costs may prevent drug therapy initiation. We investigate the association between oral osteoporosis out-of-pocket medication costs and female Medicare beneficiaries’ initiation of osteoporosis drug therapy. Methods We used 2007 and 2008 administrative claims and enrollment data for a 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Our study sample included age-qualified, female beneficiaries who had no prior history of osteoporosis but were diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2007 or 2008. Additionally, we only included beneficiaries continuously enrolled in standalone prescription drug plans. We excluded beneficiaries who had a chronic condition that was contraindicated with osteoporosis drug utilization. Our final sample included 25,069 beneficiaries. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between the out-of-pocket costs and initiation of oral osteoporosis drug therapy during the year of diagnosis. Findings Twenty-six percent of female Medicare beneficiaries newly diagnosed with osteoporosis initiated oral osteoporosis drug therapy. Beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs were not associated with the initiation of drug therapy for osteoporosis. However, there were statistically significant racial disparities in beneficiaries’ initiation of drug therapy. African Americans were 3 percentage points less likely to initiate drug therapy than whites. In contrast, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic beneficiaries were 8 and 18 percentage points respectively more likely to initiate drug therapy than whites. Additionally, institutionalized beneficiaries were 11 percentage points less likely to initiate drug therapy than other beneficiaries. Conclusions Access barriers for drug therapy initiation may be driven by factors other than patients’ out-of-pocket costs. These results suggest that improved osteoporosis treatment requires a more comprehensive approach that goes beyond payment policies. PMID:24837398

Treatment Attrition: Associations with Negative Affect Smoking Motives and Barriers to Quitting Among Treatment-Seeking Smokers

PubMed Central

Garey, Lorra; Kauffman, Brooke Y.; Neighbors, Clayton; Schmidt, Norman B.; Zvolensky, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Introduction Pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting are clinically important processes involved in early phases of quitting smoking. However, less is known about the constructs that may contribute to these processes such as negative affect reduction smoking motives. Method The current study sought to evaluate the relation between negative affect reduction smoking motives with pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting in a sample of 425 treatment-seeking smokers (48.5% female; Mage = 37.69; SD = 13.61) enrolled in a smoking cessation study examining the efficacy of a transdiagnostic panic-smoking cessation treatment relative to a standard smoking cessation treatment. Results Results indicated that greater negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with an increased likelihood of treatment initiation (Odds Ratio = 1.49, CI: 1.09, 2.04). Additionally, negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with greater perceived barriers for cessation among pre-treatment drop-outs and treatment initiators. Conclusions This initial investigation provides evidence for the possible clinical utility in addressing negative affect reduction smoking motives during early stages of quitting. Additionally, such findings could potentially inform the development of personalized, early stages of quitting interventions for smoking cessation. PMID:27518764

Application of neutron transmutation doping method to initially p-type silicon material.

PubMed

Kim, Myong-Seop; Kang, Ki-Doo; Park, Sang-Jun

2009-01-01

The neutron transmutation doping (NTD) method was applied to the initially p-type silicon in order to extend the NTD applications at HANARO. The relationship between the irradiation neutron fluence and the final resistivity of the initially p-type silicon material was investigated. The proportional constant between the neutron fluence and the resistivity was determined to be 2.3473x10(19)nOmegacm(-1). The deviation of the final resistivity from the target for almost all the irradiation results of the initially p-type silicon ingots was at a range from -5% to 2%. In addition, the burn-up effect of the boron impurities, the residual (32)P activity and the effect of the compensation characteristics for the initially p-type silicon were studied. Conclusively, the practical methodology to perform the neutron transmutation doping of the initially p-type silicon ingot was established.

Non-malignant pathological results on transthoracic CT guided core-needle biopsy: when is benign really benign?

PubMed

Rui, Y; Han, M; Zhou, W; He, Q; Li, H; Li, P; Zhang, F; Shi, Y; Su, X

2018-06-06

To determine true negatives and characterise the variables associated with false-negative results when interpreting non-malignant results of computed tomography (CT)-guided lung biopsy. Nine hundred and fifty patients with initial non-malignant findings on their first transthoracic CT-guided core-needle biopsy (TTNB) were included in the study. Initial biopsy results were compared to definitive diagnoses established later. The negative predictive value (NPV) of non-malignant diseases upon initial TTNB was 83.6%. When the biopsy results indicated specific infection or benign tumour (n=225, 26.1%), they all were confirmed true negative for malignancy later. Only one inconclusive "granuloma" diagnosis was false negative. All 141 patients (141/861, 16.4%) who were false negative for malignancy were from the "infection not otherwise specified (NOS)", "inflammatory diseases", or "inconclusive" groups. Age (p=0.002), cancer history (p<0.001), target size (p=0.003), and pneumothorax during lung biopsy (p=0.003) were found to be significant predictors of false-negative results; 47.6% (410/861) of patients underwent additional invasive examinations to reach a final diagnosis. Ultimately, 52.7% (216/410) were successfully diagnosed. Specific infection, benign tumour, and granulomatous inflammation of first TTNBs were mostly true negative. Older age, history of cancer, larger target size, and pneumothorax were highly predictive of false-negative results for malignancies. In such cases, additional invasive examinations were frequently necessary to obtain final diagnoses. Copyright © 2018 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Toxic Effects of Cigarette Additives. Philip Morris' Project Mix Reconsidered: An Analysis of Documents Released through Litigation

PubMed Central

Wertz, Marcia S.; Kyriss, Thomas; Paranjape, Suman; Glantz, Stanton A.

2011-01-01

Background In 2009, the promulgation of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tobacco regulation focused attention on cigarette flavor additives. The tobacco industry had prepared for this eventuality by initiating a research program focusing on additive toxicity. The objective of this study was to analyze Philip Morris' Project MIX as a case study of tobacco industry scientific research being positioned strategically to prevent anticipated tobacco control regulations. Methods and Findings We analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents to identify internal strategies for research on cigarette additives and reanalyzed tobacco industry peer-reviewed published results of this research. We focused on the key group of studies conducted by Phillip Morris in a coordinated effort known as “Project MIX.” Documents showed that Project MIX subsumed the study of various combinations of 333 cigarette additives. In addition to multiple internal reports, this work also led to four peer-reviewed publications (published in 2001). These papers concluded that there was no evidence of substantial toxicity attributable to the cigarette additives studied. Internal documents revealed post hoc changes in analytical protocols after initial statistical findings indicated an additive-associated increase in cigarette toxicity as well as increased total particulate matter (TPM) concentrations in additive-modified cigarette smoke. By expressing the data adjusted by TPM concentration, the published papers obscured this underlying toxicity and particulate increase. The animal toxicology results were based on a small number of rats in each experiment, raising the possibility that the failure to detect statistically significant changes in the end points was due to underpowering the experiments rather than lack of a real effect. Conclusion The case study of Project MIX shows tobacco industry scientific research on the use of cigarette additives cannot be taken at face value. The results demonstrate that toxins in cigarette smoke increase substantially when additives are put in cigarettes, including the level of TPM. In particular, regulatory authorities, including the FDA and similar agencies elsewhere, could use the Project MIX data to eliminate the use of these 333 additives (including menthol) from cigarettes. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:22205885

Stabilization of metal(loid)s in two contaminated agricultural soils: Comparing biochar to its non-pyrolysed source material.

PubMed

Trakal, Lukáš; Raya-Moreno, Irene; Mitchell, Kerry; Beesley, Luke

2017-08-01

Two metal(loid) contaminated agricultural soils were amended with grape stalk (wine production by-product)-derived biochar as well as its pre-pyrolysed origin material, to investigate their geochemical impacts on As, Cr, Cu and Zn. Detailed physico-chemical evaluation combined with a column leaching test determined the retention of metal(loid)s from soil solution by each amendments. A pot experiment measured metal(loid)s in soil pore water and their uptake to ryegrass when the amendments were mixed into soils at 1 and 5% (w/w). Total Cr and Zn concentrations were reduced furthest in column leachates by the addition of raw material and biochar respectively, compared to the untreated soil; Cr(III) was the predominant specie initially due to rapid acidification of leachates and organic complexation resulting from raw material addition. Loadings of metal(loid)s to the amendments recovered from the post-leached columns were in the order Cu » Zn > Cr ≈ As. In the pot test ryegrass Cr uptake was initiated by the addition of both amendments, compared to the untreated soil, whereas only biochar addition resulted in significant increases in Zn uptake, explained by its significant enhancement of ryegrass biomass yield, especially at 5% dosage; raw material addition significantly decreased biomass yields. Inconsistent relationships between pore water parameters and ryegrass uptake were common to both soils investigated. Therefore, whilst both amendments modified soil metal(loid) geochemistry, their effects differed fundamentally; in environmental risk management terms these results highlight the need to investigate the detailed geochemical response of contaminated soils to diverse organic amendment additions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterizing the correlation between dephosphorization and solution pH in a calcined water treatment plant sludge.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhenming; Liu, Qidi; Li, Shuwen; Li, Fei; Zou, Jing; Liao, Xiaobin; Yuan, Baoling; Sun, Wenjie

2018-04-26

This study focused on characterizing the correlation between the dephosphorization process of calcined water treatment plant sludge (C-WTPS) and the solution initial pH in batch experiments. The specific aim was to illustrate the effect of different initial pH on the adsorption and desorption of phosphorous in C-WTPS. In addition, the effects of solution initial pH on the release of ammonia nitrogen and total organic carbon (TOC) from C-WTPS and the change of pH after adsorption were also investigated. The results demonstrated that the initial pH significantly influenced the adsorption of phosphorus on C-WTPS. When initial pH was increased from 3 to 10, the phosphorous absorption capacity reduced by 76.5%. Especially, when the initial pH reached to 11, the phosphorus adsorption capacity became a negative value, indicating that C-WTPS released phosphorus into the solution. The addition of C-WTPS to the solution had little impact on the initial pH of the solution. The absorbed phosphorous on C-WTPS was relatively stable in the pH range of 3 to 10. Nevertheless, when the solution pH was higher than 11, it can be easily released into the solution. Furthermore, by comparison with WTPS, C-WTPS released less ammonia nitrogen and TOC into the solution and adsorbed more phosphorus from the solution in the experimental pH range. Therefore, C-WTPS is more suitable to serve as a cost-effective sorbent for phosphorus removal.

Accurate Initial State Estimation in a Monocular Visual–Inertial SLAM System

PubMed Central

Chen, Jing; Zhou, Zixiang; Leng, Zhen; Fan, Lei

2018-01-01

The fusion of monocular visual and inertial cues has become popular in robotics, unmanned vehicles and augmented reality fields. Recent results have shown that optimization-based fusion strategies outperform filtering strategies. Robust state estimation is the core capability for optimization-based visual–inertial Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) systems. As a result of the nonlinearity of visual–inertial systems, the performance heavily relies on the accuracy of initial values (visual scale, gravity, velocity and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) biases). Therefore, this paper aims to propose a more accurate initial state estimation method. On the basis of the known gravity magnitude, we propose an approach to refine the estimated gravity vector by optimizing the two-dimensional (2D) error state on its tangent space, then estimate the accelerometer bias separately, which is difficult to be distinguished under small rotation. Additionally, we propose an automatic termination criterion to determine when the initialization is successful. Once the initial state estimation converges, the initial estimated values are used to launch the nonlinear tightly coupled visual–inertial SLAM system. We have tested our approaches with the public EuRoC dataset. Experimental results show that the proposed methods can achieve good initial state estimation, the gravity refinement approach is able to efficiently speed up the convergence process of the estimated gravity vector, and the termination criterion performs well. PMID:29419751

Specialized nucleoprotein structures at the origin of replication of bacteriophage lambda: localized unwinding of duplex DNA by a six-protein reaction.

PubMed Central

Dodson, M; Echols, H; Wickner, S; Alfano, C; Mensa-Wilmot, K; Gomes, B; LeBowitz, J; Roberts, J D; McMacken, R

1986-01-01

The O protein of bacteriophage lambda localizes the initiation of DNA replication to a unique site on the lambda genome, ori lambda. By means of electron microscopy, we infer that the binding of O to ori lambda initiates a series of protein addition and transfer reactions that culminate in localized unwinding of the origin DNA, generating a prepriming structure for the initiation of DNA replication. We can define three stages of this prepriming reaction, the first two of which we have characterized previously. First, dimeric O protein binds to multiple DNA binding sites and self-associates to form a nucleoprotein structure, the O-some. Second, lambda P and host DnaB proteins interact with the O-some to generate a larger complex that includes additional DNA from an A + T-rich region adjacent to the O binding sites. Third, the addition of the DnaJ, DnaK, and Ssb proteins and ATP results in an origin-specific unwinding reaction, probably catalyzed by the helicase activity of DnaB. The unwinding reaction is unidirectional, proceeding "rightward" from the origin. The minimal DNA sequence competent for unwinding consists of two O binding sites and the adjacent A + T-rich region to the right of the binding sites. We conclude that the lambda O protein localizes and initiates a six-protein sequential reaction responsible for but preceding the precise initiation of DNA replication. Specialized nucleoprotein structures similar to the O-some may be a general feature of DNA transactions requiring extraordinary precision in localization and control. Images PMID:3020552

Composite Materials for Structural Design.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-03-01

location of failure initiation. Accurate results for the third require additional considerations not treated here. 49 ABSTRACT Tranverse Shear Deformation...mentioned competing effects so as to minimize the residual thermal stress at the termination of the cool-down phase. Elastic Analysis Consider a symmetric

Sidewalk undermining studies : phase III, field and model studies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-01-01

The results of the early studies of the undermining problems are summarized in the initial portion of this report. Additionally, the design and use of a model sidewalk for testing procedures for preventing undermining are described. Based upon tests ...

Early Complications and Outcomes in Combat Injury Related Invasive Fungal Wound Infections: A Case-Control Analysis

PubMed Central

Lewandowski, Louis R.; Weintrob, Amy C.; Tribble, David R.; Rodriguez, Carlos J.; Petfield, Joseph; Lloyd, Bradley A.; Murray, Clinton K.; Stinner, Daniel; Aggarwal, Deepak; Shaikh, Faraz; Potter, Benjamin K.

2015-01-01

Objective Clinicians have anecdotally noted that combat-related invasive fungal wound infections (IFIs) lead to residual limb shortening, additional days and operative procedures prior to initial wound closure, and high early complication rates. We evaluated the validity of these observations and identified risk factors that may impact time to initial wound closure. Design Retrospective review and case-control analysis. Setting Military hospitals. Patients/Participants United States military personnel injured during combat operations (2009–2011). The IFI cases were identified based upon the presence of recurrent, necrotic extremity wounds with mold growth in culture and/or histopathologic fungal evidence. Non-IFI controls were matched on injury pattern and severity. In a supplemental matching analysis, non-IFI controls were also matched by blood volume transfused within 24 hours of injury. Intervention None. Main Outcome Measurements Amputation revision rate and loss of functional levels. Results Seventy-one IFI cases (112 fungal-infected extremity wounds) were identified and matched to 160 control patients (315 non-IFI extremity wounds). The IFI wounds resulted in significantly more changes in amputation level (p<0.001). Additionally, significantly (p<0.001) higher number of operative procedures and longer duration to initial wound closure was associated with IFI. A shorter duration to initial wound closure was significantly associated with wounds lacking IFIs (Hazard ratio: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.01). The supplemental matching analysis found similar results. Conclusions Our analysis indicates that IFIs adversely impact wound healing and patient recovery, requiring more frequent proximal amputation revisions and leading to higher early complication rates. PMID:26360542

Improvement of home composting process of food waste using different minerals.

PubMed

Margaritis, M; Psarras, K; Panaretou, V; Thanos, A G; Malamis, D; Sotiropoulos, A

2018-03-01

This article presents the experimental study of the process of composting in a prototype home-scale system with a special focus on process improvement by using different additives (i.e. woodchips, perlite, vermiculite and zeolite). The interventions with different bulking agents were realized through composting cycles using substrates with 10% additives in specific mixtures of kitchen waste materials. The pre-selected proportion of the mixtures examined was 3:1:1 in cellulosic:proteins:carbohydrates, in order to achieve an initial C/N ratio equal to 30. The control of the initial properties of the examined substrates aimed at the consequent improvement of the properties of the final product (compost). The results indicated that composting process was enhanced with the use of additives and especially the case of zeolite and perlite provided the best results, in terms of efficient temperature evolution (>55 °C for 4 consecutive days). Carbon to nitrogen ratios decreased by 40% from the initial values for the reactors were minerals were added, while for the bioreactor tested with woodchips the reduction was slight, showing slowest degradation rate. Moisture content of produced compost varied within the range of 55-64% d.m., while nutrient content (K, Na, Ca, Mg) was in accordance with the limit values reported in literature. Finally, the composts obtained, exhibited a satisfactory degree of maturity, fulfilling the criterion related to the absence of phytotoxic compounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Portfolios in Stochastic Local Search: Efficiently Computing Most Probable Explanations in Bayesian Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mengshoel, Ole J.; Roth, Dan; Wilkins, David C.

2001-01-01

Portfolio methods support the combination of different algorithms and heuristics, including stochastic local search (SLS) heuristics, and have been identified as a promising approach to solve computationally hard problems. While successful in experiments, theoretical foundations and analytical results for portfolio-based SLS heuristics are less developed. This article aims to improve the understanding of the role of portfolios of heuristics in SLS. We emphasize the problem of computing most probable explanations (MPEs) in Bayesian networks (BNs). Algorithmically, we discuss a portfolio-based SLS algorithm for MPE computation, Stochastic Greedy Search (SGS). SGS supports the integration of different initialization operators (or initialization heuristics) and different search operators (greedy and noisy heuristics), thereby enabling new analytical and experimental results. Analytically, we introduce a novel Markov chain model tailored to portfolio-based SLS algorithms including SGS, thereby enabling us to analytically form expected hitting time results that explain empirical run time results. For a specific BN, we show the benefit of using a homogenous initialization portfolio. To further illustrate the portfolio approach, we consider novel additive search heuristics for handling determinism in the form of zero entries in conditional probability tables in BNs. Our additive approach adds rather than multiplies probabilities when computing the utility of an explanation. We motivate the additive measure by studying the dramatic impact of zero entries in conditional probability tables on the number of zero-probability explanations, which again complicates the search process. We consider the relationship between MAXSAT and MPE, and show that additive utility (or gain) is a generalization, to the probabilistic setting, of MAXSAT utility (or gain) used in the celebrated GSAT and WalkSAT algorithms and their descendants. Utilizing our Markov chain framework, we show that expected hitting time is a rational function - i.e. a ratio of two polynomials - of the probability of applying an additive search operator. Experimentally, we report on synthetically generated BNs as well as BNs from applications, and compare SGSs performance to that of Hugin, which performs BN inference by compilation to and propagation in clique trees. On synthetic networks, SGS speeds up computation by approximately two orders of magnitude compared to Hugin. In application networks, our approach is highly competitive in Bayesian networks with a high degree of determinism. In addition to showing that stochastic local search can be competitive with clique tree clustering, our empirical results provide an improved understanding of the circumstances under which portfolio-based SLS outperforms clique tree clustering and vice versa.

75 FR 33824 - Pharmaceutical Products and Chemical Intermediates, Fourth Review: Advice Concerning the Addition...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-15

... production of pharmaceuticals (pharmaceuticals zero-for-zero initiative) and to conduct periodic reviews to... eliminated duties on additional pharmaceutical items. The USTR indicated that participants in the zero- for-zero initiative are conducting a fourth review to determine if products can be added to the initiative...

The effect of Pb addition on the morphology of CdSe quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Young-Kuk; Cho, Young-Sang; Chung, Kookchae; Choi, Chul-Jin

2010-08-01

CdSe quantum dots had been synthesized with a hot injection method. It was shown that the addition of Pb ions in the initial precursor solution changed the morphology of CdSe nanocrystals from slightly prolate ellipsoid to branched rod. Photoluminescence (PL) of the branched nanocrystals showed rapid depression of emission intensity due to the morphological development to the branched nanocrystal induced by Pb addition. Low temperature PL spectrum indicated that the surface recombination of charge carrier resulted in the large depression of emission from the branched nanocrystal.

Simplified Habit Reversal Plus Adjunct Contingencies in the Treatment of Thumb Sucking and Hair Pulling in a Young Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, Ethan S.; Miltenberger, Raymond G.; Rapp, John T.

1999-01-01

Using simplified reversal treatment consisting of awareness training, competing response training, and social support procedures, minimal results were initially obtained in thumb sucking and hair pulling behaviors. Additional treatment phases involving differential reinforcement and response cost resulted in near zero levels of the behavior when…

Numerical simulation of film-cooled ablative rocket nozzles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landrum, D. B.; Beard, R. M.

1996-01-01

The objective of this research effort was to evaluate the impact of incorporating an additional cooling port downstream between the injector and nozzle throat in the NASA Fast Track chamber. A numerical model of the chamber was developed for the analysis. The analysis did not model ablation but instead correlated the initial ablation rate with the initial nozzle wall temperature distribution. The results of this study provide guidance in the development of a potentially lighter, second generation ablative rocket nozzle which maintains desired performance levels.

Autosomal gsdf acts as a male sex initiator in the fish medaka

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xi; Guan, Guijun; Li, Mingyou; Zhu, Feng; Liu, Qizhi; Naruse, Kiyoshi; Herpin, Amaury; Nagahama, Yoshitaka; Li, Jiale; Hong, Yunhan

2016-01-01

Sex is pivotal for reproduction, healthcare and evolution. In the fish medaka, the Y-chromosomal dmy (also dmrt1bY) serves the sex determiner, which activates dmrt1 for male sex maintenance. However, how dmy makes the male decision via initiating testicular differentiation has remained unknown. Here we report that autosomal gsdf serves a male sex initiator. Gene addition and deletion revealed that gsdf was necessary and sufficient for maleness via initiating testicular differentiation. We show that gsdf transcription is activated directly by dmy. These results establish the autosomal gsdf as the first male sex initiator. We propose that dmy determines maleness through activating gsdf and dmrt1 without its own participation in developmental processes of sex initiation and maintenance. gsdf may easily become a sex determiner or other autosomal genes can be recruited as new sex determiners to initiate gsdf expression. Our findings offer new insights into molecular mechanisms underlying sex development and evolution of sex-controlling genes in vertebrates. PMID:26813267

Galilean Satellite Surface Non-Ice Constituents: New Results from the Cassini/Huygens VIMS Jupiter Flyby in the Context of the Galileo NIMS Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCord, T. B.; Brown, R.; Baines, K.; Bellucci, G.; Bibring, J.-P.; Buratti, B.; Capaccioni, F.; Cerroni, P.; Clark, R.; Coradini, A.

2001-01-01

The Cassini mission Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) is currently returning data for the Galilean satellites. Examples of the new satellite data and the initial interpretations will be presented in the context of the Galileo NIMS data and results. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Large grain instruction and phonological awareness skill influence rime sensitivity, processing speed, and early decoding skill in adult L2 learners

PubMed Central

Brennan, Christine; Booth, James R.

2016-01-01

Linguistic knowledge, cognitive ability, and instruction influence how adults acquire a second orthography yet it remains unclear how different forms of instruction influence grain size sensitivity and subsequent decoding skill and speed. Thirty-seven monolingual, literate English-speaking adults were trained on a novel artificial orthography given initial instruction that directed attention to either large or small grain size units (i.e., words or letters). We examined how initial instruction influenced processing speed (i.e., reaction time (RT)) and sensitivity to different orthographic grain sizes (i.e., rimes and letters). Directing attention to large grain size units during initial instruction resulted in higher accuracy for rimes, whereas directing attention to smaller grain size units resulted in slower RTs across all measures. Additionally, phonological awareness skill modulated early learning effects, compensating for the limitations of the initial instruction provided. Collectively, these findings suggest that when adults are learning to read a second orthography, consideration should be given to how initial instruction directs attention to different grain sizes and inherent phonological awareness ability. PMID:27829705

Application of in situ thermography for evaluating the high-cycle and very high-cycle fatigue behaviour of cast aluminium alloy AlSi7Mg (T6).

PubMed

Krewerth, D; Weidner, A; Biermann, H

2013-12-01

The present paper illustrates the application of infrared thermal measurements for the investigation of crack initiation point and crack propagation in the high-cycle and the very high-cycle fatigue range of cast AlSi7Mg alloy (A356). The influence of casting defects, their location, size and amount was studied both by fractography and thermography. Besides internal and surface fatigue crack initiation as a further crack initiation type multiple fatigue crack initiation was observed via in situ thermography which can be well correlated with the results from fractography obtained by SEM investigations. In addition, crack propagation was studied by the development of the temperature measured via thermography. Moreover, the frequency influence on high-cycle fatigue behaviour was investigated. The presented results demonstrate well that the combination of fractography and thermography can give a significant contribution to the knowledge of crack initiation and propagation in the VHCF regime. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stratospheric wind errors, initial states and forecast skill in the GLAS general circulation model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tenenbaum, J.

1983-01-01

Relations between stratospheric wind errors, initial states and 500 mb skill are investigated using the GLAS general circulation model initialized with FGGE data. Erroneous stratospheric winds are seen in all current general circulation models, appearing also as weak shear above the subtropical jet and as cold polar stratospheres. In this study it is shown that the more anticyclonic large-scale flows are correlated with large forecast stratospheric winds. In addition, it is found that for North America the resulting errors are correlated with initial state jet stream accelerations while for East Asia the forecast winds are correlated with initial state jet strength. Using 500 mb skill scores over Europe at day 5 to measure forecast performance, it is found that both poor forecast skill and excessive stratospheric winds are correlated with more anticyclonic large-scale flows over North America. It is hypothesized that the resulting erroneous kinetic energy contributes to the poor forecast skill, and that the problem is caused by a failure in the modeling of the stratospheric energy cycle in current general circulation models independent of vertical resolution.

Effect of surfactants or a water soluble polymer on the crystal transition of clarithromycin during a wet granulation process.

PubMed

Nozawa, Kenji; Iwao, Yasunori; Noguchi, Shuji; Itai, Shigeru

2015-11-10

To generate products containing a stable form of clarithromycin (CAM) (form II) regardless of the initial crystal form of CAM or type of granulation solvent, the effects of five surfactants, or a water-soluble polymer (macrogol 400) were determined on the crystal transition of CAM. The metastable form (form I) was kneaded with water, after adding surfactants, or a water-soluble polymer. Form II was also kneaded with ethanol, after adding the same additives. The resulting samples were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction. Form I was completely converted to form II by a wet granulation using water with additives bearing polyoxyethylene chains such as polysorbate 80 (PS80), polyoxyl 40 stearate or macrogol 400. The granulation of the form II using ethanol with these additives did not result in a crystal transition to form I. Furthermore, CAM tablets were manufactured using granules with PS80, and these crystal forms and dissolution behaviors were investigated. As a result, the wet granulation of CAM with PS80 gave CAM tablets containing only form II and PS80 did not have any adverse effects on tablet characteristics. Therefore, these data suggests that the crystal form of CAM can be controlled to be form II using a wet granulation process with additives bearing polyoxyethylene chains regardless of the initial crystal form of CAM or type of granulation solvent. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Distribution and Orientation of Alluvial Fans in Martian Craters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kraal, E. R.; Moore, J. M.; Howard, A. D.; Asphaug, E. I.

2005-01-01

We present the results of the complete survey of Martian alluvial fans from 0-30 S, initiated by Moore and Howard. Nineteen impact craters contain alluvial fans. They are regionally grouped into three distinct areas. We present our initial results regarding their distribution and orientation in order to understand what controls their formation. Since alluvial fans are formed by water transport of sediment, these features record wetter episodes of Martian climate. In addition, their enigmatic distribution (in regional groups and in some craters, but not similar adjacent ones) needs to be understood, to see how regional geology, topographic characteristics, and/or climate influence their formation and distribution.

Decomposing the interaction between retention interval and study/test practice: The role of retrievability

PubMed Central

Jang, Yoonhee; Wixted, John T.; Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René; Huber, David E.

2012-01-01

Even without feedback, test practice enhances delayed performance compared to study practice, but the size of the effect is variable across studies. We investigated the benefit of testing, separating initially retrievable items from initially non-retrievable items. In two experiments, an initial test determined item retrievability. Retrievable or non-retrievable items were subsequently presented for repeated study or test practice. Collapsing across items, in Experiment 1, we obtained the typical crossover interaction between retention interval and practice type. For retrievable items, however, the crossover interaction was quantitatively different, with a small study benefit for an immediate test and a larger testing benefit after a delay. For non-retrievable items, there was a large study benefit for an immediate test, but one week later there was no difference between the study and test practice conditions. In Experiment 2, initially non-retrievable items were given additional study followed by either an immediate test or even more additional study, and one week later performance did not differ between the two conditions. These results indicate that the effect size of study/test practice is due to the relative contribution of retrievable and non-retrievable items. PMID:22304454

Decomposing the interaction between retention interval and study/test practice: the role of retrievability.

PubMed

Jang, Yoonhee; Wixted, John T; Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René; Huber, David E

2012-01-01

Even without feedback, test practice enhances delayed performance compared to study practice, but the size of the effect is variable across studies. We investigated the benefit of testing, separating initially retrievable items from initially nonretrievable items. In two experiments, an initial test determined item retrievability. Retrievable or nonretrievable items were subsequently presented for repeated study or test practice. Collapsing across items, in Experiment 1, we obtained the typical cross-over interaction between retention interval and practice type. For retrievable items, however, the cross-over interaction was quantitatively different, with a small study benefit for an immediate test and a larger testing benefit after a delay. For nonretrievable items, there was a large study benefit for an immediate test, but one week later there was no difference between the study and test practice conditions. In Experiment 2, initially nonretrievable items were given additional study followed by either an immediate test or even more additional study, and one week later performance did not differ between the two conditions. These results indicate that the effect size of study/test practice is due to the relative contribution of retrievable and nonretrievable items.

Assimilation and High Resolution Forecasts of Surface and Near Surface Conditions for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernier, Natacha B.; Bélair, Stéphane; Bilodeau, Bernard; Tong, Linying

2014-01-01

A dynamical model was experimentally implemented to provide high resolution forecasts at points of interests in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics Region. In a first experiment, GEM-Surf, the near surface and land surface modeling system, is driven by operational atmospheric forecasts and used to refine the surface forecasts according to local surface conditions such as elevation and vegetation type. In this simple form, temperature and snow depth forecasts are improved mainly as a result of the better representation of real elevation. In a second experiment, screen level observations and operational atmospheric forecasts are blended to drive a continuous cycle of near surface and land surface hindcasts. Hindcasts of the previous day conditions are then regarded as today's optimized initial conditions. Hence, in this experiment, given observations are available, observation driven hindcasts continuously ensure that daily forecasts are issued from improved initial conditions. GEM-Surf forecasts obtained from improved short-range hindcasts produced using these better conditions result in improved snow depth forecasts. In a third experiment, assimilation of snow depth data is applied to further optimize GEM-Surf's initial conditions, in addition to the use of blended observations and forecasts for forcing. Results show that snow depth and summer temperature forecasts are further improved by the addition of snow depth data assimilation.

Input Variability Facilitates Unguided Subcategory Learning in Adults

PubMed Central

Eidsvåg, Sunniva Sørhus; Austad, Margit; Asbjørnsen, Arve E.

2015-01-01

Purpose This experiment investigated whether input variability would affect initial learning of noun gender subcategories in an unfamiliar, natural language (Russian), as it is known to assist learning of other grammatical forms. Method Forty adults (20 men, 20 women) were familiarized with examples of masculine and feminine Russian words. Half of the participants were familiarized with 32 different root words in a high-variability condition. The other half were familiarized with 16 different root words, each repeated twice for a total of 32 presentations in a high-repetition condition. Participants were tested on untrained members of the category to assess generalization. Familiarization and testing was completed 2 additional times. Results Only participants in the high-variability group showed evidence of learning after an initial period of familiarization. Participants in the high-repetition group were able to learn after additional input. Both groups benefited when words included 2 cues to gender compared to a single cue. Conclusions The results demonstrate that the degree of input variability can influence learners' ability to generalize a grammatical subcategory (noun gender) from a natural language. In addition, the presence of multiple cues to linguistic subcategory facilitated learning independent of variability condition. PMID:25680081

Additional adjoint Monte Carlo studies of the shielding of concrete structures against initial gamma radiation. Final report

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

Beer, M.; Cohen, M.O.

1975-02-01

The adjoint Monte Carlo method previously developed by MAGI has been applied to the calculation of initial radiation dose due to air secondary gamma rays and fission product gamma rays at detector points within buildings for a wide variety of problems. These provide an in-depth survey of structure shielding effects as well as many new benchmark problems for matching by simplified models. Specifically, elevated ring source results were obtained in the following areas: doses at on-and off-centerline detectors in four concrete blockhouse structures; doses at detector positions along the centerline of a high-rise structure without walls; dose mapping at basementmore » detector positions in the high-rise structure; doses at detector points within a complex concrete structure containing exterior windows and walls and interior partitions; modeling of the complex structure by replacing interior partitions by additional material at exterior walls; effects of elevation angle changes; effects on the dose of changes in fission product ambient spectra; and modeling of mutual shielding due to external structures. In addition, point source results yielding dose extremes about the ring source average were obtained. (auth)« less

15 CFR 911.5 - NOAA Data Collection Systems Use Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 3-year periods. (2... valid for 1 year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for... year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 1...

15 CFR 911.5 - NOAA Data Collection Systems Use Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 3-year periods. (2... valid for 1 year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for... year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 1...

15 CFR 911.5 - NOAA Data Collection Systems Use Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 3-year periods. (2... valid for 1 year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for... year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 1...

15 CFR 911.5 - NOAA Data Collection Systems Use Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 3-year periods. (2... valid for 1 year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for... year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 1...

15 CFR 911.5 - NOAA Data Collection Systems Use Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 3-year periods. (2... valid for 1 year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for... year from the date of initial in-situ deployment of the platforms, and may be renewed for additional 1...

Preventing the storm from gathering? A case study of the California State University Math and Science Teacher Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moss, Kirran Jane

This study was performed on the initial systemwide response by the California State University (CSU) to California's Math and Science Teacher Initiative (CMSTI). The data collected tracked, measured, and reported the scope and range of recruitment and programmatic strategies developed and implemented among the first cohort of campuses funded with MSTI dollars with the intent to attract and increase the number of mathematic and science teachers produced. These findings suggest that the California State University Math and Science Teacher Initiative displays early signs of system effectiveness. These data collected indicate that MSTI funds have resulted in an increased number of diverse credentialing pathways being introduced that may operate to attract and recruit increased numbers of candidates into the math and science credentialing programs. Additionally, findings produced indicate that MSTI funds have resulted in new relationships being established with local Community Colleges, an increase in hybrid online subject-matter courses being offered, and new strategies that expedite the credentialing process.

Simulation of hydrodynamics, temperature, and dissolved oxygen in Beaver Lake, Arkansas, 1994-1995

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haggard, Brian; Green, W. Reed

2002-01-01

The tailwaters of Beaver Lake and other White River reservoirs support a cold-water trout fishery of significant economic yield in northwestern Arkansas. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has requested an increase in existing minimum flows through the Beaver Lake dam to increase the amount of fishable waters downstream. Information is needed to assess the impact of additional minimum flows on temperature and dissolved-oxygen qualities of reservoir water above the dam and the release water. A two-dimensional, laterally averaged hydrodynamic, thermal and dissolved-oxygen model was developed and calibrated for Beaver Lake, Arkansas. The model simulates surface-water elevation, currents, heat transport and dissolved-oxygen dynamics. The model was developed to assess the impacts of proposed increases in minimum flows from 1.76 cubic meters per second (the existing minimum flow) to 3.85 cubic meters per second (the additional minimum flow). Simulations included assessing (1) the impact of additional minimum flows on tailwater temperature and dissolved-oxygen quality and (2) increasing initial water-surface elevation 0.5 meter and assessing the impact of additional minimum flow on tailwater temperatures and dissolved-oxygen concentrations. The additional minimum flow simulation (without increasing initial pool elevation) appeared to increase the water temperature (<0.9 degrees Celsius) and decrease dissolved oxygen concentration (<2.2 milligrams per liter) in the outflow discharge. Conversely, the additional minimum flow plus initial increase in pool elevation (0.5 meter) simulation appeared to decrease outflow water temperature (0.5 degrees Celsius) and increase dissolved oxygen concentration (<1.2 milligrams per liter) through time. However, results from both minimum flow scenarios for both water temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration were within the boundaries or similar to the error between measured and simulated water column profile values.

Effects of reactant rotational excitation on H + O2--> OH + O reaction rate constant: quantum wave packet, quasi-classical trajectory and phase space theory calculations.

PubMed

Lin, Shi Ying; Guo, Hua; Lendvay, György; Xie, Daiqian

2009-06-21

We examine the impact of initial rotational excitation on the reactivity of the H + O(2)--> OH + O reaction. Accurate Chebyshev wave packet calculations have been carried out for the upsilon(i) = 0, j(i) = 9 initial state of O(2) and the J = 50 partial wave. In addition, we present Gaussian-weighted quasi-classical trajectory and phase space theory calculations of the integral cross section and thermal rate constant for the title reaction. These theoretical results suggest that the initial rotational excitation significantly enhances reactivity with an amount comparable to the effect of initial vibrational state excitation. The inclusion of internally excited reactants is shown to improve the agreement with experimental rate constant.

Synthesis of surface-anchored DNA-polymer bioconjugates using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization.

PubMed

He, Peng; He, Lin

2009-07-13

We report here an approach to grafting DNA-polymer bioconjugates on a planar solid support using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. In particular, a trithiocarbonate compound as the RAFT chain transfer agent (CTA) is attached to the distal point of a surface-immobilized oligonucleotide. Initiation of RAFT polymerization leads to controlled growth of polymers atop DNA molecules on the surface. Growth kinetics of poly(monomethoxy-capped oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) atop DNA molecules is investigated by monitoring the change of polymer film thickness as a function of reaction time. The reaction conditions, including the polymerization temperature, the initiator concentration, the CTA surface density, and the selection of monomers, are varied to examine their impacts on the grafting efficiency of DNA-polymer conjugates. Comparing to polymer growth atop small molecules, the experimental results suggest that DNA molecules significantly accelerate polymer growth, which is speculated as a result of the presence of highly charged DNA backbones and purine/pyrimidine moieties surrounding the reaction sites.

Initial Assessment of Open Rotor Propulsion Applied to an Advanced Single-Aisle Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guynn, Mark D.; Berton, Jeffrey J.; Hendricks, Eric S.; Tong, Michael T.; Haller, William J.; Thurman, Douglas R.

2011-01-01

Application of high speed, advanced turboprops, or propfans, to subsonic transport aircraft received significant attention and research in the 1970s and 1980s when fuel efficiency was the driving focus of aeronautical research. Recent volatility in fuel prices and concern for aviation s environmental impact have renewed interest in unducted, open rotor propulsion, and revived research by NASA and a number of engine manufacturers. Unfortunately, in the two decades that have passed since open rotor concepts were thoroughly investigated, NASA has lost experience and expertise in this technology area. This paper describes initial efforts to re-establish NASA s capability to assess aircraft designs with open rotor propulsion. Specifically, methodologies for aircraft-level sizing, performance analysis, and system-level noise analysis are described. Propulsion modeling techniques have been described in a previous paper. Initial results from application of these methods to an advanced single-aisle aircraft using open rotor engines based on historical blade designs are presented. These results indicate open rotor engines have the potential to provide large reductions in fuel consumption and emissions. Initial noise analysis indicates that current noise regulations can be met with old blade designs and modern, noiseoptimized blade designs are expected to result in even lower noise levels. Although an initial capability has been established and initial results obtained, additional development work is necessary to make NASA s open rotor system analysis capability on par with existing turbofan analysis capabilities.

Plasma Deactivation of Oral Bacteria Seeded on Hydroxyapatite Disks as Tooth Enamel Analogue

PubMed Central

Blumhagen, Adam; Singh, Prashant; Mustapha, Azlin; Chen, Meng; Wang, Yong; Yu, Qingsong

2014-01-01

Purpose To study the plasma treatment effects on deactivation of oral bacteria seeded on a tooth enamel analogue. Methods A non-thermal atmospheric pressure argon plasma brush was used to treat two different Gram-positive oral bacteria including Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) and Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). The bacteria were seeded on hydroxyapatite (HA) disks used as tooth enamel analogue with three initial bacterial seeding concentrations: a low inoculum concentration between 2.1×108 and 2.4×108 cfu/mL, a medium inoculum concentration between 9.8×108 and 2.4×109 cfu/mL, and a high inoculum concentration between 1.7×1010 and 3.5×1010 cfu/mL. The bacterial survivability upon plasma exposure was examined in terms of plasma exposure time and oxygen addition into the plasmas. SEM was performed to examine bacterial morphological changes after plasma exposure. Results The experimental data indicated that 13 second plasma exposure time completely killed all the bacteria when initial bacterial seeding density on HA surfaces were less than 6.9×106 cfu/cm2 for L. acidophilus and 1.7×107 cfu/cm2 for S. mutans, which were resulted from low initial seeding inoculum concentration between 2.1×108 and 2.4×108 cfu/mL. Plasma exposure of the bacteria at higher initial bacterial seeding density obtained with high initial seeding inoculum concentration, however, only resulted in ~ 1.5 to 2 log reduction and ~ 2 to 2.5 log reduction for L. acidophilus and S. mutans, respectively. It was also noted that oxygen addition into the argon plasma brush did not affect the plasma deactivation effectiveness. SEM images showed that plasma deactivation mainly occurred with the top layer bacteria, while shadowing effects from the resulting bacterial debris reduced the plasma deactivation of the underlying bacteria. Clinical Significance The experimental results indicate that, with direct contact, nonthermal atmospheric pressure argon plasmas could rapidly and effectively deactivate oral bacteria seeded on HA surfaces and thus could be a promising technique in various dental clinical applications. PMID:25000666

Effects of Grain Size and Twin Layer Thickness on Crack Initiation at Twin Boundaries.

PubMed

Zhou, Piao; Zhou, Jianqiu; Zhu, Yongwei; Jiang, E; Wang, Zikun

2018-04-01

A theoretical model to explore the effect on crack initiation of nanotwinned materials was proposed based on the accumulation of dislocations at twin boundaries. First, a critical cracking initiation condition was established considering the number of dislocations pill-up at TBs, grain size and twin layer thickness, and a semi-quantitative relationship between the crystallographic orientation and the stacking fault energy was built. In addition, the number of dislocations pill-up was described by introducing the theory of strain gradient. Based on this model, the effects of grain size and twin lamellae thickness on dislocation density and crack initiation at twin boundaries were also discussed. The simulation results demonstrated that the crack initiation resistance can be improved by decreasing the grain size and increasing the twin lamellae, which keeps in agreement with recent experimental findings reported in the literature.

Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome: a successful outcome.

PubMed

Ahuja, Vanita; Shin, Richard Hochul; Mudgil, Adarsh; Nanda, Veena; Schoor, Robert

2005-11-01

Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome (PLS) is a rare autosomal recessive condition manifested clinically by hyperkeratosis of the palms and soles and rapidly progressive periodontitis resulting in loss of deciduous and permanent teeth. This case report describes the clinical periodontal findings and treatment of a 10-year-old male patient with PLS. The patient provided informed consent, and the study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Upon initial presentation, a full periodontal examination was completed. Conventional probing depths, clinical attachment levels (CAL), gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PI) were measured prior to initial therapy, which involved oral hygiene instruction and scaling and root planing. At reevaluation, initial treatment proved unsuccessful, and a surgical approach with concomitant systemic antibiotic therapy was implemented. In addition, the patient's dermatologist treated his palmoplantar keratoderma with systemic retinoids. Subsequently, the patient was placed on a strict 3-month maintenance protocol and was evaluated over a period of 1 year. Initial treatment with mechanical therapy, oral hygiene instruction, frequent recalls, and systemic antibiotics did not yield efficacious results. However, with the addition of surgical treatment, a favorable clinical outcome was obtained. Numerous treatment regimens for the periodontal disease seen in PLS can be found in the literature. We demonstrate successful treatment of the periodontal disease seen in this condition using mechanical therapy, systemic antibiotics, and surgical modalities; over a period of 1 year, we were able to achieve significant reductions in gingival inflammation and erythema.

Experimental comparison of residual stresses for a thermomechanical model for the simulation of selective laser melting

DOE PAGES

Hodge, N. E.; Ferencz, R. M.; Vignes, R. M.

2016-05-30

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process in which multiple, successive layers of metal powders are heated via laser in order to build a part. Modeling of SLM requires consideration of the complex interaction between heat transfer and solid mechanics. Here, the present work describes the authors initial efforts to validate their first generation model. In particular, the comparison of model-generated solid mechanics results, including both deformation and stresses, is presented. Additionally, results of various perturbations of the process parameters and modeling strategies are discussed.

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

Vinnikov, B.; NRC Kurchatov Inst.

According to Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the USA and Russia in the field of nuclear engineering the Idaho National Laboratory has transferred to the possession of the National Research Center ' Kurchatov Inst. ' the SAPHIRE software without any fee. With the help of the software Kurchatov Inst. developed a Pilot Living PSA- Model of Leningrad NPP Unit 1. Computations of core damage frequencies were carried out for additional Initiating Events. In the submitted paper such additional Initiating Events are fires in various compartments of the NPP. During the computations of each fire, structure of the PSA - Modelmore » was not changed, but Fault Trees for the appropriate systems, which are removed from service during the fire, were changed. It follows from the computations, that for ten fires Core Damaged Frequencies (CDF) are not changed. Other six fires will cause additional core damage. On the basis of the calculated results it is possible to determine a degree of importance of these fires and to establish sequence of performance of fire-prevention measures in various places of the NPP. (authors)« less

Explicit Two-Phase Modeling of the Initiation of Saltation over Heterogeneous Sand Beds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turney, F. A.; Kok, J. F.; Martin, R. L.; Burr, D. M.; Bridges, N.; Ortiz, C. P.; Smith, J. K.; Emery, J. P.; Van Lew, J. T.

2016-12-01

The initiation of aeolian sediment transport is key in understanding the geomorphology of arid landscapes and emission of mineral dust into the atmosphere. Despite its importance, the process of saltation initiation remains poorly understood, and current models are highly simplified. Previous models of the initiation of aeolian saltation have assumed the particle bed to be monodisperse and homogeneous in arrangement, ignoring the distribution of particle thresholds created by different bed geometries and particle sizes. In addition, mean wind speeds are often used in place of a turbulent wind field, ignoring the distribution of wind velocities at the particle level. Furthermore, the transition from static bed to steady state saltation is often modeled as resulting directly from fluid lifting, while in reality particles need to hop and roll along the surface before attaining enough height and momentum to initiate the cascade of particle splashes that characterizes saltation. We simulate the initiation of saltation with a coupled two-phase CFD-DEM model that overcomes the shortcomings of previous models by explicitly modeling particle-particle and particle-fluid interactions at the particle scale. We constrain our model against particle trajectories taken from high speed video of initiation at the Titan Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames. Results give us insight into the probability that saltation will be initiated, given stochastic variations in bed properties and wind velocity.

Effects of additives on 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) removal and its mineralization in aqueous solution by gamma irradiation.

PubMed

Lee, Byungjin; Jeong, Seung-Woo

2009-06-15

The effects of additives (i.e., methanol, EDTA, mannitol, thiourea, nitrous oxide, oxygen and ozone) on gamma irradiation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) were investigated to elucidate the initial reaction mechanism of TNT degradation and suggest an practical method for complete by-product removal. All additives, except thiourea, significantly increased the TNT removal efficiency by gamma irradiation. The overall results of the additive experiments implied that the TNT decomposition would be initiated by *OH, e(aq)(-), and HO(2*)/O(2*)(-), and also implied that *H did not have any direct effect on the TNT decomposition. Additions of methanol and nitrous oxide were more effective in TNT removal than the other additives, achieving complete removal of TNT at doses below 20 kGy. Total organic carbon (TOC) of the irradiated solution was analyzed to evaluate the degree of TNT mineralization under the additive conditions. TOC under the nitrous oxide addition was removed rapidly, and complete TNT mineralization was thus achieved at 50 kGy. Methanol addition was very effective in the TNT removal, but it was not effective in reduction in TOC. Trinitrobenzene (TNB), oxalic acid and glyoxalic acid were detected as radiolytic organic by-products, while ammonia and nitrate were detected as radiolytic inorganic by-products. The most efficient TNT removal and its mineralization by gamma irradiation would be achieved by supersaturating the solution with nitrous oxide before irradiation.

What Lies beneath Seemingly Positive Campus Climate Results: Institutional Sexism, Racism, and Male Hostility toward Equity Initiatives and Liberal Bias

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaccaro, Annemarie

2010-01-01

This article presents qualitative results from a campus climate study at one predominately white university. Data analysis uncovered "what lies beneath" a seemingly positive campus climate. Gender differences in survey responses suggest that men and women experienced the climate in vastly different ways. Additionally, lack of deep diversity…

Effect of vergence adaptation on convergence-accommodation: model simulations.

PubMed

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

2009-10-01

Several theoretical control models depict the adaptation effects observed in the accommodation and vergence mechanisms of the human visual system. Two current quantitative models differ in their approach of defining adaptation and in identifying the effect of controller adaptation on their respective cross-links between the vergence and accommodative systems. Here, we compare the simulation results of these adaptation models with empirical data obtained from emmetropic adults when they performed sustained near task through + 2D lens addition. The results of our experimental study showed an initial increase in exophoria (a divergent open-loop vergence position) and convergence-accommodation (CA) when viewing through +2D lenses. Prolonged fixation through the near addition lenses initiated vergence adaptation, which reduced the lens-induced exophoria and resulted in a concurrent reduction of CA. Both models showed good agreement with empirical measures of vergence adaptation. However, only one model predicted the experimental time course of reduction in CA. The pattern of our empirical results seem to be best described by the adaptation model that indicates the total vergence response to be a sum of two controllers, phasic and tonic, with the output of phasic controller providing input to the cross-link interactions.

Flow and Acoustic Features of a Mach 0.9 Free Jet Using High-Frequency Excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upadhyay, Puja; Alvi, Farrukh

2016-11-01

This study focuses on active control of a Mach 0.9 (ReD = 6 ×105) free jet using high-frequency excitation for noise reduction. Eight resonance-enhanced microjet actuators with nominal frequencies of 25 kHz (StD 2 . 2) are used to excite the shear layer at frequencies that are approximately an order of magnitude higher than the jet preferred frequency. The influence of control on mean and turbulent characteristics of the jet is studied using Particle Image Velocimetry. Additionally, far-field acoustic measurements are acquired to estimate the effect of pulsed injection on noise characteristics of the jet. Flow field measurements revealed that strong streamwise vortex pairs, formed as a result of control, result in a significantly thicker initial shear layer. This excited shear layer is also prominently undulated, resulting in a modified initial velocity profile. Also, the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy revealed that forcing results in increased turbulence levels for near-injection regions, followed by a global reduction for all downstream locations. Far-field acoustic measurements showed noise reductions at low to moderate frequencies. Additionally, an increase in high-frequency noise, mostly dominated by the actuators' resonant noise, was observed. AFOSR and ARO.

Cortical Action Potential Backpropagation Explains Spike Threshold Variability and Rapid-Onset Kinetics

PubMed Central

Yu, Yuguo; Shu, Yousheng; McCormick, David A.

2008-01-01

Neocortical action potential responses in vivo are characterized by considerable threshold variability, and thus timing and rate variability, even under seemingly identical conditions. This finding suggests that cortical ensembles are required for accurate sensorimotor integration and processing. Intracellularly, trial-to-trial variability results not only from variation in synaptic activities, but also in the transformation of these into patterns of action potentials. Through simultaneous axonal and somatic recordings and computational simulations, we demonstrate that the initiation of action potentials in the axon initial segment followed by backpropagation of these spikes throughout the neuron results in a distortion of the relationship between the timing of synaptic and action potential events. In addition, this backpropagation also results in an unusually high rate of rise of membrane potential at the foot of the action potential. The distortion of the relationship between the amplitude time course of synaptic inputs and action potential output caused by spike back-propagation results in the appearance of high spike threshold variability at the level of the soma. At the point of spike initiation, the axon initial segment, threshold variability is considerably less. Our results indicate that spike generation in cortical neurons is largely as expected by Hodgkin—Huxley theory and is more precise than previously thought. PMID:18632930

Stability of semidiscrete approximations for hyperbolic initial-boundary-value problems: An eigenvalue analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warming, Robert F.; Beam, Richard M.

1986-01-01

A hyperbolic initial-boundary-value problem can be approximated by a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by replacing the spatial derivatives by finite-difference approximations. The resulting system of ODEs is called a semidiscrete approximation. A complication is the fact that more boundary conditions are required for the spatially discrete approximation than are specified for the partial differential equation. Consequently, additional numerical boundary conditions are required and improper treatment of these additional conditions can lead to instability. For a linear initial-boundary-value problem (IBVP) with homogeneous analytical boundary conditions, the semidiscrete approximation results in a system of ODEs of the form du/dt = Au whose solution can be written as u(t) = exp(At)u(O). Lax-Richtmyer stability requires that the matrix norm of exp(At) be uniformly bounded for O less than or = t less than or = T independent of the spatial mesh size. Although the classical Lax-Richtmyer stability definition involves a conventional vector norm, there is no known algebraic test for the uniform boundedness of the matrix norm of exp(At) for hyperbolic IBVPs. An alternative but more complicated stability definition is used in the theory developed by Gustafsson, Kreiss, and Sundstrom (GKS). The two methods are compared.

EURECA 11 months in orbit: Initial post flight investigation results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dover, Alan; Aceti, Roberto; Drolshagen, Gerhard

1995-01-01

This paper gives a brief overview of the European free flying spacecraft 'EURECA' and the initial post flight investigations following its retrieval in June 1993. EURECA was in low earth orbit for 11 months commencing in August 1992, and is the first spacecraft to be retrieved and returned to Earth since the recovery of LDEF. The primary mission objective of EURECA was the investigation of materials and fluids in a very low micro-gravity environment. In addition other experiments were conducted in space science, technology and space environment disciplines. The European Space Agency (ESA) has taken the initiative in conducting a detailed post-flight investigation to ensure the full exploitation of this unique opportunity.

MEASURING COERCION TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH WITHIN A DOUBLY VULNERABLE POPULATION: INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COERCION ASSESSMENT SCALE

PubMed Central

Dugosh, Karen Leggett; Festinger, David S.; Croft, Jason R.; Marlowe, Douglas B.

2011-01-01

Despite many efforts aimed to ensure that research participation is autonomous and not coerced, there exists no reliable and valid measure of perceived coercion for the doubly vulnerable population of substance-abusing offenders. The current study describes the development and initial validation of an instrument measuring perceived coercion to participate in research among substance-abusing offenders. The results indicated that a substantial number of individuals report feeling coerced to participate in the study. In addition, the instrument has adequate levels of internal consistency, a one-dimensional factor structure, and evidence of discriminative validity. This study provides initial support for the instrument’s validity and clinical utility. PMID:20235867

Reef fish communities are spooked by scuba surveys and may take hours to recover

PubMed Central

Cheal, Alistair J.; Miller, Ian R.

2018-01-01

Ecological monitoring programs typically aim to detect changes in the abundance of species of conservation concern or which reflect system status. Coral reef fish assemblages are functionally important for reef health and these are most commonly monitored using underwater visual surveys (UVS) by divers. In addition to estimating numbers, most programs also collect estimates of fish lengths to allow calculation of biomass, an important determinant of a fish’s functional impact. However, diver surveys may be biased because fishes may either avoid or are attracted to divers and the process of estimating fish length could result in fish counts that differ from those made without length estimations. Here we investigated whether (1) general diver disturbance and (2) the additional task of estimating fish lengths affected estimates of reef fish abundance and species richness during UVS, and for how long. Initial estimates of abundance and species richness were significantly higher than those made on the same section of reef after diver disturbance. However, there was no evidence that estimating fish lengths at the same time as abundance resulted in counts different from those made when estimating abundance alone. Similarly, there was little consistent bias among observers. Estimates of the time for fish taxa that avoided divers after initial contact to return to initial levels of abundance varied from three to 17 h, with one group of exploited fishes showing initial attraction to divers that declined over the study period. Our finding that many reef fishes may disperse for such long periods after initial contact with divers suggests that monitoring programs should take great care to minimise diver disturbance prior to surveys. PMID:29844998

Oil-soluble hairy nanoparticles as lubricant additives

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

Zhao, Bin

Oil-soluble polymer brush-grafted nanoparticles (hairy NPs) were synthesized by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of lauryl methacrylate from initiator-functionalized silica nanoparticles and used as an additive for polyalphaolefin (PAO) for friction and wear reduction. Addition of 1 wt% hairy nanoparticles into PAO led to significant friction and wear reduction compared with PAO base oil.

Establishment of Symbolic Communication in Persons with Severe Retardation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romski, Mary Ann; And Others

1988-01-01

Three of four severely retarded adolescents and young adults learned to use computer-based lexigrams to request foods and, subsequently, objects. Additional request experience with lexigrams resulted in consistent improvement on labeling and comprehension tasks, emergence of subject-initiated lexigram communications, and facilitation of spoken…

The Edison Environmental Center Permeable Pavement Site: Initial Results from a Stormwater Control Designed for Monitoring

EPA Science Inventory

There are few detailed studies of full-scale, replicated, actively-used permeable pavement systems. Practitioners need additional studies of permeable pavement systems in its intended application (parking lot, roadway, etc.) across a range of climatic events, daily usage conditio...

T-Cap Pull-Off and Bending Behavior for Stitched Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lovejoy, Andrew E.; Leone, Frank A., Jr.

2016-01-01

The Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) is a structural concept that was developed by The Boeing Company to address the complex structural design aspects associated with a pressurized hybrid wing body aircraft configuration. An important design feature required for assembly is the integrally stitched T-cap, which provides connectivity of the corner (orthogonal) joint between adjacent panels. A series of tests were conducted on T-cap test articles, with and without a rod stiffener penetrating the T-cap web, under tension (pull-off) and bending loads. Three designs were tested, including the baseline design used in largescale test articles. The baseline had only the manufacturing stitch row adjacent to the fillet at the base of the T-cap web. Two new designs added stitching rows to the T-cap web at either 0.5- or 1.0-inch spacing along the height of the web. Testing was conducted at NASA Langley Research Center to determine the behavior of the T-cap region resulting from the applied loading. Results show that stitching arrests the initial delamination failures so that the maximum strength capability exceeds the load at which the initial delaminations develop. However, it was seen that the added web stitching had very little effect on the initial delamination failure load, but actually decreased the initial delamination failure load for tension loading of test articles without a stiffener passing through the web. Additionally, the added web stitching only increased the maximum load capability by between 1% and 12.5%. The presence of the stiffener, however, did increase the initial and maximum loads for both tension and bending loading as compared to the stringerless baseline design. Based on the results of the few samples tested, the additional stitching in the T-cap web showed little advantage over the baseline design in terms of structural failure at the T-cap web/skin junction for the current test articles.

Tension and Bending Testing of an Integral T-Cap for Stitched Composite Airframe Joints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lovejoy, Andrew E.; Leone, Frank A., Jr.

2016-01-01

The Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) is a structural concept that was developed by The Boeing Company to address the complex structural design aspects associated with a pressurized hybrid wing body aircraft configuration. An important design feature required for assembly is the integrally stitched T-cap, which provides connectivity of the corner (orthogonal) joint between adjacent panels. A series of tests were conducted on T-cap test articles, with and without a rod stiffener penetrating the T-cap web, under tension (pull-off) and bending loads. Three designs were tested, including the baseline design used in large-scale test articles. The baseline had only the manufacturing stitch row adjacent to the fillet at the base of the T-cap web. Two new designs added stitching rows to the T-cap web at either 0.5- or 1.0-inch spacing along the height of the web. Testing was conducted at NASA Langley Research Center to determine the behavior of the T-cap region resulting from the applied loading. Results show that stitching arrests the initial delamination failures so that the maximum strength capability exceeds the load at which the initial delaminations develop. However, it was seen that the added web stitching had very little effect on the initial delamination failure load, but actually decreased the initial delamination failure load for tension loading of test articles without a stiffener passing through the web. Additionally, the added web stitching only increased the maximum load capability by between 1% and 12.5%. The presence of the stiffener, however, did increase the initial and maximum loads for both tension and bending loading as compared to the stringerless baseline design. Based on the results of the few samples tested, the additional stitching in the T-cap web showed little advantage over the baseline design in terms of structural failure at the T-cap web/skin junction for the current test articles.

Synthesis of cobalt stearate as oxidant additive for oxo-biodegradable polyethylene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asriza, Ristika O.; Arcana, I. Made

2015-09-01

Cobalt stearate is an oxidant additives that can initiate a process of degradation in high density polyethylene (HDPE). To determine the effect of cobalt stearate in HDPE, oxo-biodegradable polyethylene film was given an irradiation with UV light or heating at various temperature. After given a heating, the FTIR spectra showed a new absorption peak at wave number 1712 cm-1 indicating the presence of carbonyl groups in polymers, whereas after irradiation with UV light is not visible the presence of this absorption peak. The increase concentration of cobalt stearate added in HDPE and the higher heating temperature, the intensity of the absorption peak of the carbonyl group increased. The increasing intensity of the carbonyl group absorption is caused the presence of damage in the film surface after heating, and this result is supported by analysis the surface properties of the film with using SEM. Biodegradation tests were performed on oxo-biodegradable polyethylene film which has been given heating or UV light with using activated sludge under optimal conditions the growth of microorganisms. After biodegradation, the maximum weight decreased by 23% in the oxo-biodegradable polyethylene film with a cobalt stearate concentration of 0.2% and after heating at a temperature of 75 °C for 10 days, and only 0.69% in the same film after irradiation UV light for 10 days. Based on the results above, cobalt stearate additive is more effective to initiate the oxidative degradation of HDPE when it is initiated by heating compared to irradiation with UV light.

Synthesis of cobalt stearate as oxidant additive for oxo-biodegradable polyethylene

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

Asriza, Ristika O.; Arcana, I Made, E-mail: arcana@chem.itb.ac.id

Cobalt stearate is an oxidant additives that can initiate a process of degradation in high density polyethylene (HDPE). To determine the effect of cobalt stearate in HDPE, oxo-biodegradable polyethylene film was given an irradiation with UV light or heating at various temperature. After given a heating, the FTIR spectra showed a new absorption peak at wave number 1712 cm{sup −1} indicating the presence of carbonyl groups in polymers, whereas after irradiation with UV light is not visible the presence of this absorption peak. The increase concentration of cobalt stearate added in HDPE and the higher heating temperature, the intensity of themore » absorption peak of the carbonyl group increased. The increasing intensity of the carbonyl group absorption is caused the presence of damage in the film surface after heating, and this result is supported by analysis the surface properties of the film with using SEM. Biodegradation tests were performed on oxo-biodegradable polyethylene film which has been given heating or UV light with using activated sludge under optimal conditions the growth of microorganisms. After biodegradation, the maximum weight decreased by 23% in the oxo-biodegradable polyethylene film with a cobalt stearate concentration of 0.2% and after heating at a temperature of 75 °C for 10 days, and only 0.69% in the same film after irradiation UV light for 10 days. Based on the results above, cobalt stearate additive is more effective to initiate the oxidative degradation of HDPE when it is initiated by heating compared to irradiation with UV light.« less

One thing leads to another: the cascade of obligations when researchers report genetic research results to study participants.

PubMed

Miller, Fiona Alice; Hayeems, Robin Zoe; Li, Li; Bytautas, Jessica Peace

2012-08-01

Even as debate continues about the putative obligation to proactively report genetic research results to study participants, there is an increasing need to attend to the obligations that might cascade from any initial report. We conducted an international, quasi-experimental survey of researchers involved in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and cystic fibrosis (CF) genetics to explore perceived obligations to ensure updated information or relevant clinical care subsequent to any initial communication of research results, and factors influencing these attitudes. 5-point Likert scales of dis/agreement were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics. Of the 343 respondents (44% response rate), large majorities agreed that in general and in a variety of hypothetical research contexts, research teams that report results should ensure that participants gain subsequent access to updated information (74-83%) and implicated clinical services (79-87%). At the same time, researchers perceived barriers restricting access to relevant clinical care, though this was significantly more pronounced (P<0.001) for ASD (64%) than CF (34%). In the multivariate model, endorsement of cascading obligations was positively associated with researcher characteristics (eg, clinical role/training) and attitudes (eg, perceived initial reporting obligation), and negatively associated with the initial report of less scientifically robust hypothetical results, but unaffected by perceived or hypothetical barriers to care. These results suggest that researchers strongly endorse information and care-based obligations that cascade from the initial report of research results to study participants. In addition, they raise challenging questions about how any cascading obligations are to be met, especially where access challenges are already prevalent.

Potential indirect effects of aerosol on tropical cyclone development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krall, Geoffrey

Observational and model evidence suggest that a 2008 Western Pacific typhoon (NURI) came into contact with and ingested elevated concentrations of aerosol as it neared the Chinese coast. This study uses a regional model with two-moment bin emulating microphysics to simulate the typhoon as it enters the field of elevated aerosol concentration. A continental field of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) was prescribed based on satellite and global aerosol model output, then increased for further sensitivity tests. The typhoon was simulated for 96 hours beginning 17 August 2008, the final 60 of which were under varying CCN concentrations as it neared the Philippines and coastal China. The model was initialized with both global reanalysis model data and irregularly spaced dropsonde data from a 2008 observational campaign using an objective analysis routine. At 36 hours, the internal nudging of the model was switched off and allowed to evolve on its own. As the typhoon entered the field of elevated CCN in the sensitivity tests, the presence of additional CCN resulted in a significant perturbation of windspeed, convective fluxes, and hydrometeor species behavior. Initially ingested in the outer rainbands of the storm, the additional CCN resulted in an initial damping and subsequent invigoration of convection. The increase in convective fluxes strongly lag-correlates with increased amounts of supercooled liquid water within the storm domain. As the convection intensified in the outer rainbands the storm drifted over the developing cold-pools, affecting the inflow of air into the convective towers of the typhoon. Changes in the timing and amount of rain produced in each simulation resulted in differing cold-pool strengths and size. The presence of additional CCN increased resulted in an amplification of convection within the storm, except for the extremely high CCN concentration simulation, which showed a damped convection due to the advection of pristine ice away from the storm. This study examines the physical mechanisms that could potentially alter a tropical cyclone (TC) in intensity and dynamics upon ingesting elevated levels of CCN.

Effect of pathogen concentrations on removal of Cryptosporidium and Giardia by conventional drinking water treatment.

PubMed

Assavasilavasukul, Prapakorn; Lau, Boris L T; Harrington, Gregory W; Hoffman, Rebecca M; Borchardt, Mark A

2008-05-01

The presence of waterborne enteric pathogens in municipal water supplies contributes risk to public health. To evaluate the removal of these pathogens in drinking water treatment processes, previous researchers have spiked raw waters with up to 10(6) pathogens/L in order to reliably detect the pathogens in treated water. These spike doses are 6-8 orders of magnitude higher than pathogen concentrations routinely observed in practice. In the present study, experiments were conducted with different sampling methods (i.e., grab versus continuous sampling) and initial pathogen concentrations ranging from 10(1) to 10(6) pathogens/L. Results showed that Cryptosporidium oocyst and Giardia cyst removal across conventional treatment were dependent on initial pathogen concentrations, with lower pathogen removals observed when lower initial pathogen spike doses were used. In addition, higher raw water turbidity appeared to result in higher log removal for both Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts.

Cracking and reformation of saturated hydrocarbons by ultrasound in the presence of water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prudhomme, M. R. O.; Lefort, J.

1974-01-01

The exposure of saturated hydrocarbons to ultrasound (800 kHz, 6 W/sq cm) in the presence of water results in: (1) cleavage of the carbon chain, producing saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons with a lower number of carbons than the initial hydrocarbon (cracking); and (2) recombination after cleavage, producing saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons with a higher number of carbons than the initial hydrocarbon (reformation). The addition of argon facilitates these phenomena. The effects are attributed to a homolytic (radical) mechanism occurring within the cavitation bubbles under the effects of microsparks.

Progressive Damage Analyses of Skin/Stringer Debonding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daville, Carlos G.; Camanho, Pedro P.; deMoura, Marcelo F.

2004-01-01

The debonding of skin/stringer constructions is analyzed using a step-by-step simulation of material degradation based on strain softening decohesion elements and a ply degradation procedure. Decohesion elements with mixed-mode capability are placed at the interface between the skin and the flange to simulate the initiation and propagation of the delamination. In addition, the initiation and accumulation of fiber failure and matrix damage is modeled using Hashin-type failure criteria and their corresponding material degradation schedules. The debonding predictions using simplified three-dimensional models correlate well with test results.

Initial shifts in nitrogen impact on ecosystem carbon fluxes in an alpine meadow: patterns and causes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Bing; Sun, Jian; Zhou, Qingping; Zong, Ning; Li, Linghao; Niu, Shuli

2017-09-01

Increases in nitrogen (N) deposition can greatly stimulate ecosystem net carbon (C) sequestration through positive N-induced effects on plant productivity. However, how net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and its components respond to different N addition rates remains unclear. Using an N addition gradient experiment (six levels: 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 gN m-2 yr-1) in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, we explored the responses of different ecosystem C fluxes to an N addition gradient and revealed mechanisms underlying the dynamic responses. Results showed that NEE, ecosystem respiration (ER), and gross ecosystem production (GEP) all increased linearly with N addition rates in the first year of treatment but shifted to N saturation responses in the second year with the highest NEE (-7.77 ± 0.48 µmol m-2 s-1) occurring under an N addition rate of 8 gN m-2 yr-1. The saturation responses of NEE and GEP were caused by N-induced accumulation of standing litter, which limited light availability for plant growth under high N addition. The saturation response of ER was mainly due to an N-induced saturation response of aboveground plant respiration and decreasing soil microbial respiration along the N addition gradient, while decreases in soil microbial respiration under high N addition were caused by N-induced reductions in soil pH. We also found that various components of ER, including aboveground plant respiration, soil respiration, root respiration, and microbial respiration, responded differentially to the N addition gradient. These results reveal temporal dynamics of N impacts and the rapid shift in ecosystem C fluxes from N limitation to N saturation. Our findings bring evidence of short-term initial shifts in responses of ecosystem C fluxes to increases in N deposition, which should be considered when predicting long-term changes in ecosystem net C sequestration.

Risks of nuclear waste disposal in space. III - Long-term orbital evolution of small particle distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedlander, A. L.; Wells, W. C.

1980-01-01

A study of long term risks is presented that treats an additional pathway that could result in earth reentry, namely, small radioactive particles released in solar orbit due to payload fragmentation by accidental explosion or meteoroid impact. A characterization of such an event and of the initial mass size distribution of particles is given for two extremes of waste form strength. Attention is given to numerical results showing the mass-time distribution of material and the fraction of initial mass intercepted by earth. It is concluded that it appears that program planners need not be to concerned about the risks of this particular failure mechanism and return pathway.

Evaluation of sodium-nickel chloride cells for space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hendel, B.; Dudley, G. J.

1991-01-01

The status of the European Space Agency (ESA) program on sodium nickel chloride batteries is outlined. Additionally, the results of initial tests of two prototype space cells are reported. After 2800 cycles typical of a low-earth orbit (LEO) application without failure, the recharge ratio remained at unity, the round trip energy efficiency remained high (87 percent), and the increase in internal cell resistance was modest. Initial tear-down analysis data show no degradation whatsoever of the beta-alumina electrolyte tubes. The low-rate capacity did, however drop by some 40 percent, which needs further investigation, but overall results are encouraging for future use of this couple in geosynchronous (GEO) and LEO spacecraft.

Community-based MDR-TB care project improves treatment initiation in patients diagnosed with MDR-TB in Myanmar

PubMed Central

Shewade, Hemant Deepak; Kyaw, Nang Thu Thu; Thein, Saw; Si Thu, Aung; Kyaw, Khine Wut Yee; Aye, Nyein Nyein; Phyo, Aye Mon; Maung, Htet Myet Win; Soe, Kyaw Thu; Aung, Si Thu

2018-01-01

Background The Union in collaboration with national TB programme (NTP) started the community-based MDR-TB care (CBMDR-TBC) project in 33 townships of upper Myanmar to improve treatment initiation and treatment adherence. Patients with MDR-TB diagnosed/registered under NTP received support through the project staff, in addition to the routine domiciliary care provided by NTP staff. Each township had a project nurse exclusively for MDR-TB and 30 USD per month (max. for 4 months) were provided to the patient as a pre-treatment support. Objectives To assess whether CBMDR-TBC project’s support improved treatment initiation. Methods In this cohort study (involving record review) of all diagnosed MDR-TB between January 2015 and June 2016 in project townships, CBMDR-TBC status was categorized as “receiving support” if date of project initiation in patient’s township was before the date of diagnosis and “not receiving support”, if otherwise. Cox proportional hazards regression (censored on 31 Dec 2016) was done to identify predictors of treatment initiation. Results Of 456 patients, 57% initiated treatment: 64% and 56% among patients “receiving support (n = 208)” and “not receiving support (n = 228)” respectively (CBMDR-TBC status was not known in 20 (4%) patients due to missing diagnosis dates). Among those initiated on treatment (n = 261), median (IQR) time to initiate treatment was 38 (20, 76) days: 31 (18, 50) among patients “receiving support” and 50 (26,101) among patients “not receiving support”. After adjusting other potential confounders (age, sex, region, HIV, past history of TB treatment), patients “receiving support” had 80% higher chance of initiating treatment [aHR (0.95 CI): 1.8 (1.3, 2.3)] when compared to patients “not receiving support”. In addition, age 15–54 years, previous history of TB and being HIV negative were independent predictors of treatment initiation. Conclusion Receiving support under CBMDR-TBC project improved treatment initiation: it not only improved the proportion initiated but also reduced time to treatment initiation. We also recommend improved tracking of all diagnosed patients as early as possible. PMID:29596434

Binary Star Orbits. IV. Orbits of 18 Southern Interferometric Pairs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, Brian D.; Hartkopf, William I.; Tokovinin, Andrei

2010-09-01

First orbits are presented for 3 interferometric pairs and revised solutions for 15 others, based in part on first results from a recently initiated program of speckle interferometric observations of neglected southern binaries. Eight of these systems contain additional components, with multiplicity ranging up to 6.

Resilience at University: The Development and Testing of a New Measure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Michelle; Holdsworth, Sarah; Scott-Young, Christina M.

2017-01-01

While measures of resilience have been applied in university settings, progress has been hindered by the lack of a consistent measure of resilience. Additionally, results from these measures cannot be easily translated into practical curriculum-based initiatives which support resilience development. Resilience is linked to student mental health…

Real Authentic Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Stephen H.

2009-01-01

Stonington High School in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, adopted an alternating day (A/B) block schedule in 1998. The shift in schedule has resulted in less movement throughout the building and fewer instances of disruptive behaviors. In addition, the initiatives that Stonington has been able to implement have caused the daily attendance rate to increase…

The Edison Environmental Center Permeable Pavement Site: Initial Results from a Stormwater Control Designed for Monitoring - Paper

EPA Science Inventory

There exist few detailed studies of full-scale, replicated, actively-used permeable pavement systems. Practitioners need additional studies of permeable pavement systems in its intended application (parking lot, roadway, etc.) across a range of climatic events, daily usage condit...

The Edison Environmental Center Permeable Pavement Site: Initial Results from a Stormwater Control Designed for Monitoring - Slides

EPA Science Inventory

There exist few detailed studies of full-scale, replicated, actively-used permeable pavement systems. Practitioners need additional studies of permeable pavement systems in its intended application (parking lot, roadway, etc.) across a range of climatic events, daily usage condit...

Transforming controversy into consensus: the Steens Mountain initiative

Treesearch

Steven W. Anderson

1995-01-01

Even bitterly disputed management issues can be tempered or eliminated. Agency outreach efforts in conjunction with the media, working groups, effected interests, field trips, and "open house" social events can result in unified management efforts. In addition, distortions or misconceptions can be clarified. Recurrent efforts are required to build good...

CALiPER Report 24: OLED Luminaires

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

Miller, N. J.; Leon, F. A.; Davis, J. L.

2017-08-01

This report documents an initial investigation of OLED luminaires and summarizes the key features of those products. In addition to photometric testing of four commercial products in independent laboratories, PNNL examined many of the products through teardown testing (disassemblies to identify parts and functionality) in PNNL laboratories. Results of these tests as well as results of stress testing of several OLED luminaires at RTI International have been included.

Possible sources of forecast errors generated by the global/regional assimilation and prediction system for landfalling tropical cyclones. Part I: Initial uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Feifan; Yamaguchi, Munehiko; Qin, Xiaohao

2016-07-01

This paper investigates the possible sources of errors associated with tropical cyclone (TC) tracks forecasted using the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System (GRAPES). The GRAPES forecasts were made for 16 landfalling TCs in the western North Pacific basin during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, with a forecast length of 72 hours, and using the default initial conditions ("initials", hereafter), which are from the NCEP-FNL dataset, as well as ECMWF initials. The forecasts are compared with ECMWF forecasts. The results show that in most TCs, the GRAPES forecasts are improved when using the ECMWF initials compared with the default initials. Compared with the ECMWF initials, the default initials produce lower intensity TCs and a lower intensity subtropical high, but a higher intensity South Asia high and monsoon trough, as well as a higher temperature but lower specific humidity at the TC center. Replacement of the geopotential height and wind fields with the ECMWF initials in and around the TC center at the initial time was found to be the most efficient way to improve the forecasts. In addition, TCs that showed the greatest improvement in forecast accuracy usually had the largest initial uncertainties in TC intensity and were usually in the intensifying phase. The results demonstrate the importance of the initial intensity for TC track forecasts made using GRAPES, and indicate the model is better in describing the intensifying phase than the decaying phase of TCs. Finally, the limit of the improvement indicates that the model error associated with GRAPES forecasts may be the main cause of poor forecasts of landfalling TCs. Thus, further examinations of the model errors are required.

Improving ED efficiency to capture additional revenue.

PubMed

Mandavia, Sujal; Samaniego, Loretta

2016-06-01

An increase in the number of patients visiting emergency departments (EDs) presents an opportunity for additional revenue if hospitals take four steps to optimize resources: Streamline the patient pathway and reduce the amount of time each patient occupies a bed in the ED. Schedule staff according to the busy and light times for patient arrivals. Perform registration and triage bedside, reducing initial wait times. Create an area for patients to wait for test results so beds can be freed up for new arrivals.

Wind Powering America Anemometer Loan Program: A Retrospective

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

Jimenez, T.

This white paper details the history, mechanics, status, and impact of the Native American Anemometer Loan Program (ALP) conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America (WPA) initiative. Originally conceived in 2000 and terminated (as a WPA activity) at the end of FY 2011, the ALP has resulted in the installation of anemometers at 90 locations. In addition, the ALP provided support for the installation of anemometers at 38 additional locations under a related ALP administered by the Western Area Power Administration.

Driving Innovation to Support the Warfighter: Additive Manufacturing Initiatives Within the Defense Logistics Agency

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

43 Defense AT&L: November-December 2016 Driving Innovation to Support the Warfighter Additive Manufacturing Initiatives Within the Defense...Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. T he spotlight is on for additive manufacturing ...and meet the warfighter’s needs” (see Figure 2). In order to “deliver additively manufactured solutions you can trust” (see Figure 2) in the DoD

Experimental Model of Biofilm Implant-Related Osteomyelitis To Test Combination Biomaterials Using Biofilms as Initial Inocula

PubMed Central

Williams, Dustin L.; Haymond, Bryan S.; Woodbury, Kassie L.; Beck, J. Peter; Moore, David E.; Epperson, R. Tyler; Bloebaum, Roy D.

2012-01-01

Currently, the majority of animal models that are used to study biofilm-related infections utilize planktonic bacterial cells as initial inocula to produce positive signals of infection in biomaterials studies. However, the use of planktonic cells has potentially led to inconsistent results in infection outcomes. In this study, well-established biofilms of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were grown and used as initial inocula in an animal model of a Type IIIB open fracture. The goal of the work was to establish, for the first time, a repeatable model of biofilm implant-related osteomyelitis wherein biofilms were used as initial inocula to test combination biomaterials. Results showed that 100% of animals that were treated with biofilms developed osteomyelitis, whereas 0% of animals not treated with biofilm developed infection. The development of this experimental model may lead to an important shift in biofilm and biomaterials research by showing that when biofilms are used as initial inocula, they may provide additional insights into how biofilm-related infections in the clinic develop and how they can be treated with combination biomaterials to eradicate and/or prevent biofilm formation. PMID:22492534

Experimental model of biofilm implant-related osteomyelitis to test combination biomaterials using biofilms as initial inocula.

PubMed

Williams, Dustin L; Haymond, Bryan S; Woodbury, Kassie L; Beck, J Peter; Moore, David E; Epperson, R Tyler; Bloebaum, Roy D

2012-07-01

Currently, the majority of animal models that are used to study biofilm-related infections use planktonic bacterial cells as initial inocula to produce positive signals of infection in biomaterials studies. However, the use of planktonic cells has potentially led to inconsistent results in infection outcomes. In this study, well-established biofilms of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were grown and used as initial inocula in an animal model of a Type IIIB open fracture. The goal of the work was to establish, for the first time, a repeatable model of biofilm implant-related osteomyelitis, wherein biofilms were used as initial inocula to test combination biomaterials. Results showed that 100% of animals that were treated with biofilms developed osteomyelitis, whereas 0% of animals not treated with biofilm developed infection. The development of this experimental model may lead to an important shift in biofilm and biomaterials research by showing that when biofilms are used as initial inocula, they may provide additional insights into how biofilm-related infections in the clinic develop and how they can be treated with combination biomaterials to eradicate and/or prevent biofilm formation. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Support of Unrelated Stem Cell Donor Searches by Donor Center-Initiated HLA Typing of Potentially Matching Donors

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Alexander H.; Solloch, Ute V.; Baier, Daniel; Grathwohl, Alois; Hofmann, Jan; Pingel, Julia; Stahr, Andrea; Ehninger, Gerhard

2011-01-01

Large registries of potential unrelated stem cell donors have been established in order to enable stem cell transplantation for patients without HLA-identical related donors. Donor search is complicated by the fact that the stored HLA information of many registered donors is incomplete. We carried out a project that was aimed to improve chances of patients with ongoing donor searches to find an HLA-matched unrelated donor. For that purpose, we carried out additional donor center-initiated HLA-DRB1 typing of donors who were only typed for the HLA loci A and B so far and were potential matches for patients in need of a stem cell transplant. In total, 8,861 donors were contacted for donor center-initiated HLA-DRB1 typing within 1,089 donor searches. 12 of these donors have donated stem cells so far, 8 thereof for their respective target patients. We conclude that chances of patients with ongoing donor searches to find an HLA-matched unrelated donor can indeed be improved by donor-center initiated typing that is carried out in addition to the standard donor search process. Our results also raise questions regarding the appropriate use of incompletely typed donors within unrelated donor searches. PMID:21625451

Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing in intensive care unit patients

PubMed Central

Hafner, Gert; Neuhuber, Andreas; Hirtenfelder, Sylvia; Schmedler, Brigitte

2007-01-01

Aspiration in critically ill patients frequently causes severe co-morbidity. We evaluated a diagnostic protocol using routine FEES in critically ill patients at risk to develop aspiration following extubation. We instructed intensive care unit physicians on specific risk factors for and clinical signs of aspiration following extubation in critically ill patients and offered bedside FEES for such patients. Over a 45-month period, we were called to perform 913 endoscopic examinations in 553 patients. Silent aspiration or aspiration with acute symptoms (cough or gag reflex as the bolus passed into the trachea) was detected in 69.3% of all patients. Prolonged non-oral feeding via a naso-gastric tube was initiated in 49.7% of all patients. In 13.2% of patients, a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was initiated as a result of FEES findings, and in 6.3% an additional tracheotomy to prevent aspiration had to be initiated. In 59 out of 258 patients (22.9%), tracheotomies were closed, and 30.7% of all 553 patients could be managed with the immediate onset of an oral diet and compensatory treatment procedures. Additional radiological examinations were not required. FEES in critically ill patients allows for a rapid evaluation of deglutition and for the immediate initiation of symptom-related rehabilitation or for an early resumption of oral feeding. PMID:17968575

Versatile antifouling polyethersulfone filtration membranes modified via surface grafting of zwitterionic polymers from a reactive amphiphilic copolymer additive.

PubMed

Zhao, Yi-Fan; Zhang, Pei-Bin; Sun, Jian; Liu, Cui-Jing; Yi, Zhuan; Zhu, Li-Ping; Xu, You-Yi

2015-06-15

Here we describe the development of versatile antifouling polyethersulfone (PES) filtration membranes modified via surface grafting of zwitterionic polymers from a reactive amphiphilic copolymer additive. Amphiphilic polyethersulfone-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PES-b-PHEMA) was beforehand designed and used as the blending additive of PES membranes prepared by phase inversion technique. The surface enriched PHEMA blocks on membrane surface acted as an anchor to immobilize the initiating site. Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) were subsequently grafted onto the PES blend membranes by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The analysis of surface chemistry confirmed the successful grafting of zwitterionic PSBMA brushes on PES membrane surface. The resulted PES-g-PSBMA membranes were capable of separating proteins from protein solution and oil from oil/water emulsion efficiently. Furthermore, the modified membranes showed high hydrophilicity and strongly antifouling properties due to the incorporation of well-defined PSBMA layer. In addition, the PES-g-PSBMA membranes exhibited excellent blood compatibility and durability during the washing process. The developed antifouling PES membranes are versatile and can find their applications in protein filtration, blood purification and oil/water separation, etc. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Should Age at Diagnosis Be Included as an Additional Variable in the Risk of Recurrence Classification System in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

PubMed Central

Pitoia, Fabián; Jerkovich, Fernando; Smulever, Anabella; Brenta, Gabriela; Bueno, Fernanda; Cross, Graciela

2017-01-01

Objective To evaluate the influence of age at diagnosis on the frequency of structural incomplete response (SIR) according to the modified risk of recurrence (RR) staging system from the American Thyroid Association guidelines. Patients and Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 268 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) followed up for at least 3 years after initial treatment (total thyroidectomy and remnant ablation). The median follow-up in the whole cohort was 74.3 months (range: 36.1-317.9) and the median age at diagnosis was 45.9 years (range: 18-87). The association between age at diagnosis and the initial and final response to treatment was assessed with analysis of variance (ANOVA). Patients were also divided into several groups considering age younger and older than 40, 50, and 60 years. Results Age at diagnosis was not associated with either an initial or final statistically significant different SIR to treatment (p = 0.14 and p = 0.58, respectively). Additionally, we did not find any statistically significant differences when the percentages of SIR considering the classification of RR were compared between different groups of patients by using several age cutoffs. Conclusions When patients are correctly risk stratified, it seems that age at diagnosis is not involved in the frequency of having a SIR at the initial evaluation or at the final follow-up, so it should not be included as an additional variable to be considered in the RR classifications. PMID:28785543

Change of brown coal oxidation kinetic characteristics by promoting additives appending in the form of copper salts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larionov, K. B.; Mishakov, I. V.; Gromov, A. A.; Zenkov, A. V.

2017-11-01

Process of brown coal oxidation with 5%wt content of copper-salt additives of various nature (Cu (NO3)2, CuSO4 and Cu(CH3COO)2) was studied. The experiment has been performed by thermogravimetric analysis at a heating rate of 2.5°C/min to a maximum temperature of 600°C in the air. Analytical evaluation of oxidation process kinetic characteristics has been conducted based on the results of TGA. It has been established that addition of initiating agents leads to significant reduction in the initial ignition temperature of coal (ΔTi = 15÷40°C), shortening of the sample warm-up time to the ignition point (Δte = 6÷12 min) and reduction of the sample burning time (Δtf = 40÷54 min). The following series of additives activity affecting ignition temperature of coals has been established: Cu(CH3COO)2 > Cu(NO3)2 > CuSO4. Additionally, the opposite can be said about the effect of additives on residence time of the sample in its combustion area (CuSO4 > Cu(NO3)2 > Cu(CH3COO)2). According to mass spectrometric analysis, presence of NOx, SO2, CO2 (intense peaks at 190÷290°C) was recorded in oxidation products of modified samples, which is explained by partial or complete decomposition of salts.

The impact of new insights and revised practice guidelines on prescribing drugs in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus

PubMed Central

Lub, René; Denig, Petra; van den Berg, Paul B; Hoogenberg, Klaas; de Jong-van den Berg, Lolkje T W

2006-01-01

Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of new insights and revised guidelines on initial and follow-up treatment with antihyperglycaemic drugs over the period 1998–2003. Methods The InterAction Database (IADB), which contains pharmacy dispensing data from 53 community pharmacies in the Northern and Eastern part of the Netherlands, was used in this study. Prevalence and incidence rates of oral antihyperglycaemic drug use were calculated for each year. Follow-up treatment was compared for two cohorts of initial users of oral antihyperglycaemic drugs, starting treatment either 1 year before or 1 year after guideline revision. Results The prevalence and incidence rate of oral antihyperglycaemic drug use increased over the study period from 1.8% to 2.4% (P < 0.001) and 0.3% to 0.4% (P= 0.04). The proportion of metformin as initial treatment increased rapidly in the observation period from 14% to 50% (P < 0.001). Initial users of metformin in 2000 received additional treatment with a sulphonylurea in the follow-up period less often compared with those who started metformin in 1998 (46%vs. 60%, P < 0.004). In contrast, initial users of sulphonylurea in 2000 received additional treatment with metformin more often compared with those who started a sulphonylurea in 1998 (42%vs. 36%, P < 0.008). The new drugs, thiazolidinediones and meglitinides, were seldom used as initial treatment Conclusions New insights and the revision of the practice guideline were followed by a significant increase in both initial and follow-up treatment with metformin among patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. PMID:16796700

Short-term Risk of Serious Fall Injuries in Older Adults Initiating and Intensifying Treatment with Antihypertensive Medication

PubMed Central

Shimbo, Daichi; Bowling, C. Barrett; Levitan, Emily B.; Deng, Luqin; Sim, John J.; Huang, Lei; Reynolds, Kristi; Muntner, Paul

2016-01-01

Background Antihypertensive medication use has been associated with an increased risk of falls in some but not all studies. Few data are available on the short-term risk of falls following antihypertensive medication initiation and intensification. Methods and Results We examined the association between initiating and intensifying antihypertensive medication and serious fall injuries in a case-crossover study of 90,127 Medicare beneficiaries who were ≥65 years old and had a serious fall injury between July 1, 2007 and December 31, 2012, based on emergency department and inpatient claims. Antihypertensive medication initiation was defined by a prescription fill with no fills in the prior year. Intensification was defined by the addition of a new antihypertensive class, and, separately, titration by the addition of a new class or increase in dosage of a current class. Exposures were ascertained for the 15 days before the fall (case period) and six 15-day earlier periods (control periods). Overall, 272, 1508, and 3113 Medicare beneficiaries initiated, added a new class of antihypertensive medication or titrated therapy, respectively, within 15 days of their serious fall injury. The odds for a serious fall injury was increased during the 15 days following antihypertensive medication initiation [odds ratio, OR, 1.36 (95% CI 1.19, 1.55)], adding a new class [OR 1.16 (95% CI 1.10, 1.23)], and titration [OR 1.13 (95% CI 1.08, 1.18)]. These associations were attenuated beyond 15 days. Conclusions Antihypertensive medication initiation and intensification was associated with a short-term, but not long-term, increased risk of serious fall injuries among older adults. PMID:27166208

Initial Implementation of Transient VERA-CS

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

Gerlach, Andrew; Kochunas, Brendan; Salko, Robert

In this milestone the capabilities of both CTF and MPACT were extended to perform coupled transient calculations. This required several small changes in MPACT to setup the problems correctly, perform the edits correctly, and call the appropriate CTF interfaces in the right order. For CTF, revisions and corrections to the transient timestepping algorithm were made, as well as the addition of a new interface subroutine to allow MPACT to drive CTF at each timestep. With the modifications completed, the initial coupled capability was demonstrated on some problems used for code verification, a hypothetical small mini-core, and a Watts Bar demonstrationmore » problem. For each of these cases the results showed good agreement with the previous MPACT internal TH feedback model that relied on a simplified fuel heat conduction model and simplified coolant treatment. After the pulse the results are notably different as expected, where the effects of convection of heat to the coolant can be observed. Areas for future work were discussed, including assessment and development of the CTF dynamic fuel deformation and gap conductance models, addition of suitable transient boiling and CHF models for the rapid heating and cooling rates seen in RIAs, additional validation and demonstration work, and areas for improvement to the code input and output capabilities.« less

L2 Milestone 5433: Characterization of Dynamic Behavior of AM and Conventionally Processed Stainless Steel (316L and 304L)

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

Gray, George Thompson; Livescu, Veronica; Rigg, P. A.

For additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic materials, the certification and qualification paradigm needs to evolve as there currently exists no broadly accepted “ASTM- or DIN-type” additive manufacturing certified process or AM-material produced specifications. Accordingly, design, manufacture, and thereafter implementation and insertion of AM materials to meet engineering applications requires detailed quantification of the constitutive (strength and damage) properties of these evolving materials, across the spectrum of metallic AM methods, in comparison/contrast to conventionally-manufactured metals and alloys. This report summarizes the 316L SS research results and presents initial results of the follow-on study of 304L SS. For the AM-316L SS investigation,more » cylindrical samples of 316L SS were produced using a LENS MR-7 laser additive manufacturing system from Optomec (Albuquerque, NM) equipped with a 1kW Yb-fiber laser. The microstructure of the AM-316L SS was characterized in both the “as-built” Additively Manufactured state and following a heat-treatment designed to obtain full recrystallization to facilitate comparison with annealed wrought 316L SS. The dynamic shock-loading-induced damage evolution and failure response of all three 316L SS materials was quantified using flyer-plate impact driven spallation experiments at peak stresses of 4.5 and 6.35 GPa. The results of these studies are reported in detail in the first section of the report. Publication of the 316L SS results in an archival journal is planned. Following on from the 316L SS completed work, initial results on a study of AM 304L SS are in progress and presented herein. Preliminary results on the structure/dynamic spallation property behavior of AM-304L SS fabricated using both the directed-energy LENS and an EOS powder-bed AM techniques in comparison to wrought 304L SS is detailed in this Level 2 Milestone report.« less

The Italian national trends in smoking initiation and cessation according to gender and education.

PubMed

Sardu, C; Mereu, A; Minerba, L; Contu, P

2009-09-01

OBJECTIVES. This study aims to assess the trend in initiation and cessation of smoking across successive birth cohorts, according to gender and education, in order to provide useful suggestion for tobacco control policy. STUDY DESIGN. The study is based on data from the "Health conditions and resort to sanitary services" survey carried out in Italy from October 2004 to September 2005 by the National Institute of Statistics. Through a multisampling procedure a sample representative of the entire national territory was selected. In order to calculate trends in smoking initiation and cessation, data were stratified for birth cohorts, gender and education level, and analyzed through the life table method. The cumulative probability of smoking initiation, across subsequent generations, shows a downward trend followed by a plateau. This result highlights that there is not a shred of evidence to support the hypothesis of an anticipation in smoking initiation. The cumulative probability of quitting, across subsequent generations, follows an upward trend, highlighting the growing tendency of smokers to become an "early quitter", who give up within 30 years of age. Results suggest that the Italian antismoking approach, for the most part targeted at preventing the initiation of smoking emphasising the negative consequences, has an effect on the early smoking cessation. Health policies should reinforce the existing trend of "early quitting" through specific actions. In addition our results show that men with low education exhibit the higher probability of smoking initiation and the lower probability of early quitting, and therefore should be targeted with special attention.

Summary of results from the Tandem Mirror Experiment (TMX)

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

Simonen, T.C.

1981-02-26

This report summarizes results from the successful experimental operation of the Tandem Mirror Experiment (TMX) over the period October 1978 through September 1980. The experimental program, summarized by the DOE milestones given in Table 1-1, had three basic phases: (1) an 8-month checkout period, October 1978 through May 1979; (2) a 6-month initial period of operation, June through November 1979, during which the basic principles of the tandem configuration were demonstrated (i.e., plasma confinement was improved over that of a single-cell mirror); and (3) a 10-month period, December 1979 through September 1980, during which the initial TMX results were corroboratedmore » by additional diagnostic measurements and many detailed physics investigations were carried out. This report summarizes the early results, presents results of recent data analysis, and outlines areas of ongoing research and data analysis which will be reported in future journal publications.« less

Carpal tunnel syndrome: Investigating the sensitivity of initial-diagnosis with electro-diagnostic tests in 600 cases and associated risk factors especially manual milking.

PubMed

Tunç, Abdulkadir; Güngen, Belma Doğan

2017-01-01

Electro-diagnostic studies are the most reliable methods in diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Although there are many risk factors associated with CTS, there are a limited number of studies in the literature indicating that manual milking, which is frequently seen in Turkey, is a risk factor for CTS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate demographic findings of cases referred due to initial diagnosis of CTS as well as aetiological data especially manual milking and to investigate the sensitivity of initial diagnosis of CTS. Six hundred patients, who were referred to our electromyography laboratory due to initial diagnosis of CTS, were included. Demographic findings, duration of complaints, existence of diabetes mellitus, and manual milking histories of all patients were recorded. Sensitivity of initial diagnosis was investigated based on electro-diagnostic test results. According to electro-diagnostic test results, 289 of the patients were diagnosed with CTS (48.17%). 110 (18.3%) of 600 patients had a history of manual milking. In 94 of this group (85.4%), CTS was detected. Statistically significant correlation was found between CTS and age, female gender, duration of complaints, obesity and manual milking. This study confirms that manual milking is an important risk factor for CTS in addition to female gender, age, symptom duration and obesity. The fact that sensitivity of initial diagnosis of CTS was found to be low according to electro-diagnostic test results indicates importance of detailed clinical evaluation.

A population-based study of the comparative effectiveness of second-generation antipsychotics vs older antimanic agents in bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Bauer, Mark S; Miller, Christopher J; Li, Mingfei; Bajor, Laura A; Lee, Austin

2016-09-01

Numerous antimanic treatments have been introduced over the past two decades, particularly second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs). However, it is not clear whether such newer agents provide any advantage over older treatments. A historical cohort design investigated the nationwide population of outpatients with bipolar disorder treated in the Department of Veterans Affairs who were newly initiated on an antimanic agent between 2003 and 2010 (N=27 727). The primary outcome was likelihood of all-cause hospitalization during the year after initiation, controlling for numerous demographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics. Potential correlates of effect were explored by investigating time to initiation of a second antimanic agent or antidepressant. After control for covariates, those initiated on lithium or valproate monotherapy, compared to those beginning SGA monotherapy, were significantly less likely to be hospitalized, had a longer time to hospitalization, and had fewer hospitalizations in the subsequent year. Those on combination treatment had a significantly higher likelihood of hospitalization, although they also had a longer time to addition of an additional antimanic agent or antidepressant. The present analysis of a large and unselected nationwide population provides important complementary data to that from controlled trials. Although various mechanisms may be responsible for the results, the data support the utilization of lithium or valproate, rather than SGAs, as the initial antimanic treatment in bipolar disorder. A large-scale, prospective, randomized, pragmatic clinical trial comparing the initiation of SGA monotherapy to that of lithium or valproate monotherapy is a logical next step. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Policies to Enhance Prescribing Efficiency in Europe: Findings and Future Implications

PubMed Central

Godman, Brian; Shrank, William; Andersen, Morten; Berg, Christian; Bishop, Iain; Burkhardt, Thomas; Garuoliene, Kristina; Herholz, Harald; Joppi, Roberta; Kalaba, Marija; Laius, Ott; Lonsdale, Julie; Malmström, Rickard E.; Martikainen, Jaana E.; Samaluk, Vita; Sermet, Catherine; Schwabe, Ulrich; Teixeira, Inês; Tilson, Lesley; Tulunay, F. Cankat; Vlahović-Palčevski, Vera; Wendykowska, Kamila; Wettermark, Bjorn; Zara, Corinne; Gustafsson, Lars L.

2010-01-01

Introduction: European countries need to learn from each other to address unsustainable increases in pharmaceutical expenditures. Objective: To assess the influence of the many supply and demand-side initiatives introduced across Europe to enhance prescribing efficiency in ambulatory care. As a result provide future guidance to countries. Methods: Cross national retrospective observational study of utilization (DDDs – defined daily doses) and expenditure (Euros and local currency) of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and statins among 19 European countries and regions principally from 2001 to 2007. Demand-side measures categorized under the “4Es” – education engineering, economics, and enforcement. Results: Instigating supply side initiatives to lower the price of generics combined with demand-side measures to enhance their prescribing is important to maximize prescribing efficiency. Just addressing one component will limit potential efficiency gains. The influence of demand-side reforms appears additive, with multiple initiatives typically having a greater influence on increasing prescribing efficiency than single measures apart from potentially “enforcement.” There are also appreciable differences in expenditure (€/1000 inhabitants/year) between countries. Countries that have not introduced multiple demand side measures to counteract commercial pressures to enhance the prescribing of generics have seen considerably higher expenditures than those that have instigated a range of measures. Conclusions: There are considerable opportunities for European countries to enhance their prescribing efficiency, with countries already learning from each other. The 4E methodology allows European countries to concisely capture the range of current demand-side measures and plan for the future knowing that initiatives can be additive to further enhance their prescribing efficiency. PMID:21833180

Comparison of an additional early visit to routine postpartum care on initiation of long-acting reversible contraception: a randomized trial.

PubMed

Bernard, Caitlin; Wan, Leping; Peipert, Jeffrey F; Madden, Tessa

2018-05-17

To investigate whether an early 3-week postpartum visit in addition to the standard 6-week visit increases LARC initiation by 8weeks postpartum compared to the routine 6-week visit alone. We enrolled pregnant and immediate postpartum women into a prospective randomized, non-blinded trial comparing a single 6-week postpartum visit (routine care) to two visits at 3 and 6weeks postpartum (intervention), with initiation of contraception at the 3-week visit, if desired. All participants received structured contraceptive counseling. Participants completed surveys in-person at baseline and at the time of each postpartum visit. A sample size of 200 total participants was needed to detect a 2-fold difference in LARC initiation (20% vs. 40%). Between May 2016 and March 2017, 200 participants enrolled; outcome data are available for 188. The majority of LARC initiation occurred immediately postpartum (25% of the intervention arm and 27% of the routine care arm). By 8weeks postpartum,34% of participants in the intervention arm initiated LARC, compared to 41% in the routine care arm (p=.35). Overall contraceptive initiation by 8weeks was 83% and84% in the intervention and routine care arms, respectively (p=.79). There was no difference between the arms in the proportion of women who attended at least one postpartum visit (70% vs. 74%, p=.56). The addition of a 3-week postpartum visit to routine care does not increase LARC initiation by 8weeks postpartum. The majority of LARC users desired immediate rather than interval postpartum initiation. Clinicaltrials.govNCT02769676 Implications. The addition of a 3-week postpartum visit to routine care does not increase LARC or overall contraceptive initiation by 8weeks post-partum when the option of immediate postpartum placement is available. The majority of LARC users desired immediate rather than interval postpartum initiation. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Frozen into stripes: fate of the critical Ising model after a quench.

PubMed

Blanchard, T; Picco, M

2013-09-01

In this article we study numerically the final state of the two-dimensional ferromagnetic critical Ising model after a quench to zero temperature. Beginning from equilibrium at T_{c}, the system can be blocked in a variety of infinitely long lived stripe states in addition to the ground state. Similar results have already been obtained for an infinite temperature initial condition and an interesting connection to exact percolation crossing probabilities has emerged. Here we complete this picture by providing an example of stripe states precisely related to initial crossing probabilities for various boundary conditions. We thus show that this is not specific to percolation but rather that it depends on the properties of spanning clusters in the initial state.

Data assimilation method based on the constraints of confidence region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yong; Li, Siming; Sheng, Yao; Wang, Luheng

2018-03-01

The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is a distinguished data assimilation method that is widely used and studied in various fields including methodology and oceanography. However, due to the limited sample size or imprecise dynamics model, it is usually easy for the forecast error variance to be underestimated, which further leads to the phenomenon of filter divergence. Additionally, the assimilation results of the initial stage are poor if the initial condition settings differ greatly from the true initial state. To address these problems, the variance inflation procedure is usually adopted. In this paper, we propose a new method based on the constraints of a confidence region constructed by the observations, called EnCR, to estimate the inflation parameter of the forecast error variance of the EnKF method. In the new method, the state estimate is more robust to both the inaccurate forecast models and initial condition settings. The new method is compared with other adaptive data assimilation methods in the Lorenz-63 and Lorenz-96 models under various model parameter settings. The simulation results show that the new method performs better than the competing methods.

Identification of spatially-localized initial conditions via sparse PCA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwivedi, Anubhav; Jovanovic, Mihailo

2017-11-01

Principal Component Analysis involves maximization of a quadratic form subject to a quadratic constraint on the initial flow perturbations and it is routinely used to identify the most energetic flow structures. For general flow configurations, principal components can be efficiently computed via power iteration of the forward and adjoint governing equations. However, the resulting flow structures typically have a large spatial support leading to a question of physical realizability. To obtain spatially-localized structures, we modify the quadratic constraint on the initial condition to include a convex combination with an additional regularization term which promotes sparsity in the physical domain. We formulate this constrained optimization problem as a nonlinear eigenvalue problem and employ an inverse power-iteration-based method to solve it. The resulting solution is guaranteed to converge to a nonlinear eigenvector which becomes increasingly localized as our emphasis on sparsity increases. We use several fluids examples to demonstrate that our method indeed identifies the most energetic initial perturbations that are spatially compact. This work was supported by Office of Naval Research through Grant Number N00014-15-1-2522.

Degradation of oxcarbazepine by UV-activated persulfate oxidation: kinetics, mechanisms, and pathways.

PubMed

Bu, Lingjun; Zhou, Shiqing; Shi, Zhou; Deng, Lin; Li, Guangchao; Yi, Qihang; Gao, Naiyun

2016-02-01

The degradation kinetics and mechanism of the antiepileptic drug oxcarbazepine (OXC) by UV-activated persulfate oxidation were investigated in this study. Results showed that UV/persulfate (UV/PS) process appeared to be more effective in degrading OXC than UV or PS alone. The OXC degradation exhibited a pseudo-first order kinetics pattern and the degradation rate constants (k obs) were affected by initial OXC concentration, PS dosage, initial pH, and humic acid concentration to different degrees. It was found that low initial OXC concentration, high persulfate dosage, and initial pH enhanced the OXC degradation. Additionally, the presence of humic acid in the solution could greatly inhibit the degradation of OXC. Moreover, hydroxyl radical (OH•) and sulfate radical (SO4 (-)••) were identified to be responsible for OXC degradation and SO4 (-)• made the predominant contribution in this study. Finally, major intermediate products were identified and a preliminary degradation pathway was proposed. Results demonstrated that UV/PS system is a potential technology to control the water pollution caused by emerging contaminants such as OXC.

The Wisconsin Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative: An Example of Statewide Collective Impact.

PubMed

Meinen, Amy; Hilgendorf, Amy; Korth, Amy L; Christens, Brian D; Breuer, Catherine; Joyner, Hilary; Polzin, Molle; Adams, Alexandra; Wolfe, Daithi; Braun, Abbe; Hoiting, Jill; Paulson, Jeanette; Cullen, Bridget; Stader, Kelli

2016-11-01

The Wisconsin Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (Initiative), established in 2007, seeks to address and prevent obesity in the early care and education system through nutrition and physical activity environmental and policy changes. The collaborative includes professionals from 3 state of Wisconsin Departments, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and public health and early care and education organizations. This paper explores the efforts of the Initiative to advance our understanding of collective impact in practice and its value to health promotion efforts. Evaluators conducted a mixed methods case study to evaluate the application of collective impact principles by the Initiative. This included a survey of Initiative partners, review of archival documents, and qualitative interviews with Initiative leaders. Initiative partners noted progress in establishing the conditions for collective impact. Archival documents and interviews describe both formal and informal practices that helped set a common agenda, align and coordinate partner activities, and promote communication among Initiative leaders. Results also detail the important current and potential roles of “backbone” staff from healthTIDE to support the Initiative. Additionally, results suggest particularly challenging aspects of the Initiative’s impact model related to shared measurement and broader stakeholder communication. While the Initiative is still setting in place the conditions for collective impact, it has achieved significant policy, systems, and environment changes since its formation. Inclusion of nutrition and physical activity criteria in the state’s quality rating improvement system for child care centers is one of its outcomes. This case study offers several important insights about the application of collective impact in health promotion efforts, particularly in relation to the transition from previous collaborative activities, the value of establishing a clear common agenda among partners, the roles of backbone staff, and time and partner relationships in collective impact.

Intrinsic Anaerobic Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons in Contaminated Subsurface Plumes and Marine Sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanny, M. A.; Nanny, M. A.; Suflita, J. M.; Suflita, J. M.; Davidova, I.; Kropp, K.; Caldwell, M.; Philp, R.; Gieg, L.; Rios-Hernandez, L. A.

2001-05-01

In recent years, several classes of petroleum hydrocarbons contaminating subsurface and marine environments have been found susceptible to anaerobic biodegradation using novel mechanisms entirely distinct from aerobic metabolic pathways. For example, the anaerobic decay of toluene can be initiated by the addition of the aryl methyl group to the double bond of fumarate, resulting in a benzylsuccinic acid metabolite. Our work has shown that an analogous mechanism also occurs with ethylbenzene and the xylene isomers, yielding 3-phenyl-1,2-butane dicarboxylic acid and methylbenzylsuccinic acid, respectively. Moreover, these metabolites have been detected in contaminated environments. Most recently, we have identified metabolites resulting from the initial attack of H26- or D26-n-dodecane during degradation by a sulfate-reducing bacterial culture. Using GC-MS, these metabolites were identified as fatty acids that result from C-H or C-D addition across the double bond of fumarate to give dodecylsuccinic acids in which all 26 protons or deuteriums of the parent alkane were retained. Further, when this enrichment culture was challenged with hexane or decane, hexylsuccinic acid or decylsuccinic acid were identified as resulting metabolites. Similarly, the study of an ethylcyclopentane-degrading sulfate-reducing enrichment produced a metabolite, which is consistent with the addition of fumarate to the parent substrate. These novel anaerobic addition products are characterized by similar, distinctive mass spectral (MS) features (ions specific to the succinic acid portion of the molecule) that can potentially be used to probe contaminated environments for evidence of intrinsic remediation of hydrocarbons. Indeed, analyses of water extracts from two gas condensate-contaminated sites resulted in the tentative detection of alkyl- and cycloalkylsuccinic acids ranging from C3 to C9, including ethylcyclopentyl-succinic acid. In water extracts collected from an area underlying a petroleum production plant, MS profiles consistent with the addition products of methylcycloalkenes were observed. This work helps attests to: 1) the extrapolatability of laboratory results to the field, 2) the unifying metabolic features for the anaerobic destruction of diverse types of hydrocarbons, and 3) how this information can be used to assess the intrinsic bioremediation processes in petroleum-contaminated environments.

Number needed to treat and associated incremental costs of treatment with enzalutamide versus abiraterone acetate plus prednisone in chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

PubMed

Massoudi, Marjan; Balk, Mark; Yang, Hongbo; Bui, Cat N; Pandya, Bhavik J; Guo, Jenny; Song, Yan; Wu, Eric Q; Brown, Bruce; Barlev, Arie; Flanders, Scott

2017-02-01

Enzalutamide (ENZA) and abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (AA) are approved second-generation hormone therapies for chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). This study compared ENZA with AA in chemotherapy-naïve mCRPC by calculating the number needed to treat (NNT) and associated incremental costs to achieve one additional chemotherapy-naïve patient with mCRPC free of radiographic progression, chemotherapy, or death over a 1-year time horizon. Clinical outcomes were obtained from the PREVAIL and COU-AA-302 trials. Three outcomes were evaluated: radiographic progression-free survival, time to cytotoxic chemotherapy initiation, and overall survival at 1 year. NNT was calculated as the reciprocal of the outcome event rate difference for ENZA compared with AA. The incremental costs to achieve one additional outcome at 1 year were calculated as the difference in cost per treated patient multiplied by the NNT. Per-treated-patient costs were considered from a US payer perspective and included medications, monitoring, adverse events, post-progression treatments, and end-of-life care. Within a 1-year time horizon, the total cost per treated patient for ENZA was $2,666 less than AA. Compared with AA, treating 14 patients with ENZA resulted in one additional patient free of progression or death over 1 year; treating 26 patients with ENZA resulted in one additional patient with chemotherapy delayed over 1 year; and treating 91 patients with ENZA resulted in one additional patient free of death over 1 year. Therefore, ENZA is cost-effective compared with AA for all three outcomes evaluated, and the modeled results suggest ENZA is associated with potentially improved clinical outcomes in delaying chemotherapy initiation and disease progression for chemotherapy-naïve patients. The results are robust in sensitivity analyses, where the effect of changes in key model inputs and assumptions were tested. The results modeled in the present study suggest ENZA is cost-effective compared with AA for treating chemotherapy-naïve patients with mCRPC.

Memory Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis is Due to a Core Deficit in Initial Learning

PubMed Central

DeLuca, John; Leavitt, Victoria M.; Chiaravalloti, Nancy; Wylie, Glenn

2013-01-01

Persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) suffer memory impairment, but research on the nature of MS-related memory problems is mixed. Some have argued for a core deficit in retrieval, while others have identified deficient initial learning as the core deficit. We used a selective reminding paradigm to determine whether deficient initial learning or delayed retrieval represents the primary memory deficit in 44 persons with MS. Brain atrophy was measured from high-resolution MRIs. Regression analyses examined the impact of brain atrophy on (a) initial learning and delayed retrieval separately, and then (b) delayed retrieval controlling for initial learning. Brain atrophy was negatively associated with both initial learning and delayed retrieval (ps < .01), but brain atrophy was unrelated to retrieval when controlling for initial learning (p > .05). In addition, brain atrophy was associated with inefficient learning across initial acquisition trials, and brain atrophy was unrelated to delayed recall among MS subjects who successfully acquired the word list (although such learning frequently required many exposures). Taken together, memory deficits in MS are a result of deficits in initial learning; moreover, initial learning mediates the relationship between brain atrophy and subsequent retrieval, thereby supporting the core learning-deficit hypothesis of memory impairment in MS. PMID:23832311

Effect of substituted phenylnadimides on processing and properties of PMR polyimide composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alston, W. B.; Lauver, R. W.

1985-01-01

Three nitrophenylnadimide cure initiators and two phenylnadimides (without nitros) were evaluated as additives to PMR-15 resins and Celion 6000 graphite fiber composites. The results of a resin screening study eliminated all of the additives except 3-nitrophenylnadimide (NO2PN) for use as a low temperature curing additive for PMR-15. Thus, NO2PN and the two control additives were investigated in PMR-15 formulations from which Celion 6000 graphite fiber/PMR-15 composites were processed both with low temperature (274 C) and normal (316 C) cure cycles. Comparisons of the two processing cycles, the resultant glass transition temperatures (Tg), the ambient, 274 and 316 C composite mechanical properties determined before and after 316 C postcure, the 316 C thermo-oxidative weight losses and the retention of 316 C composite mechanical properties are presented. Empirical correlations of the type and amount of nadimide additives with processing parameters, Tg, composite mechanical properties, composite thermo-oxidative stability and long term retention of 316 C composite mechanical properties are also presented.

Addition of ArSSAr to dienes via intramolecular C-C bond formation initiated by a catalytic amount of ArS+.

PubMed

Matsumoto, Kouichi; Fujie, Shunsuke; Suga, Seiji; Nokami, Toshiki; Yoshida, Jun-ichi

2009-09-28

A catalytic amount of electrochemically generated "ArS+" ("ArS+" = ArS(ArSSAr)+) initiates a cation chain reaction of dienes that involves the addition of ArSSAr associated with stereoselective intramolecular carbon-carbon bond formation, and the direct (in-cell) electrolysis of a mixture of a diene and ArSSAr with a catalytic amount of electricity also effectively initiates the reaction.

Factors Associated with Breastfeeding Initiation: A Comparison between France and French-Speaking Canada

PubMed Central

Girard, Lisa-Christine; Côté, Sylvana M.; de Lauzon-Guillain, Blandine; Dubois, Lise; Falissard, Bruno; Forhan, Anne; Doyle, Orla; Bernard, Jonathan Y.; Heude, Barbara; Saurel-Cubizolles, Marie-Josephe; Kaminski, Monique; Boivin, Michel; Tremblay, Richard E.

2016-01-01

Background Breastfeeding is associated with multiple domains of health for both mothers and children. Nevertheless, breastfeeding initiation is low within certain developed countries. Furthermore, comparative studies of initiation rates using harmonised data across multiple regions is scarce. Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare individual-level determinants of breastfeeding initiation using two French-speaking cohorts. Methods Participants included ~ 3,900 mothers enrolled in two cohort studies in Canada and France. Interviews, questionnaires, and medical records were utilised to collect information on maternal, family, and medical factors associated with breastfeeding initiation. Results Rates of breastfeeding initiation were similar across cohorts, slightly above 70%. Women in both Canada and France who had higher levels of maternal education, were born outside of their respective countries and who did not smoke during pregnancy were more likely to initiate breastfeeding with the cohort infant. Notably, cohort effects of maternal education at the university level were found, whereby having ‘some university’ was not statistically significant for mothers in France. Further, younger mothers in Canada, who delivered by caesarean section and who had previous children, had reduced odds of breastfeeding initiation. These results were not found for mothers in France. Conclusions and Implications for Practice While some similar determinants were observed, programming efforts to increase breastfeeding initiation should be tailored to the characteristics of specific geographical regions which may be heavily impacted by the social, cultural and political climate of the region, in addition to individual and family level factors. PMID:27902741

One thing leads to another: the cascade of obligations when researchers report genetic research results to study participants

PubMed Central

Miller, Fiona Alice; Hayeems, Robin Zoe; Li, Li; Bytautas, Jessica Peace

2012-01-01

Even as debate continues about the putative obligation to proactively report genetic research results to study participants, there is an increasing need to attend to the obligations that might cascade from any initial report. We conducted an international, quasi-experimental survey of researchers involved in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and cystic fibrosis (CF) genetics to explore perceived obligations to ensure updated information or relevant clinical care subsequent to any initial communication of research results, and factors influencing these attitudes. 5-point Likert scales of dis/agreement were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics. Of the 343 respondents (44% response rate), large majorities agreed that in general and in a variety of hypothetical research contexts, research teams that report results should ensure that participants gain subsequent access to updated information (74–83%) and implicated clinical services (79–87%). At the same time, researchers perceived barriers restricting access to relevant clinical care, though this was significantly more pronounced (P<0.001) for ASD (64%) than CF (34%). In the multivariate model, endorsement of cascading obligations was positively associated with researcher characteristics (eg, clinical role/training) and attitudes (eg, perceived initial reporting obligation), and negatively associated with the initial report of less scientifically robust hypothetical results, but unaffected by perceived or hypothetical barriers to care. These results suggest that researchers strongly endorse information and care-based obligations that cascade from the initial report of research results to study participants. In addition, they raise challenging questions about how any cascading obligations are to be met, especially where access challenges are already prevalent. PMID:22333903

Methods and energy storage devices utilizing electrolytes having surface-smoothing additives

DOEpatents

Xu, Wu; Zhang, Jiguang; Graff, Gordon L; Chen, Xilin; Ding, Fei

2015-11-12

Electrodeposition and energy storage devices utilizing an electrolyte having a surface-smoothing additive can result in self-healing, instead of self-amplification, of initial protuberant tips that give rise to roughness and/or dendrite formation on the substrate and anode surface. For electrodeposition of a first metal (M1) on a substrate or anode from one or more cations of M1 in an electrolyte solution, the electrolyte solution is characterized by a surface-smoothing additive containing cations of a second metal (M2), wherein cations of M2 have an effective electrochemical reduction potential in the solution lower than that of the cations of M1.

Comparing species distribution models constructed with different subsets of environmental predictors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bucklin, David N.; Basille, Mathieu; Benscoter, Allison M.; Brandt, Laura A.; Mazzotti, Frank J.; Romañach, Stephanie S.; Speroterra, Carolina; Watling, James I.

2014-01-01

Our results indicate that additional predictors have relatively minor effects on the accuracy of climate-based species distribution models and minor to moderate effects on spatial predictions. We suggest that implementing species distribution models with only climate predictors may provide an effective and efficient approach for initial assessments of environmental suitability.

75 FR 61702 - Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-06

... from Thailand. See Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and...-caught warmwater species include, but are not limited to, whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannemei), banana... are packed with marinade, spices or sauce are included in the scope of this order. In addition, food...

Advanced Study for Active Noise Control in Aircraft (ASANCA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borchers, Ingo U.; Emborg, Urban; Sollo, Antonio; Waterman, Elly H.; Paillard, Jacques; Larsen, Peter N.; Venet, Gerard; Goeransson, Peter; Martin, Vincent

1992-01-01

Aircraft interior noise and vibration measurements are included in this paper from ground and flight tests. In addition, related initial noise calculations with and without active noise control are conducted. The results obtained to date indicate that active noise control may be an effective means for reducing the critical low frequency aircraft noise.

Role of exogenous estrogen in initiation of estrus and induction of an LH surge

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Among cattle the LH surge that causes ovulation occurs shortly after the onset of a spontaneous estrus. In addition an injection of 100 'g of GnRH can induce an LH surge capable of inducing ovulation. We hypothesized that different preovulatory estradiol profiles would result in different ovulator...

ATTENUATION OF METHYL TERT-BUTYL ETHER IN WATER USING SUNLIGHT AND A PHOTOCATALYST

EPA Science Inventory

The use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a gasoline additive has resulted in increasing pollution of ground water. Most of the conventional treatment technologies are inefficient or costly when the initial concentration of MTBE is low (<200 ug/L). In order to find an eco-frie...

76 FR 22369 - Certain Steel Nails From the People's Republic of China: Initiation and Preliminary Results of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-21

... Review AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. DATES... review and a request to revoke, in part, the antidumping duty order on certain steel nails from the... nails. In addition to the four physical descriptions of steel nails, Petitioner requested three of the...

BINDING OF CARCINOGENS TO DNA AND COVALENT ADDUCTS DNA DAMAGE - PAH, AROMATIC AMINES, NITRO-AROMATIC COMPOUNDS, AND HALOGENATED COMPOUNDS

EPA Science Inventory

DNA adducts are the covalent addition products resulting from binding of reactive chemical species to DNA bases. The cancer initiating role of DNA adducts is well-established, and is clearly reflected in the high cancer incidence observed in individuals with deficiencies in any o...

Moderators of the Relationship between Leadership Style and Employee Creativity: The Role of Task Novelty and Personal Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrmann, Daniel; Felfe, Jörg

2013-01-01

Transformational leadership is supposed to enhance employees' creativity. However, results of meta-analytic research on the relationships between transformational leadership and creativity fell short of expectations. In addition, the coefficients showed a huge variability. In this study, it was argued that relevant task and employee…

78 FR 6350 - The Standard on 4,4′-Methylenedianiline for General Industry; Extension of the Office of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-30

... employers must perform initial, periodic, and additional exposure monitoring; notify each worker in writing of their results as soon as possible but no longer than 5 days after receiving exposure monitoring... products containing MDA, including containers used to store MDA-contaminated protective clothing and...

Standard Setting: A Systematic Approach to Interpreting Student Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeMars, Christine E.; Sundre, Donna L.; Wise, Steven L.

2002-01-01

Describes workshops designed to set standards for freshman technological literacy at James Madison University (Virginia). Results indicated that about 30% of incoming freshmen could meet the standards set initially; by the end of the year, an additional 50-60% could meet them. Provides recommendations for standard setting in a general education…

Surprise influences hindsight-foresight differences in temporal judgments of animated automobile accidents.

PubMed

Calvillo, Dustin P; Gomes, Dayna M

2011-04-01

The hindsight bias occurs when people view an outcome as more foreseeable than it actually was. The role of an outcome's initial surprise in the hindsight bias was examined using animations of automobile accidents. Twenty-six participants rated the initial surprise of accidents' occurring in eight animations. An additional 84 participants viewed these animations in one of two conditions: Half stopped the animations when they were certain an accident would occur (i.e., in foresight), and the other half watched the entire animations first and then stopped the animations when they thought that a naïve viewer would be certain that an accident would occur (i.e., in hindsight). When the accidents were low in initial surprise, there were no foresight-hindsight differences; when initial surprise was medium, there was a hindsight bias; and when initial surprise was high, there was a reversed hindsight bias. The results are consistent with a sense-making model of hindsight bias.

Structure of a bacterial RNA polymerase holoenzyme open promoter complex

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

Bae, Brian; Feklistov, Andrey; Lass-Napiorkowska, Agnieszka

2015-09-08

Initiation of transcription is a primary means for controlling gene expression. In bacteria, the RNA polymerase (RNAP) holoenzyme binds and unwinds promoter DNA, forming the transcription bubble of the open promoter complex (RPo). We have determined crystal structures, refined to 4.14 Å-resolution, of RPo containing Thermus aquaticus RNAP holoenzyme and promoter DNA that includes the full transcription bubble. The structures, combined with biochemical analyses, reveal key features supporting the formation and maintenance of the double-strand/single-strand DNA junction at the upstream edge of the -10 element where bubble formation initiates. The results also reveal RNAP interactions with duplex DNA just upstreammore » of the -10 element and potential protein/DNA interactions that direct the DNA template strand into the RNAP active site. Addition of an RNA primer to yield a 4 base-pair post-translocated RNA:DNA hybrid mimics an initially transcribing complex at the point where steric clash initiates abortive initiation and σA dissociation.« less

Structure of a bacterial RNA polymerase holoenzyme open promoter complex

DOE PAGES

Bae, Brian; Feklistov, Andrey; Lass-Napiorkowska, Agnieszka; ...

2015-09-08

Initiation of transcription is a primary means for controlling gene expression. In bacteria, the RNA polymerase (RNAP) holoenzyme binds and unwinds promoter DNA, forming the transcription bubble of the open promoter complex (RPo). We have determined crystal structures, refined to 4.14 Å-resolution, of RPo containing Thermus aquaticus RNAP holoenzyme and promoter DNA that includes the full transcription bubble. The structures, combined with biochemical analyses, reveal key features supporting the formation and maintenance of the double-strand/single-strand DNA junction at the upstream edge of the -10 element where bubble formation initiates. The results also reveal RNAP interactions with duplex DNA just upstreammore » of the -10 element and potential protein/DNA interactions that direct the DNA template strand into the RNAP active site. Additionally a RNA primer to yield a 4 base-pair post-translocated RNA:DNA hybrid mimics an initially transcribing complex at the point where steric clash initiates abortive initiation and σ A dissociation.« less

Evaluating the performance of vehicular platoon control under different network topologies of initial states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yongfu; Li, Kezhi; Zheng, Taixiong; Hu, Xiangdong; Feng, Huizong; Li, Yinguo

2016-05-01

This study proposes a feedback-based platoon control protocol for connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) under different network topologies of initial states. In particularly, algebraic graph theory is used to describe the network topology. Then, the leader-follower approach is used to model the interactions between CAVs. In addition, feedback-based protocol is designed to control the platoon considering the longitudinal and lateral gaps simultaneously as well as different network topologies. The stability and consensus of the vehicular platoon is analyzed using the Lyapunov technique. Effects of different network topologies of initial states on convergence time and robustness of platoon control are investigated. Results from numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed protocol with respect to the position and velocity consensus in terms of the convergence time and robustness. Also, the findings of this study illustrate the convergence time of the control protocol is associated with the initial states, while the robustness is not affected by the initial states significantly.

Numerical investigation of contact stresses for fretting fatigue damage initiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatti, N. A.; Abdel Wahab, M.

2017-05-01

Fretting fatigue phenomena occurs due to interaction between contacting bodies under application of cyclic and normal loads. In addition to environmental conditions and material properties, the response at the contact interface highly depends on the combination of applied loads. High stress concentration is present at the contact interface, which can start the damage nucleation process. At the culmination of nucleation process several micro cracks are initiated, ultimately leading to the structural failure. In this study, effect of ratio of tangential to normal load on contact stresses, slip amplitude and damage initiation is studied using finite element analysis. The results are evaluated for Ruiz parameter as it involves the slip amplitude which in an important factor in fretting fatigue conditions. It is observed that tangential to normal load ratio influences the stick zone size and damage initiation life. Furthermore, it is observed that tensile stress is the most important factor that drives the damage initiation to failure for the cases where failure occurs predominantly in mode I manner.

On Consistency Test Method of Expert Opinion in Ecological Security Assessment

PubMed Central

Wang, Lihong

2017-01-01

To reflect the initiative design and initiative of human security management and safety warning, ecological safety assessment is of great value. In the comprehensive evaluation of regional ecological security with the participation of experts, the expert’s individual judgment level, ability and the consistency of the expert’s overall opinion will have a very important influence on the evaluation result. This paper studies the consistency measure and consensus measure based on the multiplicative and additive consistency property of fuzzy preference relation (FPR). We firstly propose the optimization methods to obtain the optimal multiplicative consistent and additively consistent FPRs of individual and group judgments, respectively. Then, we put forward a consistency measure by computing the distance between the original individual judgment and the optimal individual estimation, along with a consensus measure by computing the distance between the original collective judgment and the optimal collective estimation. In the end, we make a case study on ecological security for five cities. Result shows that the optimal FPRs are helpful in measuring the consistency degree of individual judgment and the consensus degree of collective judgment. PMID:28869570

The Relationship Between Fidelity and Learning in Aviation Training and Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noble, Cliff

2002-01-01

Flight simulators can be designed to train pilots or assess their flight performance. Low-Fidelity simulators maximize the initial learning rate of novice pilots and minimize initial costs; whereas, expensive, high-fidelity simulators predict the realworld in-flight performance of expert pilots (Fink & Shriver, 1978 Hays & Singer 1989; Kinkade & Wheaton. 1972). Although intuitively appealing and intellectually convenient to generalize concepts of learning and assessment, what holds true for the role of fidelity in assessment may not always hold true for learning, and vice versa. To bring clarity to this issue, the author distinguishes the role of fidelity in learning from its role in assessment as a function of skill level by applying the hypothesis of Alessi (1988) and reviewing the Laughery, Ditzian, and Houtman (1982) study on simulator validity. Alessi hypothesized that there is it point beyond which one additional unit of flight-simulator fidelity results in a diminished rate of learning. The author of this current paper also suggests the existence of an optimal point beyond which one additional unit of flight-simulator fidelity results in a diminished rate of practical assessment of nonexpert pilot performance.

On Consistency Test Method of Expert Opinion in Ecological Security Assessment.

PubMed

Gong, Zaiwu; Wang, Lihong

2017-09-04

To reflect the initiative design and initiative of human security management and safety warning, ecological safety assessment is of great value. In the comprehensive evaluation of regional ecological security with the participation of experts, the expert's individual judgment level, ability and the consistency of the expert's overall opinion will have a very important influence on the evaluation result. This paper studies the consistency measure and consensus measure based on the multiplicative and additive consistency property of fuzzy preference relation (FPR). We firstly propose the optimization methods to obtain the optimal multiplicative consistent and additively consistent FPRs of individual and group judgments, respectively. Then, we put forward a consistency measure by computing the distance between the original individual judgment and the optimal individual estimation, along with a consensus measure by computing the distance between the original collective judgment and the optimal collective estimation. In the end, we make a case study on ecological security for five cities. Result shows that the optimal FPRs are helpful in measuring the consistency degree of individual judgment and the consensus degree of collective judgment.

High methane natural gas/air explosion characteristics in confined vessel.

PubMed

Tang, Chenglong; Zhang, Shuang; Si, Zhanbo; Huang, Zuohua; Zhang, Kongming; Jin, Zebing

2014-08-15

The explosion characteristics of high methane fraction natural gas were investigated in a constant volume combustion vessel at different initial conditions. Results show that with the increase of initial pressure, the peak explosion pressure, the maximum rate of pressure rise increase due to a higher amount (mass) of flammable mixture, which delivers an increased amount of heat. The increased total flame duration and flame development time result as a consequence of the higher amount of flammable mixture. With the increase of the initial temperature, the peak explosion pressures decrease, but the pressure increase during combustion is accelerated, which indicates a faster flame speed and heat release rate. The maximum value of the explosion pressure, the maximum rate of pressure rise, the minimum total combustion duration and the minimum flame development time is observed when the equivalence ratio of the mixture is 1.1. Additionally, for higher methane fraction natural gas, the explosion pressure and the maximum rate of pressure rise are slightly decreased, while the combustion duration is postponed. The combustion phasing is empirically correlated with the experimental parameters with good fitting performance. Furthermore, the addition of dilute gas significantly reduces the explosion pressure, the maximum rate of pressure rise and postpones the flame development and this flame retarding effect of carbon dioxide is stronger than that of nitrogen. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of detonation wave incidence angle on the acceleration of flyers by explosives heavily laden with inert additives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loiseau, Jason; Georges, William; Frost, David L.; Higgins, Andrew J.

2017-01-01

The incidence angle of a detonation wave in a conventional high explosive influences the acceleration and terminal velocity of a metal flyer by increasing the magnitude of the material velocity imparted by the transmitted shock wave as the detonation is tilted towards normal loading. For non-ideal explosives heavily loaded with inert additives, the detonation velocity is typically subsonic relative to the flyer sound speed, leading to shockless accelerations when the detonation is grazing. Further, in a grazing detonation the particles are initially accelerated in the direction of the detonation and only gain velocity normal to the initial orientation of the flyer at later times due to aerodynamic drag as the detonation products expand. If the detonation wave in a non-ideal explosive instead strikes the flyer at normal incidence, a shock is transmitted into the flyer and the first interaction between the particle additives and the flyer occurs due to the imparted material velocity from the passage of the detonation wave. Consequently, the effect of incidence angle and additive properties may play a more prominent role in the flyer acceleration. In the present study we experimentally compared normal detonation loadings to grazing loadings using a 3-mm-thick aluminum slapper to impact-initiate a planar detonation wave in non-ideal explosive-particle admixtures, which subsequently accelerated a second 6.4-mm-thick flyer. Flyer acceleration was measured with heterodyne laser velocimetry (PDV). The explosive mixtures considered were packed beds of glass or steel particles of varying sizes saturated with sensitized nitromethane, and gelled nitromethane mixed with glass microballoons. Results showed that the primary parameter controlling changes in flyer velocity was the presence of a transmitted shock, with additive density and particle size playing only secondary roles. These results are similar to the grazing detonation experiments, however under normal loading the largest, higher density particles yielded the highest terminal flyer velocity, whereas in the grazing experiments the larger, low density particles yielded the highest terminal velocity.

Magnetohydrodynamics of atmospheric transients. IV - Nonplane two-dimensional analyses of energy conversion and magnetic field evolution. [during corona following solar flare

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, S. T.; Nakagawa, Y.; Han, S. M.; Dryer, M.

1982-01-01

The evolution of the magnetic field and the manner of conversion of thermal energy into different forms in the corona following a solar flare are investigated by means of a nonplane magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) analysis. All three components of magnetic field and velocity are treated in a physically self-consistent manner, with all physical variables as functions of time (t) and two spatial coordinates (r, theta). The difference arising from the initial magnetic field, either twisted (force-free) or non-twisted (potential), is demonstrated. Consideration is given to two initial field topologies (open vs. closed). The results demonstrate that the conversion of magnetic energy is faster for the case of the initially twisted (force-free) field than for the initially untwisted (potential) field. In addition, the twisted field is found to produce a complex structure of the density enhancements.

Mechanistic and kinetic investigation on OH-initiated oxidation of tetrabromobisphenol A.

PubMed

He, Maoxia; Li, Xin; Zhang, Shiqing; Sun, Jianfei; Cao, Haijie; Wang, Wenxing

2016-06-01

Detailed mechanism of the OH-initiated transformation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) has been investigated by quantum chemical methods in this paper. Abstraction reactions of hydrogen atoms from the OH groups and CH3 groups of TBBPA are the dominant pathways of the initial reactions. The produced phenolic-type radical and alkyl-type radical may transfer to 4,4'-(ethene-1,1-diyl)bis(2,6-dibromophenol), 4-acetyl-2,6-dibromophenol and 2,6-dibromobenzoquinone at high temperature. In water, major products are 2,6-dibromo-p-hydroquinone, 4-isopropylene-2,6-dibromophenol and 4-(2-hydroxyisopropyl)-2,6-dibromophenol resulting from the addition reactions. Total rate constants of the initial reaction are 1.02 × 10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) in gas phase and 1.93 × 10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) in water at 298 K. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Will Arctic sea ice thickness initialization improve seasonal forecast skill?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Day, J. J.; Hawkins, E.; Tietsche, S.

2014-11-01

Arctic sea ice thickness is thought to be an important predictor of Arctic sea ice extent. However, coupled seasonal forecast systems do not generally use sea ice thickness observations in their initialization and are therefore missing a potentially important source of additional skill. To investigate how large this source is, a set of ensemble potential predictability experiments with a global climate model, initialized with and without knowledge of the sea ice thickness initial state, have been run. These experiments show that accurate knowledge of the sea ice thickness field is crucially important for sea ice concentration and extent forecasts up to 8 months ahead, especially in summer. Perturbing sea ice thickness also has a significant impact on the forecast error in Arctic 2 m temperature a few months ahead. These results suggest that advancing capabilities to observe and assimilate sea ice thickness into coupled forecast systems could significantly increase skill.

Alcohol taxation policy in Thailand: implications for other low- to middle-income countries.

PubMed

Sornpaisarn, Bundit; Shield, Kevin D; Rehm, Jürgen

2012-08-01

  Prevention of drinking initiation is a significant challenge in low- and middle-income countries that have a high prevalence of abstainers, including life-time abstainers. This paper aims to encourage a debate on an alternative alcohol taxation approach used currently in Thailand, which aims specifically to prevent drinking initiation in addition to reduce alcohol-attributable harms.   Theoretical evaluation, simulation and empirical analysis.   The taxation method of Thailand, 'Two-Chosen-One' (2C1) combines specific taxation (as a function of the alcohol content) and ad valorem taxation (as a function of the price), resulting in an effective tax rate that puts a higher tax both on beverages which are preferred by heavy drinkers and on beverages which are preferred by potential alcohol consumption neophytes, compared to either taxation system alone. As a result of these unique properties of the 2C1 taxation system, our simulations indicate that 2C1 taxation leads to a lower overall consumption than ad valorem or specific taxation alone. In addition, it puts a relatively high tax on beverages attractive to young people, the majority of whom are currently abstaining. Currently, the abstention rates in Thailand are higher than expected based on its economic wealth, which could be taken as an indication that the taxation strategy is successful.   'Two-chosen-one' (2C1) taxation has the potential to simultaneously reduce alcohol consumption and prevent drinking initiation among youth; however, additional empirical evidence is needed to assess its effectiveness in terms of the public health impact in low- and middle-income countries. © 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Soil Geochemical Data for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative Study Area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, David B.; Ellefsen, Karl J.

2010-01-01

In 2008, soil samples were collected at 139 sites throughout the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative study area in southwest Wyoming. These samples, representing a density of 1 site per 440 square kilometers, were collected from a depth of 0-5 cm and analyzed for a suite of more than 40 major and trace elements following a near-total multi-acid extraction. In addition, soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, total and organic carbon, and sodium adsorption ratio were determined. The resulting data set provides a baseline for detecting changes in soil composition that might result from natural processes or anthropogenic activities. This report describes the sampling and analytical protocols used, and makes available all the soil geochemical data generated in the study.

Mathematical modeling of damage in unidirectional composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goree, J. G.; Dharani, L. R.; Jones, W. F.

1983-01-01

Extending the work of Goree and Gross (1979), solutions are given for a two-dimensional region of unidirectional fibers embedded in an elastic matrix whose initial flaw may take the form of a transverse notch, a rectangular cutout, or a circular hole. Subsequent flaw-induced damage is generated by remote stresses acting parallel to the fibers. For the case of such ductile matrix composites as boron/aluminum, present results indicate that both longitudinal matrix yielding and transverse notch extension must be included in order for the model to agree with experimental results. Little difference is found for the three types of initial damage considered. In all cases, the presence of additional damage changes the nature of stress distribution through the unbroken fibers.

Linear and non-linear flow mode in Pb-Pb collisions at √{sNN} = 2.76 TeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acharya, S.; Adamová, D.; Adolfsson, J.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Aglieri Rinella, G.; Agnello, M.; Agrawal, N.; Ahammed, Z.; Ahmad, N.; Ahn, S. U.; Aiola, S.; Akindinov, A.; Alam, S. N.; Alba, J. L. B.; Albuquerque, D. S. D.; Aleksandrov, D.; Alessandro, B.; Alfaro Molina, R.; Alici, A.; Alkin, A.; Alme, J.; Alt, T.; Altenkamper, L.; Altsybeev, I.; Alves Garcia Prado, C.; An, M.; Andrei, C.; Andreou, D.; Andrews, H. A.; Andronic, A.; Anguelov, V.; Anson, C.; Antičić, T.; Antinori, F.; Antonioli, P.; Anwar, R.; Aphecetche, L.; Appelshäuser, H.; Arcelli, S.; Arnaldi, R.; Arnold, O. W.; Arsene, I. C.; Arslandok, M.; Audurier, B.; Augustinus, A.; Averbeck, R.; Azmi, M. D.; Badalà, A.; Baek, Y. W.; Bagnasco, S.; Bailhache, R.; Bala, R.; Baldisseri, A.; Ball, M.; Baral, R. C.; Barbano, A. M.; Barbera, R.; Barile, F.; Barioglio, L.; Barnaföldi, G. G.; Barnby, L. S.; Barret, V.; Bartalini, P.; Barth, K.; Bartsch, E.; Basile, M.; Bastid, N.; Basu, S.; Bathen, B.; Batigne, G.; Batista Camejo, A.; Batyunya, B.; Batzing, P. C.; Bearden, I. G.; Beck, H.; Bedda, C.; Behera, N. K.; Belikov, I.; Bellini, F.; Bello Martinez, H.; Bellwied, R.; Beltran, L. G. E.; Belyaev, V.; Bencedi, G.; Beole, S.; Bercuci, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Berenyi, D.; Bertens, R. A.; Berzano, D.; Betev, L.; Bhasin, A.; Bhat, I. R.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Bhom, J.; Bianchi, L.; Bianchi, N.; Bianchin, C.; Bielčík, J.; Bielčíková, J.; Bilandzic, A.; Biro, G.; Biswas, R.; Biswas, S.; Blair, J. T.; Blau, D.; Blume, C.; Boca, G.; Bock, F.; Bogdanov, A.; Boldizsár, L.; Bombara, M.; Bonomi, G.; Bonora, M.; Book, J.; Borel, H.; Borissov, A.; Borri, M.; Botta, E.; Bourjau, C.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Bregant, M.; Broker, T. A.; Browning, T. A.; Broz, M.; Brucken, E. J.; Bruna, E.; Bruno, G. E.; Budnikov, D.; Buesching, H.; Bufalino, S.; Buhler, P.; Buncic, P.; Busch, O.; Buthelezi, Z.; Butt, J. B.; Buxton, J. T.; Cabala, J.; Caffarri, D.; Caines, H.; Caliva, A.; Calvo Villar, E.; Camerini, P.; Capon, A. A.; Carena, F.; Carena, W.; Carnesecchi, F.; Castillo Castellanos, J.; Castro, A. J.; Casula, E. A. R.; Ceballos Sanchez, C.; Cerello, P.; Chandra, S.; Chang, B.; Chapeland, S.; Chartier, M.; Charvet, J. L.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chauvin, A.; Cherney, M.; Cheshkov, C.; Cheynis, B.; Chibante Barroso, V.; Chinellato, D. D.; Cho, S.; Chochula, P.; Choi, K.; Chojnacki, M.; Choudhury, S.; Chowdhury, T.; Christakoglou, P.; Christensen, C. H.; Christiansen, P.; Chujo, T.; Chung, S. U.; Cicalo, C.; Cifarelli, L.; Cindolo, F.; Cleymans, J.; Colamaria, F.; Colella, D.; Collu, A.; Colocci, M.; Concas, M.; Conesa Balbastre, G.; Conesa Del Valle, Z.; Connors, M. E.; Contreras, J. G.; Cormier, T. M.; Corrales Morales, Y.; Cortés Maldonado, I.; Cortese, P.; Cosentino, M. R.; Costa, F.; Costanza, S.; Crkovská, J.; Crochet, P.; Cuautle, E.; Cunqueiro, L.; Dahms, T.; Dainese, A.; Danisch, M. C.; Danu, A.; Das, D.; Das, I.; Das, S.; Dash, A.; Dash, S.; de, S.; de Caro, A.; de Cataldo, G.; de Conti, C.; de Cuveland, J.; de Falco, A.; de Gruttola, D.; De Marco, N.; de Pasquale, S.; de Souza, R. D.; Degenhardt, H. F.; Deisting, A.; Deloff, A.; Deplano, C.; Dhankher, P.; di Bari, D.; di Mauro, A.; di Nezza, P.; di Ruzza, B.; Diaz Corchero, M. A.; Dietel, T.; Dillenseger, P.; Divià, R.; Djuvsland, Ø.; Dobrin, A.; Domenicis Gimenez, D.; Dönigus, B.; Dordic, O.; Doremalen, L. V. V.; Drozhzhova, T.; Dubey, A. K.; Dubla, A.; Ducroux, L.; Duggal, A. K.; Dupieux, P.; Ehlers, R. J.; Elia, D.; Endress, E.; Engel, H.; Epple, E.; Erazmus, B.; Erhardt, F.; Espagnon, B.; Esumi, S.; Eulisse, G.; Eum, J.; Evans, D.; Evdokimov, S.; Fabbietti, L.; Faivre, J.; Fantoni, A.; Fasel, M.; Feldkamp, L.; Feliciello, A.; Feofilov, G.; Ferencei, J.; Fernández Téllez, A.; Ferreiro, E. G.; Ferretti, A.; Festanti, A.; Feuillard, V. J. G.; Figiel, J.; Figueredo, M. A. S.; Filchagin, S.; Finogeev, D.; Fionda, F. M.; Fiore, E. M.; Floris, M.; Foertsch, S.; Foka, P.; Fokin, S.; Fragiacomo, E.; Francescon, A.; Francisco, A.; Frankenfeld, U.; Fronze, G. G.; Fuchs, U.; Furget, C.; Furs, A.; Fusco Girard, M.; Gaardhøje, J. J.; Gagliardi, M.; Gago, A. M.; Gajdosova, K.; Gallio, M.; Galvan, C. D.; Ganoti, P.; Gao, C.; Garabatos, C.; Garcia-Solis, E.; Garg, K.; Garg, P.; Gargiulo, C.; Gasik, P.; Gauger, E. F.; Gay Ducati, M. B.; Germain, M.; Ghosh, J.; Ghosh, P.; Ghosh, S. K.; Gianotti, P.; Giubellino, P.; Giubilato, P.; Gladysz-Dziadus, E.; Glässel, P.; Goméz Coral, D. M.; Gomez Ramirez, A.; Gonzalez, A. S.; Gonzalez, V.; González-Zamora, P.; Gorbunov, S.; Görlich, L.; Gotovac, S.; Grabski, V.; Graczykowski, L. K.; Graham, K. L.; Greiner, L.; Grelli, A.; Grigoras, C.; Grigoriev, V.; Grigoryan, A.; Grigoryan, S.; Grion, N.; Gronefeld, J. M.; Grosa, F.; Grosse-Oetringhaus, J. F.; Grosso, R.; Gruber, L.; Guber, F.; Guernane, R.; Guerzoni, B.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gunji, T.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, R.; Guzman, I. B.; Haake, R.; Hadjidakis, C.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamar, G.; Hamon, J. C.; Harris, J. W.; Harton, A.; Hassan, H.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Hayashi, S.; Heckel, S. T.; Hellbär, E.; Helstrup, H.; Herghelegiu, A.; Herrera Corral, G.; Herrmann, F.; Hess, B. A.; Hetland, K. F.; Hillemanns, H.; Hills, C.; Hippolyte, B.; Hladky, J.; Hohlweger, B.; Horak, D.; Hornung, S.; Hosokawa, R.; Hristov, P.; Hughes, C.; Humanic, T. J.; Hussain, N.; Hussain, T.; Hutter, D.; Hwang, D. S.; Iga Buitron, S. A.; Ilkaev, R.; Inaba, M.; Ippolitov, M.; Irfan, M.; Isakov, V.; Ivanov, M.; Ivanov, V.; Izucheev, V.; Jacak, B.; Jacazio, N.; Jacobs, P. M.; Jadhav, M. B.; Jadlovska, S.; Jadlovsky, J.; Jaelani, S.; Jahnke, C.; Jakubowska, M. J.; Janik, M. A.; Jayarathna, P. H. S. Y.; Jena, C.; Jena, S.; Jercic, M.; Jimenez Bustamante, R. T.; Jones, P. G.; Jusko, A.; Kalinak, P.; Kalweit, A.; Kang, J. H.; Kaplin, V.; Kar, S.; Karasu Uysal, A.; Karavichev, O.; Karavicheva, T.; Karayan, L.; Karpechev, E.; Kebschull, U.; Keidel, R.; Keijdener, D. L. D.; Keil, M.; Ketzer, B.; Khabanova, Z.; Khan, P.; Khan, S. A.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kharlov, Y.; Khatun, A.; Khuntia, A.; Kielbowicz, M. M.; Kileng, B.; Kim, D.; Kim, D. W.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, H.; Kim, J. S.; Kim, J.; Kim, M.; Kim, M.; Kim, S.; Kim, T.; Kirsch, S.; Kisel, I.; Kiselev, S.; Kisiel, A.; Kiss, G.; Klay, J. L.; Klein, C.; Klein, J.; Klein-Bösing, C.; Klewin, S.; Kluge, A.; Knichel, M. L.; Knospe, A. G.; Kobdaj, C.; Kofarago, M.; Kollegger, T.; Kolojvari, A.; Kondratiev, V.; Kondratyeva, N.; Kondratyuk, E.; Konevskikh, A.; Konyushikhin, M.; Kopcik, M.; Kour, M.; Kouzinopoulos, C.; Kovalenko, O.; Kovalenko, V.; Kowalski, M.; Koyithatta Meethaleveedu, G.; Králik, I.; Kravčáková, A.; Krivda, M.; Krizek, F.; Kryshen, E.; Krzewicki, M.; Kubera, A. M.; Kučera, V.; Kuhn, C.; Kuijer, P. G.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, J.; Kumar, L.; Kumar, S.; Kundu, S.; Kurashvili, P.; Kurepin, A.; Kurepin, A. B.; Kuryakin, A.; Kushpil, S.; Kweon, M. J.; Kwon, Y.; La Pointe, S. L.; La Rocca, P.; Lagana Fernandes, C.; Lai, Y. S.; Lakomov, I.; Langoy, R.; Lapidus, K.; Lara, C.; Lardeux, A.; Lattuca, A.; Laudi, E.; Lavicka, R.; Lazaridis, L.; Lea, R.; Leardini, L.; Lee, S.; Lehas, F.; Lehner, S.; Lehrbach, J.; Lemmon, R. C.; Lenti, V.; Leogrande, E.; León Monzón, I.; Lévai, P.; Li, S.; Li, X.; Lien, J.; Lietava, R.; Lim, B.; Lindal, S.; Lindenstruth, V.; Lindsay, S. W.; Lippmann, C.; Lisa, M. A.; Litichevskyi, V.; Ljunggren, H. M.; Llope, W. J.; Lodato, D. F.; Loenne, P. I.; Loginov, V.; Loizides, C.; Loncar, P.; Lopez, X.; López Torres, E.; Lowe, A.; Luettig, P.; Lunardon, M.; Luparello, G.; Lupi, M.; Lutz, T. H.; Maevskaya, A.; Mager, M.; Mahajan, S.; Mahmood, S. M.; Maire, A.; Majka, R. D.; Malaev, M.; Malinina, L.; Mal'Kevich, D.; Malzacher, P.; Mamonov, A.; Manko, V.; Manso, F.; Manzari, V.; Mao, Y.; Marchisone, M.; Mareš, J.; Margagliotti, G. V.; Margotti, A.; Margutti, J.; Marín, A.; Markert, C.; Marquard, M.; Martin, N. A.; Martinengo, P.; Martinez, J. A. L.; Martínez, M. I.; Martínez García, G.; Martinez Pedreira, M.; Mas, A.; Masciocchi, S.; Masera, M.; Masoni, A.; Masson, E.; Mastroserio, A.; Mathis, A. M.; Matyja, A.; Mayer, C.; Mazer, J.; Mazzilli, M.; Mazzoni, M. A.; Meddi, F.; Melikyan, Y.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Meninno, E.; Mercado Pérez, J.; Meres, M.; Mhlanga, S.; Miake, Y.; Mieskolainen, M. M.; Mihaylov, D.; Mihaylov, D. L.; Mikhaylov, K.; Milano, L.; Milosevic, J.; Mischke, A.; Mishra, A. N.; Miśkowiec, D.; Mitra, J.; Mitu, C. M.; Mohammadi, N.; Mohanty, B.; Mohisin Khan, M.; Montes, E.; Moreira de Godoy, D. A.; Moreno, L. A. P.; Moretto, S.; Morreale, A.; Morsch, A.; Muccifora, V.; Mudnic, E.; Mühlheim, D.; Muhuri, S.; Mukherjee, M.; Mulligan, J. D.; Munhoz, M. G.; Münning, K.; Munzer, R. H.; Murakami, H.; Murray, S.; Musa, L.; Musinsky, J.; Myers, C. J.; Myrcha, J. W.; Naik, B.; Nair, R.; Nandi, B. K.; Nania, R.; Nappi, E.; Narayan, A.; Naru, M. U.; Natal da Luz, H.; Nattrass, C.; Navarro, S. R.; Nayak, K.; Nayak, R.; Nayak, T. K.; Nazarenko, S.; Nedosekin, A.; Negrao de Oliveira, R. A.; Nellen, L.; Nesbo, S. V.; Ng, F.; Nicassio, M.; Niculescu, M.; Niedziela, J.; Nielsen, B. S.; Nikolaev, S.; Nikulin, S.; Nikulin, V.; Nobuhiro, A.; Noferini, F.; Nomokonov, P.; Nooren, G.; Noris, J. C. C.; Norman, J.; Nyanin, A.; Nystrand, J.; Oeschler, H.; Oh, S.; Ohlson, A.; Okubo, T.; Olah, L.; Oleniacz, J.; Oliveira da Silva, A. C.; Oliver, M. H.; Onderwaater, J.; Oppedisano, C.; Orava, R.; Oravec, M.; Ortiz Velasquez, A.; Oskarsson, A.; Otwinowski, J.; Oyama, K.; Pachmayer, Y.; Pacik, V.; Pagano, D.; Pagano, P.; Paić, G.; Palni, P.; Pan, J.; Pandey, A. K.; Panebianco, S.; Papikyan, V.; Pappalardo, G. S.; Pareek, P.; Park, J.; Parmar, S.; Passfeld, A.; Pathak, S. P.; Paticchio, V.; Patra, R. N.; Paul, B.; Pei, H.; Peitzmann, T.; Peng, X.; Pereira, L. G.; Pereira da Costa, H.; Peresunko, D.; Perez Lezama, E.; Peskov, V.; Pestov, Y.; Petráček, V.; Petrov, V.; Petrovici, M.; Petta, C.; Pezzi, R. P.; Piano, S.; Pikna, M.; Pillot, P.; Pimentel, L. O. D. L.; Pinazza, O.; Pinsky, L.; Piyarathna, D. B.; Płoskoń, M.; Planinic, M.; Pliquett, F.; Pluta, J.; Pochybova, S.; Podesta-Lerma, P. L. M.; Poghosyan, M. G.; Polichtchouk, B.; Poljak, N.; Poonsawat, W.; Pop, A.; Poppenborg, H.; Porteboeuf-Houssais, S.; Porter, J.; Pozdniakov, V.; Prasad, S. K.; Preghenella, R.; Prino, F.; Pruneau, C. A.; Pshenichnov, I.; Puccio, M.; Puddu, G.; Pujahari, P.; Punin, V.; Putschke, J.; Rachevski, A.; Raha, S.; Rajput, S.; Rak, J.; Rakotozafindrabe, A.; Ramello, L.; Rami, F.; Rana, D. B.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Räsänen, S. S.; Rascanu, B. T.; Rathee, D.; Ratza, V.; Ravasenga, I.; Read, K. F.; Redlich, K.; Rehman, A.; Reichelt, P.; Reidt, F.; Ren, X.; Renfordt, R.; Reolon, A. R.; Reshetin, A.; Reygers, K.; Riabov, V.; Ricci, R. A.; Richert, T.; Richter, M.; Riedler, P.; Riegler, W.; Riggi, F.; Ristea, C.; Rodríguez Cahuantzi, M.; Røed, K.; Rogochaya, E.; Rohr, D.; Röhrich, D.; Rokita, P. S.; Ronchetti, F.; Rosas, E. D.; Rosnet, P.; Rossi, A.; Rotondi, A.; Roukoutakis, F.; Roy, A.; Roy, C.; Roy, P.; Rubio Montero, A. J.; Rueda, O. V.; Rui, R.; Russo, R.; Rustamov, A.; Ryabinkin, E.; Ryabov, Y.; Rybicki, A.; Saarinen, S.; Sadhu, S.; Sadovsky, S.; Šafařík, K.; Saha, S. K.; Sahlmuller, B.; Sahoo, B.; Sahoo, P.; Sahoo, R.; Sahoo, S.; Sahu, P. K.; Saini, J.; Sakai, S.; Saleh, M. A.; Salzwedel, J.; Sambyal, S.; Samsonov, V.; Sandoval, A.; Sarkar, D.; Sarkar, N.; Sarma, P.; Sas, M. H. P.; Scapparone, E.; Scarlassara, F.; Scharenberg, R. P.; Scheid, H. S.; Schiaua, C.; Schicker, R.; Schmidt, C.; Schmidt, H. R.; Schmidt, M. O.; Schmidt, M.; Schuchmann, S.; Schukraft, J.; Schutz, Y.; Schwarz, K.; Schweda, K.; Scioli, G.; Scomparin, E.; Scott, R.; Šefčík, M.; Seger, J. E.; Sekiguchi, Y.; Sekihata, D.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Senosi, K.; Senyukov, S.; Serradilla, E.; Sett, P.; Sevcenco, A.; Shabanov, A.; Shabetai, A.; Shahoyan, R.; Shaikh, W.; Shangaraev, A.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, M.; Sharma, M.; Sharma, N.; Sheikh, A. I.; Shigaki, K.; Shou, Q.; Shtejer, K.; Sibiriak, Y.; Siddhanta, S.; Sielewicz, K. M.; Siemiarczuk, T.; Silvermyr, D.; Silvestre, C.; Simatovic, G.; Simonetti, G.; Singaraju, R.; Singh, R.; Singhal, V.; Sinha, T.; Sitar, B.; Sitta, M.; Skaali, T. B.; Slupecki, M.; Smirnov, N.; Snellings, R. J. M.; Snellman, T. W.; Song, J.; Song, M.; Soramel, F.; Sorensen, S.; Sozzi, F.; Spiriti, E.; Sputowska, I.; Srivastava, B. K.; Stachel, J.; Stan, I.; Stankus, P.; Stenlund, E.; Stocco, D.; Strmen, P.; Suaide, A. A. P.; Sugitate, T.; Suire, C.; Suleymanov, M.; Suljic, M.; Sultanov, R.; Šumbera, M.; Sumowidagdo, S.; Suzuki, K.; Swain, S.; Szabo, A.; Szarka, I.; Szczepankiewicz, A.; Tabassam, U.; Takahashi, J.; Tambave, G. J.; Tanaka, N.; Tarhini, M.; Tariq, M.; Tarzila, M. G.; Tauro, A.; Tejeda Muñoz, G.; Telesca, A.; Terasaki, K.; Terrevoli, C.; Teyssier, B.; Thakur, D.; Thakur, S.; Thomas, D.; Tieulent, R.; Tikhonov, A.; Timmins, A. R.; Toia, A.; Tripathy, S.; Trogolo, S.; Trombetta, G.; Tropp, L.; Trubnikov, V.; Trzaska, W. H.; Trzeciak, B. A.; Tsuji, T.; Tumkin, A.; Turrisi, R.; Tveter, T. S.; Ullaland, K.; Umaka, E. N.; Uras, A.; Usai, G. L.; Utrobicic, A.; Vala, M.; van der Maarel, J.; van Hoorne, J. W.; van Leeuwen, M.; Vanat, T.; Vande Vyvre, P.; Varga, D.; Vargas, A.; Vargyas, M.; Varma, R.; Vasileiou, M.; Vasiliev, A.; Vauthier, A.; Vázquez Doce, O.; Vechernin, V.; Veen, A. M.; Velure, A.; Vercellin, E.; Vergara Limón, S.; Vernet, R.; Vértesi, R.; Vickovic, L.; Vigolo, S.; Viinikainen, J.; Vilakazi, Z.; Villalobos Baillie, O.; Villatoro Tello, A.; Vinogradov, A.; Vinogradov, L.; Virgili, T.; Vislavicius, V.; Vodopyanov, A.; Völkl, M. A.; Voloshin, K.; Voloshin, S. A.; Volpe, G.; von Haller, B.; Vorobyev, I.; Voscek, D.; Vranic, D.; Vrláková, J.; Wagner, B.; Wagner, J.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Watanabe, D.; Watanabe, Y.; Weber, M.; Weber, S. G.; Weiser, D. F.; Wenzel, S. C.; Wessels, J. P.; Westerhoff, U.; Whitehead, A. M.; Wiechula, J.; Wikne, J.; Wilk, G.; Wilkinson, J.; Willems, G. A.; Williams, M. C. S.; Willsher, E.; Windelband, B.; Witt, W. E.; Yalcin, S.; Yamakawa, K.; Yang, P.; Yano, S.; Yin, Z.; Yokoyama, H.; Yoo, I.-K.; Yoon, J. H.; Yurchenko, V.; Zaccolo, V.; Zaman, A.; Zampolli, C.; Zanoli, H. J. C.; Zardoshti, N.; Zarochentsev, A.; Závada, P.; Zaviyalov, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zhalov, M.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, C.; Zhigareva, N.; Zhou, D.; Zhou, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhu, X.; Zichichi, A.; Zimmermann, A.; Zimmermann, M. B.; Zinovjev, G.; Zmeskal, J.; Zou, S.; Alice Collaboration

2017-10-01

The second and the third order anisotropic flow, V2 and V3, are mostly determined by the corresponding initial spatial anisotropy coefficients, ε2 and ε3, in the initial density distribution. In addition to their dependence on the same order initial anisotropy coefficient, higher order anisotropic flow, Vn (n > 3), can also have a significant contribution from lower order initial anisotropy coefficients, which leads to mode-coupling effects. In this Letter we investigate the linear and non-linear modes in higher order anisotropic flow Vn for n = 4, 5, 6 with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are done for particles in the pseudorapidity range | η | < 0.8 and the transverse momentum range 0.2

Linear and non-linear flow mode in Pb–Pb collisions at s NN = 2.76  TeV

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

Acharya, S.; Adamová, D.; Adolfsson, J.

The second and the third order anisotropic flow, V 2 and V 3, are mostly determined by the corresponding initial spatial anisotropy coefficients, and , in the initial density distribution. In addition to their dependence on the same order initial anisotropy coefficient, higher order anisotropic flow, V n (n > 3), can also have a significant contribution from lower order initial anisotropy coefficients, which leads to mode-coupling effects. In this Letter we investigate the linear and non-linear modes in higher order anisotropic flow V n for n = 4, 5, 6 with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider.more » The measurements are done for particles in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0.8 and the transverse momentum range 0.2 < p T < 5.0 GeV/c as a function of collision centrality. The results are compared with theoretical calculations and provide important constraints on the initial conditions, including initial spatial geometry and its fluctuations, as well as the ratio of the shear viscosity to entropy density of the produced system.« less

Linear and non-linear flow mode in Pb–Pb collisions at s NN = 2.76  TeV

DOE PAGES

Acharya, S.; Adamová, D.; Adolfsson, J.; ...

2017-08-04

The second and the third order anisotropic flow, V 2 and V 3, are mostly determined by the corresponding initial spatial anisotropy coefficients, and , in the initial density distribution. In addition to their dependence on the same order initial anisotropy coefficient, higher order anisotropic flow, V n (n > 3), can also have a significant contribution from lower order initial anisotropy coefficients, which leads to mode-coupling effects. In this Letter we investigate the linear and non-linear modes in higher order anisotropic flow V n for n = 4, 5, 6 with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider.more » The measurements are done for particles in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 0.8 and the transverse momentum range 0.2 < p T < 5.0 GeV/c as a function of collision centrality. The results are compared with theoretical calculations and provide important constraints on the initial conditions, including initial spatial geometry and its fluctuations, as well as the ratio of the shear viscosity to entropy density of the produced system.« less

Effects of Bi Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Ag Coatings.

PubMed

Wang, Yuxin; Cheng, Guang; Tay, See Leng; Guo, Yunxia; Sun, Xin; Gao, Wei

2017-08-10

In this study we investigated the effects of Bi addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ag coating. Microstructural features were investigated with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the addition of Bi introduced nanometer-scale Ag-Bi solid solution particles and more internal defects to the initial Ag microstructures. The anisotropic elastic-plastic properties of the Ag nanocrystalline coating with and without Bi addition were examined with nanoindentation experiments in conjunction with the recently-developed inverse method. The results indicate that the as-deposited nanocrystalline Ag coating contained high mechanical anisotropy. With the addition of 1 atomic percent (at%) Bi, the anisotropy within Ag-Bi coating was very small, and yield strength of the nanocrystalline Ag-Bi alloy in both longitudinal and transverse directions were improved by over 100% compared to that of Ag. On the other hand, the strain-hardening exponent of Ag-Bi was reduced to 0.055 from the original 0.16 of the Ag coating. Furthermore, the addition of Bi only slightly increased the electrical resistivity of the Ag-Bi coating in comparison to Ag. Results of our study indicate that Bi addition is a promising method for improving the mechanical and physical performances of Ag coating for electrical contacts.

Mechanistic Study of Nickel-Catalyzed Ynal Reductive Cyclizations Through Kinetic Analysis

PubMed Central

Baxter, Ryan D.; Montgomery, John

2011-01-01

The mechanism of nickel-catalyzed, silane-mediated reductive cyclization of ynals has been evaluated. The cyclizations are first-order in [Ni] and [ynal] and zeroth-order in [silane]. These results, in combination with the lack of rapid silane consumption upon reaction initiation are inconsistent with mechanisms involving reaction initiation by oxidative addition of Ni(0) to the silane. Silane consumption occurs only when both the alkyne and aldehyde and are present. Mechanisms involving rate-determining oxidative cyclization to a metallacycle followed by rapid reaction with the silane are consistent with the data obtained. PMID:21438642

Recording pressure ulcer risk assessment and incidence.

PubMed

Plaskitt, Anne; Heywood, Nicola; Arrowsmith, Michaela

2015-07-15

This article reports on the introduction of an innovative computer-based system developed to record and report pressure ulcer risk and incidence at an acute NHS trust. The system was introduced to ensure that all patients have an early pressure ulcer risk assessment, which prompts staff to initiate appropriate management if a pressure ulcer is detected, thereby preventing further patient harm. Initial findings suggest that this electronic process has helped to improve the timeliness and accuracy of data on pressure ulcer risk and incidence. In addition, it has resulted in a reduced number of reported hospital-acquired pressure ulcers.

Non-equilibrium scale invariance and shortcuts to adiabaticity in a one-dimensional Bose gas

PubMed Central

Rohringer, W.; Fischer, D.; Steiner, F.; Mazets, I. E.; Schmiedmayer, J.; Trupke, M.

2015-01-01

We present experimental evidence for scale invariant behaviour of the excitation spectrum in phase-fluctuating quasi-1d Bose gases after a rapid change of the external trapping potential. Probing density correlations in free expansion, we find that the temperature of an initial thermal state scales with the spatial extension of the cloud as predicted by a model based on adiabatic rescaling of initial eigenmodes with conserved quasiparticle occupation numbers. Based on this result, we demonstrate that shortcuts to adiabaticity for the rapid expansion or compression of the gas do not induce additional heating. PMID:25867640

Impact of multiple-dose versus single-dose inhaler devices on COPD patients’ persistence with long-acting β2-agonists: a dispensing database analysis

PubMed Central

van Boven, Job FM; van Raaij, Joost J; van der Galiën, Ruben; Postma, Maarten J; van der Molen, Thys; Dekhuijzen, PN Richard; Vegter, Stefan

2014-01-01

Background: With a growing availability of different devices and types of medication, additional evidence is required to assist clinicians in prescribing the optimal medication in relation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients’ persistence with long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs). Aims: To assess the impact of the type of inhaler device (multiple-dose versus single-dose inhalers) on 1-year persistence and switching patterns with LABAs. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was performed comparing a cohort of patients initiating multiple-dose inhalers and a cohort initiating single-dose inhalers. The study population consisted of long-acting bronchodilator naive COPD patients, initiating inhalation therapy with mono-LABAs (formoterol, indacaterol or salmeterol). Analyses were performed using pharmacy dispensing data from 1994 to 2012, obtained from the IADB.nl database. Study outcomes were 1-year persistence and switching patterns. Results were adjusted for initial prescriber, initial medication, dosing regimen and relevant comorbidities. Results: In all, 575 patients initiating LABAs were included in the final study cohort. Among them, 475 (83%) initiated a multiple-dose inhaler and 100 (17%) a single-dose inhaler. Further, 269 (47%) initiated formoterol, 9 (2%) indacaterol and 297 (52%) salmeterol. There was no significant difference in persistence between users of multiple-dose or single-dose inhalers (hazard ratio: 0.98, 95% confidence interval: 0.76–1.26, P=0.99). Over 80% re-started or switched medication. Conclusions: There seems no impact of inhaler device (multiple-dose versus single-dose inhalers) on COPD patients’ persistence with LABAs. Over 80% of patients who initially seemed to discontinue LABAs, re-started their initial medication or switched inhalers or medication within 1 year. PMID:25274453

Summary of Booster Development and Qualification Report

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

Francois, Elizabeth G.; Harry, Herbert H.; Hartline, Ernest L.

2012-06-21

This report outlines booster development work done at Los Alamos National Laboratory from 2007 to present. The booster is a critical link in the initiation train of explosive assemblies, from complex devices like nuclear weapons to conventional munitions. The booster bridges the gap from a small, relatively sensitive detonator to an insensitive, but massive, main charge. The movement throughout the explosives development community is to use more and more insensitive explosive components. With that, more energy is needed out of the booster. It has to initiate reliably, promptly, powerfully and safely. This report is divided into four sections. The firstmore » provides a summary of a collaborative effort between LANL, LLNL, and AWE to identify candidate materials and uniformly develop a testing plan for new boosters. Important parameters and the tests required to measure them were defined. The nature of the collaboration and the specific goals of the participating partners has changed over time, but the booster development plan stands on its own merit as a complete description of the test protocol necessary to compare and qualify booster materials, and is discussed in its entirety in this report. The second section describes a project, which began in 2009 with the Department of Defense to develop replacement booster formulations for PBXN-7. Replacement of PBXN-7 was necessary because it contained Triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB), which was becoming unavailable to the DoD and because it contained Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), which was sensitive and toxic. A LANL-developed explosive, Diaminoazoxyfurazan (DAAF), was an important candidate. This project required any replacement formulation be a drop-in replacement in existing munitions. This project was timely, in that it made use of the collaborative booster development project, and had the additional constraint of matching shock sensitivity. Additionally it needed to be a safety improvement, and a performance improvement, especially at cold temperatures. The requirements of this project necessitated novel test development and a different approach to ranking booster qualities. Results of this project have been documented to the DoD and the relevant portions are included within. The third section of this booster report outlines testing related to main charge initiation merit. Initiability can be evaluated by looking at critical diameter, run distance, and shock sensitivity. Once a booster is initiated, it needs to be powerful enough to initiate the main charge symmetrically and evenly. Main charge initiability is evaluated directly by observing detonation wave symmetry, curvature, and first break out over the surface of a charge. Furthermore it must be insensitive to accidents and insults, and safe and reliable across a range of temperatures. These effects, tests, and results will be discussed individually in the context of DAAF and other explosives similarly tested. The last section provides a conclusion and summary of our experimental work and recommendations for the path forward. References and additional supporting documentation and results are provided in the appendices at the end of this report.« less

Two-actor conflict with time delay: A dynamical model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qubbaj, Murad R.; Muneepeerakul, Rachata

2012-11-01

Recent mathematical dynamical models of the conflict between two different actors, be they nations, groups, or individuals, have been developed that are capable of predicting various outcomes depending on the chosen feedback strategies, initial conditions, and the previous states of the actors. In addition to these factors, this paper examines the effect of time delayed feedback on the conflict dynamics. Our analysis shows that under certain initial and feedback conditions, a stable neutral equilibrium of conflict may destabilize for some critical values of time delay, and the two actors may evolve to new emotional states. We investigate the results by constructing critical delay surfaces for different sets of parameters and analyzing results from numerical simulations. These results provide new insights regarding conflict and conflict resolution and may help planners in adjusting and assessing their strategic decisions.

Cyclization Cascades Initiated by 1,6-Conjugate Addition

PubMed Central

Brooks, Joshua L.; Frontier, Alison J.

2012-01-01

Dienyl diketones containing tethered acetates selectively undergo two different 1,6-conjugate addition-initiated cyclization cascades. One is a 1,6-conjugate addition/cyclization sequence with incorporation of the nucleophile, and the other is catalyzed by DABCO and is thought to proceed via a cyclic acetoxonium intermediate. The reaction behavior of substrates lacking the tethered acetate was also studied. The scope of both types of cyclization cascades, the role of the amine additive, and the factors controlling reactivity and selectivity in the two different reaction pathways is discussed. PMID:23004564

[Shift the skin paddle in an additional incision improves the result: Study of a series of 82 breast reconstructions by latissimus dorsi flap and prosthesis implantation at 10 years].

PubMed

Chiriac, S; Dissaux, C; Bruant-Rodier, C; Djerada, Z; Bodin, F; François, C

2017-06-01

The position of the skin paddle on the breast area is a fundamental element for the breast reconstructions by latissimus dorsi flap and prosthesis implantation. Should, as Millard advocated, to recreate the initial defect and include it in the mastectomy scar or is it better in an additional incision as have others authors. This study compares the long-term morphological results of these two attitudes, with or without additional incision. Eighty-two breast reconstructions by latissimus dorsi flap and prosthesis implantation, with a mean follow-up of 9.5 years were scored from 1 to 5 by a panel of expert and non-expert. The patients scored also their own reconstruction. Various parameters of the reconstructed breast were thus evaluated. We compared the results, according to the positioning of the skin paddle: with additional incision (50 cases); without additional incision (32 cases). The characteristics of the mastectomy scar on the breast area, high or low, horizontal or oblique, defined 6 groups where the results of the 2 surgical options were compared. Only the reconstructions with additional incision get significantly higher results than those without additional incision (P<0.05). This involves the two panels, in the case of high mastectomy scars. In the others cases the additional incision is not essential. If the realization of an additional incision can be perceived like misfit on an area already "mutilated", we plead for this solution in selected cases. This provides a benefit stable in time, in terms of overall results, shape and even rendering scar. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Straightforward hit identification approach in fragment-based discovery of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) inhibitors.

PubMed

Borysko, Petro; Moroz, Yurii S; Vasylchenko, Oleksandr V; Hurmach, Vasyl V; Starodubtseva, Anastasia; Stefanishena, Natalia; Nesteruk, Kateryna; Zozulya, Sergey; Kondratov, Ivan S; Grygorenko, Oleksandr O

2018-05-09

A combination approach of a fragment screening and "SAR by catalog" was used for the discovery of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) inhibitors. Initial screening of 3695-fragment library against bromodomain 1 of BRD4 using thermal shift assay (TSA), followed by initial hit validation, resulted in 73 fragment hits, which were used to construct a follow-up library selected from available screening collection. Additionally, analogs of inactive fragments, as well as a set of randomly selected compounds were also prepared (3 × 3200 compounds in total). Screening of the resulting sets using TSA, followed by re-testing at several concentrations, counter-screen, and TR-FRET assay resulted in 18 confirmed hits. Compounds derived from the initial fragment set showed better hit rate as compared to the other two sets. Finally, building dose-response curves revealed three compounds with IC 50  = 1.9-7.4 μM. For these compounds, binding sites and conformations in the BRD4 (4UYD) have been determined by docking. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fatigue damage behavior of a surface-mount electronic package under different cyclic applied loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Huai-Hui; Wang, Xi-Shu

2014-04-01

This paper studies and compares the effects of pull-pull and 3-point bending cyclic loadings on the mechanical fatigue damage behaviors of a solder joint in a surface-mount electronic package. The comparisons are based on experimental investigations using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in-situ technology and nonlinear finite element modeling, respectively. The compared results indicate that there are different threshold levels of plastic strain for the initial damage of solder joints under two cyclic applied loads; meanwhile, fatigue crack initiation occurs at different locations, and the accumulation of equivalent plastic strain determines the trend and direction of fatigue crack propagation. In addition, simulation results of the fatigue damage process of solder joints considering a constitutive model of damage initiation criteria for ductile materials and damage evolution based on accumulating inelastic hysteresis energy are identical to the experimental results. The actual fatigue life of the solder joint is almost the same and demonstrates that the FE modeling used in this study can provide an accurate prediction of solder joint fatigue failure.

Experimental Evaluation of Fatigue Crack Initiation from Corroded Hemispherical Notches in Aerospace Structural Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garcia, Daniel B.; Forman, Royce; Shindo, David

2010-01-01

A test program was developed and executed to evaluate the influence of corroded hemispherical notches on the fatigue crack initiation and propagation in aluminum 7075-T7351, 4340 steel, and D6AC steel. Surface enhancements such as shot peening and laser shock peening were also incorporated as part of the test effort with the intent of improving fatigue performance. In addition to the testing, fracture mechanics and endurance limit based analysis methods were evaluated to characterize the results with the objective of challenging typical assumptions used in modeling fatigue cracks from corrosion pits. The results specifically demonstrate that the aluminum and steel alloys behave differently with respect to fatigue crack initiation from hemispherical corrosion pits. The aluminum test results were bounded by the fracture mechanics and endurance limit models while exhibiting a general insensitivity to the residual stress field generated by shot peening. The steel specimens were better characterized by the endurance limit fatigue properties and did exhibit sensitivities to residual stresses from the shot peening and laser shock peening

The effects of initial participation motivations on learning engagement in transition training for future general practitioners in rural China: perceived deterrents as mediator

PubMed Central

Cui, Guan-yu; Yao, Mei-lin; Zhang, Xia; Guo, Yan-kui; Li, Hui-min; Yao, Xiu-ping

2016-01-01

Background For the shortage of high-quality general practitioners (GPs) in China's rural areas, Chinese government has taken steps to encourage rural specialists to participate in transition training for future GPs. Specialists’ initial participation motivations and their perceived deterrents during training may play important roles for their learning engagement in the transition training. This study aimed at revealing the relationships among the variables of initial participation motivations, perceived deterrents in training, and learning engagement. Methods A questionnaire survey was used in this study. A total of 156 rural specialists who participated in transition training for future GPs filled out the questionnaire, which consisted of the measurements of initial participation motivations, perceived deterrents, and learning engagement in training. The data about specialists’ demographic variables were collected at the same time. Results The variance of initial escape/stimulations motivation significantly predicted the variance of learning engagement through the full mediating role of perceived deterrents in training. In addition, initial educational preparation motivations predicted the variance of learning engagement directly. Conclusions Specialists’ initial participation motivations and perceived deterrents in training played important roles for learning engagement in the transition training. PMID:27340086

Numerical Investigation of Desulfurization Kinetics in Gas-Stirred Ladles by a Quick Modeling Analysis Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Qing; Nastac, Laurentiu; Pitts-Baggett, April; Yu, Qiulin

2018-03-01

A quick modeling analysis approach for predicting the slag-steel reaction and desulfurization kinetics in argon gas-stirred ladles has been developed in this study. The model consists of two uncoupled components: (i) a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for predicting the fluid flow and the characteristics of slag-steel interface, and (ii) a multicomponent reaction kinetics model for calculating the desulfurization evolution. The steel-slag interfacial area and mass transfer coefficients predicted by the CFD simulation are used as the processing data for the reaction model. Since the desulfurization predictions are uncoupled from the CFD simulation, the computational time of this uncoupled predictive approach is decreased by at least 100 times for each case study when compared with the CFD-reaction kinetics fully coupled model. The uncoupled modeling approach was validated by comparing the evolution of steel and slag compositions with the experimentally measured data during ladle metallurgical furnace (LMF) processing at Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa, Inc. Then, the validated approach was applied to investigate the effects of the initial steel and slag compositions, as well as different types of additions during the refining process on the desulfurization efficiency. The results revealed that the sulfur distribution ratio and the desulfurization reaction can be promoted by making Al and CaO additions during the refining process. It was also shown that by increasing the initial Al content in liquid steel, both Al oxidation and desulfurization rates rapidly increase. In addition, it was found that the variation of the initial Si content in steel has no significant influence on the desulfurization rate. Lastly, if the initial CaO content in slag is increased or the initial Al2O3 content is decreased in the fluid-slag compositional range, the desulfurization rate can be improved significantly during the LMF process.

Oxygen evolution from olivine M n1 -xMxP O4 (M =Fe ,Ni,Al,Mg) delithiated cathode materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snydacker, David H.; Wolverton, C.

2017-01-01

Olivine LiMnP O4 is a promising cathode material for Li-ion batteries. One drawback of this material is the propensity of its delithiated phase, MnP O4 , to evolve oxygen gas above approximately 200 °C. During thermal runaway of cells, this oxygen gas can burn the electrolyte and other cell components and thereby jeopardize safety. Partial substitution of Mn with M =Fe , Ni, Al, or Mg has been used to improve the lithium intercalation kinetics of L ixMnP O4 ; however, the effect of these substitutions on oxygen evolution is not fully documented. In this paper, we calculate phase diagrams and oxygen evolution diagrams for these M n1 -xMxP O4 delithiated cathode materials. To generate the phase diagrams, we use subregular solid-solution models and fit the energetic parameters of these models to density functional theory calculations of special quasirandom structures. The resulting thermodynamic models describe the effect of mixing on the initial temperature of oxygen evolution and on the cumulative amount of oxygen evolution at elevated temperatures. We find that addition of Fe increases the initial temperature and decreases the cumulative amount of oxygen evolution. M n0.5F e0.5P O4 exhibits an initial temperature 50 °C higher than MnP O4 and releases 70% less oxygen gas at 300 °C. Al is insoluble in MnP O4 , so addition of Al has no affect on the initial temperature. However, Al addition does slightly decrease the amount of oxygen evolution due to an inactive AlP O4 component. Mg and Ni both decrease the initial temperature of oxygen evolution, and therefore may worsen the safety of MnP O4 .

Numerical Investigation of Desulfurization Kinetics in Gas-Stirred Ladles by a Quick Modeling Analysis Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Qing; Nastac, Laurentiu; Pitts-Baggett, April; Yu, Qiulin

2018-06-01

A quick modeling analysis approach for predicting the slag-steel reaction and desulfurization kinetics in argon gas-stirred ladles has been developed in this study. The model consists of two uncoupled components: (i) a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for predicting the fluid flow and the characteristics of slag-steel interface, and (ii) a multicomponent reaction kinetics model for calculating the desulfurization evolution. The steel-slag interfacial area and mass transfer coefficients predicted by the CFD simulation are used as the processing data for the reaction model. Since the desulfurization predictions are uncoupled from the CFD simulation, the computational time of this uncoupled predictive approach is decreased by at least 100 times for each case study when compared with the CFD-reaction kinetics fully coupled model. The uncoupled modeling approach was validated by comparing the evolution of steel and slag compositions with the experimentally measured data during ladle metallurgical furnace (LMF) processing at Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa, Inc. Then, the validated approach was applied to investigate the effects of the initial steel and slag compositions, as well as different types of additions during the refining process on the desulfurization efficiency. The results revealed that the sulfur distribution ratio and the desulfurization reaction can be promoted by making Al and CaO additions during the refining process. It was also shown that by increasing the initial Al content in liquid steel, both Al oxidation and desulfurization rates rapidly increase. In addition, it was found that the variation of the initial Si content in steel has no significant influence on the desulfurization rate. Lastly, if the initial CaO content in slag is increased or the initial Al2O3 content is decreased in the fluid-slag compositional range, the desulfurization rate can be improved significantly during the LMF process.

Advanced electric propulsion research, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monheiser, Jeffery M.

1992-01-01

A simple model for the production of ions that impinge on and sputter erode the accelerator grid of an ion thruster is presented. Charge-exchange and electron-impact ion production processes are considered, but initial experimental results suggest the charge-exchange process dominates. Additional experimental results show the effects of changes in thruster operating conditions on the length of the region from which these ions are drawn upstream into the grid. Results which show erosion patterns and indicate molybdenum accelerator grids erode more rapidly than graphite ones are also presented.

Driven neutron star collapse: Type I critical phenomena and the initial black hole mass distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noble, Scott C.; Choptuik, Matthew W.

2016-01-01

We study the general relativistic collapse of neutron star (NS) models in spherical symmetry. Our initially stable models are driven to collapse by the addition of one of two things: an initially ingoing velocity profile, or a shell of minimally coupled, massless scalar field that falls onto the star. Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) solutions with an initially isentropic, gamma-law equation of state serve as our NS models. The initial values of the velocity profile's amplitude and the star's central density span a parameter space which we have surveyed extensively and which we find provides a rich picture of the possible end states of NS collapse. This parameter space survey elucidates the boundary between Type I and Type II critical behavior in perfect fluids which coincides, on the subcritical side, with the boundary between dispersed and bound end states. For our particular model, initial velocity amplitudes greater than 0.3 c are needed to probe the regime where arbitrarily small black holes can form. In addition, we investigate Type I behavior in our system by varying the initial amplitude of the initially imploding scalar field. In this case we find that the Type I critical solutions resemble TOV solutions on the 1-mode unstable branch of equilibrium solutions, and that the critical solutions' frequencies agree well with the fundamental mode frequencies of the unstable equilibria. Additionally, the critical solution's scaling exponent is shown to be well approximated by a linear function of the initial star's central density.

The OH-initiated atmospheric chemical reactions of polyfluorinated dibenzofurans and polychlorinated dibenzofurans: A comparative theoretical study.

PubMed

Zeng, Xiaolan; Chen, Jing; Qu, Ruijuan; Pan, Xiaoxue; Wang, Zunyao

2017-02-01

The atmospheric chemical reactions of some polyfluorinated dibenzofurans (PFDFs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), initiated by OH radical, were investigated by performing theoretical calculations using density functional theory (DFT) and B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,p) method. The obtained results indicate that OH addition reactions of PFDFs and PCDFs occurring at C 1∼4 and C A sites are thermodynamic spontaneous changes and the branching ratio of the PF(C)DF-OH adducts is decided primarily by kinetic factor. The OH addition reactions of PFDFs taking place at fluorinated C 1∼4 positions are kinetically comparable with those occurring at nonfluorinated C 1∼4 positions, while OH addition reactions of PCDFs occurring at chlorinated C 1∼4 sites are negligible. The total rate constants of the addition reactions of PFDFs or PCDFs become smaller with consecutive fluorination or chlorination, and substituting at C 1 position has more adverse effects than substitution at other sites. The succedent O 2 addition reactions of PF(C)DF-OH adducts are thermodynamic nonspontaneous processes under the atmospheric conditions, and have high Gibbs free energies of activation (Δ r G ≠ ). The substituted dibenzofuranols are the primary oxidation products for PCDFs under the atmospheric conditions. However, other oxidative products may also be available for PFDFs besides substituted dibenzofuranols. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DNA immobilization and detection on cellulose paper using a surface grown cationic polymer via ATRP.

PubMed

Aied, Ahmed; Zheng, Yu; Pandit, Abhay; Wang, Wenxin

2012-02-01

Cationic polymers with various structures have been widely investigated in the areas of medical diagnostics and molecular biology because of their unique binding properties and capability to interact with biological molecules in complex biological environments. In this work, we report the grafting of a linear cationic polymer from an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator bound to cellulose paper surface. We show successful binding of ATRP initiator onto cellulose paper and grafting of polymer chains from the immobilized initiator with ATRP. The cellulose paper grafted polymer was used in combination with PicoGreen (PG) to demonstrate detection of nucleic acids in the nanogram range in homogeneous solution and in a biological sample (serum). The results showed specific identification of hybridized DNA after addition of PG in both solutions.

On the conditions for nonlinear growth in magnetospheric chorus and triggered emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gołkowski, Mark; Gibby, Andrew R.

2017-09-01

The nonlinear whistler mode instability associated with magnetospheric chorus and VLF triggered emissions continues to be poorly understood. Following up on formulations of other authors, an analytical exploration of the stability of the phenomenon from a new vantage point is given. This exploration derives an additional requirement on the anisotropy of the energetic electron distribution relative to the linear treatment of the instability, and shows that the nonlinear instability is most favorable to increasing growth rate when electrons become initially trapped in the wave potential of a constant frequency wave. These results imply that the initiation of the nonlinear instability at the equator requires a positive frequency sweep rate, while the initiation of the instability by a constant frequency triggering wave must occur at a location downstream of the geomagnetic equator.

Fast and slow coherent cascades in anti-de Sitter spacetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitrakopoulos, Fotios V.; Freivogel, Ben; Pedraza, Juan F.

2018-06-01

We study the phase and amplitude dynamics of small perturbations in 3  +  1 dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime using the truncated resonant approximation, also known as the two time framework. We analyse the phase spectrum for different classes of initial data and find that higher frequency modes turn on with coherently aligned phases. Combining numerical and analytical results, we conjecture that there is a class of initial conditions that collapse in infinite slow time and to which the well-studied case of the two-mode, equal energy initial data belongs. We additionally study perturbations that collapse in finite time, and find that the energy spectrum approaches a power law, with the energy per mode scaling approximately as the inverse first power of the frequency.

Convective thinning of the lithosphere - A mechanism for the initiation of continental rifting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spohn, T.; Schubert, G.

1982-01-01

A model of lithospheric thinning, in which heat is convected to the base and conducted within the lithosphere, is presented. An analytical equation for determinining the amount of thinning attainable on increasing the heat flux from the asthenosphere is derived, and a formula for lithosphere thickness approximations as a function of time is given. Initial and final equilibrium thicknesses, thermal diffusivity, transition temperature profile, and plume temperature profile are all factors considered for performing rate of thinning determinations. In addition, between initial and final equilibrium states, lithospheric thinning occurs at a rate which is inversely proportional to the square root of the time. Finally, uplift resulting from thermal expansion upon lithospheric thinning is on the order of 10 to the 2nd to 10 to the 3rd m.

Altitude transitions in energy climbs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weston, A. R.; Cliff, E. M.; Kelley, H. J.

1982-01-01

The aircraft energy-climb trajectory for configurations with a sharp transonic drag rise is well known to possess two branches in the altitude/Mach-number plane. Transition in altitude between the two branches occurs instantaneously, a 'corner' in the minimum-time solution obtained with the energy-state model. If the initial and final values of altitude do not lie on the energy-climb trajectory, then additional jumps (crude approximations to dives and zooms) are required at the initial and terminal points. With a singular-perturbation approach, a 'boundary-layer' correction is obtained for each altitude jump, the transonic jump being a so-called 'internal' boundary layer, different in character from the initial and terminal layers. The determination of this internal boundary layer is examined and some computational results for an example presented.

Initiating Event Analysis of a Lithium Fluoride Thorium Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geraci, Nicholas Charles

The primary purpose of this study is to perform an Initiating Event Analysis for a Lithium Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) as the first step of a Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). The major objective of the research is to compile a list of key initiating events capable of resulting in failure of safety systems and release of radioactive material from the LFTR. Due to the complex interactions between engineering design, component reliability and human reliability, probabilistic safety assessments are most useful when the scope is limited to a single reactor plant. Thus, this thesis will study the LFTR design proposed by Flibe Energy. An October 2015 Electric Power Research Institute report on the Flibe Energy LFTR asked "what-if?" questions of subject matter experts and compiled a list of key hazards with the most significant consequences to the safety or integrity of the LFTR. The potential exists for unforeseen hazards to pose additional risk for the LFTR, but the scope of this thesis is limited to evaluation of those key hazards already identified by Flibe Energy. These key hazards are the starting point for the Initiating Event Analysis performed in this thesis. Engineering evaluation and technical study of the plant using a literature review and comparison to reference technology revealed four hazards with high potential to cause reactor core damage. To determine the initiating events resulting in realization of these four hazards, reference was made to previous PSAs and existing NRC and EPRI initiating event lists. Finally, fault tree and event tree analyses were conducted, completing the logical classification of initiating events. Results are qualitative as opposed to quantitative due to the early stages of system design descriptions and lack of operating experience or data for the LFTR. In summary, this thesis analyzes initiating events using previous research and inductive and deductive reasoning through traditional risk management techniques to arrive at a list of key initiating events that can be used to address vulnerabilities during the design phases of LFTR development.

Article and method for making an article

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

Lacy, Benjamin Paul; Schick, David Edward; Kottilingam, Srikanth Chandrudu

An article and a method for making shaped cooling holes in an article are provided. The method includes the steps of providing a metal alloy powder; forming an initial layer with the metal alloy powder, the initial layer having a preselected thickness and a preselected shape, the preselected shape including at least one aperture; sequentially forming an additional layer over the initial layer with the metal alloy powder, the additional layer having a second preselected thickness and a second preselected shape, the second preselected shape including at least one aperture corresponding to the at least one aperture in the initialmore » layer; and joining the additional layer to the initial layer, forming a structure having a predetermined thickness, a predetermined shape, and at least one aperture having a predetermined profile. The structure is attached to a substrate to make the article.« less

Papaya Seeds as A Low-Cost Sorbent for Removing Cr(VI) from The Aqueous Solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmawati, Atik; Marwoto, Putut; Karunia Z, Anita

2016-08-01

The presence of chromium (VI) contaminants and their toxicity in aqueous streams important environmental problems. Adsorption is one of the effective techniques that can be used for removing metal from wastewater. This research was initiated by preparing sorbent from papaya seeds and determining its functional group contents by using FT-IR. The adsorption process was carried out in a batch method. The study of adsorption aspects involved the pH, initial Cr (VI) concentration and contact time between Cr (VI) and sorbent. FT IR analysis results showed that the main functional groups are carbonyl, hydroxyl, and carboxylic. It was also found that the effective pH for Cr (VI) uptake is 2.0 and increasing contact time would increase the Cr (VI) uptake. In addition, the equilibrium was reached after 40 minutes interaction and the increase of initial chromium (VI) concentration would increase the sorbent uptake percentage. All these results indicated that papaya seed is a potential sorbent for removing Cr (VI) from aqueous solutions.

Early Time Dynamics of Gluon Fields in High Energy Nuclear Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapusta, Joseph I.; Chen, Guangyao; Fries, Rainer J.; Li, Yang

2016-12-01

Nuclei colliding at very high energy create a strong, quasi-classical gluon field during the initial phase of their interaction. We present an analytic calculation of the initial space-time evolution of this field in the limit of very high energies using a formal recursive solution of the Yang-Mills equations. We provide analytic expressions for the initial chromo-electric and chromo-magnetic fields and for their energy-momentum tensor. In particular, we discuss event-averaged results for energy density and energy flow as well as for longitudinal and transverse pressure of this system. Our results are generally applicable if τ < 1 /Qs. The transverse energy flow of the gluon field exhibits hydrodynamic-like contributions that follow transverse gradients of the energy density. In addition, a rapidity-odd energy flow also emerges from the non-abelian analog of Gauss' Law and generates non-vanishing angular momentum of the field. We will discuss the space-time picture that emerges from our analysis and its implications for observables in heavy ion collisions.

Rap Phosphatase of Virulence Plasmid pXO1 Inhibits Bacillus anthracis Sporulation†

PubMed Central

Bongiorni, Cristina; Stoessel, Ricarda; Shoemaker, Dorinda; Perego, Marta

2006-01-01

This study shows that the Bacillus anthracis pXO1 virulence plasmid carries a Rap-Phr system, BXA0205, which regulates sporulation initiation in this organism. The BXA0205Rap protein was shown to dephosphorylate the Spo0F response regulator intermediate of the phosphorelay signal transduction system that regulates the initiation of the developmental pathway in response to environmental, metabolic, and cell cycle signals. The activity of the Rap protein was shown to be inhibited by the carboxy-terminal pentapeptide generated through an export-import processing pathway from the associated BXA0205Phr protein. Deregulation of the Rap activity by either overexpression or lack of the Phr pentapeptide resulted in severe inhibition of sporulation. Five additional Rap-Phr encoding systems were identified on the chromosome of B. anthracis, one of which, BA3790-3791, also affected sporulation initiation. The results suggest that the plasmid-borne Rap-Phr system may provide a selective advantage to the virulence of B. anthracis. PMID:16385039

Rap phosphatase of virulence plasmid pXO1 inhibits Bacillus anthracis sporulation.

PubMed

Bongiorni, Cristina; Stoessel, Ricarda; Shoemaker, Dorinda; Perego, Marta

2006-01-01

This study shows that the Bacillus anthracis pXO1 virulence plasmid carries a Rap-Phr system, BXA0205, which regulates sporulation initiation in this organism. The BXA0205Rap protein was shown to dephosphorylate the Spo0F response regulator intermediate of the phosphorelay signal transduction system that regulates the initiation of the developmental pathway in response to environmental, metabolic, and cell cycle signals. The activity of the Rap protein was shown to be inhibited by the carboxy-terminal pentapeptide generated through an export-import processing pathway from the associated BXA0205Phr protein. Deregulation of the Rap activity by either overexpression or lack of the Phr pentapeptide resulted in severe inhibition of sporulation. Five additional Rap-Phr encoding systems were identified on the chromosome of B. anthracis, one of which, BA3790-3791, also affected sporulation initiation. The results suggest that the plasmid-borne Rap-Phr system may provide a selective advantage to the virulence of B. anthracis.

Temporal Control of Gelation and Polymerization Fronts Driven by an Autocatalytic Enzyme Reaction.

PubMed

Jee, Elizabeth; Bánsági, Tamás; Taylor, Annette F; Pojman, John A

2016-02-05

Chemical systems that remain kinetically dormant until activated have numerous applications in materials science. Herein we present a method for the control of gelation that exploits an inbuilt switch: the increase in pH after an induction period in the urease-catalyzed hydrolysis of urea was used to trigger the base-catalyzed Michael addition of a water-soluble trithiol to a polyethylene glycol diacrylate. The time to gelation (minutes to hours) was either preset through the initial concentrations or the reaction was initiated locally by a base, thus resulting in polymerization fronts that converted the mixture from a liquid into a gel (ca. 0.1 mm min -1 ). The rate of hydrolytic degradation of the hydrogel depended on the initial concentrations, thus resulting in a gel lifetime of hours to months. In this way, temporal programming of gelation was possible under mild conditions by using the output of an autocatalytic enzyme reaction to drive both the polymerization and subsequent degradation of a hydrogel.

A study of the tyramine/glucose Maillard reaction: Variables, characterization, cytotoxicity and preliminary application.

PubMed

Jiang, Wei; Chen, Yaxin; He, Xiaoxia; Hu, Shiwei; Li, Shijie; Liu, Yu

2018-01-15

The tyramine/glucose Maillard reaction was proposed as an emerging tool for tyramine reduction in a model system and two commercial soy sauce samples. The model system was composed of tyramine and glucose in buffer solutions with or without NaCl. The results showed that tyramine was reduced in the model system, and the reduction rate was affected by temperature, heating time, initial pH value, NaCl concentration, initial glucose concentration and initial tyramine concentration. Changes in fluorescence intensity and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra showed three stages of the Maillard reaction between tyramine and glucose. Cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that tyramine/glucose Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were significantly less toxic than that of tyramine (p<0.05). Moreover, tyramine concentration in soy sauce samples was significantly reduced when heated with the addition of glucose (p<0.05). Experimental results showed that the tyramine/glucose Maillard reaction is a promising method for tyramine reduction in foods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Integrated Care Initiative to Improve Patient Outcome in Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Mayer-Amberg, Norbert; Woltmann, Rainer; Walther, Stefanie

2015-01-01

The optimal treatment of schizophrenia patients requires integration of medical and psychosocial inputs. In Germany, various health-care service providers and institutions are involved in the treatment process. Early and continuous treatment is important but often not possible because of the fragmented medical care system in Germany. The Integrated Care Initiative Schizophrenia has implemented a networked care concept in the German federal state of Lower Saxony that integrates various stakeholders of the health care system. In this initiative, office-based psychiatrists, specialized nursing staff, psychologists, social workers, hospitals, psychiatric institutional outpatient's departments, and other community-based mental health services work together in an interdisciplinary approach. Much emphasis is placed on psychoeducation. Additional efforts cover socio-therapy, visiting care, and family support. During the period from October 2010 (start of the initiative) to December 2012, first experiences and results of quality indicators were collected of 713 registered patients and summarized in a quality monitoring report. In addition, standardized patient interviews were conducted, and duration of hospital days was recorded in 2013. By the end of 2012, patients had been enrolled for an average of 18.7 months. The overall patient satisfaction measured in a patient survey in June 2013 was high and the duration of hospital days measured in a pre-post analysis in July 2013 was reduced by 44%. Two years earlier than planned, the insurance fund will continue the successfully implemented Integrated Care Initiative and adopt it in the regular care setting. This initiative can serve as a learning case for how to set up and measure integrated care systems that may improve outcomes for patients suffering from schizophrenia.

Estimation of sediment yield from subsequent expanded landslides after heavy rainfalls : a case study in central Hokkaido, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koshimizu, K.; Uchida, T.

2015-12-01

Initial large-scale sediment yield caused by heavy rainfall or major storms have made a strong impression on us. Previous studies focusing on landslide management investigated the initial sediment movement and its mechanism. However, integrated management of catchment-scale sediment movements requires estimating the sediment yield, which is produced by the subsequent expanded landslides due to rainfall, in addition to the initial landslide movement. This study presents a quantitative analysis of expanded landslides by surveying the Shukushubetsu River basin, at the foot of the Hidaka mountain range in central Hokkaido, Japan. This area recorded heavy rainfall in 2003, reaching a maximum daily precipitation of 388 mm. We extracted the expanded landslides from 2003 to 2008 using aerial photographs taken over the river area. In particular, we calculated the probability of expansion for each landslide, the ratio of the landslide area in 2008 as compared with that in 2003, and the amount of the expanded landslide area corresponding to the initial landslide area. As a result, it is estimated 24% about probability of expansion for each landslide. In addition, each expanded landslide area is smaller than the initial landslide area. Furthermore, the amount of each expanded landslide area in 2008 is approximately 7% of their landslide area in 2003. Therefore, the sediment yield from subsequent expanded landslides is equal to or slightly greater than the sediment yield in a typical base flow. Thus, we concluded that the amount of sediment yield from subsequent expanded landslides is lower than that of initial large-scale sediment yield caused by a heavy rainfall in terms of effect on management of catchment-scale sediment movement.

Impact of Biologics With and Without Concomitant MTX and at Reduced Doses in Older Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jie; Xie, Fenglong; Delzell, Elizabeth; Yun, Huifeng; Lewis, James D; Haynes, Kevin; Chen, Lang; Beukelman, Timothy; Saag, Kenneth G; Curtis, Jeffrey R

2014-01-01

Background This study examines whether concomitant methotrexate (MTX) use is associated with better biologic persistence and whether self-administered anti-TNF therapies are used at reduced doses in real-world clinical care settings, not just clinical trials. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study among RA patients using Medicare claims data from 2006 to 2012. Subjects were new initiators of etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, abatacept and tocilizumab with at least 12 months of continuous medical and pharmacy coverage after treatment initiation. We examined the association between concomitant MTX use and persistence on biologics using Cox proportional hazard regression adjusting for demographics and baseline co-morbidities. We further identified a subgroup of patients who initiated and were adherent on etanercept or adalimumab for at least 12 months and examined the proportion of patients who subsequently used these therapies at reduced doses continuously for an additional 12, 18, and 24 months. Results Of 26,510 eligible RA patients, 10,511 initiated biologic monotherapy. Overall, patients initiated biologic monotherapy were 1.4 (95% CI, 1.3–1.5) times more likely to discontinue at 1-year and 1.8 (95% CI, 1.7–2.0) times more likely if starting infliximab monotherapy. Approximately 10–20% of patients who initiated and adhered to etanercept and adalimumab for ≥ 12 months subsequently used reduced-dose therapy for an 12 additional months and beyond. Conclusion In real-world practice, concomitant MTX was associated with improved persistence on biologic therapy, especially for infliximab users; reduced-dose injectable anti-TNF therapy was used by a substantial proportion of RA patients. PMID:25370912

21 CFR 570.15 - Adoption of regulation on initiative of Commissioner.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... SERVICES (CONTINUED) ANIMAL DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 570.15... propose the issuance of a regulation prescribing, with respect to any particular use of a food additive... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Adoption of regulation on initiative of...

21 CFR 170.15 - Adoption of regulation on initiative of Commissioner.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (CONTINUED) FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 170.15... propose the issuance of a regulation prescribing, with respect to any particular use of a food additive... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Adoption of regulation on initiative of...

21 CFR 170.15 - Adoption of regulation on initiative of Commissioner.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (CONTINUED) FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 170.15... propose the issuance of a regulation prescribing, with respect to any particular use of a food additive... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Adoption of regulation on initiative of...

21 CFR 570.15 - Adoption of regulation on initiative of Commissioner.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... SERVICES (CONTINUED) ANIMAL DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 570.15... propose the issuance of a regulation prescribing, with respect to any particular use of a food additive... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Adoption of regulation on initiative of...

21 CFR 170.15 - Adoption of regulation on initiative of Commissioner.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (CONTINUED) FOOD ADDITIVES General Provisions § 170.15... propose the issuance of a regulation prescribing, with respect to any particular use of a food additive... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Adoption of regulation on initiative of...

Nuclear Proteomics Reveals the Role of Protein Synthesis and Chromatin Structure in Root Tip of Soybean during the Initial Stage of Flooding Stress.

PubMed

Yin, Xiaojian; Komatsu, Setsuko

2016-07-01

To identify the upstream events controlling the regulation of flooding-responsive proteins in soybean, proteomic analysis of nuclear proteins in root tip was performed. By using nuclear fractions, which were highly enriched, a total of 365 nuclear proteins were changed in soybean root tip at initial stage of flooding stress. Four exon-junction complex-related proteins and NOP1/NOP56, which function in upstream of 60S preribosome biogenesis, were decreased in flooded soybean. Furthermore, proteomic analysis of crude protein extract revealed that the protein translation was suppressed by continuous flooding stress. Seventeen chromatin structure-related nuclear proteins were decreased in response to flooding stress. Out of them, histone H3 was clearly decreased with protein abundance and mRNA expression levels at the initial flooding stress. Additionally, a number of protein synthesis-, RNA-, and DNA-related nuclear proteins were decreased in a time-dependent manner. mRNA expressions of genes encoding the significantly changed flooding-responsive nuclear proteins were inhibited by the transcriptional inhibitor, actinomycin D. These results suggest that protein translation is suppressed through inhibition of preribosome biogenesis- and mRNA processing-related proteins in nuclei of soybean root tip at initial flooding stress. In addition, flooding stress may regulate histone variants with gene expression in root tip.

Marital conflict, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and allostatic load: Interrelations and associations with the development of children’s externalizing behavior

PubMed Central

El-Sheikh, Mona; Hinnant, J. Benjamin

2011-01-01

Allostatic load theory hypothesizes that stress and the body’s responses to stressors contribute to longer term physiological changes in multiple systems over time (allostasis), and that shifts in how these systems function have implications for adjustment and health. We investigated these hypotheses with longitudinal data from two independent samples (n = 413; 219 girls, 194 boys) with repeated measures at ages 8, 9, 10, and 11. Initial parental marital conflict and its change over time indexed children’s exposure to an important familial stressor, which was examined in interaction with children’s respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity to laboratory tasks (stress response) to predict children’s basal levels of RSA over time. We also investigated children’s sex as an additional possible moderator. Our second research question focused on examining whether initial levels and changes in resting RSA over time predicted children’s externalizing behavior. Boys with a strong RSA suppression response to a frustrating laboratory task who experienced higher initial marital conflict or increasing marital conflict over time showed decreases in their resting RSA over time. In addition, boys’ initial resting RSA (but not changes in resting RSA over time) was negatively related to change over time in externalizing symptoms. Findings for girls were more mixed. Results are discussed in the context of developmental psychobiology, allostatic load, and implications for the development of psychopathology. PMID:21756434

Dynamics of microbial communities during decomposition of litter from pioneering plants in initial soil ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esperschütz, J.; Zimmermann, C.; Dümig, A.; Welzl, G.; Buegger, F.; Elmer, M.; Munch, J. C.; Schloter, M.

2013-07-01

In initial ecosystems, concentrations of all macro- and micronutrients can be considered as extremely low. Plant litter therefore strongly influences the development of a degrader's food web and is an important source for C and N input into soil in such ecosystems. In the present study, a 13C litter decomposition field experiment was performed for 30 weeks in initial soils from a post-mining area near the city of Cottbus (Germany). Two of this region's dominant but contrasting pioneering plant species (Lotus corniculatus L. and Calamagrostis epigejos L.) were chosen to investigate the effects of litter quality on the litter decomposing microbial food web in initially nutrient-poor substrates. The results clearly indicate the importance of litter quality, as indicated by its N content, its bioavailability for the degradation process and the development of microbial communities in the detritusphere and soil. The degradation of the L. corniculatus litter, which had a low C / N ratio, was fast and showed pronounced changes in the microbial community structure 1-4 weeks after litter addition. The degradation of the C. epigejos litter material was slow and microbial community changes mainly occurred between 4 and 30 weeks after litter addition to the soil. However, for both litter materials a clear indication of the importance of fungi for the degradation process was observed both in terms of fungal abundance and activity (13C incorporation activity)

Atmospheric Oxidation Mechanism of Furfural Initiated by Hydroxyl Radicals.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiaocan; Wang, Liming

2017-05-04

Furfural is emitted into the atmosphere because of its potential applications as an intermediate to alkane fuels from biomass, industrial usages, and biomass burning. The kinetic and mechanistic information on the furfural chemistry is necessary to assess the fate of furfural in the atmosphere and its impact on the air quality. Here we studied the atmospheric oxidation mechanisms of furfural initiated by the OH radicals using quantum chemistry and kinetic calculations. The reaction of OH and furfural was initiated mainly by OH additions to C 2 and C 5 positions, forming R2 and R5 adducts, which could undergo rapid ring-breakage to form R2B and R5B, respectively. Our calculations showed that these intermediate radicals reacted rather slowly with O 2 under the atmospheric conditions because the additions of O 2 to these radicals are only slightly exothermic and highly reversible. Alternatively, these radicals would react directly with O 3 , NO 2 , HO 2 /RO 2 , etc. Namely, the atmospheric oxidation of furfural would unlikely result in ozone formation. Under typical atmospheric conditions, the main products in OH-initiated furfural oxidation include 2-oxo-3-pentene-1,5-dialdehyde, 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone, 4-oxo-2- butenoic acid, and 2,5-furandione. These compounds will likely stay in the gas phase and are subject to further photo-oxidation.

Atmospheric chemical reactions of alternatives of polybrominated diphenyl ethers initiated by OH: A case study on triphenyl phosphate.

PubMed

Yu, Qi; Xie, Hong-Bin; Chen, Jingwen

2016-11-15

Many studies have been performed to evaluate the environmental risk caused by alternative flame retardants (AFRs) of polybrominated diphenyl ethers due to their ubiquitous occurrence in the environment. However, as an indispensable component of the environmental risk assessment, the information on atmospheric fate of AFRs is limited although some AFRs have been frequently and highly detected in the atmosphere. Here, a combined quantum chemical method and kinetics modeling were used to investigate atmospheric transformation mechanism and kinetics of AFRs initiated by OH in the presence of O2, taking triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) as a case. Results show that the pathway involving initial OH addition to phenyl of TPhP to form TPhP-OH adduct, and subsequent reaction of the TPhP-OH adduct with O2 to finally form phenol phosphate, is the most favorable for the titled reaction. The calculated overall reaction rate constant is 1.6×10(-12)cm(3) molecule(-1)s(-1), translating 7.6days atmospheric lifetime of TPhP. This clarifies that gaseous TPhP has atmospheric persistence. In addition, it was found that ice surface, as a case of ubiquitous water in the atmosphere, has little effect on the kinetics of the rate-determining step in the OH-initiated TPhP reaction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Marital conflict, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and allostatic load: interrelations and associations with the development of children's externalizing behavior.

PubMed

El-Sheikh, Mona; Hinnant, J Benjamin

2011-08-01

Allostatic load theory hypothesizes that stress and the body's responses to stressors contribute to longer term physiological changes in multiple systems over time (allostasis), and that shifts in how these systems function have implications for adjustment and health. We investigated these hypotheses with longitudinal data from two independent samples (n = 413; 219 girls, 194 boys) with repeated measures at ages 8, 9, 10, and 11. Initial parental marital conflict and its change over time indexed children's exposure to an important familial stressor, which was examined in interaction with children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity to laboratory tasks (stress response) to predict children's basal levels of RSA over time. We also investigated children's sex as an additional possible moderator. Our second research question focused on examining whether initial levels and changes in resting RSA over time predicted children's externalizing behavior. Boys with a strong RSA suppression response to a frustrating laboratory task who experienced higher initial marital conflict or increasing marital conflict over time showed decreases in their resting RSA over time. In addition, boys' initial resting RSA (but not changes in resting RSA over time) was negatively related to change over time in externalizing symptoms. Findings for girls were more mixed. Results are discussed in the context of developmental psychobiology, allostatic load, and implications for the development of psychopathology.

Effect of bioconversion conditions on vanillin production by Amycolatopsis sp. ATCC 39116 through an analysis of competing by-product formation.

PubMed

Ma, Xiao-kui; Daugulis, Andrew J

2014-05-01

This study investigated the effects of transformation conditions such as initial pH, the initial concentration of glucose and yeast extract in the medium, and the separate addition of ferulic acid and vanillic acid, on the production of vanillin through an analysis of competing by-product formation by Amycolatopsis sp. ATCC 39116. The extent and nature of by-product formation and vanillin yield were affected by initial pH and different initial concentrations of glucose and yeast extract in the medium, with a high yield of vanillin and high cell density obtained at pH 8.0, 10 g/l glucose, and 8 g/l yeast extract. High concentrations of ferulic acid were found to negatively affect cell density. Additional supplementation of 100 mg/l vanillic acid, a metabolically linked by-product, was found to result in a high concentration of vanillin and guaiacol, an intermediate of vanillin. Via an analysis of the effect of these transformation conditions on competing by-product formation, high concentrations of ferulic acid were transformed with a molar yield to vanillin of 96.1 and 95.2 %, by Amycolatopsis sp. ATCC 39116 and Streptomyces V1, respectively, together with a minor accumulation of by-products. These are among the highest performance values reported in the literature to date for Streptomyces in batch cultures.

Observation Versus Initial Treatment for Men With Localized, Low-Risk Prostate Cancer A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

PubMed Central

Hayes, Julia H.; Ollendorf, Daniel A.; Pearson, Steven D.; Barry, Michael J.; Kantoff, Philip W.; Lee, Pablo A.; McMahon, Pamela M.

2015-01-01

Background Observation is underused among men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer. Objective To assess the costs and benefits of observation versus initial treatment. Design Decision analysis simulating treatment or observation. Data Sources Medicare schedules, published literature. Target Population Men ages 65 and 75 years with newly diagnosed low-risk prostate cancer (prostate-specific antigen level <10 μg/L, stage ≤T2a, Gleason score ≤3+3). Time Horizon Lifetime. Perspective Societal. Intervention Treatment (brachytherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or radical prostatectomy) or observation (active surveillance [AS] or watchful waiting [WW]). Outcome Measures Quality-adjusted life expectancy, costs. Results of Base-Case Analysis Observation was more effective and less costly than initial treatment. Compared with AS, WW provided 2 additional months of quality-adjusted life expectancy (9.02 vs. 8.85 years) at a savings of $15 374 ($24 520 vs. $39 894) in men aged 65 years and 2 additional months (6.14 vs. 5.98 years) at a savings of $11 746 ($18 302 vs. $30 048) in men aged 75 years. Brachytherapy was the most effective and least expensive initial treatment. Results of Sensitivity Analysis Treatment became more effective than observation when it led to more dramatic reductions in prostate cancer death (hazard ratio, 0.47 vs. WW and 0.64 vs. AS). Active surveillance became as effective as WW in men aged 65 years when the probability of progressing to treatment on AS decreased below 63% or when the quality of life with AS versus WW was 4% higher in men aged 65 years or 1% higher in men aged 75 years. Watchful waiting remained least expensive in all analyses. Limitation Results depend on outcomes reported in the published literature, which is limited. Conclusion Among these men, observation is more effective and costs less than initial treatment, and WW is most effective and least expensive under a wide range of clinical scenarios. Primary Funding Source National Cancer Institute, U.S. Department of Defense, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and Blue Shield of California Foundation. PMID:23778902

The MORPHEUS II protein crystallization screen

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

Gorrec, Fabrice, E-mail: fgorrec@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk

2015-06-27

MORPHEUS II is a 96-condition initial crystallization screen formulated de novo. The screen incorporates reagents selected from the Protein Data Bank to yield crystals that are not observed in traditional conditions. In addition, the formulation facilitates the optimization and cryoprotection of crystals. High-quality macromolecular crystals are a prerequisite for the process of protein structure determination by X-ray diffraction. Unfortunately, the relative yield of diffraction-quality crystals from crystallization experiments is often very low. In this context, innovative crystallization screen formulations are continuously being developed. In the past, MORPHEUS, a screen in which each condition integrates a mix of additives selected frommore » the Protein Data Bank, a cryoprotectant and a buffer system, was developed. Here, MORPHEUS II, a follow-up to the original 96-condition initial screen, is described. Reagents were selected to yield crystals when none might be observed in traditional initial screens. Besides, the screen includes heavy atoms for experimental phasing and small polyols to ensure the cryoprotection of crystals. The suitability of the resulting novel conditions is shown by the crystallization of a broad variety of protein samples and their efficiency is compared with commercially available conditions.« less

Emerging Evidence on the Use of Big Data and Analytics in Workplace Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giacumo, Lisa A.; Breman, Jeroen

2016-01-01

This article provides a systematic literature review about nonprofit and for-profit organizations using "big data" to inform performance improvement initiatives. The review of literature resulted in 4 peer-reviewed articles and an additional 33 studies covering the topic for these contexts. The review found that big data and analytics…

Annual Technical Report, Materials Research Laboratory, 1 July 1984 - 30 June 1986.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-30

4 -’ Section 2 -Inorganic Glasses , Introduction ....... ........... ........................... 54 Research Results...Inorganic Glasses (coordinated by W. M. Risen, Jr.) Surfaces (coordinated by P. J. Estrup). In addition, MRL supported thrce New Initiatives: Physical...on a series of closely related " phenomena in two-phase polycrystalline materials, single crystals and metallic glasses . Although these research

Importance of Seedyear, Seedbed, and Overstory for Establishment of Natural Loblolly and Shortleaf Pine Regenerationin Southern Arkansas

Treesearch

Michael D. Cain

1991-01-01

First-year density and quadrat stocking of naturally established loblolly and shortleaf pine regeneration were monitored forfive consecutive seedyearson disturbed and undisturbed seedbeds. Compared to untreatedchecks,additional gainsin pine seedling density as a result of exposing mineral soil were not as great as initial gains achieved by control of overtopping...

Physical and oxidative removal of organics during Fenton treatment of mature municipal landfill leachate.

PubMed

Deng, Yang

2007-07-19

Municipal landfill leachate, especially mature leachate, may disrupt the performance of moderately-sized municipal activated sludge wastewater treatment plants, and likewise tend to be recalcitrant to biological pretreatment. Recently, Fenton methods have been investigated for chemical treatment or pre-treatment of mature leachate. In this paper, the results of laboratory tests to determine the roles of oxidation and coagulation in reducing the organic content of mature leachate during Fenton treatment are presented. The efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) oxidation and coagulation were tested, and the ratio of COD removal by oxidation to that by coagulation was assessed, under various operating conditions. Low initial pH, appropriate relative and absolute Fenton reagent dosages, aeration, and stepwise addition of reagents increased COD removal by oxidation and the importance of oxidation relative to coagulation. Simultaneous aeration and stepwise reagent addition allowed comparable treatment without initial acidification pH, due to the generation of acidic organic intermediates and the continuous input of CO2. On the other hand, high COD oxidation efficiency and low ferrous dosage inhibited COD removal by coagulation. At significantly high oxidation efficiency, overall COD reduction decrease slightly due to low coagulation efficiency. Under the most favorable conditions (initial pH 3, molar ratio [H(2)O(2)]/[Fe2+]=3, [H2O2]=240 mM, and six dosing steps), 61% of the initial COD was removed, and the ratio of COD removal oxidation to coagulation was 0.75. Results highlighted the synergistic roles of oxidation and coagulation in Fenton treatment of mature leachate, and the role of oxidation in controlling the efficiency of removal of COD by coagulation.

Clinical audit and national survey on the assessment of collateral circulation before radial forearm free flap harvest.

PubMed

Abdullakutty, Anwer; Bajwa, Mandeep S; Patel, Sonum; D'Souza, Jacob

2017-01-01

Controversy exists regarding the use of Duplex Ultrasound (DUS) in addition to the Modified Allen's Test (MAT) for the assessment of collateral circulation prior to elevation of the Radial Forearm Free Flap (RFFF). A survey amongst members of BAOMS Head & Neck Oncology Subspecialty Interest Group and a completed local audit was undertaken to assess the need for DUS. Data for the initial audit was collected retrospectively between 2010 and 2013. Both MAT and DUS was performed routinely during this period. The results of the survey and initial audit led to a change in practice and DUS was no longer requested. The re-audit was performed prospectively between 2013 and 2015. The results of the survey showed that all respondents performed MAT. DUS was performed 'always' by 40%, 'sometimes' by 13.3% and 'never' by 46.7%. A total of 41 patients were included in the initial audit, 6 had an abnormal DUS but only 1 had an abnormal MAT. Five cases had an abnormal DUS but normal MAT and went on to have their ipsilateral RFFF raised without ischaemic complications. The patient with an abnormal MAT had their contralateral RFFF raised. No patients suffered ischaemic complications during the initial audit. A total of 48 patients were included in the re-audit 2 of which had an abnormal MAT and their contralateral RFFF raised. No patients suffered ischaemic complications during the re-audit. In conclusion, routine use of DUS did not provide any additional information above the MAT in identifying patients at risk of ischaemic complications. Copyright © 2016 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. All rights reserved.

Defective replication initiation results in locus specific chromosome breakage and a ribosomal RNA deficiency in yeast

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Joseph C.; Kwan, Elizabeth X.; Raghuraman, M. K.; Brewer, Bonita J.

2017-01-01

A form of dwarfism known as Meier-Gorlin syndrome (MGS) is caused by recessive mutations in one of six different genes (ORC1, ORC4, ORC6, CDC6, CDT1, and MCM5). These genes encode components of the pre-replication complex, which assembles at origins of replication prior to S phase. Also, variants in two additional replication initiation genes have joined the list of causative mutations for MGS (Geminin and CDC45). The identity of the causative MGS genetic variants strongly suggests that some aspect of replication is amiss in MGS patients; however, little evidence has been obtained regarding what aspect of chromosome replication is faulty. Since the site of one of the missense mutations in the human ORC4 alleles is conserved between humans and yeast, we sought to determine in what way this single amino acid change affects the process of chromosome replication, by introducing the comparable mutation into yeast (orc4Y232C). We find that yeast cells with the orc4Y232C allele have a prolonged S-phase, due to compromised replication initiation at the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus located on chromosome XII. The inability to initiate replication at the rDNA locus results in chromosome breakage and a severely reduced rDNA copy number in the survivors, presumably helping to ensure complete replication of chromosome XII. Although reducing rDNA copy number may help ensure complete chromosome replication, orc4Y232C cells struggle to meet the high demand for ribosomal RNA synthesis. This finding provides additional evidence linking two essential cellular pathways—DNA replication and ribosome biogenesis. PMID:29036220

Defective replication initiation results in locus specific chromosome breakage and a ribosomal RNA deficiency in yeast.

PubMed

Sanchez, Joseph C; Kwan, Elizabeth X; Pohl, Thomas J; Amemiya, Haley M; Raghuraman, M K; Brewer, Bonita J

2017-10-01

A form of dwarfism known as Meier-Gorlin syndrome (MGS) is caused by recessive mutations in one of six different genes (ORC1, ORC4, ORC6, CDC6, CDT1, and MCM5). These genes encode components of the pre-replication complex, which assembles at origins of replication prior to S phase. Also, variants in two additional replication initiation genes have joined the list of causative mutations for MGS (Geminin and CDC45). The identity of the causative MGS genetic variants strongly suggests that some aspect of replication is amiss in MGS patients; however, little evidence has been obtained regarding what aspect of chromosome replication is faulty. Since the site of one of the missense mutations in the human ORC4 alleles is conserved between humans and yeast, we sought to determine in what way this single amino acid change affects the process of chromosome replication, by introducing the comparable mutation into yeast (orc4Y232C). We find that yeast cells with the orc4Y232C allele have a prolonged S-phase, due to compromised replication initiation at the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus located on chromosome XII. The inability to initiate replication at the rDNA locus results in chromosome breakage and a severely reduced rDNA copy number in the survivors, presumably helping to ensure complete replication of chromosome XII. Although reducing rDNA copy number may help ensure complete chromosome replication, orc4Y232C cells struggle to meet the high demand for ribosomal RNA synthesis. This finding provides additional evidence linking two essential cellular pathways-DNA replication and ribosome biogenesis.

Response of soil microbial communities to roxarsone pollution along a concentration gradient.

PubMed

Liu, Yaci; Zhang, Zhaoji; Li, Yasong; Wen, Yi; Fei, Yuhong

2017-07-29

The extensive use of roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid) as a feed additive in the broiler poultry industry can lead to environmental arsenic contamination. This study was conducted to reveal the response of soil microbial communities to roxarsone pollution along a concentration gradient. To explore the degradation process and degradation kinetics of roxarsone concentration gradients in soil, the concentration shift of roxarsone at initial concentrations of 0, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, as well as that of the arsenic derivatives, was detected. The soil microbial community composition and structure accompanying roxarsone degradation were investigated by high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that roxarsone degradation was inhibited by a biological inhibitor, confirming that soil microbes were absolutely essential to its degradation. Moreover, soil microbes had considerable potential to degrade roxarsone, as a high initial concentration of roxarsone resulted in a substantially increased degradation rate. The concentrations of the degradation products HAPA (3-amino-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid), AS(III), and AS(V) in soils were significantly positively correlated. The soil microbial community composition and structure changed significantly across the roxarsone contamination gradient, and the addition of roxarsone decreased the microbial diversity. Some bacteria tended to be inhibited by roxarsone, while Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Lysobacter, and Alkaliphilus played important roles in roxarsone degradation. Moreover, HAPA, AS(III), and AS(V) were significantly positively correlated with Symbiobacterium, which dominated soils containing roxarsone, and their abundance increased with increasing initial roxarsone concentration. Accordingly, Symbiobacterium could serve as indicator of arsenic derivatives released by roxarsone as well as the initial roxarsone concentration. This is the first investigation of microbes closely related to roxarsone degradation.

Effect of Al-TiB Addition on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Al-ADC12/NanoSiC Produced by Stir Casting Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhaneswara, D.; Zulfia, A.; Pramudita, T. P.; Ferdian, D.; Utomo, B. W.

2018-03-01

Addition of Ti-B grain refiner in Al-ADC12/nanoSiC composite results in improvement of tensile strength, hardness, and wear resistance through grain refinement. In this research, composite of Al-ADC12/nano SiC (0.15 %vf) with variations of TiB respectively (0.0), (0.02), (0.04), (0.06), dan (0.08) wt% were produced by stir casting. 10% of Mg were added to promote wettability between reinforce and matrix. It was found the best addition of TiB is 0.04 wt% Ti-B which results 135,9 MPa in tensile strength, 46 HRB in hardness, and 1.47x10-5 mm3/s as wear rate. The increase in mechanical properties of composites mainly because of Al3Ti acts as nucleants which initiates the grain refinement and the existence of MgAl2O4 phase indicates an interphase between nano SiC and ADC12 matrix. However, the increase of Ti-B addition after optimum number gives no significant results. High composition of iron and magnesium addition will form intermetallic phase β-Fe, π-Fe, and Mg2Si.

Soil erosion and effluent particle size distribution under different initial conditions and rock fragment coverage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jomaa, S.; Barry, D. A.; Brovelli, A.; Heng, B. C. P.; Sander, G. C.; Parlange, J.-Y.

2012-04-01

It is well known that the presence of rock fragments on the soil surface and the soil's initial characteristics (moisture content, surface roughness, bulk density, etc.) are key factors influencing soil erosion dynamics and sediment delivery. In addition, the interaction of these factors increases the complexity of soil erosion patterns and makes predictions more difficult. The aim of this study was (i) to investigate the effect of soil initial conditions and rock fragment coverage on soil erosion yields and effluent particle size distribution and (ii) to evaluate to what extent the rock fragment coverage controls this relationship. Three laboratory flume experiments with constant precipitation rate of 74 mm/h on a loamy soil parcel with a 2% slope were performed. Experiments with duration of 2 h were conducted using the 6-m × 2-m EPFL erosion flume. During each experiment two conditions were considered, a bare soil and a rock fragment-protected (with 40% coverage) soil. The initial soil surface state was varied between the three experiments, from a freshly re-ploughed and almost dry condition to a compacted soil with a well-developed shield layer and high moisture content. Experiments were designed so that rain splash was the primary driver of soil erosion. Results showed that the amount of eroded mass was highly controlled by the initial soil conditions and whether the steady-state equilibrium was un-, partially- or fully- developed during the previous event. Additionally, results revealed that sediment yields and particle size composition in the initial part of an erosion event are more sensitive to the erosion history than the long-time behaviour. This latter appears to be mainly controlled by rainfall intensity. If steady-state was achieved for a previous event, then the next event consistently produced concentrations for each size class that peaked rapidly, and then declined gradually to steady-state equilibrium. If steady state was not obtained, then different and more complex behaviour was observed in the next event, with large differences found between fine, medium and coarse size classes. The presence of rock fragments on the topsoil reduced the time needed to reach steady state compared with the bare soil. This was attributed to the reduction of rain splash erosion caused by the rapid development of the overland flow, as a result of rock fragments reducing the flow cross-sectional area.

Exploring the cause of initially reactive bovine brains on rapid tests for BSE

PubMed Central

Dudas, Sandor; James, Jace; Anderson, Renee; Czub, Stefanie

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is an invariably fatal prion disease of cattle. The identification of the zoonotic potential of BSE prompted safety officials to initiate surveillance testing for this disease. In Canada, BSE surveillance is primarily focused on high risk cattle including animals which are dead, down and unable to rise, diseased or distressed. This targeted surveillance results in the submission of brain samples with a wide range of tissue autolysis and associated contaminants. These contaminants have the potential to interfere with important steps of surveillance tests resulting in initially positive test results requiring additional testing to confirm the disease status of the animal. The current tests used for BSE screening in Canada utilize the relative protease resistance of the prion protein gained when it misfolds from PrPC to PrPSc as part of the disease process. Proteinase K completely digests PrPC in normal brains, but leaves most of the PrPSc in BSE positive brains intact which is detected using anti-prion antibodies. These tests are highly reliable but occasionally give rise to initially reactive/false positive results. Test results for these reactive samples were close to the positive/negative cut-off on a sub set of test platforms. This is in contrast to all of the previous Canadian positive samples whose numeric values on these same test platforms were 10 to 100 fold greater than the test positive/negative cut-off. Here we explore the potential reason why a sample is repeatedly positive on a sub-set of rapid surveillance tests, but negative on other test platforms. In order to better understand and identify what might cause these initial reactions, we have conducted a variety of rapid and confirmatory assays as well as bacterial isolation and identification on BSE positive, negative and initially reactive samples. We observed high levels of viable bacterial contamination in initially reactive samples suggesting that the reactivity may be related to bacterial factors. Several bacteria isolated from the initially reactive samples have characteristics of biofilm forming bacteria and this extracellular matrix might play a role in preventing complete digestion of PrPC in these samples. PMID:26689488

Self-reported substance use and sexual behaviors among adolescents in a rural state.

PubMed

Dunn, Michael S; Ilapogu, Varaprasad; Taylor, LaShan; Naney, C; Blackwell, Roger; Wilder, Regina; Givens, C

2008-11-01

Research finds a strong association between substance use and risky sexual behavior but more needs to be known about this relationship. Few studies have examined this relationship among rural sixth- to eighth-grade students. As such, the purposes of this study were to provide a descriptive profile of rural sixth- to eighth-grade students' substance use behavior and sexual activity and to examine the relationship between substance use behaviors and sexual activity. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of 10,273 middle school students (sixth to eighth grade) attending 10 public schools in rural Tennessee. The middle school Youth Risk Behavior Survey was administered to these students during April and May 2004. Analysis found that a large percentage of students had tried cigarettes, alcohol, and inhalants. Additionally, it was found that sexual intercourse had been initiated by 18.8% of females and 25.4% of males. Of those students who reported ever having had sexual intercourse, 75% had reported the use of cigarettes and alcohol. In addition, approximately 50% of those students reported marijuana and inhalant use. The results suggest that substance use behavior has a relationship with the likelihood of initiating sexual activity. Additional longitudinal research with this population will be needed for explaining whether these select substance use behaviors are probable risk factors predisposing young rural adolescents to report engaging in sexual behaviors or a result of other factors.

Ionospheric modifications detected by a dense network of single frequency GNSS receivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mrak, S.; Semeter, J. L.

2017-12-01

It has been predicted that the region of totality during a total solar eclipse can launch atmospheric gravity waves with large enough amplitude to cause traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). We report initial results from a remote sensing campaign involving a dense hybrid network of single- and dual-frequency GNSS receivers deployed underneath the 21 August 2017 solar eclipse. The campaign took place in central Missouri, involving 84 Trimble dual-frequency receivers, complemented by 2 additional 50 Hz dual-frequency receivers and 15 single-frequency receivers, together constructing 100 receivers with average mutual separation of less than 25 km and with a time resolution of 1 second or better. The initial results show a crescent shaped enhancement bulge in front of region of totality, extending all the way from Canada to Gulf of Mexico. In addition, in the path of totality is noticed a great depletion region, followed by a pair of transverse waves propagating in west-east direction. In the following months, we will explore the transition region carried by the totality by a virtue of hyper dense network of GNSS receivers with 1 second resolution. In addition to TEC data decomposition we will explore effects of the totality on the raw measurements (phase, code and signal intensity), and to the navigation solution which is likely to be effected by a different propagation conditions with respect to other days.

Reduction of the pace polarization artefact for capture detection applications by a tri-phasic stimulation pulse.

PubMed

Sutton, R; Fröhlig, G; de Voogt, W G; Goethals, M; Hintringer, F; Kennergren, C; Scanu, P; Guilleman, D; Treese, N; Hartung, W M; Stammwitz, E; Muetstege, A

2004-11-01

This study investigated the ability to minimize pace polarization artefacts (PPA) by adjusting the post-stimulus pulse duration of a tri-phasic stimulation pulse. Adjustment of the stimulation pulse was enabled by downloading special study software into an already implanted pacemaker. Tests were performed in a total of 296 atrial leads and 311 ventricular leads. Both chronic and acute leads were included in the study. Statistically significant differences were found in the initial PPA (without any adjustment of the stimulus pulse) between atrial and ventricular leads. In addition, significant differences were observed among various lead models with respect to changes over time in the initial ventricular PPA. Successful PPA reduction was defined as a reduction of the PPA below 0.5 mV for atrial leads and below 1 mV for ventricular leads. Results show a success rate for ventricular and atrial PPA reduction of 97.8% and 98.7%, respectively. Threshold tests showed that after reduction of the PPA loss of ventricular capture can be reliably detected. However, atrial threshold tests showed many false positive evoked response detections. In addition, unexpectedly high evoked response amplitudes were observed in the atrium after reduction of the PPA. Results from additional measurements suggest that these high atrial evoked response amplitudes come from the influence of the input filter of the pacemaker.

Shock Initiation and Equation of State of Ammonium Nitrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robbins, David; Sheffield, Steve; Dattelbaum, Dana; Chellappa, Raja; Velisavljevic, Nenad

2013-06-01

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is a widely used fertilizer and mining explosive commonly found in ammonium nitrate-fuel oil. Neat AN is a non-ideal explosive with measured detonation velocities approaching 4 km/s. Previously, we reported a thermodynamically-complete equation of state for AN based on its maximum density, and showed that near-full density AN did not initiate when subjected to shock input conditions up to 22 GPa. In this work, we extend these initial results, by presenting new Hugoniot data for intermediate density neat AN obtained from gas gun-driven plate impact experiments. AN at densities from 1.8 to 1.5 g/cm3 were impacted into LiF windows using a two-stage light gas gun. Dual VISARs were used to measure the interfacial particle velocity wave profile as a function of time following impact. The new Hugoniot data, in addition to updates to thermodynamic parameters derived from structural analysis and vibrational spectroscopy measurements in high pressure diamond anvil cell experiments, are used to refine the unreacted EOS for AN. Furthermore, shock initiation of neat AN was observed as the initial porosity increased (density decreased). Insights into the relationship(s) between initial density and shock initiation sensitivity are also presented, from evidence of shock initiation in the particle velocity profiles obtained for the lower density AN samples.

Incidence of apical crack initiation and propagation during the removal of root canal filling material with ProTaper and Mtwo rotary nickel-titanium retreatment instruments and hand files.

PubMed

Topçuoğlu, Hüseyin Sinan; Düzgün, Salih; Kesim, Bertan; Tuncay, Oznur

2014-07-01

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of crack initiation and propagation in apical root dentin after retreatment procedures performed by using 2 rotary retreatment systems and hand files with additional instrumentation. Eighty extracted mandibular premolars with single canals were selected. One millimeter from the apex of each tooth was ground perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth, and the apical surface was polished. Twenty teeth served as the control group, and no preparation was performed. The remaining 60 teeth were prepared to size 35 with rotary files and filled with gutta-percha and AH Plus sealer. Specimens were then divided into 3 groups (n = 20), and retreatment procedures were performed with the following devices and techniques: ProTaper Universal retreatment files, Mtwo retreatment files, and hand files. After retreatment, the additional instrumentation was performed by using size 40 ProTaper, Mtwo, and hand files. Digital images of the apical root surface were recorded before preparation, after instrumentation, after filling, after retreatment, and after additional instrumentation. The images were then inspected for the presence of any new apical cracks and propagation. Data were analyzed with the logistic regression and Fisher exact tests. All experimental groups caused crack initiation and propagation after use of retreatment instruments. The ProTaper and Mtwo retreatment groups caused greater crack initiation and propagation than the hand instrument group (P < .05) after retreatment. Additional instrumentation with ProTaper and Mtwo instruments after the use of retreatment instruments caused crack initiation and propagation, whereas hand files caused neither crack initiation nor propagation (P < .05). This study showed that retreatment procedures and additional instrumentation after the use of retreatment files may cause crack initiation and propagation in apical dentin. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying sensitive areas of adaptive observations for prediction of the Kuroshio large meander using a shallow-water model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Guang'an; Wang, Qiang; Mu, Mu

2016-09-01

Sensitive areas for prediction of the Kuroshio large meander using a 1.5-layer, shallow-water ocean model were investigated using the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) and first singular vector (FSV) methods. A series of sensitivity experiments were designed to test the sensitivity of sensitive areas within the numerical model. The following results were obtained: (1) the eff ect of initial CNOP and FSV patterns in their sensitive areas is greater than that of the same patterns in randomly selected areas, with the eff ect of the initial CNOP patterns in CNOP sensitive areas being the greatest; (2) both CNOP- and FSV-type initial errors grow more quickly than random errors; (3) the eff ect of random errors superimposed on the sensitive areas is greater than that of random errors introduced into randomly selected areas, and initial errors in the CNOP sensitive areas have greater eff ects on final forecasts. These results reveal that the sensitive areas determined using the CNOP are more sensitive than those of FSV and other randomly selected areas. In addition, ideal hindcasting experiments were conducted to examine the validity of the sensitive areas. The results indicate that reduction (or elimination) of CNOP-type errors in CNOP sensitive areas at the initial time has a greater forecast benefit than the reduction (or elimination) of FSV-type errors in FSV sensitive areas. These results suggest that the CNOP method is suitable for determining sensitive areas in the prediction of the Kuroshio large-meander path.

Revealing the beneficial effect of protease supplementation to high gravity beer fermentations using "-omics" techniques

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Addition of sugar syrups to the basic wort is a popular technique to achieve higher gravity in beer fermentations, but it results in dilution of the free amino nitrogen (FAN) content in the medium. The multicomponent protease enzyme Flavourzyme has beneficial effect on the brewer's yeast fermentation performance during high gravity fermentations as it increases the initial FAN value and results in higher FAN uptake, higher specific growth rate, higher ethanol yield and improved flavour profile. Results In the present study, transcriptome and metabolome analysis were used to elucidate the effect on the addition of the multicomponent protease enzyme Flavourzyme and its influence on the metabolism of the brewer's yeast strain Weihenstephan 34/70. The study underlines the importance of sufficient nitrogen availability during the course of beer fermentation. The applied metabolome and transcriptome analysis allowed mapping the effect of the wort sugar composition on the nitrogen uptake. Conclusion Both the transcriptome and the metabolome analysis revealed that there is a significantly higher impact of protease addition for maltose syrup supplemented fermentations, while addition of glucose syrup to increase the gravity in the wort resulted in increased glucose repression that lead to inhibition of amino acid uptake and hereby inhibited the effect of the protease addition. PMID:21513553

Further evidence for CCN aerosol concentrations determining the height of warm rain and ice initiation in convective clouds over the Amazon basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campos Braga, Ramon; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Weigel, Ralf; Jurkat, Tina; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Wendisch, Manfred; Pöschl, Ulrich; Voigt, Christiane; Mahnke, Christoph; Borrmann, Stephan; Albrecht, Rachel I.; Molleker, Sergej; Vila, Daniel A.; Machado, Luiz A. T.; Grulich, Lucas

2017-12-01

We have investigated how aerosols affect the height above cloud base of rain and ice hydrometeor initiation and the subsequent vertical evolution of cloud droplet size and number concentrations in growing convective cumulus. For this purpose we used in situ data of hydrometeor size distributions measured with instruments mounted on HALO aircraft during the ACRIDICON-CHUVA campaign over the Amazon during September 2014. The results show that the height of rain initiation by collision and coalescence processes (Dr, in units of meters above cloud base) is linearly correlated with the number concentration of droplets (Nd in cm-3) nucleated at cloud base (Dr ≈ 5 ṡ Nd). Additional cloud processes associated with Dr, such as GCCN, cloud, and mixing with ambient air and other processes, produce deviations of ˜ 21 % in the linear relationship, but it does not mask the clear relationship between Dr and Nd, which was also found at different regions around the globe (e.g., Israel and India). When Nd exceeded values of about 1000 cm-3, Dr became greater than 5000 m, and the first observed precipitation particles were ice hydrometeors. Therefore, no liquid water raindrops were observed within growing convective cumulus during polluted conditions. Furthermore, the formation of ice particles also took place at higher altitudes in the clouds in polluted conditions because the resulting smaller cloud droplets froze at colder temperatures compared to the larger drops in the unpolluted cases. The measured vertical profiles of droplet effective radius (re) were close to those estimated by assuming adiabatic conditions (rea), supporting the hypothesis that the entrainment and mixing of air into convective clouds is nearly inhomogeneous. Additional CCN activation on aerosol particles from biomass burning and air pollution reduced re below rea, which further inhibited the formation of raindrops and ice particles and resulted in even higher altitudes for rain and ice initiation.

Initial results of the Global Thermospheric Mapping Study (GTMS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliver, W. L.; Salah, J. E.; Musgrove, R. G.; Holt, J. M.; Wickwar, V. B.; Hernandez, G. J.; Roble, R. G.

1986-01-01

The Global Thermospheric Mapping Study (GTMS) is a multi-technique experimental study of the thermosphere designed to map simultaneously its spatial and temporal morphology with a thoroughness and diversity of measurement techniques heretofore unachieved. The GTMS is designed around the Incoherent Scatter Radar Chain in the western hemisphere. The European incoherent scatter radars and the worldwide communities of Fabry-Perot interferometers, meteor wind radars, partial reflection drifts radars, MST radars, and satellite probes are included to extend the spatial coverage and types of measurements available. Theoretical and modeling support in the areas of thermospheric and ionospheric structure, tides, and electric fields are included to aid in program planning and data interpretation. Solar activity was low on the three observation days (F10.7 = 97, 98, 96) and magnetic conditions were unsettled to active (A = 10, 12, 20). All six incoherent scatter radar facilities collected data. Each collected F region data day and night while Saint Santin and Millstone Hill additionally collected E region data during daylight hours. Initial results from Sondrestrom and Millstone Hill are presented. Good quality Fabry Perot data were collected at Fritz Peak and San Jose dos Campos. Weather conditions produced poor results at Arequipa and Arecibo. Initial results from Fritz Peak are presented. Mesosphere/lower-thermosphere observations were conducted under the ATMAP organization. The magnetometer chains also were operational during this campaign. Initial thermospheric general circulation model predictions were made for assumed solar-geophysical conditions, and selected results are presented.

78 FR 32406 - Submission for OMB Review; 30-Day Comment Request: Women's Health Initiative Observational Study

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-30

...; 30-Day Comment Request: Women's Health Initiative Observational Study SUMMARY: Under the provisions... proposed project contact: Shari Eason Ludlam, Project Officer, Women's Health Initiative Program Office... additional plans and instruments must be requested in writing. Proposed Collection: Women's Health Initiative...

78 FR 29139 - Medicare Program; Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Model 1 Open Period

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-17

... initiative. DATES: Model 1 of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Deadline: Interested organizations... initiative. For additional information on this initiative go to the CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Web site at http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/BPCI-Model-1/index.html . SUPPLEMENTARY...

Micro-Mechanical Analysis About Kink Band in Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composites Under Longitudinal Compression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Mi; Guan, Zhidong; Wang, Xiaodong; Du, Shanyi

2017-10-01

Kink band is a typical phenomenon for composites under longitudinal compression. In this paper, theoretical analysis and finite element simulation were conducted to analyze kink angle as well as compressive strength of composites. Kink angle was considered to be an important character throughout longitudinal compression process. Three factors including plastic matrix, initial fiber misalignment and rotation due to loading were considered for theoretical analysis. Besides, the relationship between kink angle and fiber volume fraction was improved and optimized by theoretical derivation. In addition, finite element models considering fiber stochastic strength and Drucker-Prager constitutive model for matrix were conducted in ABAQUS to analyze kink band formation process, which corresponded with the experimental results. Through simulation, the loading and failure procedure can be evidently divided into three stages: elastic stage, softening stage, and fiber break stage. It also shows that kink band is a result of fiber misalignment and plastic matrix. Different values of initial fiber misalignment angle, wavelength and fiber volume fraction were considered to explore the effects on compressive strength and kink angle. Results show that compressive strength increases with the decreasing of initial fiber misalignment angle, the decreasing of initial fiber misalignment wavelength and the increasing of fiber volume fraction, while kink angle decreases in these situations. Orthogonal array in statistics was also built to distinguish the effect degree of these factors. It indicates that initial fiber misalignment angle has the largest impact on compressive strength and kink angle.

Effects of furan derivatives on biohydrogen fermentation from wet steam-exploded cornstalk and its microbial community.

PubMed

Liu, Zhidan; Zhang, Chong; Wang, Linjun; He, Jianwei; Li, Baoming; Zhang, Yuanhui; Xing, Xin-Hui

2015-01-01

Understanding the role of furan derivatives, furfural (FUR) and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), is important for biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, the effects of furan derivatives on hydrogen fermentation from wet steam-exploded cornstalk were investigated. The control experiments with only seed sludge indicated that HMF addition of up to 1g/L stimulated hydrogen production. Similar results were obtained using steam-exploded cornstalk as the feedstock. Hydrogen productivity was increased by up to 40% with the addition of HMF. In addition, over 90% of furan derivatives with an initial concentration below 1g/L were degraded. Pyosequencing showed that the addition of HMF and FUR resulted in different microbial communities. HMF led to a higher proportion of the genera Clostridium and Ruminococcaceae, supporting the increased hydrogen production. This study suggested that hydrogen fermentation could be a detoxifying step for steam-exploded cornstalk, and HMF and FUR exhibited different functions for hydrogen fermentation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical performance of tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate as a flame-retarding additive for lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shim, Eun-Gi; Park, In-Jun; Nam, Tae-Heum; Kim, Jung-Gu; Kim, Hyun-Soo; Moon, Seong-In

2010-08-01

We studied tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) as a potential flame-retarding additive and its effect on the electrochemical cell performance of lithium-ion battery electrolytes. The electrochemical cell performance of additive-containing electrolytes in combination with a cell comprised of a LiCoO2 cathode and a mesocarbon microbeads anode was tested in coin cells. The cyclic voltammetry results show that the oxidation potential of TCEP-containing electrolyte is about 5.1 V (vs. Li/Li+). A cell with TCEP has a better electrochemical cell performance than a cell without TCEP in an initial charge and discharge test. In a cycling test, a cell containing a TCEP-containing electrolyte has a greater discharge capacity and better capacity retention than a TCEP-free electrolyte after cycling. The results confirm the promising potential of TCEP as a flame-retarding additive and as a means of improving the electrochemical cell performance of lithium-ion batteries.

Interventions to improve or facilitate linkage to or retention in pre-ART (HIV) care and initiation of ART in low- and middle-income settings – a systematic review

PubMed Central

Govindasamy, Darshini; Meghij, Jamilah; Negussi, Eyerusalem Kebede; Baggaley, Rachel Clare; Ford, Nathan; Kranzer, Katharina

2014-01-01

Introduction Several approaches have been taken to reduce pre-antiretroviral therapy (ART) losses between HIV testing and ART initiation in low- and middle-income countries, but a systematic assessment of the evidence has not yet been undertaken. The aim of this systematic review is to assess the potential for interventions to improve or facilitate linkage to or retention in pre-ART care and initiation of ART in low- and middle-income settings. Methods An electronic search was conducted on Medline, Embase, Global Health, Web of Science and conference databases to identify studies describing interventions aimed at improving linkage to or retention in pre-ART care or initiation of ART. Additional searches were conducted to identify on-going trials on this topic, and experts in the field were contacted. An assessment of the risk of bias was conducted. Interventions were categorized according to key domains in the existing literature. Results A total of 11,129 potentially relevant citations were identified, of which 24 were eligible for inclusion, with the majority (n=21) from sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, 15 on-going trials were identified. The most common interventions described under key domains included: health system interventions (i.e. integration in the setting of antenatal care); patient convenience and accessibility (i.e. point-of-care CD4 count (POC) testing with immediate results, home-based ART initiation); behaviour interventions and peer support (i.e. improved communication, patient referral and education) and incentives (i.e. food support). Several interventions showed favourable outcomes: integration of care and peer supporters increased enrolment into HIV care, medical incentives increased pre-ART retention, POC CD4 testing and food incentives increased completion of ART eligibility screening and ART initiation. Most studies focused on the general adult patient population or pregnant women. The majority of published studies were observational cohort studies, subject to an unclear risk of bias. Conclusions Findings suggest that streamlining services to minimize patient visits, providing adequate medical and peer support, and providing incentives may decrease attrition, but the quality of the current evidence base is low. Few studies have investigated combined interventions, or assessed the impact of interventions across the HIV cascade. Results from on-going trials investigating POC CD4 count testing, patient navigation, rapid ART initiation and mobile phone technology may fill the quality of evidence gap. Further high-quality studies on key population groups are required, with interventions informed by previously reported barriers to care. PMID:25095831

Aerobic composting of distilled grain waste eluted from a Chinese spirit-making process: The effects of initial pH adjustment.

PubMed

Wang, Shi-Peng; Zhong, Xiao-Zhong; Wang, Ting-Ting; Sun, Zhao-Yong; Tang, Yue-Qin; Kida, Kenji

2017-12-01

Aerobic composting of distilled grain waste (DGW) at different initial pH values adjusted by CaO addition was investigated. Three pH-adjusted treatments with initial pH values of 4 (R1), 5 (R2) and 6 (R3) and a control treatment (R0) with a pH value of 3.5 were conducted simultaneously. The results showed that R0 had an unsuccessful start-up of composting. However, the pH-adjusted treatments produced remarkable results, with a relatively high initial pH being beneficial for the start-up. Within 65days of composting, the degradation of volatile solids (VS) and the physicochemical properties of R2 and R3 displayed similar tendencies, and both produced a mature end-product, while R1 exhibited a lower VS degradation rate, and some of its physicochemical properties indicated the end-product was immature. Quantitative PCR analysis of ammonia oxidizers indicated that the occurrence of nitrification during the composting of DGW could be attributed to the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Perturbed Initial Conditions and Multiphysics Ensembles in a Severe Weather Episode in Spain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tapiador, Francisco; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Angelis, Carlos F.; Martinez, Miguel A.; Cecilia Marcos; Antonio Rodriguez; Hou, Arthur; Jong Shi, Jain

2012-01-01

Ensembles of numerical model forecasts are of interest to operational early warning forecasters as the spread of the ensemble provides an indication of the uncertainty of the alerts, and the mean value is deemed to outperform the forecasts of the individual models. This paper explores two ensembles on a severe weather episode in Spain, aiming to ascertain the relative usefulness of each one. One ensemble uses sensible choices of physical parameterizations (precipitation microphysics, land surface physics, and cumulus physics) while the other follows a perturbed initial conditions approach. The results show that, depending on the parameterizations, large differences can be expected in terms of storm location, spatial structure of the precipitation field, and rain intensity. It is also found that the spread of the perturbed initial conditions ensemble is smaller than the dispersion due to physical parameterizations. This confirms that in severe weather situations operational forecasts should address moist physics deficiencies to realize the full benefits of the ensemble approach, in addition to optimizing initial conditions. The results also provide insights into differences in simulations arising from ensembles of weather models using several combinations of different physical parameterizations.

Bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in wastewaters from animal feedlots and storage lagoons.

PubMed

Sun, Jingyi; Khan, Eakalak; Simsek, Senay; Ohm, Jae-Bom; Simsek, Halis

2017-11-01

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) from animal wastes can contribute to pollution of surface waters. Bioavailable DON (ABDON) is a portion of DON utilized by algae with or without bacteria. This study determined DON and ABDON levels in animal wastewater collected from two different sources: an animal feedlot wastewater storage tank and a sheep wastewater storage lagoon. Inocula for the ABDON bioassays were comprised of individual species and several combinations involving two algae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris) and a mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) bacterial culture. The ratio of initial DON to initial total dissolved nitrogen was 18% in the feedlot wastewater samples and 70% in the lagoon wastewater samples. The results showed that between 1.6 and 4.5 mg-NL-1 DON (45-79% of initial DON) in the feedlot samples and between 3.4 and 7.5 mg-NL-1 DON (36%-79% of initial DON) in the lagoon samples were bioavailable with the inocula tested. These results suggest that when considering eutrophication potential of livestock wastewater, organic nitrogen should be included in addition to the obvious culprits, ammonia and nitrate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fuel Optimal, Finite Thrust Guidance Methods to Circumnavigate with Lighting Constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prince, E. R.; Carr, R. W.; Cobb, R. G.

This paper details improvements made to the authors' most recent work to find fuel optimal, finite-thrust guidance to inject an inspector satellite into a prescribed natural motion circumnavigation (NMC) orbit about a resident space object (RSO) in geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Better initial guess methodologies are developed for the low-fidelity model nonlinear programming problem (NLP) solver to include using Clohessy- Wiltshire (CW) targeting, a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO), and MATLAB's genetic algorithm (GA). These initial guess solutions may then be fed into the NLP solver as an initial guess, where a different NLP solver, IPOPT, is used. Celestial lighting constraints are taken into account in addition to the sunlight constraint, ensuring that the resulting NMC also adheres to Moon and Earth lighting constraints. The guidance is initially calculated given a fixed final time, and then solutions are also calculated for fixed final times before and after the original fixed final time, allowing mission planners to choose the lowest-cost solution in the resulting range which satisfies all constraints. The developed algorithms provide computationally fast and highly reliable methods for determining fuel optimal guidance for NMC injections while also adhering to multiple lighting constraints.

Initial Data Analysis Results for ATD-2 ISAS HITL Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Hanbong

2017-01-01

To evaluate the operational procedures and information requirements for the core functional capabilities of the ATD-2 project, such as tactical surface metering tool, APREQ-CFR procedure, and data element exchanges between ramp and tower, human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulations were performed in March, 2017. This presentation shows the initial data analysis results from the HITL simulations. With respect to the different runway configurations and metering values in tactical surface scheduler, various airport performance metrics were analyzed and compared. These metrics include gate holding time, taxi-out in time, runway throughput, queue size and wait time in queue, and TMI flight compliance. In addition to the metering value, other factors affecting the airport performance in the HITL simulation, including run duration, runway changes, and TMI constraints, are also discussed.

Initial Risk Analysis and Decision Making Framework

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

Engel, David W.

2012-02-01

Commercialization of new carbon capture simulation initiative (CCSI) technology will include two key elements of risk management, namely, technical risk (will process and plant performance be effective, safe, and reliable) and enterprise risk (can project losses and costs be controlled within the constraints of market demand to maintain profitability and investor confidence). Both of these elements of risk are incorporated into the risk analysis subtask of Task 7. Thus far, this subtask has developed a prototype demonstration tool that quantifies risk based on the expected profitability of expenditures when retrofitting carbon capture technology on a stylized 650 MW pulverized coalmore » electric power generator. The prototype is based on the selection of specific technical and financial factors believed to be important determinants of the expected profitability of carbon capture, subject to uncertainty. The uncertainty surrounding the technical performance and financial variables selected thus far is propagated in a model that calculates the expected profitability of investments in carbon capture and measures risk in terms of variability in expected net returns from these investments. Given the preliminary nature of the results of this prototype, additional work is required to expand the scope of the model to include additional risk factors, additional information on extant and proposed risk factors, the results of a qualitative risk factor elicitation process, and feedback from utilities and other interested parties involved in the carbon capture project. Additional information on proposed distributions of these risk factors will be integrated into a commercial implementation framework for the purpose of a comparative technology investment analysis.« less

Identification of Key Interactions in the Initial Self-Assembly of Amylin in a Membrane Environment.

PubMed

Christensen, Mikkel; Skeby, Katrine K; Schiøtt, Birgit

2017-09-12

Islet amyloid polypeptide, also known as amylin, forms aggregates that reduce the amount of insulin-producing cells in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. Much remains unknown about the process of aggregation and cytotoxicity, but it is known that certain cell membrane components can alter the rate of aggregation. Using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations combined with the highly mobile membrane mimetic model incorporating enhanced sampling of lipid diffusion, we investigate interaction of amylin peptides with the membrane components as well as the self-assembly of amylin. Consistent with experimental evidence, we find that an initial membrane-bound α-helical state folds into stable β-sheet structures upon self-assembly. Our results suggest the following mechanism for the initial phase of amylin self-assembly. The peptides move around on the membrane with the positively charged N-terminus interacting with the negatively charged lipid headgroups. When the peptides start to interact, they partly unfold and break some of the contacts with the membrane. The initial interactions between the peptides are dominated by aromatic and hydrophobic interactions. Oligomers are formed showing both intra- and interpeptide β-sheets, initially with interactions mainly in the C-terminal domain of the peptides. Decreasing the pH to 5.5 is known to inhibit amyloid formation. At low pH, His18 is protonated, adding a fourth positive charge at the peptide. With His18 protonated, no oligomerization is observed in the simulations. The additional charge gives a strong midpoint anchoring of the peptides to negatively charged membrane components, and the peptides experience additional interpeptide repulsion, thereby preventing interactions.

Downstream Imaging Utilization After Emergency Department Ultrasound Interpreted by Radiologists Versus Nonradiologists: A Medicare Claims-Based Study.

PubMed

Allen, Bibb; Carrol, L Van; Hughes, Danny R; Hemingway, Jennifer; Duszak, Richard; Rosenkrantz, Andrew B

2017-04-01

To study differences in imaging utilization downstream to initial emergency department (ED) ultrasound examinations interpreted by radiologists versus nonradiologists. Using 5% Medicare Research Identifiable Files from 2009 to 2014, we identified episodes where the place of service was "emergency room hospital" and the patient also underwent an ultrasound examination. We determined whether the initial ultrasound was interpreted by a radiologist or nonradiologist and then summed all additional imaging events occurring within 7, 14, and 30 days of each initial ED ultrasound. For each year and each study window, we calculated the mean number of downstream imaging procedures by specialty group. Of 200,357 ED ultrasound events, 163,569 (81.6%) were interpreted by radiologists and 36,788 (18.4%) by nonradiologists. Across all study years, ED patients undergoing ultrasound examinations interpreted by nonradiologists underwent 1.08, 1.22, and 1.34 additional diagnostic imaging studies at 7, 14, and 30 days, respectively (P < .01) compared with when the initial ultrasound examination was interpreted by a radiologist. From 2010 to 2014, the volume of downstream imaging for both radiologists and nonradiologists significantly decreased, with each year resulting in 0.08 fewer imaging examinations (P < .001) 14 days after the ED ultrasound event. Despite that decline, differences in downstream imaging between radiologists and nonradiologists persisted over time. Downstream imaging after an initial ED ultrasound is significantly reduced when the ultrasound examination is interpreted by a radiologist rather than a nonradiologist. Copyright © 2016 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metal sulfide initiators for metal oxide sorbent regeneration

DOEpatents

Turk, Brian S.; Gupta, Raghubir P.

2001-01-01

A process of regenerating a sulfided sorbent is provided. According to the process of the invention, a substantial portion of the energy necessary to initiate the regeneration reaction is provided by the combustion of a particulate metal sulfide additive. In using the particulate metal sulfide additive, the oxygen-containing gas used to regenerate the sulfided sorbent can be fed to the regeneration zone without heating or at a lower temperature than used in conventional processes wherein the regeneration reaction is initiated only by heating the oxygen-containing gas. The particulate metal sulfide additive is preferably an inexpensive mineral ore such as iron pyrite which does not adversely affect the regeneration or corresponding desulfurization reactions. The invention further includes a sorbent composition comprising the particulate metal sulfide additive in admixture with an active metal oxide sorbent capable of removing one or more sulfur compounds from a sulfur-containing gas stream.

Metal sulfide initiators for metal oxide sorbent regeneration

DOEpatents

Turk, Brian S.; Gupta, Raghubir P.

1999-01-01

A process of regenerating a sulfided sorbent is provided. According to the process of the invention, a substantial portion of the energy necessary to initiate the regeneration reaction is provided by the combustion of a particulate metal sulfide additive. In using the particulate metal sulfide additive, the oxygen-containing gas used to regenerate the sulfided sorbent can be fed to the regeneration zone without heating or at a lower temperature than used in conventional processes wherein the regeneration reaction is initiated only by heating the oxygen-containing. The particulate metal sulfide additive is preferably an inexpensive mineral ore such as iron pyrite which does not adversely affect the regeneration or corresponding desulfurization reactions. The invention further includes a sorbent composition comprising the particulate metal sulfide additive in admixture with an active metal oxide sorbent capable of removing one or more sulfur compounds from a sulfur-containing gas stream.

Metal sulfide initiators for metal oxide sorbent regeneration

DOEpatents

Turk, B.S.; Gupta, R.P.

1999-06-22

A process of regenerating a sulfided sorbent is provided. According to the process of the invention, a substantial portion of the energy necessary to initiate the regeneration reaction is provided by the combustion of a particulate metal sulfide additive. In using the particulate metal sulfide additive, the oxygen-containing gas used to regenerate the sulfided sorbent can be fed to the regeneration zone without heating or at a lower temperature than used in conventional processes wherein the regeneration reaction is initiated only by heating the oxygen-containing gas. The particulate metal sulfide additive is preferably an inexpensive mineral ore such as iron pyrite which does not adversely affect the regeneration or corresponding desulfurization reactions. The invention further includes a sorbent composition comprising the particulate metal sulfide additive in admixture with an active metal oxide sorbent capable of removing one or more sulfur compounds from a sulfur-containing gas stream. 1 fig.

Vehicle Health Management Communications Requirements for AeroMACS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerczewski, Robert J.; Clements, Donna J.; Apaza, Rafael D.

2012-01-01

As the development of standards for the aeronautical mobile airport communications system (AeroMACS) progresses, the process of identifying and quantifying appropriate uses for the system is progressing. In addition to defining important elements of AeroMACS standards, indentifying the systems uses impacts AeroMACS bandwidth requirements. Although an initial 59 MHz spectrum allocation for AeroMACS was established in 2007, the allocation may be inadequate; studies have indicated that 100 MHz or more of spectrum may be required to support airport surface communications. Hence additional spectrum allocations have been proposed. Vehicle health management (VHM) systems, which can produce large volumes of vehicle health data, were not considered in the original bandwidth requirements analyses, and are therefore of interest in supporting proposals for additional AeroMACS spectrum. VHM systems are an emerging development in air vehicle safety, and preliminary estimates of the amount of data that will be produced and transmitted off an aircraft, both in flight and on the ground, have been prepared based on estimates of data produced by on-board vehicle health sensors and initial concepts of data processing approaches. This allowed an initial estimate of VHM data transmission requirements for the airport surface. More recently, vehicle-level systems designed to process and analyze VHM data and draw conclusions on the current state of vehicle health have been undergoing testing and evaluation. These systems make use of vehicle system data that is mostly different from VHM data considered previously for airport surface transmission, and produce processed system outputs that will be also need to be archived, thus generating additional data load for AeroMACS. This paper provides an analysis of airport surface data transmission requirements resulting from the vehicle level reasoning systems, within the context of overall VHM data requirements.

Unconscious Addition: When We Unconsciously Initiate and Follow Arithmetic Rules

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ric, Francois; Muller, Dominique

2012-01-01

This research shows that people can unconsciously initiate and follow arithmetic rules (e.g., addition). Participants were asked to detect whether a symbol was a digit. This symbol was preceded by 2 digits and a subliminal instruction: "add" or a control instruction. Participants were faster at identifying a symbol as a number when the…

English as an Additional Language and Initial Teacher Education: Views and Experiences from Northern Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skinner, Barbara

2010-01-01

This paper addresses training for teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL) at initial teacher education (ITE) level in Northern Ireland. This small-scale qualitative study describes 15 primary and post-primary teachers' perspectives on their preparation for teaching EAL in Northern Ireland. It explores reflections on EAL content in ITE…

40 CFR Table 42 to Subpart Uuu of... - Additional Information for Initial Notification of Compliance Status

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Notification of Compliance Status 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Refineries: Catalytic Cracking Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Recovery Units Pt. 63, Subpt. UUU, Table 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63—Additional Information for Initial Notification of...

40 CFR Table 42 to Subpart Uuu of... - Additional Information for Initial Notification of Compliance Status

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Notification of Compliance Status 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Refineries: Catalytic Cracking Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Recovery Units Pt. 63, Subpt. UUU, Table 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63—Additional Information for Initial Notification of...

Direct Regulation of Mitochondrial RNA Synthesis by Thyroid Hormone

PubMed Central

Enríquez, José A.; Fernández-Silva, Patricio; Garrido-Pérez, Nuria; López-Pérez, Manuel J.; Pérez-Martos, Acisclo; Montoya, Julio

1999-01-01

We have analyzed the influence of in vivo treatment and in vitro addition of thyroid hormone on in organello mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcription and, in parallel, on the in organello footprinting patterns at the mtDNA regions involved in the regulation of transcription. We found that thyroid hormone modulates mitochondrial RNA levels and the mRNA/rRNA ratio by influencing the transcriptional rate. In addition, we found conspicuous differences between the mtDNA dimethyl sulfate footprinting patterns of mitochondria derived from euthyroid and hypothyroid rats at the transcription initiation sites but not at the mitochondrial transcription termination factor (mTERF) binding region. Furthermore, direct addition of thyroid hormone to the incubation medium of mitochondria isolated from hypothyroid rats restored the mRNA/rRNA ratio found in euthyroid rats as well as the mtDNA footprinting patterns at the transcription initiation area. Therefore, we conclude that the regulatory effect of thyroid hormone on mitochondrial transcription is partially exerted by a direct influence of the hormone on the mitochondrial transcription machinery. Particularly, the influence on the mRNA/rRNA ratio is achieved by selective modulation of the alternative H-strand transcription initiation sites and does not require the previous activation of nuclear genes. These results provide the first functional demonstration that regulatory signals, such as thyroid hormone, that modify the expression of nuclear genes can also act as primary signals for the transcriptional apparatus of mitochondria. PMID:9858589

Predictors of breastfeeding in overweight and obese women: data from Active Mothers Postpartum (AMP).

PubMed

Krause, Katrina M; Lovelady, Cheryl A; Østbye, Truls

2011-04-01

Excess maternal weight has been negatively associated with breastfeeding. We examined correlates of breastfeeding initiation and intensity in a racially diverse sample of overweight and obese women. This paper presents a secondary analysis of data from 450 women enrolled in a postpartum weight loss intervention (Active Mothers Postpartum [AMP]). Sociodemographic measures and body mass index (BMI), collected at 6 weeks postpartum, were examined for associations with breastfeeding initiation and lactation score (a measure combining duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding until 12 months postpartum). Data were collected September 2004-April 2007. In multivariable analyses, BMI was negatively associated with both initiation of breastfeeding (OR: .96; CI: .92-.99) and lactation score (β -0.22; P = 0.01). Education and infant gestational age were additional correlates of initiation, while race, working full-time, smoking, parity, and gestational age were additional correlates of lactation score. Some racial differences in these correlates were noted, but were not statistically significant. Belief that breastfeeding could aid postpartum weight loss was initially high, but unrelated to breastfeeding initiation or intensity. Maintenance of this belief over time, however, was associated with lower lactation scores. BMI was negatively correlated with breastfeeding initiation and intensity. Among overweight and obese women, unrealistic expectations regarding the effect of breastfeeding on weight loss may negatively impact breastfeeding duration. In general, overweight and obese women may need additional encouragement to initiate breastfeeding and to continue breastfeeding during the infant's first year.

Predictors of Breastfeeding in Overweight and Obese Women: Data From Active Mothers Postpartum (AMP)

PubMed Central

Krause, Katrina M.; Lovelady, Cheryl A.; Østbye, Truls

2011-01-01

Excess maternal weight has been negatively associated with breastfeeding. We examined correlates of breastfeeding initiation and intensity in a racially diverse sample of overweight and obese women. This paper presents a secondary analysis of data from 450 women enrolled in a postpartum weight loss intervention (Active Mothers Postpartum [AMP]). Sociodemographic measures and body mass index (BMI), collected at 6 weeks postpartum, were examined for associations with breastfeeding initiation and lactation score (a measure combining duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding until 12 months postpartum). Data were collected September 2004–April 2007. In multivariable analyses, BMI was negatively associated with both initiation of breastfeeding (OR: .96; CI: .92–.99) and lactation score (β −0.22; P = 0.01). Education and infant gestational age were additional correlates of initiation, while race, working full-time, smoking, parity, and gestational age were additional correlates of lactation score. Some racial differences in these correlates were noted, but were not statistically significant. Belief that breastfeeding could aid postpartum weight loss was initially high, but unrelated to breastfeeding initiation or intensity. Maintenance of this belief over time, however, was associated with lower lactation scores. BMI was negatively correlated with breastfeeding initiation and intensity. Among overweight and obese women, unrealistic expectations regarding the effect of breastfeeding on weight loss may negatively impact breastfeeding duration. In general, overweight and obese women may need additional encouragement to initiate breastfeeding and to continue breastfeeding during the infant’s first year. PMID:20821042

On the Inference of the Cosmic-ray Ionization Rate ζ from the HCO+-to-DCO+ Abundance Ratio: The Effect of Nuclear Spin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shingledecker, Christopher N.; Bergner, Jennifer B.; Le Gal, Romane; Öberg, Karin I.; Hincelin, Ugo; Herbst, Eric

2016-10-01

The chemistry of dense interstellar regions was analyzed using a time-dependent gas-grain astrochemical simulation and a new chemical network that incorporates deuterated chemistry, taking into account nuclear spin states for the hydrogen chemistry and its deuterated isotopologues. With this new network, the utility of the [HCO+]/[DCO+] abundance ratio as a probe of the cosmic-ray ionization rate has been re-examined, with special attention paid to the effect of the initial value of the ortho-to-para ratio (OPR) of molecular hydrogen. After discussing the use of the probe for cold cores, we compare our results with previous theoretical and observational results for a molecular cloud close to the supernova remnant W51C, which is thought to have an enhanced cosmic-ray ionization rate ζ caused by the nearby γ-ray source. In addition, we attempt to use our approach to estimate the cosmic-ray ionization rate for L1174, a dense core with an embedded star. Beyond the previously known sensitivity of [HCO+]/[DCO+] to ζ, we demonstrate its additional dependence on the initial OPR and, secondarily, on the age of the source, its temperature, and its density. We conclude that the usefulness of the [HCO+]/[DCO+] abundance ratio in constraining the cosmic-ray ionization rate in dense regions increases with the age of the source and the ionization rate as the ratio becomes far less sensitive to the initial value of the OPR.

Strategic Defense Initiative Demonstration/Validation Program Environmental Assessment. Ground-Based Surveillance and Tracking System (GSTS),

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-01

conflicts between the facility and local standards, and to evaluate the probability of conflict resulting from any planned expansions. 2-2 Visual Resources...on staffing and housing for the facility itself is contained in Table 2-7. Additional data on the socio - economic background of Ebeye, including...resources, noise, and socio - economics. As a result of that evaluation, consequences vere assigned to one of three categories: insignificant, mitigable, or

A high-fidelity satellite ephemeris program for Earth satellites in eccentric orbits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simmons, David R.

1990-01-01

A program for mission planning called the Analytic Satellite Ephemeris Program (ASEP), produces projected data for orbits that remain fairly close to the Earth. ASEP does not take into account lunar and solar perturbations. These perturbations are accounted for in another program called GRAVE, which incorporates more flexible means of input for initial data, provides additional kinds of output information, and makes use of structural programming techniques to make the program more understandable and reliable. GRAVE was revised, and a new program called ORBIT was developed. It is divided into three major phases: initialization, integration, and output. Results of the program development are presented.

Surfactant studies for bench-scale operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hickey, Gregory S.; Sharma, Pramod K.

1992-01-01

A phase 2 study was initiated to investigate surfactant-assisted coal liquefaction, with the objective of quantifying the enhancement in liquid yields and product quality. This publication covers the first quarter of work. The major accomplishments were: the refurbishment of the high-pressure, high-temperature reactor autoclave, the completion of four coal liquefaction runs with Pittsburgh #8 coal, two each with and without sodium lignosulfonate surfactant, and the development of an analysis scheme for the product liquid filtrate and filter cake. Initial results at low reactor temperatures show that the addition of the surfactant produces an improvement in conversion yields and an increase in lighter boiling point fractions for the filtrate.

Asymmetric T lymphocyte division in the initiation of adaptive immune responses.

PubMed

Chang, John T; Palanivel, Vikram R; Kinjyo, Ichiko; Schambach, Felix; Intlekofer, Andrew M; Banerjee, Arnob; Longworth, Sarah A; Vinup, Kristine E; Mrass, Paul; Oliaro, Jane; Killeen, Nigel; Orange, Jordan S; Russell, Sarah M; Weninger, Wolfgang; Reiner, Steven L

2007-03-23

A hallmark of mammalian immunity is the heterogeneity of cell fate that exists among pathogen-experienced lymphocytes. We show that a dividing T lymphocyte initially responding to a microbe exhibits unequal partitioning of proteins that mediate signaling, cell fate specification, and asymmetric cell division. Asymmetric segregation of determinants appears to be coordinated by prolonged interaction between the T cell and its antigen-presenting cell before division. Additionally, the first two daughter T cells displayed phenotypic and functional indicators of being differentially fated toward effector and memory lineages. These results suggest a mechanism by which a single lymphocyte can apportion diverse cell fates necessary for adaptive immunity.

Experiments of thermomechanical fatigue of SMAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagoudas, Dimitris C.; Miller, David A.

1999-07-01

As SMA wires are gaining in popularity for use as actuators, one constitutive parameter that remain unknown is the thermomechanical fatigue life. Even though the effect of thermal cycles on the transformation characteristics of SMAs has been studied, these teste have not been extended to high number of cycles. In this study, a novel test frame developed to study the thermomechanical fatigue life of SMAs is described. Additionally, a testing protocol is discussed necessary to fully establish the fatigue characteristics of SMAs under various conditions. Initial results of the initial test show a substantial increase in the number of cycles to failure as the applied stress level reduces to approximately 100 MPa.

Effect of orientation on deformation behavior of Fe nanowires: A molecular dynamics study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sainath, G.; Srinivasan, V. S.; Choudhary, B. K.; Mathew, M. D.; Jayakumar, T.

2014-04-01

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to study the effect of crystal orientation on tensile deformation behaviour of single crystal BCC Fe nanowires at 10 K. Two nanowires with an initial orientation of <100>/{100} and <110>/{111} have been chosen for this study. The simulation results show that the deformation mechanisms varied with crystal orientation. The nanowire with an initial orientation of <100>/{100} deforms predominantly by twinning mechanism, whereas the nanowire oriented in <110>/{111}, deforms by dislocation plasticity. In addition, the single crystal oriented in <110>/{111} shows higher strength and elastic modulus than <100>/{100} oriented nanowire.

Effects of Bi Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Ag Coatings

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

Wang, Yuxin; Cheng, Guang; Tay, See Leng

Here in this study we investigated the effects of Bi addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ag coating. Microstructural features were investigated with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the addition of Bi introduced nanometer-scale Ag-Bi solid solution particles and more internal defects to the initial Ag microstructures. The anisotropic elastic-plastic properties of the Ag nanocrystalline coating with and without Bi addition were examined with nanoindentation experiments in conjunction with the recently-developed inverse method. The results indicate that the as-deposited nanocrystalline Ag coating contained high mechanical anisotropy. With the addition of 1 atomicmore » percent (at%) Bi, the anisotropy within Ag-Bi coating was very small, and yield strength of the nanocrystalline Ag-Bi alloy in both longitudinal and transverse directions were improved by over 100% compared to that of Ag. On the other hand, the strain-hardening exponent of Ag-Bi was reduced to 0.055 from the original 0.16 of the Ag coating. Furthermore, the addition of Bi only slightly increased the electrical resistivity of the Ag-Bi coating in comparison to Ag. Lastly, results of our study indicate that Bi addition is a promising method for improving the mechanical and physical performances of Ag coating for electrical contacts.« less

Effects of Bi Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Ag Coatings

DOE PAGES

Wang, Yuxin; Cheng, Guang; Tay, See Leng; ...

2017-08-10

Here in this study we investigated the effects of Bi addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ag coating. Microstructural features were investigated with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the addition of Bi introduced nanometer-scale Ag-Bi solid solution particles and more internal defects to the initial Ag microstructures. The anisotropic elastic-plastic properties of the Ag nanocrystalline coating with and without Bi addition were examined with nanoindentation experiments in conjunction with the recently-developed inverse method. The results indicate that the as-deposited nanocrystalline Ag coating contained high mechanical anisotropy. With the addition of 1 atomicmore » percent (at%) Bi, the anisotropy within Ag-Bi coating was very small, and yield strength of the nanocrystalline Ag-Bi alloy in both longitudinal and transverse directions were improved by over 100% compared to that of Ag. On the other hand, the strain-hardening exponent of Ag-Bi was reduced to 0.055 from the original 0.16 of the Ag coating. Furthermore, the addition of Bi only slightly increased the electrical resistivity of the Ag-Bi coating in comparison to Ag. Lastly, results of our study indicate that Bi addition is a promising method for improving the mechanical and physical performances of Ag coating for electrical contacts.« less

Experimental testing of spray dryer for control of incineration emissions.

PubMed

Wey, M Y; Wu, H Y; Tseng, H H; Chen, J C

2003-05-01

The research investigated the absorption/adsorption efficiency of sulfur dioxide (SO2), heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with different Ca-based sorbents in a spray dryer during incineration process. For further improving the adsorption capacity of Ca-based sorbents, different spraying pressure and additives were carried out in this study. Experimental results showed that CaO could be used as an alternative sorbent in the spray dryer at an optimal initial particle size distribution of spraying droplet. In the spray dryer, Ca-based sorbents provided a lot of sites for heavy metals and PAHs condensing and calcium and alkalinity to react with metals to form merged species. As a result, heavy metals and PAHs could be removed from the flue gas simultaneously by condensation and adsorption. The additions of additives NaHCO3, SiO2, and KMnO4 were also found to be effective in improving the removal efficiency of these air pollutants.

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

Barbee, D; McCarthy, A; Galavis, P

Purpose: Errors found during initial physics plan checks frequently require replanning and reprinting, resulting decreased departmental efficiency. Additionally, errors may be missed during physics checks, resulting in potential treatment errors or interruption. This work presents a process control created using the Eclipse Scripting API (ESAPI) enabling dosimetrists and physicists to detect potential errors in the Eclipse treatment planning system prior to performing any plan approvals or printing. Methods: Potential failure modes for five categories were generated based on available ESAPI (v11) patient object properties: Images, Contours, Plans, Beams, and Dose. An Eclipse script plugin (PlanCheck) was written in C# tomore » check errors most frequently observed clinically in each of the categories. The PlanCheck algorithms were devised to check technical aspects of plans, such as deliverability (e.g. minimum EDW MUs), in addition to ensuring that policy and procedures relating to planning were being followed. The effect on clinical workflow efficiency was measured by tracking the plan document error rate and plan revision/retirement rates in the Aria database over monthly intervals. Results: The number of potential failure modes the PlanCheck script is currently capable of checking for in the following categories: Images (6), Contours (7), Plans (8), Beams (17), and Dose (4). Prior to implementation of the PlanCheck plugin, the observed error rates in errored plan documents and revised/retired plans in the Aria database was 20% and 22%, respectively. Error rates were seen to decrease gradually over time as adoption of the script improved. Conclusion: A process control created using the Eclipse scripting API enabled plan checks to occur within the planning system, resulting in reduction in error rates and improved efficiency. Future work includes: initiating full FMEA for planning workflow, extending categories to include additional checks outside of ESAPI via Aria database queries, and eventual automated plan checks.« less

The successive projection algorithm as an initialization method for brain tumor segmentation using non-negative matrix factorization.

PubMed

Sauwen, Nicolas; Acou, Marjan; Bharath, Halandur N; Sima, Diana M; Veraart, Jelle; Maes, Frederik; Himmelreich, Uwe; Achten, Eric; Van Huffel, Sabine

2017-01-01

Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) has become a widely used tool for additive parts-based analysis in a wide range of applications. As NMF is a non-convex problem, the quality of the solution will depend on the initialization of the factor matrices. In this study, the successive projection algorithm (SPA) is proposed as an initialization method for NMF. SPA builds on convex geometry and allocates endmembers based on successive orthogonal subspace projections of the input data. SPA is a fast and reproducible method, and it aligns well with the assumptions made in near-separable NMF analyses. SPA was applied to multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets for brain tumor segmentation using different NMF algorithms. Comparison with common initialization methods shows that SPA achieves similar segmentation quality and it is competitive in terms of convergence rate. Whereas SPA was previously applied as a direct endmember extraction tool, we have shown improved segmentation results when using SPA as an initialization method, as it allows further enhancement of the sources during the NMF iterative procedure.

Need for appropriate formulations for children: the national institute of child health and human development-pediatric formulations initiative, part 2.

PubMed

Giacoia, George P; Taylor-Zapata, Perdita; Mattison, Donald

2007-01-01

The development and compounding of pharmacotherapeutic formulations that are suitable for infants and young children can be a challenging problem. This problem results from the lack of knowledge on the acceptability of different dosage forms and formulations to children in relation to age and developmental status, as well as the lack of reliable documentation of formulations used in pediatric clinical trials. As part of its mandate under the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act to improve pediatric therapeutics, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has sponsored the Pediatric Formulations Initiative. The goal of this ongoing initiative is to address the issues and concerns associated with pediatric therapeutics by convening groups of researchers and experts in pediatric formulations from academia, pharmaceutical companies, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this second part of a two-part article, the activities of the various groups that constitute the Pediatric Formulations Initiative are discussed, in addition the Initiative's future activities and plans are outlined.

Single Molecule Analysis of Replicated DNA Reveals the Usage of Multiple KSHV Genome Regions for Latent Replication

PubMed Central

Verma, Subhash C.; Lu, Jie; Cai, Qiliang; Kosiyatrakul, Settapong; McDowell, Maria E.; Schildkraut, Carl L.; Robertson, Erle S.

2011-01-01

Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an etiologic agent of Kaposi's sarcoma, Body Cavity Based Lymphoma and Multicentric Castleman's Disease, establishes lifelong latency in infected cells. The KSHV genome tethers to the host chromosome with the help of a latency associated nuclear antigen (LANA). Additionally, LANA supports replication of the latent origins within the terminal repeats by recruiting cellular factors. Our previous studies identified and characterized another latent origin, which supported the replication of plasmids ex-vivo without LANA expression in trans. Therefore identification of an additional origin site prompted us to analyze the entire KSHV genome for replication initiation sites using single molecule analysis of replicated DNA (SMARD). Our results showed that replication of DNA can initiate throughout the KSHV genome and the usage of these regions is not conserved in two different KSHV strains investigated. SMARD also showed that the utilization of multiple replication initiation sites occurs across large regions of the genome rather than a specified sequence. The replication origin of the terminal repeats showed only a slight preference for their usage indicating that LANA dependent origin at the terminal repeats (TR) plays only a limited role in genome duplication. Furthermore, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation for ORC2 and MCM3, which are part of the pre-replication initiation complex to determine the genomic sites where these proteins accumulate, to provide further characterization of potential replication initiation sites on the KSHV genome. The ChIP data confirmed accumulation of these pre-RC proteins at multiple genomic sites in a cell cycle dependent manner. Our data also show that both the frequency and the sites of replication initiation vary within the two KSHV genomes studied here, suggesting that initiation of replication is likely to be affected by the genomic context rather than the DNA sequences. PMID:22072974

Synthesis and testing of ZnO nanoparticles for photo-initiation: experimental observation of two different non-migration initiators for bulk polymerization.

PubMed

Schmitt, M

2015-06-07

The migration and transport of polymerization initiators are problematic for commercially used polymerization procedures. For example, UV printing of packaging generates products with potentially harmful components that come in contact with food. Enlarging the size of the initiator is the only way to prevent contamination, e.g., by gas phase transport. In this manuscript, the synthesis and advanced and full analyses of novel nanoparticle-based types of non-migration, fragmenting and non-fragmenting photo-initiators will be presented in detail. This study introduces non-fragmenting/"Norrish type II" and fragmenting/"Norrish type I" ZnO nanoparticle-based initiators and compares them with two commercial products, a "Norrish type I" initiator and a "Norrish type II" initiator. Therefore, inter alia, the recently developed analysis involves examining the solidification by UV-vis and the double bond content by Raman. Irradiation is performed using absolute and spectrally calibrated xenon flash lights. A novel procedure for absolute and spectral calibration of such light sources is also presented. The non-optimized "Norrish type II" particle-based initiator is already many times faster than benzophenone, which is a molecular initiator of the same non-fragmenting type. This experimentally observed difference in reactive particle-based systems without co-initiators is unexpected. Co-initiators are normally an additional molecular species, which leads to migration problems. The discovery of significant initiation potential resulting in a very well-dispersed organic-inorganic hybrid material suggests a new field of research opportunities at the interface of physical chemistry, polymer chemistry and engineering science, with enormous value for human health.

A Track Initiation Method for the Underwater Target Tracking Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dong-dong; Lin, Yang; Zhang, Yao

2018-04-01

A novel efficient track initiation method is proposed for the harsh underwater target tracking environment (heavy clutter and large measurement errors): track splitting, evaluating, pruning and merging method (TSEPM). Track initiation demands that the method should determine the existence and initial state of a target quickly and correctly. Heavy clutter and large measurement errors certainly pose additional difficulties and challenges, which deteriorate and complicate the track initiation in the harsh underwater target tracking environment. There are three primary shortcomings for the current track initiation methods to initialize a target: (a) they cannot eliminate the turbulences of clutter effectively; (b) there may be a high false alarm probability and low detection probability of a track; (c) they cannot estimate the initial state for a new confirmed track correctly. Based on the multiple hypotheses tracking principle and modified logic-based track initiation method, in order to increase the detection probability of a track, track splitting creates a large number of tracks which include the true track originated from the target. And in order to decrease the false alarm probability, based on the evaluation mechanism, track pruning and track merging are proposed to reduce the false tracks. TSEPM method can deal with the track initiation problems derived from heavy clutter and large measurement errors, determine the target's existence and estimate its initial state with the least squares method. What's more, our method is fully automatic and does not require any kind manual input for initializing and tuning any parameter. Simulation results indicate that our new method improves significantly the performance of the track initiation in the harsh underwater target tracking environment.

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

Smeets, A. J., E-mail: radiol@eztilburg.nl; Nijenhuis, R. J.; Boekkooi, P. F.

Introduction: Long-term results of uterine artery embolization (UAE) for adenomyosis are largely unknown. We assess long-term outcome of UAE in 40 women with adenomyosis. Materials and methods: Between March 1999 and October 2006, 40 consecutive women with adenomyosis (22 in combination with fibroids) were treated with UAE. Changes in junction zone thickness were assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline and again at 3 months. After a mean clinical follow-up of 65 months (median 58 [range 38-129]), women filled out the uterine fibroid symptom and quality of life (UFS-QoL) questionnaire, which had additional questions on the long-term evolution ofmore » baseline symptoms and adverse events. Results: During follow-up, 7 of 40 women (18%) underwent hysterectomy. Among these 7 women, the junction zones were significantly thicker, both at baseline (mean 23 vs. 16 mm, P = 0.028) and at 3-month follow-up (mean 15 vs. 9 mm, P = 0.034). Of 33 women with preserved uterus, 29 were asymptomatic. Four patients had symptom severity scores of 50 to 85 and overall QoL scores of 60 to 66, indicating substantial clinical symptoms. There was no relation between clinical outcome and the initial presence of fibroids in addition to adenomyosis. Conclusion: In women with therapy-resistant adenomyosis, UAE resulted in long-term preservation of the uterus in the majority. Most patients with preserved uterus were asymptomatic. The only predictor for hysterectomy during follow-up was initial thickness of the junction zone. The presence or absence of fibroids in addition to adenomyosis had no relation with the need for hysterectomy or clinical outcome.« less

Factors Influencing the Uptake of a Mechatronics Curriculum Initiative in Five Australian Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholas, Howard; Ng, Wan

2012-01-01

While the ready-made Lego[TM] Robotics kits are popular in schools and are used by students at both primary and secondary year levels, using the Picaxe microcontroller (chip) to create simple electronic devices, including robotic devices is less popular. The latter imposes an additional challenge as a result of the need to construct the universal…

Partitioning of Nd, Tb, Lu, and Hf Between Garnet and Ordinary Chondrite Melt at 5 to 9 GPa: Applications to Martian Differentiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Draper, D. S.; Chabot, N. L.; Xirouchakis, D.; Wasserman, A. A.; Agee, C. B.

2001-01-01

One explanation for Al and REE depletions in SNC meteorites is early majorite fractionation in a deep martian magma ocean. We report initial results from an experimental investigation of partitioning between majoritic garnet and ordinary chondrite liquid. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

New applications of X-ray tomography in pyrolysis of biomass: Biochar imaging

DOE PAGES

Jones, Keith; Ramakrishnan, Girish; Uchimiya, Minori; ...

2015-01-30

We report on the first ever use of non-destructive micrometer-scale synchrotron-computed microtomography (CMT) for biochar material characterization as a function of pyrolysis temperature. This innovative approach demonstrated an increase in micron-sized marcropore fraction of the Cotton Hull (CH) sample, resulting in up to 29% sample porosity. We have also found that initial porosity development occurred at low temperatures (below 350°C) of pyrolysis, consistent with chemical composition of CH. This innovative technique can be highly complementary to traditional BET measurements, considering that Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) analysis of pore size distribution cannot detect these macropores. Such information can be of substantial relevance tomore » environmental applications, given that water retention by biochars added to soils is controlled by macropore characteristic among the other factors. In addition, complementing our data with SEM, EDX, and XRF characterization techniques allowed us to develop a better understanding of evolution of biochar properties during its production, such presence of metals and initial morphological features of biochar before pyrolysis. These results have significant implications for using biochar as a soil additive and for clarifying the mechanisms of biofuel production by pyrolysis.« less

New applications of X-ray tomography in pyrolysis of biomass: Biochar imaging

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

Jones, Keith; Ramakrishnan, Girish; Uchimiya, Minori

We report on the first ever use of non-destructive micrometer-scale synchrotron-computed microtomography (CMT) for biochar material characterization as a function of pyrolysis temperature. This innovative approach demonstrated an increase in micron-sized marcropore fraction of the Cotton Hull (CH) sample, resulting in up to 29% sample porosity. We have also found that initial porosity development occurred at low temperatures (below 350°C) of pyrolysis, consistent with chemical composition of CH. This innovative technique can be highly complementary to traditional BET measurements, considering that Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) analysis of pore size distribution cannot detect these macropores. Such information can be of substantial relevance tomore » environmental applications, given that water retention by biochars added to soils is controlled by macropore characteristic among the other factors. In addition, complementing our data with SEM, EDX, and XRF characterization techniques allowed us to develop a better understanding of evolution of biochar properties during its production, such presence of metals and initial morphological features of biochar before pyrolysis. These results have significant implications for using biochar as a soil additive and for clarifying the mechanisms of biofuel production by pyrolysis.« less

The effectiveness of prophylactic etodolac on postendodontic pain.

PubMed

Menke, E R; Jackson, C R; Bagby, M D; Tracy, T S

2000-12-01

To determine if prophylactic etodolac would significantly reduce postendodontic pain, when compared with ibuprofen or placebo, 36 patients consented to single blind oral administration of either 400 mg of etodolac, 600 mg of ibuprofen, or a placebo, before conventional one-appointment root canal therapy. Patient-reported visual analog scale ratings of pain intensity were conducted upon initial clinical presentation, immediately postoperative, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after initiation of root canal therapy. Results showed that prophylactic ibuprofen administration significantly reduced postendodontic pain at 4 and 8 h after initiation of root canal therapy, when compared with etodolac and a placebo. Patients with a periapical diagnosis of acute apical periodontitis or with a Phoenix abscess showed a significant increased need for additional medication after completion of root canal therapy, compared with all other periapical diagnoses.

The Role of Hemoglobin Laboratory Test Results for the Detection of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Outcomes Resulting from the Use of Medications in Observational Studies.

PubMed

Patorno, Elisabetta; Gagne, Joshua J; Lu, Christine Y; Haynes, Kevin; Sterrett, Andrew T; Roy, Jason; Wang, Xingmei; Raebel, Marsha A

2017-01-01

The identification of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding and perforated ulcers in claims data typically relies on inpatient diagnoses. The use of hemoglobin laboratory results might increase the detection of UGI events that do not lead to hospitalization. Our objective was to evaluate whether hemoglobin results increase UGI outcome identification in electronic databases, using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as a test case. From three data partner sites within the Mini-Sentinel Distributed Database, we identified NSAID initiators aged ≥18 years between 2008 and 2013. Numbers of events and risks within 30 days after NSAID initiation were calculated for four mutually exclusive outcomes: (1) inpatient UGI diagnosis of bleeding or gastric ulcer (standard claims-based definition without laboratory results); (2) non-inpatient UGI diagnosis AND ≥3 g/dl hemoglobin decrease; (3) ≥3 g/dl hemoglobin decrease without UGI diagnosis in any clinical setting; (4) non-inpatient UGI diagnosis, without ≥3 g/dl hemoglobin decrease. We identified 2,289,772 NSAID initiators across three sites. Overall, 45.3% had one or more hemoglobin result available within 365 days before or 30 days after NSAID initiation; only 6.8% had results before and after. Of 7637 potential outcomes identified, outcome 1 accounted for 21.7%, outcome 2 for 0.8%, outcome 3 for 34.3%, and outcome 4 for 43.3%. Potential cases identified by outcome 3 were largely not suggestive of UGI events. Outcomes 1, 2, and 4 had similar distributions of specific UGI diagnoses. Using available hemoglobin result values combined with non-inpatient UGI diagnoses identified few additional UGI cases. Non-inpatient UGI diagnostic codes may increase outcome detection but would require validation.

Input Variability Facilitates Unguided Subcategory Learning in Adults.

PubMed

Eidsvåg, Sunniva Sørhus; Austad, Margit; Plante, Elena; Asbjørnsen, Arve E

2015-06-01

This experiment investigated whether input variability would affect initial learning of noun gender subcategories in an unfamiliar, natural language (Russian), as it is known to assist learning of other grammatical forms. Forty adults (20 men, 20 women) were familiarized with examples of masculine and feminine Russian words. Half of the participants were familiarized with 32 different root words in a high-variability condition. The other half were familiarized with 16 different root words, each repeated twice for a total of 32 presentations in a high-repetition condition. Participants were tested on untrained members of the category to assess generalization. Familiarization and testing was completed 2 additional times. Only participants in the high-variability group showed evidence of learning after an initial period of familiarization. Participants in the high-repetition group were able to learn after additional input. Both groups benefited when words included 2 cues to gender compared to a single cue. The results demonstrate that the degree of input variability can influence learners' ability to generalize a grammatical subcategory (noun gender) from a natural language. In addition, the presence of multiple cues to linguistic subcategory facilitated learning independent of variability condition.

Cognitive precursors of arithmetic development in primary school children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Van Rooijen, M; Verhoeven, L; Smits, D W; Dallmeijer, A J; Becher, J G; Steenbergen, B

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to examine the development of arithmetic performance and its cognitive precursors in children with CP from 7 till 9 years of age. Previous research has shown that children with CP are generally delayed in arithmetic performance compared to their typically developing peers. In children with CP, the developmental trajectory of the ability to solve addition- and subtraction tasks has, however, rarely been studied, as well as the cognitive factors affecting this trajectory. Sixty children (M=7.2 years, SD=.23 months at study entry) with CP participated in this study. Standardized tests were administered to assess arithmetic performance, word decoding skills, non-verbal intelligence, and working memory. The results showed that the ability to solve addition- and subtraction tasks increased over a two year period. Word decoding skills were positively related to the initial status of arithmetic performance. In addition, non-verbal intelligence and working memory were associated with the initial status and growth rate of arithmetic performance from 7 till 9 years of age. The current study highlights the importance of non-verbal intelligence and working memory to the development of arithmetic performance of children with CP. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of Inherent Surface and Internal Defects on Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Ti6Al4V Alloy: Comparison between Selective Laser Melting and Electron Beam Melting

PubMed Central

Fousová, Michaela; Vojtěch, Dalibor; Doubrava, Karel; Daniel, Matěj; Lin, Chiu-Feng

2018-01-01

Additive manufacture (AM) appears to be the most suitable technology to produce sophisticated, high quality, lightweight parts from Ti6Al4V alloy. However, the fatigue life of AM parts is of concern. In our study, we focused on a comparison of two techniques of additive manufacture—selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM)—in terms of the mechanical properties during both static and dynamic loading. All of the samples were untreated to focus on the influence of surface condition inherent to SLM and EBM. The EBM samples were studied in the as-built state, while SLM was followed by heat treatment. The resulting similarity of microstructures led to comparable mechanical properties in tension, but, due to differences in surface roughness and specific internal defects, the fatigue strength of the EBM samples reached only half the value of the SLM samples. Higher surface roughness that is inherent to EBM contributed to multiple initiations of fatigue cracks, while only one crack initiated on the SLM surface. Also, facets that were formed by an intergranular cleavage fracture were observed in the EBM samples. PMID:29614712

Postteneral Protein Feeding may Improve Biological Control Efficiency of Aphytis lingnanensis and Aphytis melinus

PubMed Central

Vanaclocha, Pilar; Papacek, Dan; Verdú, Maria Jesús; Urbaneja, Alberto

2014-01-01

Abstract The augmentative releases of mass-reared Aphytis spp. (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) parasitoids are widely used against armored scales. The nutritional status and the initial egg load of Aphytis spp. females are key to their success as biological control agents. For these reasons, this work focuses on the study of providing a protein feed to Aphytis lingnanensis (Compere) and A. melinus DeBach to improve the egg load before their release. The addition of protein to a honey diet during the first 2 d after the adult parasitoid emergence increased the initial egg load in both species of parasitoids by more than five eggs. Furthermore, the addition of protein increased the total number of eggs laid by A. lingnanensis on oleander scale, Aspidiotus nerii Bouché (Hemiptera: Diaspididae). In contrast, this effect was not observed on A. melinus probably because A. nerii is considered a suboptimal host for this parasitoid. The host-feeding activities of the two Aphytis species were differentially affected by the addition of protein to their diets. These results may have direct implications for augmentative biological control programs, especially during transportation from insectaries to the field, a period of time when parasitoids are deprived of hosts. PMID:25502042

Influence of Inherent Surface and Internal Defects on Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Ti6Al4V Alloy: Comparison between Selective Laser Melting and Electron Beam Melting.

PubMed

Fousová, Michaela; Vojtěch, Dalibor; Doubrava, Karel; Daniel, Matěj; Lin, Chiu-Feng

2018-03-31

Additive manufacture (AM) appears to be the most suitable technology to produce sophisticated, high quality, lightweight parts from Ti6Al4V alloy. However, the fatigue life of AM parts is of concern. In our study, we focused on a comparison of two techniques of additive manufacture-selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM)-in terms of the mechanical properties during both static and dynamic loading. All of the samples were untreated to focus on the influence of surface condition inherent to SLM and EBM. The EBM samples were studied in the as-built state, while SLM was followed by heat treatment. The resulting similarity of microstructures led to comparable mechanical properties in tension, but, due to differences in surface roughness and specific internal defects, the fatigue strength of the EBM samples reached only half the value of the SLM samples. Higher surface roughness that is inherent to EBM contributed to multiple initiations of fatigue cracks, while only one crack initiated on the SLM surface. Also, facets that were formed by an intergranular cleavage fracture were observed in the EBM samples.

Cost-effectiveness of lenalidomide plus dexamethasone vs. bortezomib plus melphalan and prednisone in transplant-ineligible U.S. patients with newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma.

PubMed

Usmani, S Z; Cavenagh, J D; Belch, A R; Hulin, C; Basu, S; White, D; Nooka, A; Ervin-Haynes, A; Yiu, W; Nagarwala, Y; Berger, A; Pelligra, C G; Guo, S; Binder, G; Gibson, C J; Facon, T

2016-01-01

To conduct a cost-effectiveness assessment of lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (Rd) vs bortezomib plus melphalan and prednisone (VMP) as initial treatment for transplant-ineligible patients with newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM), from a U.S. payer perspective. A partitioned survival model was developed to estimate expected life-years (LYs), quality-adjusted LYs (QALYs), direct costs and incremental costs per QALY and LY gained associated with use of Rd vs VMP over a patient's lifetime. Information on the efficacy and safety of Rd and VMP was based on data from multinational phase III clinical trials and a network meta-analysis. Pre-progression direct costs included the costs of Rd and VMP, treatment of adverse events (including prophylaxis) and routine care and monitoring associated with MM. Post-progression direct costs included costs of subsequent treatment(s) and routine care and monitoring for progressive disease, all obtained from published literature and estimated from a U.S. payer perspective. Utilities were obtained from the aforementioned trials. Costs and outcomes were discounted at 3% annually. Relative to VMP, use of Rd was expected to result in an additional 2.22 LYs and 1.47 QALYs (discounted). Patients initiated with Rd were expected to incur an additional $78,977 in mean lifetime direct costs (discounted) vs those initiated with VMP. The incremental costs per QALY and per LY gained with Rd vs VMP were $53,826 and $35,552, respectively. In sensitivity analyses, results were found to be most sensitive to differences in survival associated with Rd vs VMP, the cost of lenalidomide and the discount rate applied to effectiveness outcomes. Rd was expected to result in greater LYs and QALYs compared with VMP, with similar overall costs per LY for each regimen. Results of this analysis indicated that Rd may be a cost-effective alternative to VMP as initial treatment for transplant-ineligible patients with MM, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio well within the levels for recent advancements in oncology.

Impact of trace element additives on anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge with in-situ carbon dioxide sequestration

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

Linville, Jessica L.; Shen, Yanwen; Schoene, Robin P.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of sludge at wastewater treatment plants can benefit from addition of essential trace metals such as iron, nickel and cobalt to increase biogas production for utilization in combined heat and power systems, fed into natural gas pipelines or as a vehicle fuel. This study evaluated the impact and benefits of Ni/Co and olivine addition to the digester at mesophilic temperatures. These additions supplement previously reported research in which iron-rich olivine (MgSiO4) was added to sequester CO2 in-situ during batch AD of sludge. Trace element addition has been shown to stimulate and stabilize biogas production and have amore » synergistic effect on the mineral carbonation process. AD with 5% w/v olivine and 1.5 mg/L Ni/Co addition had a 17.3% increase in methane volume, a 6% increase in initial exponential methane production rate and a 56% increase in methane yield (mL CH4/g CODdegraded) compared to the control due to synergistic trace element and olivine addition while maintaining 17.7% CO2 sequestration from olivine addition. Both first-order kinetic modeling and response surface methodology modeling confirmed the combined benefit of the trace elements and olivine addition. These results were significantly higher than previously reported results with olivine addition alone [1].« less

DDT Characteristics of Laser Driven Exploding Bridgewire Detonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welle, Eric

2005-07-01

The initiation and performance characteristics of Laser Exploding Bridgewire (LEBW) detonators loaded with CL-20, CP and BNCP were examined. LEBW devices, in name, as well as in function, exhibit similarities to their electrically driven counterparts with the exception that the means for energy deposition into the driving metal media results from photon absorption instead of electrical joule heating. CP and BNCP were chosen due to their well-known propensity to rapidly undergo a deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) and CL-20 was chosen to explore its utility as a DDT explosive. The explosive loading within the LEBW detonators were similar in nature to traditional EBW devices with regard to %TMD loading of the initial increment as well as quantity of energetic materials. Comparisons of the energy fluences required for initiation of the explosives will be discussed. Additionally, streak camera measurements will be reviewed that were conducted at what would be considered ``hard-fire'' fluence levels as well as conditions closer to the mean firing fluence levels of initiation.

The DNA repair endonuclease Mus81 facilitates fast DNA replication in the absence of exogenous damage

PubMed Central

Fu, Haiqing; Martin, Melvenia M.; Regairaz, Marie; Huang, Liang; You, Yang; Lin, Chi-Mei; Ryan, Michael; Kim, RyangGuk; Shimura, Tsutomu; Pommier, Yves; Aladjem, Mirit I.

2015-01-01

The Mus81 endonuclease resolves recombination intermediates and mediates cellular responses to exogenous replicative stress. Here, we show that Mus81 also regulates the rate of DNA replication during normal growth by promoting replication fork progression while reducing the frequency of replication initiation events. In the absence of Mus81 endonuclease activity, DNA synthesis is slowed and replication initiation events are more frequent. In addition, Mus81 deficient cells fail to recover from exposure to low doses of replication inhibitors and cell viability is dependent on the XPF endonuclease. Despite an increase in replication initiation frequency, cells lacking Mus81 use the same pool of replication origins as Mus81-expressing cells. Therefore, decelerated DNA replication in Mus81 deficient cells does not initiate from cryptic or latent origins not used during normal growth. These results indicate that Mus81 plays a key role in determining the rate of DNA replication without activating a novel group of replication origins. PMID:25879486

Functional and Aesthetic Outcome Enhancement of Head and Neck Reconstruction through Secondary Procedures

PubMed Central

Hofer, Stefan O.P.; Payne, Caroline E.

2010-01-01

The foundation of head and neck reconstruction is based on two pillars: the restoration of function and the restoration of aesthetics. The objective of this article is to provide insight into how to prevent undesirable functional and aesthetic outcome after the initial procedure and also to provide solutions for enhancement of functional and aesthetic outcome with secondary procedures. Functional and aesthetic outcome enhancement is discussed in relation to the individual structures within the oral cavity, for the mandible, and for facial reconstruction. Normal prerequisites for all individual structures are described, and key points for restoration of these functional and aesthetic issues are proposed. In addition, further suggestions to improve suboptimal results after initial reconstructive surgery are presented. Understanding the function and aesthetics of the area to be reconstructed will allow appropriate planning and management of the initial reconstruction. Secondary enhancement should be attainable by minor procedures rather than a requirement to redo the initial reconstruction. PMID:22550452

Inequality and visibility of wealth in experimental social networks.

PubMed

Nishi, Akihiro; Shirado, Hirokazu; Rand, David G; Christakis, Nicholas A

2015-10-15

Humans prefer relatively equal distributions of resources, yet societies have varying degrees of economic inequality. To investigate some of the possible determinants and consequences of inequality, here we perform experiments involving a networked public goods game in which subjects interact and gain or lose wealth. Subjects (n = 1,462) were randomly assigned to have higher or lower initial endowments, and were embedded within social networks with three levels of economic inequality (Gini coefficient = 0.0, 0.2, and 0.4). In addition, we manipulated the visibility of the wealth of network neighbours. We show that wealth visibility facilitates the downstream consequences of initial inequality-in initially more unequal situations, wealth visibility leads to greater inequality than when wealth is invisible. This result reflects a heterogeneous response to visibility in richer versus poorer subjects. We also find that making wealth visible has adverse welfare consequences, yielding lower levels of overall cooperation, inter-connectedness, and wealth. High initial levels of economic inequality alone, however, have relatively few deleterious welfare effects.

40 CFR 60.5411 - What additional requirements must I meet to determine initial compliance for my covers and closed...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 7 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What additional requirements must I meet to determine initial compliance for my covers and closed vent systems routing materials from storage vessels and centrifugal compressor wet seal degassing systems? 60.5411 Section 60.5411 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ...

40 CFR 60.5411 - What additional requirements must I meet to determine initial compliance for my closed vent...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 7 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What additional requirements must I meet to determine initial compliance for my closed vent systems routing materials from storage vessels and centrifugal compressor wet seal degassing systems? 60.5411 Section 60.5411 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)...

40 CFR Table 42 to Subpart Uuu of... - Additional Information for Initial Notification of Compliance Status

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Notification of Compliance Status 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL..., Subpt. UUU, Table 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63—Additional Information for Initial Notification... source or vent associated with an affected source not subject to the requirements of subpart UUU. 2...

40 CFR Table 42 to Subpart Uuu of... - Additional Information for Initial Notification of Compliance Status

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Notification of Compliance Status 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL..., Subpt. UUU, Table 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63—Additional Information for Initial Notification... source or vent associated with an affected source not subject to the requirements of subpart UUU. 2...

40 CFR Table 42 to Subpart Uuu of... - Additional Information for Initial Notification of Compliance Status

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Notification of Compliance Status 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL..., Subpt. UUU, Table 42 Table 42 to Subpart UUU of Part 63—Additional Information for Initial Notification... source or vent associated with an affected source not subject to the requirements of subpart UUU. 2...

Multilayer Pressure Vessel Materials Testing and Analysis Phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Popelar, Carl F.; Cardinal, Joseph W.

2014-01-01

To provide NASA with a suite of materials strength, fracture toughness and crack growth rate test results for use in remaining life calculations for the vessels described above, Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) was contracted in two phases to obtain relevant material property data from a representative vessel. An initial characterization of the strength, fracture and fatigue crack growth properties was performed in Phase 1. Based on the results and recommendations of Phase 1, a more extensive material property characterization effort was developed in this Phase 2 effort. This Phase 2 characterization included additional strength, fracture and fatigue crack growth of the multilayer vessel and head materials. In addition, some more limited characterization of the welds and heat affected zones (HAZs) were performed. This report

Importance of basophils in eosinophilic asthma: the murine counterpart.

PubMed

Poddighe, D; Mathias, C B; Brambilla, I; Marseglia, G L; Oettgen, H C

2018-01-01

Several experimental studies in mice showed that basophils participate in the initiation of Th2 adaptive immune response, in addition to the effector phase. However, the role of basophils in allergic airway inflammation is less clear. The aim of this experiment was to assess the importance of basophils in recruiting inflammatory cells and, in particular, eosinophils in a murine model of asthma induced by Aspergillus fumigatus allergens. Additionally, bronchial reactivity was evaluated. Basophil depletion resulted in a reduction of inflammatory cells in the airways and eosinophil recruitment was significantly impaired. Also bronchial reactivity seemed to be impaired in basophil-depleted mice, but the result was not statistically significant. According to these preliminary data, basophils seem to influence the local eosinophilic response of allergic asthma.

Supporting Remote Sensing Research with Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, R. C.; Shanks, P. C.; Kritis, L. A.; Trani, M. G.

2014-11-01

We describe several remote sensing research projects supported with small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) operated by the NGA Basic and Applied Research Office. These sUAS collections provide data supporting Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), NGA University Research Initiative (NURI), and Cooperative Research And Development Agreements (CRADA) efforts in addition to inhouse research. Some preliminary results related to 3D electro-optical point clouds are presented, and some research goals discussed. Additional details related to the autonomous operational mode of both our multi-rotor and fixed wing small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) platforms are presented.

Methods and electrolytes for electrodeposition of smooth films

DOEpatents

Zhang, Jiguang; Xu, Wu; Graff, Gordon L; Chen, Xilin; Ding, Fei; Shao, Yuyan

2015-03-17

Electrodeposition involving an electrolyte having a surface-smoothing additive can result in self-healing, instead of self-amplification, of initial protuberant tips that give rise to roughness and/or dendrite formation on the substrate and/or film surface. For electrodeposition of a first conductive material (C1) on a substrate from one or more reactants in an electrolyte solution, the electrolyte solution is characterized by a surface-smoothing additive containing cations of a second conductive material (C2), wherein cations of C2 have an effective electrochemical reduction potential in the solution lower than that of the reactants.

The influence of school demographic factors and perceived student discrimination on delinquency trajectory in adolescence.

PubMed

Le, Thao N; Stockdale, Gary

2011-10-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of school demographic factors and youth's perception of discrimination on delinquency in adolescence and into young adulthood for African American, Asian, Hispanic, and white racial/ethnic groups. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), models testing the effect of school-related variables on delinquency trajectories were evaluated for the four racial/ethnic groups using Mplus 5.21 statistical software. Results revealed that greater student ethnic diversity and perceived discrimination, but not teacher ethnic diversity, resulted in higher initial delinquency estimates at 13 years of age for all groups. However, except for African Americans, having a greater proportion of female teachers in the school decreased initial delinquency estimates. For African Americans and whites, a larger school size also increased the initial estimates. Additionally, lower social-economic status increased the initial estimates for whites, and being born in the United States increased the initial estimates for Asians and Hispanics. Finally, regardless of the initial delinquency estimate at age 13 and the effect of the school variables, all groups eventually converged to extremely low delinquency in young adulthood, at the age of 21 years. Educators and public policy makers seeking to prevent and reduce delinquency can modify individual risks by modifying characteristics of the school environment. Policies that promote respect for diversity and intolerance toward discrimination, as well as training to help teachers recognize the precursors and signs of aggression and/or violence, may also facilitate a positive school environment, resulting in lower delinquency. Copyright © 2011 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Cloud Initialization in a Convection-permit NWP Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jia; Chen, Baode

2015-04-01

In general, to avoid "double counting precipitation" problem, in convection permit NWP models, it was a common practice to turn off convective parameterization. However, if there were not any cloud information in the initial conditions, the occurrence of precipitation could be delayed due to spin-up of cloud field or microphysical variables. In this study, we utilized the complex cloud analysis package from the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) to adjust the initial states of the model on water substance, such as cloud water, cloud ice, rain water, et al., that is, to initialize the microphysical variables (i.e., hydrometers), mainly based on radar reflectivity observations. Using the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) model, numerical experiments with/without cloud initialization and convective parameterization were carried out at grey-zone resolutions (i.e. 1, 3, and 9 km). The results from the experiments without convective parameterization indicate that model ignition with radar reflectivity can significantly reduce spin-up time and accurately simulate precipitation at the initial time. In addition, it helps to improve location and intensity of predicted precipitation. With grey-zone resolutions (i.e. 1, 3, and 9 km), using the cumulus convective parameterization scheme (without radar data) cannot produce realistic precipitation at the early time. The issues related to microphysical parametrization associated with cloud initialization were also discussed.

Effects of assimilable organic carbon and free chlorine on bacterial growth in drinking water.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaolu; Wang, Jingqi; Liu, Tingting; Kong, Weiwen; He, Xiaoqing; Jin, Yi; Zhang, Bolin

2015-01-01

Assimilable organic carbon (AOC) is one of the most important factors affecting the re-growth of microorganisms in drinking water. High AOC concentrations result in biological instability, but disinfection kills microbes to ensure the safety of drinking water. Free chlorine is an important oxidizing agent used during the disinfection process. Therefore, we explored the combined effects of AOC and free chlorine on bacterial growth in drinking water using flow cytometry (FCM). The initial AOC concentration was 168 μg.L(-1) in all water samples. Without free chlorine, the concentrations of intact bacteria increased but the level of AOC decreased. The addition of sodium hypochlorite caused an increase and fluctuation in AOC due to the oxidation of organic carbon. The concentrations of intact bacteria decreased from 1.1 × 10(5) cells.mL(-1) to 2.6 × 10(4) cells.mL(-1) at an initial free chlorine dose of 0.6 mg.L(-1) to 4.8 × 10(4) cells.mL(-1) at an initial free chlorine dose of 0.3 mg.L(-1) due to free chlorine originating from sodium hypochlorite. Additionally, free chlorine might be more obviously affected AOC concentrations than microbial growth did. These results suggested that AOC and free chlorine might have combined effects on microbial growth. In this study, our results showed concentrations determined by FCM were higher than those by HPC, which indicated that some E. coli detected by FCM might not be detected using HPC in drinking water. The level of free chlorine might restrain the consumption of AOC by inhibiting the growth of E. coli; on the other hand, chlorination might increase the level of AOC, thereby increase the potential for microbial growth in the drinking water network.

Effects of Assimilable Organic Carbon and Free Chlorine on Bacterial Growth in Drinking Water

PubMed Central

Liu, Tingting; Kong, Weiwen; He, Xiaoqing; Jin, Yi; Zhang, Bolin

2015-01-01

Assimilable organic carbon (AOC) is one of the most important factors affecting the re-growth of microorganisms in drinking water. High AOC concentrations result in biological instability, but disinfection kills microbes to ensure the safety of drinking water. Free chlorine is an important oxidizing agent used during the disinfection process. Therefore, we explored the combined effects of AOC and free chlorine on bacterial growth in drinking water using flow cytometry (FCM). The initial AOC concentration was 168 μg.L-1 in all water samples. Without free chlorine, the concentrations of intact bacteria increased but the level of AOC decreased. The addition of sodium hypochlorite caused an increase and fluctuation in AOC due to the oxidation of organic carbon. The concentrations of intact bacteria decreased from 1.1×105 cells.mL-1 to 2.6×104 cells.mL-1 at an initial free chlorine dose of 0.6 mg.L-1 to 4.8×104 cells.mL-1 at an initial free chlorine dose of 0.3 mg.L-1 due to free chlorine originating from sodium hypochlorite. Additionally, free chlorine might be more obviously affected AOC concentrations than microbial growth did. These results suggested that AOC and free chlorine might have combined effects on microbial growth. In this study, our results showed concentrations determined by FCM were higher than those by HPC, which indicated that some E. coli detected by FCM might not be detected using HPC in drinking water. The level of free chlorine might restrain the consumption of AOC by inhibiting the growth of E. coli; on the other hand, chlorination might increase the level of AOC, thereby increase the potential for microbial growth in the drinking water network. PMID:26034988

Assisted reproductive technology in the United States: 2001 results generated from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine/Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology registry.

PubMed

2007-06-01

To summarize the procedures and outcomes of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) that were initiated in the United States in 2001. Data were collected electronically using the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) Clinic Outcome Reporting System software and submitted to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine/SART Registry. Three hundred eighty-five clinics submitted data on procedures performed in 2001. Data were collated after November 2002 [corrected] so that the outcomes of all pregnancies would be known. Incidence of clinical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, abortion, stillbirth, and delivery. Programs reported initiating 108,130 cycles of ART treatment. Of these, 79,042 cycles involved IVF (with and without micromanipulation), with a delivery rate per retrieval of 31.6%; 340 were cycles of gamete intrafallopian transfer, with a delivery rate per retrieval of 21.9%; 661 were cycles of zygote intrafallopian transfer, with a delivery rate per retrieval of 31.0%. The following additional ART procedures were also initiated: 8,147 fresh donor oocyte cycles, with a delivery rate per transfer of 47.3%; 14,509 frozen ET procedures, with a delivery rate per transfer of 23.5%; 3,187 frozen ETs employing donated oocytes or embryos, with a delivery rate per transfer of 27.4%; and 1,366 cycles using a host uterus, with a delivery rate per transfer of 38.7%. In addition, 112 cycles were reported as combinations of more than one treatment type, 8 cycles as research, and 85 as embryo banking. As a result of all procedures, 29,585 deliveries were reported, resulting in 41,168 neonates. In 2001, there were more programs reporting ART treatment and a significant increase in reported cycles compared with 2000.

Investigation of practical initial attenuation image estimates in TOF-MLAA reconstruction for PET/MR

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

Cheng, Ju-Chieh, E-mail: chengjuchieh@gmail.com; Y

Purpose: Time-of-flight joint attenuation and activity positron emission tomography reconstruction requires additional calibration (scale factors) or constraints during or post-reconstruction to produce a quantitative μ-map. In this work, the impact of various initializations of the joint reconstruction was investigated, and the initial average mu-value (IAM) method was introduced such that the forward-projection of the initial μ-map is already very close to that of the reference μ-map, thus reducing/minimizing the offset (scale factor) during the early iterations of the joint reconstruction. Consequently, the accuracy and efficiency of unconstrained joint reconstruction such as time-of-flight maximum likelihood estimation of attenuation and activity (TOF-MLAA)more » can be improved by the proposed IAM method. Methods: 2D simulations of brain and chest were used to evaluate TOF-MLAA with various initial estimates which include the object filled with water uniformly (conventional initial estimate), bone uniformly, the average μ-value uniformly (IAM magnitude initialization method), and the perfect spatial μ-distribution but with a wrong magnitude (initialization in terms of distribution). 3D GATE simulation was also performed for the chest phantom under a typical clinical scanning condition, and the simulated data were reconstructed with a fully corrected list-mode TOF-MLAA algorithm with various initial estimates. The accuracy of the average μ-values within the brain, chest, and abdomen regions obtained from the MR derived μ-maps was also evaluated using computed tomography μ-maps as the gold-standard. Results: The estimated μ-map with the initialization in terms of magnitude (i.e., average μ-value) was observed to reach the reference more quickly and naturally as compared to all other cases. Both 2D and 3D GATE simulations produced similar results, and it was observed that the proposed IAM approach can produce quantitative μ-map/emission when the corrections for physical effects such as scatter and randoms were included. The average μ-value obtained from MR derived μ-map was accurate within 5% with corrections for bone, fat, and uniform lungs. Conclusions: The proposed IAM-TOF-MLAA can produce quantitative μ-map without any calibration provided that there are sufficient counts in the measured data. For low count data, noise reduction and additional regularization/rescaling techniques need to be applied and investigated. The average μ-value within the object is prior information which can be extracted from MR and patient database, and it is feasible to obtain accurate average μ-value using MR derived μ-map with corrections as demonstrated in this work.« less

Cancer Risk-Assessment of Radiation Damage in Ataxia Telangiectasia Heterozygous Human Breast Epithelial Cell Cultures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Applewhite, Lisa C.

2002-01-01

This paper describes the study of the markers of cellular changes that are found during the onset of carcinogenesis. Several of the biological factors are markers of stress response, oncoprotein expression, and differentiation factors. Oxidative stress response agents such as heat shock proteins (HSPs) protect cells from oxidative stresses such as ionizing radiation. The onocoprotein HER-2/neu, a specific breast cancer marker, indicates early onset of cancer. Additional structural and morphogenetic markers of differentiation were considered in order to determine initial cellular changes at the initial onset of cancer. As an additional consideration, all-trans retinoic acid (RA), a differentiation agent, was considered because of its known role in regulating normal differentiation and inhibiting tumor proliferation via specific nuclear receptors. This paper discusses study and results of the preliminary analyses of gamma irradiation of AT heterozygous human breast epithelial cells (WH). Comparisons are also made of the effects various RA concentrations post-irradiation.

ENSO Predictions in an Intermediate Coupled Model Influenced by Removing Initial Condition Errors in Sensitive Areas: A Target Observation Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Ling-Jiang; Gao, Chuan; Zhang, Rong-Hua

2018-07-01

Previous studies indicate that ENSO predictions are particularly sensitive to the initial conditions in some key areas (socalled "sensitive areas"). And yet, few studies have quantified improvements in prediction skill in the context of an optimal observing system. In this study, the impact on prediction skill is explored using an intermediate coupled model in which errors in initial conditions formed to make ENSO predictions are removed in certain areas. Based on ideal observing system simulation experiments, the importance of various observational networks on improvement of El Niño prediction skill is examined. The results indicate that the initial states in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific are important to improve El Ni˜no prediction skill effectively. When removing the initial condition errors in the central equatorial Pacific, ENSO prediction errors can be reduced by 25%. Furthermore, combinations of various subregions are considered to demonstrate the efficiency on ENSO prediction skill. Particularly, seasonally varying observational networks are suggested to improve the prediction skill more effectively. For example, in addition to observing in the central equatorial Pacific and its north throughout the year, increasing observations in the eastern equatorial Pacific during April to October is crucially important, which can improve the prediction accuracy by 62%. These results also demonstrate the effectiveness of the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation approach on detecting sensitive areas for target observations.

Smart grid initialization reduces the computational complexity of multi-objective image registration based on a dual-dynamic transformation model to account for large anatomical differences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosman, Peter A. N.; Alderliesten, Tanja

2016-03-01

We recently demonstrated the strong potential of using dual-dynamic transformation models when tackling deformable image registration problems involving large anatomical differences. Dual-dynamic transformation models employ two moving grids instead of the common single moving grid for the target image (and single fixed grid for the source image). We previously employed powerful optimization algorithms to make use of the additional flexibility offered by a dual-dynamic transformation model with good results, directly obtaining insight into the trade-off between important registration objectives as a result of taking a multi-objective approach to optimization. However, optimization has so far been initialized using two regular grids, which still leaves a great potential of dual-dynamic transformation models untapped: a-priori grid alignment with image structures/areas that are expected to deform more. This allows (far) less grid points to be used, compared to using a sufficiently refined regular grid, leading to (far) more efficient optimization, or, equivalently, more accurate results using the same number of grid points. We study the implications of exploiting this potential by experimenting with two new smart grid initialization procedures: one manual expert-based and one automated image-feature-based. We consider a CT test case with large differences in bladder volume with and without a multi-resolution scheme and find a substantial benefit of using smart grid initialization.

Research training program: Duke University and Brazilian Society of Cardiology.

PubMed

Pellanda, Lucia Campos; Cesa, Claudia Ciceri; Belli, Karlyse Claudino; David, Vinicius Frayze; Rodrigues, Clarissa Garcia; Vissoci, João Ricardo Nickenig; Bacal, Fernando; Kalil, Renato A K; Pietrobon, Ricardo

2012-12-01

Research coaching program focuses on the development of abilities and scientific reasoning. For health professionals, it may be useful to increase both the number and quality of projects and manuscripts. To evaluate the initial results and implementation methodology of the Research and Innovation Coaching Program of the Research on Research group of Duke University in the Brazilian Society of Cardiology. The program works on two bases: training and coaching. Training is done online and addresses contents on research ideas, literature search, scientific writing and statistics. After training, coaching favors the establishment of a collaboration between researchers and centers by means of a network of contacts. The present study describes the implementation and initial results in reference to the years 2011-2012. In 2011, 24 centers received training, which consisted of online meetings, study and practice of the contents addressed. In January 2012, a new format was implemented with the objective of reaching more researchers. In six months, 52 researchers were allocated. In all, 20 manuscripts were published and 49 more were written and await submission and/or publication. Additionally, five research funding proposals have been elaborated. The number of manuscripts and funding proposals achieved the objectives initially proposed. However, the main results of this type of initiative should be measured in the long term, because the consolidation of the national production of high-quality research is a virtuous cycle that feeds itself back and expands over time.

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

Brown, Geoffrey Wayne; Leonard, Philip; Hartline, Ernest Leon

High Explosives Science and Technology (M-7) completed all required formulation and testing of Remediated Nitrate Salt (RNS) surrogates on April 27, 2016 as specified in PLAN-TA9-2443 Rev B, "Remediated Nitrate Salt (RNS) Surrogate Formulation and Testing Standard Procedure", released February 16, 2016. This report summarizes the results of the work and also includes additional documentation required in that test plan. All formulation and testing was carried out according to PLAN-TA9-2443 Rev B. The work was carried out in three rounds, with the full matrix of samples formulated and tested in each round. Results from the first round of formulation andmore » testing were documented in memorandum M7-J6-6042, " Results from First Round of Remediated Nitrate Salt Surrogate Formulation and Testing." Results from the second round of formulation and testing were documented in M7-16-6053 , "Results from the Second Round of Remediated Nitrate Salt Surrogate Formulation and Testing." Initial results from the third round were documented in M7-16-6057, "Initial Results from the Third Round of Remediated Nitrate Salt Formulation and Testing."« less

Self-organization processes in polysiloxane block copolymers, initiated by modifying fullerene additives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voznyakovskii, A. P.; Kudoyarova, V. Kh.; Kudoyarov, M. F.; Patrova, M. Ya.

2017-08-01

Thin films of a polyblock polysiloxane copolymer and their composites with a modifying fullerene C60 additive are studied by atomic force microscopy, Rutherford backscattering, and neutron scattering. The data of atomic force microscopy show that with the addition of fullerene to the bulk of the polymer matrix, the initial relief of the film surface is leveled more, the larger the additive. This trend is associated with the processes of self-organization of rigid block sequences, which are initiated by the field effect of the surface of fullerene aggregates and lead to an increase in the number of their domains in the bulk of the polymer matrix. The data of Rutherford backscattering and neutron scattering indicate the formation of additional structures with a radius of 60 nm only in films containing fullerene, and their fraction increases with increasing fullerene concentration. A comparative analysis of the data of these methods has shown that such structures are, namely, the domains of a rigid block and are not formed by individual fullerene aggregates. The interrelation of the structure and mechanical properties of polymer films is considered.

Results From the Data & Democracy Initiative to Enhance Community-Based Organization Data and Research Capacity

PubMed Central

Carroll-Scott, Amy; Toy, Peggy; Wyn, Roberta; Zane, Jazmin I.; Wallace, Steven P.

2012-01-01

Objectives. In an era of community-based participatory research and increased expectations for evidence-based practice, we evaluated an initiative designed to increase community-based organizations’ data and research capacity through a 3-day train-the-trainer course on community health assessments. Methods. We employed a mixed method pre–post course evaluation design. Various data sources collected from 171 participants captured individual and organizational characteristics and pre–post course self-efficacy on 19 core skills, as well as behavior change 1 year later among a subsample of participants. Results. Before the course, participants reported limited previous experience with data and low self-efficacy in basic research skills. Immediately after the course, participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in data and research self-efficacy. The subsample reported application of community assessment skills to their work and increased use of data 1 year later. Conclusions. Results suggest that an intensive, short-term training program can achieve large immediate gains in data and research self-efficacy in community-based organization staff. In addition, they demonstrate initial evidence of longer-term behavior change related to use of data and research skills to support their community work. PMID:22594748

Evaluations of the conformational search accuracy of CAMDAS using experimental three-dimensional structures of protein-ligand complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oda, A.; Yamaotsu, N.; Hirono, S.; Takano, Y.; Fukuyoshi, S.; Nakagaki, R.; Takahashi, O.

2013-08-01

CAMDAS is a conformational search program, through which high temperature molecular dynamics (MD) calculations are carried out. In this study, the conformational search ability of CAMDAS was evaluated using structurally known 281 protein-ligand complexes as a test set. For the test, the influences of initial settings and initial conformations on search results were validated. By using the CAMDAS program, reasonable conformations whose root mean square deviations (RMSDs) in comparison with crystal structures were less than 2.0 Å could be obtained from 96% of the test set even though the worst initial settings were used. The success rate was comparable to those of OMEGA, and the errors of CAMDAS were less than those of OMEGA. Based on the results obtained using CAMDAS, the worst RMSD was around 2.5 Å, although the worst value obtained was around 4.0 Å using OMEGA. The results indicated that CAMDAS is a robust and versatile conformational search method and that it can be used for a wide variety of small molecules. In addition, the accuracy of a conformational search in relation to this study was improved by longer MD calculations and multiple MD simulations.

30 CFR 725.12 - Coverage of grants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... chapter. (c) Additional inspections required to enforce the initial performance standards of this chapter...) Additional administrative activities and supporting costs related to hiring additional inspectors and other... part 720, and submitting applications for reimbursement grants under this part. (h) Additional...

30 CFR 725.12 - Coverage of grants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... chapter. (c) Additional inspections required to enforce the initial performance standards of this chapter...) Additional administrative activities and supporting costs related to hiring additional inspectors and other... part 720, and submitting applications for reimbursement grants under this part. (h) Additional...

30 CFR 725.12 - Coverage of grants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... chapter. (c) Additional inspections required to enforce the initial performance standards of this chapter...) Additional administrative activities and supporting costs related to hiring additional inspectors and other... part 720, and submitting applications for reimbursement grants under this part. (h) Additional...

30 CFR 725.12 - Coverage of grants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... chapter. (c) Additional inspections required to enforce the initial performance standards of this chapter...) Additional administrative activities and supporting costs related to hiring additional inspectors and other... part 720, and submitting applications for reimbursement grants under this part. (h) Additional...

30 CFR 725.12 - Coverage of grants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... chapter. (c) Additional inspections required to enforce the initial performance standards of this chapter...) Additional administrative activities and supporting costs related to hiring additional inspectors and other... part 720, and submitting applications for reimbursement grants under this part. (h) Additional...

A Report of the Efforts of the Veterans Health Administration National Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative.

PubMed

Kelly, Allison A; Jones, Makoto M; Echevarria, Kelly L; Kralovic, Stephen M; Samore, Matthew H; Goetz, Matthew B; Madaras-Kelly, Karl J; Simbartl, Loretta A; Morreale, Anthony P; Neuhauser, Melinda M; Roselle, Gary A

2017-05-01

OBJECTIVE To detail the activities of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative and evaluate outcomes of the program. DESIGN Observational analysis. SETTING The VHA is a large integrated healthcare system serving approximately 6 million individuals annually at more than 140 medical facilities. METHODS Utilization of nationally developed resources, proportional distribution of antibiotics, changes in stewardship practices and patient safety measures were reported. In addition, inpatient antimicrobial use was evaluated before and after implementation of national stewardship activities. RESULTS Nationally developed stewardship resources were well utilized, and many stewardship practices significantly increased, including development of written stewardship policies at 92% of facilities by 2015 (P<.05). While the proportional distribution of antibiotics did not change, inpatient antibiotic use significantly decreased after VHA Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative activities began (P<.0001). A 12% decrease in antibiotic use was noted overall. The VHA has also noted significantly declining use of antimicrobials prescribed for resistant Gram-negative organisms, including carbapenems, as well as declining hospital readmission and mortality rates. Concurrently, the VHA reported decreasing rates of Clostridium difficile infection. CONCLUSIONS The VHA National Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative includes continuing education, disease-specific guidelines, and development of example policies in addition to other highly utilized resources. While no specific ideal level of antimicrobial utilization has been established, the VHA has shown that improving antimicrobial usage in a large healthcare system may be achieved through national guidance and resources with local implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:513-520.

Effects of initial saturation on properties modification and displacement of tetrachloroethene with aqueous isobutanol.

PubMed

Boyd, Glen R; Ocampo-Gómez, Ana M; Li, Minghua; Husserl, Johana

2006-11-20

Packed column experiments were conducted to study effects of initial saturation of tetrachloroethene (PCE) in the range of 1.0-14% pore volume (PV) on mobilization and downward migration of the non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) product upon contact with aqueous isobutanol ( approximately 10 vol.%). This study focused on the consequences of swelling beyond residual saturation. Columns were packed with mixtures of neat PCE, water and glass beads and waterflooded to establish a desired homogeneous residual saturation, and then flooded with aqueous isobutanol under controlled hydraulic conditions. Results showed a critical saturation of approximately 8% PV for these packed column experimental conditions. At low initial PCE saturations (<8% PV), experimental results showed reduced risk of NAPL-product migration upon contact with aqueous isobutanol. At higher initial PCE saturations (>8% PV), results showed NAPL-product mobilization and downward migration which was attributed to interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, swelling of the NAPL-product, and reduced density modification. Packed column results were compared with good agreement to theoretical predictions of NAPL-product mobilization using the total trapping number, N(T). In addition to the packed column study, preliminary batch experiments were conducted to study the effects of PCE volumetric fraction in the range of 0.5-20% on density, viscosity, and IFT modification as a function of time following contact with aqueous isobutanol ( approximately 10 vol.%). Modified NAPL-product fluid properties approached equilibrium within approximately 2 h of contact for density and viscosity. IFT reduction occurred immediately as expected. Measured fluid properties were compared with good agreement to theoretical equilibrium predictions based on UNIQUAC. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of initial DNAPL saturation, and the associated risk of downward NAPL-product migration, in applying alcohol flooding for remediation of DNAPL contaminated ground water sites.

Small Wind Research Turbine: Final Report

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

Corbus, D.; Meadors, M.

2005-10-01

The Small Wind Research Turbine (SWRT) project was initiated to provide reliable test data for model validation of furling wind turbines and to help understand small wind turbine loads. This report will familiarize the user with the scope of the SWRT test and support the use of these data. In addition to describing all the testing details and results, the report presents an analysis of the test data and compares the SWRT test data to simulation results from the FAST aeroelastic simulation model.

The Nutating Engine-Prototype Engine Progress Report and Test Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meitner, Peter L.; Boruta, Mike

2006-01-01

A prototype of a new, internal combustion (IC) engine concept has been completed. The Nutating Engine features an internal disk nutating (wobbling) on a Z-shaped power shaft. The engine is exceedingly compact, and several times more power dense than any conventional (reciprocating or rotary) IC engine. This paper discusses lessons learned during the prototype engine's development and provides details of its construction. In addition, results of the initial performance tests of the various components, as well as the complete engine, are summarized.

Tailoring the Systems Engineering Technical Review Implementation Within Naval Acquisition

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

additional feedback regarding SETR implementations. Free Text N/A 40 B. SURVEY DATA (1) Question 1 Figure 12 provides the results to the initial...instruction. The complete set of responses provided in the free text field—”Other (please specify)”—are included in Appendix B. Figure 13. Question 2...provided in the free text field— ”Other (please specify)”—are included in Appendix B. Figure 14. Question 3 Survey Results 43 (4) Question 4

Exact N 3LO results for qq ' → H + X

DOE PAGES

Anzai, Chihaya; Hasselhuhn, Alexander; Höschele, Maik; ...

2015-07-27

We compute the contribution to the total cross section for the inclusive production of a Standard Model Higgs boson induced by two quarks with different flavour in the initial state. Our calculation is exact in the Higgs boson mass and the partonic center-of-mass energy. Here, we describe the reduction to master integrals, the construction of a canonical basis, and the solution of the corresponding differential equations. Our analytic result contains both Harmonic Polylogarithms and iterated integrals with additional letters in the alphabet.

The Influence of Porosity on Fatigue Crack Initiation in Additively Manufactured Titanium Components.

PubMed

Tammas-Williams, S; Withers, P J; Todd, I; Prangnell, P B

2017-08-04

Without post-manufacture HIPing the fatigue life of electron beam melting (EBM) additively manufactured parts is currently dominated by the presence of porosity, exhibiting large amounts of scatter. Here we have shown that the size and location of these defects is crucial in determining the fatigue life of EBM Ti-6Al-4V samples. X-ray computed tomography has been used to characterise all the pores in fatigue samples prior to testing and to follow the initiation and growth of fatigue cracks. This shows that the initiation stage comprises a large fraction of life (>70%). In these samples the initiating defect was often some way from being the largest (merely within the top 35% of large defects). Using various ranking strategies including a range of parameters, we found that when the proximity to the surface and the pore aspect ratio were included the actual initiating defect was within the top 3% of defects ranked most harmful. This lays the basis for considering how the deposition parameters can be optimised to ensure that the distribution of pores is tailored to the distribution of applied stresses in additively manufactured parts to maximise the fatigue life for a given loading cycle.

Precursor processes of human self-initiated action.

PubMed

Khalighinejad, Nima; Schurger, Aaron; Desantis, Andrea; Zmigrod, Leor; Haggard, Patrick

2018-01-15

A gradual buildup of electrical potential over motor areas precedes self-initiated movements. Recently, such "readiness potentials" (RPs) were attributed to stochastic fluctuations in neural activity. We developed a new experimental paradigm that operationalized self-initiated actions as endogenous 'skip' responses while waiting for target stimuli in a perceptual decision task. We compared these to a block of trials where participants could not choose when to skip, but were instead instructed to skip. Frequency and timing of motor action were therefore balanced across blocks, so that conditions differed only in how the timing of skip decisions was generated. We reasoned that across-trial variability of EEG could carry as much information about the source of skip decisions as the mean RP. EEG variability decreased more markedly prior to self-initiated compared to externally-triggered skip actions. This convergence suggests a consistent preparatory process prior to self-initiated action. A leaky stochastic accumulator model could reproduce this convergence given the additional assumption of a systematic decrease in input noise prior to self-initiated actions. Our results may provide a novel neurophysiological perspective on the topical debate regarding whether self-initiated actions arise from a deterministic neurocognitive process, or from neural stochasticity. We suggest that the key precursor of self-initiated action may manifest as a reduction in neural noise. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The homestake surface-underground scintillators: Initial results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cherry, M. L.; Corbato, S.; Daily, T.; Fenyves, E. J.; Kieda, D.; Lande, K.; Lee, C. K.

1986-01-01

The first 70 tons of the 140-ton Large Area Scintillation Detector (LASD) have been operating since Jan. 1985 at a depth of 4850 ft. (4200 m.w.e.) in the Homestake Gold Mine, Lead, S.D. A total of 4 x 10(4) high-energy muons (E sub mu is approx. 2.7 TeV at the surface) have been detected. The remainder of the detector is scheduled to be in operation by the Fall of 1985. In addition, a surface air shower array is under construction. The first 27 surface counters, spaced out over an area of 270' x 500', began running in June, 1985. The LASD performance, the potential of the combined shower array and underground muon experiment for detecting point sources, and the initial results of a search for periodic emission from Cygnus X-3 are discussed.

Twenty and thirty GHz millimeter wave experiments with the ATS-6 satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ippolito, L. J.

1976-01-01

Studies at 11 locations in the continental United States were directed at an evaluation of rain attenuation effects, scintillations, depolarization, site diversity, coherence bandwidth, and analog and digital communications techniques using the Applications Technology Satellite-6(ATS-6). In addition to direct measurements on the 20- and 30-GHz links, methods of attenuation prediction with radars, rain gages, and radiometers were developed and compared with the directly measured attenuation. Initial data results of the ATS-6 millimeter wave experiment were presented. The first section describes the experiment objectives, flight hardware, and modes of operation. The remaining six sections present papers prepared by the major participating organizations in the experiment. The papers present a comprehensive summary of the significant results of the initial 11 months of ATS-6 experiment measurements and related radiometric, radar, and radio-meteorology studies.

Mechanism of Selenium Loss in Copper Slag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desai, Bhavin; Tathavadkar, Vilas; Basu, Somnath

2018-03-01

During smelting of copper sulfide concentrate, selenium is distributed between silica-saturated iron-silicate slag and copper-iron sulfide matte. The recovery coefficients of selenium between slag and matte were determined as a function of the initial concentration of selenium at 1523 K (1250 °C) under an inert atmosphere in a vertical tubular furnace. The initial concentration of selenium was varied by the addition of metallic selenium as well as selenium dioxide to the mixture of slag and matte. Analysis of the results indicated high affinity of selenium for matte. The apparent loss of selenium with the slag was attributed to the presence of selenium-enriched matte particles entrapped in the slag, rather than dissolved SeO2. The mechanisms proposed by previous investigators were discussed and also compared with the results of the present investigation.

Mechanism of Selenium Loss in Copper Slag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desai, Bhavin; Tathavadkar, Vilas; Basu, Somnath

2018-06-01

During smelting of copper sulfide concentrate, selenium is distributed between silica-saturated iron-silicate slag and copper-iron sulfide matte. The recovery coefficients of selenium between slag and matte were determined as a function of the initial concentration of selenium at 1523 K (1250 °C) under an inert atmosphere in a vertical tubular furnace. The initial concentration of selenium was varied by the addition of metallic selenium as well as selenium dioxide to the mixture of slag and matte. Analysis of the results indicated high affinity of selenium for matte. The apparent loss of selenium with the slag was attributed to the presence of selenium-enriched matte particles entrapped in the slag, rather than dissolved SeO2. The mechanisms proposed by previous investigators were discussed and also compared with the results of the present investigation.

Ampicillin Nanoparticles Production via Supercritical CO2 Gas Antisolvent Process.

PubMed

Esfandiari, Nadia; Ghoreishi, Seyyed M

2015-12-01

The micronization of ampicillin via supercritical gas antisolvent (GAS) process was studied. The particle size distribution was significantly controlled with effective GAS variables such as initial solute concentration, temperature, pressure, and antisolvent addition rate. The effect of each variable in three levels was investigated. The precipitated particles were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Zetasizer Nano ZS. The results indicated that decreasing the temperature and initial solute concentration while increasing the antisolvent rate and pressure led to a decrease in ampicillin particle size. The mean particle size of ampicillin was obtained in the range of 220-430 nm by varying the GAS effective variables. The purity of GAS-synthesized ampicillin nanoparticles was analyzed in contrast to unprocessed ampicillin by FTIR and HPLC. The results indicated that the structure of the ampicillin nanoparticles remained unchanged during the GAS process.

A finite element study of the EIDI system. [Electro-Impulse De-Icing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khatkhate, A. A.; Scavuzzo, R. J.; Chu, M. L.

1988-01-01

This paper presents a method for modeling the structural dynamics of an Electro-Impulse De-Icing System, using finite element analyses procedures. A guideline for building a representative finite element model is discussed. Modeling was done initially using four noded cubic elements, four noded isoparametric plate elements and eight noded isoparametric shell elements. Due to the size of the problem and due to the underestimation of shear stress results when compared to previous analytical work an approximate model was created to predict possible areas of shedding of ice. There appears to be good agreement with the test data provided by The Boeing Commercial Airplane Company. Thus these initial results of this method were found to be encouraging. Additional analytical work and comparison with experiment is needed in order to completely evaluate this approach.

Effect of pH on lead removal from water using tree fern as the sorbent.

PubMed

Ho, Yuh-Shan

2005-07-01

The sorption of lead from water onto an agricultural by-product, tree fern, was examined as a function of pH. The sorption processes were carried out using an agitated and baffled system. Pseudo-second-order kinetic analyses were performed to determine the rate constant of sorption, the equilibrium sorption capacity, and the initial sorption rate. Application of the pseudo-second-order kinetics model produced very high coefficients of determination. Results showed the efficiency of tree fern as a sorbent for lead. The optimum pH for lead removal was between 4 and 7, with pH 4.9 resulting in better lead removal. Ion exchange occurred in the initial reaction period. In addition, a relation between the change in the solution hydrogen ion concentration and equilibrium capacity was developed and is presented.

Influence of the initial surface texture on the resulting surface roughness and waviness for micro-machining with ultra-short laser pulses (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Remund, Stefan M.; Jaeggi, Beat; Kramer, Thorsten; Neuenschwander, Beat

2017-03-01

The resulting surface roughness and waviness after processing with ultra-short pulsed laser radiation depend on the laser parameters as well as on the machining strategy and the scanning system. However the results depend on the material and its initial surface quality and finishing as well. The improvement of surface finishing represents effort and produces additional costs. For industrial applications it is important to reduce the preparation of a workpiece for laser micro-machining to optimize quality and reduce costs. The effects of the ablation process and the influence of the machining strategy and scanning system onto the surface roughness and waviness can be differenced due to their separate manner. By using the optimal laser parameters on an initially perfect surface, the ablation process mainly increases the roughness to a certain value for most metallic materials. However, imperfections in the scanning system causing a slight variation in the scanning speed lead to a raise of the waviness on the sample surface. For a basic understanding of the influence of grinding marks, the sample surfaces were initially furnished with regular grooves of different depths and spatial frequencies to gain a homogenous and well-defined original surface. On these surfaces the effect of different beam waists and machining strategy are investigated and the results are compared with a simulation of the process. Furthermore the behaviors of common surface finishes used in industrial applications for laser micro-machining are studied and the relation onto the resulting surface roughness and waviness is presented.

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

Huang, Cindy Xiaohui; Lim, Chao Voon; Castagne, Sylvie

Titanium and its alloys have a wide range of applications in various industries such as aerospace, medical, automotive and even commercial products. However, formability of titanium alloys has always been an issue. This study presents the results of an investigation on the workability and response of Ti-6Al-4V deformed at different strain rates and lower elevated temperatures with different initial microstructures. Compression tests of cylindrical specimens were performed at various temperatures (300 deg. C, 400 deg. C, 450 deg. C, 500 deg. C) and at different strain rates (0.001 s{sup -1}, 0.02 s{sup -1} and 0.1 s{sup -1}). The effects ofmore » strain rate, temperature and initial microstructure on the workability of the Ti alloy were investigated. Based on these experimental results, workability maps for the respective initial microstructures were developed. Results showed that temperature played an important role in the formability of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloys unlike strain rate. In addition, feasibility study on Multi-Directional Forging (MDF) was performed and positive results were obtained. It was demonstrated that Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloys can undergo severe plastic deformation at lower elevated temperature (400-500 deg. C) and at a higher strain rate of 0.1 s{sup -1}.« less

Biogenic coal-to-methane conversion efficiency decreases after repeated organic amendment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Katherine J.; Barnhart, Elliott P.; Fields, Matthew W.; Gerlach, Robin

2018-01-01

Addition of organic amendments to coal-containing systems can increase the rate and extent of biogenic methane production for 60–80 days before production slows or stops. Understanding the effect of repeated amendment additions on the rate and extent of enhanced coal-dependent methane production is important if biological coal-to-methane conversion is to be enhanced on a commercial scale. Microalgal biomass was added at a concentration of 0.1 g/L to microcosms with and without coal on days 0, 76, and 117. Rates of methane production were enhanced after the initial amendment but coal-containing treatments produced successively decreasing amounts of methane with each amendment. During the first amendment period, 113% of carbon added as amendment was recovered as methane, whereas in the second and third amendment periods, 39% and 32% of carbon added as amendment was recovered as methane, respectively. Additionally, algae-amended coal treatments produced ∼38% more methane than unamended coal treatments and ∼180% more methane than amended coal-free treatments after one amendment. However, a second amendment addition resulted in only an ∼25% increase in methane production for coal versus noncoal treatments and a third amendment addition resulted in similar methane production in both coal and noncoal treatments. Successive amendment additions appeared to result in a shift from coal-to-methane conversion to amendment-to-methane conversion. The reported results indicate that a better understanding is needed of the potential impacts and efficiencies of repeated stimulation for enhanced coal-to-methane conversion.

Treatment attrition: Associations with negative affect smoking motives and barriers to quitting among treatment-seeking smokers.

PubMed

Garey, Lorra; Kauffman, Brooke Y; Neighbors, Clayton; Schmidt, Norman B; Zvolensky, Michael J

2016-12-01

Pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting are clinically important processes involved in early phases of quitting smoking. However, less is known about the constructs that may contribute to these processes such as negative affect reduction smoking motives. The current study sought to evaluate the relation between negative affect reduction smoking motives and pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting in a sample of 425 treatment-seeking smokers (48.5% female; Mage=37.69 years; SD=13.61) enrolled in a smoking cessation study examining the efficacy of a transdiagnostic panic-smoking cessation treatment relative to a standard smoking cessation treatment. Results indicated that greater negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with an increased likelihood of treatment initiation (odds ratio=1.49, CI: 1.09, 2.04). Additionally, negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with greater perceived barriers for cessation among pre-treatment drop-outs and treatment initiators. This initial investigation provides evidence for the possible clinical utility in addressing negative affect reduction smoking motives during early stages of quitting. Additionally, such findings could potentially inform the development of personalized, early stages of quitting interventions for smoking cessation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Precision of Readout at the hunchback Gene: Analyzing Short Transcription Time Traces in Living Fly Embryos

PubMed Central

Tran, Huy; Ferraro, Teresa; Lucas, Tanguy; Guillou, Aurelien; Coppey, Mathieu; Dostatni, Nathalie

2016-01-01

The simultaneous expression of the hunchback gene in the numerous nuclei of the developing fly embryo gives us a unique opportunity to study how transcription is regulated in living organisms. A recently developed MS2-MCP technique for imaging nascent messenger RNA in living Drosophila embryos allows us to quantify the dynamics of the developmental transcription process. The initial measurement of the morphogens by the hunchback promoter takes place during very short cell cycles, not only giving each nucleus little time for a precise readout, but also resulting in short time traces of transcription. Additionally, the relationship between the measured signal and the promoter state depends on the molecular design of the reporting probe. We develop an analysis approach based on tailor made autocorrelation functions that overcomes the short trace problems and quantifies the dynamics of transcription initiation. Based on live imaging data, we identify signatures of bursty transcription initiation from the hunchback promoter. We show that the precision of the expression of the hunchback gene to measure its position along the anterior-posterior axis is low both at the boundary and in the anterior even at cycle 13, suggesting additional post-transcriptional averaging mechanisms to provide the precision observed in fixed embryos. PMID:27942043

Determination of remodeling parameters for a strain-adaptive finite element model of the distal ulna.

PubMed

Neuert, Mark A C; Dunning, Cynthia E

2013-09-01

Strain energy-based adaptive material models are used to predict bone resorption resulting from stress shielding induced by prosthetic joint implants. Generally, such models are governed by two key parameters: a homeostatic strain-energy state (K) and a threshold deviation from this state required to initiate bone reformation (s). A refinement procedure has been performed to estimate these parameters in the femur and glenoid; this study investigates the specific influences of these parameters on resulting density distributions in the distal ulna. A finite element model of a human ulna was created using micro-computed tomography (µCT) data, initialized to a homogeneous density distribution, and subjected to approximate in vivo loading. Values for K and s were tested, and the resulting steady-state density distribution compared with values derived from µCT images. The sensitivity of these parameters to initial conditions was examined by altering the initial homogeneous density value. The refined model parameters selected were then applied to six additional human ulnae to determine their performance across individuals. Model accuracy using the refined parameters was found to be comparable with that found in previous studies of the glenoid and femur, and gross bone structures, such as the cortical shell and medullary canal, were reproduced. The model was found to be insensitive to initial conditions; however, a fair degree of variation was observed between the six specimens. This work represents an important contribution to the study of changes in load transfer in the distal ulna following the implementation of commercial orthopedic implants.

WashWise cleans up the Northwest: Lessons learned from the Northwest high-efficiency clothes washer initiative

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

Gordon, L.M.; Banks, D.L.; Brenneke, M.E.

1998-07-01

WashWise is a regional market transformation program designed to promote the sale and acceptance or resource-efficient clothes washers (RECWs) in the Northwest through financial incentives, education, and marketing. The Program is sponsored by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (the Alliance), a non-profit regional consortium of utilities, government, public interest groups, and private sector organizations. WashWise started in May 1997 and will continue through the end of 1999. WashWise works to transform the clothes washer market primarily at the retail level through an in-store instant rebate and a retailer bonus. In addition to financial incentives, WashWise has undertaken a collaborative marketingmore » and promotional campaign to educate consumers about the financial savings and other benefits of RECWs. The program promotes only RECWs that meet strict energy and water savings criteria. WashWise has far exceeded initial expectations; annual program sales goals were met in the first three months. As of June 1998, 30,000 RECWs have been sold through the program (representing approximately 13 percent of the Northwest residential clothes washer market). In addition, over 540 retailers, including national and regional chains, are participating in the program. Preliminary survey results also have also provided evidence of broad customer satisfaction. This paper reviews the key elements that have contributed to the success of the WashWise program. In addition, the paper provides program results and indicates future directions for WashWise and the RECW market.« less

Evaluation of the Veterans Health Administration's Specialty Care Transformational Initiatives to Promote Patient-Centered Delivery of Specialty Care: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

PubMed

Williams, Katherine M; Kirsh, Susan; Aron, David; Au, David; Helfrich, Christian; Lambert-Kerzner, Anne; Lowery, Julie; Battaglia, Catherine; Graham, Glenn D; Doukas, Michael; Jain, Rajiv; Ho, P Michael

2017-07-01

Veteran's Affairs Office of Specialty Care (OSC) launched four national initiatives (Electronic-Consults [e-Consults], Specialty Care Access Networks-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes [SCAN-ECHO], Mini-Residencies, and Specialty Care Neighborhood) to improve specialty care delivery and funded a center to evaluate the initiatives. The evaluation, guided by two implementation frameworks, provides formative (administrator/provider interviews and surveys) and summative data (quantitative data on patterns of use) about the initiatives to OSC. Evaluation of initiative implementation is assessed through CFIR (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research)-grounded qualitative interviews to identify barriers/facilitators. Depending on high or low implementation, factors such as receiving workload credit, protected time, existing workflow/systems compatibility, leadership engagement, and access to information/resources were considered implementation barriers or facilitators. Findings were shared with OSC and used to further refine implementation at additional sites. Evaluation of other initiatives is ongoing. The mixed-methods approach has provided timely information to OSC about initiative effect and impacted OSC policies on implementation at additional sites.

Disruption of Stat3 reveals a critical role in both the initiation and the promotion stages of epithelial carcinogenesis

PubMed Central

Chan, Keith Syson; Sano, Shigetoshi; Kiguchi, Kaoru; Anders, Joanne; Komazawa, Nobuyasu; Takeda, Junji; DiGiovanni, John

2004-01-01

Constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) has been found in a wide spectrum of human malignancies. Here, we have assessed the effect of Stat3 deficiency on skin tumor development using the 2-stage chemical carcinogenesis model. The epidermis of Stat3-deficient mice showed a significantly reduced proliferative response following treatment with the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) because of a defect in G1-to-S-phase cell cycle progression. Treatment with the tumor initiator 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) resulted in a significant increase in the number of keratinocyte stem cells undergoing apoptosis in the bulge region of hair follicles of Stat3-deficient mice compared with nontransgenic littermates. Notably, Stat3-deficient mice were completely resistant to skin tumor development when DMBA was used as the initiator and TPA as the promoter. Abrogation of Stat3 function using a decoy oligonucleotide inhibited the growth of initiated keratinocytes possessing an activated Ha-ras gene, both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, injection of Stat3 decoy into skin tumors inhibited their growth. To our knowledge, these data provide the first evidence that Stat3 is required for de novo epithelial carcinogenesis, through maintaining the survival of DNA-damaged stem cells and through mediating and maintaining the proliferation necessary for clonal expansion of initiated cells during tumor promotion. Collectively, these data suggest that, in addition to its emerging role as a target for cancer therapy, Stat3 may also be a target for cancer prevention strategies. PMID:15343391

Towards understanding the effects of additives on the vermicomposting of sewage sludge.

PubMed

Xing, Meiyan; Lv, Baoyi; Zhao, Chunhui; Yang, Jian

2015-03-01

This work evaluated the effects of additives on the chemical properties of the final products (vermicompost) from vermicomposting of sewage sludge and the adaptable characteristics of Eisenia fetida during the process. An experimental design with different ratios of sewage sludge and the additives (cattle dung or pig manure) was conducted. The results showed that the vermicomposting reduced total organic carbon and the quotient of total organic carbon to total nitrogen (C/N ratio) of the initial mixtures and enhanced the stability and agronomical value of the final products. Notably, principal component analysis indicated that the additives had significant effects on the characteristics of the vermicomposts. Moreover, the vermibeds containing cattle dung displayed a better earthworm growth and reproduction than those with pig manure. Additionally, redundancy analysis demonstrated that electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and C/N ratio played crucial roles on earthworm growth and reproduction. In all, the additives with high C/N ratio, pH buffering capacity, and low EC are recommended to be used for vermicomposting of sewage sludge.

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

Herbrych, Jacek W.; Feiguin, Adrian E.; Dagotto, Elbio R.

Here, we present a time-dependent density-matrix renormalization group investigation of the quantum distillation process within the Fermi-Hubbard model on a quasi-one-dimensional ladder geometry. The term distillation refers to the dynamical, spatial separation of singlons and doublons in the sudden expansion of interacting particles in an optical lattice, i.e., the release of a cloud of atoms from a trapping potential. Remarkably, quantum distillation can lead to a contraction of the doublon cloud, resulting in an increased density of the doublons in the core region compared to the initial state. As a main result, we show that this phenomenon is not limitedmore » to chains that were previously studied. Interestingly, there are additional dynamical processes on the two-leg ladder such as density oscillations and self-trapping of defects that lead to a less efficient distillation process. An investigation of the time evolution starting from product states provides an explanation for this behavior. Initial product states are also considered since in optical lattice experiments, such states are often used as the initial setup. We propose configurations that lead to a fast and efficient quantum distillation.« less

Improved hydrostatic pressure sample injection by tilting the microchip towards the disposable miniaturized CE device.

PubMed

Wang, Wei; Zhou, Fang; Zhao, Liang; Zhang, Jian-Rong; Zhu, Jun-Jie

2008-02-01

A simple method of hydrostatic pressure sample injection towards a disposable microchip CE device was developed. The liquid level in the sample reservoir was higher than that in the sample waste reservoir (SWR) by tilting microchip and hydrostatic pressure was generated, the sample was driven to pass through injection channel into SWR. After sample loading, the microchip was levelled for separation under applied high separation voltage. Effects of tilted angle, initial liquid height and injection duration on electrophoresis were investigated. With enough injection duration, the injection result was little affected by tilted angle and initial liquid heights in the reservoirs. Injection duration for obtaining a stable sample plug was mainly dependent on the tilted angle rather than the initial height of liquid. Experimental results were consistent with theoretical prediction. Fluorescence observation and electrochemical detection of dopamine and catechol were employed to verify the feasibility of tilted microchip hydrostatic pressure injection. Good reproducibility of this injection method was obtained. Because the instrumentation was simplified and no additional hardware was needed in this technology, the proposed method would be potentially useful in disposable devices.

Decoupled and linear quadratic regulator control of a large, flexible space antenna with an observer in the control loop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamer, H. A.; Johnson, K. G.; Young, J. W.

1985-01-01

An analysis is performed to compare decoupled and linear quadratic regulator (LQR) procedures for the control of a large, flexible space antenna. Control objectives involve: (1) commanding changes in the rigid-body modes, (2) nulling initial disturbances in the rigid-body modes, or (3) nulling initial disturbances in the first three flexible modes. Control is achieved with two three-axis control-moment gyros located on the antenna column. Results are presented to illustrate various effects on control requirements for the two procedures. These effects include errors in the initial estimates of state variables, variations in the type, number, and location of sensors, and deletions of state-variable estimates for certain flexible modes after control activation. The advantages of incorporating a time lag in the control feedback are also illustrated. In addition, the effects of inoperative-control situations are analyzed with regard to control requirements and resultant modal responses. Comparisons are included which show the effects of perfect state feedback with no residual modes (ideal case). Time-history responses are presented to illustrate the various effects on the control procedures.

Temporal Control of Gelation and Polymerization Fronts Driven by an Autocatalytic Enzyme Reaction.

PubMed

Jee, Elizabeth; Bánsági, Tamás; Taylor, Annette F; Pojman, John A

2016-02-05

Chemical systems that remain kinetically dormant until activated have numerous applications in materials science. Herein we present a method for the control of gelation that exploits an inbuilt switch: the increase in pH after an induction period in the urease-catalyzed hydrolysis of urea was used to trigger the base-catalyzed Michael addition of a water-soluble trithiol to a polyethylene glycol diacrylate. The time to gelation (minutes to hours) was either preset through the initial concentrations or the reaction was initiated locally by a base, thus resulting in polymerization fronts that converted the mixture from a liquid into a gel (ca. 0.1 mm min(-1)). The rate of hydrolytic degradation of the hydrogel depended on the initial concentrations, thus resulting in a gel lifetime of hours to months. In this way, temporal programming of gelation was possible under mild conditions by using the output of an autocatalytic enzyme reaction to drive both the polymerization and subsequent degradation of a hydrogel. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Genetic and Cultural Transmission of Smoking Initiation Using an Extended Twin Kinship Model.

PubMed

Maes, Hermine H; Morley, Kate; Neale, Michael C; Kendler, Kenneth S; Heath, Andrew C; Eaves, Lindon J; Martin, Nicholas G

2018-06-01

Considerable evidence from twin and adoption studies indicates that genetic and shared environmental factors play a role in the initiation of smoking behavior. Although twin and adoption designs are powerful to detect genetic and environmental influences, they do not provide information on the processes of assortative mating and parent-offspring transmission and their contribution to the variability explained by genetic and/or environmental factors. We examined the role of genetic and environmental factors in individual differences for smoking initiation (SI) using an extended kinship design. This design allows the simultaneous testing of additive and non-additive genetic, shared and individual-specific environmental factors, as well as sex differences in the expression of genes and environment in the presence of assortative mating and combined genetic and cultural transmission, while also estimating the regression of the prevalence of SI on age. A dichotomous lifetime 'ever' smoking measure was obtained from twins and relatives in the 'Virginia 30,000' sample and the 'Australian 25,000'. Results demonstrate that both genetic and environmental factors play a significant role in the liability to SI. Major influences on individual differences appeared to be additive genetic and unique environmental effects, with smaller contributions from assortative mating, shared sibling environment, twin environment, cultural transmission, and resulting genotype-environment covariance. Age regression of the prevalence of SI was significant. The finding of negative cultural transmission without dominance led us to investigate more closely two possible mechanisms for the lower parent-offspring correlations compared to the sibling and DZ twin correlations in subsets of the data: (1) age × gene interaction, and (2) social homogamy. Neither of the mechanism provided a significantly better explanation of the data. This study showed significant heritability, partly due to assortment, and significant effects of primarily non-parental shared environment on liability to SI.

Evaluation of PET and laparoscopy in STagIng advanced gastric cancer: a multicenter prospective study (PLASTIC-study).

PubMed

Brenkman, H J F; Gertsen, E C; Vegt, E; van Hillegersberg, R; van Berge Henegouwen, M I; Gisbertz, S S; Luyer, M D P; Nieuwenhuijzen, G A P; van Lanschot, J J B; Lagarde, S M; de Steur, W O; Hartgrink, H H; Stoot, J H M B; Hulsewe, K W E; Spillenaar Bilgen, E J; van Det, M J; Kouwenhoven, E A; van der Peet, D L; Daams, F; van Sandick, J W; van Grieken, N C T; Heisterkamp, J; van Etten, B; Haveman, J W; Pierie, J P; Jonker, F; Thijssen, A Y; Belt, E J T; van Duijvendijk, P; Wassenaar, E; van Laarhoven, H W M; Wessels, F J; Haj Mohammad, N; van Stel, H F; Frederix, G W J; Siersema, P D; Ruurda, J P

2018-04-20

Initial staging of gastric cancer consists of computed tomography (CT) and gastroscopy. In locally advanced (cT3-4) gastric cancer, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with CT (FDG-PET/CT or PET) and staging laparoscopy (SL) may have a role in staging, but evidence is scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of PET and SL in addition to initial staging in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. This prospective observational cohort study will include all patients with a surgically resectable, advanced gastric adenocarcinoma (cT3-4b, N0-3, M0), that are scheduled for treatment with curative intent after initial staging with gastroscopy and CT. The modalities to be investigated in this study is the addition of PET and SL. The primary outcome of this study is the proportion of patients in whom the PET or SL lead to a change in treatment strategy. Secondary outcome parameters are: diagnostic performance, morbidity and mortality, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness of these additional diagnostic modalities. The study recently started in August 2017 with a duration of 36 months. At least 239 patients need to be included in this study to demonstrate that the diagnostic modalities are break-even. Based on the annual number of gastrectomies in the participating centers, it is estimated that approximately 543 patients are included in this study. In this study, it is hypothesized that performing PET and SL for locally advanced gastric adenocarcinomas results in a change of treatment strategy in 27% of patients and an annual cost-reduction in the Netherlands of €916.438 in this patient group by reducing futile treatment. The results of this study may be applicable to all countries with comparable treatment algorithms and health care systems. NCT03208621 . This trial was registered prospectively on June 30, 2017.

Levels-of-growing-stock cooperative study in Douglas-fir: report no. 17—The Skykomish Study, 1961–93; The Clemons study, 1963–94.

Treesearch

James E. King; David D. Marshall; John F. Bell

2002-01-01

Stand treatments were completed as prescribed with an initial calibration cut and five thinnings resulting in eight new regimes for management of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco). Measurements were continued for an additional 14 years to observe stability and yields of stands in a postthinning holding period. Detailed descriptions...

Seven Near-Earth Asteroids at Asteroids Observers (OBAS) - MMPD: 2017 Jan-May

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fornas, Gonzalo; Carreño, Alfonso; Arce, Enrique; Flores, Angel; Mas, Vincente; Rodrigo, Onofre; Brines, Pedro; Fornas, Alvaro; Herrero, David; Lozano, Juan

2018-01-01

We report on the photometric analysis result of seven near-Earth asteroids (NEA) by Asteroides Observers (OBAS). This work is part of the Minor Planet Photometric Database effort that was initiated by a group of Spanish amateur astronomers. We have managed to obtain a number of accurate and complete lightcurves as well as some additional incomplete lightcurves to help analysis at future oppositions.

ACOSS Six (Active Control of Space Structures)

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-01

modes, specially useful simpler conditions for ensuring closed-loop asymptotic stability are also derived. In addition, conditions for robustness of...in this initial study of FOCL stability and robustness . Such a condition is strong but not unreasonable nor unrealistic. Many useful simple in- sights...smallest possible feedback gains) and many interesting numerical results on closed-loop stability and robustness of the modal-dashpot designs. The

The Influence of the War in Iraq on American Youth's Fears: Implications for Professional School Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnham, Joy J.; Hooper, Lisa M.

2008-01-01

Before and after the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, the fears of youth in grades 2-12 were examined using the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children and Adolescents (Burnham, 2005). In a pre-invasion and post-invasion comparison, results revealed significant age and gender differences between pre- and post-invasion samples. In addition, the…

The Department of Defense and Climate Change: Initiating the Dialogue

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

that might be impacted: such as for wetlands, endangered species, and protected marine ecosystems and species. In addition, the rapid implementation...their adaptive capacity. As a result, continued improvements are needed in the representation of biotic and abiotic components of environmental...resilience? 3) What design features of DoD’s built infrastructure should be assessed and modified for improving their adaptive capacity to a

IMP-I spacecraft final magnetic tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, C. A.

1972-01-01

The increased IMP-I spacecraft spin axis moment resulting from excessive field exposures during environmental testing substantiated the need for a final pre-launch magnetic deperm and measurement. By performing a dc rotation deperm it was possible to reduce this moment below the previous initial test post deperm magnitude. In addition, the magnetic field disturbance at the flight magnetometer diminished to below 0.1 nanotesla (gamma) in all directions.

Cerebellar contribution to the prediction of self-initiated sounds.

PubMed

Knolle, Franziska; Schröger, Erich; Kotz, Sonja A

2013-10-01

In everyday life we frequently make the fundamental distinction between sensory input resulting from our own actions and sensory input that is externally-produced. It has been speculated that making this distinction involves the use of an internal forward-model, which enables the brain to adjust its response to self-produced sensory input. In the auditory domain, this idea has been supported by event-related potential and evoked-magnetic field studies revealing that self-initiated sounds elicit a suppressed N100/M100 brain response compared to externally-produced sounds. Moreover, a recent study reveals that patients with cerebellar lesions do not show a significant N100-suppression effect. This result supports the theory that the cerebellum is essential for generating internal forward predictions. However, all except one study compared self-initiated and externally-produced auditory stimuli in separate conditions. Such a setup prevents an unambiguous interpretation of the N100-suppression effect when distinguishing self- and externally-produced sensory stimuli: the N100-suppression can also be explained by differences in the allocation of attention in different conditions. In the current electroencephalography (EEG)-study we investigated the N100-suppression effect in an altered design comparing (i) self-initiated sounds to externally-produced sounds that occurred intermixed with these self-initiated sounds (i.e., both sound types occurred in the same condition) or (ii) self-initiated sounds to externally-produced sounds that occurred in separate conditions. Results reveal that the cerebellum generates selective predictions in response to self-initiated sounds independent of condition type: cerebellar patients, in contrast to healthy controls, do not display an N100-suppression effect in response to self-initiated sounds when intermixed with externally-produced sounds. Furthermore, the effect is not influenced by the temporal proximity of externally-produced sounds to self-produced sounds. Controls and patients showed a P200-reduction in response to self-initiated sounds. This suggests the existence of an additional and probably more conscious mechanism for identifying self-generated sounds that does not functionally depend on the cerebellum. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist Therapy Initiation in High-Risk Patients With Heart Failure.

PubMed

Cooper, Lauren B; Hammill, Bradley G; Peterson, Eric D; Pitt, Bertram; Maciejewski, Matthew L; Curtis, Lesley H; Hernandez, Adrian F

2017-01-01

Heart failure guidelines recommend routine monitoring of serum potassium, and renal function in patients treated with a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA). How these recommendations are implemented in high-risk patients or according to setting of drug initiation is poorly characterized. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries linked to laboratory data in 10 states with prevalent heart failure as of July 1, 2011, and incident MRA use between May 1 and September 30, 2011. Outcomes included laboratory testing before MRA initiation and in the early (days 1-10) and extended (days 11-90) post-initiation periods, based on setting of drug initiation and the presence of renal insufficiency. Additional outcomes included abnormal laboratory results and adverse events proximate to MRA initiation. Of 10 443 Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure started on an MRA, 19.7% were initiated during a hospitalization. Appropriate follow-up laboratory testing across all time periods occurred in 25.2% of patients with inpatient initiation compared with 2.8% of patients begun as an outpatient. Patients with chronic kidney disease had higher rates of both hyperkalemia and acute kidney failure in the early (1.3% and 2.7%, respectively) and extended (5.6% and 9.8%, respectively) post-initiation periods compared with those without chronic kidney disease. Patients initiated on MRA therapy as an outpatient had extremely poor rates of guideline indicated follow-up laboratory monitoring after drug initiation. In particular, patients with chronic kidney disease are at high risk for adverse events after MRA initiation. Quality improvement initiatives focused on systems to improve appropriate laboratory monitoring are needed. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Swapping Horses Midstream: Factors Related to Physicians’ Changing Their Minds About a Diagnosis

PubMed Central

Eva, Kevin W.; Link, Carol L.; Lutfey, Karen E.; McKinlay, John B.

2013-01-01

Purpose Premature closure has been identified as the single most common cause of diagnostic error. The authors conducted a factorial experiment to explore which variables exert an unconfounded influence on physicians’ diagnostic flexibility (changing their minds about the most likely diagnosis during a clinical case presentation). Methods In 2007–2008, 256 practicing physicians viewed a clinically authentic vignette simulating a patient presenting with possible coronary heart disease (CHD), provided their initial impression midway through the case, answered questions about the case, indicated how they would continue their clinical investigation, and made a final diagnosis. The authors used general linear models to determine which patient factors (age, gender, socioeconomic status, race), physician factors (gender, age/experience), and process variables were related to the likelihood of physicians’ changing their minds about the most likely diagnosis. Results Physicians who had less experience, those who named a non-CHD diagnosis as their initial impression, and those who did not ask for information about the patient’s prior cardiac disease history were the most likely to change their minds. Participants’ certainty in their initial diagnosis, the additional information desired, the diagnostic hypotheses generated, and the follow-up intended were not related to the likelihood of change in diagnostic hypotheses. Discussion While efforts encouraging physicians to avoid cognitive biases and to reason in a more analytic manner may yield some benefit, this study suggests that experience is a more important determinant of diagnostic flexibility than is the consideration of additional diagnoses or the amount of additional information collected. PMID:20592506

Factors Associated with Breastfeeding Initiation: A Comparison between France and French-Speaking Canada.

PubMed

Girard, Lisa-Christine; Côté, Sylvana M; de Lauzon-Guillain, Blandine; Dubois, Lise; Falissard, Bruno; Forhan, Anne; Doyle, Orla; Bernard, Jonathan Y; Heude, Barbara; Saurel-Cubizolles, Marie-Josephe; Kaminski, Monique; Boivin, Michel; Tremblay, Richard E

2016-01-01

Breastfeeding is associated with multiple domains of health for both mothers and children. Nevertheless, breastfeeding initiation is low within certain developed countries. Furthermore, comparative studies of initiation rates using harmonised data across multiple regions is scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare individual-level determinants of breastfeeding initiation using two French-speaking cohorts. Participants included ~ 3,900 mothers enrolled in two cohort studies in Canada and France. Interviews, questionnaires, and medical records were utilised to collect information on maternal, family, and medical factors associated with breastfeeding initiation. Rates of breastfeeding initiation were similar across cohorts, slightly above 70%. Women in both Canada and France who had higher levels of maternal education, were born outside of their respective countries and who did not smoke during pregnancy were more likely to initiate breastfeeding with the cohort infant. Notably, cohort effects of maternal education at the university level were found, whereby having 'some university' was not statistically significant for mothers in France. Further, younger mothers in Canada, who delivered by caesarean section and who had previous children, had reduced odds of breastfeeding initiation. These results were not found for mothers in France. While some similar determinants were observed, programming efforts to increase breastfeeding initiation should be tailored to the characteristics of specific geographical regions which may be heavily impacted by the social, cultural and political climate of the region, in addition to individual and family level factors.

Cardiac Complications, Earlier Treatment, and Initial Disease Severity in Kawasaki Disease.

PubMed

Abrams, Joseph Y; Belay, Ermias D; Uehara, Ritei; Maddox, Ryan A; Schonberger, Lawrence B; Nakamura, Yosikazu

2017-09-01

To assess if observed higher observed risks of cardiac complications for patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) treated earlier may reflect bias due to confounding from initial disease severity, as opposed to any negative effect of earlier treatment. We used data from Japanese nationwide KD surveys from 1997 to 2004. Receipt of additional intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) (data available all years) or any additional treatment (available for 2003-2004) were assessed as proxies for initial disease severity. We determined associations between earlier or later IVIG treatment (defined as receipt of IVIG on days 1-4 vs days 5-10 of illness) and cardiac complications by stratifying by receipt of additional treatment or by using logistic modeling to control for the effect of receiving additional treatment. A total of 48 310 patients with KD were included in the analysis. In unadjusted analysis, earlier IVIG treatment was associated with a higher risk for 4 categories of cardiac complications, including all major cardiac complications (risk ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.06-1.15). Stratifying by receipt of additional treatment removed this association, and earlier IVIG treatment became protective against all major cardiac complications when controlling for any additional treatment in logistic regressions (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.80-1.00). Observed higher risks of cardiac complications among patients with KD receiving IVIG treatment on days 1-4 of the illness are most likely due to underlying higher initial disease severity, and patients with KD should continue to be treated with IVIG as early as possible. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Continued development of mature field: west Cameron Block 45 field, Gulf of Mexico

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

Brand, S.R.; Fox, J.F.

Initial acreage acquisition and exploration of the West Cameron Block 45 field, located offshore Louisiana, were based on reconnaissance gravity surveys that revealed an anomalous high across the area. Several phases of development drilling activity have been conducted in the field since its discovery in March 1949. Nearly four decades after initial exploration began, an integrated field study incorporating all available geological, geophysical, petrophysical, and engineering data was undertaken to evaluate the remaining potential of the field. As a result of this study, a detailed structural and stratigraphic framework was developed, the controls on reservoir production performance were established, andmore » additional drillable prospects were delineated.« less

USCT data challenge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiter, Nicole V.; Zapf, Michael; Hopp, Torsten; Gemmeke, Hartmut; van Dongen, Koen W. A.

2017-03-01

In the past years we have perceived within the USCT research community a demand for freely available USCT data sets. Inspired by the idea of Open Science, this collection of data sets could stimulate the collaboration and the exchange of ideas and experiences between USCT researchers. In addition, it may lead to comprehensive comparison of different reconstruction algorithms and their results. Finally, by collecting feedback from the users about data and system architecture, valuable information is gathered for further development of measurement setups. For the above reasons, we have initiated a digital portal with several reference data sets and access scripts under free licenses. To kick off this initiative, we organized a USCT data challenge event at SPIE Medical Imaging 2017.

Silicon production process evaluations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Engineering design of the third distillation column in the process was accomplished. The initial design is based on a 94.35% recovery of dichlorosilane in the distillate and a 99.9% recovery of trichlorosilane in the bottoms. The specified separation is achieved at a reflux ratio of 15 with 20 trays (equilibrium stages). Additional specifications and results are reported including equipment size, temperatures and pressure. Specific raw material requirements necessary to produce the silicon in the process are presented. The primary raw materials include metallurgical grade silicon, silicon tetrachloride, hydrogen, copper (catalyst) and lime (waste treatment). Hydrogen chloride is produced as by product in the silicon deposition. Cost analysis of the process was initiated during this reporting period.

Forecasting of dissolved oxygen in the Guanting reservoir using an optimized NGBM (1,1) model.

PubMed

An, Yan; Zou, Zhihong; Zhao, Yanfei

2015-03-01

An optimized nonlinear grey Bernoulli model was proposed by using a particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the parameter optimization problem. In addition, each item in the first-order accumulated generating sequence was set in turn as an initial condition to determine which alternative would yield the highest forecasting accuracy. To test the forecasting performance, the optimized models with different initial conditions were then used to simulate dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Guanting reservoir inlet and outlet (China). The empirical results show that the optimized model can remarkably improve forecasting accuracy, and the particle swarm optimization technique is a good tool to solve parameter optimization problems. What's more, the optimized model with an initial condition that performs well in in-sample simulation may not do as well as in out-of-sample forecasting. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Thermomagnetic analysis of meteorites, 2: C2 chondrites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, D. E.; Larson, E. E.; Herndon, J. M.; Rowe, M. W.

1974-01-01

Samples of all eighteen of the known C2 chondrites were analyzed thermomagnetically. For eleven of these, initial Fe3O4 content is low(generally 1%) and the J sub s-T curves are irreversible. The heating curves show variable and erratic behavior, whereas the cooling curves appear to be that of Fe3O4. The saturation moment after cooling is greater (up to 10 times larger) than it is initially. This behavior is interpreted to be the result of the production of magnetite from a thermally unstable phase--apparently FeS. Four of the remaining 7 C2 chondrites contain Fe3O4 as the only significant magnetic phase: initial magnetite contents range from 4 to 13 percent. The remaining three C2 chondrites contain iron or nickel-iron in addition to Fe3O4. These seven C2 chondrites show little evidence of the breakdown of a thermally unstable phase.

Discrete Element Model for Simulations of Early-Life Thermal Fracturing Behaviors in Ceramic Nuclear Fuel Pellets

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

Hai Huang; Ben Spencer; Jason Hales

2014-10-01

A discrete element Model (DEM) representation of coupled solid mechanics/fracturing and heat conduction processes has been developed and applied to explicitly simulate the random initiations and subsequent propagations of interacting thermal cracks in a ceramic nuclear fuel pellet during initial rise to power and during power cycles. The DEM model clearly predicts realistic early-life crack patterns including both radial cracks and circumferential cracks. Simulation results clearly demonstrate the formation of radial cracks during the initial power rise, and formation of circumferential cracks as the power is ramped down. In these simulations, additional early-life power cycles do not lead to themore » formation of new thermal cracks. They do, however clearly indicate changes in the apertures of thermal cracks during later power cycles due to thermal expansion and shrinkage. The number of radial cracks increases with increasing power, which is consistent with the experimental observations.« less

The Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale (DSPS): Initial Evaluation in a National Sample of Trauma-Exposed Veterans

PubMed Central

Wolf, Erika J.; Mitchell, Karen S.; Sadeh, Naomi; Hein, Christina; Fuhrman, Isaac; Pietrzak, Robert H.; Miller, Mark W.

2015-01-01

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) includes a dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but no existing measures specifically assess it. This paper describes the initial evaluation of a 15-item self-report measure of the subtype called the Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale (DSPS) in an on-line survey of 697 trauma-exposed military veterans representative of the US veteran population. Exploratory factor analyses of the lifetime DSPS items supported the intended structure of the measure consisting of three factors reflecting derealization/depersonalization, loss of awareness, and psychogenic amnesia. Consistent with prior research, latent profile analyses assigned 8.3% of the sample to a highly dissociative class distinguished by pronounced symptoms of derealization and depersonalization. Overall, results provide initial psychometric support for the lifetime DSPS scales; additional research in clinical and community samples is needed to further validate the measure. PMID:26603115

The Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale: Initial Evaluation in a National Sample of Trauma-Exposed Veterans.

PubMed

Wolf, Erika J; Mitchell, Karen S; Sadeh, Naomi; Hein, Christina; Fuhrman, Isaac; Pietrzak, Robert H; Miller, Mark W

2017-06-01

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual includes a dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder, but no existing measures specifically assess it. This article describes the initial evaluation of a 15-item self-report measure of the subtype called the Dissociative Subtype of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale (DSPS) in an online survey of 697 trauma-exposed military veterans representative of the U.S. veteran population. Exploratory factor analyses of the lifetime DSPS items supported the intended structure of the measure consisting of three factors reflecting derealization/depersonalization, loss of awareness, and psychogenic amnesia. Consistent with prior research, latent profile analyses assigned 8.3% of the sample to a highly dissociative class distinguished by pronounced symptoms of derealization and depersonalization. Overall, results provide initial psychometric support for the lifetime DSPS scales; additional research in clinical and community samples is needed to further validate the measure.

Initiation and Maintenance of Fitness Center Utilization in an Incentive-Based Employer Wellness Program

PubMed Central

Abraham, Jean Marie; Crespin, Daniel; Rothman, Alexander

2015-01-01

Objective Investigate the initiation and maintenance of participation in an employer-based wellness program that provides financial incentives for fitness center utilization. Methods Using multivariate analysis, we investigated how employees’ demographics, health status, exercise-related factors, and lifestyle change preferences affect program participation. Results Forty-two percent of eligible employees participated in the program and 24% earned a $20 incentive at least once by utilizing a gym 8 times or more in a month. On average, participants utilized fitness centers 7.0 months each year and earned credit 4.5 months. Participants’ utilization diminished after their first year in the program. Conclusions Factors associated with initiation and maintenance of fitness center utilization were similar. Declining utilization over time raises concern about the long-run effectiveness of fitness-focused wellness programs. Employers may want to consider additional levers to positively reinforce participation. PMID:26340283

An insight into polymerization-induced self-assembly by dissipative particle dynamics simulation.

PubMed

Huang, Feng; Lv, Yisheng; Wang, Liquan; Xu, Pengxiang; Lin, Jiaping; Lin, Shaoliang

2016-08-14

Polymerization-induced self-assembly is a one-pot route to produce concentrated dispersions of block copolymer nano-objects. Herein, dissipative particle dynamics simulations with a reaction model were employed to investigate the behaviors of polymerization-induced self-assembly. The polymerization kinetics in the polymerization-induced self-assembly were analyzed by comparing with solution polymerization. It was found that the polymerization rate enhances in the initial stage and decreases in the later stage. In addition, the effects of polymerization rate, length of macromolecular initiators, and concentration on the aggregate morphologies and formation pathway were studied. The polymerization rate and the length of the macromolecular initiators are found to have a marked influence on the pathway of the aggregate formations and the final structures. Morphology diagrams were mapped correspondingly. A comparison between simulation results and experimental findings is also made and an agreement is shown. This work can enrich our knowledge about polymerization-induced self-assembly.

On the no-boundary proposal for ekpyrotic and cyclic cosmologies

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

Battarra, Lorenzo; Lehners, Jean-Luc, E-mail: lorenzo.battarra@aei.mpg.de, E-mail: jlehners@aei.mpg.de

2014-12-01

The no-boundary proposal provides a compelling theory for the initial conditions of our universe. We study the implications of such initial conditions for ekpyrotic and cyclic cosmologies. These cosmologies allow for the existence of a new type of ''ekpyrotic instanton'', which describes the creation of a universe in the ekpyrotic contraction phase. Remarkably, we find that the ekpyrotic attractor can explain how the universe became classical. In a cyclic context, in addition to the ekpyrotic instantons there exist de Sitter-like instantons describing the emergence of the universe in the dark energy phase. Our results show that typically the ekpyrotic instantonsmore » yield a higher probability. In fact, in a potential energy landscape allowing both inflationary and cyclic cosmologies, the no-boundary proposal implies that the probability for ekpyrotic and cyclic initial conditions is vastly higher than that for inflationary ones.« less

Gains following perceptual learning are closely linked to the initial visual acuity.

PubMed

Yehezkel, Oren; Sterkin, Anna; Lev, Maria; Levi, Dennis M; Polat, Uri

2016-04-28

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the dependence of perceptual learning gains on initial visual acuity (VA), in a large sample of subjects with a wide range of VAs. A large sample of normally sighted and presbyopic subjects (N = 119; aged 40 to 63) with a wide range of uncorrected near visual acuities (VA, -0.12 to 0.8 LogMAR), underwent perceptual learning. Training consisted of detecting briefly presented Gabor stimuli under spatial and temporal masking conditions. Consistent with previous findings, perceptual learning induced a significant improvement in near VA and reading speed under conditions of limited exposure duration. Our results show that the improvements in VA and reading speed observed following perceptual learning are closely linked to the initial VA, with only a minor fraction of the observed improvement that may be attributed to the additional sessions performed by those with the worse VA.

Magma ocean formation due to giant impacts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tonks, W. B.; Melosh, H. J.

1993-01-01

The thermal effects of giant impacts are studied by estimating the melt volume generated by the initial shock wave and corresponding magma ocean depths. Additionally, the effects of the planet's initial temperature on the generated melt volume are examined. The shock pressure required to completely melt the material is determined using the Hugoniot curve plotted in pressure-entropy space. Once the melting pressure is known, an impact melting model is used to estimate the radial distance melting occurred from the impact site. The melt region's geometry then determines the associated melt volume. The model is also used to estimate the partial melt volume. Magma ocean depths resulting from both excavated and retained melt are calculated, and the melt fraction not excavated during the formation of the crater is estimated. The fraction of a planet melted by the initial shock wave is also estimated using the model.

Artificial boundary conditions for certain evolution PDEs with cubic nonlinearity for non-compactly supported initial data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaibhav, V.

2011-04-01

The paper addresses the problem of constructing non-reflecting boundary conditions for two types of one dimensional evolution equations, namely, the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation, ∂tu+Lu-iχ|u|2u=0 with L≡-i∂x2, and the equation obtained by letting L≡∂x3. The usual restriction of compact support of the initial data is relaxed by allowing it to have a constant amplitude along with a linear phase variation outside a compact domain. We adapt the pseudo-differential approach developed by Antoine et al. (2006) [5] for the NLS equation to the second type of evolution equation, and further, extend the scheme to the aforementioned class of initial data for both of the equations. In addition, we discuss efficient numerical implementation of our scheme and produce the results of several numerical experiments demonstrating its effectiveness.

Will sea ice thickness initialisation improve Arctic seasonal-to-interannual forecast skill?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Day, J. J.; Hawkins, E.; Tietsche, S.

2014-12-01

A number of recent studies have suggested that Arctic sea ice thickness is an important predictor of Arctic sea ice extent. However, coupled forecast systems do not currently use sea ice thickness observations in their initialization and are therefore missing a potentially important source of additional skill. A set of ensemble potential predictability experiments, with a global climate model, initialized with and without knowledge of the sea ice thickness initial state, have been run to investigate this. These experiments show that accurate knowledge of the sea ice thickness field is crucially important for sea ice concentration and extent forecasts up to eight months ahead. Perturbing sea ice thickness also has a significant impact on the forecast error in the 2m temperature and surface pressure fields a few months ahead. These results show that advancing capabilities to observe and assimilate sea ice thickness into coupled forecast systems could significantly increase skill.

Reaction Buildup of PBX Explosives JOB-9003 under Different Initiation Pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xu; Wang, Yan-fei; Hung, Wen-bin; Gu, Yan; Zhao, Feng; Wu, Qiang; Yu, Xin; Yu, Heng

2017-04-01

Aluminum-based embedded multiple electromagnetic particle velocity gauge technique has been developed in order to measure the shock initiation behavior of JOB-9003 explosives. In addition, another gauge element called a shock tracker has been used to monitor the progress of the shock front as a function of time, thus providing a position-time trajectory of the wave front as it moves through the explosive sample. The data are used to determine the position and time for shock to detonation transition. All the experimental results show that: the rising-up time of Al-based electromagnetic particle velocity gauge was very fast and less than 20 ns; the reaction buildup velocity profiles and the position-time for shock to detonation transition of HMX-based PBX explosive JOB-9003 with 1-8 mm depth from the origin of impact plane under different initiation pressures are obtained with high accuracy.

Frameshifting in the expression of the Escherichia coli trpR gene is modulated by translation initiation.

PubMed Central

Benhar, I; Miller, C; Engelberg-Kulka, H

1993-01-01

The Escherichia coli trpR gene encodes the 108-amino-acid-long Trp repressor. We have shown previously that a +1 frameshifting event occurs during the expression of trpR, resulting in the synthesis of an additional (+1 frame) polypeptide. Using trpR-lac'Z fusions, we have recently found that the transition from the 0 to the +1 frame occurs via the bypassing of a 55-nucleotide-long segment of the trpR+1-lac'Z mRNA (I. Benhar, and H. Engelberg-Kulka, Cell 72:121-130, 1993). Here we show that the frequency of trpR frameshifting (or bypassing) can be regulated both in vivo and in vitro. This frequency is inversely proportional to the rate of initiation of translation of the trpR gene. Hence, modulating the level of translation initiation affects the frequency of frameshifting. Images PMID:8491735

Primary care physician perspectives on basal insulin initiation and maintenance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Kalirai, Samaneh; Stephenson, Judith; Perez-Nieves, Magaly; Grabner, Michael; Hadjiyianni, Irene; Geremakis, Caroline; Pollom, Roy Daniel; Reed, Beverly; Fisher, Lawrence

2018-04-01

To describe primary care physicians' (PCPs) perceptions of patient reactions and concerns about insulin initiation and identify opportunities for increased support. Cross-sectional, online survey of PCPs prescribing basal insulin to adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). PCPs were identified from administrative claims of a large commercial health plan and descriptive results of PCP responses were reported. PCPs (N=100) treated an average of 17 patients receiving insulin during a typical week. More than 85% of insulin initiation recommendations originated with PCPs. Most offered glucose monitoring instructions (96%) and advice on diet, exercise, and diabetes management (96%); 35% provided insulin titration algorithms; 93% reported that patients often or always took their insulin daily within 3 months of initiation; 31% of PCPs reported monthly office contacts with patients for the first 3 months; 16% reported no outreach efforts; fewer than 20% connected patients with support groups. When starting basal insulin, PCPs reported patients feeling personal failure regarding their diabetes treatment (33% often/always) and lacking confidence in their ability to manage insulin therapy (38% often/always). Study results identify additional opportunities for assisting patients in making the transition to insulin, including more frequent direct outreach to monitor insulin usage. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Temporal predictive mechanisms modulate motor reaction time during initiation and inhibition of speech and hand movement.

PubMed

Johari, Karim; Behroozmand, Roozbeh

2017-08-01

Skilled movement is mediated by motor commands executed with extremely fine temporal precision. The question of how the brain incorporates temporal information to perform motor actions has remained unanswered. This study investigated the effect of stimulus temporal predictability on response timing of speech and hand movement. Subjects performed a randomized vowel vocalization or button press task in two counterbalanced blocks in response to temporally-predictable and unpredictable visual cues. Results indicated that speech and hand reaction time was decreased for predictable compared with unpredictable stimuli. This finding suggests that a temporal predictive code is established to capture temporal dynamics of sensory cues in order to produce faster movements in responses to predictable stimuli. In addition, results revealed a main effect of modality, indicating faster hand movement compared with speech. We suggest that this effect is accounted for by the inherent complexity of speech production compared with hand movement. Lastly, we found that movement inhibition was faster than initiation for both hand and speech, suggesting that movement initiation requires a longer processing time to coordinate activities across multiple regions in the brain. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of temporal information processing during initiation and inhibition of speech and hand movement. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Involvement of Thalamus in Initiation of Epileptic Seizures Induced by Pilocarpine in Mice

PubMed Central

Li, Yong-Hua; Li, Jia-Jia; Lu, Qin-Chi; Gong, Hai-Qing; Liang, Pei-Ji

2014-01-01

Studies have suggested that thalamus is involved in temporal lobe epilepsy, but the role of thalamus is still unclear. We obtained local filed potentials (LFPs) and single-unit activities from CA1 of hippocampus and parafascicular nucleus of thalamus during the development of epileptic seizures induced by pilocarpine in mice. Two measures, redundancy and directionality index, were used to analyze the electrophysiological characters of neuronal activities and the information flow between thalamus and hippocampus. We found that LFPs became more regular during the seizure in both hippocampus and thalamus, and in some cases LFPs showed a transient disorder at seizure onset. The variation tendency of the peak values of cross-correlation function between neurons matched the variation tendency of the redundancy of LFPs. The information tended to flow from thalamus to hippocampus during seizure initiation period no matter what the information flow direction was before the seizure. In some cases the information flow was symmetrically bidirectional, but none was found in which the information flowed from hippocampus to thalamus during the seizure initiation period. In addition, inactivation of thalamus by tetrodotoxin (TTX) resulted in a suppression of seizures. These results suggest that thalamus may play an important role in the initiation of epileptic seizures. PMID:24778885

Evidence suggesting a stimulatory role for interleukin-10 in erythropoiesis in vitro.

PubMed

Wang, C Q; Udupa, K B; Lipschitz, D A

1996-02-01

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing macrophage proliferation and inhibiting cytokine production. In this study we show that in the presence of erythropoietin (EPO), the addition of IL-10 results in a significant dose-dependent increase in both Burst Forming Unit-Erythroid (BFU-E) and Colony Forming Unit-Erythroid (CFU-E) colony growth in both serum-containing and serum-free murine cultures in vitro. IL-10 acts at the later stages of erythroid cell proliferation and differentiation as the increase in colony number was greater in CFU-E than in BFU-E, and was similar when IL-10 was added to BFU-E cultures at the time of culture initiation as when its addition to culture was delayed for 7 days. Furthermore, no increase in BFU-E colony number was noted when IL-10, added at the time of culture initiation, was neutralized by the addition to culture of a monoclonal anti-IL-10 antibody up to 7 days later. The increases in BFU-E by IL-10 addition were not the result of prolongation of BFU-E colony lifespan, which was not significantly different in IL-10 treated and control cultures, respectively. Rather IL-10 stimulated the proliferation of erythroid clusters that were now large enough to be recognized as colonies. IL-10-induced stimulation of erythropoiesis appeared to be independent of its inhibitory effects on macrophage function, as stimulation of erythroid colony growth was similar in macrophage-containing and depleted cultures. Studies to determine if the IL-10 effect was direct or indirect yielded equivocal results. A limiting dilution assay suggested a direct effect. However, a log/log dose response curve with IL-10 did not pass through the origin suggesting an indirect effect. These studies indicate that IL-10 acts synergistically with EPO to significantly increase stimulation of erythroid differentiation and proliferation in vitro and may be involved in the regulation of normal erythropoiesis in vivo.

An assessment of calcite crystal growth mechanisms based on crystal size distributions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kile, D.E.; Eberl, D.D.; Hoch, A.R.; Reddy, M.M.

2000-01-01

Calcite crystal growth experiments were undertaken to test a recently proposed model that relates crystal growth mechanisms to the shapes of crystal size distributions (CSDs). According to this approach, CSDs for minerals have three basic shapes: (1) asymptotic, which is related to a crystal growth mechanism having constant-rate nucleation accompanied by surface-controlled growth; (2) lognormal, which results from decaying-rate nucleation accompanied by surface-controlled growth; and (3) a theoretical, universal, steady-state curve attributed to Ostwald ripening. In addition, there is a fourth crystal growth mechanism that does not have a specific CSD shape, but which preserves the relative shapes of previously formed CSDs. This mechanism is attributed to supply-controlled growth. All three shapes were produced experimentally in the calcite growth experiments by modifying nucleation conditions and solution concentrations. The asymptotic CSD formed when additional reactants were added stepwise to the surface of solutions that were supersaturated with respect to calcite (initial Ω = 20, where Ω = 1 represents saturation), thereby leading to the continuous nucleation and growth of calcite crystals. Lognormal CSDs resulted when reactants were added continuously below the solution surface, via a submerged tube, to similarly supersaturated solutions (initial Ω = 22 to 41), thereby leading to a single nucleation event followed by surface-controlled growth. The Ostwald CSD resulted when concentrated reactants were rapidly mixed, leading initially to high levels of supersaturation (Ω >100), and to the formation and subsequent dissolution of very small nuclei, thereby yielding CSDs having small crystal size variances. The three CSD shapes likely were produced early in the crystallization process, in the nanometer crystal size range, and preserved during subsequent growth. Preservation of the relative shapes of the CSDs indicates that a supply-controlled growth mechanism was established and maintained during the constant-composition experiments. CSDs having shapes intermediate between lognormal and Ostwald also were generated by varying the initial levels of supersaturation (initial Ω = 28.2 to 69.2) in rapidly mixed solutions. Lognormal CSDs were observed for natural calcite crystals that are found in septarian concretions occurring in southeastern Colorado. Based on the model described above, these CSDs indicate initial growth by surface control, followed by supply-controlled growth. Thus, CSDs may be used to deduce crystal growth mechanisms from which geologic conditions early in the growth history of a mineral can be inferred. Conversely, CSD shape can be predicted during industrial crystallization by applying the appropriate conditions for a particular growth mechanism.

Analysis Method of Friction Torque and Weld Interface Temperature during Friction Process of Steel Friction Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimura, Masaaki; Inoue, Haruo; Kusaka, Masahiro; Kaizu, Koichi; Fuji, Akiyoshi

This paper describes an analysis method of the friction torque and weld interface temperature during the friction process for steel friction welding. The joining mechanism model of the friction welding for the wear and seizure stages was constructed from the actual joining phenomena that were obtained by the experiment. The non-steady two-dimensional heat transfer analysis for the friction process was carried out by calculation with FEM code ANSYS. The contact pressure, heat generation quantity, and friction torque during the wear stage were calculated using the coefficient of friction, which was considered as the constant value. The thermal stress was included in the contact pressure. On the other hand, those values during the seizure stage were calculated by introducing the coefficient of seizure, which depended on the seizure temperature. The relationship between the seizure temperature and the relative speed at the weld interface in the seizure stage was determined using the experimental results. In addition, the contact pressure and heat generation quantity, which depended on the relative speed of the weld interface, were solved by taking the friction pressure, the relative speed and the yield strength of the base material into the computational conditions. The calculated friction torque and weld interface temperatures of a low carbon steel joint were equal to the experimental results when friction pressures were 30 and 90 MPa, friction speed was 27.5 s-1, and weld interface diameter was 12 mm. The calculation results of the initial peak torque and the elapsed time for initial peak torque were also equal to the experimental results under the same conditions. Furthermore, the calculation results of the initial peak torque and the elapsed time for initial peak torque at various friction pressures were equal to the experimental results.

Prism adaptation speeds reach initiation in the direction of the prism after-effect.

PubMed

Striemer, Christopher L; Borza, Carley A

2017-10-01

Damage to the temporal-parietal cortex in the right hemisphere often leads to spatial neglect-a disorder in which patients are unable to attend to sensory input from their contralesional (left) side. Neglect has been associated with both attentional and premotor deficits. That is, in addition to having difficulty with attending to the left side, patients are often slower to initiate leftward vs. rightward movements (i.e., directional hypokinesia). Previous research has indicated that a brief period of adaptation to rightward shifting prisms can reduce symptoms of neglect by adjusting the patient's movements leftward, toward the neglected field. Although prism adaptation has been shown to reduce spatial attention deficits in patients with neglect, very little work has examined the effects of prisms on premotor symptoms. In the current study, we examined this in healthy individuals using leftward shifting prisms to induce a rightward shift in the egocentric reference frame, similar to neglect patients prior to prism adaptation. Specifically, we examined the speed with which healthy participants initiated leftward and rightward reaches (without visual feedback) prior to and following adaptation to either 17° leftward (n = 16) or 17° rightward (n = 15) shifting prisms. Our results indicated that, following adaptation, participants were significantly faster to initiate reaches towards targets located in the direction opposite the prism shift. That is, participants were faster to initiate reaches to right targets following leftward prism adaptation and were faster to initiate reaches to left targets following rightward prism adaptation. Overall, these results are consistent with the idea that prism adaptation can influence the speed with which a reach can be initiated toward a target in the direction opposite the prism shift, possibly through altering activity in neural circuits involved in reach planning.

Timing at peak force may be the hidden target controlled in continuation and synchronization tapping.

PubMed

Du, Yue; Clark, Jane E; Whitall, Jill

2017-05-01

Timing control, such as producing movements at a given rate or synchronizing movements to an external event, has been studied through a finger-tapping task where timing is measured at the initial contact between finger and tapping surface or the point when a key is pressed. However, the point of peak force is after the time registered at the tapping surface and thus is a less obvious but still an important event during finger tapping. Here, we compared the time at initial contact with the time at peak force as participants tapped their finger on a force sensor at a given rate after the metronome was turned off (continuation task) or in synchrony with the metronome (sensorimotor synchronization task). We found that, in the continuation task, timing was comparably accurate between initial contact and peak force. These two timing events also exhibited similar trial-by-trial statistical dependence (i.e., lag-one autocorrelation). However, the central clock variability was lower at the peak force than the initial contact. In the synchronization task, timing control at peak force appeared to be less variable and more accurate than that at initial contact. In addition to lower central clock variability, the mean SE magnitude at peak force (SEP) was around zero while SE at initial contact (SEC) was negative. Although SEC and SEP demonstrated the same trial-by-trial statistical dependence, we found that participants adjusted the time of tapping to correct SEP, but not SEC, toward zero. These results suggest that timing at peak force is a meaningful target of timing control, particularly in synchronization tapping. This result may explain the fact that SE at initial contact is typically negative as widely observed in the preexisting literature.

Equation of state, initiation, and detonation of pure ammonium nitrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robbins, D. L.; Sheffield, S. A.; Dattelbaum, D. M.; Velisavljevic, N.; Stahl, D. B.

2009-06-01

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is a widely used fertilizer and mining explosive throughout the world. One of the more common explosives using AN is called ANFO, a mixture of AN prills and fuel oil in a 94:6 ratio by weight. The AN prills are specially made to absorb the fuel oil, forming a mixture that reacts under shock loading through a diffusion-controlled process, resulting in a non-ideal explosive with detonation velocities around 4 km/s. While there are a number of studies on ANFO, there are only a few studies relating to the equation of state (EOS) and detonation properties of pure AN - resulting mainly from studies of accidents that have occurred during transportation of large quantities of AN. We present the results of a series of gas gun-driven plate impact experiments on pressed AN ranging in density from 1.72 to 0.9 g/cm^3. Several of the high density experiments were performed in front surface impact geometry, in which pressed AN disks were built into the projectile front and impacted onto LiF windows. Additional experiments at low density have been done in ``half cell'' multiple magnetic gauge gun experiments. From this work a complete unreacted EOS has been developed, as well as some initiation and detonation information. Additional high pressure x-ray diffraction experiments in diamond anvil cells have provided a static isotherm for AN.

Cascading failures in complex networks with community structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Guoqiang; di, Zengru; Fan, Ying

2014-12-01

Much empirical evidence shows that when attacked with cascading failures, scale-free or even random networks tend to collapse more extensively when the initially deleted node has higher betweenness. Meanwhile, in networks with strong community structure, high-betweenness nodes tend to be bridge nodes that link different communities, and the removal of such nodes will reduce only the connections among communities, leaving the networks fairly stable. Understanding what will affect cascading failures and how to protect or attack networks with strong community structure is therefore of interest. In this paper, we have constructed scale-free Community Networks (SFCN) and Random Community Networks (RCN). We applied these networks, along with the Lancichinett-Fortunato-Radicchi (LFR) benchmark, to the cascading-failure scenario to explore their vulnerability to attack and the relationship between cascading failures and the degree distribution and community structure of a network. The numerical results show that when the networks are of a power-law distribution, a stronger community structure will result in the failure of fewer nodes. In addition, the initial removal of the node with the highest betweenness will not lead to the worst cascading, i.e. the largest avalanche size. The Betweenness Overflow (BOF), an index that we developed, is an effective indicator of this tendency. The RCN, however, display a different result. In addition, the avalanche size of each node can be adopted as an index to evaluate the importance of the node.

Fatigue Life of Titanium Alloys Fabricated by Additive Layer Manufacturing Techniques for Dental Implants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Kwai S.; Koike, Marie; Mason, Robert L.; Okabe, Toru

2013-02-01

Additive layer deposition techniques such as electron beam melting (EBM) and laser beam melting (LBM) have been utilized to fabricate rectangular plates of Ti-6Al-4V with extra low interstitial (ELI) contents. The layer-by-layer deposition techniques resulted in plates that have different surface finishes which can impact significantly on the fatigue life by providing potential sites for fatigue cracks to initiate. The fatigue life of Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloys fabricated by EBM and LBM deposition techniques was investigated by three-point testing of rectangular beams of as-fabricated and electro-discharge machined surfaces under stress-controlled conditions at 10 Hz until complete fracture. Fatigue life tests were also performed on rolled plates of Ti-6Al-4V ELI, regular Ti-6Al-4V, and CP Ti as controls. Fatigue surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy to identify the crack initiation site in the various types of specimen surfaces. The fatigue life data were analyzed statistically using both analysis of variance techniques and the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis method with the Gehan-Breslow test. The results indicate that the LBM Ti-6Al-4V ELI material exhibits a longer fatigue life than the EBM counterpart and CP Ti, but a shorter fatigue life compared to rolled Ti-6Al-4V ELI. The difference in the fatigue life behavior may be largely attributed to the presence of rough surface features that act as fatigue crack initiation sites in the EBM material.

On-board autonomous attitude maneuver planning for planetary spacecraft using genetic algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kornfeld, Richard P.

2003-01-01

A key enabling technology that leads to greater spacecraft autonomy is the capability to autonomously and optimally slew the spacecraft from and to different attitudes while operating under a number of celestial and dynamic constraints. The task of finding an attitude trajectory that meets all the constraints is a formidable one, in particular for orbiting or fly-by spacecraft where the constraints and initial and final conditions are of time-varying nature. This paper presents an approach for attitude path planning that makes full use of a priori constraint knowledge and is computationally tractable enough to be executed on-board a spacecraft. The approach is based on incorporating the constraints into a cost function and using a Genetic Algorithm to iteratively search for and optimize the solution. This results in a directed random search that explores a large part of the solution space while maintaining the knowledge of good solutions from iteration to iteration. A solution obtained this way may be used 'as is' or as an initial solution to initialize additional deterministic optimization algorithms. A number of example simulations are presented including the case examples of a generic Europa Orbiter spacecraft in cruise as well as in orbit around Europa. The search times are typically on the order of minutes, thus demonstrating the viability of the presented approach. The results are applicable to all future deep space missions where greater spacecraft autonomy is required. In addition, onboard autonomous attitude planning greatly facilitates navigation and science observation planning, benefiting thus all missions to planet Earth as well.

The Children's Vaccine Initiative and vaccine supply: the role of the public sector.

PubMed

van Noort, R B

1992-01-01

'Children represent the most vulnerable segment of every society--and they are our present and future. Good health, especially of children, promotes personal and national development. Scientific progress, matched with improved capacities of all countries to immunize their children, provides an unparalleled opportunity to save additional lives and prevent additional millions of disabilities annually through a Children's Vaccine Initiative.' (The Netherlands Minister for Development Co-operation.)

Initiation disruptor systems and methods of initiation disruption

DOEpatents

Baum, Dennis W

2014-09-23

A system that may be used as an initiation disruption system (IDS) according to one embodiment includes an explosive charge; a plurality of particles in a layer at least partially surrounding the explosive charge; and a fire suppressant adjacent the plurality of particles. A method for disabling an object according to one embodiment includes placing the system as recited above near an object; and causing the explosive charge to initiate, thereby applying mechanical loading to the object such that the object becomes disabled. Additional systems and methods are also presented. A device according to another embodiment includes a plurality of particles bound by a binder thereby defining a sidewall having an interior for receiving an explosive; and a fire suppressant adjacent the plurality of particles and binder. Additional systems and methods are also presented.

An open trial assessment of "The Number Race", an adaptive computer game for remediation of dyscalculia

PubMed Central

Wilson, Anna J; Revkin, Susannah K; Cohen, David; Cohen, Laurent; Dehaene, Stanislas

2006-01-01

Background In a companion article [1], we described the development and evaluation of software designed to remediate dyscalculia. This software is based on the hypothesis that dyscalculia is due to a "core deficit" in number sense or in its access via symbolic information. Here we review the evidence for this hypothesis, and present results from an initial open-trial test of the software in a sample of nine 7–9 year old children with mathematical difficulties. Methods Children completed adaptive training on numerical comparison for half an hour a day, four days a week over a period of five-weeks. They were tested before and after intervention on their performance in core numerical tasks: counting, transcoding, base-10 comprehension, enumeration, addition, subtraction, and symbolic and non-symbolic numerical comparison. Results Children showed specific increases in performance on core number sense tasks. Speed of subitizing and numerical comparison increased by several hundred msec. Subtraction accuracy increased by an average of 23%. Performance on addition and base-10 comprehension tasks did not improve over the period of the study. Conclusion Initial open-trial testing showed promising results, and suggested that the software was successful in increasing number sense over the short period of the study. However these results need to be followed up with larger, controlled studies. The issues of transfer to higher-level tasks, and of the best developmental time window for intervention also need to be addressed. PMID:16734906

Enhanced Vapor-Phase Diffusion in Porous Media - LDRD Final Report

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

Ho, C.K.; Webb, S.W.

1999-01-01

As part of the Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program at Sandia National Laboratories, an investigation into the existence of enhanced vapor-phase diffusion (EVD) in porous media has been conducted. A thorough literature review was initially performed across multiple disciplines (soil science and engineering), and based on this review, the existence of EVD was found to be questionable. As a result, modeling and experiments were initiated to investigate the existence of EVD. In this LDRD, the first mechanistic model of EVD was developed which demonstrated the mechanisms responsible for EVD. The first direct measurements of EVD have also been conductedmore » at multiple scales. Measurements have been made at the pore scale, in a two- dimensional network as represented by a fracture aperture, and in a porous medium. Significant enhancement of vapor-phase transport relative to Fickian diffusion was measured in all cases. The modeling and experimental results provide additional mechanisms for EVD beyond those presented by the generally accepted model of Philip and deVries (1957), which required a thermal gradient for EVD to exist. Modeling and experimental results show significant enhancement under isothermal conditions. Application of EVD to vapor transport in the near-surface vadose zone show a significant variation between no enhancement, the model of Philip and deVries, and the present results. Based on this information, the model of Philip and deVries may need to be modified, and additional studies are recommended.« less

Constructing Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells via Interconnecting Perovskite Grains.

PubMed

Hou, Xian; Huang, Sumei; Ou-Yang, Wei; Pan, Likun; Sun, Zhuo; Chen, Xiaohong

2017-10-11

A high-quality perovskite film with interconnected perovskite grains was obtained by incorporating terephthalic acid (TPA) additive into the perovskite precursor solution. The presence of TPA changed the crystallization kinetics of the perovskite film and promoted lateral growth of grains in the vicinity of crystal boundaries. As a result, sheet-shaped perovskite was formed and covered onto the bottom grains, which made some adjacent grains partly merge together to form grains-interconnected perovskite film. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with TPA additive exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.51% with less hysteresis, which is obviously higher than that of pristine cells (15.53%). PSCs without and with TPA additive retain 18 and 51% of the initial PCE value, respectively, aging for 35 days exposed to relative humidity 30% in air without encapsulation. Furthermore, MAPbI 3 film with TPA additive shows superior thermal stability to the pristine one under 100 °C baking. The results indicate that the presence of TPA in perovskite film can greatly improve the performance of PSCs as well as their moisture resistance and thermal stability.

Student Initiatives in Urban Elementary Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Scott; Lee, Okhee; Santau, Alexandra; Cone, Neporcha

2010-01-01

Student initiatives play an important role in inquiry-based science with all students, including English language learning (ELL) students. This study examined initiatives that elementary students made as they participated in an intervention to promote science learning and English language development over a three-year period. In addition, the…

The effects of forced small-wavelength, finite-bandwidth initial perturbations and miscibility on the turbulent Rayleigh–Taylor instability

DOE PAGES

Roberts, M. S.; Jacobs, J. W.

2015-12-07

Rayleigh–Taylor instability experiments are performed using both immiscible and miscible incompressible liquid combinations having a relatively large Atwood number ofmore » $$A\\equiv ({\\it\\rho}_{2}-{\\it\\rho}_{1})/({\\it\\rho}_{2}+{\\it\\rho}_{1})=0.48$$. The liquid-filled tank is attached to a test sled that is accelerated downwards along a vertical rail system using a system of weights and pulleys producing approximately$1g$$net acceleration. The tank is backlit and images are digitally recorded using a high-speed video camera. The experiments are either initiated with forced initial perturbations or are left unforced. The forced experiments have an initial perturbation imposed by vertically oscillating the liquid-filled tank to produce Faraday waves at the interface. The unforced experiments rely on random interfacial fluctuations, resulting from background noise, to seed the instability. The main focus of this study is to determine the effects of forced initial perturbations and the effects of miscibility on the growth parameter,$${\\it\\alpha}$$. Measurements of the mixing-layer width,$$h$$, are acquired, from which$${\\it\\alpha}$$is determined. It is found that initial perturbations of the form used in this study do not affect measured$${\\it\\alpha}$$values. However, miscibility is observed to strongly affect$${\\it\\alpha}$$, resulting in a factor of two reduction in its value, a finding not previously observed in past experiments. In addition, all measured$${\\it\\alpha}$values are found to be smaller than those obtained in previous experimental studies.« less

Fully automatic detection of salient features in 3-d transesophageal images.

PubMed

Curiale, Ariel H; Haak, Alexander; Vegas-Sánchez-Ferrero, Gonzalo; Ren, Ben; Aja-Fernández, Santiago; Bosch, Johan G

2014-12-01

Most automated segmentation approaches to the mitral valve and left ventricle in 3-D echocardiography require a manual initialization. In this article, we propose a fully automatic scheme to initialize a multicavity segmentation approach in 3-D transesophageal echocardiography by detecting the left ventricle long axis, the mitral valve and the aortic valve location. Our approach uses a probabilistic and structural tissue classification to find structures such as the mitral and aortic valves; the Hough transform for circles to find the center of the left ventricle; and multidimensional dynamic programming to find the best position for the left ventricle long axis. For accuracy and agreement assessment, the proposed method was evaluated in 19 patients with respect to manual landmarks and as initialization of a multicavity segmentation approach for the left ventricle, the right ventricle, the left atrium, the right atrium and the aorta. The segmentation results revealed no statistically significant differences between manual and automated initialization in a paired t-test (p > 0.05). Additionally, small biases between manual and automated initialization were detected in the Bland-Altman analysis (bias, variance) for the left ventricle (-0.04, 0.10); right ventricle (-0.07, 0.18); left atrium (-0.01, 0.03); right atrium (-0.04, 0.13); and aorta (-0.05, 0.14). These results indicate that the proposed approach provides robust and accurate detection to initialize a multicavity segmentation approach without any user interaction. Copyright © 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ADDRESSING REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY: RESULTS OF A COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVE ACROSS THE MEXICAN-NORTH AMERICAN BORDER

PubMed Central

Aristizabal, Paula; Fuller, Spencer; Rivera-Gomez, Rebeca; Ornelas, Mario; Nuno, Laura; Rodriguez-Galindo, Carlos; Ribeiro, Raul; Roberts, William

2017-01-01

Background Cancer is emerging as a major cause of childhood mortality in low-income and middle-income countries. In Mexico, cancer is the number one cause of death in children aged 5–14. Until recently, many children with cancer from Baja California, Mexico went untreated. We reasoned that an initiative inspired by the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH) “twinning” model could successfully be applied to the San Diego–Tijuana border region. In 2008, a twinning project was initiated by Rady Children’s Hospital, SJCRH and the General Hospital Tijuana (GHT). Our aim was to establish a pediatric oncology unit in a culturally sensitive manner, adapted to the local health care system. Procedure An initial assessment revealed that despite existence of basic hospital infrastructure at the GHT, the essential elements of a pediatric cancer unit were lacking, including dedicated space, trained staff, and uniform treatment. A 5-year action plan was designed to offer training, support the staff financially, and improve the infrastructure. Results After seven years, accomplishments include the opening of a new inpatient unit with updated technology, fully-trained staff and a dedicated, interdisciplinary team. Over 700 children have benefited from accurate diagnosis and treatment. Conclusions Initiatives that implement long-term partnerships between institutions along the Mexican-North American border can be highly effective in establishing successful pediatric cancer control programs. The geographic proximity facilitated accelerated training and close monitoring of project development. Similar initiatives across other disciplines may benefit additional patients and synergize with pediatric oncology programs to reduce health disparities in underserved areas. PMID:28000395

Exploration of warm-up period in conceptual hydrological modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kue Bum; Kwon, Hyun-Han; Han, Dawei

2018-01-01

One of the important issues in hydrological modelling is to specify the initial conditions of the catchment since it has a major impact on the response of the model. Although this issue should be a high priority among modelers, it has remained unaddressed by the community. The typical suggested warm-up period for the hydrological models has ranged from one to several years, which may lead to an underuse of data. The model warm-up is an adjustment process for the model to reach an 'optimal' state, where internal stores (e.g., soil moisture) move from the estimated initial condition to an 'optimal' state. This study explores the warm-up period of two conceptual hydrological models, HYMOD and IHACRES, in a southwestern England catchment. A series of hydrologic simulations were performed for different initial soil moisture conditions and different rainfall amounts to evaluate the sensitivity of the warm-up period. Evaluation of the results indicates that both initial wetness and rainfall amount affect the time required for model warm up, although it depends on the structure of the hydrological model. Approximately one and a half months are required for the model to warm up in HYMOD for our study catchment and climatic conditions. In addition, it requires less time to warm up under wetter initial conditions (i.e., saturated initial conditions). On the other hand, approximately six months is required for warm-up in IHACRES, and the wet or dry initial conditions have little effect on the warm-up period. Instead, the initial values that are close to the optimal value result in less warm-up time. These findings have implications for hydrologic model development, specifically in determining soil moisture initial conditions and warm-up periods to make full use of the available data, which is very important for catchments with short hydrological records.

Breast feeding initiation rate across Western countries: does religion matter? An ecological study

PubMed Central

Cohen, Emmanuel; Kramer, Michael S

2016-01-01

Background Breast feeding initiation rates remain below 80% in some Western countries. Many individual-level determinants are known; however, less is known regarding cultural and societal determinants, such as religion, that could explain population-level variations. We examined the correlations of the proportions of Catholics and Protestants with the breast feeding initiation rates across and within Western countries. Methods Using publicly available data, we carried out an ecological study comparing the proportions of Catholics and Protestants with the rates of breast feeding initiation. We correlated data at the country level, and additionally explored within-country data in five Western countries: France (Departments), Ireland (counties), the UK (countries), Canada (provinces) and the USA (states). Our analyses accounted for human development index, gross domestic product and population density. Results We observed a negative correlation (r=−0.30) between the proportion of Catholics and the rate of breast feeding initiation in Western countries. This correlation was consistent when using within-country data in France (r=−0.27), Ireland (r=−0.23), the UK (r=−0.79) and Canada (r=−0.62). In the USA, the positive correlation (r=0.26) between a state's proportion of Catholics and its breast feeding initiation rate was confounded by race, education and socioeconomic status (SES). After controlling for education and SES, the state proportion of non-Hispanic white Catholics was negatively correlated (r=−0.29) with the rate of breast feeding initiation. Conclusions In this ecological study, we found consistent negative correlations between Catholicism and breast feeding initiation rates. Qualitative and quantitative studies at the individual level are needed to confirm and explain our findings. Our results suggest that women living in a country or region where Catholicism has historically dominated are less likely to initiate breast feeding, and that breast feeding promotion policies should be adapted to better fit populations' cultural and religious norms. PMID:28588983

Reinforcing effect of graphene on the mechanical properties of Al2O3/TiC ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zuo-li; Zhao, Jun; Sun, Jia-lin; Gong, Feng; Ni, Xiu-ying

2017-12-01

Multilayer graphene (MLG)-reinforced Al2O3/TiC ceramics were fabricated through hot pressing sintering, and the reinforcing effect of MLG on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites was investigated by experiment and simulation. The simulation of dynamic crack initiation and propagation was investigated based on the cohesive zone method. The results show that the composite added with 0.2wt% MLG has excellent flexural strength and high fracture toughness. The major reinforcing mechanisms are the synergistic effect by strong and weak bonding interfaces, MLG pull-out, and grain refinement resulting from the addition of MLG. In addition, the aggravating of crack deflection, branching, blunting, and bridging have indispensable contribution to the improvement of the as-designed materials.

Dynamic Discharge Arc Driver. [computerized simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dannenberg, R. E.; Slapnicar, P. I.

1975-01-01

A computer program using nonlinear RLC circuit analysis was developed to accurately model the electrical discharge performance of the Ames 1-MJ energy storage and arc-driver system. Solutions of circuit parameters are compared with experimental circuit data and related to shock speed measurements. Computer analysis led to the concept of a Dynamic Discharge Arc Driver (DDAD) capable of increasing the range of operation of shock-driven facilities. Utilization of mass addition of the driver gas offers a unique means of improving driver performance. Mass addition acts to increase the arc resistance, which results in better electrical circuit damping with more efficient Joule heating, producing stronger shock waves. Preliminary tests resulted in an increase in shock Mach number from 34 to 39 in air at an initial pressure of 2.5 torr.

Efficient fluorescence "turn-on" sensing of dissolved oxygen by electrochemical switching.

PubMed

Shin, Ik-Soo; Hirsch, Thomas; Ehrl, Benno; Jang, Dong-Hak; Wolfbeis, Otto S; Hong, Jong-In

2012-11-06

We report on a novel method for sensing oxygen that is based on the use of a perylene diimide dye (1) which is electrochemically reduced to its nonfluorescent dianion form (1(2-)). In the presence of oxygen, the dianion is oxidized to its initial form via an electron-transfer reaction with oxygen upon which fluorescence is recovered. As a result, the fluorescence intensity of the dianion solution increases upon the addition of oxygen gas. Results demonstrate that high sensitivity is obtained, and the emission intensity shows a linear correlation with oxygen content (0.0-4.0% v/v) at ambient barometric pressure. In addition, using electrochemical reduction, oxygen determination becomes regenerative, and no significant degradation is observed over several turnovers. The limit of detection is 0.4% oxygen in argon gas.

Effect of alcohol addition on shock-initiated formation of soot from benzene

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frenklach, Michael; Yuan, Tony

1988-01-01

Soot formation in benzene-methanol and benzene-ethanol argon-diluted mixtures was studied behind reflected shock waves by monitoring the attenuation of an He-Ne laser beam. The experiments were performed at temperatures 1580-2250 K, pressures 2.0-3.0 bar, and total carbon atom concentrations (2.0-2.7) x 10 to the 17th atoms/cu cm. The results obtained indicate that the addition of alcohol suppresses the formation of soot from benzene at all temperatures, and that the reduction in soot yields is increased with the amount of alcohol added. The analysis of the results indicates that the suppression effect is probably due to the oxidation of soot and soot precursors by OH and the removal of hydrogen atoms by alcohol and water molecules.

Effect of iron on accumulation of exotoxin A-specific mRNA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

PubMed Central

Lory, S

1986-01-01

A DNA probe from an internal fragment of the exotoxin A structural gene was used to study the effects of selected culture conditions on steady-state levels of exotoxin-specific mRNA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cells grown under conditions of iron deprivation began to synthesize and excrete the exotoxin A polypeptide during the late exponential phase of growth and throughout the stationary phase of growth, concomitant with a sharp increase in exotoxin A mRNA pools in P. aeruginosa cells. The addition of iron to the medium resulted in the failure of these cells to synthesize exotoxin A mRNA, despite significantly enhanced growth. The inhibition of the production of exotoxin A and the accumulation of its mRNA by iron was dose dependent, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of FeSO4 of 5 to 10 microM. A blockade of the initiation of transcription by rifampin resulted in the decay of exotoxin A mRNA, with a half-life of approximately 8 to 10 min, depending on the media used for growth. The addition of iron to cells actively engaged in exotoxin A synthesis also resulted in a gradual decrease in the amount of this mRNA in bacteria. However, the rate of decline of mRNA induced by iron was relatively slow (half-life, 90 min), with a considerable lag time between the iron addition and the first detectable effect on mRNA. While iron clearly appears to influence the production of exotoxin A at the transcriptional level, the molecular basis of this effect may involve several interacting factors affecting the initiation of transcription and perhaps mRNA turnover. Images PMID:2430950

A two-phase sampling survey for nonresponse and its paradata to correct nonresponse bias in a health surveillance survey.

PubMed

Santin, G; Bénézet, L; Geoffroy-Perez, B; Bouyer, J; Guéguen, A

2017-02-01

The decline in participation rates in surveys, including epidemiological surveillance surveys, has become a real concern since it may increase nonresponse bias. The aim of this study is to estimate the contribution of a complementary survey among a subsample of nonrespondents, and the additional contribution of paradata in correcting for nonresponse bias in an occupational health surveillance survey. In 2010, 10,000 workers were randomly selected and sent a postal questionnaire. Sociodemographic data were available for the whole sample. After data collection of the questionnaires, a complementary survey among a random subsample of 500 nonrespondents was performed using a questionnaire administered by an interviewer. Paradata were collected for the complete subsample of the complementary survey. Nonresponse bias in the initial sample and in the combined samples were assessed using variables from administrative databases available for the whole sample, not subject to differential measurement errors. Corrected prevalences by reweighting technique were estimated by first using the initial survey alone and then the initial and complementary surveys combined, under several assumptions regarding the missing data process. Results were compared by computing relative errors. The response rates of the initial and complementary surveys were 23.6% and 62.6%, respectively. For the initial and the combined surveys, the relative errors decreased after correction for nonresponse on sociodemographic variables. For the combined surveys without paradata, relative errors decreased compared with the initial survey. The contribution of the paradata was weak. When a complex descriptive survey has a low response rate, a short complementary survey among nonrespondents with a protocol which aims to maximize the response rates, is useful. The contribution of sociodemographic variables in correcting for nonresponse bias is important whereas the additional contribution of paradata in correcting for nonresponse bias is questionable. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Pre-cART Elevation of CRP and CD4+ T-cell Immune Activation Associated with HIV Clinical Progression in a Multinational Case-Cohort Study

PubMed Central

Balagopal, Ashwin; Asmuth, David M.; Yang, Wei-Teng; Campbell, Thomas B.; Gupte, Nikhil; Smeaton, Laura; Kanyama, Cecilia; Grinsztejn, Beatriz; Santos, Breno; Supparatpinyo, Khuanchai; Badal-Faesen, Sharlaa; Lama, Javier R.; Lalloo, Umesh G.; Zulu, Fatima; Pawar, Jyoti S; Riviere, Cynthia; Kumarasamy, Nagalingeswaran; Hakim, James; Li, Xiao-Dong; Pollard, Richard B.; Semba, Richard D.; Thomas, David L.; Bollinger, Robert C.; Gupta, Amita

2015-01-01

Background Despite the success of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), a subset of HIV-infected patients who initiate cART develop early clinical progression to AIDS; therefore some cART initiators are not fully benefitted by cART. Immune activation pre-cART may predict clinical progression in cART initiators. Methods A case-cohort study (n=470) within the multinational Prospective Evaluation of Antiretrovirals in Resource-Limited Settings (PEARLS) clinical trial (1571 HIV treatment-naïve adults who initiated cART; CD4+ T cell count <300 cells/mm3; nine countries) was conducted. A subcohort of 30 participants/country was randomly selected; additional cases were added from the main cohort. Cases (n=236 [random subcohort–36; main cohort–200]) had clinical progression (incident WHO Stage 3/4 event or death) within 96 weeks following cART initiation. Immune activation biomarkers were quantified pre-cART. Associations between biomarkers and clinical progression were examined using weighted multivariable Cox-proportional hazards models. Results Median age was 35 years, 45% were women, 49% black, 31% Asian, and 9% white. Median CD4+ T-cell count was 167 cells/mm3. In multivariate analysis, highest quartile CRP concentration (adjusted hazards ratio [aHR] 2.53, 95%CI 1.02-6.28) and CD4+ T-cell activation (aHR 5.18, 95CI 1.09-24.47) were associated with primary outcomes, compared to lowest quartiles. sCD14 had a trend towards association with clinical failure (aHR 2.24, 95%CI 0.96–5.21). Conclusions Measuring CRP and CD4+ T-cell activation may identify patients with CD4+ T cell counts < 300 cells/mm3 at risk for early clinical progression when initiating cART. Additional vigilance and symptom-based screening may be required in this subset of patients even after beginning cART. PMID:26017661

GT-57633 catalogue of Martian impact craters developed for evaluation of crater detection algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salamunićcar, Goran; Lončarić, Sven

2008-12-01

Crater detection algorithms (CDAs) are an important subject of the recent scientific research. A ground truth (GT) catalogue, which contains the locations and sizes of known craters, is important for the evaluation of CDAs in a wide range of CDA applications. Unfortunately, previous catalogues of craters by other authors cannot be easily used as GT. In this paper, we propose a method for integration of several existing catalogues to obtain a new craters catalogue. The methods developed and used during this work on the GT catalogue are: (1) initial screening of used catalogues; (2) evaluation of self-consistency of used catalogues; (3) initial registration from three different catalogues; (4) cross-evaluation of used catalogues; (5) additional registrations and registrations from additional catalogues; and (6) fine-tuning and registration with additional data-sets. During this process, all craters from all major currently available manually assembled catalogues were processed, including catalogues by Barlow, Rodionova, Boyce, Kuzmin, and our previous work. Each crater from the GT catalogue contains references to crater(s) that are used for its registration. This provides direct access to all properties assigned to craters from the used catalogues, which can be of interest even to those scientists that are not directly interested in CDAs. Having all these craters in a single catalogue also provides a good starting point for searching for craters still not catalogued manually, which is also expected to be one of the challenges of CDAs. The resulting new GT catalogue contains 57,633 craters, significantly more than any previous catalogue. From this point of view, GT-57633 catalogue is currently the most complete catalogue of large Martian impact craters. Additionally, each crater from the resulting GT-57633 catalogue is aligned with MOLA topography and, during the final review phase, additionally registered/aligned with 1/256° THEMIS-DIR, 1/256° MDIM and 1/256° MOC data-sets. Accordingly, the resulting GT-57633 catalogue can successfully be used as a part of the framework for evaluation of CDAs.

Combined effects of speed and directional change on postural adjustments during gait initiation.

PubMed

Corbeil, Philippe; Anaka, Evelyn

2011-10-01

The study of gait initiation (GI) has primarily focused on gait initiated in a forward direction, however, in everyday life, GI is often combined with a directional change. Ten young adults initiated gait with their right foot in four directions (to the left: -15°, straight ahead: 0°, to the right: 15° and 30°) at self-selected and fast gait speeds. The relationship between starting direction of GI and the lateral center of foot pressure displacement for normal (r(2)=0.57) and fast gait speed (r(2)=0.75) indicated that the lateral component plays an important role with regards to controlling the desired direction of gait. At the first step of the swing limb, the progression velocity of the center of mass (CM) remained slower for the 30° condition only, whereas no difference was found between directions for CM velocity perpendicular to the intended direction. These results suggest that postural adjustments are scaled to initiate gait in a predetermined direction. By the first step, the orientation of CM is toward the intended direction of gait, however, when gait is initiated in combination with a large change in direction, additional adjustments may be required to reach the intended progression velocity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physiological responses to acid stress by Saccharomyces cerevisiae when applying high initial cell density

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

High initial cell density is used to increase volumetric productivity and shorten production time in lignocellulosic hydrolysate fermentation. Comparison of physiological parameters in high initial cell density cultivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of acetic, formic, levulinic and cinnamic acids demonstrated general and acid-specific responses of cells. All the acids studied impaired growth and inhibited glycolytic flux, and caused oxidative stress and accumulation of trehalose. However, trehalose may play a role other than protecting yeast cells from acid-induced oxidative stress. Unlike the other acids, cinnamic acid did not cause depletion of cellular ATP, but abolished the growth of yeast on ethanol. Compared with low initial cell density, increasing initial cell density reduced the lag phase and improved the bioconversion yield of cinnamic acid during acid adaptation. In addition, yeast cells were able to grow at elevated concentrations of acid, probable due to the increase in phenotypic cell-to-cell heterogeneity in large inoculum size. Furthermore, the specific growth rate and the specific rates of glucose consumption and metabolite production were significantly lower than at low initial cell density, which was a result of the accumulation of a large fraction of cells that persisted in a viable but non-proliferating state. PMID:27620460

Initiation and Termination of Massive Transfusion Protocols: Current Strategies and Future Prospects.

PubMed

Foster, John C; Sappenfield, Joshua W; Smith, Robert S; Kiley, Sean P

2017-12-01

The advent of massive transfusion protocols (MTP) has had a significant positive impact on hemorrhaging trauma patient morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, societal MTP guidelines and individual MTPs at academic institutions continue to circulate opposing recommendations on topics critical to MTPs. This narrative review discusses up-to-date information on 2 such topics, the initiation and termination of an MTP. The discussion for each begins with a review of the recommendations and supporting literature presented by MTP guidelines from 3 prominent societies, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American College of Surgeons, and the task force for Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma. This is followed by an in-depth analysis of the main components within those recommendations. Societal recommendations on MTP initiation in hemorrhaging trauma patients emphasize the use of retrospectively validated massive transfusion (MT) prediction score, specifically, the Assessment of Blood Consumption and Trauma-Associated Severe Hemorrhage scores. Validation studies have shown that both scoring systems perform similarly. Both scores reliably identify patients that will not require an MT, while simultaneously overpredicting MT requirements. However, each scoring system has its unique advantages and disadvantages, and this review discusses how specific aspects of each scoring system can affect widespread applicability and statistical performance. In addition, we discuss the often overlooked topic of initiating MT in nontrauma patients and the specific tools physicians have to guide the MT initiation decision in this unique setting. Despite the serious complications that can arise with transfusion of large volumes of blood products, there is considerably less research pertinent to the topic of MTP termination. Societal recommendations on MTP termination emphasize applying clinical reasoning to identify patients who have bleeding source control and are adequately resuscitated. This review, however, focuses primarily on the recommendations presented by the Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma's MTP guidelines that call for prompt termination of the algorithm-guided model of resuscitation and rapidly transitioning into a resuscitation model guided by laboratory test results. We also discuss the evidence in support of laboratory result-guided resuscitation and how recent literature on viscoelastic hemostatic assays, although limited, highlights the potential to achieve additional benefits from this method of resuscitation.

High-efficiency preparation of poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) grafting layer on poly(ether ether ketone) by photoinduced and self-initiated graft polymerization in an aqueous solution in the presence of inorganic salt additives.

PubMed

Shiojima, Taro; Inoue, Yuuki; Kyomoto, Masayuki; Ishihara, Kazuhiko

2016-08-01

A highly efficient methodology for preparing a poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC) layer on the surface of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) was examined by photoinduced and self-initiated graft polymerization. To enhance the polymerization rate, we demonstrated the effects of inorganic salt additives in the feed monomer solution on thickness of grafted PMPC layer. Photoinduced polymerization occurred and the PMPC graft layer was successfully formed on the PEEK surface, regardless of inorganic salt additives. Moreover, it was clearly observed that the addition of inorganic salt enhanced the grafting thickness of PMPC layer on the surface even when the photoirradiation time was shortened. The addition of inorganic salt additives in the feed monomer solution enhanced the polymerization rate of MPC and resulted in thicker PMPC layers. In particular, we evaluated the effect of NaCl concentration and how this affected the polymerization rate and layer thickness. We considered that this phenomenon was due to the hydration of ions in the feed monomer solution and subsequent apparent increase in the MPC concentration. A PMPC layer with over 100-nm-thick, which was prepared by 5-min photoirradiation in 2.5mol/L inorganic salt aqueous solution, showed good wettability and protein adsorption resistance compared to that of untreated PEEK. Hence, we concluded that the addition of NaCl into the MPC feed solution would be a convenient and efficient method for preparing a graft layer on PEEK. Photoinduced and self-initiated graft polymerization on the PEEK surface is one of the several methodologies available for functionalization. However, in comparison with free-radical polymerization, the efficiency of polymerization at the solid-liquid interface is limited. Enhancement of the polymerization rate for grafting could solve the problem. In this study, we observed the acceleration of the polymerization rate of MPC in an aqueous solution by the addition of inorganic salt. The salt itself did not show any adverse effects on the radical polymerization; however, the apparent concentration of the monomer in feed may be increased due to the hydration of ions attributed to salt additives. We could obtain PMPC-grafted PEEK with sufficient PMPC thickness to obtain good functionality with only 5-min photoirradiation by using 2.5mol/L NaCl in the feed solution. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acceleration of Intended Pozzolanic Reaction under Initial Thermal Treatment for Developing Cementless Fly Ash Based Mortar.

PubMed

Kwon, Yang-Hee; Kang, Sung-Hoon; Hong, Sung-Gul; Moon, Juhyuk

2017-02-24

Without using strong alkaline solution or ordinary Portland cement, a new structural binder consisting of fly ash and hydrated lime was hardened through an intensified pozzolanic reaction. The main experimental variables are the addition of silica fume and initial thermal treatment (60 °C for 3 days). A series of experiments consisting of mechanical testing (compressive and flexural strength, modulus of elasticity), X-ray diffraction, and measurements of the heat of hydration, pore structure, and shrinkage were conducted. These tests show that this new fly ash-based mortar has a compressive strength of 15 MPa at 91 days without any silica fume addition or initial thermal treatment. The strength increased to over 50 MPa based on the acceleration of the intensified pozzolanic reaction from the silica fume addition and initial thermal treatment. This is explained by a significant synergistic effect induced by the silica fume. It intensifies the pozzolanic reaction under thermal treatment and provides a space filling effect. This improved material performance can open a new pathway to utilize the industrial by-product of fly ash in cementless construction materials.

NASA industry education initiative. Education programs report, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Findings from the initial inventory of education programs show that support for the NASA-Industry Education Initiative (NIEI) appears to be strong among the organizations surveyed. In addition, the range, depth and historical baselines of NIEI education programs are encouraging. It is also apparent that there is a significant level of cooperation between NIEI members and other organizations. Heavily focused towards science, engineering, mathematics and technology achievement, NIEI activities appear to be aligned with national education goals. Three criticisms are revealed: (1) the majority of programs are targeted fairly late in the education cycle; (2) the number of initiatives geared towards adult literacy and adult skills-enhancement appears to be relatively low; (3) the majority of NIEI activities involve traditional education-assistance programs, but the number of critical assessment and systematic reform initiatives is low. Four Working Group recommendations resulted from this activity: (1) NIEI Working Group operations should continue for an indefinite period, with participation open to other like-minded private-sector organization; (2) the report should be periodically updated; (3) an analysis of ongoing education programs should be conducted; (4) American corporations should continue to support education and evaluate in-house programs periodically.

Effects of transcriptional start site sequence and position on nucleotide-sensitive selection of alternative start sites at the pyrC promoter in Escherichia coli.

PubMed Central

Liu, J; Turnbough, C L

1994-01-01

In Escherichia coli, expression of the pyrC gene is regulated primarily by a translational control mechanism based on nucleotide-sensitive selection of transcriptional start sites at the pyrC promoter. When intracellular levels of CTP are high, pyrC transcripts are initiated predominantly with CTP at a site 7 bases downstream of the Pribnow box. These transcripts form a stable hairpin at their 5' ends that blocks ribosome binding. When the CTP level is low and the GTP level is high, conditions found in pyrimidine-limited cells, transcripts are initiated primarily with GTP at a site 9 bases downstream of the Pribnow box. These shorter transcripts are unable to form a hairpin at their 5' ends and are readily translated. In this study, we examined the effects of nucleotide sequence and position on the selection of transcriptional start sites at the pyrC promoter. We characterized promoter mutations that systematically alter the sequence at position 7 or 9 downstream of the Pribnow box or vary the spacing between the Pribnow box and wild-type transcriptional initiation region. The results reveal preferences for particular initiating nucleotides (ATP > or = GTP > UTP >> CTP) and for starting positions downstream of the Pribnow box (7 >> 6 and 8 > 9 > 10). The results indicate that optimal nucleotide-sensitive start site switching at the wild-type pyrC promoter is the result of competition between the preferred start site (position 7) that uses the poorest initiating nucleotide (CTP) and a weak start site (position 9) that uses a good initiating nucleotide (GTP). The sequence of the pyrC promoter also minimizes the synthesis of untranslatable transcripts and provides for maximum stability of the regulatory transcript hairpin. In addition, the results show that the effects of the mutations on pyrC expression and regulation are consistent with the current model for translational control. Possible effects of preferences for initiating nucleotides and start sites on the expression and regulation of other genes are discussed. Images PMID:7910603

Extension of Ostwald Ripening Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baird, J.; Naumann, R.

1985-01-01

The objective is to develop models based on the mean field approximation of Ostwald ripening to describe the growth of second phase droplets or crystallites. The models will include time variations in nucleation rate, control of saturation through addition of solute, precipitating agents, changes in temperature, and various surface kinetic effects. Numerical integration schemes have been developed and tested against the asymptotic solution of Liftshitz, Slyozov and Wagner (LSW). A second attractor (in addition to the LSW distribution) has been found and, contrary to the LSW theory, the final distribution is dependent on the initial distribution. A series of microgravity experiments is being planned to test this and other results from this work.

Research on oxygen recovery systems for use in space capsules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Selman, J. R.; Steunenberg, R. K.; Cairns, E. J.

1973-01-01

An improved electrochemical process was investigated for the recovery of oxygen from the atmospheres of manned space capsules. The objective of the proposed system is to recover the oxygen from CO2 with high efficiency and to recover the additional amount of oxygen from water that is required to provide a total oxygen makeup stream of about 2.0 lb/man-day. The carbon from the CO2 must be converted into a readily disposable or usable form. The results are given of initial experiments with a porous stainless steel cathode in a LiCl-KCl electrolyte with small additions of oxide, carbonate, and hydroxide.

Synthesis of silica-polymer core-shell nanoparticles by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization.

PubMed

Moraes, John; Ohno, Kohji; Maschmeyer, Thomas; Perrier, Sébastien

2013-10-14

Hybrid nanoparticles hold great promise for a range of applications such as drug-delivery vectors or colloidal crystal self-assemblies. The challenge of preparing highly monodisperse particles for these applications has recently been overcome by using living radical polymerization techniques. In particular, the use of reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT), initiated from silica surfaces, yields well-defined particles from a range of precursor monomers resulting in nanoparticles of tailored sizes that are accessible via the rational selection of polymerization conditions. Furthermore, using RAFT allows post-polymerization modification to afford multifunctional, monodisperse, nanostructures under mild and non-stringent reaction conditions.

Effect of initial conditions on combustion generated loads

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

Tieszen, S.R.

1991-01-01

This analytical study examines the effect of initial thermodynamic conditions on the loads generated by the combustion of homogeneous hydrogen-air-steam mixtures. The effect of initial temperature, pressure, hydrogen concentration, and steam concentration is evaluated for two cases, (1) constant volume and (2) constant initial pressure. For each case, the Adiabatic, Isochoric, Complete Combustion (AICC), Chapman-Jouguet (CJ), and normally reflected CJ pressures are calculated for a range of hydrogen and steam concentrations representative of the entire flammable regime. For detonation loads, pressure profiles and time-histories are also evaluated in one-dimensional Cartesian geometry. The results show that to a first approximation, themore » AICC and CJ pressures are directly proportional to the initial density. Increasing the hydrogen concentration up to stoichiometric concentrations significantly increases the AICC, CJ, and reflected CJ pressures. For the constant volume case, the AICC, CJ, and reflected CJ pressures increase with increasing hydrogen concentration on the rich side of stoichiometric concentrations. For the constant initial pressure case, the AICC, CJ and reflected CJ pressures decrease with increasing hydrogen concentration on the rich side of stoichiometric values. The addition of steam decreases the AICC, CJ and reflected CJ pressures for the constant initial pressure case, but increases them for the constant volume case. For detonations, the pressure time-histories can be normalized with the AICC pressure and the reverberation time for Cartesian geometry. 35 refs., 16 figs.« less

Nest initiation in three North American bumble bees (Bombus): gyne number and presence of honey bee workers influence establishment success and colony size.

PubMed

Strange, James P

2010-01-01

Three species of bumble bees, Bombus appositus Cresson, Bombus bifarius, Cresson and Bombus centralis Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were evaluated for nest initiation success under three sets of initial conditions. In the spring, gynes of each species were caught in the wild and introduced to nest boxes in one of three ways. Gynes were either introduced in conspecific pairs, singly with two honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) workers, or alone. Nesting success and colony growth parameters were measured to understand the effects of the various treatments on nest establishment. Colonies initiated from pairs of conspecific gynes were most successful in producing worker bees (59.1%), less successful were colonies initiated with honey bee workers (33.3%), and least successful were bumble bee gynes initiating colonies alone (16.7%). There was a negative correlation between the numbers of days to the emergence of the first worker in a colony to the attainment of ultimate colony size, indicating that gynes that have not commenced oviposition in 21 days are unlikely to result in colonies exceeding 50 workers. B. appositus had the highest rate of nest establishment followed by B. bifarius and B. centralis. Nest establishment rates in three western bumble bee species can be increased dramatically by the addition of either honey bee workers or a second gyne to nesting boxes at colony initiation.

Pretreatment of paper tube residuals for improved biogas production.

PubMed

Teghammar, Anna; Yngvesson, Johan; Lundin, Magnus; Taherzadeh, Mohammad J; Horváth, Ilona Sárvári

2010-02-01

Paper tube residuals, which are lignocellulosic wastes, have been studied as substrate for biogas (methane) production. Steam explosion and nonexplosive hydrothermal pretreatment, in combination with sodium hydroxide and/or hydrogen peroxide, have been used to improve the biogas production. The treatment conditions of temperature, time and addition of NaOH and H(2)O(2) were statistically evaluated for methane production. Explosive pretreatment was more successful than the nonexplosive method, and gave the best results at 220 degrees C, 10 min, with addition of both 2% NaOH and 2% H(2)O(2). Digestion of the pretreated materials at these conditions yielded 493 N ml/g VS methane which was 107% more than the untreated materials. In addition, the initial digestion rate was improved by 132% compared to the untreated samples. The addition of NaOH was, besides the explosion effect, the most important factor to improve the biogas production.

Hot spot-derived shock initiation phenomena in heterogeneous nitromethane

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

Dattelbaum, Dana M; Sheffield, Stephen A; Stahl, David B

2009-01-01

The addition of solid silica particles to gelled nitromethane offers a tractable model system for interrogating the role of impedance mismatches as one type of hot spot 'seed' on the initiation behaviors of explosive formulations. Gas gun-driven plate impact experiments are used to produce well-defined shock inputs into nitromethane-silica mixtures containing size-selected silica beads at 6 wt%. The Pop-plots or relationships between shock input pressure and rundistance (or time)-to-detonation for mixtures containing small (1-4 {micro}m) and large (40 {micro}m) beads are presented. Overall, the addition of beads was found to influence the shock sensitivity of the mixtures, with the smallermore » beads being more sensitizing than the larger beads, lowering the shock initiation threshold for the same run distance to detonation compared with neat nitromethane. In addition, the use of embedded electromagnetic gauges provides detailed information pertaining to the mechanism of the build-up to detonation and associated reactive flow. Of note, an initiation mechanism characteristic of homogeneous liquid explosives, such as nitromethane, was observed in the nitromethane-40 {micro}m diameter silica samples at high shock input pressures, indicating that the influence of hot spots on the initiation process was minimal under these conditions.« less

24 CFR 125.103 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM § 125.103 Definitions. In addition to the definitions that appear at section... status as an FHO. FHIP means the Fair Housing Initiatives Program authorized by section 561 of the...

Proapoptotic signaling induced by RIG-I and MDA-5 results in type I interferon–independent apoptosis in human melanoma cells

PubMed Central

Besch, Robert; Poeck, Hendrik; Hohenauer, Tobias; Senft, Daniela; Häcker, Georg; Berking, Carola; Hornung, Veit; Endres, Stefan; Ruzicka, Thomas; Rothenfusser, Simon; Hartmann, Gunther

2009-01-01

The retinoic acid–inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation–associated antigen 5 (MDA-5) helicases sense viral RNA in infected cells and initiate antiviral responses such as the production of type I IFNs. Here we have shown that RIG-I and MDA-5 also initiate a proapoptotic signaling pathway that is independent of type I IFNs. In human melanoma cells, this signaling pathway required the mitochondrial adapter Cardif (also known as IPS-1) and induced the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins Puma and Noxa. RIG-I– and MDA-5–initiated apoptosis required Noxa but was independent of the tumor suppressor p53. Triggering this pathway led to efficient activation of mitochondrial apoptosis, requiring caspase-9 and Apaf-1. Surprisingly, this proapoptotic signaling pathway was also active in nonmalignant cells, but these cells were much less sensitive to apoptosis than melanoma cells. Endogenous Bcl-xL rescued nonmalignant, but not melanoma, cells from RIG-I– and MDA-5–mediated apoptosis. In addition, we confirmed the results of the in vitro studies, demonstrating that RIG-I and MDA-5 ligands both reduced human tumor lung metastasis in immunodeficient NOD/SCID mice. These results identify an IFN-independent antiviral signaling pathway initiated by RIG-I and MDA-5 that activates proapoptotic signaling and, unless blocked by Bcl-xL, results in apoptosis. Due to their immunostimulatory and proapoptotic activity, RIG-I and MDA-5 ligands have therapeutic potential due to their ability to overcome the characteristic resistance of melanoma cells to apoptosis. PMID:19620789

Metals Technology for Aerospace Applications in 2020: Development of High Temperature Aluminum Alloys For Aerospace Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dicus, Dennis (Technical Monitor); Starke, Edgar A., Jr.

2003-01-01

The role of trace additions on the nucleation and stability of the primary strengthening phase, omega, is of paramount importance for the enhancement of mechanical properties for moderate temperature application of Al-Cu-Mg-(Ag) alloys. In order to better understand the competition for solute, which governs the microstructural evolution of these alloys, a series of Al-Cu-Mg-Si quaternary alloys were prepared to investigate the role of trace Si additions on the nucleation of the omega phase. Si additions were found to quell omega nucleation in conjunction with the enhanced matrix precipitation of competing phases. These initial results indicate that it is necessary to overcome a critical Mg/Si ratio for omega precipitation, rather than a particular Si content.

Wet air co-oxidation of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209) and tetrahydrofuran.

PubMed

Zhao, Hongxia; Zhang, Feifang; Qu, Baocheng; Xue, Xingya; Liang, Xinmiao

2009-09-30

The wet air co-oxidation (WACO) of a major commercial polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardant congener, decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209), was investigated using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as an initiator in a stainless autoclave at temperature range of 120-170 degrees C and 0.5MPa oxygen pressure. Compared to the single oxidation of BDE209 under the same conditions, the addition of THF in the reaction system greatly improved the removal efficiency of BDE209. The effect of temperature on the reaction was studied. The removals of BDE209 and Br increased with increasing temperature. In addition, the effect of NaNO(2) as the catalyst on the WACO was also investigated and the results showed that the addition of NaNO(2) could improve the Br removal efficiency.

Progressive Fracture of Laminated Fiber-Reinforced Composite Stiffened Plate Under Pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gotsis, Pascalis K.; Abdi, Frank; Chamis, Christos C.; Tsouros, Konstantinos

2007-01-01

S-Glass/epoxy laminated fiber-reinforced composite stiffened plate structure with laminate configuration (0/90)5 was simulated to investigate damage and fracture progression, under uniform pressure. For comparison reasons a simple plate was examined, in addition with the stiffened plate. An integrated computer code was used for the simulation. The damage initiation began with matrix failure in tension, continuous with damage and/or fracture progression as a result of additional matrix failure and fiber fracture and followed by additional interply delamination. Fracture through the thickness began when the damage accumulation was 90%. After that stage, the cracks propagate rapidly and the structures collapse. The collapse load for the simple plate is 21.57 MPa (3120 psi) and for the stiffened plate 25.24 MPa (3660 psi).

Inclusion of Highest Glasgow Coma Scale Motor Component Score in Mortality Risk Adjustment for Benchmarking of Trauma Center Performance.

PubMed

Gomez, David; Byrne, James P; Alali, Aziz S; Xiong, Wei; Hoeft, Chris; Neal, Melanie; Subacius, Harris; Nathens, Avery B

2017-12-01

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most widely used measure of traumatic brain injury (TBI) severity. Currently, the arrival GCS motor component (mGCS) score is used in risk-adjustment models for external benchmarking of mortality. However, there is evidence that the highest mGCS score in the first 24 hours after injury might be a better predictor of death. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of including the highest mGCS score on the performance of risk-adjustment models and subsequent external benchmarking results. Data were derived from the Trauma Quality Improvement Program analytic dataset (January 2014 through March 2015) and were limited to the severe TBI cohort (16 years or older, isolated head injury, GCS ≤8). Risk-adjustment models were created that varied in the mGCS covariates only (initial score, highest score, or both initial and highest mGCS scores). Model performance and fit, as well as external benchmarking results, were compared. There were 6,553 patients with severe TBI across 231 trauma centers included. Initial and highest mGCS scores were different in 47% of patients (n = 3,097). Model performance and fit improved when both initial and highest mGCS scores were included, as evidenced by improved C-statistic, Akaike Information Criterion, and adjusted R-squared values. Three-quarters of centers changed their adjusted odds ratio decile, 2.6% of centers changed outlier status, and 45% of centers exhibited a ≥0.5-SD change in the odds ratio of death after including highest mGCS score in the model. This study supports the concept that additional clinical information has the potential to not only improve the performance of current risk-adjustment models, but can also have a meaningful impact on external benchmarking strategies. Highest mGCS score is a good potential candidate for inclusion in additional models. Copyright © 2017 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Initial varus displacement of proximal humerus fractures results in similar function but higher complication rates.

PubMed

Capriccioso, Christina E; Zuckerman, Joseph D; Egol, Kenneth A

2016-04-01

To investigate the effect of initial varus or valgus surgical neck alignment on outcomes of patients who sustained proximal humerus fractures treated with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). An institutional review board approved database of proximal humerus fractures treated with locked plates was reviewed. Of 185 fractures in the database, 101 fractures were identified and met inclusion criteria. Initial varus displacement was seen in 47 fractures (OTA types 11.A2.2, A3.1, A3.3, B1.2, B2.2, C1.2, C2.2, or C2.3) and initial valgus displacement was observed in 54 fractures (OTA types 11.A2.3, B1.1, C1.1, or C2.1). All patients were treated in a similar manner and examined by the treating physician at standard intervals. Functional outcomes were quantified via the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire and physical examination data at 12 months. Radiographs were reviewed for complications of healing. Additionally, complication rate and reoperation rate were investigated. Patients who presented with initial varus displacement had an average age of 59.3 years, while patients in the valgus group had an average age of 62.4 years. Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in age, sex distribution, BMI, fracture parts, screws used, or implant plate type between the two groups. At a minimum 12 months follow up, there was no significant difference in DASH scores between those presenting with varus versus valgus fracture patterns. In addition, no significant differences were seen in final shoulder range of motion in any plane. Overall, 30 patients included in this study developed a complication. A significantly greater number of patients in the initial varus cohort developed complications (40.4%), as compared to 20.3% of patients in the initial valgus cohort (P=0.03). Fourteen patients in this study underwent reoperation. Nine of these patients were in the varus cohort, while 5 were in the valgus cohort (P=0.15). In this study, initial surgical neck displacement in varus or valgus was found to not significantly affect functional outcome. Based upon our findings, patients with varus displaced proximal humerus fractures are at a greater risk of developing postoperative complications than those who present with initial valgus displaced fracture patterns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multispot single-molecule FRET: High-throughput analysis of freely diffusing molecules

PubMed Central

Panzeri, Francesco

2017-01-01

We describe an 8-spot confocal setup for high-throughput smFRET assays and illustrate its performance with two characteristic experiments. First, measurements on a series of freely diffusing doubly-labeled dsDNA samples allow us to demonstrate that data acquired in multiple spots in parallel can be properly corrected and result in measured sample characteristics consistent with those obtained with a standard single-spot setup. We then take advantage of the higher throughput provided by parallel acquisition to address an outstanding question about the kinetics of the initial steps of bacterial RNA transcription. Our real-time kinetic analysis of promoter escape by bacterial RNA polymerase confirms results obtained by a more indirect route, shedding additional light on the initial steps of transcription. Finally, we discuss the advantages of our multispot setup, while pointing potential limitations of the current single laser excitation design, as well as analysis challenges and their solutions. PMID:28419142

Space and surface power for the space exploration initiative: Results from project outreach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shipbaugh, C.; Solomon, K.; Gonzales, D.; Juncosa, M.; Bauer, T.; Salter, R.

1991-01-01

The analysis and evaluations of the Space and Surface Power panel, one of eight panels created by RAND to screen and analyze submissions to the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) Outreach Program, is documented. In addition to managing and evaluating the responses, or submissions, to this public outreach program, RAND conducted its own analysis and evaluation relevent to SEI mission concepts, systems, and technologies. The Power panel screened and analyzed submissions for which a substantial portion of the concepts involved power generation sources, transmission, distribution, thermal management, and handling of power (including conditioning, conversion, packaging, and enhancements in system components). A background discussion of the areas the Power panel covered and the issues the reviewers considered pertinent to the analysis of power submissions are presented. An overview of each of the highest-ranked submissions and then a discussion of these submissions is presented. The results of the analysis is presented.

Burnishing of rotatory parts to improve surface quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Celaya, A.; López de Lacalle, L. N.; Albizuri, J.; Alberdi, R.

2009-11-01

In this paper, the use of rolling burnishing process to improve the final quality of railway and automotive workpieces is studied. The results are focused on the improvement of the manufacturing processes of rotary workpieces used in railway and automotion industry, attending to generic target of achieving `maximum surface quality with minimal process time'. Burnishing is a finishing operation in which plastic deformation of surface irregularities occurs by applying pressure through a very hard element, a roller or a ceramic ball. This process gives additional advantages to the workpiece such as good surface roughness, increased hardness and high compressive residual stresses. The effect of the initial turning conditions on the final burnishing operation has also been studied. The results show that feeds used in the initial rough turning have little influence in the surface finish of the burnished workpieces. So, the process times of the combined turning and burnishing processes can be reduced, optimizing the shaft's machining process.

One Year Follow-Up of Children and Adolescents With Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) Treated With Rituximab

PubMed Central

Mueller, Brigitta U.; Bennett, Carolyn M.; Feldman, Henry A.; Bussel, James B.; Abshire, Thomas C.; Moore, Theodore B.; Sawaf, Hadi; Loh, Mignon L.; Rogers, Zora R.; Glader, Bertil E.; McCarthy, Maggie C.; Mahoney, Donald H.; Olson, Thomas A.; Feig, Stephen A.; Lorenzana, Adonis N.; Mentzer, William C.; Buchanan, George R.; Neufeld, Ellis J.

2017-01-01

Background We previously showed in a prospective study that rituximab appears to be effective in some children and adolescents with severe chronic immune thrombocytopenia. Eleven of 36 patients achieved and maintained platelet counts over 50,000/mm3 within the first 12 weeks. These patients were followed for the next year. Methods Platelet counts were monitored monthly and all subsequent bleeding manifestations and need for further treatment was noted. Results Eight of the 11 initial responders maintained a platelet count over 150,000/mm3 without further treatment intervention. Three patients had a late relapse. One initial non-responder achieved a remission after 16 weeks, and two additional patients maintained platelet counts around 50,000/mm3 without the need for further intervention. Conclusions Rituximab resulted in sustained efficacy with platelet counts of 50,000/mm3 or higher in 11 of 36 patients (31%). PMID:18937333

Initial application of stereoscopic particle image velocimetry to transport and boundary phenomena in dusty plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Edward; Williams, Jeremiah; Silver, Jennifer

2004-11-01

Over the past five years, the Auburn Plasma Sciences Laboratory (PSL) has applied two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (2D-PIV) techniques [E. Thomas, Phys. Plasmas, 6, 2672 (1999)] to make measurements of particle transport in dusty plasmas. Although important information was obtained from these earlier studies, the complex behavior of the charged microparticles clearly indicated that three-dimensional velocity information is needed. The PSL has recently acquired and installed a stereoscopic PIV (stereo-PIV) diagnostic tool for dusty plasma investigations [E. Thomas. et al, Phys. Plasmas, L37 (2004)]. It employs a synchronized dual-laser, dual-camera system for measuring particle transport in three dimensions. Results will be presented on the initial application of stereo-PIV to dusty plasma studies. Additional results will be presented on the use of stereo-PIV for measuring the controlled interaction of two dust clouds.

Self-appraisals and episodic memory: Different psychological factors related to patient versus informant reports of apathy in severe traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Arnould, Annabelle; Rochat, Lucien; Azouvi, Philippe; van der Linden, Martial

2018-01-09

Apathy is a core feature in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The psychological processes underlying apathy are still unclear, and the few studies conducted on this subject have essentially focused on cognitive processes and informant reports of apathetic manifestations. The aims of the present study were to examine self-reports versus informant reports of diminished initiative/interest, as well as their relationship with different cognitive factors (attention/executive mechanisms, episodic memory, and multitasking) and personal identity factors (self-esteem and self-efficacy beliefs). To this end, 74 participants (38 patients with severe TBI matched with 36 control participants) were given three questionnaires to assess self-esteem, general self-efficacy beliefs, and anxio-depressive symptoms and five tasks to assess cognitive processes, including real-life multitasking. In addition, a questionnaire that assessed self-awareness of functional competencies and a questionnaire that assessed lack of initiative/interest were administered to each participant and their relatives. The main results showed that patients demonstrated an awareness of their lack of initiative/interest and that self-reported lack of initiative/interest was best predicted by low general self-efficacy beliefs and self-esteem, whereas informant-reported lack of initiative/interest was predicted by episodic memory difficulties. These results shed new light on the psychological processes related to apathetic manifestations, as well as the differing perspectives and lived experiences of patients and external observers in the TBI population, which opens interesting prospects for psychological interventions.

Effects of soil aggregates on debris-flow mobilization: Results from ring-shear experiments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Iverson, Neal R.; Mann, Janet E.; Iverson, Richard M.

2010-01-01

Rates and styles of landslide motion are sensitive to pore-water pressure changes caused by changes in soil porosity accompanying shear deformation. Soil may either contract or dilate upon shearing, depending upon whether its initial porosity is greater or less, respectively, than a critical-state porosity attained after sufficiently high strain. We observed complications in this behavior, however, during rate-controlled (0.02 m s−1) ring-shear experiments conducted on naturally aggregated dense loamy sand at low confining stresses (10.6 and 40 kPa). The aggregated soil first dilated and then contracted to porosities less than initial values, whereas the same soil with its aggregates destroyed monotonically dilated. We infer that aggregates persisted initially during shear and caused dilation before their eventual breakdown enabled net contraction. An implication of this contraction, demonstrated in experiments in which initial soil porosity was varied, is that the value of porosity distinguishing initially contractive from dilative behavior can be significantly larger than the critical-state porosity, which develops only after disaggregation ceases at high strains. In addition, post-dilative contraction may produce excess pore pressures, thereby reducing frictional strength and facilitating debris-flow mobilization. We infer that results of triaxial tests, which generally produce strains at least a factor of ∼ 4 smaller than those we observed at the inception of post-dilative contraction, do not allow soil contraction to be ruled out as a mechanism for debris-flow mobilization in dense soils containing aggregates.

Tier One Performance Screen Initial Operational Test and Evaluation: Early Results

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

Requirement: In addition to educational, physical , and moral screens, the U.S. Army relies on a composite score from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude...analyses suggest that the individual TAPAS scales significantly predict a number of criteria of interest. Most notably, the Physical Conditioning scale...predicted Soldiers’ self-reported Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) scores, number of restarts in training, adjustment to Army life, and 3-month

3122 Florence Lightcurve Analysis at Asteroids Observers (OBAS)- MPPD: 2017 Sep

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigo, Onofre; Fornas, Gonzalo; Arce, Enrique; Mas, Vicente; Carreño, Alfonso; Brines, Pedro; Fornas, Alvaro; Herrro, David; Lozano, Juan; Garcia, Faustino

2018-04-01

We report on the results of photometric analysis of 3122 Florence, a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) by Asteroids Observers (OBAS). This work is part of the Minor Planet Photometric Database effort that was initiated by a group of Spanish amateur astronomers. We have managed to obtain a number of accurate and complete lightcurves as well as some additional incomplete lightcurves to help analysis at future oppositions.

Home Start Followup Study: A Study of Long-Term Impact of Home Start on Program Participants. Executive Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bache, William; Nauta, Marrit J.

This paper provides a summary of a Home Start Followup Study (HSFS) which was initiated in 1976. An attempt was made to examine the durability of gains made as the result of families' (parents and their 3- to 5-year-old children) participation in the program. In addition, the study was designed to determine whether program duration (one versus two…

Analysis of particulate contamination on tape lift samples from the VETA optical surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Germani, Mark S.

1992-01-01

Particulate contamination analysis was carried out on samples taken from the Verification Engineering Test Article (VETA) x-ray detection system. A total of eighteen tape lift samples were taken from the VETA optical surfaces. Initially, the samples were tested using a scanning electron microscope. Additionally, particle composition was determined by energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry. Results are presented in terms of particle loading per sample.

Variable Gap Conjugated Polymers

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-12-01

conducting gold interfacial layer interjected between the ITO glass electrode and the PEDOT/PSS hole transport layer . A family of low band gap, and near IR...which can be used as both electrochromics and as the hole transport layers in light emitting diodes. Hybrid electrochromic and electroluminescent (EC...MEH-PPV, P3HT, etc.) in order to blanket the solar spectrum. Initial device results on these multi-component blends are promising. In addition, we

An overview of the Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest's role in the free-air CO2 enrichment large wood decomposition experiment

Treesearch

Peter E. Koestner; Karen Koestner; Daniel G. Neary; Carl C. Trettin

2012-01-01

The Duke University FACE facility is located near Chapel Hill, in Orange County, North Carolina on the eastern edge of the North Carolina piedmont. The initial prototype plot was established in June, 1994 and eleven additional treatment plots were activated in August 1996 and operated until October, 2010. To date, 263 publications have reported on results from the...

Northeast Artificial Intelligence Consortium Annual Report for 1987. Volume 4. Research in Automated Photointerpretation

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

KOWLEDGE INFERENCE IMAGE DAAAEENGINE DATABASE Automated Photointerpretation Testbed. 4.1.7 Fig. .1.1-2 An Initial Segmentation of an Image / zx...MRF) theory provide a powerful alternative texture model and have resulted in intensive research activity in MRF model- based texture analysis...interpretation process. 5. Additional, and perhaps more powerful , features have to be incorporated into the image segmentation procedure. 6. Object detection

Development of radiation resistant electrical cable insulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, B. S.; Soo, P.; Mackenzie, D. R.

1994-01-01

Two new polyethylene cable insulations have been formulated for nuclear applications and have been tested under gamma radiation. Both insulations are based on low density polyethylene, one with PbO and the other with Sb2O3 as additives. The test results show that the concept of using inorganic antioxidants to retard radiation initiated oxidation (RIO) is viable. PbO is more effective than Sb2O3 in minimizing RIO.