Evaluation of Cleanliness Test Methods for Spacecraft PCB Assemblies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tegehall, P.-E.; Dunn, B. D.

2006-10-01

Ionic contamination on printed-circuit-board assemblies may cause current leakage and short-circuits. The present cleanliness requirement in ECSS-Q-70-08, "The manual soldering of high-reliability electrical connections", is that the ionic contamination shall be less than 1.56 fl-glcm2 NaCI equivalents. The relevance of the method used for measurement of the ionic contamination level, resistivity of solvent extract, has been questioned. Alternative methods are ion chromatography and measurement of surface insulation resistance, but these methods also have their drawbacks. These methods are first described and their advantages and drawbacks are discussed. This is followed by an experimental evaluation of the three methods. This was done by soldering test vehicles at four manufacturers of space electronics using their ordinary processes for soldering and cleaning printed board assemblies. The experimental evaluation showed that the ionic contamination added by the four assemblers was very small and well below the acceptance criterion in ECSS-Q-70-80. Ion-chromatography analysis showed that most of the ionic contamination on the cleaned assembled boards originated from the hot-oil fusing of the printed circuit boards. Also, the surface insulation resistance was higher on the assembled boards compared to the bare printed circuit boards. Since strongly activated fluxes are normally used when printed circuit boards are hot-oil fused, it is essential that they are thoroughly cleaned in order to achieve low contamination levels on the final printed-board assemblies.

Governance of quality of care: a qualitative study of health service boards in Victoria, Australia.

PubMed

Bismark, Marie M; Studdert, David M

2014-06-01

To describe the engagement of health service boards with quality-of-care issues and to identify factors that influence boards' activities in this area. We conducted semistructured interviews with 35 board members and executives from 13 public health services in Victoria, Australia. Interviews focused on the role currently played by boards in overseeing quality of care. We also elicited interviewees' perceptions of factors that have influenced their current approach to governance in this area. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes from interview transcripts. Virtually all interviewees believed boards had substantial opportunities to influence the quality of care delivered within the service, chiefly through setting priorities, monitoring progress, holding staff to account and shaping culture. Perceived barriers to leveraging this influence included insufficient resources, gaps in skills and experience among board members, inadequate information on performance and regulatory requirements that miss the mark. Interviewees converged on four enablers of more effective quality governance: stronger regional collaborations; more tailored board training on quality issues; smarter use of reporting and accreditation requirements; and better access to data that was reliable, longitudinal and allowed for benchmarking against peer organisations. Although health service boards are eager to establish quality of care as a governance priority, several obstacles are blocking progress. The result is a gap between the rhetoric of quality governance and the reality of month-to-month activities at the board level. The imperative for effective board-level engagement in this area cannot be met until these barriers are addressed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Evaluation of the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyle, Michael P.

2013-01-01

Purpose: To create a psychometrically sound scale that measures different levels of internalized stigma (i.e., self-stigma) among adults who stutter and to analyze factor structure, reliability, and initial construct validity of the scale. Method: Two-hundred ninety-one adults who stutter were recruited from Board Recognized Specialists in Fluency…

Reliability of the Wii Balance Board in kayak

PubMed Central

Vando, Stefano; Laffaye, Guillaume; Masala, Daniele; Falese, Lavinia; Padulo, Johnny

2015-01-01

Summary Background: the seat of the kayaker represent the principal contact point to express mechanical Energy. Methods: therefore we investigated the reliability of the Wii Balance Board measures in the kayak vs. on the ground. Results: Bland-Altman test showed a low systematic bias on the ground (2.85%) and in kayak (−2.13%) respectively; while 0.996 for Intra-class correlation coefficient. Conclusion: the Wii Balance Board is useful to assess postural sway in kayak. PMID:25878987

Requirements for Printed Wiring Boards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

In order to maintain the high standards of the NASA printed wiring programs, this publication: prescribes NASA's requirements for assuring reliable rigid printed wiring boards; describes and incorporates basic considerations necessary to assure reliable rigid printed wiring boards; establishes the supplier's responsibility to train and certify personnel; provides for supplier documentation of the fabrication and inspection procedures to be used for NASA work, including supplier innovations and changes in technology; and provides visual workmanship standards to aid those responsible for determining quality conformance to the established requirements.

Responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to different novel environments is a consistent individual trait in adult male outbred rats.

PubMed

Márquez, Cristina; Nadal, Roser; Armario, Antonio

2005-02-01

Susceptibility to some stress-induced pathologies may be strongly related to individual differences in the responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to stressors. However, there have been few attempts in rodents to study the reliability of the individual differences in the responsiveness of the HPA to stressors and the relationship to resting corticosterone levels. In the present work, we used a normal population of Sprague-Dawley rats, with a within-subject design. Our objectives were to study: (a) the reliability of the ACTH and corticosterone response to three different novel environments widely used in psychopharmacology and (b) the relationship between stress levels of HPA hormones and the daily pattern of corticosterone secretion (six samples over a 24-h-period). Animals were repeatedly sampled using tail-nick procedure. The novel environments were the elevated plus-maze, the hole-board and the circular corridor. Animals were sampled just after 15 min exposure to the tests and again at 15 and 30 min after the termination of exposure to them (post-tests). The hormonal levels just after the tests indicate that the hole-board seems to be more stressful than the circular corridor and the elevated plus-maze, the latter being characterized by the lowest defecation rate. Correlational analysis revealed that daily pattern of resting plasma corticosterone levels did not correlate to HPA responsiveness to the tests, suggesting no relationship between resting and stress levels of HPA hormones. In contrast, the present study demonstrates, for the first time, a good within-subject reliability of the ACTH and corticosterone responses to the three environments, suggesting that HPA responsiveness to these kind of stressors is a consistent individual trait in adult rats, despite differences in the physical characteristics of the novel environments.

Fabrication method to create high-aspect ratio pillars for photonic coupling of board level interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debaes, C.; Van Erps, J.; Karppinen, M.; Hiltunen, J.; Suyal, H.; Last, A.; Lee, M. G.; Karioja, P.; Taghizadeh, M.; Mohr, J.; Thienpont, H.; Glebov, A. L.

2008-04-01

An important challenge that remains to date in board level optical interconnects is the coupling between the optical waveguides on printed wiring boards and the packaged optoelectronics chips, which are preferably surface mountable on the boards. One possible solution is the use of Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages. This approach offers a reliable attachment despite the large CTE mismatch between the organic FR4 board and the semiconductor materials. Collimation via micro-lenses is here typically deployed to couple the light vertically from the waveguide substrate to the optoelectronics while allowing for a small misalignment between board and package. In this work, we explore the fabrication issues of an alternative approach in which the vertical photonic connection between board and package is governed by a micro-optical pillar which is attached both to the board substrate and to the optoelectronic chips. Such an approach allows for high density connections and small, high-speed detector footprints while maintaining an acceptable tolerance between board and package. The pillar should exhibit some flexibility and thus a high-aspect ratio is preferred. This work presents and compares different fabrication methods and applies different materials for such high-aspect ratio pillars. The different fabrication methods are: photolithography, direct laser writing and deep proton writing. The selection of optical materials that was investigated is: SU8, Ormocers, PU and a multifunctional acrylate polymer. The resulting optical pillars have diameters ranging from 20um up to 80um, with total heights ranging between 30um and 100um (symbol for micron). The aspect-ratio of the fabricated structures ranges from 1.5 to 5.

Printed Circuit Board Surface Finish and Effects of Chloride Contamination, Electric Field, and Humidity on Corrosion Reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conseil-Gudla, Hélène; Jellesen, Morten S.; Ambat, Rajan

2017-02-01

Corrosion reliability is a serious issue today for electronic devices, components, and printed circuit boards (PCBs) due to factors such as miniaturization, globalized manufacturing practices which can lead to process-related residues, and global usage effects such as bias voltage and unpredictable user environments. The investigation reported in this paper focuses on understanding the synergistic effect of such parameters, namely contamination, humidity, PCB surface finish, pitch distance, and potential bias on leakage current under different humidity levels, and electrochemical migration probability under condensing conditions. Leakage currents were measured on interdigitated comb test patterns with three different types of surface finish typically used in the electronics industry, namely gold, copper, and tin. Susceptibility to electrochemical migration was studied under droplet conditions. The level of base leakage current (BLC) was similar for the different surface finishes and NaCl contamination levels up to relative humidity (RH) of 65%. A significant increase in leakage current was found for comb patterns contaminated with NaCl above 70% to 75% RH, close to the deliquescent RH of NaCl. Droplet tests on Cu comb patterns with varying pitch size showed that the initial BLC before dendrite formation increased with increasing NaCl contamination level, whereas electrochemical migration and the frequency of dendrite formation increased with bias voltage. The effect of different surface finishes on leakage current under humid conditions was not very prominent.

Case study of rotating sonar sensor application in unmanned automated guided vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandak, Pravin; Cao, Ming; Hall, Ernest L.

2001-10-01

A single rotating sonar element is used with a restricted angle of sweep to obtain readings to develop a range map for the unobstructed path of an autonomous guided vehicle (AGV). A Polaroid ultrasound transducer element is mounted on a micromotor with an encoder feedback. The motion of this motor is controlled using a Galil DMC 1000 motion control board. The encoder is interfaced with the DMC 1000 board using an intermediate IMC 1100 break-out board. By adjusting the parameters of the Polaroid element, it is possible to obtain range readings at known angles with respect to the center of the robot. The readings are mapped to obtain a range map of the unobstructed path in front of the robot. The idea can be extended to a 360 degree mapping by changing the assembly level programming on the Galil Motion control board. Such a system would be compact and reliable over a range of environments and AGV applications.

75 FR 65624 - Notice of Attendance at North American Electric Reliability Corporation Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-26

... Electric Reliability Corporation Meetings October 19, 2010. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hereby... Electric Reliability Corporation meetings: NERC Board of Trustees Meeting November 3, 2010, Wednesday..., North American Electric Reliability Corporation; Docket No. RC08-5, North American Electric Reliability...

A Motor Drive Electronics Assembly for Mars Curiosity Rover: An Example of Assembly Qualification for Extreme Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolawa, Elizabeth; Chen, Yuan; Mojarradi, Mohammad M.; Weber, Carissa Tudryn; Hunter, Don J.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the technology development and infusion of a motor drive electronics assembly for Mars Curiosity Rover under space extreme environments. The technology evaluation and qualification as well as space qualification of the assembly are detailed and summarized. Because of the uncertainty of the technologies operating under the extreme space environments and that a high level reliability was required for this assembly application, both component and assembly board level qualifications were performed.

Reliability of CGA/LGA/HDI Package Board/Assembly (Revision A)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2013-01-01

This follow-up report presents reliability test results conducted by thermal cycling of five CGA assemblies evaluated under two extreme cycle profiles, representative of use for high-reliability applications. The thermal cycles ranged from a low temperature of 55 C to maximum temperatures of either 100 C or 125 C with slow ramp-up rate (3 C/min) and dwell times of about 15 minutes at the two extremes. Optical photomicrographs that illustrate key inspection findings of up to 200 thermal cycles are presented. Other information presented include an evaluation of the integrity of capacitors on CGA substrate after thermal cycling as well as process evaluation for direct assembly of an LGA onto PCB. The qualification guidelines, which are based on the test results for CGA/LGA/HDI packages and board assemblies, will facilitate NASA projects' use of very dense and newly available FPGA area array packages with known reliably and mitigation risks, allowing greater processing power in a smaller board footprint and lower system weight.

Column Grid Array Rework for High Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehta, Atul C.; Bodie, Charles C.

2008-01-01

Due to requirements for reduced size and weight, use of grid array packages in space applications has become common place. To meet the requirement of high reliability and high number of I/Os, ceramic column grid array packages (CCGA) were selected for major electronic components used in next MARS Rover mission (specifically high density Field Programmable Gate Arrays). ABSTRACT The probability of removal and replacement of these devices on the actual flight printed wiring board assemblies is deemed to be very high because of last minute discoveries in final test which will dictate changes in the firmware. The questions and challenges presented to the manufacturing organizations engaged in the production of high reliability electronic assemblies are, Is the reliability of the PWBA adversely affected by rework (removal and replacement) of the CGA package? and How many times can we rework the same board without destroying a pad or degrading the lifetime of the assembly? To answer these questions, the most complex printed wiring board assembly used by the project was chosen to be used as the test vehicle, the PWB was modified to provide a daisy chain pattern, and a number of bare PWB s were acquired to this modified design. Non-functional 624 pin CGA packages with internal daisy chained matching the pattern on the PWB were procured. The combination of the modified PWB and the daisy chained packages enables continuity measurements of every soldered contact during subsequent testing and thermal cycling. Several test vehicles boards were assembled, reworked and then thermal cycled to assess the reliability of the solder joints and board material including pads and traces near the CGA. The details of rework process and results of thermal cycling are presented in this paper.

76 FR 71966 - Notice of Commissioner and Staff Attendance at ReliabilityFirst

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-21

... Attendance at ReliabilityFirst Corporation Meetings The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hereby gives...: ReliabilityFirst Corporation, Annual Meeting of Members and Board of Directors Meetings, Grand Hyatt... Reliability Corporation Docket No. RC11-1, North American Electric Reliability Corporation Docket No. RC11-2...

Modeling and Simulation Reliable Spacecraft On-Board Computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Nohpill

1999-01-01

The proposed project will investigate modeling and simulation-driven testing and fault tolerance schemes for Spacecraft On-Board Computing, thereby achieving reliable spacecraft telecommunication. A spacecraft communication system has inherent capabilities of providing multipoint and broadcast transmission, connectivity between any two distant nodes within a wide-area coverage, quick network configuration /reconfiguration, rapid allocation of space segment capacity, and distance-insensitive cost. To realize the capabilities above mentioned, both the size and cost of the ground-station terminals have to be reduced by using reliable, high-throughput, fast and cost-effective on-board computing system which has been known to be a critical contributor to the overall performance of space mission deployment. Controlled vulnerability of mission data (measured in sensitivity), improved performance (measured in throughput and delay) and fault tolerance (measured in reliability) are some of the most important features of these systems. The system should be thoroughly tested and diagnosed before employing a fault tolerance into the system. Testing and fault tolerance strategies should be driven by accurate performance models (i.e. throughput, delay, reliability and sensitivity) to find an optimal solution in terms of reliability and cost. The modeling and simulation tools will be integrated with a system architecture module, a testing module and a module for fault tolerance all of which interacting through a centered graphical user interface.

The reliability of a VISION COACH task as a measure of psychomotor skills.

PubMed

Xi, Yubin; Rosopa, Patrick J; Mossey, Mary; Crisler, Matthew C; Drouin, Nathalie; Kopera, Kevin; Brooks, Johnell O

2014-10-01

The VISION COACH™ interactive light board is designed to test and enhance participants' psychomotor skills. The primary goal of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability of the Full Field 120 VISION COACH task. One hundred eleven male and 131 female adult participants completed six trials where they responded to 120 randomly distributed lights displayed on the VISION COACH interactive light board. The mean time required for a participant to complete a trial was 101 seconds. Intraclass correlation coefficients, ranging from 0.962 to 0.987 suggest the VISION COACH Full Field 120 task was a reliable task. Cohen's d's of adjacent pairs of trials suggest learning effects did not negatively affect reliability after the third trial.

Parametric diagnosis of the adaptive gas path in the automatic control system of the aircraft engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsova, T. A.

2017-01-01

The paper dwells on the adaptive multimode mathematical model of the gas-turbine aircraft engine (GTE) embedded in the automatic control system (ACS). The mathematical model is based on the throttle performances, and is characterized by high accuracy of engine parameters identification in stationary and dynamic modes. The proposed on-board engine model is the state space linearized low-level simulation. The engine health is identified by the influence of the coefficient matrix. The influence coefficient is determined by the GTE high-level mathematical model based on measurements of gas-dynamic parameters. In the automatic control algorithm, the sum of squares of the deviation between the parameters of the mathematical model and real GTE is minimized. The proposed mathematical model is effectively used for gas path defects detecting in on-line GTE health monitoring. The accuracy of the on-board mathematical model embedded in ACS determines the quality of adaptive control and reliability of the engine. To improve the accuracy of identification solutions and sustainability provision, the numerical method of Monte Carlo was used. The parametric diagnostic algorithm based on the LPτ - sequence was developed and tested. Analysis of the results suggests that the application of the developed algorithms allows achieving higher identification accuracy and reliability than similar models used in practice.

Preliminary appraisal of the reliability and validity of the Colorado State University Feline Acute Pain Scale.

PubMed

Shipley, Hilary; Guedes, Alonso; Graham, Lynelle; Goudie-DeAngelis, Elizabeth; Wendt-Hornickle, Erin

2018-05-01

Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the inter-rater reliability and convergent validity of the Colorado State University Feline Acute Pain Scale (CSU-FAPS) in a preliminary appraisal of its performance in a clinical teaching setting. Methods Sixty-eight female cats were assessed for pain after ovariohysterectomy. A cohort of 21 cats was examined independently by four raters (two board-certified anesthesiologists and two anesthesia residents) with the CSU-FAPS, and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to determine inter-rater reliability. Weighted Cohen's kappa was used to determine inter-rater reliability centered on the 'need to reassess analgesic plan' (dichotomous scale). A separate cohort of 47 cats was evaluated independently by two raters (one board-certified anesthesiologist and one veterinary small animal rotating intern) using the CSU-FAPS and the Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale (CMPS-Feline), and Spearman rank-order correlation was determined to assess convergent validity. Reliability was interpreted using Altman's classification as very good, good, moderate, fair and poor. Validity was considered adequate if correlation coefficients were between 0.4 and 0.8. Results The ICC was 0.61 for anesthesiologists and 0.67 for residents, indicating good reliability. Weighted Cohen's kappa was 0.79 for anesthesiologists and 0.44 for residents, indicating moderate to good reliability. The Spearman rank correlation indicated a statistically significant ( P = 0.0003) positive correlation (0.31; 95% confidence interval 0.14-0.46) between the CSU-FAPS and the CMPS-Feline. Conclusions and relevance The CSU-FAPS showed moderate-to-good inter-rater reliability when used by veterinarians to assess pain level or need to reassess analgesic plan after ovariohysterectomy in cats. The validity fell short of current guidelines for correlation coefficients and further refinement and testing are warranted to improve its performance.

78 FR 48156 - Notice of Commissioner and Staff Attendance at North American Electric Reliability Corporation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-07

... Committee and Board of Trustees Meetings Board of Trustees Corporate Governance and Human Resources Committee, Compliance Committee, Finance and Audit Committee, and Standards Oversight and Technology...

Reliability and variability of day-to-day vault training measures in artistic gymnastics.

PubMed

Bradshaw, Elizabeth; Hume, Patria; Calton, Mark; Aisbett, Brad

2010-06-01

Inter-day training reliability and variability in artistic gymnastics vaulting was determined using a customised infra-red timing gate and contact mat timing system. Thirteen Australian high performance gymnasts (eight males and five females) aged 11-23 years were assessed during two consecutive days of normal training. Each gymnast completed a number of vault repetitions per daily session. Inter-day variability of vault run-up velocities (at -18 to -12 m, -12 to -6 m, -6 to -2 m, and -2 to 0 m from the nearest edge of the beat board), and board contact, pre-flight, and table contact times were determined using mixed modelling statistics to account for random (within-subject variability) and fixed effects (gender, number of subjects, number of trials). The difference in the mean (Mdiff) and Cohen's effect sizes for reliability assessment and intra-class correlation coefficients, and the coefficient of variation percentage (CV%) were calculated for variability assessment. Approach velocity (-18 to -2m, CV = 2.4-7.8%) and board contact time (CV = 3.5%) were less variable measures when accounting for day-to-day performance differences, than pre-flight time (CV = 17.7%) and table contact time (CV = 20.5%). While pre-flight and table contact times are relevant training measures, approach velocity and board contact time are more reliable when quantifying vaulting performance.

The case against one-shot testing for initial dental licensure.

PubMed

Chambers, David W; Dugoni, Arthur A; Paisley, Ian

2004-03-01

High-stakes testing are expected to meet standards for cost-effectiveness, fairness, transparency, high reliability, and high validity. It is questionable whether initial licensure examinations in dentistry meet such standards. Decades of piecemeal adjustments in the system have resulted in limited improvement. The essential flaw in the system is reliance on a one-shot sample of a small segment of the skills, understanding, and supporting values needed for today's professional practice of dentistry. The "snapshot" approach to testing produces inherently substandard levels of reliability and validity. A three-step alternative is proposed: boards should (1) define the competencies required of beginning practitioners, (2) establish the psychometric standards needed to make defensible judgments about candidates, and (3) base licensure decisions only on portfolios of evidence that test for defined competencies at established levels of quality.

Reliability testing of two classification systems for osteoarthritis and post-traumatic arthritis of the elbow.

PubMed

Amini, Michael H; Sykes, Joshua B; Olson, Stephen T; Smith, Richard A; Mauck, Benjamin M; Azar, Frederick M; Throckmorton, Thomas W

2015-03-01

The severity of elbow arthritis is one of many factors that surgeons must evaluate when considering treatment options for a given patient. Elbow surgeons have historically used the Broberg and Morrey (BM) and Hastings and Rettig (HR) classification systems to radiographically stage the severity of post-traumatic arthritis (PTA) and primary osteoarthritis (OA). We proposed to compare the intraobserver and interobserver reliability between systems for patients with either PTA or OA. The radiographs of 45 patients were evaluated at least 2 weeks apart by 6 evaluators of different levels of training. Intraobserver and interobserver reliability were calculated by Spearman correlation coefficients with 95% confidence intervals. Agreement was considered almost perfect for coefficients >0.80 and substantial for coefficients of 0.61 to 0.80. In patients with both PTA and OA, intraobserver reliability and interobserver reliability were substantial, with no difference between classification systems. There were no significant differences in intraobserver or interobserver reliability between attending physicians and trainees for either classification system (all P > .10). The presence of fracture implants did not affect reliability in the BM system but did substantially worsen reliability in the HR system (intraobserver P = .04 and interobserver P = .001). The BM and HR classifications both showed substantial intraobserver and interobserver reliability for PTA and OA. Training level differences did not affect reliability for either system. Both trainees and fellowship-trained surgeons may easily and reliably apply each classification system to the evaluation of primary elbow OA and PTA, although the HR system was less reliable in the presence of fracture implants. Copyright © 2015 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

2007 Beyond SBIR Phase II: Bringing Technology Edge to the Warfighter

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-23

Systems Trade-Off Analysis and Optimization Verification and Validation On-Board Diagnostics and Self - healing Security and Anti-Tampering Rapid...verification; Safety and reliability analysis of flight and mission critical systems On-Board Diagnostics and Self - Healing Model-based monitoring and... self - healing On-board diagnostics and self - healing ; Autonomic computing; Network intrusion detection and prevention Anti-Tampering and Trust

Effects of Inspired CO2 and Breathing Resistance on Neurocognitive and Postural Stability in U.S. Navy Divers

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

Wii Balance Board . Amplitude and sample entropy...of the subtests. Balance testing Alterations in postural stability (i.e., balance ) were assessed using a Nintendo Wii Balance Board (Nintendo...29. P. Scaglioni-Solano, L. F. Aragón-Vargas, "Validity and Reliability of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board to Assess Standing Balance and

Automated inspection of solder joints for surface mount technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Savage, Robert M.; Park, Hyun Soo; Fan, Mark S.

1993-01-01

Researchers at NASA/GSFC evaluated various automated inspection systems (AIS) technologies using test boards with known defects in surface mount solder joints. These boards were complex and included almost every type of surface mount device typical of critical assemblies used for space flight applications: X-ray radiography; X-ray laminography; Ultrasonic Imaging; Optical Imaging; Laser Imaging; and Infrared Inspection. Vendors, representative of the different technologies, inspected the test boards with their particular machine. The results of the evaluation showed limitations of AIS. Furthermore, none of the AIS technologies evaluated proved to meet all of the inspection criteria for use in high-reliability applications. It was found that certain inspection systems could supplement but not replace manual inspection for low-volume, high-reliability, surface mount solder joints.

Simulation-based Assessment of the Management of Critical Events by Board-certified Anesthesiologists.

PubMed

Weinger, Matthew B; Banerjee, Arna; Burden, Amanda R; McIvor, William R; Boulet, John; Cooper, Jeffrey B; Steadman, Randolph; Shotwell, Matthew S; Slagle, Jason M; DeMaria, Samuel; Torsher, Laurence; Sinz, Elizabeth; Levine, Adam I; Rask, John; Davis, Fred; Park, Christine; Gaba, David M

2017-09-01

We sought to determine whether mannequin-based simulation can reliably characterize how board-certified anesthesiologists manage simulated medical emergencies. Our primary focus was to identify gaps in performance and to establish psychometric properties of the assessment methods. A total of 263 consenting board-certified anesthesiologists participating in existing simulation-based maintenance of certification courses at one of eight simulation centers were video recorded performing simulated emergency scenarios. Each participated in two 20-min, standardized, high-fidelity simulated medical crisis scenarios, once each as primary anesthesiologist and first responder. Via a Delphi technique, an independent panel of expert anesthesiologists identified critical performance elements for each scenario. Trained, blinded anesthesiologists rated video recordings using standardized rating tools. Measures included the percentage of critical performance elements observed and holistic (one to nine ordinal scale) ratings of participant's technical and nontechnical performance. Raters also judged whether the performance was at a level expected of a board-certified anesthesiologist. Rater reliability for most measures was good. In 284 simulated emergencies, participants were rated as successfully completing 81% (interquartile range, 75 to 90%) of the critical performance elements. The median rating of both technical and nontechnical holistic performance was five, distributed across the nine-point scale. Approximately one-quarter of participants received low holistic ratings (i.e., three or less). Higher-rated performances were associated with younger age but not with previous simulation experience or other individual characteristics. Calling for help was associated with better individual and team performance. Standardized simulation-based assessment identified performance gaps informing opportunities for improvement. If a substantial proportion of experienced anesthesiologists struggle with managing medical emergencies, continuing medical education activities should be reevaluated.

Assessing the reliability and validity of a residency selection process examination: a preliminary study between the national board of medical examiners and the University of Panama Faculty of Medicine.

PubMed

De Champlain, André F; Scoles, Peter; Holtzman, Kathy; Angelucci, Kathy; Flores, Maria C; Mendoza, Enrique; Martin, Marion; De Calvo, Oriz Lam

2005-01-01

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Panama is currently developing a national examination system that will be used to license graduates to practice medicine in that country, as well as to undertake postgraduate medical training. As part of these efforts, a preliminary project was undertaken between the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Panama to develop a Residency Selection Process Examination (RSPE). The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of RSPE scores for a sample of candidates who wished to obtain a residency slot in Panama. The RSPE, composed of 200 basic and clinical sciences multiple-choice items, was administered to 261 residency applicants at the University of Panama. The reliability estimate computed was comparable with that reported with other high-stakes examinations (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89). Also, a Rasch examinee proficiency item difficulty plot showed that the RSPE was well targeted to the proficiency levels of candidates. Finally, a moderate correlation was noted between local grade point averages and RSPE scores for University of Panama students (r = 0.38). Findings suggest that it is possible to translate and adapt test materials for use in other contexts.

Development and Reliability Testing of the Comprehensive High-Level Activity Mobility Predictor (CHAMP) in Male Servicemembers with Traumatic Lower-Limb Loss

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Levin GT, Ben Abdelkrim N, Laurencelle L, Castagna C. Lower limb maxi- mal dynamic strength and agility determinants in elite basket - ball players . J...IRB = Institutional Review Board, LLL = lower-limb loss, MBP = Medicine Ball Put, MDC = minimal detectable change, NMCSD = Naval Medical Center...consid- ered for the CHAMP. Coordination, power, speed, and agility are important physical components necessary for successful perfor- mance in sports

Education Research: Bias and poor interrater reliability in evaluating the neurology clinical skills examination

PubMed Central

Schuh, L A.; London, Z; Neel, R; Brock, C; Kissela, B M.; Schultz, L; Gelb, D J.

2009-01-01

Objective: The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) has recently replaced the traditional, centralized oral examination with the locally administered Neurology Clinical Skills Examination (NEX). The ABPN postulated the experience with the NEX would be similar to the Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise, a reliable and valid assessment tool. The reliability and validity of the NEX has not been established. Methods: NEX encounters were videotaped at 4 neurology programs. Local faculty and ABPN examiners graded the encounters using 2 different evaluation forms: an ABPN form and one with a contracted rating scale. Some NEX encounters were purposely failed by residents. Cohen’s kappa and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for local vs ABPN examiners. Results: Ninety-eight videotaped NEX encounters of 32 residents were evaluated by 20 local faculty evaluators and 18 ABPN examiners. The interrater reliability for a determination of pass vs fail for each encounter was poor (kappa 0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.11, 0.53). ICC between local faculty and ABPN examiners for each performance rating on the ABPN NEX form was poor to moderate (ICC range 0.14-0.44), and did not improve with the contracted rating form (ICC range 0.09-0.36). ABPN examiners were more likely than local examiners to fail residents. Conclusions: There is poor interrater reliability between local faculty and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology examiners. A bias was detected for favorable assessment locally, which is concerning for the validity of the examination. Further study is needed to assess whether training can improve interrater reliability and offset bias. GLOSSARY ABIM = American Board of Internal Medicine; ABPN = American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; CI = confidence interval; HFH = Henry Ford Hospital; ICC = intraclass correlation coefficients; IM = internal medicine; mini-CEX = Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise; NEX = Neurology Clinical Skills Examination; RITE = residency inservice training examination; UC = University of Cincinnati; UM = University of Michigan; USF = University of South Florida. PMID:19605769

Portable high precision pressure transducer system

DOEpatents

Piper, Thomas C.; Morgan, John P.; Marchant, Norman J.; Bolton, Steven M.

1994-01-01

A high precision pressure transducer system for checking the reliability of a second pressure transducer system used to monitor the level of a fluid confined in a holding tank. Since the response of the pressure transducer is temperature sensitive, it is continually housed in an battery powered oven which is configured to provide a temperature stable environment at specified temperature for an extended period of time. Further, a high precision temperature stabilized oscillator and counter are coupled to a single board computer to accurately determine the pressure transducer oscillation frequency and convert it to an applied pressure. All of the components are powered by the batteries which during periods of availability of line power are charged by an on board battery charger. The pressure readings outputs are transmitted to a line printer and a vacuum florescent display.

Hardening communication ports for survival in electrical overstress environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, O. Melville

1991-01-01

Greater attention is being focused on the protection of data I/O ports since both experience and lab tests have shown that components at these locations are extremely vulnerable to electrical overstress (EOS) in the form of transient voltages. Lightning and electrostatic discharge (ESD) are the major contributors to these failures; however, these losses can be prevented. Hardening against transient voltages at both the board level and system level has a proven record of improving reliability by orders of magnitude. The EOS threats, typical failure modes, and transient voltage mitigation techniques are reviewed. Case histories are also reviewed.

Reliability testing of the Larsen and Sharp classifications for rheumatoid arthritis of the elbow.

PubMed

Jew, Nicholas B; Hollins, Anthony M; Mauck, Benjamin M; Smith, Richard A; Azar, Frederick M; Miller, Robert H; Throckmorton, Thomas W

2017-01-01

Two popular systems for classifying rheumatoid arthritis affecting the elbow are the Larsen and Sharp schemes. To our knowledge, no study has investigated the reliability of these 2 systems. We compared the intraobserver and interobserver agreement of the 2 systems to determine whether one is more reliable than the other. The radiographs of 45 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis affecting the elbow were evaluated. Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were deidentified and distributed to 6 evaluators (4 fellowship-trained upper extremity surgeons and 2 orthopedic trainees). Each evaluator graded all 45 radiographs according to the Larsen and Sharp scoring methods on 2 occasions, at least 2 weeks apart. Overall intraobserver reliability was 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90-0.95) for the Larsen system and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.86-0.96) for the Sharp classification, both indicating substantial agreement. Overall interobserver reliability was 0.70 (95% CI, 0.60-0.80) for the Larsen classification and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.54-0.81) for the Sharp system, both indicating good agreement. There were no significant differences in the intraobserver or interobserver reliability of the systems overall and no significant differences in reliability between attending surgeons and trainees for either classification system. The Larsen and Sharp systems both show substantial intraobserver reliability and good interobserver agreement for the radiographic classification of rheumatoid arthritis affecting the elbow. Differences in training level did not result in substantial variances in reliability for either system. We conclude that both systems can be reliably used to evaluate rheumatoid arthritis of the elbow by observers of varying training levels. Copyright © 2017 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence-based medicine and contemporary certification: Analysis of the American Board of Vascular Medicine endovascular board examination.

PubMed

Slovut, David Paul; Gray, Bruce H; Saiar, Amin; Bates, Mark C

2017-08-01

Since 2005, the American Board of Vascular Medicine (ABVM) endovascular examination has been used to certify vascular practitioners. Annual rigorous review has confirmed it is psychometrically valid and reliable. However, the evidence basis underlying the examination items has not been studied systematically. The aim of this study was to adjudicate class of recommendation (COR) and level of evidence (LOE) for the 2015 ABVM endovascular examination and establish an additional feedback mechanism for examination improvement based on contemporary evidence-based guidelines. We performed a pooled consensus process to classify each of the 110 items in the 2015 ABVM endovascular examination by COR and LOE as detailed in the current guideline statements. We added additional categories for items that were not eligible for assignment using traditional current evidence-based metrics: 'COR X', cannot be determined, not applicable, or simple recognition; and 'LOE X', cannot be determined or not applicable. COR classifications were assigned in the following proportion: Class I=15%, Class II=40%, Class III=3%, COR X=42%. LOE classifications were assigned in the following proportion: Level A=12%, Level B=34%, Level C=32%, LOE X=22%. Our analysis showed that nearly half of the 2015 ABVM endovascular examination items were supported by strong scientific evidence or fact-based knowledge. COR and LOE analysis yielded notably different results. Use of alternate classification schema may be powerful tools for improving certification exams in healthcare.

The effectiveness of a self-reporting bedside pain assessment tool for oncology inpatients.

PubMed

Kim, Eun Bi; Han, Hye-Suk; Chung, Jung Hwa; Park, Bo Ram; Lim, Sung-Nam; Yim, Kyoung Hoon; Shin, Young Duck; Lee, Ki Hyeong; Kim, Wun-Jae; Kim, Seung Taik

2012-11-01

Pain is common during cancer treatment, and patient self-reporting of pain is an essential first step for ideal cancer pain management. However, many studies on cancer pain management report that, because pain may be underestimated, it is often inadequately managed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of bedside self-assessment of pain intensity for inpatients using a self-reporting pain board. Fifty consecutive inpatients admitted to the Oncology Department of Chungbuk National University Hospital were included in this observational prospective study from February 2011 to December 2011. The medical staff performed pain assessments by asking patients questions and using verbal rated scales (VRS) over 3 consecutive days. Then, for 3 additional days, patients used a self-reporting pain board attached to the bed, which had movable indicators representing 0-10 on a numeric rating scale (NRS) and the frequency of breakthrough pain. Patient reliability over the medical staff's pain assessment increased from 74% to 96% after applying the self-reporting pain board (p=0.004). The gap (mean±standard deviation [SD]) between the NRS reported by patients and the NRS recorded on the medical records decreased from 3.16±2.08 to 1.00±1.02 (p<0.001), and the level of patient satisfaction with pain management increased from 54% to 82% (p=0.002). This study suggests that the self-reporting bedside pain assessment tool provides a reliable and effective means of assessing pain in oncology inpatients.

Achieving High Reliability with People, Processes, and Technology.

PubMed

Saunders, Candice L; Brennan, John A

2017-01-01

High reliability as a corporate value in healthcare can be achieved by meeting the "Quadruple Aim" of improving population health, reducing per capita costs, enhancing the patient experience, and improving provider wellness. This drive starts with the board of trustees, CEO, and other senior leaders who ingrain high reliability throughout the organization. At WellStar Health System, the board developed an ambitious goal to become a top-decile health system in safety and quality metrics. To achieve this goal, WellStar has embarked on a journey toward high reliability and has committed to Lean management practices consistent with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's definition of a high-reliability organization (HRO): one that is committed to the prevention of failure, early identification and mitigation of failure, and redesign of processes based on identifiable failures. In the end, a successful HRO can provide safe, effective, patient- and family-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable care through a convergence of people, processes, and technology.

Travel time reliability modeling.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-07-01

This report includes three papers as follows: : 1. Guo F., Rakha H., and Park S. (2010), "A Multi-state Travel Time Reliability Model," : Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, n 2188, : pp. 46-54. : 2. Park S.,...

HAL/S - The programming language for Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, F. H.

1974-01-01

HAL/S is a higher order language and system, now operational, adopted by NASA for programming Space Shuttle on-board software. Program reliability is enhanced through language clarity and readability, modularity through program structure, and protection of code and data. Salient features of HAL/S include output orientation, automatic checking (with strictly enforced compiler rules), the availability of linear algebra, real-time control, a statement-level simulator, and compiler transferability (for applying HAL/S to additional object and host computers). The compiler is described briefly.

12 CFR 985.8 - General duties of the OF board of directors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... chief executive officer for the OF and shall direct the implementation of the OF board of directors... market conditions, and the Banks' role as government-sponsored enterprises; (ii) Maintaining reliable... financial statements; (8) Select, evaluate, determine the compensation of, and, where appropriate, replace...

Optimization Testbed Cometboards Extended into Stochastic Domain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Pai, Shantaram S.; Coroneos, Rula M.; Patnaik, Surya N.

2010-01-01

COMparative Evaluation Testbed of Optimization and Analysis Routines for the Design of Structures (CometBoards) is a multidisciplinary design optimization software. It was originally developed for deterministic calculation. It has now been extended into the stochastic domain for structural design problems. For deterministic problems, CometBoards is introduced through its subproblem solution strategy as well as the approximation concept in optimization. In the stochastic domain, a design is formulated as a function of the risk or reliability. Optimum solution including the weight of a structure, is also obtained as a function of reliability. Weight versus reliability traced out an inverted-S-shaped graph. The center of the graph corresponded to 50 percent probability of success, or one failure in two samples. A heavy design with weight approaching infinity could be produced for a near-zero rate of failure that corresponded to unity for reliability. Weight can be reduced to a small value for the most failure-prone design with a compromised reliability approaching zero. The stochastic design optimization (SDO) capability for an industrial problem was obtained by combining three codes: MSC/Nastran code was the deterministic analysis tool, fast probabilistic integrator, or the FPI module of the NESSUS software, was the probabilistic calculator, and CometBoards became the optimizer. The SDO capability requires a finite element structural model, a material model, a load model, and a design model. The stochastic optimization concept is illustrated considering an academic example and a real-life airframe component made of metallic and composite materials.

Requirements for conformal coating and staking of printed wiring boards and electronic assemblies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

In order to maintain the high standards of the NASA conformal coating and staking program, this publication: prescribes NASA's requirements for assuring reliable conformal coating and staking for printed wiring boards and electronic assemblies; describes and incorporates basic considerations necessary to assure reliable conformal coating and staking; establishes the supplier's responsibility to train and certify personnel; provides for supplier documentation of the fabrication and inspection procedures to be used for NASA work, including supplier innovations and changes in technology; and provides visual workmanship standards to aid those responsible for determining quality conformance to the established requirements.

Portable high precision pressure transducer system

DOEpatents

Piper, T.C.; Morgan, J.P.; Marchant, N.J.; Bolton, S.M.

1994-04-26

A high precision pressure transducer system is described for checking the reliability of a second pressure transducer system used to monitor the level of a fluid confined in a holding tank. Since the response of the pressure transducer is temperature sensitive, it is continually housed in an battery powered oven which is configured to provide a temperature stable environment at specified temperature for an extended period of time. Further, a high precision temperature stabilized oscillator and counter are coupled to a single board computer to accurately determine the pressure transducer oscillation frequency and convert it to an applied pressure. All of the components are powered by the batteries which during periods of availability of line power are charged by an on board battery charger. The pressure readings outputs are transmitted to a line printer and a vacuum fluorescent display. 2 figures.

Accuracy and reliability testing of two methods to measure internal rotation of the glenohumeral joint.

PubMed

Hall, Justin M; Azar, Frederick M; Miller, Robert H; Smith, Richard; Throckmorton, Thomas W

2014-09-01

We compared accuracy and reliability of a traditional method of measurement (most cephalad vertebral spinous process that can be reached by a patient with the extended thumb) to estimates made with the shoulder in abduction to determine if there were differences between the two methods. Six physicians with fellowship training in sports medicine or shoulder surgery estimated measurements in 48 healthy volunteers. Three were randomly chosen to make estimates of both internal rotation measurements for each volunteer. An independent observer made objective measurements on lateral scoliosis films (spinous process method) or with a goniometer (abduction method). Examiners were blinded to objective measurements as well as to previous estimates. Intraclass coefficients for interobserver reliability for the traditional method averaged 0.75, indicating good agreement among observers. The difference in vertebral level estimated by the examiner and the actual radiographic level averaged 1.8 levels. The intraclass coefficient for interobserver reliability for the abduction method averaged 0.81 for all examiners, indicating near-perfect agreement. Confidence intervals indicated that estimates were an average of 8° different from the objective goniometer measurements. Pearson correlation coefficients of intraobserver reliability for the abduction method averaged 0.94, indicating near-perfect agreement within observers. Confidence intervals demonstrated repeated estimates between 5° and 10° of the original. Internal rotation estimates made with the shoulder abducted demonstrated interobserver reliability superior to that of spinous process estimates, and reproducibility was high. On the basis of this finding, we now take glenohumeral internal rotation measurements with the shoulder in abduction and use a goniometer to maximize accuracy and objectivity. Copyright © 2014 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Board-to-board optical interconnection using novel optical plug and slot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, In K.; Yoon, Keun Byoung; Ahn, Seong H.; Kim, Jin Tae; Lee, Woo Jin; Shin, Kyoung Up; Heo, Young Un; Park, Hyo Hoon

2004-10-01

A novel optical PCB with transmitter/receiver system boards and optical bakcplane was prepared, which is board-to-board interconnection by optical plug and slot. We report an 8Gb/s PRBS NRZ data transmission between transmitter system board and optical backplane embedded multimode polymeric waveguide arrays. The basic concept of ETRI's optical PCB is as follows; 1) Metal optical bench is integrated with optoelectronic devices, driver and receiver circuits, polymeric waveguide and access line PCB module. 2) Multimode polymeric waveguide inside an optical backplane, which is embedded into PCB. 3) Optical slot and plug for high-density(channel pitch : 500um) board-to-board interconnection. The polymeric waveguide technology can be used for transmission of data on transmitter/ receiver system boards and for backplane interconnections. The main components are low-loss tapered polymeric waveguides and a novel optical plug and slot for board-to-board interconnections, respectively. The optical PCB is characteristic of low coupling loss, easy insertion/extraction of the boards and, especially, reliable optical coupling unaffected from external environment after board insertion.

Space Shuttle Program Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) Success Legacy - Quality and Reliability Date

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orr, James K.; Peltier, Daryl

2010-01-01

Thsi slide presentation reviews the avionics software system on board the space shuttle, with particular emphasis on the quality and reliability. The Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) provides automatic and fly-by-wire control of critical shuttle systems which executes in redundant computers. Charts given show the number of space shuttle flights vs time, PASS's development history, and other charts that point to the reliability of the system's development. The reliability of the system is also compared to predicted reliability.

Nuclear Warheads: The Reliable Replacement Warhead program and the Life Extension Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-12-03

eliminate the need for ESD controls.”67 CRS-22 68 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board was created by Congress 1988 “as an independent oversight...public health and safety’ at DOE’s defense nuclear facilities .” U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. “Who We Are,” at [http://www.dnfsb.gov...about/index.html]. 69 Personal communication, Kent Fortenberry, Technical Director, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, September 14, 2006. 70

Nuclear Warheads: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program and the Life Extension Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-04

Information provided by Pantex Plant, Sept. 19, 2006. 50 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board was created by Congress 1988 “as an independent...protection of public health and safety’ at DOE’s defense nuclear facilities .” U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. “Who We Are,” at [http...www.dnfsb.gov/about/index.html]. 51 Personal communication, Kent Fortenberry, Technical Director, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Sept. 14, 2006

The Effectiveness of a Self-Reporting Bedside Pain Assessment Tool for Oncology Inpatients

PubMed Central

Kim, Eun Bi; Chung, Jung Hwa; Park, Bo Ram; Lim, Sung-nam; Yim, Kyoung Hoon; Shin, Young Duck; Lee, Ki Hyeong; Kim, Wun-Jae; Kim, Seung Taik

2012-01-01

Abstract Background Pain is common during cancer treatment, and patient self-reporting of pain is an essential first step for ideal cancer pain management. However, many studies on cancer pain management report that, because pain may be underestimated, it is often inadequately managed. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of bedside self-assessment of pain intensity for inpatients using a self-reporting pain board. Methods Fifty consecutive inpatients admitted to the Oncology Department of Chungbuk National University Hospital were included in this observational prospective study from February 2011 to December 2011. The medical staff performed pain assessments by asking patients questions and using verbal rated scales (VRS) over 3 consecutive days. Then, for 3 additional days, patients used a self-reporting pain board attached to the bed, which had movable indicators representing 0–10 on a numeric rating scale (NRS) and the frequency of breakthrough pain. Results Patient reliability over the medical staff's pain assessment increased from 74% to 96% after applying the self-reporting pain board (p=0.004). The gap (mean±standard deviation [SD]) between the NRS reported by patients and the NRS recorded on the medical records decreased from 3.16±2.08 to 1.00±1.02 (p<0.001), and the level of patient satisfaction with pain management increased from 54% to 82% (p=0.002). Conclusion This study suggests that the self-reporting bedside pain assessment tool provides a reliable and effective means of assessing pain in oncology inpatients. PMID:22974435

The research and application of multi-biometric acquisition embedded system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Shichao; Liu, Tiegen; Guo, Jingjing; Li, Xiuyan

2009-11-01

The identification technology based on multi-biometric can greatly improve the applicability, reliability and antifalsification. This paper presents a multi-biometric system bases on embedded system, which includes: three capture daughter boards are applied to obtain different biometric: one each for fingerprint, iris and vein of the back of hand; FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is designed as coprocessor, which uses to configure three daughter boards on request and provides data path between DSP (digital signal processor) and daughter boards; DSP is the master processor and its functions include: control the biometric information acquisition, extracts feature as required and responsible for compare the results with the local database or data server through network communication. The advantages of this system were it can acquire three different biometric in real time, extracts complexity feature flexibly in different biometrics' raw data according to different purposes and arithmetic and network interface on the core-board will be the solution of big data scale. Because this embedded system has high stability, reliability, flexibility and fit for different data scale, it can satisfy the demand of multi-biometric recognition.

Cleaning of printed circuit assemblies with surface-mounted components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arzigian, J. S.

The need for ever-increasing miniaturization of airborne instrumentation through the use of surface mounted components closely placed on printed circuit boards highlights problems with traditional board cleaning methods. The reliability of assemblies which have been cleaned with vapor degreasing and spray cleaning can be seriously compromised by residual contaminants leading to solder joint failure, board corrosion, and even electrical failure of the mounted parts. In addition, recent government actions to eliminate fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and chlorinated hydrocarbons from the industrial environment require the development of new cleaning materials and techniques. This paper discusses alternative cleaning materials and techniques and results that can be expected with them. Particular emphasis is placed on problems related to surface-mounted parts. These new techniques may lead to improved circuit reliability and, at the same time, be less expensive and less environmentally hazardous than the traditional systems.

Reliable communication in the presence of failures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birman, Kenneth P.; Joseph, Thomas A.

1987-01-01

The design and correctness of a communication facility for a distributed computer system are reported on. The facility provides support for fault-tolerant process groups in the form of a family of reliable multicast protocols that can be used in both local- and wide-area networks. These protocols attain high levels of concurrency, while respecting application-specific delivery ordering constraints, and have varying cost and performance that depend on the degree of ordering desired. In particular, a protocol that enforces causal delivery orderings is introduced and shown to be a valuable alternative to conventional asynchronous communication protocols. The facility also ensures that the processes belonging to a fault-tolerant process group will observe consistant orderings of events affecting the group as a whole, including process failures, recoveries, migration, and dynamic changes to group properties like member rankings. A review of several uses for the protocols is the ISIS system, which supports fault-tolerant resilient objects and bulletin boards, illustrates the significant simplification of higher level algorithms made possible by our approach.

Neural basis of nonanalytical reasoning expertise during clinical evaluation.

PubMed

Durning, Steven J; Costanzo, Michelle E; Artino, Anthony R; Graner, John; van der Vleuten, Cees; Beckman, Thomas J; Wittich, Christopher M; Roy, Michael J; Holmboe, Eric S; Schuwirth, Lambert

2015-03-01

Understanding clinical reasoning is essential for patient care and medical education. Dual-processing theory suggests that nonanalytic reasoning is an essential aspect of expertise; however, assessing nonanalytic reasoning is challenging because it is believed to occur on the subconscious level. This assumption makes concurrent verbal protocols less reliable assessment tools. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to explore the neural basis of nonanalytic reasoning in internal medicine interns (novices) and board-certified staff internists (experts) while completing United States Medical Licensing Examination and American Board of Internal Medicine multiple-choice questions. The results demonstrated that novices and experts share a common neural network in addition to nonoverlapping neural resources. However, experts manifested greater neural processing efficiency in regions such as the prefrontal cortex during nonanalytical reasoning. These findings reveal a multinetwork system that supports the dual-process mode of expert clinical reasoning during medical evaluation.

Time and Space Partition Platform for Safe and Secure Flight Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esquinas, Angel; Zamorano, Juan; de la Puente, Juan A.; Masmano, Miguel; Crespo, Alfons

2012-08-01

There are a number of research and development activities that are exploring Time and Space Partition (TSP) to implement safe and secure flight software. This approach allows to execute different real-time applications with different levels of criticality in the same computer board. In order to do that, flight applications must be isolated from each other in the temporal and spatial domains. This paper presents the first results of a partitioning platform based on the Open Ravenscar Kernel (ORK+) and the XtratuM hypervisor. ORK+ is a small, reliable realtime kernel supporting the Ada Ravenscar Computational model that is central to the ASSERT development process. XtratuM supports multiple virtual machines, i.e. partitions, on a single computer and is being used in the Integrated Modular Avionics for Space study. ORK+ executes in an XtratuM partition enabling Ada applications to share the computer board with other applications.

Dynamic analysis of space structures including elastic, multibody, and control behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinson, Larry; Soosaar, Keto

1989-01-01

The problem is to develop analysis methods, modeling stategies, and simulation tools to predict with assurance the on-orbit performance and integrity of large complex space structures that cannot be verified on the ground. The problem must incorporate large reliable structural models, multi-body flexible dynamics, multi-tier controller interaction, environmental models including 1g and atmosphere, various on-board disturbances, and linkage to mission-level performance codes. All areas are in serious need of work, but the weakest link is multi-body flexible dynamics.

The Association of Social Work Boards' Licensure Examinations: A Review of Reliability and Validity Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marson, Stephen M.; DeAngelis, Donna; Mittal, Nisha

2010-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to create transparency for the psychometric methods employed for the development of the Association of Social Work Boards' (ASWB) exams. Results: The article includes an assessment of the macro (political) and micro (statistical) environments of testing social work competence. The seven-step process used…

Are Specialist Certification Examinations a Reliable Measure of Physician Competence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burch, V. C.; Norman, G. R.; Schmidt, H. G.; van der Vleuten, C. P. M.

2008-01-01

High stakes postgraduate specialist certification examinations have considerable implications for the future careers of examinees. Medical colleges and professional boards have a social and professional responsibility to ensure their fitness for purpose. To date there is a paucity of published data about the reliability of specialist certification…

Development of an Experimental Board in the Nanaosatellite CUBESAT3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cresciucci, Laetitia

realize a satellite platform designed based on the following requirement: CUBESAT is a cube, its size is 10x10x10 centimeters, its weight must be under 1kg and the power consumption of the whole satellite is limited to 1 Watt. The University of Arizona makes such satellites. Each side of the cube is covered with solar panels which supply the power by recharging NiCad batteries. This satellite platform is provided with a power board, witch managed the power of the solar panels, the level of the batteries and the power needed by the others boards of the satellite. In addition to this power board, the CUBESAT platform includes a controller board. The controller used is the Microchip PIC 16C77. It acquires the data for the different sensors of the satellite (temperature, battery current level, power supplied by the solar panel) and manages the communication between the different boards. This communication uses a serial bus based on the I2C communication protocol. The last board on the CUBESAT platform is the transmission board. CUBESAT can be remote controlled by a ground station, and it have to send its data to this station periodically. The transmission board includes an emitter/receiver part designed by Motorola. The wavelength used for this transmission is the amature radio band, so anyone can listen to the satellite, but a key is necessary to decode the data. a non-expensive satellite which is very interesting for experimental missions. Alcatel Space Industries bought a CUBESAT to launch a radiation experiment in orbit, and turned to the Center of Micro-opto-electronics of Montpellier (CEM2) to define and realize this experience. I, Laetitia Cresciucci, and my partner, Didier Campillo, have been contacted by the CEM2 during our final year at the Engineers Science Institute of Montpellier (ISIM), in order to work on this project. The mission chosen for the CUBESAT's payload is to measure the degradation of three components in space. is a multi-goal mission. The first component studied is an analog to digital converter, the AD670. It has been choose by Alcatel because it is used on a satellite and doesn't work properly. Many tests have been performed to determine why this component fails, and CUBESAT is the experience which can prove if those ground results correspond to the results we will obtain during the flight. The two other components on the board are a mosfet transistor, the IRF450, and an optocoupler, the SFH610A. These devices have been studied in the CEM2 with a new space degradation prediction method called the Isochronal Annealing. With CUBESAT, the CEM2 wants to show that the results obtained with this method are reliable. In order to prove that the results match the predictions, we had to include a dosimeter, which measure the amount of radiation received and a temperature sensor. If this is a success, this method could be recognized by the aerospace industry. conception. After this prototype was done, we were asked to make a space qualified board, which included the study of the environment for CUBESAT's orbit (650 km, 65° inclination),as well as the thermal study in order to justify the choices of the components which measure the degradation of the 3 devices under test. Most parts had to undergo testing to prove their reliability when exposed to space radiations. The final payload board includes the different measurements' electronics and a microcontroller that controls the tests, collects the data and communicate with the platform. The last part of our work was to perform the integration of the payload board in the CUBESAT structure. This included solving mechanical problems and programming the communication interface between our board and the satellite's control board. We spent two weeks in Arizona working on this integration, in collaboration with the American students involved in this project. Now the payload design is complete, CUBESAT is ready to fly.

Power Electronics Thermal Management Research: Annual Progress Report

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

Moreno, Gilberto

The objective for this project is to develop thermal management strategies to enable efficient and high-temperature wide-bandgap (WBG)-based power electronic systems (e.g., emerging inverter and DC-DC converter). Reliable WBG devices are capable of operating at elevated temperatures (≥ 175 °Celsius). However, packaging WBG devices within an automotive inverter and operating them at higher junction temperatures will expose other system components (e.g., capacitors and electrical boards) to temperatures that may exceed their safe operating limits. This creates challenges for thermal management and reliability. In this project, system-level thermal analyses are conducted to determine the effect of elevated device temperatures on invertermore » components. Thermal modeling work is then conducted to evaluate various thermal management strategies that will enable the use of highly efficient WBG devices with automotive power electronic systems.« less

Design of on-board Bluetooth wireless network system based on fault-tolerant technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Zheng; Zhang, Xiangqi; Yu, Shijie; Tian, Hexiang

2007-11-01

In this paper, the Bluetooth wireless data transmission technology is applied in on-board computer system, to realize wireless data transmission between peripherals of the micro-satellite integrating electronic system, and in view of the high demand of reliability of a micro-satellite, a design of Bluetooth wireless network based on fault-tolerant technology is introduced. The reliability of two fault-tolerant systems is estimated firstly using Markov model, then the structural design of this fault-tolerant system is introduced; several protocols are established to make the system operate correctly, some related problems are listed and analyzed, with emphasis on Fault Auto-diagnosis System, Active-standby switch design and Data-Integrity process.

Marine Technician's Handbook, Instructions for Taking Air Samples on Board Ship: Carbon Dioxide Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeling, Charles D.

This booklet is one of a series intended to provide explicit instructions for the collection of oceanographic data and samples at sea. The methods and procedures described have been used by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and found reliable and up-to-date. Instructions are given for taking air samples on board ship to determine the…

Reliability Assessment of Critical Electronic Components

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-07-01

Failures FLHP - Full Horse Power FSN - Federal Stock Number I Current IC - Integrated Circuit IPB - Illustrated Parts Breakdown K - Boltzmans Constant L...Classified P - Power PC - Printed Circuit PCB - Printed Circuit Board PGA - Pin Grid Array PPM - Parts Per Million PWB - Printed Wiring Board 0...4-59 4.4.3.2.3 Circuit Brcakers ......................................................... 4-59 4.4.3.2.4 Thermal

The Impact of Boarding on Campus on the Social-Emotional Competence of Left-Behind Children in Rural Western China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Shutao; Dong, Xuan; Mao, Yaqing

2017-01-01

This study aimed to determine if boarding on campus benefited left-behind children's social-emotional competence (SEC). We developed a SEC scale for the Chinese context and culture using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability analysis. Data were collected from 6638 school-aged children from 74 rural boarding…

Detection of circuit-board components with an adaptive multiclass correlation filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz-Ramirez, Victor H.; Kober, Vitaly

2008-08-01

A new method for reliable detection of circuit-board components is proposed. The method is based on an adaptive multiclass composite correlation filter. The filter is designed with the help of an iterative algorithm using complex synthetic discriminant functions. The impulse response of the filter contains information needed to localize and classify geometrically distorted circuit-board components belonging to different classes. Computer simulation results obtained with the proposed method are provided and compared with those of known multiclass correlation based techniques in terms of performance criteria for recognition and classification of objects.

Effects of PCB Substrate Surface Finish, Flux, and Phosphorus Content on Ionic Contamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacior, M.; Sobczak, N.; Siewiorek, A.; Kudyba, A.; Homa, M.; Nowak, R.; Dziula, M.; Masłoń, S.

2015-02-01

The ionic contamination on printed circuit boards (PCB) having different surface finishes was examined using ionograph. The study was performed at the RT on three types of PCBs covered with: (i) hot air solder leveling (HASL LF), (ii) electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG), and (iii) organic surface protectant (OSP), all on Cu substrates, as well as two types of fluxes, namely EF2202 and RF800. In the group of boards without soldered components, the lowest average value of contamination was for the ENIG 18 µm surface (0.01 μg NaCl/cm2). Boards with soldered components were more contaminated (from 0.29 μg NaCl/cm2 for the HASL LF 18 µm surface). After spraying boards with fluxing agents, the values of contaminants were the highest. The influence of phosphorus content in Ni-P layer of ENIG finish on ionic contamination was examined. In the group of PCBs with Au coating, the smallest amount of surface contaminants (0.32 μg NaCl/cm2) was for Ni-2-5%P layer. PCBs with Ni-11%P layer were higher contaminated (0.47 μg NaCl/cm2), and another with Ni-8%P layer had 0.81 μg NaCl/cm2. PCBs without Au coating, had the lowest contamination (0.48 μg NaCl/cm2) at phosphorous content equal 11%P. Higher contamination (0.67 μg NaCl/cm2) was at 2-5%P, up to 1.98 μg NaCl/cm2 for 8% of P. Boards with Au finish have lower value of contamination than identical boards without Au layer thus contributing to better reliability of electronic assemblies, since its failures due to current leakage and corrosion can be caused by contaminants.

Evaluation of a Human Factors Analysis and Classification System as used by simulated mishap boards.

PubMed

O'Connor, Paul; Walker, Peter

2011-01-01

The reliability of the Department of Defense Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (DOD-HFACS) has been examined when used by individuals working alone to classify the causes of summary, or partial, information about a mishap. However, following an actual mishap a team of investigators would work together to gather and analyze a large amount of information before identifying the causal factors and coding them with DOD-HFACS. There were 204 military Aviation Safety Officer students who were divided into 30 groups. Each group was provided with evidence collected from one of two military aviation mishaps. DOD-HFACS was used to classify the mishap causal factors. Averaged across the two mishaps, acceptable levels of reliability were only achieved for 56.9% of nanocodes. There were high levels of agreement regarding the factors that did not contribute to the incident (a mean agreement of 50% or greater between groups for 91.0% of unselected nanocodes); the level of agreement on the factors that did cause the incident as classified using DOD-HFACS were low (a mean agreement of 50% or greater between the groups for 14.6% of selected nanocodes). Despite using teams to carry out the classification, the findings from this study are consistent with other studies of DOD-HFACS reliability with individuals. It is suggested that in addition to simplifying DOD-HFACS itself, consideration should be given to involving a human factors/organizational psychologist in mishap investigations to ensure the human factors issues are identified and classified in a consistent and reliable manner.

A Synthetic Study on the Resolution of 2D Elastic Full Waveform Inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, C.; Wang, Y.

2017-12-01

Gradient based full waveform inversion is an effective method in seismic study, it makes full use of the information given by seismic records and is capable of providing a more accurate model of the interior of the earth at a relatively low computational cost. However, the strong non-linearity of the problem brings about many difficulties in the assessment of its resolution. Synthetic inversions are therefore helpful before an inversion based on real data is made. Checker-board test is a commonly used method, but it is not always reliable due to the significant difference between a checker-board and the true model. Our study aims to provide a basic understanding of the resolution of 2D elastic inversion by examining three main factors that affect the inversion result respectively: 1. The structural characteristic of the model; 2. The level of similarity between the initial model and the true model; 3. The spacial distribution of sources and receivers. We performed about 150 synthetic inversions to demonstrate how each factor contributes to quality of the result, and compared the inversion results with those achieved by checker-board tests. The study can be a useful reference to assess the resolution of an inversion in addition to regular checker-board tests, or to determine whether the seismic data of a specific region is sufficient for a successful inversion.

Lead free 0201 assembly and thermal cycle/aging reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza; Ramkumar, S. Manian; Varanasi, Arun

2005-01-01

The many challenges with 0201 passive component assembly can be attributed to the solder paste volume, pad design, aperture design, board finish, type of solder paste, pick-and-place, and reflow profile. A Design-of-Experiment (DOE) study was carried out to investigate the effects of these parameters on assembly defects and reliability.

Standard semiconductor packaging for high-reliability low-cost MEMS applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harney, Kieran P.

2005-01-01

Microelectronic packaging technology has evolved over the years in response to the needs of IC technology. The fundamental purpose of the package is to provide protection for the silicon chip and to provide electrical connection to the circuit board. Major change has been witnessed in packaging and today wafer level packaging technology has further revolutionized the industry. MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology has created new challenges for packaging that do not exist in standard ICs. However, the fundamental objective of MEMS packaging is the same as traditional ICs, the low cost and reliable presentation of the MEMS chip to the next level interconnect. Inertial MEMS is one of the best examples of the successful commercialization of MEMS technology. The adoption of MEMS accelerometers for automotive airbag applications has created a high volume market that demands the highest reliability at low cost. The suppliers to these markets have responded by exploiting standard semiconductor packaging infrastructures. However, there are special packaging needs for MEMS that cannot be ignored. New applications for inertial MEMS devices are emerging in the consumer space that adds the imperative of small size to the need for reliability and low cost. These trends are not unique to MEMS accelerometers. For any MEMS technology to be successful the packaging must provide the basic reliability and interconnection functions, adding the least possible cost to the product. This paper will discuss the evolution of MEMS packaging in the accelerometer industry and identify the main issues that needed to be addressed to enable the successful commercialization of the technology in the automotive and consumer markets.

Standard semiconductor packaging for high-reliability low-cost MEMS applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harney, Kieran P.

2004-12-01

Microelectronic packaging technology has evolved over the years in response to the needs of IC technology. The fundamental purpose of the package is to provide protection for the silicon chip and to provide electrical connection to the circuit board. Major change has been witnessed in packaging and today wafer level packaging technology has further revolutionized the industry. MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology has created new challenges for packaging that do not exist in standard ICs. However, the fundamental objective of MEMS packaging is the same as traditional ICs, the low cost and reliable presentation of the MEMS chip to the next level interconnect. Inertial MEMS is one of the best examples of the successful commercialization of MEMS technology. The adoption of MEMS accelerometers for automotive airbag applications has created a high volume market that demands the highest reliability at low cost. The suppliers to these markets have responded by exploiting standard semiconductor packaging infrastructures. However, there are special packaging needs for MEMS that cannot be ignored. New applications for inertial MEMS devices are emerging in the consumer space that adds the imperative of small size to the need for reliability and low cost. These trends are not unique to MEMS accelerometers. For any MEMS technology to be successful the packaging must provide the basic reliability and interconnection functions, adding the least possible cost to the product. This paper will discuss the evolution of MEMS packaging in the accelerometer industry and identify the main issues that needed to be addressed to enable the successful commercialization of the technology in the automotive and consumer markets.

The Integration of Information Operations into Army Operations during Periods of Unstable Peace and Insurgency

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-16

broadcasts, but verified by eyewitness accounts spread through word of mouth conduits. See the Dhofari case study. He also explained adversarial...information conduits of the tribes. Word of mouth was to be one the more reliable information...information conduits to its target audiences: notice boards, leaflets, word of mouth , newspapers, radio, and television. Notice boards were placed in

Calibrating abundance indices with population size estimators of red back salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in a New England forest

PubMed Central

Ellison, Aaron M.; Jackson, Scott

2015-01-01

Herpetologists and conservation biologists frequently use convenient and cost-effective, but less accurate, abundance indices (e.g., number of individuals collected under artificial cover boards or during natural objects surveys) in lieu of more accurate, but costly and destructive, population size estimators to detect and monitor size, state, and trends of amphibian populations. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach, reliable use of abundance indices requires that they be calibrated with accurate population estimators. Such calibrations, however, are rare. The red back salamander, Plethodon cinereus, is an ecologically useful indicator species of forest dynamics, and accurate calibration of indices of salamander abundance could increase the reliability of abundance indices used in monitoring programs. We calibrated abundance indices derived from surveys of P. cinereus under artificial cover boards or natural objects with a more accurate estimator of their population size in a New England forest. Average densities/m2 and capture probabilities of P. cinereus under natural objects or cover boards in independent, replicate sites at the Harvard Forest (Petersham, Massachusetts, USA) were similar in stands dominated by Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) and deciduous hardwood species (predominantly Quercus rubra [red oak] and Acer rubrum [red maple]). The abundance index based on salamanders surveyed under natural objects was significantly associated with density estimates of P. cinereus derived from depletion (removal) surveys, but underestimated true density by 50%. In contrast, the abundance index based on cover-board surveys overestimated true density by a factor of 8 and the association between the cover-board index and the density estimates was not statistically significant. We conclude that when calibrated and used appropriately, some abundance indices may provide cost-effective and reliable measures of P. cinereus abundance that could be used in conservation assessments and long-term monitoring at Harvard Forest and other northeastern USA forests. PMID:26020008

Microcoil Spring Interconnects for Ceramic Grid Array Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strickland, S. M.; Hester, J. D.; Gowan, A. K.; Montgomery, R. K.; Geist, D. L.; Blanche, J. F.; McGuire, G. D.; Nash, T. S.

2011-01-01

As integrated circuit miniaturization trends continue, they drive the need for smaller higher input/output (I/O) packages. Hermetically sealed ceramic area array parts are the package of choice by the space community for high reliability space flight electronic hardware. Unfortunately, the coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the ceramic area array package and the epoxy glass printed wiring board limits the life of the interconnecting solder joint. This work presents the results of an investigation by Marshall Space Flight Center into a method to increase the life of this second level interconnection by the use of compliant microcoil springs. The design of the spring and its attachment process are presented along with thermal cycling results of microcoil springs (MCS) compared with state-of-the-art ball and column interconnections. Vibration testing has been conducted on MCS and high lead column parts. Radio frequency simulation and measurements have been made and the MCS has been modeled and a stress analysis performed. Thermal cycling and vibration testing have shown MCS interconnects to be significantly more reliable than solder columns. Also, MCS interconnects are less prone to handling damage than solder columns. Future work that includes shock testing, incorporation into a digital signal processor board, and process evaluation of expansion from a 400 I/O device to a device with over 1,100 I/O is identified.

Development of a highly reliable composite board for printed circuitry for use in space environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradbury, E. J.; Markle, R. A.; Dunnavant, W. R.; Stickney, P. B.

1971-01-01

Materials, processes and fabrication techniques have been investigated for the development of a high-temperature circuit-board laminate. High quality, void-free copper-clad laminates have been made using 7628/HS-1 style fiberglas reinforcements with filled polyimide matrices. The fabricating characteristics of P13N resin appear suitable for use as a filled matrix in this circuit board development. High-fired, ball-milled alumina appears to be necessary to obtain the desired effects in the circuit board system. Nickel-clad copper foil bonding surfaces appear to be another requirement for retention of good bond strengths after art work and plating sequences. The fabrication cycle for this circuit board system is very dependent on the heating profile. Very rapid heating with quick loading is recommended. A stack approach to lamination was successfully used.

NASA-DoD Lower Process Temperature Lead-Free Solder Project Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kessel, Kurt R.

2014-01-01

This project is a follow-on effort to the Joint Council on Aging AircraftJoint Group on Pollution Prevention (JCAAJG-PP) Pb-free Solder Project and NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project which were the first projects to test the reliability of Pb-free solder joints against the requirements of the aerospace and military community. This effort would continue to build on the results from the JCAAJG-PP Lead-Free Solder Project and NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project while focusing on a particular failure mechanism currently plaguing Pb-free assemblies, pad cratering.The NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project confirmed that pad cratering is one of the dominant failure modes that occur in various board level reliability tests, especially under dynamic loading. Pad Cratering is a latent defect that may occur during assembly, rework, and post assembly handling and testing.

Implementing and Evaluating a National Certification Technical Skills Examination: The Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill.

PubMed

de Montbrun, Sandra; Roberts, Patricia L; Satterthwaite, Lisa; MacRae, Helen

2016-07-01

To implement the Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical skill (COSATS) into American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery (ABCRS) certification and build evidence of validity for the interpretation of the scores of this high stakes assessment tool. Currently, technical skill assessment is not a formal component of board certification. With the technical demands of surgical specialties, documenting competence in technical skill at the time of certification with a valid tool is ideal. In September 2014, the COSATS was a mandatory component of ABCRS certification. Seventy candidates took the examination, with their performance evaluated by expert colorectal surgeons using a task-specific checklist, global rating scale, and overall performance scale. Passing scores were set and compared using 2 standard setting methodologies, using a compensatory and conjunctive model. Inter-rater reliability and the reliability of the pass/fail decision were calculated using Cronbach alpha and Subkoviak methodology, respectively. Overall COSATS scores and pass/fail status were compared with results on the ABCRS oral examination. The pass rate ranged from 85.7% to 90%. Inter-rater reliability (0.85) and reliability of the pass/fail decision (0.87 and 0.84) were high. A low positive correlation (r= 0.25) was seen between the COSATS and oral examination. All individuals who failed the COSATS passed the ABCRS oral examination. COSATS is the first technical skill examination used in national surgical board certification. This study suggests that the current certification process may be failing to identify individuals who have demonstrated technical deficiencies on this standardized assessment tool.

Wii Balance Board: Reliability and Clinical Use in Assessment of Balance in Healthy Elderly Women.

PubMed

Monteiro-Junior, Renato Sobral; Ferreira, Arthur Sá; Puell, Vivian Neiva; Lattari, Eduardo; Machado, Sérgio; Otero Vaghetti, César Augusto; da Silva, Elirez Bezerra

2015-01-01

Force plate is considered gold standard tool to assess body balance. However the Wii Balance Board (WBB) platform is a trustworthy equipment to assess stabilometric components in young people. Thus, we aim to examine the reliability of measures of center of pressure with WBB in healthy elderly women. Twenty one healthy and physically active women were enrolled in the study (age: 64 ± 7 years; body mass index: 29 ± 5 kg/m2. The WBB was used to assess the center of pressure measures in the individuals. Pressure was linearly applied to different points to test the platform precision. Three assessments were performed, with two of them being held on the same day at a 5- to 10-minute interval, and the third one was performed 48 h later. A linear regression analysis was used to find out linearity, while the intraclass correlation coefficient was used to assess reliability. The platform precision was adequate (R2 = 0.997, P = 0.01). Center of pressure measures showed an excellent reliability (all intraclass correlation coefficient values were > 0.90; p < 0.01). The WBB is a precise and reliable tool of body stability quantitative measure in healthy active elderly women and its use should be encouraged in clinical settings.

Life testing of reflowed and reworked advanced CCGA surface mount packages in harsh thermal environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2013-03-01

Life testing/qualification of reflowed (1st reflow) and reworked (1st reflow, 1st removal, and then 1st rework) advanced ceramic column grid array (CCGA) surface mount interconnect electronic packaging technologies for future flight projects has been studied to enhance the mission assurance of JPL-NASA projects. The reliability of reworked/reflowed surface mount technology (SMT) packages is very important for short-duration and long-duration deep space harsh extreme thermal environmental missions. The life testing of CCGA electronic packages under extreme thermal environments (for example: -185°C to +125°C) has been performed with reference to various JPL/NASA project requirements which encompass the temperature range studied. The test boards of reflowed and reworked CCGA packages (717 Xilinx package, 624, 1152, and 1272 column Actel Packages) were selected for the study to survive three times the total number of expected temperature cycles resulting from all environmental and operational exposures occurring over the life of the flight hardware including all relevant manufacturing, ground operations, and mission phases or cycles to failure to assess the life of the hardware. Qualification/life testing was performed by subjecting test boards to the environmental harsh temperature extremes and assessing any structural failures, mechanical failures or degradation in electrical performance solder-joint failures due to either overstress or thermal cycle fatigue. The large, high density, high input/output (I/O) electronic interconnect SMT packages such as CCGA have increased usage in avionics hardware of NASA projects during the last two decades. The test boards built with CCGA packages are expensive and often require a rework to replace a reflowed, reprogrammed, failed, redesigned, etc., CCGA packages. Theoretically speaking, a good rework process should have similar temperature-time profile as that used for the original manufacturing process of solder reflow. A multiple rework processes may be implemented with CCGA packaging technology to understand the effect of number of reworks on the reliability of this technology for harsh thermal environments. In general, reliability of the assembled electronic packages reduces as a function of number of reworks and the extent is not known yet. A CCGA rework process has been tried and implemented to design a daisy-chain test board consists of 624 and 717 packages. Reworked CCGA interconnect electronic packages of printed wiring polyimide boards have been assembled and inspected using non-destructive x-ray imaging and optical microscope techniques. The assembled boards after 1st rework and 1st reflow were subjected to extreme temperature thermal atmospheric cycling to assess their reliability for future deep space JPL/NASA for moderate to harsh thermal mission environments. The resistance of daisy-chained interconnect sections were monitored continuously during thermal cycling to determine intermittent failures. This paper provides the experimental reliability test results to failure of assemblies for the first time of reflowed and reworked CCGA packages under extreme harsh thermal environments.

The reliability and validity of the Danish Draft Board Cognitive Ability Test: Børge Prien's Prøve.

PubMed

Teasdale, Thomas W; Hartmann, Peter V W; Pedersen, Christoffer H; Bertelsen, Mette

2011-04-01

The Danish Draft Board has used the same test for assessing general cognitive ability, the Børge Prien's Prøve (BPP), for over 50 years during which time all men on reaching the age of 18 become liable for conscription. Data from the test has, over the decades, been used in numerous and wide-ranging research studies. Nonetheless, owing to the special circumstances of its administration, some psychometric properties, which are generally assessed for psychological tests, have not previously been investigated for the BPP. First, since the test is only used at the assessment phase, retesting with the BPP occurs only rarely and under exceptional circumstances. Therefore, its Test-Retest reliability has hitherto not been documented. Second, questions have often been raised as to whether the validity of the BPP is undermined by either a lack of motivation and under-performing among some of the men taking the test, being, as they are, compelled to do so, and/or by gradual obsolescence of the test over the decades of its use. We here present findings from three new studies to show that (a) the BPP has a satisfactory Test-Retest reliability, r=0.77, (b) BPP test scores are not positively associated with expressed attitude to being called upon to serve conscription and (c) the correlation between the BPP and a measure of educational level has remained stable (at about 0.5) through the last two decades. Taken together these three findings further support the continuing value of the BPP in research relating to cognitive ability. © 2010 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2010 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Evaluation of multilayer printed wiring boards by metallographic techniques: An illustrated guide to the preparation and inspection of plated-through hole test coupons based on the requirements of Mil-P-55110D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jellison, J.

1986-01-01

This work is an illustrated handbook containing the rationale and procedure for the evaluation of multilayer printed wiring board construction integrity with respect to plated-through holes in accordance with the requirements of MIL-P-55110D, Printed Wiring Boards. It is intended as a practical aid for those concerned with determining the construction integrity of multilayer boards for high reliability applications. Photomicrographs of cross sectioned holes illustrate defect types, acceptable and unacceptable conditions, and methods of measurement. A procedure for specimen preparation is given, and appropriate paragraphs of the military specification are included and explained.

Spacecraft on-board SAR image generation for EOS-type missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, K. Y.; Arens, W. E.; Assal, H. M.; Vesecky, J. F.

1987-01-01

Spacecraft on-board synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image generation is an extremely difficult problem because of the requirements for high computational rates (usually on the order of Giga-operations per second), high reliability (some missions last up to 10 years), and low power dissipation and mass (typically less than 500 watts and 100 Kilograms). Recently, a JPL study was performed to assess the feasibility of on-board SAR image generation for EOS-type missions. This paper summarizes the results of that study. Specifically, it proposes a processor architecture using a VLSI time-domain parallel array for azimuth correlation. Using available space qualifiable technology to implement the proposed architecture, an on-board SAR processor having acceptable power and mass characteristics appears feasible for EOS-type applications.

Board task performance: An exploration of micro- and macro-level determinants of board effectiveness

PubMed Central

Minichilli, Alessandro; Zattoni, Alessandro; Nielsen, Sabina; Huse, Morten

2012-01-01

This paper addresses recent calls to narrow the micro–macro gap in management research (Bamberger, 2008), by incorporating a macro-level context variable (country) in exploring micro-level determinants of board effectiveness. Following the integrated model proposed by Forbes and Milliken (1999), we identify three board processes as micro-level determinants of board effectiveness. Specifically, we focus on effort norms, cognitive conflicts and the use of knowledge and skills as determinants of board control and advisory task performance. Further, we consider how two different institutional settings influence board tasks, and how the context moderates the relationship between processes and tasks. Our hypotheses are tested on a survey-based dataset of 535 medium-sized and large industrial firms in Italy and Norway, which are considered to substantially differ along legal and cultural dimensions. The findings show that: (i) Board processes have a larger potential than demographic variables to explain board task performance; (ii) board task performance differs significantly between boards operating in different contexts; and (iii) national context moderates the relationships between board processes and board task performance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:23365485

Ageing midface: The impact of surgeon's experience on the consistency in the assessment and proposed management.

PubMed

Hazrati, Ali; Izadpanah, Ali; Zadeh, Teanoosh; Gosman, Amanda; Chao, James J; Dobke, Marek K

2011-02-01

An individual's face undergoes numerous changes throughout life. Since mid-face aesthetic units are key areas for rejuvenation procedures, their comprehensive assessment is essential for the development of any aesthetic management plan. Despite the availability of many evaluation criteria for treatment of mid-face ageing, there are discrepancies existing in both assessment and management approaches. The goal of this study was to determine if there are any identifiable profiles of clinical judgements and approaches related to the level of surgeon's experience. Forty seven standardised non-digital and not altered natural size photographic images of patients' faces (front and profile) were presented to eight senior board certified plastic surgeons, eight junior non-board certified plastic surgeons and eight plastic surgery residents from an independent program. Surveyed physicians were 'blinded' from each other and asked to assess five different major features characterising ageing mid-face. An interclass correlation data analysis was performed and the Cronbach coefficient alpha values were computed for each category. Responses obtained from senior plastic surgeons were consistently characterised by higher Cronbach coefficient alpha values indicating higher concordance. The highest agreement levels were obtained for the assessment of rhytids and jowls across all groups and the lowest agreement levels were obtained for the assessment and recommendation of upper lip management. This study illustrated that discrepancies in clinical assessments and surgical management exist among surgeons involved in the aesthetic surgery of the mid-face ageing. It appears that the level of surgeon's experience significantly impacts the inter-rater reliability and consensus in assessment and treatment of mid-face ageing. The most senior plastic surgeons' assessment and recommendations had the highest level of concordance while the junior non-board certified plastic surgeons and the residents group produced variations with less consistency. Copyright © 2010 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

States of Cybersecurity: Electricity Distribution System Discussions

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

Pena, Ivonne; Ingram, Michael; Martin, Maurice

State and local entities that oversee the reliable, affordable provision of electricity are faced with growing and evolving threats from cybersecurity risks to our nation's electricity distribution system. All-hazards system resilience is a shared responsibility among electric utilities and their regulators or policy-setting boards of directors. Cybersecurity presents new challenges and should be a focus for states, local governments, and Native American tribes that are developing energy-assurance plans to protect critical infrastructure. This research sought to investigate the implementation of governance and policy at the distribution utility level that facilitates cybersecurity preparedness to inform the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),more » Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis; states; local governments; and other stakeholders on the challenges, gaps, and opportunities that may exist for future analysis. The need is urgent to identify the challenges and inconsistencies in how cybersecurity practices are being applied across the United States to inform the development of best practices, mitigations, and future research and development investments in securing the electricity infrastructure. By examining the current practices and applications of cybersecurity preparedness, this report seeks to identify the challenges and persistent gaps between policy and execution and reflect the underlying motivations of distinct utility structures as they play out at the local level. This study aims to create an initial baseline of cybersecurity preparedness within the distribution electricity sector. The focus of this study is on distribution utilities not bound by the cybersecurity guidelines of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to examine the range of mechanisms taken by state regulators, city councils that own municipal utilities, and boards of directors of rural cooperatives.« less

Probabilistic modeling of condition-based maintenance strategies and quantification of its benefits for airliners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pattabhiraman, Sriram

Airplane fuselage structures are designed with the concept of damage tolerance, wherein small damage are allowed to remain on the airplane, and damage that otherwise affect the safety of the structure are repaired. The damage critical to the safety of the fuselage are repaired by scheduling maintenance at pre-determined intervals. Scheduling maintenance is an interesting trade-off between damage tolerance and cost. Tolerance of larger damage would require less frequent maintenance and hence, a lower cost, to maintain a certain level of reliability. Alternatively, condition-based maintenance techniques have been developed using on-board sensors, which track damage continuously and request maintenance only when the damage size crosses a particular threshold. This effects a tolerance of larger damage than scheduled maintenance, leading to savings in cost. This work quantifies the savings of condition-based maintenance over scheduled maintenance. The work also quantifies converting the cost savings into weight savings. Structural health monitoring will need time to be able to establish itself as a stand-alone system for maintenance, due to concerns on its diagnosis accuracy and reliability. This work also investigates the effect of synchronizing structural health monitoring system with scheduled maintenance. This work uses on-board SHM equipment skip structural airframe maintenance (a subsect of scheduled maintenance), whenever deemed unnecessary while maintain a desired level of safety of structure. The work will also predict the necessary maintenance for a fleet of airplanes, based on the current damage status of the airplanes. The work also analyses the possibility of false alarm, wherein maintenance is being requested with no critical damage on the airplane. The work use SHM as a tool to identify lemons in a fleet of airplanes. Lemons are those airplanes that would warrant more maintenance trips than the average behavior of the fleet.

A novel approach to assessing technical competence of colorectal surgery residents: the development and evaluation of the Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (COSATS).

PubMed

de Montbrun, Sandra L; Roberts, Patricia L; Lowry, Ann C; Ault, Glenn T; Burnstein, Marcus J; Cataldo, Peter A; Dozois, Eric J; Dunn, Gary D; Fleshman, James; Isenberg, Gerald A; Mahmoud, Najjia N; Reznick, Richard K; Satterthwaite, Lisa; Schoetz, David; Trudel, Judith L; Weiss, Eric G; Wexner, Steven D; MacRae, Helen

2013-12-01

To develop and evaluate an objective method of technical skills assessment for graduating subspecialists in colorectal (CR) surgery-the Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (COSATS). It may be reasonable for the public to assume that surgeons certified as competent have had their technical skills assessed. However, technical skill, despite being the hallmark of a surgeon, is not directly assessed at the time of certification by surgical boards. A procedure-based, multistation technical skills examination was developed to reflect a sample of the range of skills necessary for CR surgical practice. These consisted of bench, virtual reality, and cadaveric models. Reliability and construct validity were evaluated by comparing 10 graduating CR residents with 10 graduating general surgery (GS) residents from across North America. Expert CR surgeons, blinded to level of training, evaluated performance using a task-specific checklist and a global rating scale. The mean global rating score was used as the overall examination score and a passing score was set at "borderline competent for CR practice." The global rating scale demonstrated acceptable interstation reliability (0.69) for a homogeneous group of examinees. Both the overall checklist and global rating scores effectively discriminated between CR and GS residents (P < 0.01), with 27% of the variance attributed to level of training. Nine CR residents but only 3 GS residents were deemed competent. The Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill effectively discriminated between CR and GS residents. With further validation, the Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill could be incorporated into the colorectal board examination where it would be the first attempt of a surgical specialty to formally assess technical skill at the time of certification.

[Leadership in the hospital].

PubMed

Schrappe, Matthias

2009-01-01

Current concepts in leadership and governance on the level of supervisory board, management and departments are often considered as insufficient to cope with the profound structural change which actually takes place in the German health care system. While vertical and horizontal disconnecting is typical of the professional bureaucracy of hospitals, transition from functional to divisional structure further increases this risk. Accordingly, medical experts are oriented towards their professional peers and patient care on the one side; on the other side the management gets isolated and looses operative and strategic control. Several studies provide evidence for the relevance of role models to serve as agents of change, which are now developed into the concept of "Clinical Governance": evidence-based medicine, guidelines, continuous quality improvement, safety culture, resource accountability and organisational learning. The present situation makes it necessary to extend this conception, which focuses on the departmental level in an organisation with divisional features, to one of "Clinical Corporate Governance". This term, which also includes supervisory structures and the management board and is relevant for the total hospital and company, respectively, is based on the corporate governance concept. Inside the hospital, the management and the heads of the departments have to agree that (1) experts really need to be integrated into the decision process, and that (2) the outcomes of the entire hospital have to be regarded as equal or superior to the aims of a single department. The public image of the hospital should be one of a strong and reliable partner in health care and health care business on a local, regional and national level. Members of the supervisory board should clearly put corporate aspects above political and other implications and pay attention to personal independence from the leaders of the medical departments.

Solder Flux Residues and Humidity-Related Failures in Electronics: Relative Effects of Weak Organic Acids Used in No-Clean Flux Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verdingovas, Vadimas; Jellesen, Morten Stendahl; Ambat, Rajan

2015-04-01

This paper presents the results of humidity testing of weak organic acids (WOAs), namely adipic, succinic, glutaric, dl-malic, and palmitic acids, which are commonly used as activators in no-clean solder fluxes. The study was performed under humidity conditions varying from 60% relative humidity (RH) to ˜99%RH at 25°C. The following parameters were used for characterization of WOAs: mass gain due to water adsorption and deliquescence of the WOA (by quartz crystal microbalance), resistivity of the water layer formed on the printed circuit board (by impedance spectroscopy), and leakage current measured using the surface insulation resistance pattern in the potential range from 0 V to 10 V. The combined results indicate the importance of the WOA chemical structure for the water adsorption and therefore conductive water layer formation on the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). A substantial increase of leakage currents and probability of electrochemical migration was observed at humidity levels above the RH corresponding to the deliquescence point of WOAs present as contaminants on the printed circuit boards. The results suggest that use of solder fluxes with WOAs having higher deliquescence point could improve the reliability of electronics operating under circumstances in which exposure to high humidity is likely to occur.

Packaging Reliability Effect of ENIG and ENEPIG Surface Finishes in Board Level Thermal Test under Long-Term Aging and Cycling

PubMed Central

Shen, Chaobo; Hai, Zhou; Zhao, Cong; Zhang, Jiawei; Evans, John L.; Bozack, Michael J.; Suhling, Jeffrey C.

2017-01-01

This study illustrates test results and comparative literature data on the influence of isothermal aging and thermal cycling associated with Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC105) and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) ball grid array (BGA) solder joints finished with ENIG and ENEPIG on the board side and ENIG on the package side compared with ImAg plating on both sides. The resulting degradation data suggests that the main concern for 0.4 mm pitch 10 mm package size BGA is package side surface finish, not board side. That is, ENIG performs better than immersion Ag for applications involving long-term isothermal aging. SAC305, with a higher relative fraction of Ag3Sn IMC within the solder, performs better than SAC105. SEM and polarized light microscope analysis show cracks propagated from the corners to the center or even to solder bulk, which eventually causes fatigue failure. Three factors are discussed: IMC, grain structure, and Ag3Sn particle. The continuous growth of Cu-Sn intermetallic compounds (IMC) and grains increase the risk of failure, while Ag3Sn particles seem helpful in blocking the crack propagation. PMID:28772811

Future Concepts for Modular, Intelligent Aerospace Power Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Button, Robert M.; Soeder, James F.

2004-01-01

Nasa's resent commitment to Human and Robotic Space Exploration obviates the need for more affordable and sustainable systems and missions. Increased use of modularity and on-board intelligent technologies will enable these lofty goals. To support this new paradigm, an advanced technology program to develop modular, intelligent power management and distribution (PMAD) system technologies is presented. The many benefits to developing and including modular functionality in electrical power components and systems are shown to include lower costs and lower mass for highly reliable systems. The details of several modular technologies being developed by NASA are presented, broken down into hierarchical levels. Modularity at the device level, including the use of power electronic building blocks, is shown to provide benefits in lowering the development time and costs of new power electronic components.

Nuclear Warheads: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program and the Life Extension Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-13

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board was created by Congress 1988 "as an independent oversight organization within the Executive Branch charged... nuclear facilities ." U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. “Who We Are,” at [http://www.dnfsb.gov/about/index.html]. involving CHE and plutonium...approach, if successful, would “reduce or eliminate the need for ESD controls.”42 Kent Fortenberry, Technical Director of the Defense Nuclear Facilities

Nuclear Warheads: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program and the Life Extension Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-16

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board was created by Congress 1988 “as an independent oversight organization within the Executive Branch charged... nuclear facilities .” U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. “Who We Are,” at [http://www.dnfsb.gov/about/index.html]. beginning, addressed safety...approach, if successful, would “reduce or eliminate the need for ESD controls.”55 Kent Fortenberry, Technical Director of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety

Fabrication and Qualification of Coated Chip-on-Board Technology for Miniaturized Space Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maurer, R. H.; Le, B. Q.; Nhan, E.; Lew, A. L.; Darrin, M. Ann Garrison

1997-01-01

The results of a study carried out in order to manufacture and verify the quality of chip-on-board (COB) packaging technology are presented. The COB, designed for space applications, was tested under environmental stresses, temperature cycling, and temperature-humidity-bias. Both robustness in space applications and in environmental protection on the ground-complete reliability without hermeticity were searched for. The epoxy-parylene combinations proved to be superior to other materials tested.

Precision Strike 2009 Summer Forum: Affordable Precision Munitions-The Reliable Choice for Modern Battle

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-10

Sponsored by: General Dynamics-OTS) 0800 SUMMER FORUM WELCOME: Andy McHugh —Chairman of the Board, Precision Strike Association 0810...Andy McHugh , Chairman of the Board, PSA ArmAments technology Fire Power Forum committee PSA Programs Chair: Ginny Sniegon PSA Programs Vice-Chair...Business For G-20 Meeting: Russia’s Strategic Resource Grab • BY DANIEL MCGROARTY Posted 4/1/2009 • Metals conglomerate Norilsk Nickel owns the United

Learning high-quality soldering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Read, W. S.

1981-01-01

Soldering techniques for high-reliability electronic equipment are taught in 5 day course at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Topic covered include new circuit assembly, printed-wiring board reworking, circuit changes, wire routing, and component installation.

Qualification and Reliability for MEMS and IC Packages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2004-01-01

Advanced IC electronic packages are moving toward miniaturization from two key different approaches, front and back-end processes, each with their own challenges. Successful use of more of the back-end process front-end, e.g. microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) Wafer Level Package (WLP), enable reducing size and cost. Use of direct flip chip die is the most efficient approach if and when the issues of know good die and board/assembly are resolved. Wafer level package solve the issue of known good die by enabling package test, but it has its own limitation, e.g., the I/O limitation, additional cost, and reliability. From the back-end approach, system-in-a-package (SIAP/SIP) development is a response to an increasing demand for package and die integration of different functions into one unit to reduce size and cost and improve functionality. MEMS add another challenging dimension to electronic packaging since they include moving mechanical elements. Conventional qualification and reliability need to be modified and expanded in most cases in order to detect new unknown failures. This paper will review four standards that already released or being developed that specifically address the issues on qualification and reliability of assembled packages. Exposures to thermal cycles, monotonic bend test, mechanical shock and drop are covered in these specifications. Finally, mechanical and thermal cycle qualification data generated for MEMS accelerometer will be presented. The MEMS was an element of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) qualified for NASA Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs), Spirit and Opportunity that successfully is currently roaring the Martian surface

High inter-rater reliability, agreement, and convergent validity of Constant score in patients with clavicle fractures.

PubMed

Ban, Ilija; Troelsen, Anders; Kristensen, Morten Tange

2016-10-01

The Constant score (CS) has been the primary endpoint in most studies on clavicle fractures. However, the CS was not developed to assess patients with clavicle fractures. Our aim was to examine inter-rater reliability and agreement of the CS in patients with clavicle fractures. The secondary aim was to estimate the correlation between the CS and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score and the internal consistency of the 2 scores. On the basis of sample sizing, 36 patients (31 male and 5 female patients; mean age, 41.3 years) with clavicle fractures underwent standardized CS assessment at a mean of 6.8 weeks (SD, 1.0 weeks) after injury. Reliability and agreement of the CS were determined by 2 raters. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), standard error of measurement, minimal detectable change, Cronbach α coefficient, and Pearson correlation coefficient were estimated. Inter-rater reliability of the total CS was excellent (interclass correlation coefficient, 0.94; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-0.97), with no systematic difference between the 2 raters (P = .75). The standard error of measurement (measurement error at the group level) was 4.9, whereas the minimal detectable change (smallest change needed to indicate a real change for an individual) was 13.6 CS points. The internal consistency of the 10 CS items was good, with a Cronbach α of .85, and we found a strong correlation (r = -0.92) between the CS and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score. The CS was found to be reliable for assessing patients with clavicle fractures, especially at the group level. With high inter-rater reliability and agreement, in addition to good internal consistency, the standardized CS used in this study can be used for comparison of results from different settings. Copyright © 2016 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PUS Services Software Building Block Automatic Generation for Space Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Candia, S.; Sgaramella, F.; Mele, G.

2008-08-01

The Packet Utilization Standard (PUS) has been specified by the European Committee for Space Standardization (ECSS) and issued as ECSS-E-70-41A to define the application-level interface between Ground Segments and Space Segments. The ECSS-E- 70-41A complements the ECSS-E-50 and the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) recommendations for packet telemetry and telecommand. The ECSS-E-70-41A characterizes the identified PUS Services from a functional point of view and the ECSS-E-70-31 standard specifies the rules for their mission-specific tailoring. The current on-board software design for a space mission implies the production of several PUS terminals, each providing a specific tailoring of the PUS services. The associated on-board software building blocks are developed independently, leading to very different design choices and implementations even when the mission tailoring requires very similar services (from the Ground operative perspective). In this scenario, the automatic production of the PUS services building blocks for a mission would be a way to optimize the overall mission economy and improve the robusteness and reliability of the on-board software and of the Ground-Space interactions. This paper presents the Space Software Italia (SSI) activities for the development of an integrated environment to support: the PUS services tailoring activity for a specific mission. the mission-specific PUS services configuration. the generation the UML model of the software building block implementing the mission-specific PUS services and the related source code, support documentation (software requirements, software architecture, test plans/procedures, operational manuals), and the TM/TC database. The paper deals with: (a) the project objectives, (b) the tailoring, configuration, and generation process, (c) the description of the environments supporting the process phases, (d) the characterization of the meta-model used for the generation, (e) the characterization of the reference avionics architecture and of the reference on- board software high-level architecture.

Summary Report: NMSBA CY 2016 - AEgis Technologies Group Inc. #12458.

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

Bellum, John Curtis; Field, Ella Suzanne

2016-12-01

AEgis requires large area partial mirror optics consisting of partially reflecting optical coatings on large dimension substrates for high energy laser (HEL) applications. The partial mirrors should transmit nearly the same small fraction of HEL radiation incident from a wide range of angles of incidence (AOIs), and the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the coatings should be high enough for them to be able to withstand direct exposure to near infrared CW HEL radiation at multi-kilowatt/cm2 power levels. The transmitted fraction of incident HEL radiation should reach an array of detectors at power levels high enough for reliable detection butmore » low enough to not damage the detectors. The reflected fraction of incident HEL radiation should scatter into a divergent pattern so as to be eye safe at a distance of ~ 200 m from the mirror in the case of 100 kilowatt incident laser power. The detector array together with the partial mirror optic and possible additional optics that provide divergent scattering of reflected HEL radiation constitute what AEgis refers to as a target board. The target board use environment may vary from benign, indoor laboratory conditions to harsh, outdoor conditions in tests on the ground as well as in air. Under this NMSBA project, Sandia agreed to apply its extensive expertise and capability in the design and production of high LIDT coatings on large dimension optics for high power pulsed laser radiation to advise and assist AEgis in the design and development of high LIDT coatings for the partial mirror optic. Sandia and AEgis met several times to discuss the partial mirror and target board requirements, and Sandia was guided in its work by these discussions as well as by the partial mirror and target board requirement summaries of Tables 1 and 2, respectively, that were provided by AEgis.« less

Intra-rater reliability of hallux flexor strength measures using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board.

PubMed

Quek, June; Treleaven, Julia; Brauer, Sandra G; O'Leary, Shaun; Clark, Ross A

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the intra-rater reliability of a new method in combination with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) to measure the strength of hallux flexor muscle. Thirty healthy individuals (age: 34.9 ± 12.9 years, height: 170.4 ± 10.5 cm, weight: 69.3 ± 15.3 kg, female = 15) participated. Repeated testing was completed within 7 days. Participants performed strength testing in sitting using a wooden platform in combination with the NWBB. This new method was set up to selectively recruit an intrinsic muscle of the foot, specifically the flexor hallucis brevis muscle. Statistical analysis was performed using intra-class coefficients and ordinary least product analysis. To estimate measurement error, standard error of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change (MDC) and percentage error were calculated. Results indicate excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.982, CI = 0.96-0.99) with an absence of systematic bias. SEM, MDC and percentage error value were 0.5, 1.4 and 12 % respectively. This study demonstrates that a new method in combination with the NWBB application is reliable to measure hallux flexor strength and has potential to be used for future research and clinical application.

An Empirical Taxonomy of Hospital Governing Board Roles

PubMed Central

Lee, Shoou-Yih D; Alexander, Jeffrey A; Wang, Virginia; Margolin, Frances S; Combes, John R

2008-01-01

Objective To develop a taxonomy of governing board roles in U.S. hospitals. Data Sources 2005 AHA Hospital Governance Survey, 2004 AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals, and Area Resource File. Study Design A governing board taxonomy was developed using cluster analysis. Results were validated and reviewed by industry experts. Differences in hospital and environmental characteristics across clusters were examined. Data Extraction Methods One-thousand three-hundred thirty-four hospitals with complete information on the study variables were included in the analysis. Principal Findings Five distinct clusters of hospital governing boards were identified. Statistical tests showed that the five clusters had high internal reliability and high internal validity. Statistically significant differences in hospital and environmental conditions were found among clusters. Conclusions The developed taxonomy provides policy makers, health care executives, and researchers a useful way to describe and understand hospital governing board roles. The taxonomy may also facilitate valid and systematic assessment of governance performance. Further, the taxonomy could be used as a framework for governing boards themselves to identify areas for improvement and direction for change. PMID:18355260

Evaluation of ENEPIG and Immersion Silver Surface Finishes Under Drop Loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearl, Adam; Osterman, Michael; Pecht, Michael

2016-01-01

The effect of printed circuit board surface finish on the drop loading reliability of ball grid array (BGA) solder interconnects has been examined. The finishes examined include electroless nickel/electroless palladium/immersion gold (ENEPIG) and immersion silver (ImAg). For the ENEPIG finish, the effect of the Pd plating layer thickness was evaluated by testing two different thicknesses: 0.05 μm and 0.15 μm. BGA components were assembled onto the boards using either eutectic Sn-Pb or Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder. Prior to testing, the assembled boards were aged at 100°C for 24 h or 500 h. The boards were then subjected to multiple 1500-g drop tests. Failure analysis indicated the primary failure site for the BGAs to be the solder balls at the board-side solder interface. Cratering of the board laminate under the solder-attached pads was also observed. In all cases, isothermal aging reduced the number of drops to failure. The components soldered onto the boards with the 0.15- μm-Pd ENEPIG finish with the SAC305 solder had the highest characteristic life, at 234 drops to failure, compared with the other finish-solder combinations.

Vibration analysis of printed circuit boards: Effect of boundary condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prashanth, M. D.

2018-04-01

A spacecraft consists of a number of electronic packages to meet the functional requirements. An electronic package is generally an assembly of printed circuit boards placed in a mechanical housing. A number of electronic components are mounted on the printed circuit board (PCB). A spacecraft experiences various types of loads during its launch such as vibration, acoustic and shock loads. Prediction of response for printed circuit boards due to vibration loads is important for mechanical design and reliability of electronic packages. The modeling and analysis of printed circuit boards is required for accurate prediction of response due to vibration loads. The response of PCB is highly dependent on the mounting configuration of PCB. In addition, anti-vibration mounts or stiffeners are used to reduce the PCB response. Vibration analysis of printed circuit boards is carried out using finite element method. The objective of this paper is to determine the dynamic characteristics of a printed circuit board. Modeling and analysis of PCB shall be carried out to study the effect of boundary conditions on the vibration response. The modeling of stiffeners or ribs shall also be considered in detail. The analysis results shall be validated using vibration tests of PCB.

Characterization and Evaluation of a Commercial WLAN System for Human Provocation Studies.

PubMed

Zentai, Norbert; Fiocchi, Serena; Parazzini, Marta; Trunk, Attila; Juhász, Péter; Ravazzani, Paolo; Hernádi, István; Thuróczy, György

2015-01-01

This work evaluates the complex exposure characteristics of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology and describes the design of a WLAN exposure system built using commercially available modular parts for the study of possible biological health effects due to WLAN exposure in a controlled environment. The system consisted of an access point and a client unit (CU) with router board cards types R52 and R52n with 18 dBm and 25 dBm peak power, respectively. Free space radiofrequency field (RF) measurements were performed with a field meter at a distance of 40 cm from the CU in order to evaluate the RF exposure at several signal configurations of the exposure system. Finally, the specific absorption rate (SAR) generated by the CU was estimated computationally in the head of two human models. Results suggest that exposure to RF fields of WLAN systems strongly depends on the sets of the router configuration: the stability of the exposure was more constant and reliable when both antennas were active and vertically positioned, with best signal quality obtained with the R52n router board at channel 9, in UDP mode. The maximum levels of peak SAR were far away from the limits of international guidelines with peak levels found over the skin.

Characterization and Evaluation of a Commercial WLAN System for Human Provocation Studies

PubMed Central

Parazzini, Marta; Trunk, Attila; Juhász, Péter; Hernádi, István; Thuróczy, György

2015-01-01

This work evaluates the complex exposure characteristics of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology and describes the design of a WLAN exposure system built using commercially available modular parts for the study of possible biological health effects due to WLAN exposure in a controlled environment. The system consisted of an access point and a client unit (CU) with router board cards types R52 and R52n with 18 dBm and 25 dBm peak power, respectively. Free space radiofrequency field (RF) measurements were performed with a field meter at a distance of 40 cm from the CU in order to evaluate the RF exposure at several signal configurations of the exposure system. Finally, the specific absorption rate (SAR) generated by the CU was estimated computationally in the head of two human models. Results suggest that exposure to RF fields of WLAN systems strongly depends on the sets of the router configuration: the stability of the exposure was more constant and reliable when both antennas were active and vertically positioned, with best signal quality obtained with the R52n router board at channel 9, in UDP mode. The maximum levels of peak SAR were far away from the limits of international guidelines with peak levels found over the skin. PMID:26180791

Chip-package nano-structured copper and nickel interconnections with metallic and polymeric bonding interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aggarwal, Ankur

With the semiconductor industry racing toward a historic transition, nano chips with less than 45 nm features demand I/Os in excess of 20,000 that support computing speed in terabits per second, with multi-core processors aggregately providing highest bandwidth at lowest power. On the other hand, emerging mixed signal systems are driving the need for 3D packaging with embedded active components and ultra-short interconnections. Decreasing I/O pitch together with low cost, high electrical performance and high reliability are the key technological challenges identified by the 2005 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). Being able to provide several fold increase in the chip-to-package vertical interconnect density is essential for garnering the true benefits of nanotechnology that will utilize nano-scale devices. Electrical interconnections are multi-functional materials that must also be able to withstand complex, sustained and cyclic thermo-mechanical loads. In addition, the materials must be environmentally-friendly, corrosion resistant, thermally stable over a long time, and resistant to electro-migration. A major challenge is also to develop economic processes that can be integrated into back end of the wafer foundry, i.e. with wafer level packaging. Device-to-system board interconnections are typically accomplished today with either wire bonding or solders. Both of these are incremental and run into either electrical or mechanical barriers as they are extended to higher density of interconnections. Downscaling traditional solder bump interconnect will not satisfy the thermo-mechanical reliability requirements at very fine pitches of the order of 30 microns and less. Alternate interconnection approaches such as compliant interconnects typically require lengthy connections and are therefore limited in terms of electrical properties, although expected to meet the mechanical requirements. A novel chip-package interconnection technology is developed to address the IC packaging requirements beyond the ITRS projections and to introduce innovative design and fabrication concepts that will further advance the performance of the chip, the package, and the system board. The nano-structured interconnect technology simultaneously packages all the ICs intact in wafer form with quantum jump in the number of interconnections with the lowest electrical parasitics. The intrinsic properties of nano materials also enable several orders of magnitude higher interconnect densities with the best mechanical properties for the highest reliability and yet provide higher current and heat transfer densities. Nano-structured interconnects provides the ability to assemble the packaged parts on the system board without the use of underfill materials and to enable advanced analog/digital testing, reliability testing, and burn-in at wafer level. This thesis investigates the electrical and mechanical performance of nanostructured interconnections through modeling and test vehicle fabrication. The analytical models evaluate the performance improvements over solder and compliant interconnections. Test vehicles with nano-interconnections were fabricated using low cost electro-deposition techniques and assembled with various bonding interfaces. Interconnections were fabricated at 200 micron pitch to compare with the existing solder joints and at 50 micron pitch to demonstrate fabrication processes at fine pitches. Experimental and modeling results show that the proposed nano-interconnections could enhance the reliability and potentially meet all the system performance requirements for the emerging micro/nano-systems.

Community Vital Signs: Taking the Pulse of the Community While Caring for Patients.

PubMed

Hughes, Lauren S; Phillips, Robert L; DeVoe, Jennifer E; Bazemore, Andrew W

2016-01-01

In 2014 both the Institute of Medicine and the National Quality Forum recommended the inclusion of social determinants of health data in electronic health records (EHRs). Both entities primarily focus on collecting socioeconomic and health behavior data directly from individual patients. The burden of reliably, accurately, and consistently collecting such information is substantial, and it may take several years before a primary care team has actionable data available in its EHR. A more reliable and less burdensome approach to integrating clinical and social determinant data exists and is technologically feasible now. Community vital signs-aggregated community-level information about the neighborhoods in which our patients live, learn, work, and play-convey contextual social deprivation and associated chronic disease risks based on where patients live. Given widespread access to "big data" and geospatial technologies, community vital signs can be created by linking aggregated population health data with patient addresses in EHRs. These linked data, once imported into EHRs, are a readily available resource to help primary care practices understand the context in which their patients reside and achieve important health goals at the patient, population, and policy levels. © Copyright 2016 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Next level of board accountability in health care quality.

PubMed

Pronovost, Peter J; Armstrong, C Michael; Demski, Renee; Peterson, Ronald R; Rothman, Paul B

2018-03-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer six principles that health system leaders can apply to establish a governance and management system for the quality of care and patient safety. Design/methodology/approach Leaders of a large academic health system set a goal of high reliability and formed a quality board committee in 2011 to oversee quality and patient safety everywhere care was delivered. Leaders of the health system and every entity, including inpatient hospitals, home care companies, and ambulatory services staff the committee. The committee works with the management for each entity to set and achieve quality goals. Through this work, the six principles emerged to address management structures and processes. Findings The principles are: ensure there is oversight for quality everywhere care is delivered under the health system; create a framework to organize and report the work; identify care areas where quality is ambiguous or underdeveloped (i.e. islands of quality) and work to ensure there is reporting and accountability for quality measures; create a consolidated quality statement similar to a financial statement; ensure the integrity of the data used to measure and report quality and safety performance; and transparently report performance and create an explicit accountability model. Originality/value This governance and management system for quality and safety functions similar to a finance system, with quality performance documented and reported, data integrity monitored, and accountability for performance from board to bedside. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first description of how a board has taken this type of systematic approach to oversee the quality of care.

How do hospital boards govern for quality improvement? A mixed methods study of 15 organisations in England

PubMed Central

Pomeroy, Linda; Burnett, Susan; Anderson, Janet E; Fulop, Naomi J

2017-01-01

Background Health systems worldwide are increasingly holding boards of healthcare organisations accountable for the quality of care that they provide. Previous empirical research has found associations between certain board practices and higher quality patient care; however, little is known about how boards govern for quality improvement (QI). Methods We conducted fieldwork over a 30-month period in 15 healthcare provider organisations in England as part of a wider evaluation of a board-level organisational development intervention. Our data comprised board member interviews (n=65), board meeting observations (60 hours) and documents (30 sets of board meeting papers, 15 board minutes and 15 Quality Accounts). We analysed the data using a framework developed from existing evidence of links between board practices and quality of care. We mapped the variation in how boards enacted governance of QI and constructed a measure of QI governance maturity. We then compared organisations to identify the characteristics of those with mature QI governance. Results We found that boards with higher levels of maturity in relation to governing for QI had the following characteristics: explicitly prioritising QI; balancing short-term (external) priorities with long-term (internal) investment in QI; using data for QI, not just quality assurance; engaging staff and patients in QI; and encouraging a culture of continuous improvement. These characteristics appeared to be particularly enabled and facilitated by board-level clinical leaders. Conclusions This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how boards govern for QI. The identified characteristics of organisations with mature QI governance seemed to be enabled by active clinical leadership. Future research should explore the biographies, identities and work practices of board-level clinical leaders and their role in organisation-wide QI. PMID:28689191

GTEX: An expert system for diagnosing faults in satellite ground stations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlegelmilch, Richard F.; Durkin, John; Petrik, Edward J.

1991-01-01

A proof of concept expert system called Ground Terminal Expert (GTEX) was developed at The University of Akron in collaboration with NASA Lewis Research Center. The objective of GTEX is to aid in diagnosing data faults occurring with a digital ground terminal. This strategy can also be applied to the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology. An expert system which detects and diagnoses faults would enhance the performance of the VSAT by improving reliability and reducing maintenance time. GTEX is capable of detecting faults, isolating the cause and recommending appropriate actions. Isolation of faults is completed to board-level modules. A graphical user interface provides control and a medium where data can be requested and cryptic information logically displayed. Interaction with GTEX consists of user responses and input from data files. The use of data files provides a method of simulating dynamic interaction between the digital ground terminal and the expert system. GTEX as described is capable of both improving reliability and reducing the time required for necessary maintenance.

GTEX: An expert system for diagnosing faults in satellite ground stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlegelmilch, Richard F.; Durkin, John; Petrik, Edward J.

1991-11-01

A proof of concept expert system called Ground Terminal Expert (GTEX) was developed at The University of Akron in collaboration with NASA Lewis Research Center. The objective of GTEX is to aid in diagnosing data faults occurring with a digital ground terminal. This strategy can also be applied to the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology. An expert system which detects and diagnoses faults would enhance the performance of the VSAT by improving reliability and reducing maintenance time. GTEX is capable of detecting faults, isolating the cause and recommending appropriate actions. Isolation of faults is completed to board-level modules. A graphical user interface provides control and a medium where data can be requested and cryptic information logically displayed. Interaction with GTEX consists of user responses and input from data files. The use of data files provides a method of simulating dynamic interaction between the digital ground terminal and the expert system. GTEX as described is capable of both improving reliability and reducing the time required for necessary maintenance.

75 FR 61228 - Board Meeting: Technical Lessons Gained From High-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal Efforts

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-04

... NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD Board Meeting: Technical Lessons Gained From High-Level... Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will meet in Dulles... of Energy on technical issues and to review the technical validity of DOE activities related to...

Reliability of Lactation Assessment Tools Applied to Overweight and Obese Women.

PubMed

Chapman, Donna J; Doughty, Katherine; Mullin, Elizabeth M; Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael

2016-05-01

The interrater reliability of lactation assessment tools has not been evaluated in overweight/obese women. This study aimed to compare the interrater reliability of 4 lactation assessment tools in this population. A convenience sample of 45 women (body mass index > 27.0) was videotaped while breastfeeding (twice daily on days 2, 4, and 7 postpartum). Three International Board Certified Lactation Consultants independently rated each videotaped session using 4 tools (Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool [IBFAT], modified LATCH [mLATCH], modified Via Christi [mVC], and Riordan's Tool [RT]). For each day and tool, we evaluated interrater reliability with 1-way repeated-measures analyses of variance, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and percentage absolute agreement between raters. Analyses of variance showed significant differences between raters' scores on day 2 (all scales) and day 7 (RT). Intraclass correlation coefficient values reflected good (mLATCH) to excellent reliability (IBFAT, mVC, and RT) on days 2 and 7. All day 4 ICCs reflected good reliability. The ICC for mLATCH was significantly lower than all others on day 2 and was significantly lower than IBFAT (day 7). Percentage absolute interrater agreement for scale components ranged from 31% (day 2: observable swallowing, RT) to 92% (day 7: IBFAT, fixing; and mVC, latch time). Swallowing scores on all scales had the lowest levels of interrater agreement (31%-64%). We demonstrated differences in the interrater reliability of 4 lactation assessment tools when applied to overweight/obese women, with the lowest values observed on day 4. Swallowing assessment was particularly unreliable. Researchers and clinicians using these scales should be aware of the differences in their psychometric behavior. © The Author(s) 2015.

Variations by state in physician disciplinary actions by US medical licensure boards.

PubMed

Harris, John Alexander; Byhoff, Elena

2017-03-01

To investigate the variation in the rate of state medical board physician disciplinary actions between US states. Longitudinal study of state medical board physician disciplinary action rates using the US National Practitioner Data Bank and American Medical Association estimates of physician demographics across all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2010 to 2014. Results were reliability adjusted using a multilevel logistic model controlling for year of disciplinary action, physicians per capita in each state and the rate of malpractice claims per physician in each state. From 2010 to 2014, there were a total of 5046 506 physician licensure years present. Medical boards reported a total of 21 647 disciplinary actions, of which 5137 (23.7%) were major disciplinary actions involving revocation, suspension or surrender of licence. The mean, reliability-adjusted rate of all disciplinary actions was 3.76 (95% CI 3.21 to 4.42) with a significant variation between states. State rates ranged from 2.13 (95% CI 1.86 to 2.45) to 7.93 (95% CI 6.33 to 9.93) actions per 1000 physicians. The mean rate of major disciplinary actions was 2.71 (95% CI 1.93 to 3.82), ranging from 0.64 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.76) to 2.71 (95% CI 1.93 to 3.82) actions per 1000 physicians. The correlation between the rate of major disciplinary action and minor disciplinary actions was 0.34. There is a significant, fourfold variation in the annual rate of medical board physician disciplinary action by state in the USA. When indicated, state medical boards should consider policies aimed at improving standardisation and coordination to provide consistent supervision to physicians and ensure public safety. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Simultaneous determination of 11 fluorescent whitening agents in food-contact paper and board by ion-pairing high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

PubMed

Jiang, Dingguo; Chen, Lisong; Fu, Wusheng; Qiu, Hanquan

2015-02-01

4,4'-Diaminostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid based fluorescent whitening agents (DSD-FWAs) are prohibited in food-contact paper and board in many countries. In this work, a reliable high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 common DSD-FWAs in paper material. Sample preparation and extraction as well as chromatographic separation of multicomponent DSD-FWAs were successfully optimized. DSD-FWAs in prepared samples were ultrasonically extracted with acetonitrile/water/triethylamine (40:60:1, v/v/v), separated on the C(18) column with the mobile phase containing tetrabutylammonium bromide, and then detected by a fluorescence detector. The limits of detection were 0.12-0.24 mg/kg, and the calibration curves showed the linear correlation (R(2) ≥ 0.9994) within the range of 8.0-100 ng/mL, which was equivalent to the range of 0.80-10 mg/kg in the sample. The average recoveries and the RSDs were 81-106% and 2-9% at two fortification levels (1.0 and 5.0 mg/kg) in paper bowls, respectively. The successful determination of 11 DSD-FWAs in food-contact paper and board obtained from local markets indicated that the newly developed method was rapid, accurate, and highly selective. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A Study on the Thermomechanical Reliability Risks of Through-Silicon-Vias in Sensor Applications

PubMed Central

Shao, Shuai; Liu, Dapeng; Niu, Yuling; O’Donnell, Kathy; Sengupta, Dipak; Park, Seungbae

2017-01-01

Reliability risks for two different types of through-silicon-vias (TSVs) are discussed in this paper. The first is a partially-filled copper TSV, if which the copper layer covers the side walls and bottom. A polymer is used to fill the rest of the cavity. Stresses in risk sites are studied and ranked for this TSV structure by FEA modeling. Parametric studies for material properties (modulus and thermal expansion) of TSV polymer are performed. The second type is a high aspect ratio TSV filled by polycrystalline silicon (poly Si). Potential risks of the voids in the poly Si due to filling defects are studied. Fracture mechanics methods are utilized to evaluate the risk for two different assembly conditions: package assembled to printed circuit board (PCB) and package assembled to flexible substrate. The effect of board/substrate/die thickness and the size and location of the void are discussed. PMID:28208758

Virtex-5 CN Package Daisy Chain Evaluation Test Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suh, Jong-ook

2016-01-01

The board-level temperature cycling reliability of Xilinx Virtex-5 (V5) CN package was investigated. V5s were temperature cycled under two conditions, 0 to +100 C (0/100) and -55 to +100 C (-55/100). During the 0/100 test, no part out of 8 parts failed up to 6586 cycles. During the -55/100 test, one part out of 8 parts failed at 1236 cycle, and there were no additional failures up to 1705 cycles. The failure mode of the part that failed at 1236 cycles indicated that most likely the failure was not a solder fatigue failure, and therefore no obvious solder fatigue failure was observed throughout the tests.

Fault tolerant architectures for integrated aircraft electronics systems, task 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levitt, K. N.; Melliar-Smith, P. M.; Schwartz, R. L.

1984-01-01

The architectural basis for an advanced fault tolerant on-board computer to succeed the current generation of fault tolerant computers is examined. The network error tolerant system architecture is studied with particular attention to intercluster configurations and communication protocols, and to refined reliability estimates. The diagnosis of faults, so that appropriate choices for reconfiguration can be made is discussed. The analysis relates particularly to the recognition of transient faults in a system with tasks at many levels of priority. The demand driven data-flow architecture, which appears to have possible application in fault tolerant systems is described and work investigating the feasibility of automatic generation of aircraft flight control programs from abstract specifications is reported.

Development of Drop/Shock Test in Microelectronics and Impact Dynamic Analysis for Uniform Board Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallolimath, Sharan Chandrashekar

For the past several years, many researchers are constantly developing and improving board level drop test procedures and specifications to quantify the solder joint reliability performance of consumer electronics products. Predictive finite element analysis (FEA) by utilizing simulation software has become widely acceptable verification method which can reduce time and cost of the real-time test process. However, due to testing and metrological limitations it is difficult not only to simulate exact drop condition and capture critical measurement data but also tedious to calibrate the system to improve test methods. Moreover, some of the important ever changing factors such as board flexural rigidity, damping, drop height, and drop orientation results in non-uniform stress/strain distribution throughout the test board. In addition, one of the most challenging tasks is to quantify uniform stress and strain distribution throughout the test board and identify critical failure factors. The major contributions of this work are in the four aspects of the drop test in electronics as following. First of all, an analytical FEA model was developed to study the board natural frequencies and responses of the system with the consideration of dynamic stiffness, damping behavior of the material and effect of impact loading condition. An approach to find the key parameters that affect stress and strain distributions under predominate mode responses was proposed and verified with theoretical solutions. Input-G method was adopted to study board response behavior and cut boundary interpolation methods was used to analyze local model solder joint stresses with the development of global/local FEA model in ANSYS software. Second, no ring phenomenon during the drop test was identified theoretically when the test board was modeled as both discrete system and continuous system. Numerical analysis was then conducted by FEA method for detailed geometry of attached chips with solder-joints. No ring test conditions was proposed and verified for the current widely used JEDEC standard. The significance of impact loading parameters such as pulse magnitude, pulse duration, pulse shapes and board dynamic parameter such as linear hysteretic damping and dynamic stiffness were discussed. Third, Kirchhoff's plate theory by principle of minimum potential energy was adopted to develop the FEA formulation to consider the effect of material hysteretic damping for the currently used JEDEC board test and proposed no-ring response test condition. Fourth, a hexagonal symmetrical board model was proposed to address the uniform stress and strain distribution throughout the test board and identify the critical failure factors. Dynamic stress and strain of the hexagonal board model were then compared with standard JEDEC board for both standard and proposed no-ring test conditions. In general, this line of research demonstrates that advanced techniques of FEA analysis can provide useful insights concerning the optimal design of drop test in microelectronics.

77 FR 33777 - General Aviation Safety Forum: Climbing to the Next Level

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-07

... NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD General Aviation Safety Forum: Climbing to the Next Level The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will convene a 2- day forum focused on safety issues related to... the Next Level,'' will be chaired by NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman and all five Board Members...

Method for reworkable packaging of high speed, low electrical parasitic power electronics modules through gate drive integration

DOEpatents

Passmore, Brandon; Cole, Zach; Whitaker, Bret; Barkley, Adam; McNutt, Ty; Lostetter, Alexander

2016-08-02

A multichip power module directly connecting the busboard to a printed-circuit board that is attached to the power substrate enabling extremely low loop inductance for extreme environments such as high temperature operation. Wire bond interconnections are taught from the power die directly to the busboard further enabling enable low parasitic interconnections. Integration of on-board high frequency bus capacitors provide extremely low loop inductance. An extreme environment gate driver board allows close physical proximity of gate driver and power stage to reduce overall volume and reduce impedance in the control circuit. Parallel spring-loaded pin gate driver PCB connections allows a reliable and reworkable power module to gate driver interconnections.

Detection of Banned and Restricted Ozone-Depleting Chemicals in Printed Circuit Boards

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

Lee, Richard N.; Wright, Bob W.

2008-12-01

A study directed toward the detection of halogenated solvents in the matrix of circuit boards has recently been completed. This work was undertaken to demonstrate the potential for reliable detection of solvents used during the fabrication of printed circuit boards (PCB). Since many of these solvents are now, or soon will be, restricted under the terms of legislation enacted in response to the Montreal Protocol and other international agreements, the work described here, conducted over a period of more that 4 years, has provided guidance for the development of chromatographic system and analytical protocol to assure compliance with regulations introducedmore » to control, or ban, industrial solvents associated with adverse environmental impact.« less

Advanced On-Board Processor (AOP). [for future spacecraft applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Advanced On-board Processor the (AOP) uses large scale integration throughout and is the most advanced space qualified computer of its class in existence today. It was designed to satisfy most spacecraft requirements which are anticipated over the next several years. The AOP design utilizes custom metallized multigate arrays (CMMA) which have been designed specifically for this computer. This approach provides the most efficient use of circuits, reduces volume, weight, assembly costs and provides for a significant increase in reliability by the significant reduction in conventional circuit interconnections. The required 69 CMMA packages are assembled on a single multilayer printed circuit board which together with associated connectors constitutes the complete AOP. This approach also reduces conventional interconnections thus further reducing weight, volume and assembly costs.

Health Manpower in Missouri.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harmon, Loyd M., Ed.

This supplementary report begins with general information on licensing boards, associations, societies, reliability of data, and similar items. The second, and main, section deals with the following disciplines: administrators, doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, dentists, dental hygienists, dieticians, inhalation therapists, medical…

Evaluating Health Information

MedlinePlus

Millions of consumers get health information from magazines, TV or the Internet. Some of the information is reliable and up to date; some is not. How can ... the site have an editorial board? Is the information reviewed before it is posted? Be skeptical. Things ...

Reliability-Based Design Optimization of a Composite Airframe Component

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Pai, Shantaram S.; Coroneos, Rula M.

2009-01-01

A stochastic design optimization methodology (SDO) has been developed to design components of an airframe structure that can be made of metallic and composite materials. The design is obtained as a function of the risk level, or reliability, p. The design method treats uncertainties in load, strength, and material properties as distribution functions, which are defined with mean values and standard deviations. A design constraint or a failure mode is specified as a function of reliability p. Solution to stochastic optimization yields the weight of a structure as a function of reliability p. Optimum weight versus reliability p traced out an inverted-S-shaped graph. The center of the inverted-S graph corresponded to 50 percent (p = 0.5) probability of success. A heavy design with weight approaching infinity could be produced for a near-zero rate of failure that corresponds to unity for reliability p (or p = 1). Weight can be reduced to a small value for the most failure-prone design with a reliability that approaches zero (p = 0). Reliability can be changed for different components of an airframe structure. For example, the landing gear can be designed for a very high reliability, whereas it can be reduced to a small extent for a raked wingtip. The SDO capability is obtained by combining three codes: (1) The MSC/Nastran code was the deterministic analysis tool, (2) The fast probabilistic integrator, or the FPI module of the NESSUS software, was the probabilistic calculator, and (3) NASA Glenn Research Center s optimization testbed CometBoards became the optimizer. The SDO capability requires a finite element structural model, a material model, a load model, and a design model. The stochastic optimization concept is illustrated considering an academic example and a real-life raked wingtip structure of the Boeing 767-400 extended range airliner made of metallic and composite materials.

All Above-Board: A Comparativist Looks at the Advanced Level French Syllabuses of the Nine GCE Boards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weil, Robert

1978-01-01

Advanced level French syllabuses of the nine GCE Boards in the United Kingdom are examined. The Southern Universities Joint Board has recently introduced the most radical innovations. As an alternative to its traditional examination it offers Syllabus "B" which dispenses with prescribed tests, but where each student must produce for the…

Effects of PCB Pad Metal Finishes on the Cu-Pillar/Sn-Ag Micro Bump Joint Reliability of Chip-on-Board (COB) Assembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Youngsoon; Lee, Seyong; Shin, Ji-won; Paik, Kyung-Wook

2016-06-01

While solder bumps have been used as the bump structure to form the interconnection during the last few decades, the continuing scaling down of devices has led to a change in the bump structure to Cu-pillar/Sn-Ag micro-bumps. Cu-pillar/Sn-Ag micro-bump interconnections differ from conventional solder bump interconnections in terms of their assembly processing and reliability. A thermo-compression bonding method with pre-applied b-stage non-conductive films has been adopted to form solder joints between Cu pillar/Sn-Ag micro bumps and printed circuit board vehicles, using various pad metal finishes. As a result, various interfacial inter-metallic compounds (IMCs) reactions and stress concentrations occur at the Cu pillar/Sn-Ag micro bumps joints. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the influence of pad metal finishes on the structural reliability of fine pitch Cu pillar/Sn-Ag micro bumps flip chip packaging. In this study, four different pad surface finishes (Thin Ni ENEPIG, OSP, ENEPIG, ENIG) were evaluated in terms of their interconnection reliability by thermal cycle (T/C) test up to 2000 cycles at temperatures ranging from -55°C to 125°C and high-temperature storage test up to 1000 h at 150°C. The contact resistances of the Cu pillar/Sn-Ag micro bump showed significant differences after the T/C reliability test in the following order: thin Ni ENEPIG > OSP > ENEPIG where the thin Ni ENEPIG pad metal finish provided the best Cu pillar/Sn-Ag micro bump interconnection in terms of bump joint reliability. Various IMCs formed between the bump joint areas can account for the main failure mechanism.

CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 21, Number 2

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-02-01

data systems are select- ed as tools to provide the data. For example, the Air Force decided to initiate a Reliability Pathfinder to study and define...small projects, and someone just sitting will certainly be noticed more readily. Providing tools for communication such as white boards and open space...community may have to pay for both. In the case of DRILS, we saw that it could potentially interface with the Reliability and Maintainability Infor- mation

The Reliability of Microalloyed Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Interconnections Under Cyclic Thermal and Mechanical Shock Loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattila, Toni T.; Hokka, Jussi; Paulasto-Kröckel, Mervi

2014-11-01

In this study, the performance of three microalloyed Sn-Ag-Cu solder interconnection compositions (Sn-3.1Ag-0.52Cu, Sn-3.0Ag-0.52Cu-0.24Bi, and Sn-1.1Ag-0.52Cu-0.1Ni) was compared under mechanical shock loading (JESD22-B111 standard) and cyclic thermal loading (40 ± 125°C, 42 min cycle) conditions. In the drop tests, the component boards with the low-silver nickel-containing composition (Sn-Ag-Cu-Ni) showed the highest average number of drops-to-failure, while those with the bismuth-containing alloy (Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi) showed the lowest. Results of the thermal cycling tests showed that boards with Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi interconnections performed the best, while those with Sn-Ag-Cu-Ni performed the worst. Sn-Ag-Cu was placed in the middle in both tests. In this paper, we demonstrate that solder strength is an essential reliability factor and that higher strength can be beneficial for thermal cycling reliability but detrimental to drop reliability. We discuss these findings from the perspective of the microstructures and mechanical properties of the three solder interconnection compositions and, based on a comprehensive literature review, investigate how the differences in the solder compositions influence the mechanical properties of the interconnections and discuss how the differences are reflected in the failure mechanisms under both loading conditions.

A digital frequency stabilization system of external cavity diode laser based on LabVIEW FPGA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhuohuan; Hu, Zhaohui; Qi, Lu; Wang, Tao

2015-10-01

Frequency stabilization for external cavity diode laser has played an important role in physics research. Many laser frequency locking solutions have been proposed by researchers. Traditionally, the locking process was accomplished by analog system, which has fast feedback control response speed. However, analog system is susceptible to the effects of environment. In order to improve the automation level and reliability of the frequency stabilization system, we take a grating-feedback external cavity diode laser as the laser source and set up a digital frequency stabilization system based on National Instrument's FPGA (NI FPGA). The system consists of a saturated absorption frequency stabilization of beam path, a differential photoelectric detector, a NI FPGA board and a host computer. Many functions, such as piezoelectric transducer (PZT) sweeping, atomic saturation absorption signal acquisition, signal peak identification, error signal obtaining and laser PZT voltage feedback controlling, are totally completed by LabVIEW FPGA program. Compared with the analog system, the system built by the logic gate circuits, performs stable and reliable. User interface programmed by LabVIEW is friendly. Besides, benefited from the characteristics of reconfiguration, the LabVIEW program is good at transplanting in other NI FPGA boards. Most of all, the system periodically checks the error signal. Once the abnormal error signal is detected, FPGA will restart frequency stabilization process without manual control. Through detecting the fluctuation of error signal of the atomic saturation absorption spectrum line in the frequency locking state, we can infer that the laser frequency stability can reach 1MHz.

Background: Preflight Screening, In-flight Capabilities, and Postflight Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, Charles Robert; Duncan, James

2009-01-01

Recommendations for minimal in-flight capabilities: Retinal Imaging - provide in-flight capability for the visual monitoring of ocular health (specifically, imaging of the retina and optic nerve head) with the capability of downlinking video/still images. Tonometry - provide more accurate and reliable in-flight capability for measuring intraocular pressure. Ultrasound - explore capabilities of current on-board system for monitoring ocular health. We currently have limited in-flight capabilities on board the International Space Station for performing an internal ocular health assessment. Visual Acuity, Direct Ophthalmoscope, Ultrasound, Tonometry(Tonopen):

A monitoring system based on electric vehicle three-stage wireless charging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hei, T.; Liu, Z. Z.; Yang, Y.; Hongxing, CHEN; Zhou, B.; Zeng, H.

2016-08-01

An monitoring system for three-stage wireless charging was designed. The vehicle terminal contained the core board which was used for battery information collection and charging control and the power measurement and charging control core board was provided at the transmitting terminal which communicated with receiver by Bluetooth. A touch-screen display unit was designed based on MCGS (Monitor and Control Generated System) to simulate charging behavior and to debug the system conveniently. The practical application shown that the system could be stable and reliable, and had a favorable application foreground.

Parametric Study of Solder Flux Hygroscopicity: Impact of Weak Organic Acids on Water Layer Formation and Corrosion of Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piotrowska, Kamila; Ud Din, Rameez; Grumsen, Flemming Bjerg; Jellesen, Morten Stendahl; Ambat, Rajan

2018-07-01

The presence of solder flux residues on the printed circuit board assembly surface is an important factor contributing to humidity-related reliability issues that affect device lifetime. This investigation focuses on understanding the hygroscopic nature of typical wave solder flux activators—weak organic acids—under varied temperature conditions. In situ x-ray diffraction measurements assessed the effect of high temperature on the crystal structure of organic activators. The hygroscopicity studies were carried out under relative humidity (RH) levels varying from 30% to ˜ 99% and at temperatures 25°C, 40°C, and 60°C. Water absorption levels were determined using the gravimetric method, and the influence on reliability was assessed using electrochemical impedance and leak current measurements performed on the surface insulation resistance comb patterns. The corrosion studies were correlated with the hygroscopicity results and solubility data. Corrosion morphology was analysed using the optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the hygroscopic nature of typical solder flux residue depends on its chemical structure and temperature. An increase of temperature shifts the critical RH level for water vapour absorption towards lower RH range, accelerating the formation of a conductive electrolyte and the occurrence of ion transport-induced electrochemical migration. The overall ranking of flux activators with the increasing order of aggressivity is: palmitic < suberic < adipic < succinic < glutaric < dl-malic acid.

Parametric Study of Solder Flux Hygroscopicity: Impact of Weak Organic Acids on Water Layer Formation and Corrosion of Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piotrowska, Kamila; Ud Din, Rameez; Grumsen, Flemming Bjerg; Jellesen, Morten Stendahl; Ambat, Rajan

2018-04-01

The presence of solder flux residues on the printed circuit board assembly surface is an important factor contributing to humidity-related reliability issues that affect device lifetime. This investigation focuses on understanding the hygroscopic nature of typical wave solder flux activators—weak organic acids—under varied temperature conditions. In situ x-ray diffraction measurements assessed the effect of high temperature on the crystal structure of organic activators. The hygroscopicity studies were carried out under relative humidity (RH) levels varying from 30% to ˜ 99% and at temperatures 25°C, 40°C, and 60°C. Water absorption levels were determined using the gravimetric method, and the influence on reliability was assessed using electrochemical impedance and leak current measurements performed on the surface insulation resistance comb patterns. The corrosion studies were correlated with the hygroscopicity results and solubility data. Corrosion morphology was analysed using the optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the hygroscopic nature of typical solder flux residue depends on its chemical structure and temperature. An increase of temperature shifts the critical RH level for water vapour absorption towards lower RH range, accelerating the formation of a conductive electrolyte and the occurrence of ion transport-induced electrochemical migration. The overall ranking of flux activators with the increasing order of aggressivity is: palmitic < suberic < adipic < succinic < glutaric < uc(dl)-malic acid.

Enabling nurses to lead change: The orientation experiences of nurses to boards

PubMed Central

Walton, AnnMarie; Lake, Donna; Mullinix, Connie; Allen, Deborah; Mooney, Kathi

2015-01-01

Objectives Nurses need to be full partners in shaping health care and health care policy. One way to do this is to be present and active on boards at all levels. The purpose of this study is to examine the orientation experiences of nurses to boards and their preparation to influence health care and health care policy. Methods A Web-based survey about the efficacy of board orientation was sent to members of three local boards made up exclusively of nurses. Results Liabilities and fiduciary duties were least likely to be addressed in board orientation for nurses. Board members requested more training in finance and a more formal/structured orientation process. Conclusions Standardizing orientation elements for nurses serving on boards would best prepare them to serve on interprofessional hospital boards and work in the health policy arena. The orientation experience on local- and state-level nursing boards is fundamental to nurses beginning board service. PMID:25771188

Enabling nurses to lead change: the orientation experiences of nurses to boards.

PubMed

Walton, AnnMarie; Lake, Donna; Mullinix, Connie; Allen, Deborah; Mooney, Kathi

2015-01-01

Nurses need to be full partners in shaping health care and health care policy. One way to do this is to be present and active on boards at all levels. The purpose of this study is to examine the orientation experiences of nurses to boards and their preparation to influence health care and health care policy. A Web-based survey about the efficacy of board orientation was sent to members of three local boards made up exclusively of nurses. Liabilities and fiduciary duties were least likely to be addressed in board orientation for nurses. Board members requested more training in finance and a more formal/structured orientation process. Standardizing orientation elements for nurses serving on boards would best prepare them to serve on interprofessional hospital boards and work in the health policy arena. The orientation experience on local- and state-level nursing boards is fundamental to nurses beginning board service. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How Reliable Is Laboratory Testing?

MedlinePlus

... laboratory testing. (See Who's Who in the Lab .) Post-Analytic Activities After the test is completed, the result must be delivered in ... View Sources NOTE: This article is based on research that ... of the Lab Tests Online Editorial Review Board . This article is periodically ...

We-Measure: Toward a low-cost portable posturography for patients with multiple sclerosis using the commercial Wii balance board.

PubMed

Castelli, Letizia; Stocchi, Luca; Patrignani, Maurizio; Sellitto, Giovanni; Giuliani, Manuela; Prosperini, Luca

2015-12-15

This study was aimed at investigating whether postural sway measures derived from a standard force platform were similar to those generated by a custom-written software ("We-Measure") acquiring and processing data from a commercial Nintendo balance board (BB). For this purpose, 90 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 50 healthy controls (HC) were tested in a single-day session with a reference standard force platform and a BB-based system. Despite its acceptable between-device agreement (tested by visual evaluation of Bland-Altman plot), the low-cost BB-based system tended to overestimate postural sway when compared to the reference standard force platform in both MS and HC groups (on average +30% and +54%, respectively). Between-device reliability was just adequate (MS: 66%, HC: 47%), while test-retest reliability was excellent (MS: 84%, HC: 88%). Concurrent validity evaluation showed similar performance between the reference standard force platform and the BB-based system in discriminating fallers and non-fallers among patients with MS. All these findings may encourage the use of this balance board-based new device in longitudinal study, rather than in cross-sectional design, thus providing a potential useful tool for multicenter settings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Validity and reliability of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board to assess standing balance and sensory integration in highly functional older adults.

PubMed

Scaglioni-Solano, Pietro; Aragón-Vargas, Luis F

2014-06-01

Standing balance is an important motor task. Postural instability associated with age typically arises from deterioration of peripheral sensory systems. The modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration for Balance and the Tandem test have been used to screen for balance. Timed tests present some limitations, whereas quantification of the motions of the center of pressure (CoP) with portable and inexpensive equipment may help to improve the sensitivity of these tests and give the possibility of widespread use. This study determines the validity and reliability of the Wii Balance Board (Wii BB) to quantify CoP motions during the mentioned tests. Thirty-seven older adults completed three repetitions of five balance conditions: eyes open, eyes closed, eyes open on a compliant surface, eyes closed on a compliant surface, and tandem stance, all performed on a force plate and a Wii BB simultaneously. Twenty participants repeated the trials for reliability purposes. CoP displacement was the main outcome measure. Regression analysis indicated that the Wii BB has excellent concurrent validity, and Bland-Altman plots showed good agreement between devices with small mean differences and no relationship between the difference and the mean. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) indicated modest-to-excellent test-retest reliability (ICC=0.64-0.85). Standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change were similar for both devices, except the 'eyes closed' condition, with greater standard error of measurement for the Wii BB. In conclusion, the Wii BB is shown to be a valid and reliable method to quantify CoP displacement in older adults.

Working with Consortia - Advanced Packaging Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blanche, Jim; Strickland, Mark

2010-01-01

Description: Support the responsible NASA official for lead-free solder evaluation. Serve as the NASA technical liaison to the NASA/DoD Pb-free Project. Assure NASA areas of interest are included in JG-PP follow-on work. Support NASA/DoD telcons and face-to-face meetings. Update MSFC lead-free solder lessons learned report. FY10 plans: - Reliability data on lead-free solder applications for various part lead finishes and board finishes. - Update lead-free solder risks and risk mitigation strategies for NASA. - Evaluate lead-free alloy/lead-free finish reliability in design application. - Status CAVE project on Pb-free solder aging effects. - Compile the LTESE flight and bench data.

Chip-on-Board Technology 1996 Year-end Report (Design, Manufacturing, and Reliability Study)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Binh Q.; Nhan, Elbert; Maurer, Richard H.; Lew, Ark L.; Lander, Juan R.

1996-01-01

The major impetus for flight qualifying Chip-On-Board (COB) packaging technology is the shift in emphasis for space missions to smaller, better, and cheaper spacecraft and satellites resulting from the NASA New Millenium initiative and similar requirements in DoD-sponsored programs. The most important benefit that can potentially be derived from miniaturizing spacecraft and satellites is the significant cost saving realizable if a smaller launch vehicle may be employed. Besides the program cost saving, there are several other advantages to building COB-based space hardware. First, once a well-controlled process is established, COB can be low cost compared to standard Multi-Chip Module (MCM) technology. This cost competitiveness is regarded as a result of the generally greater availability and lower cost of Known Good Die (KGD). Coupled with the elimination of the first level of packaging (chip package), compact, high-density circuit boards can be realized with Printed Wiring Boards (PWB) that can now be made with ever-decreasing feature size in line width and via hole. Since the COB packaging technique in this study is based mainly on populating bare dice on a suitable multi-layer laminate substrate which is not hermetically sealed, die coating for protection from the environment is required. In recent years, significant improvements have been made in die coating materials which further enhance the appeal of COB. Hysol epoxies, silicone, parylene and silicon nitride are desirable because of their compatible Thermal Coefficient of Expansion (TCE) and good moisture resistant capability. These die coating materials have all been used in the space and other industries with varying degrees of success. COB technology, specifically siliconnitride coated hardware, has been flown by Lockheed on the Polar satellite. In addition, DARPA has invested a substantial amount of resources on MCM and COB-related activities recently. With COB on the verge of becoming a dominant player in DoD programs, DARPA is increasing its support of the availability of KGDs which will help decrease their cost. Aside from the various major developments and trends in the space and defense industries that are favorable to the acceptance and widespread use of'COB packaging technology, implementing COB can be appealing in other aspects. Since the interconnection interface is usually the weak link in a system, the overall circuit or system reliability may actually be improved because of the elimination of a level of interconnect/packaging at the chip. With COB, mixing packaging technologies is possible. Because some devices are only available in commercial plastic packages, populating a multi-layer laminate substrate with both bare dice and plastic-package parts is inevitable. Another attractive feature of COB is that re-workability is possible if die coating is applied only on the die top. This method allows local replacement of individual dice that were found to be defective instead of replacing an entire board. In terms of thermal management, unpackaged devices offer a shorter thermal resistance path than their packaged counterparts thereby improving thermal sinking and heat removal from the parts.

Space flight printed wiring board measling investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Walter B., III

1994-01-01

A flight printed wiring board (PWB) for a satellite project was observed to have a high incidence of measling. Other PWB's produced for the program by the same manufacturer did not exhibit the degree of measling as did the 'measle-prone' board. Measling susceptibility during hand soldering and measling effects on PWB insulation resistance were investigated for three production PWB's. Measling resistance was significantly different between the three boards: the 'worst' exhibited five times the number of measles as the 'best' board. 'Severe' measling (that which is likely to affect board reliability) did not exist on the 'best' board, even under extreme soldering conditions (399 degrees C for 12-15 sec.), whereas the 'worst' board showed an average of one 'severe' measle for every two pads under more normal soldering conditions (288-343 degrees C for 2-5 sec.). Both soldering time and temperature affected measling, with time having a slightly greater influence (2 percent versus 12 percent). Measling effects on PWB insulation resistance were inconclusive. These were evaluated by in situ resistance measurements on the same three boards at elevated temperature and humidity. The measured resistance for all three boards decreased for exposures greater than 50 degrees C and 50 percent relative humidity. The 'measle-prone' board showed a resistance decrease at only 25 degrees C and 50 percent relative humidity. However, no definitive difference was detected between measled and not-measled (control) samples. The boards evaluated were production boards, so the effect of interlayer traces connecting the plated-through holes was not controlled. It is likely the resistance measurements were over different volumes of PWB laminate, which would account for the widely varying resistances measured. Thermomechanical measurements on board laminate materials did not reveal any differences attributed to measling. Differences in glass transition temperature were significantly different when measured by DTA, but not by SDT. Laminate thermal expansion differences were significant for the 35 degrees C evaluations, but not for any higher temperatures.

Interchangeability of the Wii Balance Board for Bipedal Balance Assessment.

PubMed

Bonnechère, Bruno; Jansen, Bart; Omelina, Lubos; Rooze, Marcel; Van Sint Jan, Serge

2015-08-27

Since 2010, an increasing interest in more portable and flexible hardware for balance and posture assessment led to previously published studies determining whether or not the Wii Balance Board could be used to assess balance and posture, both scientifically and clinically. However, no previous studies aimed at comparing results from different Wii Balance Boards for clinical balance evaluation exist. The objective of this crossover study is to assess the interchangeability of the Wii Balance Board. A total of 6 subjects participated in the study and their balance was assessed using 4 different Wii Balance Boards. Trials were recorded simultaneously with Wii Balance Boards and with a laboratory force plate. Nine relevant clinical parameters were derived from center of pressure displacement data obtained from Wii Balance Board and force plate systems. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), F tests, and Friedman tests were computed to assess the agreement between trials and to compare the Wii Balance Board and force plate results. Excellent correlations were found between the Wii Balance Board and force plate (mean ρ =.83). With the exception of 2 parameters, strong to excellent agreements were found for the 7 remaining parameters (ICC=.96). No significant differences were found between trials recorded with different Wii Balance Boards. Our results indicate that for most of the parameters analyzed, balance and posture assessed with one Wii Balance Board were statistically similar to results obtained from another. Furthermore, the good correlation between the Wii Balance Board and force plate results shows that Wii Balance Boards can be reliably used for scientific assessment using most of the parameters analyzed in this study. These results also suggest that the Wii Balance Board could be used in multicenter studies and therefore, would allow for the creation of larger populations for clinical studies. Ethical Committee of the Erasme Hospital (CCB B406201215142). ©Bruno Bonnechère, Bart Jansen, Lubos Omelina, Marcel Rooze, Serge Van Sint Jan. Originally published in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology (http://rehab.jmir.org), 27.08.2015.

Interchangeability of the Wii Balance Board for Bipedal Balance Assessment

PubMed Central

Jansen, Bart; Omelina, Lubos; Rooze, Marcel; Van Sint Jan, Serge

2015-01-01

Background Since 2010, an increasing interest in more portable and flexible hardware for balance and posture assessment led to previously published studies determining whether or not the Wii Balance Board could be used to assess balance and posture, both scientifically and clinically. However, no previous studies aimed at comparing results from different Wii Balance Boards for clinical balance evaluation exist. Objective The objective of this crossover study is to assess the interchangeability of the Wii Balance Board. Methods A total of 6 subjects participated in the study and their balance was assessed using 4 different Wii Balance Boards. Trials were recorded simultaneously with Wii Balance Boards and with a laboratory force plate. Nine relevant clinical parameters were derived from center of pressure displacement data obtained from Wii Balance Board and force plate systems. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), F tests, and Friedman tests were computed to assess the agreement between trials and to compare the Wii Balance Board and force plate results. Results Excellent correlations were found between the Wii Balance Board and force plate (mean ρ =.83). With the exception of 2 parameters, strong to excellent agreements were found for the 7 remaining parameters (ICC=.96). No significant differences were found between trials recorded with different Wii Balance Boards. Conclusions Our results indicate that for most of the parameters analyzed, balance and posture assessed with one Wii Balance Board were statistically similar to results obtained from another. Furthermore, the good correlation between the Wii Balance Board and force plate results shows that Wii Balance Boards can be reliably used for scientific assessment using most of the parameters analyzed in this study. These results also suggest that the Wii Balance Board could be used in multicenter studies and therefore, would allow for the creation of larger populations for clinical studies. Trial Registration Ethical Committee of the Erasme Hospital (CCB B406201215142). PMID:28582237

Space flight printed wiring board measling investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Walter B., III

1994-05-01

A flight printed wiring board (PWB) for a satellite project was observed to have a high incidence of measling. Other PWB's produced for the program by the same manufacturer did not exhibit the degree of measling as did the 'measle-prone' board. Measling susceptibility during hand soldering and measling effects on PWB insulation resistance were investigated for three production PWB's. Measling resistance was significantly different between the three boards: the 'worst' exhibited five times the number of measles as the 'best' board. 'Severe' measling (that which is likely to affect board reliability) did not exist on the 'best' board, even under extreme soldering conditions (399 degrees C for 12-15 sec.), whereas the 'worst' board showed an average of one 'severe' measle for every two pads under more normal soldering conditions (288-343 degrees C for 2-5 sec.). Both soldering time and temperature affected measling, with time having a slightly greater influence (2 percent versus 12 percent). Measling effects on PWB insulation resistance were inconclusive. These were evaluated by in situ resistance measurements on the same three boards at elevated temperature and humidity. The measured resistance for all three boards decreased for exposures greater than 50 degrees C and 50 percent relative humidity. The 'measle-prone' board showed a resistance decrease at only 25 degrees C and 50 percent relative humidity. However, no definitive difference was detected between measled and not-measled (control) samples. The boards evaluated were production boards, so the effect of interlayer traces connecting the plated-through holes was not controlled. It is likely the resistance measurements were over different volumes of PWB laminate, which would account for the widely varying resistances measured. Thermomechanical measurements on board laminate materials did not reveal any differences attributed to measling. Differences in glass transition temperature were significantly different when measured by DTA, but not by SDT. Laminate thermal expansion differences were significant for the 35 degrees C evaluations, but not for any higher temperatures.

Development and early application of the Scottish Community Nursing Workload Measurement Tool.

PubMed

Grafen, May; Mackenzie, Fiona C

2015-02-01

This article describes the development and early application of the Scottish Community Nursing Workload Measurement Tool, part of a suite of tools aiming to ensure a consistent approach to measuring nursing workload across NHS Scotland. The tool, which enables community nurses to record and report their actual workload by collecting information on six categories of activity, is now being used by all NHS boards as part of a triangulated approach. Data being generated by the tool at national level include indications that approximately 50% of band 6 district nurses' time is spent in face-to-face and non-face-to-face contact and planned sessions with patients, and that over 60% of face-to-face contacts are at 'moderate' and 'complex' levels of intervention (2012 data). These data are providing hard evidence of key elements of community nursing activity and practice that will enable informed decisions about workforce planning to be taken forward locally and nationally. The article features an account of the early impact of the tool's implementation in an NHS board by an associate director of nursing. Positive effects from implementation include the generation of reliable data to inform planning decisions, identification of issues around nursing time spent on administrative tasks, clarification of school nursing roles, and information being fed back to teams on various aspects of performance.

Satellite Imagery Assisted Road-Based Visual Navigation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volkova, A.; Gibbens, P. W.

2016-06-01

There is a growing demand for unmanned aerial systems as autonomous surveillance, exploration and remote sensing solutions. Among the key concerns for robust operation of these systems is the need to reliably navigate the environment without reliance on global navigation satellite system (GNSS). This is of particular concern in Defence circles, but is also a major safety issue for commercial operations. In these circumstances, the aircraft needs to navigate relying only on information from on-board passive sensors such as digital cameras. An autonomous feature-based visual system presented in this work offers a novel integral approach to the modelling and registration of visual features that responds to the specific needs of the navigation system. It detects visual features from Google Earth* build a feature database. The same algorithm then detects features in an on-board cameras video stream. On one level this serves to localise the vehicle relative to the environment using Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM). On a second level it correlates them with the database to localise the vehicle with respect to the inertial frame. The performance of the presented visual navigation system was compared using the satellite imagery from different years. Based on comparison results, an analysis of the effects of seasonal, structural and qualitative changes of the imagery source on the performance of the navigation algorithm is presented. * The algorithm is independent of the source of satellite imagery and another provider can be used

NASA human factors programmatic overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connors, Mary M.

1992-01-01

Human factors addresses humans in their active and interactive capacities, i.e., in the mental and physical activities that they perform and in the contributions they make to achieving the goals of the mission. The overall goal of space human factors in NASA is to support the safety, productivity, and reliability of both the on-board crew and the ground support staff. Safety and reliability are fundamental requirements that human factors shares with other disciplines, while productivity represents the defining contribution of the human factors discipline.

Preventative Maintenance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Migliorino, James

Boards of education must be convinced that spending money up front for preventive maintenance will, in the long run, save districts' tax dollars. A good program of preventive maintenance can minimize disruption of service; reduce repair costs, energy consumption, and overtime; improve labor productivity and system equipment reliability; handle…

76 FR 4912 - Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-27

... reliable evaluation design to produce accurate evidence of the effect of HPOG on individuals and health job training programs systems. The goals of the HPOG evaluation are to establish a performance management... grantee organizations (higher education Institutions, workforce investment boards, private training...

Life Cycle Analysis of a SpaceCube Printed Circuit Board Assembly Using Physics of Failure Methodologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sood, Bhanu; Evans, John; Daniluk, Kelly; Sturgis, Jason; Davis, Milton; Petrick, David

2017-01-01

In this reliability life cycle evaluation of the SpaceCube 2.0 processor card, a partially populated version of the card is being evaluated to determine its durability with respect to typical GSFC mission loads.

Integrated navigation, flight guidance, and synthetic vision system for low-level flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehler, Felix E.

2000-06-01

Future military transport aircraft will require a new approach with respect to the avionics suite to fulfill an ever-changing variety of missions. The most demanding phases of these mission are typically the low level flight segments, including tactical terrain following/avoidance,payload drop and/or board autonomous landing at forward operating strips without ground-based infrastructure. As a consequence, individual components and systems must become more integrated to offer a higher degree of reliability, integrity, flexibility and autonomy over existing systems while reducing crew workload. The integration of digital terrain data not only introduces synthetic vision into the cockpit, but also enhances navigation and guidance capabilities. At DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG Military Aircraft Division (Dasa-M), an integrated navigation, flight guidance and synthetic vision system, based on digital terrain data, has been developed to fulfill the requirements of the Future Transport Aircraft (FTA). The fusion of three independent navigation sensors provides a more reliable and precise solution to both the 4D-flight guidance and the display components, which is comprised of a Head-up and a Head-down Display with synthetic vision. This paper will present the system, its integration into the DLR's VFW 614 Advanced Technology Testing Aircraft System (ATTAS) and the results of the flight-test campaign.

Validity and reliability of Nintendo Wii Fit balance scores.

PubMed

Wikstrom, Erik A

2012-01-01

Interactive gaming systems have the potential to help rehabilitate patients with musculoskeletal conditions. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board, which is part of the Wii Fit game, could be an effective tool to monitor progress during rehabilitation because the board and game can provide objective measures of balance. However, the validity and reliability of Wii Fit balance scores remain unknown. To determine the concurrent validity of balance scores produced by the Wii Fit game and the intrasession and intersession reliability of Wii Fit balance scores. Descriptive laboratory study. Sports medicine research laboratory. Forty-five recreationally active participants (age = 27.0 ± 9.8 years, height = 170.9 ± 9.2 cm, mass = 72.4 ± 11.8 kg) with a heterogeneous history of lower extremity injury. Participants completed a single-limb-stance task on a force plate and the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) during the first test session. Twelve Wii Fit balance activities were completed during 2 test sessions separated by 1 week. Postural sway in the anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions and the AP, ML, and resultant center-of-pressure (COP) excursions were calculated from the single-limb stance. The normalized reach distance was recorded for the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions of the SEBT. Wii Fit balance scores that the game software generated also were recorded. All 96 of the calculated correlation coefficients among Wii Fit activity outcomes and established balance outcomes were interpreted as poor (r < 0.50). Intrasession reliability for Wii Fit balance activity scores ranged from good (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.80) to poor (ICC = 0.39), with 8 activities having poor intrasession reliability. Similarly, 11 of the 12 Wii Fit balance activity scores demonstrated poor intersession reliability, with scores ranging from fair (ICC = 0.74) to poor (ICC = 0.29). Wii Fit balance activity scores had poor concurrent validity relative to COP outcomes and SEBT reach distances. In addition, the included Wii Fit balance activity scores generally had poor intrasession and intersession reliability.

The Orthopaedic Training Study. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, George E.; And Others

A four year study was initiated to systematically improve the certification procedures of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. Consequently, the immediate research aim was the development of more valid and reliable techniques in assessing professional competence in orthopedics. A definition of professional competence was reached through…

System control of an autonomous planetary mobile spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dias, William C.; Zimmerman, Barbara A.

1990-01-01

The goal is to suggest the scheduling and control functions necessary for accomplishing mission objectives of a fairly autonomous interplanetary mobile spacecraft, while maximizing reliability. Goals are to provide an extensible, reliable system conservative in its use of on-board resources, while getting full value from subsystem autonomy, and avoiding the lure of ground micromanagement. A functional layout consisting of four basic elements is proposed: GROUND and SYSTEM EXECUTIVE system functions and RESOURCE CONTROL and ACTIVITY MANAGER subsystem functions. The system executive includes six subfunctions: SYSTEM MANAGER, SYSTEM FAULT PROTECTION, PLANNER, SCHEDULE ADAPTER, EVENT MONITOR and RESOURCE MONITOR. The full configuration is needed for autonomous operation on Moon or Mars, whereas a reduced version without the planning, schedule adaption and event monitoring functions could be appropriate for lower-autonomy use on the Moon. An implementation concept is suggested which is conservative in use of system resources and consists of modules combined with a network communications fabric. A language concept termed a scheduling calculus for rapidly performing essential on-board schedule adaption functions is introduced.

Experimental industrial signal acquisition board in a large scientific device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Xiangzhen; Ren, Bin

2018-02-01

In order to measure the industrial signal of neutrino experiment, a set of general-purpose industrial data acquisition board has been designed. It includes the function of switch signal input and output, and the function of analog signal input. The main components are signal isolation amplifier and filter circuit, ADC circuit, microcomputer systems and isolated communication interface circuit. Through the practical experiments, it shows that the system is flexible, reliable, convenient and economical, and the system has characters of high definition and strong anti-interference ability. Thus, the system fully meets the design requirements.

Bayesian Software Health Management for Aircraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schumann, Johann; Mbaya, Timmy; Menghoel, Ole

2011-01-01

Modern aircraft, both piloted fly-by-wire commercial aircraft as well as UAVs, more and more depend on highly complex safety critical software systems with many sensors and computer-controlled actuators. Despite careful design and V&V of the software, severe incidents have happened due to malfunctioning software. In this paper, we discuss the use of Bayesian networks (BNs) to monitor the health of the on-board software and sensor system, and to perform advanced on-board diagnostic reasoning. We will focus on the approach to develop reliable and robust health models for the combined software and sensor systems.

Development strategies for the satellite flight software on-board Meteosat Third Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tipaldi, Massimo; Legendre, Cedric; Koopmann, Olliver; Ferraguto, Massimo; Wenker, Ralf; D'Angelo, Gianni

2018-04-01

Nowadays, satellites are becoming increasingly software dependent. Satellite Flight Software (FSW), that is to say, the application software running on the satellite main On-Board Computer (OBC), plays a relevant role in implementing complex space mission requirements. In this paper, we examine relevant technical approaches and programmatic strategies adopted for the development of the Meteosat Third Generation Satellite (MTG) FSW. To begin with, we present its layered model-based architecture, and the means for ensuring a robust and reliable interaction among the FSW components. Then, we focus on the selection of an effective software development life cycle model. In particular, by combining plan-driven and agile approaches, we can fulfill the need of having preliminary SW versions. They can be used for the elicitation of complex system-level requirements as well as for the initial satellite integration and testing activities. Another important aspect can be identified in the testing activities. Indeed, very demanding quality requirements have to be fulfilled in satellite SW applications. This manuscript proposes a test automation framework, which uses an XML-based test procedure language independent of the underlying test environment. Finally, a short overview of the MTG FSW sizing and timing budgets concludes the paper.

School Board Governance: The Times They Are A-Changin'

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Paul A.

2012-01-01

Do school boards have a role in student achievement? Recent research suggests that they do. This case study identifies 12 board of education governance practices associated with higher levels of student achievement. The relationship between these board governance practices and the role of the board in district leadership is examined in the context…

A high reliability module with thermoelectric device by molding technology for M2M wireless sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakagawa, K.; Tanaka, T.; Suzuki, T.

2015-10-01

This paper presents the fabrication of a new energy harvesting module that uses a thermoelectric device (TED) by using molding technology. Through molding technology, the TED and circuit board can be properly protected and a heat-radiating fin structure can be simultaneously constructed. The output voltage per heater temperature of the TED module at 20 °C ambient temperature is 8 mV K-1, similar to the result with the aluminum heat sink which is almost the same fin size as the TED module. The accelerated environmental tests are performed on a damp heat test, which is an aging test under high temperature and high humidity, highly accelerated temperature, and humidity stress test (HAST) for the purpose of evaluating the electrical reliability in harsh environments, cold test and thermal cycle test to evaluate degrading characteristics by cycling through two temperatures. All test results indicate that the TED and circuit board can be properly protected from harsh temperature and humidity by using molding technology because the output voltage of after-tested modules is reduced by less than 5%. This study presents a novel fabrication method for a high reliability TED-installed module appropriate for Machine to Machine wireless sensor networks.

TEST-retest reliability of kinetic variables measured on campus board in sport climbers.

PubMed

Abreu, Edgardo Alvares de Campos; Araújo, Sílvia Ribeiro Santos; Cançado, Gustavo Henrique da Cunha Peixoto; Andrade, André Gustavo Pereira de; Chagas, Mauro Heleno; Menzel, Hans-Joachim Karl

2018-05-16

Sport climbers frequently use campus board (CB) to improve their upper limb strength under similar conditions of high-difficulty sport climbing routes. The objective of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability of peak force and impulse measured using a CB instrumented with two load cells on starting holds. The same evaluator examined 22 climbers on two days with 48 h between the assessments. The participants performed five concentric lunges (CL) and five lunges with stretch-shortening cycle with 1 min intervals between repetitions and 10 min between exercises. All variables were associated with significant intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values (p = 0.001), and none variable showed systematic errors (p > 0.05). Peak force ICC was higher than 0.88, and the standard error of measurement (SEM%) was less than 5%. Impulse ICC for the CL was greater than 0.90, and the SEM% was less than 14%. We conclude that the kinetic variables measured using the CB were reliable. The ability of the hands to maintain contact with the holds (peak force) and the abilities of the arms and shoulders vertically move the centre of mass (impulse) should be taken into account by coaches on CB training prescription as well for further research.

Effect of Board Thickness on Sn-Ag-Cu Joint Interconnect Mechanical Shock Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Tae-Kyu; Xie, Weidong

2014-12-01

The mechanical stability of solder joints with Sn-Ag-Cu alloy joints on various board thicknesses was investigated with a high G level shock environment. A test vehicle with three different board thicknesses was used for board drop shock performance tests. These vehicles have three different strain and shock level condition couples per board, and are used to identify the joint stability and failure modes based on the board responses. The results revealed that joint stability is sensitive to board thickness. The board drop shock test showed that the first failure location shifts from the corner location near the standoff to the center with increased board thickness due to the shock wave response. From analysis of the thickness variation and failure cycle number, the strain rate during the pulse strain cycle is the dominant factor, which defines the life cycle number per board thickness, and not the maximum strain value. The failure location shift and the shock performance differentiation are discussed from the perspective of maximum principal strain, cycle frequency and strain rate per cycle.

Reliability of high I/O high density CCGA interconnect electronic packages under extreme thermal environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2012-03-01

Ceramic column grid array (CCGA) packages have been increasing in use based on their advantages such as high interconnect density, very good thermal and electrical performances, compatibility with standard surfacemount packaging assembly processes, and so on. CCGA packages are used in space applications such as in logic and microprocessor functions, telecommunications, payload electronics, and flight avionics. As these packages tend to have less solder joint strain relief than leaded packages or more strain relief over lead-less chip carrier packages, the reliability of CCGA packages is very important for short-term and long-term deep space missions. We have employed high density CCGA 1152 and 1272 daisy chained electronic packages in this preliminary reliability study. Each package is divided into several daisy-chained sections. The physical dimensions of CCGA1152 package is 35 mm x 35 mm with a 34 x 34 array of columns with a 1 mm pitch. The dimension of the CCGA1272 package is 37.5 mm x 37.5 mm with a 36 x 36 array with a 1 mm pitch. The columns are made up of 80% Pb/20%Sn material. CCGA interconnect electronic package printed wiring polyimide boards have been assembled and inspected using non-destructive x-ray imaging techniques. The assembled CCGA boards were subjected to extreme temperature thermal atmospheric cycling to assess their reliability for future deep space missions. The resistance of daisy-chained interconnect sections were monitored continuously during thermal cycling. This paper provides the experimental test results of advanced CCGA packages tested in extreme temperature thermal environments. Standard optical inspection and x-ray non-destructive inspection tools were used to assess the reliability of high density CCGA packages for deep space extreme temperature missions.

Reliability and validity of the Wii Balance Board for assessment of standing balance: A systematic review.

PubMed

Clark, Ross A; Mentiplay, Benjamin F; Pua, Yong-Hao; Bower, Kelly J

2018-03-01

The use of force platform technologies to assess standing balance is common across a range of clinical areas. Numerous researchers have evaluated the low-cost Wii Balance Board (WBB) for its utility in assessing balance, with variable findings. This review aimed to systematically evaluate the reliability and concurrent validity of the WBB for assessment of static standing balance. Articles were retrieved from six databases (Medline, SCOPUS, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Inspec) from 2007 to 2017. After independent screening by two reviewers, 25 articles were included. Two reviewers performed the data extraction and quality assessment. Test-retest reliability was investigated in 12 studies, with intraclass correlation coefficients or Pearson's correlation values showing a range from poor to excellent reliability (range: 0.27 to 0.99). Concurrent validity (i.e. comparison with another force platform) was examined in 21 studies, and was generally found to be excellent in studies examining the association between the same outcome measures collected on both devices. For studies reporting predominantly poor to moderate validity, potentially influential factors included the choice of 1) criterion reference (e.g. not a common force platform), 2) test duration (e.g. <30 s for double leg), 3) outcome measure (e.g. comparing a centre of pressure variable from the WBB with a summary score from the force platform), 4) data acquisition platform (studies using Apple iOS reported predominantly moderate validity), and 5) low sample size. In conclusion, evidence suggests that the WBB can be used as a reliable and valid tool for assessing standing balance. Protocol registration number: PROSPERO 2017: CRD42017058122. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring standing balance in multiple sclerosis: Further progress towards an automatic and reliable method in clinical practice.

PubMed

Keune, Philipp M; Young, William R; Paraskevopoulos, Ioannis T; Hansen, Sascha; Muenssinger, Jana; Oschmann, Patrick; Müller, Roy

2017-08-15

Balance deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS) are often monitored by means of observer-rated tests. These may provide reliable data, but may also be time-consuming, subject to inter-rater variability, and potentially insensitive to mild fluctuations throughout the clinical course. On the other hand, laboratory assessments are often not available. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) may represent a low-cost solution. The purpose of the current study was to examine the methodological quality of WBB data in MS (internal consistency, test-retest reliability), convergent validity with observer-rated tests (Berg Balance Scale, BBS; Timed-Up and Go Test, TUG), and discriminative validity concerning clinical status (Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS). Standing balance was assessed with the WBB for 4min in 63 MS patients at two assessment points, four months apart. Additionally, patients were examined with the BBS, TUG and the EDSS. A period of 4min on the WBB provided data characterized by excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Significant correlations between WBB data and results of the BBS and TUG were obtained after merely 2min on the board. An EDSS median-split revealed that higher EDSS values (>3) were associated with significantly increased postural sway on the WBB. WBB measures reflecting postural sway are methodologically robust in MS, involving excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. They are also characterized by convergent validity with other considerably lengthier observer-rated balance measures (BBS) and sensitive to broader clinical characteristics (EDSS). The WBB may hence represent an effective, easy-to-use monitoring tool for MS patients in clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reliability analysis of visual ranking of coronary artery calcification on low-dose CT of the thorax for lung cancer screening: comparison with ECG-gated calcium scoring CT.

PubMed

Kim, Yoon Kyung; Sung, Yon Mi; Cho, So Hyun; Park, Young Nam; Choi, Hye-Young

2014-12-01

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is frequently detected on low-dose CT (LDCT) of the thorax. Concurrent assessment of CAC and lung cancer screening using LDCT is beneficial in terms of cost and radiation dose reduction. The aim of our study was to evaluate the reliability of visual ranking of positive CAC on LDCT compared to Agatston score (AS) on electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated calcium scoring CT. We studied 576 patients who were consecutively registered for health screening and undergoing both LDCT and ECG-gated calcium scoring CT. We excluded subjects with an AS of zero. The final study cohort included 117 patients with CAC (97 men; mean age, 53.4 ± 8.5). AS was used as the gold standard (mean score 166.0; range 0.4-3,719.3). Two board-certified radiologists and two radiology residents participated in an observer performance study. Visual ranking of CAC was performed according to four categories (1-10, 11-100, 101-400, and 401 or higher) for coronary artery disease risk stratification. Weighted kappa statistics were used to measure the degree of reliability on visual ranking of CAC on LDCT. The degree of reliability on visual ranking of CAC on LDCT compared to ECG-gated calcium scoring CT was excellent for board-certified radiologists and good for radiology residents. A high degree of association was observed with 71.6% of visual rankings in the same category as the Agatston category and 98.9% varying by no more than one category. Visual ranking of positive CAC on LDCT is reliable for predicting AS rank categorization.

Development of bus-stop time models in dense urban areas : a case study in Washington DC.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-08-01

Bus transit reliability depends on several factors including the route of travel, traffic conditions, time of day, and conditions at : the bus stops along the route. The number of passengers alighting or boarding, fare payment method, dwell time (DT)...

76 FR 57980 - Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-19

... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board AGENCY... the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Senior Executive Service (SES) Performance Review... summary rating of the senior executive's performance, the executive's response, and the higher level...

78 FR 55244 - Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board; Membership

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-10

... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board... the membership of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Senior Executive Service (SES... rating of a senior executive's performance, the executive's response, and the higher level official's...

IEEE 1393 Spaceborne Fiber Optic Data Bus: A Standard Approach to On-Board Payload Data Handling Networks for the AIAA Space Technology Conference and Exposition "Partnering in the 21th Century"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrucyk, Dennis J.; Orlando, Fred J.; Chalfant, Charles H.

1999-01-01

The Spaceborne Fiber Optic Data Bus (SFODB) is the next generation in on-board data handling networks. It will do for high speed payloads what SAE 1773 has done for on-board command and telemetry systems. That is, it will significantly reduce the cost of payload development, integration and test through interface standardization. As defined in IEEE 1393, SFODB is a 1 Gb/s, fiber optic network specifically designed to support the real-time, on-board data handling requirements of remote sensing spacecraft. The network is highly reliable, fault tolerant, and capable of withstanding the rigors of launch and the harsh space environment. SFODB achieves this operational and environmental performance while maintaining the small size, light weight, and low power necessary for spaceborne applications. SFODB was developed jointly by DoD and NASA GSFC to meet the on-board data handling needs of Remote Sensing satellites. This jointly funded project produced a complete set of flight transmitters, receivers and protocol ASICS; a complete Development & Evaluation System; and, the IEEE 1393 standard.

A reliability analysis tool for SpaceWire network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Qiang; Zhu, Longjiang; Fei, Haidong; Wang, Xingyou

2017-04-01

A SpaceWire is a standard for on-board satellite networks as the basis for future data-handling architectures. It is becoming more and more popular in space applications due to its technical advantages, including reliability, low power and fault protection, etc. High reliability is the vital issue for spacecraft. Therefore, it is very important to analyze and improve the reliability performance of the SpaceWire network. This paper deals with the problem of reliability modeling and analysis with SpaceWire network. According to the function division of distributed network, a reliability analysis method based on a task is proposed, the reliability analysis of every task can lead to the system reliability matrix, the reliability result of the network system can be deduced by integrating these entire reliability indexes in the matrix. With the method, we develop a reliability analysis tool for SpaceWire Network based on VC, where the computation schemes for reliability matrix and the multi-path-task reliability are also implemented. By using this tool, we analyze several cases on typical architectures. And the analytic results indicate that redundancy architecture has better reliability performance than basic one. In practical, the dual redundancy scheme has been adopted for some key unit, to improve the reliability index of the system or task. Finally, this reliability analysis tool will has a directive influence on both task division and topology selection in the phase of SpaceWire network system design.

Hospital board effectiveness: relationships between board training and hospital financial viability.

PubMed

Molinari, C; Morlock, L; Alexander, J; Lyles, C A

1992-01-01

This study examined whether hospital governing boards that invest in board education and training are more informed and effective decision-making bodies. Measures of hospital financial viability (i.e., selected financial ratios and outcomes) are used as indicators of hospital board effectiveness. Board participation in educational programs was significantly associated with improved profitability, liquidity, and occupancy levels, suggesting that investment in the education of directors is likely to enhance hospital viability and thus increase board effectiveness.

The impact of the board's strategy-setting role on board-management relations and hospital performance.

PubMed

Büchner, Vera Antonia; Schreyögg, Jonas; Schultz, Carsten

2014-01-01

The appropriate governance of hospitals largely depends on effective cooperation between governing boards and hospital management. Governing boards play an important role in strategy-setting as part of their support for hospital management. However, in certain situations, this active strategic role may also generate discord within this relationship. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the roles, attributes, and processes of governing boards on hospital performance. We examine the impact of the governing board's strategy-setting role on board-management collaboration quality and on financial performance while also analyzing the interaction effects of board diversity and board activity level. The data are derived from a survey that was sent simultaneously to German hospitals and their associated governing board, combined with objective performance information from annual financial statements and quality reports. We use a structural equation modeling approach to test the model. The results indicate that different board characteristics have a significant impact on hospital performance (R = .37). The strategy-setting role and board-management collaboration quality have a positive effect on hospital performance, whereas the impact of strategy-setting on collaboration quality is negative. We find that the positive effect of strategy-setting on performance increases with decreasing board diversity. When board members have more homogeneous backgrounds and exhibit higher board activity levels, the negative effect of the strategy-setting on collaboration quality also increases. Active strategy-setting by a governing board may generally improve hospital performance. Diverse members of governing boards should be involved in strategy-setting for hospitals. However, high board-management collaboration quality may be compromised if managerial autonomy is too highly restricted. Consequently, hospitals should support board-management collaboration about empowered contrasting board roles.

The 'F.E.E.L.' good factors in nursing leadership at board level through work-based learning.

PubMed

Jumaa, Mansour Olawale

2008-11-01

The aim of this commentary is to raise awareness about the apparent lack of formal activities and the paucity of published papers in nursing leadership development at the board level in the United Kingdom (UK). The paper suggests a way forward. The author has been serving at a board level, within and outside of nursing, locally, nationally and internationally since 1988. His current experience as an active board member and honorary treasurer of a leading charity organization in the Southeast of England and participation on a Board Leadership Development programme in the United States of America (USA) led to the need to write this commentary. Leadership at the board level is different because the board is the governing body of an organization. The board has overall responsibility for running the organization. The overall duty is to manage less and LEAD more. The need for this type of leadership is on the increase because these are turbulent days in the healthcare industry. This growing trend witnesses increasing and greater demand from key stakeholders for nursing and healthcare services: rising exposure to liability and litigation; a demand for stronger accountability and questioning of the nature and delivery of nursing and healthcare services. Effective and successful leadership judgment is made based on both numbers [efficient resources utilization (RU)] and stories [effective client/patient satisfaction (CS)]. Nurses and others in the healthcare industry need to guide against the leadership myths that: 'everyone can be a leader'; 'leaders deliver business (service) results'; 'people who get to the top are leaders'; and 'that leaders are great coaches'. This commentary demonstrates these myths could be converted to become realities through developing and possessing most if not all the knowledge, skills and attitudes implicated in the Effective Board Leadership Capabilities Development Profile presented in this paper. Possessing board level leadership capabilities is significant to nursing management and leadership from three key perspectives: the need for nurses to become 'recognized' leaders of the healthcare industry; possessing the knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant for effective board leadership; and the need to use the technology of the 21st century to aspire to an essentially intentionally global nursing community.

Understanding the roles of NHS trust board members.

PubMed

Deffenbaugh, J

1996-01-01

The establishment of NHS trust boards on a business format was a recent innovation resulting from the NHS reforms. In order to realize benefits for patients, it is essential that boards operate effectively. Explores within the framework of corporate governance, the practical implications of board member roles. Drawing on experience of strategy formulation at board level, analyses and clarifies the roles, and presents recommendations to increase board effectiveness.

Testing the associations between different aspects of seafarers' employment contract and on-board internet access and their job and life satisfaction and health.

PubMed

Slišković, Ana; Penezić, Zvjezdan

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to test for associations between different aspects of contract and on-board internet access and seafarers' satisfaction and health. Altogether 298 Croatian seafarers, all officers, employed on cargo ships, with a minimum work experience of two years with their current shipping company, participated in an online survey. The questionnaire included sociodemographic items, questions relating to their employment contract and internet access, and measures of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, mental health, and gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms. Their job- and lifesatisfaction levels were higher for shorter duration on board, favourable ratio of work to non-work days, and compliance with the employment contract regarding the changes to work and non-work days. Mental health differed likewise but only in relation to two aspects of the contract: on-board duration and compliance with the contract. The level of gastrointestinal symptoms was lower in cases of shorter on-board duration and compliance with the contract, and in seafarers who have free, unlimited internet access on board. Lower level of cardiovascular symptoms was found in seafarers with free, unlimited internet access on board. Our findings suggest that in promoting satisfaction and health in seafaring, attention should be given to reducing on-board duration, compliance with the contract, and internet accessibility on board.

78 FR 7771 - Notice of Commission Staff Attendance at MISO Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-04

... [cir] October 23 [cir] November 27 [cir] December 11 Board of Directors System Planning Committee [cir...-106, et al., Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc., et al. Order No. 890, Preventing... Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. Order Nos. 693 and 693-A, Mandatory Reliability Standards for...

Capacitance discharge system for ignition of Single Bridge Apollo Standard Initiators (SBASI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ward, R. D.

1974-01-01

The design support data developed during the single bridge Apollo standard initiator (SBASI) program are presented. A circuit was designed and bread-board tested to verify operational capabilities of the circuit. Test data, design criteria, weight, and reliability trade-off considerations, and final design recommendations are reported.

77 FR 62224 - Hanford Tank Farms Flammable Gas Safety Strategy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-12

... believes that actions are necessary to install real time monitoring to measure tank ventilation flowrates... monitoring. In its August letter, the Board noted that DOE's SAC for flammable gas monitoring exhibited a... flammable gas monitoring, it remained inadequate as a credited safety control. The SAC is less reliable than...

Assessing Student Learning: A Collection of Evaluation Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Gail M.; Johnson, Kathy E.; Vosmik, Jordan R.

2009-01-01

Whereas grading systems based on tacit knowledge may be the norm in practice, the recent trend toward educational accountability--from granting organizations, accreditation boards, journals on the teaching of psychology, and even tenure/promotion committees--suggests a real need for reliable, validated assessment measures that can be used to…

School Board Attorney: Friend in Need.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stover, Kermit M.

To keep abreast of newly enacted legislation and court opinions affecting school policies and regulation, school officials need prompt, competent, and reliable legal advice, and should be prepared to pay for it. By consulting a competent attorney, school officials can avoid unnecessary and costly delays resulting from litigation over procedural…

Test anxiety levels of board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India.

PubMed

Mary, Revina Ann; Marslin, Gregory; Franklin, Gregory; Sheeba, Caroline J

2014-01-01

The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau has positioned Tamil Nadu as the Indian state with highest suicide rate. At least in part, this is happening due to exam pressure among adolescents, emphasizing the imperative need to understand the pattern of anxiety and various factors contributing to it among students. The present study was conducted to analyze the level of state anxiety among board exam attending school students in Tamil Nadu, India. A group of 100 students containing 50 boys and 50 girls from 10th and 12th grades participated in the study and their state anxiety before board exams was measured by Westside Test Anxiety Scale. We found that all board exam going students had increased level of anxiety, which was particularly higher among boys and 12th standard board exam going students. Analysis of various demographic variables showed that students from nuclear families presented higher anxiety levels compared to their desired competitive group. Overall, our results showing the prevalence of state anxiety among board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India, support the recent attempt taken by Tamil Nadu government to improve student's academic performance in a healthier manner by appointing psychologists in all government schools.

Test Anxiety Levels of Board Exam Going Students in Tamil Nadu, India

PubMed Central

Ann Mary, Revina; Marslin, Gregory; Franklin, Gregory; Sheeba, Caroline J.

2014-01-01

The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau has positioned Tamil Nadu as the Indian state with highest suicide rate. At least in part, this is happening due to exam pressure among adolescents, emphasizing the imperative need to understand the pattern of anxiety and various factors contributing to it among students. The present study was conducted to analyze the level of state anxiety among board exam attending school students in Tamil Nadu, India. A group of 100 students containing 50 boys and 50 girls from 10th and 12th grades participated in the study and their state anxiety before board exams was measured by Westside Test Anxiety Scale. We found that all board exam going students had increased level of anxiety, which was particularly higher among boys and 12th standard board exam going students. Analysis of various demographic variables showed that students from nuclear families presented higher anxiety levels compared to their desired competitive group. Overall, our results showing the prevalence of state anxiety among board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India, support the recent attempt taken by Tamil Nadu government to improve student's academic performance in a healthier manner by appointing psychologists in all government schools. PMID:25143938

Design of the Readout Electronics for the BGO Calorimeter of DAMPE Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Changqing; Zhang, Deliang; Zhang, Junbin; Gao, Shanshan; Yang, Di; Zhang, Yunlong; Zhang, Zhiyong; Liu, Shubin; An, Qi

2015-12-01

The DAMPE (DArk Matter Particle Explorer) is a scientific satellite being developed in China, aimed at cosmic ray study, gamma ray astronomy, and searching for the clue of dark matter particles in the near future. The BGO (Bismuth Germanate Oxide) Calorimeter, which consists of 616 PMTs (photomultiplier tubes) and 1848 dynode signals, is a crucial part of the DAMPE payload for measuring the energy of cosmic ray particles, distinguishing interesting particles from background, and providing trigger information. An electronics system, which consists of 16 FEE (Front End Electronics) modules with a total power consumption of about 26 W, has been developed. Its main functions are based on the low power, 32-channel VA160 and VATA160 ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) for precisely measuring the charge of PMT signals and providing“hit”signals as well. To assure the long-term reliability in harsh space environment, a series of critical issues such as the radiation hardness, thermal design, components and board level quality control, etc., are taken into consideration. Test result showed that the system level ENC (equivalent noise charge) for each channel is about 10 fC in RMS (root mean square), and the timing uncertainty of the hit signals is about 300 ns, both of which satisfy the physics requirements of the detector. Experiments with 60Co radioactive source proved that 20 krad(Si) TID (Total Ionizing Dose) level is achieved, while the heavy ion beam and laser beam tests indicated that its SEL (Single Event Latch-up) and SEU (Single Event Upset) performance in orbit will be acceptable by taking some hardness measures. All the readout modules successfully passed the board-level screening, the sub-system level and finally the satellite system level environmental tests, and behave well in the beam test at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research).

Modular Integrated Stackable Layers (MISL) MI_MSP430A Board Design Document (BDD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yim, Hester

2013-01-01

This is a board-level design document for Modular Integrated Stackable Layers (MISL) MI_MSP430A board (PIN MSP430F5438A). The Board Design Document (BDD) contains the description, features of microcontroller, electrical and mechanical design, and drawings.

Civil commitment as a "street-level" bureaucracy: case-load, professionalization and administration.

PubMed

Wunsch, J S; Teply, L L; Zimmerman, J; Peters, G W

1981-01-01

This article applies street-level bureaucracy theories to "coping" patterns of behavior that developed in an involuntary commitment system. Daily procedures and routines of five Nebraska county boards of mental health and the attitudes of their members were studied. The results showed that the urban, high case-load, professionally-oriented board informally modified statutory procedures significantly to reduce face-to-face client contact, limit the scope of its decisions, and displace responsibility for the most ambiguous decisions to the treatment facility and board psychiatrist. Rural, low case-load, less professionally-specialized boards also modified the statutory procedures, but conducted the commitment process in a far more ambiguous, open-ended, and tense system with substantial face-to-face client contact. Both urban and rural boards had multifaceted role definitions; rural boards, however, had a more open-ended perception of their functions, and attempted more actively to modify antisocial behavior and redirect board subjects to sources of social counseling. Therefore, understanding street-level "coping" behavior in an actual commitment context is important to develop realistic changes in civil commitment systems and to preclude informal procedures that reduce a commitment system's effectiveness or undermine a proposed patient' s rights.

Advisory Boards: Academic Partnerships That Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silver, Gerald

An academic advisory board of volunteers drawn from college alumni and the general community can serve institutions of higher education at the college, school and even departmental level. Board members link the academic community to the external community by sharing expertise gained through practical experience. Such a board exists solely to give…

Another level of leadership: nurses on boards.

PubMed

Bleich, Michael R

2014-12-01

The movement to place nurses on boards of directors is growing, enriching boards with individuals possessing knowledge of clinical quality tied to care delivery models, human resource competencies and management, finance, and organizational change. Professional development educators are poised to advance a board's capacity to address complex health care problems.

Building a Board that Sticks Together

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, E. B.

2006-01-01

High-performing boards operating at a distinguishable level of excellence, all exhibit a culture of cohesiveness. And a compelling codicil is that these boards did not deliberately set out to become cohesive and perhaps do not even know they are cohesive. This article examines the value of cohesion to university governing boards, explicitly…

Laser Scanner For Automatic Inspection Of Printed Wiring Boards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geise, Philip; George, Eugene; Freese, Fritz; Brown, Robert; Ruwe, Victor

1980-11-01

An, Instrument is described which inspects unpopulated, populated (components onserted and leads clinched), and soldered printed wiring boards for correct hole location, component presence, correct lead clinch direction and solder bridges. The instrument consists of a low power heliumneon laser, an x-y moving iron galvanometer scanner and several folding mirros. A unique shadow signature is detected by silicon photodiodes located at the optium geometry to allow rapid and reliable detection of components with correctly clinched leads. A reflective glint screen is utilized to inspect for a solder bridges. The detected signal are processed and evaluated by a minocomputer which also controls the scan inspection rate of at least 25 components or 50 components holes per second. The return of investment on this instrument for high volume production of printed wirind boards is less than one yea and only slightly longer for medium run military application.

Instrumented Static and Dynamic Balance Assessment after Stroke Using Wii Balance Boards: Reliability and Association with Clinical Tests

PubMed Central

Bower, Kelly J.; McGinley, Jennifer L.; Miller, Kimberly J.; Clark, Ross A.

2014-01-01

Background and Objectives The Wii Balance Board (WBB) is a globally accessible device that shows promise as a clinically useful balance assessment tool. Although the WBB has been found to be comparable to a laboratory-grade force platform for obtaining centre of pressure data, it has not been comprehensively studied in clinical populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the measurement properties of tests utilising the WBB in people after stroke. Methods Thirty individuals who were more than three months post-stroke and able to stand unsupported were recruited from a single outpatient rehabilitation facility. Participants performed standardised assessments incorporating the WBB and customised software (static stance with eyes open and closed, static weight-bearing asymmetry, dynamic mediolateral weight shifting and dynamic sit-to-stand) in addition to commonly employed clinical tests (10 Metre Walk Test, Timed Up and Go, Step Test and Functional Reach) on two testing occasions one week apart. Test-retest reliability and construct validity of the WBB tests were investigated. Results All WBB-based outcomes were found to be highly reliable between testing occasions (ICC  = 0.82 to 0.98). Correlations were poor to moderate between WBB variables and clinical tests, with the strongest associations observed between task-related activities, such as WBB mediolateral weight shifting and the Step Test. Conclusions The WBB, used with customised software, is a reliable and potentially useful tool for the assessment of balance and weight-bearing asymmetry following stroke. Future research is recommended to further investigate validity and responsiveness. PMID:25541939

Instrumented static and dynamic balance assessment after stroke using Wii Balance Boards: reliability and association with clinical tests.

PubMed

Bower, Kelly J; McGinley, Jennifer L; Miller, Kimberly J; Clark, Ross A

2014-01-01

The Wii Balance Board (WBB) is a globally accessible device that shows promise as a clinically useful balance assessment tool. Although the WBB has been found to be comparable to a laboratory-grade force platform for obtaining centre of pressure data, it has not been comprehensively studied in clinical populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the measurement properties of tests utilising the WBB in people after stroke. Thirty individuals who were more than three months post-stroke and able to stand unsupported were recruited from a single outpatient rehabilitation facility. Participants performed standardised assessments incorporating the WBB and customised software (static stance with eyes open and closed, static weight-bearing asymmetry, dynamic mediolateral weight shifting and dynamic sit-to-stand) in addition to commonly employed clinical tests (10 Metre Walk Test, Timed Up and Go, Step Test and Functional Reach) on two testing occasions one week apart. Test-retest reliability and construct validity of the WBB tests were investigated. All WBB-based outcomes were found to be highly reliable between testing occasions (ICC  = 0.82 to 0.98). Correlations were poor to moderate between WBB variables and clinical tests, with the strongest associations observed between task-related activities, such as WBB mediolateral weight shifting and the Step Test. The WBB, used with customised software, is a reliable and potentially useful tool for the assessment of balance and weight-bearing asymmetry following stroke. Future research is recommended to further investigate validity and responsiveness.

SU-F-T-493: An Investigation Into the Feasibility of Using PipsPro Software with Film for Linac QA

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

Underwood, R

2016-06-15

Purpose: To determine the feasibility of using radiochromic and radiographic film with Pipspro software for quality assurance of linear accelerators with no on-board imaging. Methods: The linear accelerator being used is a Varian Clinac 21EX. All IGRT is performed using the BrainLab ExacTrac system. Because of the lack of on board imaging, certain monthly and annual TG-142 quality assurance tests are more difficult to perform and analyze to a high degree of accuracy. Pipspro was not designed to be used with hard film, and to our knowledge its use with film had not been investigated. The film used will bemore » GafChromic EBT3 film and Kodak EDR2 film, scanned with an Epson V700 scanner. The following routine tests will be attempted: MLC picket fence, light vs. radiation field coincidence, starshots, and MLC transmission. Results: The only tests that gave accurate and reliable results were the couch, gantry, and collimator starshots. Typical MV and kV images are acquired with a much higher level of contrast between the irradiated and non-irradiated areas when compared to film. Pipspro relies on this level of contrast to be able to automatically detect the fiducial points from its phantom devices, leaf edges for picket fence and transmission tests, and jaw edges for light vs. radiation field tests. Because of this, certain tests gave erroneous results and others were not able to be performed in the software at all, with either type of film. The number of monitor units delivered to the film, the experimental setup, and the scan settings was not able to rectify the problem. Conclusion: For linear accelerators with no on-board imaging, it is not recommended to use hard film with PipsPro to perform TG-142 quality assurance tests. Other software or methods should instead be investigated.« less

Reliability and concurrent validity of the iPhone® Compass application to measure thoracic rotation range of motion (ROM) in healthy participants

PubMed Central

Schram, Ben; Cox, Alistair J.; Anderson, Sarah L.; Keogh, Justin

2018-01-01

Background Several water-based sports (swimming, surfing and stand up paddle boarding) require adequate thoracic mobility (specifically rotation) in order to perform the appropriate activity requirements. The measurement of thoracic spine rotation is problematic for clinicians due to a lack of convenient and reliable measurement techniques. More recently, smartphones have been used to quantify movement in various joints in the body; however, there appears to be a paucity of research using smartphones to assess thoracic spine movement. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the reliability (intra and inter rater) and validity of the iPhone® app (Compass) when assessing thoracic spine rotation ROM in healthy individuals. Methods A total of thirty participants were recruited for this study. Thoracic spine rotation ROM was measured using both the current clinical gold standard, a universal goniometer (UG) and the Smart Phone Compass app. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability was determined with a Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI). Validation of the Compass app in comparison to the UG was measured using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and levels of agreement were identified with Bland–Altman plots and 95% limits of agreement. Results Both the UG and Compass app measurements both had excellent reproducibility for intra-rater (ICC 0.94–0.98) and inter-rater reliability (ICC 0.72–0.89). However, the Compass app measurements had higher intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.96 − 0.98; 95% CI [0.93–0.99]; vs. ICC = 0.94 − 0.98; 95% CI [0.88–0.99]) and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.87 − 0.89; 95% CI [0.74–0.95] vs. ICC = 0.72 − 0.82; 95% CI [0.21–0.94]). A strong and significant correlation was found between the UG and the Compass app, demonstrating good concurrent validity (r = 0.835, p < 0.001). Levels of agreement between the two devices were 24.8° (LoA –9.5°, +15.3°). The UG was found to consistently measure higher values than the compass app (mean difference 2.8°, P < 0.001). Conclusion This study reveals that the iPhone® app (Compass) is a reliable tool for measuring thoracic spine rotation which produces greater reproducibility of measurements both within and between raters than a UG. As a significant positive correlation exists between the Compass app and UG, this supports the use of either device in clinical practice as a reliable and valid tool to measure thoracic rotation. Considering the levels of agreement are clinically unacceptable, the devices should not be used interchangeably for initial and follow up measurements. PMID:29568701

Reliability and concurrent validity of the iPhone® Compass application to measure thoracic rotation range of motion (ROM) in healthy participants.

PubMed

Furness, James; Schram, Ben; Cox, Alistair J; Anderson, Sarah L; Keogh, Justin

2018-01-01

Several water-based sports (swimming, surfing and stand up paddle boarding) require adequate thoracic mobility (specifically rotation) in order to perform the appropriate activity requirements. The measurement of thoracic spine rotation is problematic for clinicians due to a lack of convenient and reliable measurement techniques. More recently, smartphones have been used to quantify movement in various joints in the body; however, there appears to be a paucity of research using smartphones to assess thoracic spine movement. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the reliability (intra and inter rater) and validity of the iPhone ® app (Compass) when assessing thoracic spine rotation ROM in healthy individuals. A total of thirty participants were recruited for this study. Thoracic spine rotation ROM was measured using both the current clinical gold standard, a universal goniometer (UG) and the Smart Phone Compass app. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability was determined with a Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI). Validation of the Compass app in comparison to the UG was measured using Pearson's correlation coefficient and levels of agreement were identified with Bland-Altman plots and 95% limits of agreement. Both the UG and Compass app measurements both had excellent reproducibility for intra-rater (ICC 0.94-0.98) and inter-rater reliability (ICC 0.72-0.89). However, the Compass app measurements had higher intra-rater reliability ( ICC  = 0.96 - 0.98; 95% CI [0.93-0.99]; vs. ICC  = 0.94 - 0.98; 95% CI [0.88-0.99]) and inter-rater reliability ( ICC  = 0.87 - 0.89; 95% CI [0.74-0.95] vs. ICC  = 0.72 - 0.82; 95% CI [0.21-0.94]). A strong and significant correlation was found between the UG and the Compass app, demonstrating good concurrent validity ( r  = 0.835, p  < 0.001). Levels of agreement between the two devices were 24.8° (LoA -9.5°, +15.3°). The UG was found to consistently measure higher values than the compass app (mean difference 2.8°, P  < 0.001). This study reveals that the iPhone ® app (Compass) is a reliable tool for measuring thoracic spine rotation which produces greater reproducibility of measurements both within and between raters than a UG. As a significant positive correlation exists between the Compass app and UG, this supports the use of either device in clinical practice as a reliable and valid tool to measure thoracic rotation. Considering the levels of agreement are clinically unacceptable, the devices should not be used interchangeably for initial and follow up measurements.

Iterative development of visual control systems in a research vivarium.

PubMed

Bassuk, James A; Washington, Ida M

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that reintroduction of Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) methodology, a lean approach to management at Seattle Children's (Hospital, Research Institute, Foundation), would facilitate engagement of vivarium employees in the development and sustainment of a daily management system and a work-in-process board. Such engagement was implemented through reintroduction of aspects of the Toyota Production System. Iterations of a Work-In-Process Board were generated using Shewhart's Plan-Do-Check-Act process improvement cycle. Specific attention was given to the importance of detecting and preventing errors through assessment of the following 5 levels of quality: Level 1, customer inspects; Level 2, company inspects; Level 3, work unit inspects; Level 4, self-inspection; Level 5, mistake proofing. A functioning iteration of a Mouse Cage Work-In-Process Board was eventually established using electronic data entry, an improvement that increased the quality level from 1 to 3 while reducing wasteful steps, handoffs and queues. A visual workplace was realized via a daily management system that included a Work-In-Process Board, a problem solving board and two Heijunka boards. One Heijunka board tracked cage changing as a function of a biological kanban, which was validated via ammonia levels. A 17% reduction in cage changing frequency provided vivarium staff with additional time to support Institute researchers in their mutual goal of advancing cures for pediatric diseases. Cage washing metrics demonstrated an improvement in the flow continuum in which a traditional batch and queue push system was replaced with a supermarket-type pull system. Staff engagement during the improvement process was challenging and is discussed. The collective data indicate that the hypothesis was found to be true. The reintroduction of CPI into daily work in the vivarium is consistent with the 4P Model of the Toyota Way and selected Principles that guide implementation of the Toyota Production System.

Iterative Development of Visual Control Systems in a Research Vivarium

PubMed Central

Bassuk, James A.; Washington, Ida M.

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that reintroduction of Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) methodology, a lean approach to management at Seattle Children’s (Hospital, Research Institute, Foundation), would facilitate engagement of vivarium employees in the development and sustainment of a daily management system and a work-in-process board. Such engagement was implemented through reintroduction of aspects of the Toyota Production System. Iterations of a Work-In-Process Board were generated using Shewhart’s Plan-Do-Check-Act process improvement cycle. Specific attention was given to the importance of detecting and preventing errors through assessment of the following 5 levels of quality: Level 1, customer inspects; Level 2, company inspects; Level 3, work unit inspects; Level 4, self-inspection; Level 5, mistake proofing. A functioning iteration of a Mouse Cage Work-In-Process Board was eventually established using electronic data entry, an improvement that increased the quality level from 1 to 3 while reducing wasteful steps, handoffs and queues. A visual workplace was realized via a daily management system that included a Work-In-Process Board, a problem solving board and two Heijunka boards. One Heijunka board tracked cage changing as a function of a biological kanban, which was validated via ammonia levels. A 17% reduction in cage changing frequency provided vivarium staff with additional time to support Institute researchers in their mutual goal of advancing cures for pediatric diseases. Cage washing metrics demonstrated an improvement in the flow continuum in which a traditional batch and queue push system was replaced with a supermarket-type pull system. Staff engagement during the improvement process was challenging and is discussed. The collective data indicate that the hypothesis was found to be true. The reintroduction of CPI into daily work in the vivarium is consistent with the 4P Model of the Toyota Way and selected Principles that guide implementation of the Toyota Production System. PMID:24736460

Spine Instability Neoplastic Score: agreement across different medical and surgical specialties.

PubMed

Arana, Estanislao; Kovacs, Francisco M; Royuela, Ana; Asenjo, Beatriz; Pérez-Ramírez, Úrsula; Zamora, Javier

2016-05-01

Spinal instability is an acknowledged complication of spinal metastases; in spite of recent suggested criteria, it is not clearly defined in the literature. This study aimed to assess intra and interobserver agreement when using the Spine Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) by all physicians involved in its management. Independent multicenter reliability study for the recently created SINS, undertaken with a panel of medical oncologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, and radiation oncologists, was carried out. Ninety patients with biopsy-proven spinal metastases and magnetic resonance imaging, reviewed at the multidisciplinary tumor board of our institution, were included. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used for SINS score agreement. Fleiss kappa statistic was used to assess agreement on the location of the most affected vertebral level; agreement on the SINS category ("stable," "potentially stable," or "unstable"); and overall agreement with the classification established by tumor board. Clinical data and imaging were provided to 83 specialists in 44 hospitals across 14 Spanish regions. No assessment criteria were pre-established. Each clinician assessed the SINS score twice, with a minimum 6-week interval. Clinicians were blinded to assessments made by other specialists and to their own previous assessment. Subgroup analyses were performed by clinicians' specialty, experience (≤7, 8-13, ≥14 years), and hospital category (four levels according to size and complexity). This study was supported by Kovacs Foundation. Intra and interobserver agreement on the location of the most affected levels was "almost perfect" (κ>0.94). Intra-observer agreement on the SINS score was "excellent" (ICC=0.77), whereas interobserver agreement was "moderate" (ICC=0.55). Intra-observer agreement in SINS category was "substantial" (k=0.61), whereas interobserver agreement was "moderate" (k=0.42). Overall agreement with the tumor board classification was "substantial" (κ=0.61). Results were similar across specialties, years of experience, and hospital category. Agreement on the assessment of metastatic spine instability is moderate. The SINS can help improve communication among clinicians in oncology care. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-cost USB interface for operant research using Arduino and Visual Basic.

PubMed

Escobar, Rogelio; Pérez-Herrera, Carlos A

2015-03-01

This note describes the design of a low-cost interface using Arduino microcontroller boards and Visual Basic programming for operant conditioning research. The board executes one program in Arduino programming language that polls the state of the inputs and generates outputs in an operant chamber. This program communicates through a USB port with another program written in Visual Basic 2010 Express Edition running on a laptop, desktop, netbook computer, or even a tablet equipped with Windows operating system. The Visual Basic program controls schedules of reinforcement and records real-time data. A single Arduino board can be used to control a total of 52 inputs/output lines, and multiple Arduino boards can be used to control multiple operant chambers. An external power supply and a series of micro relays are required to control 28-V DC devices commonly used in operant chambers. Instructions for downloading and using the programs to generate simple and concurrent schedules of reinforcement are provided. Testing suggests that the interface is reliable, accurate, and could serve as an inexpensive alternative to commercial equipment. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

What patients look for when choosing a plastic surgeon: an assessment of patient preference by conjoint analysis.

PubMed

Waltzman, Joshua T; Scholz, Thomas; Evans, Gregory R D

2011-06-01

The knowledge of patient preference is crucial for plastic surgeons to determine optimal marketing strategies. Conjoint analysis is a statistical technique whereby research participants make a series of trade-offs. Analysis of these trade-offs reveals the relative importance of component attributes. This study will evaluate the relative importance of attributes that influence the selection and decision-making process when choosing a plastic surgeon. A questionnaire consisting of 18 plastic surgeon profiles was rated by 111 patients. Attributes analyzed were as follows: travel distance, number of years in practice, board certification status, method of referral, office décor, and procedure cost. A traditional full-profile conjoint analysis was performed. Subjects consisted of 10 men and 101 women (n = 111). Median age was 51 years (range, 19-72). The "mean importance" of the attributes are as follows: board certification status, 39.7%; method of referral, 23.5%; distance from home to office, 13.2%; office décor, 9.0%; number of years in practice, 7.5%; and cost of procedure, 7.2%. Internal validity checks showed a high correlation (Pearson ρ = 0.995; P < 0.001). This pilot study demonstrates that conjoint analysis is a very powerful tool for market research in the health care system. The level of importance for each attribute reliably helps plastic surgeons to understand the preferences of their patients, thus being able to improve marketing strategies for private practices and institutions. The present study indicates that the most important attributes were board certification and method of referral.

Reliability of High I/O High Density CCGA Interconnect Electronic Packages under Extreme Thermal Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2012-01-01

This paper provides the experimental test results of advanced CCGA packages tested in extreme temperature thermal environments. Standard optical inspection and x-ray non-destructive inspection tools were used to assess the reliability of high density CCGA packages for deep space extreme temperature missions. Ceramic column grid array (CCGA) packages have been increasing in use based on their advantages such as high interconnect density, very good thermal and electrical performances, compatibility with standard surface-mount packaging assembly processes, and so on. CCGA packages are used in space applications such as in logic and microprocessor functions, telecommunications, payload electronics, and flight avionics. As these packages tend to have less solder joint strain relief than leaded packages or more strain relief over lead-less chip carrier packages, the reliability of CCGA packages is very important for short-term and long-term deep space missions. We have employed high density CCGA 1152 and 1272 daisy chained electronic packages in this preliminary reliability study. Each package is divided into several daisy-chained sections. The physical dimensions of CCGA1152 package is 35 mm x 35 mm with a 34 x 34 array of columns with a 1 mm pitch. The dimension of the CCGA1272 package is 37.5 mm x 37.5 mm with a 36 x 36 array with a 1 mm pitch. The columns are made up of 80% Pb/20%Sn material. CCGA interconnect electronic package printed wiring polyimide boards have been assembled and inspected using non-destructive x-ray imaging techniques. The assembled CCGA boards were subjected to extreme temperature thermal atmospheric cycling to assess their reliability for future deep space missions. The resistance of daisy-chained interconnect sections were monitored continuously during thermal cycling. This paper provides the experimental test results of advanced CCGA packages tested in extreme temperature thermal environments. Standard optical inspection and x-ray non-destructive inspection tools were used to assess the reliability of high density CCGA packages for deep space extreme temperature missions. Keywords: Extreme temperatures, High density CCGA qualification, CCGA reliability, solder joint failures, optical inspection, and x-ray inspection.

Identifying correlates of self-stigma in adults who stutter: Further establishing the construct validity of the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S).

PubMed

Boyle, Michael P

2015-03-01

This study was set up to further establish the construct validity of the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S) by demonstrating its associations with other established scales and replicating its original factor structure and reliability estimates. Web surveys were completed by 354 adults who stutter recruited from Board Certified Specialists in Fluency Disorders, and adult chapters of the National Stuttering Association. Participants completed a series of psychometrically validated scales measuring self-stigma, hope, empowerment, quality of life, social support, anxiety, depression, and self-rated speech disruption. Higher subscale and total stigma scores on the 4S were associated with significantly lower levels of hope, empowerment, quality of life, and social support, and significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, and self-rated speech disruption. The original factor structure of the 4S was replicated, and reliability estimates of the subscales ranged from adequate to excellent. The findings of this study support the construct validity of the 4S and its use by clinicians and researchers intending to measure the construct of self-stigma in adults who stutter. Readers should be able to: (a) distinguish between the various components of self-stigma; (b) describe how the various components of the self-stigma model relate to hope, empowerment, quality of life, and social support, self-rated speech disruption, anxiety, and depression; (c) summarize the psychometric properties of the Self-Stigma of Stuttering Scale (4S) in terms of reliability, factor structure, and construct validity; (d) discuss how the 4S could be used in research and clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Models of governance in multihospital systems. Implications for hospital and system-level decision-making.

PubMed

Morlock, L L; Alexander, J A

1986-12-01

This study utilizes data from a national survey of 159 multihospital systems in order to describe the types of governance structures currently being utilized, and to compare the policy making process for various types of decisions in systems with different approaches to governance. Survey results indicate that multihospital systems most often use one of three governance models. Forty-one percent of the systems (including 33% of system hospitals) use a parent holding company model in which there is a system-wide corporate governing board and separate governing boards for each member hospital. Twenty-two percent of systems in the sample (but 47% of all system hospitals) utilize what we have termed a modified parent holding company model in which there is one system-wide governing board, but advisory boards are substituted for governing boards at the local hospital level. Twenty-three percent of the sampled systems (including 11% of system hospitals) use a corporate model in which there is one system-wide governing board but no other governing or advisory boards at either the divisional, regional or local hospital levels. A comparison of systems using these three governance approaches found significant variation in terms of system size, ownership and the geographic proximity of member hospitals. In order to examine the relationship between alternative approaches to governance and patterns of decision-making, the three model types were compared with respect to the percentages of systems reporting that local boards, corporate management and/or system-wide corporate boards have responsibility for decision-making in a number of specific issue areas. Study results indicate that, regardless of model type, corporate boards are most likely to have responsibility for decisions regarding the transfer, pledging and sale of assets; the formation of new companies; purchase of assets greater than $100,000; changes in hospital bylaws; and the appointment of local board members. In contrast corporate management is relatively uninvolved in these issues, again regardless of governance model type. There is substantial variation in the locus of decision-making responsibility by governance model type for a variety of other issues, however, including: hospital-level service additions and deletions; operating and capital budgets; medical staff privileges, hospital-level long-range planning; hospital CEO performance evaluation and the appointment of hospital CEOs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The CPT Reading Comprehension Test: A Validity Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Napoli, Anthony R.; Raymond, Lanette A.; Coffey, Cheryl A.; Bosco, Diane M.

1998-01-01

Describes a study done at Suffolk County Community College (New York) that assessed the validity of the College Board's Computerized Placement Test in Reading Comprehension (CPT-R) by comparing test results of 1,154 freshmen with the results of the Degree of Power Reading Test. Results confirmed the CPT-R's reliability in identifying basic…

Consistency between Peer Reviewers for a Clinical Specialty Journal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cullen, David J.; Macaulay, Anne

1992-01-01

Analysis of reliability among peer reviews of 422 unsolicited articles for the "Journal of Clinical Anesthesia" found that most articles' reviews were consistent or near consistent. However, articles reviewed by two of the editorial board members were much less likely to be accepted than those read by two nonmembers. (Author/MSE)

Student Rights and Freedoms: Toward Implementation Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Charles C.

Faculty, administration, and the board of trustees are dubious champions of student rights and freedoms. Without reliable protectors within the academic community, students have the options of securing their rights and freedoms by (1) the exercise of raw power, (2) finding a means to participate in the decision making process, or (3) seeking…

A Reliable Sounding Board: Parent Involvement in Students' Academic and Career Decision Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmons, Andrew N.

2008-01-01

With concern over parental involvement in students' academic lives on the rise, research is needed to provide guidance for advisors and parents. In this article, student-parent interactions about academic and career decisions are examined. Data come from the Brown University Office of Institutional Research and semi-structured interviews with…

Best Practices for Real Property Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-21

organizations and are experienced in creating reliable and actionable solutions to complex management issues guided by proven best business practices...DEFENSE BUSINESS BOARD For the Secretary of Defense Best Practices for Real Property Management DBB...FY16-02 Recommendations on the best practices for management of Department of Defense real property assets Defense Business

Leading Change: How Boards and Presidents Build Exceptional Academic Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacTaggart, Terrence

2011-01-01

In a time of transformation in higher education, "Leading Change: How Boards and Presidents Build Exceptional Institutions" fills a significant void in leadership literature and focuses on the changing level of board engagement. This book examines 18 institutions, across the spectrum of higher education, at which the board played a…

Parametric Mass Reliability Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holt, James P.

2014-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) systems are designed based upon having redundant systems with replaceable orbital replacement units (ORUs). These ORUs are designed to be swapped out fairly quickly, but some are very large, and some are made up of many components. When an ORU fails, it is replaced on orbit with a spare; the failed unit is sometimes returned to Earth to be serviced and re-launched. Such a system is not feasible for a 500+ day long-duration mission beyond low Earth orbit. The components that make up these ORUs have mixed reliabilities. Components that make up the most mass-such as computer housings, pump casings, and the silicon board of PCBs-typically are the most reliable. Meanwhile components that tend to fail the earliest-such as seals or gaskets-typically have a small mass. To better understand the problem, my project is to create a parametric model that relates both the mass of ORUs to reliability, as well as the mass of ORU subcomponents to reliability.

Interchangeable end effector tools utilized on the PFMA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cody, Joe; Carroll, John; Crow, George; Gierow, Paul; Littles, Jay; Maness, Michael; Morrison, Jim

1992-01-01

An instrumented task board, used for measuring forces applied by the Protoflight Manipulator Arm (PFMA) to the task board, was fabricated and delivered to Marshall Space Flight Center. SRS Technologies phased out the existing IBM compatible data acquisition system, used with a instrumented task board, and integrated the force measuring electronic hardware in with the Macintosh II data acquisition system. The purpose of this change was to acquire all data with the same time tag, allowing easier and more accurate data reduction in addition to real-time graphics. A three-dimensional optical position sensing system for determining the location of the PFMA's end effect or in reference to the center of the instrumented task board was also designed and delivered under. An improved task board was fabricated which included an improved instrumented beam design. The modified design of the task board improved the force/torque measurement system by increasing the sensitivity, reliability, load range and ease of maintenance. A calibration panel for the optical position system was also designed and fabricated. The calibration method developed for the position sensors enhanced the performance of the sensors as well as simplified the installation and calibration procedures required. The modifications made under this effort expanded the capabilities of the task board system. The system developed determines the arm's position relative to the task board and measures the signals to the joints resulting from the operator's control signals in addition to the task board forces. The software and hardware required to calculate and record the position of the PFMA during the performance of tasks with the instrumented task board were defined, designed and delivered to MSFC. PFMA joint input signals can be measured from a breakout box to evaluate the sensitivity or response of the arm operation to control commands. The data processing system provides the capability for post processing of time-history graphics and plots of the PFMA positions, the operator's actions, and the PFMA servo reactions in addition to realtime force and position sensor data presentation.

Interchangeable end effector tools utilized on the PFMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cody, Joe; Carroll, John; Crow, George; Gierow, Paul; Littles, Jay; Maness, Michael; Morrison, Jim

1992-02-01

An instrumented task board, used for measuring forces applied by the Protoflight Manipulator Arm (PFMA) to the task board, was fabricated and delivered to Marshall Space Flight Center. SRS Technologies phased out the existing IBM compatible data acquisition system, used with a instrumented task board, and integrated the force measuring electronic hardware in with the Macintosh II data acquisition system. The purpose of this change was to acquire all data with the same time tag, allowing easier and more accurate data reduction in addition to real-time graphics. A three-dimensional optical position sensing system for determining the location of the PFMA's end effect or in reference to the center of the instrumented task board was also designed and delivered under. An improved task board was fabricated which included an improved instrumented beam design. The modified design of the task board improved the force/torque measurement system by increasing the sensitivity, reliability, load range and ease of maintenance. A calibration panel for the optical position system was also designed and fabricated. The calibration method developed for the position sensors enhanced the performance of the sensors as well as simplified the installation and calibration procedures required. The modifications made under this effort expanded the capabilities of the task board system. The system developed determines the arm's position relative to the task board and measures the signals to the joints resulting from the operator's control signals in addition to the task board forces. The software and hardware required to calculate and record the position of the PFMA during the performance of tasks with the instrumented task board were defined, designed and delivered to MSFC. PFMA joint input signals can be measured from a breakout box to evaluate the sensitivity or response of the arm operation to control commands. The data processing system provides the capability for post processing of time-history graphics and plots of the PFMA positions, the operator's actions, and the PFMA servo reactions in addition to realtime force and position sensor data presentation.

Detection of impact damage on thermal protection systems using thin-film piezoelectric sensors for integrated structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Na, Jeong K.; Kuhr, Samuel J.; Jata, Kumar V.

2008-03-01

Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) can be subjected to impact damage during flight and/or during ground maintenance and/or repair. AFRL/RXLP is developing a reliable and robust on-board sensing/monitoring capability for next generation thermal protection systems to detect and assess impact damage. This study was focused on two classes of metallic thermal protection tiles to determine threshold for impact damage and develop sensing capability of the impacts. Sensors made of PVDF piezoelectric film were employed and tested to evaluate the detectability of impact signals and assess the onset or threshold of impact damage. Testing was performed over a range of impact energy levels, where the sensors were adhered to the back of the specimens. The PVDF signal levels were analyzed and compared to assess damage, where digital microscopy, visual inspection, and white light interferometry were used for damage verification. Based on the impact test results, an assessment of the impact damage thresholds for each type of metallic TPS system was made.

Characterization of Severe Arterial Phase Respiratory Motion Artifact on Gadoxetate Disodium-Enhanced MRI - Assessment of Interrater Agreement and Reliability.

PubMed

Ringe, Kristina Imeen; Luetkens, Julian A; Fimmers, Rolf; Hammerstingl, Renate Maria; Layer, Günter; Maurer, Martin H; Nähle, Claas Philip; Michalik, Sabine; Reimer, Peter; Schraml, Christina; Schreyer, Andreas G; Stumpp, Patrick; Vogl, Thomas J; Wacker, Frank K; Willinek, Winfried; Kukuk, Guido Mattias

2018-04-01

 To assess the interrater agreement and reliability of experienced abdominal radiologists in the characterization and grading of arterial phase gadoxetate disodium-related respiratory motion artifact on liver MRI.  This prospective multicenter study was initiated by the working group for abdominal imaging within the German Roentgen Society (DRG), and approved by the local IRB of each participating center. 11 board-certified radiologists independently reviewed 40 gadoxetate disodium-enhanced liver MRI datasets. Motion artifacts in the arterial phase were assessed on a 5-point scale. Interrater agreement and reliability were calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Kendall coefficient of concordance (W), with p < 0.05 deemed significant.  The ICC for interrater agreement and reliability were 0.983 (CI 0.973 - 0.990) and 0.985 (CI 0.978 - 0.991), respectively (both p < 0.0001), indicating excellent agreement and reliability. Kendall's W for interrater agreement was 0.865. A severe motion artifact, defined as a mean motion score ≥ 4 in the arterial phase was observed in 12 patients. In these specific cases, a motion score ≥ 4 was assigned by all readers in 75 % (n = 9/12 cases).  Differentiation and grading of arterial phase respiratory motion artifact is possible with a high level of inter-/intrarater agreement and interrater reliability, which is crucial for assessing the incidence of this phenomenon in larger multicenter studies.   · Inter- and intrarater agreement for motion artifact scoring is excellent among experienced readers.. · Interrater reliability for motion artifact scoring is excellent among experienced readers.. · Characterization of severe motion artifacts proved feasible in this multicenter study.. · Ringe KI, Luetkens JA, Fimmers R et al. Characterization of Severe Arterial Phase Respiratory Motion Artifact on Gadoxetate Disodium-Enhanced MRI - Assessment of Interrater Agreement and Reliability. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2017; 190: 341 - 347. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Estimated demand for lumber and plywood in Hawaii by the year 2000

Treesearch

George D. Frazier

1965-01-01

By the year 2000, total lumber consumption in Hawaii is expected to be between 78 and 128 million board feet. Hardwood lumber consumption is expected to exceed 16 million board feet — an increase of nearly 2½ times the present level of use. In contrast, softwood lumber use is expected to remain at about the present level of 79 million board feet. Plywood...

Commercially available gaming systems as clinical assessment tools to improve value in the orthopaedic setting: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ruff, Jessica; Wang, Tiffany L; Quatman-Yates, Catherine C; Phieffer, Laura S; Quatman, Carmen E

2015-02-01

Commercially available gaming systems (CAGS) such as the Wii Balance Board (WBB) and Microsoft Xbox with Kinect (Xbox Kinect) are increasingly used as balance training and rehabilitation tools. The purpose of this review was to answer the question, "Are commercially available gaming systems valid and reliable instruments for use as clinical diagnostic and functional assessment tools in orthopaedic settings?" and provide a summary of relevant studies, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and generate conclusions regarding general validity/reliability of WBB and Xbox Kinect in orthopaedics. A systematic search was performed using MEDLINE (1996-2013) and Scopus (1996-2013). Inclusion criteria were minimum of 5 subjects, full manuscript provided in English or translated, and studies incorporating investigation of CAG measurement properties. Exclusion criteria included reviews, systematic reviews, summary/clinical commentaries, or case studies; conference proceedings/presentations; cadaveric studies; studies of non-reversible, non-orthopaedic-related musculoskeletal disease; non-human trials; and therapeutic studies not reporting comparative evaluation to already established functional assessment criteria. All studies meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were appraised for quality by two independent reviewers. Evidence levels (I-V) were assigned to each study based on established methodological criteria. 3 Level II, 7 level III, and 1 Level IV studies met inclusion criteria and provided information related to the use of the WBB and Xbox Kinect as clinical assessment tools in the field of orthopaedics. Studies have used the WBB in a variety of clinical applications, including the measurement of center of pressure (COP), measurement of medial-to-lateral (M/L) or anterior-to-posterior (A/P) symmetry, assessment anatomic landmark positioning, and assessment of fall risk. However, no uniform protocols or outcomes were used to evaluate the quality of the WBB as a clinical assessment tool; therefore a wide range of sensitivities, specificities, accuracies, and validities were reported. Currently it is not possible to make a universal generalization about the clinical utility of CAGS in the field of orthopaedics. However, there is evidence to support using the WBB and the Xbox Kinect as tools to obtain reliable and valid COP measurements. The Wii Fit Game may specifically provide reliable and valid measurements for predicting fall risk. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nonprofit Board Membership for Health Care Professionals: Honor or Responsibility?

PubMed

Johnson, Joyce M; Calderwood, James A

2016-09-01

Physicians and other health care professionals are often invited to serve on nonprofit boards. Although service on a nonprofit board is an honor, it carries a large responsibility. Many health care professionals are unaware of the level of commitment and involvement board service requires, particularly fiduciary boards, which have accompanying risks and legal functions. In the present article, the authors describe the activities and responsibilities of a fiduciary board member. They also provide a checklist of questions to ask before agreeing to serve on a board and discuss how to decide whether one is the right fit for a specific board position.

A theoretical and experimental study of wood planer noise and its control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, J. S.

1972-01-01

A combined analytical and experimental study of wood planer noise is made and the results applied to the development of practical noise control techniques. The dominant mechanisms of sound generation are identified and an analysis is presented which accurately predicts the governing levels of noise emission. Planing operations in which the length of the board is much greater than the width are considered. The dominant source of planer noise is identified as the board being surfaced, which is set into vibration by the impact of cutterhead knives. This is determined from studies made both in the laboratory and in the field concerning the effect of board width on the resulting noise, which indicate a six decibel increase in noise level for each doubling of board width. The theoretical development of a model for board vibration defines the vibrational field set up in the board and serves as a guide for cutterhead redesign.

A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology.

PubMed

Hulla, Janis E; Kinter, Lewis B; Kelman, Bruce

2015-08-01

Employers, courts, and the general public judge the credibility of professionals based on credentials such as academic degrees, publications, memberships in professional organizations, board certifications, and professional registrations. However, the relevance and merit of these credentials can be difficult to determine objectively. Board certification can be a reliable indicator of proficiency if the certifying organization demonstrates, through regularly scheduled independent review, that its processes meet established standards and when a certificate holder is required to periodically demonstrate command of a body of knowledge that is essential to current professional practice. We report herein a current Standard of Knowledge in general toxicology compiled from the experience and opinions of 889 certified practicing professional toxicologists. An examination is the most commonly used instrument for testing a certification candidate's command of the body of knowledge. However, an examination-based certification is only creditable when the body of knowledge, to which a certification examination tests, is representative of the current knowledge, skills, and capabilities needed to effectively practice at the professional level. Thus, that body of knowledge must be the current "Standard of Knowledge" for the profession, compiled in a transparent fashion from current practitioners of the profession. This work was conducted toward ensuring the scientific integrity of the products produced by professional toxicologists.

Data pieces-based parameter identification for lithium-ion battery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Wei; Zou, Yuan; Sun, Fengchun; Hu, Xiaosong; Yu, Yang; Feng, Sen

2016-10-01

Battery characteristics vary with temperature and aging, it is necessary to identify battery parameters periodically for electric vehicles to ensure reliable State-of-Charge (SoC) estimation, battery equalization and safe operation. Aiming for on-board applications, this paper proposes a data pieces-based parameter identification (DPPI) method to identify comprehensive battery parameters including capacity, OCV (open circuit voltage)-Ah relationship and impedance-Ah relationship simultaneously only based on battery operation data. First a vehicle field test was conducted and battery operation data was recorded, then the DPPI method is elaborated based on vehicle test data, parameters of all 97 cells of the battery package are identified and compared. To evaluate the adaptability of the proposed DPPI method, it is used to identify battery parameters of different aging levels and different temperatures based on battery aging experiment data. Then a concept of ;OCV-Ah aging database; is proposed, based on which battery capacity can be identified even though the battery was never fully charged or discharged. Finally, to further examine the effectiveness of the identified battery parameters, they are used to perform SoC estimation for the test vehicle with adaptive extended Kalman filter (AEKF). The result shows good accuracy and reliability.

Effects of restoration burns on macroinvertebrates in southern Appalachian pine-oak forests

Treesearch

Jason P. Love; James M. Vose; Katherine J. Elliott

2007-01-01

Cover board arrays were used to measure the relative abundance of macroinvertebrates and terrestrial salamanders on prescribed burn and control sites in xeric southern Appalachians of northern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee pine-oak forests. Three microsite variables were measured at each cover board: cover board moisture level, temperature under the cover board,...

Performance Appraisal of College-Level Learners Using Smart Boards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riyaz, Reeja

2010-01-01

This article reports on the evaluation of the use of Smart Boards in learning and teaching second-language writing skills. Results showed that the use of Smart Boards in learning and teaching improved students' second-language skills.

An embedded vision system for an unmanned four-rotor helicopter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lillywhite, Kirt; Lee, Dah-Jye; Tippetts, Beau; Fowers, Spencer; Dennis, Aaron; Nelson, Brent; Archibald, James

2006-10-01

In this paper an embedded vision system and control module is introduced that is capable of controlling an unmanned four-rotor helicopter and processing live video for various law enforcement, security, military, and civilian applications. The vision system is implemented on a newly designed compact FPGA board (Helios). The Helios board contains a Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA chip and memory making it capable of implementing real time vision algorithms. A Smooth Automated Intelligent Leveling daughter board (SAIL), attached to the Helios board, collects attitude and heading information to be processed in order to control the unmanned helicopter. The SAIL board uses an electrolytic tilt sensor, compass, voltage level converters, and analog to digital converters to perform its operations. While level flight can be maintained, problems stemming from the characteristics of the tilt sensor limits maneuverability of the helicopter. The embedded vision system has proven to give very good results in its performance of a number of real-time robotic vision algorithms.

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

Maestas, J.H.

The Loopback Tester is an Intel SBC 86/12A Single Board Computer and an Intel SBC 534 Communications Expansion Board configured and programmed to perform various basic or less. These tests include: (1) Data Communications Equipment (DCE) transmit timing detection (2) data rate measurement (3) instantaneous loopback indication and (4) bit error rate testing. It requires no initial setup after plug in, and can be used to locate the source of communications loss in a circuit. It can also be used to determine when crypto variable mismatch problems are the source of communications loss. This report discusses the functionality of themore » Loopback Tester as a diagnostic device. It also discusses the hardware and software which implements this simple yet reliable device.« less

Enhanced Self Tuning On-Board Real-Time Model (eSTORM) for Aircraft Engine Performance Health Tracking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volponi, Al; Simon, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2008-01-01

A key technological concept for producing reliable engine diagnostics and prognostics exploits the benefits of fusing sensor data, information, and/or processing algorithms. This report describes the development of a hybrid engine model for a propulsion gas turbine engine, which is the result of fusing two diverse modeling methodologies: a physics-based model approach and an empirical model approach. The report describes the process and methods involved in deriving and implementing a hybrid model configuration for a commercial turbofan engine. Among the intended uses for such a model is to enable real-time, on-board tracking of engine module performance changes and engine parameter synthesis for fault detection and accommodation.

Development of Bread Board Model of TRMM precipitation radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okamoto, Ken'ichi; Ihara, Toshio; Kumagai, Hiroshi

The active array radar was selected as a reliable candidate for the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) precipitation radar after the trade off studies performed by Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) in the US-Japan joint feasibility study of TRMM in 1987-1988. Main system parameters and block diagram for TRMM precipitation radar are shown as the result of feasibility study. CRL developed key devices for the active array precipitation radar such as 8-element slotted waveguide array antenna, the 5 bit PIN diode phase shifters, solid state power amplifiers and low noise amplifiers in 1988-1990. Integration of these key devices was made to compose 8-element Bread Board Model of TRMM precipitation radar.

[Morphometry of giant multipolar neurons of the brain stem reticular formation in rats on board the Kosmos-1667 biosatellite].

PubMed

Belichenko, P V; Leontovich, T A

1989-05-01

Giant multipolar neurons of nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis of rats which had been kept on board the biosatellite "Kosmos-1667" were morphometrically studied. There was a trend towards the increase in the cellular surface, the maximum diameter of dendritic field, the volume of the whole dendritic territory in the test group ad in the control experimental group kept on the earth. A reliable decrease in dendritic mass oriented to nucleus vestibularis and an increase in dendritic mass oriented to the midline were also found in test group, as compared to 3 control groups. Our data were discussed in the light of nervous tissue plasticity in adult mammals.

Expediting the Institutional Review Board Process for Exercise Protocols

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macfarlane, Pamela A.; Looney, Marilyn A.

2011-01-01

All researchers who use human participants in their study must obtain permission from their appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once the IRB application enters the review process, a decision is made regarding the type of review it should receive: Level I administrative (exempt), Level II subcommittee (expedited), or Level III full board…

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

Altazi, B; Fernandez, D; Zhang, G

Purpose: Site-specific investigations of the role of Radiomics in cancer diagnosis and therapy are needed. We report of the reproducibility of quantitative image features over different discrete voxel levels in PET/CT images of cervical cancer. Methods: Our dataset consisted of the pretreatment PET/CT scans from a cohort of 76 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer, FIGO stage IB-IVA, age range 31–76 years, treated with external beam radiation therapy to a dose range between 45–50.4 Gy (median dose: 45 Gy), concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy and MRI-based Brachytherapy to a dose of 20–30 Gy (median total dose: 28 Gy). Two board certified radiation oncologistsmore » delineated Metabolic Tumor volume (MTV) for each patient. Radiomics features were extracted based on 32, 64, 128 and 256 discretization levels (DL). The 64 level was chosen to be the reference DL. Features were calculated based on Co-occurrence (COM), Gray Level Size Zone (GLSZM) and Run-Length (RLM) matrices. Mean Percentage Differences (Δ) of features for discrete levels were determined. Normality distribution of Δ was tested using Kolomogorov - Smirnov test. Bland-Altman test was used to investigate differences between feature values measured on different DL. The mean, standard deviation and upper/lower value limits for each pair of DL were calculated. Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) analysis was performed to examine the reliability of repeated measures within the context of the test re-test format. Results: 3 global and 5 regional features out of 48 features showed distribution not significantly different from a normal one. The reproducible features passed the normality test. Only 5 reproducible results were reliable, ICC range 0.7 – 0.99. Conclusion: Most of the radiomics features tested showed sensitivity to voxel level discretization between (32 – 256). Only 4 GLSZM, 3 COM and 1 RLM showed insensitivity towards mentioned discrete levels.« less

On-Board Fiber-Optic Network Architectures for Radar and Avionics Signal Distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alam, Mohammad F.; Atiquzzaman, Mohammed; Duncan, Bradley B.; Nguyen, Hung; Kunath, Richard

2000-01-01

Continued progress in both civil and military avionics applications is overstressing the capabilities of existing radio-frequency (RF) communication networks based on coaxial cables on board modem aircrafts. Future avionics systems will require high-bandwidth on- board communication links that are lightweight, immune to electromagnetic interference, and highly reliable. Fiber optic communication technology can meet all these challenges in a cost-effective manner. Recently, digital fiber-optic communication systems, where a fiber-optic network acts like a local area network (LAN) for digital data communications, have become a topic of extensive research and development. Although a fiber-optic system can be designed to transport radio-frequency (RF) signals, the digital fiber-optic systems under development today are not capable of transporting microwave and millimeter-wave RF signals used in radar and avionics systems on board an aircraft. Recent advances in fiber optic technology, especially wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), has opened a number of possibilities for designing on-board fiber optic networks, including all-optical networks for radar and avionics RF signal distribution. In this paper, we investigate a number of different novel approaches for fiber-optic transmission of on-board VHF and UHF RF signals using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. The relative merits and demerits of each architecture are discussed, and the suitability of each architecture for particular applications is pointed out. All-optical approaches show better performance than other traditional approaches in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, power consumption, and weight requirements.

CrossVit: enhancing canopy monitoring management practices in viticulture.

PubMed

Matese, Alessandro; Vaccari, Francesco Primo; Tomasi, Diego; Di Gennaro, Salvatore Filippo; Primicerio, Jacopo; Sabatini, Francesco; Guidoni, Silvia

2013-06-13

A new wireless sensor network (WSN), called CrossVit, and based on MEMSIC products, has been tested for two growing seasons in two vineyards in Italy. The aims are to evaluate the monitoring performances of the new WSN directly in the vineyard and collect air temperature, air humidity and solar radiation data to support vineyard management practices. The WSN consists of various levels: the Master/Gateway level coordinates the WSN and performs data aggregation; the Farm/Server level takes care of storing data on a server, data processing and graphic rendering; Nodes level is based on a network of peripheral nodes consisting of a MDA300 sensor board and Iris module and equipped with thermistors for air temperature, photodiodes for global and diffuse solar radiation, and an HTM2500LF sensor for relative humidity. The communication levels are: WSN links between gateways and sensor nodes by ZigBee, and long-range GSM/GPRS links between gateways and the server farm level. The system was able to monitor the agrometeorological parameters in the vineyard: solar radiation, air temperature and air humidity, detecting the differences between the canopy treatments applied. The performance of CrossVit, in terms of monitoring and reliability of the system, have been evaluated considering: its handiness, cost-effective, non-invasive dimensions and low power consumption.

CrossVit: Enhancing Canopy Monitoring Management Practices in Viticulture

PubMed Central

Matese, Alessandro; Vaccari, Francesco Primo; Tomasi, Diego; Di Gennaro, Salvatore Filippo; Primicerio, Jacopo; Sabatini, Francesco; Guidoni, Silvia

2013-01-01

A new wireless sensor network (WSN), called CrossVit, and based on MEMSIC products, has been tested for two growing seasons in two vineyards in Italy. The aims are to evaluate the monitoring performances of the new WSN directly in the vineyard and collect air temperature, air humidity and solar radiation data to support vineyard management practices. The WSN consists of various levels: the Master/Gateway level coordinates the WSN and performs data aggregation; the Farm/Server level takes care of storing data on a server, data processing and graphic rendering; Nodes level is based on a network of peripheral nodes consisting of a MDA300 sensor board and Iris module and equipped with thermistors for air temperature, photodiodes for global and diffuse solar radiation, and an HTM2500LF sensor for relative humidity. The communication levels are: WSN links between gateways and sensor nodes by ZigBee, and long-range GSM/GPRS links between gateways and the server farm level. The system was able to monitor the agrometeorological parameters in the vineyard: solar radiation, air temperature and air humidity, detecting the differences between the canopy treatments applied. The performance of CrossVit, in terms of monitoring and reliability of the system, have been evaluated considering: its handiness, cost-effective, non-invasive dimensions and low power consumption. PMID:23765273

The Digital Twin Paradigm for Future NASA and U.S. Air Force Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glaessgen, Edward H.; Stargel, D. S.

2012-01-01

Future generations of NASA and U.S. Air Force vehicles will require lighter mass while being subjected to higher loads and more extreme service conditions over longer time periods than the present generation. Current approaches for certification, fleet management and sustainment are largely based on statistical distributions of material properties, heuristic design philosophies, physical testing and assumed similitude between testing and operational conditions and will likely be unable to address these extreme requirements. To address the shortcomings of conventional approaches, a fundamental paradigm shift is needed. This paradigm shift, the Digital Twin, integrates ultra-high fidelity simulation with the vehicle s on-board integrated vehicle health management system, maintenance history and all available historical and fleet data to mirror the life of its flying twin and enable unprecedented levels of safety and reliability.

Test Analysis Tools to Ensure Higher Quality of On-Board Real Time Software for Space Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boudillet, O.; Mescam, J.-C.; Dalemagne, D.

2008-08-01

EADS Astrium Space Transportation, in its Les Mureaux premises, is responsible for the French M51 nuclear deterrent missile onboard SW. There was also developed over 1 million of line of code, mostly in ADA, for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) onboard SW and the flight control SW of the ARIANE5 launcher which has put it into orbit. As part of the ATV SW, ASTRIUM ST has developed the first Category A SW ever qualified for a European space application. To ensure that all these embedded SW have been developed with the highest quality and reliability level, specific development tools have been designed to cover the steps of source code verification, automated validation test or complete target instruction coverage verification. Three of such dedicated tools are presented here.

Inventory behavior at remote sites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, William C., Jr.

1987-01-01

An operations research study was conducted concerning inventory behavior on the space station. Historical data from the Space Shuttle was used. The results demonstrated a high logistics burden if Space Shuttle reliability technology were to be applied without modification to space station design (which it was not). Effects of rapid resupply and on board repair capabilities on inventory behavior were investigated.

A Tale of Two Course Guides: Providing Students with Detailed Course Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Karen; Williamson, Kasi

2010-01-01

Where do students find out about courses they might take? Potentially, from just about anywhere: friends, bulletin boards, department Web sites, advisors, e-mails, or flyers posted in the halls. Of course, some of these sources are more trustworthy than others. Where should students go to get reliable information that can help them make wise…

Who Controls the Board in Non-Profit Organizations? The Case of Private Higher Education Institutions in Colombia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradford, Henry; Guzmán, Alexander; Restrepo, José Manuel; Trujillo, María-Andrea

2018-01-01

How should the governance system in a non-membership non-profit organization be designed? This organizational form has no shareholders; instead, donors provide funds. Thus, at the organizational level, the board of directors could have all the power. Under this legal form, who controls the board? If too powerful, boards could misuse resources or…

1975 Oregon timber harvest.

Treesearch

J.D. Jr. Lloyd

1976-01-01

The 1975 Oregon timber harvest declined to its lowest level since 1961 with a harvest of 7.37 billion board feet, 991 million board feet (11.9 percent) below the 1974 harvest. The harvest was down in both western Oregon (823 million board feet, 13.2 percent) and eastern Oregon (168 million board feet, 7.7 percent). For the first time since 1961, the harvest on private...

Reliability and feasibility of gait initiation centre-of-pressure excursions using a Wii® Balance Board in older adults at risk of falling.

PubMed

Lee, James; Webb, Graham; Shortland, Adam P; Edwards, Rebecca; Wilce, Charlotte; Jones, Gareth D

2018-04-17

Impairments in dynamic balance have a detrimental effect in older adults at risk of falls (OARF). Gait initiation (GI) is a challenging transitional movement. Centre of pressure (COP) excursions using force plates have been used to measure GI performance. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) offers an alternative to a standard force plate for the measurement of CoP excursion. To determine the reliability of COP excursions using the WBB, and its feasibility within a 4-week strength and balance intervention (SBI) treating OARF. Ten OARF subjects attending SBI and ten young healthy adults, each performed three GI trials after 10 s of quiet stance from a standardised foot position (shoulder width) before walking forward 3 m to pick up an object. Averaged COP mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) excursions (distance) and path-length time (GI-onset to first toe-off) were analysed. WBB ML (0.866) and AP COP excursion (0.895) reliability (ICC 3,1 ) was excellent, and COP path-length reliability was fair (0.517). Compared to OARF, healthy subjects presented with larger COP excursion in both directions and shorter COP path length. OARF subjects meaningfully improved their timed-up-and-go and ML COP excursion between weeks 1-4, while AP COP excursions, path length, and confidence-in-balance remained stable. COP path length and excursion directions probably measure different GI postural control attributes. Limitations in WBB accuracy and precision in transition tasks needs to be established before it can be used clinically to measure postural aspects of GI viably. The WBB could provide valuable clinical evaluation of balance function in OARF.

Reliability of Sn/Pb and Lead-Free (SnAgCu) Solders of Surface Mounted Miniaturized Passive Components for Extreme Temperature (-185 C to +125 C) Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2011-01-01

Surface mount electronic package test boards have been assembled using tin/lead (Sn/Pb) and lead-free (Pb-free or SnAgCu or SAC305) solders. The soldered surface mount packages include ball grid arrays (BGA), flat packs, various sizes of passive chip components, etc. They have been optically inspected after assembly and subsequently subjected to extreme temperature thermal cycling to assess their reliability or future deep space, long-term, extreme temperature environmental missions. In this study, the employed temperature range (-185oC to +125oC) covers military specifications (-55oC to +100oC), extreme old Martian (-120oC to +115oC), asteroid Nereus (-180oC to +25oC) and JUNO (-150oC to +120oC) environments. The boards were inspected at room temperature and at various intervals as a function of extreme temperature thermal cycling and bake duration. Electrical resistance measurements made at room temperature are reported and the tests to date have shown some change in resistance as a function of extreme temperature thermal cycling and some showed increase in resistance. However, the change in interconnect resistance becomes more noticeable with increasing number of thermal cycles. Further research work will be carried out to understand the reliability of packages under extreme temperature applications (-185oC to +125oC) via continuously monitoring the daisy chain resistance for BGA, Flat-packs, lead less chip packages, etc. This paper will describe the experimental reliability results of miniaturized passive components (01005, 0201, 0402, 0603, 0805, and 1206) assembled using surface mounting processes with tin-lead and lead-free solder alloys under extreme temperature environments.

Reliability of Sn/Pb and lead-free (SnAgCu) solders of surface mounted miniaturized passive components for extreme temperature (-185°C to +125°C) space missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2011-02-01

Surface mount electronic package test boards have been assembled using tin/lead (Sn/Pb) and lead-free (Pb-free or SnAgCu or SAC305) solders. The soldered surface mount packages include ball grid arrays (BGA), flat packs, various sizes of passive chip components, etc. They have been optically inspected after assembly and subsequently subjected to extreme temperature thermal cycling to assess their reliability for future deep space, long-term, extreme temperature environmental missions. In this study, the employed temperature range (-185°C to +125°C) covers military specifications (-55°C to +100°C), extreme cold Martian (-120°C to +115°C), asteroid Nereus (-180°C to +25°C) and JUNO (-150°C to +120°C) environments. The boards were inspected at room temperature and at various intervals as a function of extreme temperature thermal cycling and bake duration. Electrical resistance measurements made at room temperature are reported and the tests to date have shown some change in resistance as a function of extreme temperature thermal cycling and some showed increase in resistance. However, the change in interconnect resistance becomes more noticeable with increasing number of thermal cycles. Further research work will be carried out to understand the reliability of packages under extreme temperature applications (-185°C to +125°C) via continuously monitoring the daisy chain resistance for BGA, Flat-packs, lead less chip packages, etc. This paper will describe the experimental reliability results of miniaturized passive components (01005, 0201, 0402, 0603, 0805, and 1206) assembled using surface mounting processes with tin-lead and lead-free solder alloys under extreme temperature environments.

Reliability of CGA/LGA/HDI Package Board/Assembly (Final Report)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffaroam. Reza

2014-01-01

Package manufacturers are now offering commercial-off-the-shelf column grid array (COTS CGA) packaging technologies in high-reliability versions. Understanding the process and quality assurance (QA) indicators for reliability are important for low-risk insertion of these advanced electronics packages. The previous reports, released in January of 2012 and January of 2013, presented package test data, assembly information, and reliability evaluation by thermal cycling for CGA packages with 1752, 1517, 1509, and 1272 inputs/outputs (I/Os) and 1-mm pitch. It presented the thermal cycling (-55C either 100C or 125C) test results for up to 200 cycles. This report presents up to 500 thermal cycles with quality assurance and failure analysis evaluation represented by optical photomicrographs, 2D real time X-ray images, dye-and-pry photomicrographs, and optical/scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) cross-sectional images. The report also presents assembly challenge using reflowing by either vapor phase or rework station of CGA and land grid array (LGA) versions of three high I/O packages both ceramic and plastic configuration. A new test vehicle was designed having high density interconnect (HDI) printed circuit board (PCB) with microvia-in-pad to accommodate both LGA packages as well as a large number of fine pitch ball grid arrays (BGAs). The LGAs either were assembled onto HDI PCB as an LGA or were solder paste print and reflow first to form solder dome on pads before assembly. Both plastic BGAs with 1156 I/O and ceramic LGAs were assembled. It also presented the X-ray inspection results as well as failures due to 200 thermal cycles. Lessons learned on assembly of ceramic LGAs are also presented.

CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP): Why it's Useful and How it Works

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Tim

2003-01-01

Reliable delivery of data products is often required across space links. For example, a NASA mission will require reliable delivery of images produced by an on-board detector. Many missions have their own (unique) way of accomplishing this, requiring custom software. Many missions also require manual operations (e.g. the telemetry receiver software keeps track of what data is missing, and a person manually inputs the appropriate commands to request retransmissions). The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) developed the CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP) specifically for this situation. CFDP is an international standard communication protocol that provides reliable delivery of data products. It is designed for use across space links. It will work well if run over the widely used CCSDS Telemetry and Telecommand protocols. However, it can be run over any protocol, and will work well as long as the underlying protocol delivers a reasonable portion of the data. The CFDP receiver will autonomously determine what data is missing, and request retransmissions as needed. The CFDP sender will autonomously perform the requested transmissions. When the entire data product is delivered, the CFDP receiver will let the CFDP sender know that the transaction has completed successfully. The result is that custom software becomes standard, and manual operations become autonomous. This paper will consider various ways of achieving reliable file delivery, explain why CFDP is the optimal choice for use over space links, explain how the core protocol works, and give some guidance on how to best utilize CFDP within various mission scenarios. It will also touch on additional features of CFDP, as well as other uses for CFDP (e.g. the loading of on-board memory and tables).

Intra- and Interobserver Reliability of Three Classification Systems for Hallux Rigidus.

PubMed

Dillard, Sarita; Schilero, Christina; Chiang, Sharon; Pham, Peter

2018-04-18

There are over ten classification systems currently used in the staging of hallux rigidus. This results in confusion and inconsistency with radiographic interpretation and treatment. The reliability of hallux rigidus classification systems has not yet been tested. The purpose of this study was to evaluate intra- and interobserver reliability using three commonly used classifications for hallux rigidus. Twenty-one plain radiograph sets were presented to ten ACFAS board-certified foot and ankle surgeons. Each physician classified each radiograph based on clinical experience and knowledge according to the Regnauld, Roukis, and Hattrup and Johnson classification systems. The two-way mixed single-measure consistency intraclass correlation was used to calculate intra- and interrater reliability. The intrarater reliability of individual sets for the Roukis and Hattrup and Johnson classification systems was "fair to good" (Roukis, 0.62±0.19; Hattrup and Johnson, 0.62±0.28), whereas the intrarater reliability of individual sets for the Regnauld system bordered between "fair to good" and "poor" (0.43±0.24). The interrater reliability of the mean classification was "excellent" for all three classification systems. Conclusions Reliable and reproducible classification systems are essential for treatment and prognostic implications in hallux rigidus. In our study, Roukis classification system had the best intrarater reliability. Although there are various classification systems for hallux rigidus, our results indicate that all three of these classification systems show reliability and reproducibility.

HALT to qualify electronic packages: a proof of concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni

2014-03-01

A proof of concept of the Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) technique was explored to assess and optimize electronic packaging designs for long duration deep space missions in a wide temperature range (-150°C to +125°C). HALT is a custom hybrid package suite of testing techniques using environments such as extreme temperatures and dynamic shock step processing from 0g up to 50g of acceleration. HALT testing used in this study implemented repetitive shock on the test vehicle components at various temperatures to precipitate workmanship and/or manufacturing defects to show the weak links of the designs. The purpose is to reduce the product development cycle time for improvements to the packaging design qualification. A test article was built using advanced electronic package designs and surface mount technology processes, which are considered useful for a variety of JPL and NASA projects, i.e. (surface mount packages such as ball grid arrays (BGA), plastic ball grid arrays (PBGA), very thin chip array ball grid array (CVBGA), quad flat-pack (QFP), micro-lead-frame (MLF) packages, several passive components, etc.). These packages were daisy-chained and independently monitored during the HALT test. The HALT technique was then implemented to predict reliability and assess survivability of these advanced packaging techniques for long duration deep space missions in much shorter test durations. Test articles were built using advanced electronic package designs that are considered useful in various NASA projects. All the advanced electronic packages were daisychained independently to monitor the continuity of the individual electronic packages. Continuity of the daisy chain packages was monitored during the HALT testing using a data logging system. We were able to test the boards up to 40g to 50g shock levels at temperatures ranging from +125°C to -150°C. The HALT system can deliver 50g shock levels at room temperature. Several tests were performed by subjecting the test boards to various g levels ranging from 5g to 50g, test durations of 10 minutes to 60 minutes, hot temperatures of up to +125°C and cold temperatures down to -150°C. During the HALT test, electrical continuity measurements of the PBGA package showed an open-circuit, whereas the BGA, MLF, and QFPs showed signs of small variations of electrical continuity measurements. The electrical continuity anomaly of the PBGA occurred in the test board within 12 hours of commencing the accelerated test. Similar test boards were assembled, thermal cycled independently from -150°C to +125°C and monitored for electrical continuity through each package design. The PBGA package on the test board showed an anomalous electrical continuity behavior after 959 thermal cycles. Each thermal cycle took around 2.33 hours, so that a total test time to failure of the PBGA was 2,237 hours (or ~3.1 months) due to thermal cycling alone. The accelerated technique (thermal cycling + shock) required only 12 hours to cause a failure in the PBGA electronic package. Compared to the thermal cycle only test, this was an acceleration of ~186 times (more than 2 orders of magnitude). This acceleration process can save significant time and resources for predicting the life of a package component in a given environment, assuming the failure mechanisms are similar in both the tests. Further studies are in progress to make systematic evaluations of the HALT technique on various other advanced electronic packaging components on the test board. With this information one will be able to estimate the number of mission thermal cycles to failure with a much shorter test program. Further studies are in progress to make systematic study of various components, constant temperature range for both the tests. Therefore, one can estimate the number of hours to fail in a given thermal and shock levels for a given test board physical properties.

Acceleration levels on board the Space Station and a tethered elevator for micro and variable-gravity applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lorenzini, E. C.; Cosmo, M.; Vetrella, S.; Moccia, A.

1988-01-01

This paper investigates the dynamics and acceleration levels of a new tethered system for micro and variable-gravity applications. The system consists of two platforms tethered on opposite sides to the Space Station. A fourth platform, the elevator, is placed in between the Space Station and the upper platform. Variable-g levels on board the elevator are obtained by moving this facility along the upper tether, while micro-g experiments are carried out on board the Space Station. By controlling the length of the lower tether the position of the system CM can be maintained on board the Space Station despite variations of the station's distribution of mass. The paper illustrates the mathematical model, the environmental perturbations and the control techniques which have been adopted for the simulation and control of the system dynamics. Two sets of results from two different simulation runs are shown. The first set shows the system dynamics and the acceleration spectra on board the Space Station and the elevator during station-keeping. The second set of results demonstrates the capability of the elevator to attain a preselected g-level.

WDM mid-board optics for chip-to-chip wavelength routing interconnects in the H2020 ICT-STREAMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanellos, G. T.; Pleros, N.

2017-02-01

Multi-socket server boards have emerged to increase the processing power density on the board level and further flatten the data center networks beyond leaf-spine architectures. Scaling however the number of processors per board puts current electronic technologies into challenge, as it requires high bandwidth interconnects and high throughput switches with increased number of ports that are currently unavailable. On-board optical interconnection has proved the potential to efficiently satisfy the bandwidth needs, but their use has been limited to parallel links without performing any smart routing functionality. With CWDM optical interconnects already a commodity, cyclical wavelength routing proposed to fit the datacom for rack-to-rack and board-to-board communication now becomes a promising on-board routing platform. ICT-STREAMS is a European research project that aims to combine WDM parallel on-board transceivers with a cyclical AWGR, in order to create a new board-level, chip-to-chip interconnection paradigm that will leverage WDM parallel transmission to a powerful wavelength routing platform capable to interconnect multiple processors with unprecedented bandwidth and throughput capacity. Direct, any-to-any, on-board interconnection of multiple processors will significantly contribute to further flatten the data centers and facilitate east-west communication. In the present communication, we present ICT-STREAMS on-board wavelength routing architecture for multiple chip-to-chip interconnections and evaluate the overall system performance in terms of throughput and latency for several schemes and traffic profiles. We also review recent advances of the ICT-STREAMS platform key-enabling technologies that span from Si in-plane lasers and polymer based electro-optical circuit boards to silicon photonics transceivers and photonic-crystal amplifiers.

An overview: modern techniques for railway vehicle on-board health monitoring systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chunsheng; Luo, Shihui; Cole, Colin; Spiryagin, Maksym

2017-07-01

Health monitoring systems with low-cost sensor networks and smart algorithms are always needed in both passenger trains and heavy haul trains due to the increasing need for reliability and safety in the railway industry. This paper focuses on an overview of existing approaches applied for railway vehicle on-board health monitoring systems. The approaches applied in the data measurement systems and the data analysis systems in railway on-board health monitoring systems are presented in this paper, including methodologies, theories and applications. The pros and cons of the various approaches are analysed to determine appropriate benchmarks for an effective and efficient railway vehicle on-board health monitoring system. According to this review, inertial sensors are the most popular due to their advantages of low cost, robustness and low power consumption. Linearisation methods are required for the model-based methods which would inevitably introduce error to the estimation results, and it is time-consuming to include all possible conditions in the pre-built database required for signal-based methods. Based on this review, future development trends in the design of new low-cost health monitoring systems for railway vehicles are discussed.

21. DETAIL INTERIOR VIEW OF ORIGINAL BENCH BOARD CONTROLS IN ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

21. DETAIL INTERIOR VIEW OF ORIGINAL BENCH BOARD CONTROLS IN CONTROL ROOM ON LEVEL +77 OF POWERHOUSE #1; THESE PANELS ARE ON LEFT SIDE OF BENCH BOARD CONTROLS. - Bonneville Project, Powerhouse No.1, Spanning Bradford Slough, from Bradford Island, Bonneville, Multnomah County, OR

Gas Sensor Evaluations in Polymer Combustion Product Atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delgado, Rafael H.; Davis, Dennis D.; Beeson, Harold D.

1999-01-01

Toxic gases produced by the combustion or thermo-oxidative degradation of materials such as wire insulation, foam, plastics, or electronic circuit boards in space shuttle or space station crew cabins may pose a significant hazard to the flight crew. Toxic gas sensors are routinely evaluated in pure gas standard mixtures, but the possible interferences from polymer combustion products are not routinely evaluated. The NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) has developed a test system that provides atmospheres containing predetermined quantities of target gases combined with the coincidental combustion products of common spacecraft materials. The target gases are quantitated in real time by infrared (IR) spectroscopy and verified by grab samples. The sensor responses are recorded in real time and are compared to the IR and validation analyses. Target gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride can be generated by the combustion of poly(vinyl chloride), polyimide-fluoropolymer wire insulation, polyurethane foam, or electronic circuit board materials. The kinetics and product identifications for the combustion of the various materials were determined by thermogravimetric-IR spectroscopic studies. These data were then scaled to provide the required levels of target gases in the sensor evaluation system. Multisensor toxic gas monitors from two manufacturers were evaluated using this system. In general, the sensor responses satisfactorily tracked the real-time concentrations of toxic gases in a dynamic mixture. Interferences from a number of organic combustion products including acetaldehyde and bisphenol-A were minimal. Hydrogen bromide in the products of circuit board combustion registered as hydrogen chloride. The use of actual polymer combustion atmospheres for the evaluation of sensors can provide additional confidence in the reliability of the sensor response.

Data Relay Board with Protocol for High-Speed, Free-Space Optical Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Malcolm; Clare, Loren; Gould, Gary; Pedyash, Maxim

2004-01-01

In a free-space optical communication system, the mitigation of transient outages through the incorporation of error-control methods is of particular concern, the outages being caused by scintillation fades and obscurants. The focus of this innovative technology is the development of a data relay system for a reliable high-data-rate free-spacebased optical-transport network. The data relay boards will establish the link, maintain synchronous connection, group the data into frames, and provide for automatic retransmission (ARQ) of lost or erred frames. A certain Quality of Service (QoS) can then be ensured, compatible with the required data rate. The protocol to be used by the data relay system is based on the draft CCSDS standard data-link protocol Proximity-1, selected by orbiters to multiple lander assets in the Mars network, for example. In addition to providing data-link protocol capabilities for the free-space optical link and buffering the data, the data relay system will interface directly with user applications over Gigabit Ethernet and/or with highspeed storage resources via Fibre Channel. The hardware implementation is built on a network-processor-based architecture. This technology combines the power of a hardware switch capable of data switching and packet routing at Gbps rates, with the flexibility of a software- driven processor that can host highly adaptive and reconfigurable protocols used, for example, in wireless local-area networks (LANs). The system will be implemented in a modular multi-board fashion. The main hardware elements of the data relay system are the new data relay board developed by Rockwell Scientific, a COTS Gigabit Ethernet board for user interface, and a COTS Fibre Channel board that connects to local storage. The boards reside in a cPCI back plane, and can be housed in a VME-type enclosure.

Development of automatic pre-tracking system for fillet weld based on laser trigonometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Xiaoqin; Yu, Fusheng

2005-01-01

In this paper, an automatic fillet weld pre-tracking system for welding the work piece of lorry back boards with several bend in haul automobile is developed basing on laser trigonometry. The optical measuring head based on laser-PSD trigonometry is used as position sensor. It is placed in front of the traveling direction of welding wire to get the distances from welding wire to the two side boards of the welding lines, upper board and bottom board of the fillet weld respectively. A chip of AT89S52 is used as the micro controller in this system. The AC servomotors, ball-screws and straight guide rails constitute the sliding table to take welding wire move. The laser-PSD sensors pass through the vertical board, upper board and bottom board of the fillet weld when welding wire moves and then get the distance. The laser-PSD sensors output the analog signals. After A/D conversion, the digital signal is input into AT89S52 and calculated. Then the information of the position and lateral deviation of the welding wire when welding a certain position are gotten to control welding wires. So the weld pre-tracking for welding the work piece with long distance and large bend in haul automobile is realized. The position information is input into EEPROM to be saved for short time after handled by AT89S52. The information is as the welding position information as well as the speed adjusting data of the welding wire when it welds the several bend of the work piece. The practice indicates that this system has high pre-tracking precision, good anti-disturb ability, excellent reliability, easy operating ability and good adaptability to the field of production.

Validation of a photography-based goniometry method for measuring joint range of motion.

PubMed

Blonna, Davide; Zarkadas, Peter C; Fitzsimmons, James S; O'Driscoll, Shawn W

2012-01-01

A critical component of evaluating the outcomes after surgery to restore lost elbow motion is the range of motion (ROM) of the elbow. This study examined if digital photography-based goniometry is as accurate and reliable as clinical goniometry for measuring elbow ROM. Instrument validity and reliability for photography-based goniometry were evaluated for a consecutive series of 50 elbow contractures by 4 observers with different levels of elbow experience. Goniometric ROM measurements were taken with the elbows in full extension and full flexion directly in the clinic (once) and from digital photographs (twice in a blinded random manner). Instrument validity for photography-based goniometry was extremely high (intraclass correlation coefficient: extension = 0.98, flexion = 0.96). For extension and flexion measurements by the expert surgeon, systematic error was negligible (0° and 1°, respectively). Limits of agreement were 7° (95% confidence interval [CI], 5° to 9°) and -7° (95% CI, -5° to -9°) for extension and 8° (95% CI, 6° to 10°) and -7° (95% CI, -5° to -9°) for flexion. Interobserver reliability for photography-based goniometry was better than that for clinical goniometry. The least experienced observer's photographic goniometry measurements were closer to the reference measurements than the clinical goniometry measurements. Photography-based goniometry is accurate and reliable for measuring elbow ROM. The photography-based method relied less on observer expertise than clinical goniometry. This validates an objective measure of patient outcome without requiring doctor-patient contact at a tertiary care center, where most contracture surgeries are done. Copyright © 2012 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

National Board Certification and Developmentally Appropriate Practices: Perceptions of Impact.

PubMed

McKenzie, Ellen Nancy

2013-04-01

The study investigated a relationship between National Board certification and perceived use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A self-developed survey, the Early-childhood Teacher Inventory of Practices, was e-mailed to participants. Participants included 246 non-National Board-certified (non-NBCT) and 135 National Board-certified (NBCT) early childhood teachers. Descriptives were reported for age, years of teaching experience, grade level currently teaching, ethnicity, degree type, certification type, and degree level. Inferential statistics were used to understand the differences between perceived use of DAP. NBCTs scored significantly higher than non-NBCTs in three of the four target areas and on the total of the scale. Pearson product-moment corelations were used to determine a relationship between years of experience or level of education and NBCTs' perceived use of DAP. Years of experience were significantly related, but level of education was not. The findings indicate that NBCT teachers perceive they incorporate more developmentally appropriate practices into their teaching than do non-NBCT teachers.

National Board Certification and Developmentally Appropriate Practices: Perceptions of Impact

PubMed Central

McKenzie, Ellen Nancy

2013-01-01

The study investigated a relationship between National Board certification and perceived use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A self-developed survey, the Early-childhood Teacher Inventory of Practices, was e-mailed to participants. Participants included 246 non-National Board-certified (non-NBCT) and 135 National Board-certified (NBCT) early childhood teachers. Descriptives were reported for age, years of teaching experience, grade level currently teaching, ethnicity, degree type, certification type, and degree level. Inferential statistics were used to understand the differences between perceived use of DAP. NBCTs scored significantly higher than non-NBCTs in three of the four target areas and on the total of the scale. Pearson product-moment corelations were used to determine a relationship between years of experience or level of education and NBCTs’ perceived use of DAP. Years of experience were significantly related, but level of education was not. The findings indicate that NBCT teachers perceive they incorporate more developmentally appropriate practices into their teaching than do non-NBCT teachers. PMID:23626399

Design of a wheeled articulating land rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stauffer, Larry; Dilorenzo, Mathew; Yandle, Barbara

1994-01-01

The WALRUS is a wheeled articulating land rover that will provide Ames Research Center with a reliable, autonomous vehicle for demonstrating and evaluating advanced technologies. The vehicle is one component of the Ames Research Center's on-going Human Exploration Demonstration Project. Ames Research Center requested a system capable of traversing a broad spectrum of surface types and obstacles. In addition, this vehicle must have an autonomous navigation and control system on board and its own source of power. The resulting design is a rover that articulates in two planes of motion to allow for increased mobility and stability. The rover is driven by six conical shaped aluminum wheels, each with an independent, internally coupled motor. Mounted on the rover are two housings and a removable remote control system. In the housings, the motor controller board, tilt sensor, navigation circuitry, and QED board are mounted. Finally, the rover's motors and electronics are powered by thirty C-cell rechargeable batteries, which are located in the rover wheels and recharged by a specially designed battery charger.

Nintendo Wii Balance Board is sensitive to effects of visual tasks on standing sway in healthy elderly adults.

PubMed

Koslucher, Frank; Wade, Michael G; Nelson, Brent; Lim, Kelvin; Chen, Fu-Chen; Stoffregen, Thomas A

2012-07-01

Research has shown that the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) can reliably detect the quantitative kinematics of the center of pressure in stance. Previous studies used relatively coarse manipulations (1- vs. 2-leg stance, and eyes open vs. closed). We sought to determine whether the WBB could reliably detect postural changes associated with subtle variations in visual tasks. Healthy elderly adults stood on a WBB while performing one of two visual tasks. In the Inspection task, they maintained their gaze within the boundaries of a featureless target. In the Search task, they counted the occurrence of designated target letters within a block of text. Consistent with previous studies using traditional force plates, the positional variability of the center of pressure was reduced during performance of the Search task, relative to movement during performance of the Inspection task. Using detrended fluctuation analysis, a measure of movement dynamics, we found that COP trajectories were more predictable during performance of the Search task than during performance of the Inspection task. The results indicate that the WBB is sensitive to subtle variations in both the magnitude and dynamics of body sway that are related to variations in visual tasks engaged in during stance. The WBB is an inexpensive, reliable technology that can be used to evaluate subtle characteristics of body sway in large or widely dispersed samples. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sandia and NJ TRANSIT Authority Developing Resilient Power Grid

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

Hanley, Charles J.; Ellis, Abraham

2014-11-01

Through the memorandum of understanding between the Depratment of Energy (DOE), the New Jersey Transit Authority (NJ Transit), and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Sandia National Labs is assisting NJ Transit in developing NJ TransitGrid: an electric microgrid that will include a large-scale gas-fired generation facility and distributed energy resources (photovoltaics [PV], energy storage, electric vehicles, combined heat and power [CHP]) to supply reliable power during storms or other times of significant power failure. The NJ TransitGrid was awarded $410M from the Department of Transportation to develop a first-of-its-kind electric microgrid capable of supplying highly-reliable power.

Prospective Evaluation of Thoracic Ultrasound in the Detection of Pneumothorax

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwarz, K. W.; Hamilton, D. R.; Kirkpatrick, A. W.; Billica, R. D.; Williams, D. R.; Diebel, L. N.; Sargysan, A. E.; Dulchavsky, S. A.

2000-01-01

Introduction: Pneumothorax (PTX) occurs commonly in trauma patients and is confirmed by examination and radiography. Thoracic ultrasound (VIS) has been suggested as an alternative method for rapidly diagnosing PTX when X-ray is unavailable as in rural, military, or space flight settings; however, its accuracy and specificity are not known. Methods: We evaluated the accuracy of thoracic U/S detection of PTX compared to radiography in stable, emergency patients with a high suspicion of PTX at a Level-l trauma center over a 6-month period. Following University and NASA Institutional Review Board approval, informed consent was obtained from patients with penetrating or blunt chest trauma, or with a history consistent with PTX. Whenever possible, the presence or absence of the " lung sliding" sign or the "comet tail" artifact were determined by U/S in both hemithoraces by residents instructed in thoracic U/S before standard radiologic verification of PTX. Results were recorded on data sheets for comparison to standard radiography. Results: Thoracic VIS had a 94% sensitivity; two PTX could not be reliably diagnosed due to subcutaneous air; the true negative rate was 100%. In one patient, the VIS exam was positive while X ray did not confirm PTX; a follow-up film 1 hour later demonstrated a small PTX. The average time for bilateral thoracic VIS examination was 2 to 3 minutes. Conclusions: Thoracic ultrasound reliably diagnoses pneumothorax. Presence of the "lung sliding" sign conclusively excludes pneumothorax. Expansion of the FAST examination to include the thorax should be investigated.

Teachers' Attitude towards ICT Use in Secondary Schools: A Scale Development Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydin, Mehmet Kemal; Semerci, Ali; Gürol, Mehmet

2016-01-01

The current study aims to develop a valid and reliable instrument that measures secondary school teachers' attitudes towards ICT use in teaching and learning process. A cross-sectional survey design was employed with a group of 173 teachers. Based on the literature review, a pool of 21 items was proposed and reviewed by a board of experts. As to…

Electronic drive and acquisition system for mass spectrometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaefer, Rembrandt Thomas (Inventor); Chutjian, Ara (Inventor); Tran, Tuan (Inventor); Madzunkov, Stojan M. (Inventor); Thomas, John L. (Inventor); Mojarradi, Mohammad (Inventor); MacAskill, John (Inventor); Blaes, Brent R. (Inventor); Darrach, Murray R. (Inventor); Burke, Gary R. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

The present invention discloses a mixed signal RF drive electronics board that offers small, low power, reliable, and customizable method for driving and generating mass spectra from a mass spectrometer, and for control of other functions such as electron ionizer, ion focusing, single-ion detection, multi-channel data accumulation and, if desired, front-end interfaces such as pumps, valves, heaters, and columns.

High-Stakes Testing in the Warm Heart of Africa: The Challenges and Successes of the Malawi National Examinations Board

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chakwera, Elias; Khembo, Dafter; Sireci, Stephen G.

2004-01-01

In the United States, tests are held to high standards of quality. In developing countries such as Malawi, psychometricians must deal with these same high standards as well as several additional pressures such as widespread cheating, test administration difficulties due to challenging landscapes and poor resources, difficulties in reliably scoring…

Body of Knowledge (BOK) for Leadless Quad Flat No-Lead/bottom Termination Components (QFN/BTC) Package Trends and Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2014-01-01

Bottom terminated components and quad flat no-lead (BTC/QFN) packages have been extensively used by commercial industry for more than a decade. Cost and performance advantages and the closeness of the packages to the boards make them especially unique for radio frequency (RF) applications. A number of high-reliability parts are now available in this style of package configuration. This report presents a summary of literature surveyed and provides a body of knowledge (BOK) gathered on the status of BTC/QFN and their advanced versions of multi-row QFN (MRQFN) packaging technologies. The report provides a comprehensive review of packaging trends and specifications on design, assembly, and reliability. Emphasis is placed on assembly reliability and associated key design and process parameters because they show lower life than standard leaded package assembly under thermal cycling exposures. Inspection of hidden solder joints for assuring quality is challenging and is similar to ball grid arrays (BGAs). Understanding the key BTC/QFN technology trends, applications, processing parameters, workmanship defects, and reliability behavior is important when judicially selecting and narrowing the follow-on packages for evaluation and testing, as well as for the low risk insertion in high-reliability applications.

Body of Knowledge (BOK) for Leadless Quad Flat No-Lead/Bottom Termination Components (QFN/BTC) Package Trends and Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2014-01-01

Bottom terminated components and quad flat no-lead (BTC/QFN) packages have been extensively used by commercial industry for more than a decade. Cost and performance advantages and the closeness of the packages to the boards make them especially unique for radio frequency (RF) applications. A number of high-reliability parts are now available in this style of package configuration. This report presents a summary of literature surveyed and provides a body of knowledge (BOK) gathered on the status of BTC/QFN and their advanced versions of multi-row QFN (MRQFN) packaging technologies. The report provides a comprehensive review of packaging trends and specifications on design, assembly, and reliability. Emphasis is placed on assembly reliability and associated key design and process parameters because they show lower life than standard leaded package assembly under thermal cycling exposures. Inspection of hidden solder joints for assuring quality is challenging and is similar to ball grid arrays (BGAs). Understanding the key BTC/QFN technology trends, applications, processing parameters, workmanship defects, and reliability behavior is important when judicially selecting and narrowing the follow-on packages for evaluation and testing, as well as for the low risk insertion in high-reliability applications.

Assessing the predictive value of the American Board of Family Practice In-training Examination.

PubMed

Replogle, William H; Johnson, William D

2004-03-01

The American Board of Family Practice In-training Examination (ABFP ITE) is a cognitive examination similar in content to the ABFP Certification Examination (CE). The ABFP ITE is widely used in family medicine residency programs. It was originally developed and intended to be used for assessment of groups of residents. Despite lack of empirical support, however, some residency programs are using ABFP ITE scores as individual resident performance indicators. This study's objective was to estimate the positive predictive value of the ABFP ITE for identifying residents at risk for poor performance on the ABFP CE or a subsequent ABFP ITE. We used a normal distribution model for correlated test scores and Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the effect of test reliability (measurement errors) on the positive predictive value of the ABFP ITE. The positive predictive value of the composite score was .72. The positive predictive value of the eight specialty subscales ranged from .26 to .57. Only the composite score of the ABFP ITE has acceptable positive predictive value to be used as part of a comprehension resident evaluation system. The ABFP ITE specialty subscales do not have sufficient positive predictive value or reliability to warrant use as performance indicators.

Validity and Reliability of Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Scores

PubMed Central

Wikstrom, Erik A.

2012-01-01

Context: Interactive gaming systems have the potential to help rehabilitate patients with musculoskeletal conditions. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board, which is part of the Wii Fit game, could be an effective tool to monitor progress during rehabilitation because the board and game can provide objective measures of balance. However, the validity and reliability of Wii Fit balance scores remain unknown. Objective: To determine the concurrent validity of balance scores produced by the Wii Fit game and the intrasession and intersession reliability of Wii Fit balance scores. Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Setting: Sports medicine research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Forty-five recreationally active participants (age  =  27.0 ± 9.8 years, height  =  170.9 ± 9.2 cm, mass  =  72.4 ± 11.8 kg) with a heterogeneous history of lower extremity injury. Intervention(s): Participants completed a single-limb–stance task on a force plate and the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) during the first test session. Twelve Wii Fit balance activities were completed during 2 test sessions separated by 1 week. Main Outcome Measure(s): Postural sway in the anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions and the AP, ML, and resultant center-of-pressure (COP) excursions were calculated from the single-limb stance. The normalized reach distance was recorded for the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions of the SEBT. Wii Fit balance scores that the game software generated also were recorded. Results: All 96 of the calculated correlation coefficients among Wii Fit activity outcomes and established balance outcomes were interpreted as poor (r < 0.50). Intrasession reliability for Wii Fit balance activity scores ranged from good (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]  =  0.80) to poor (ICC  =  0.39), with 8 activities having poor intrasession reliability. Similarly, 11 of the 12 Wii Fit balance activity scores demonstrated poor intersession reliability, with scores ranging from fair (ICC  =  0.74) to poor (ICC  =  0.29). Conclusions: Wii Fit balance activity scores had poor concurrent validity relative to COP outcomes and SEBT reach distances. In addition, the included Wii Fit balance activity scores generally had poor intrasession and intersession reliability. PMID:22892412

Evaluating discussion board engagement in the MoodSwings online self-help program for bipolar disorder: protocol for an observational prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Gliddon, Emma; Lauder, Sue; Berk, Lesley; Cosgrove, Victoria; Grimm, David; Dodd, Seetal; Suppes, Trisha; Berk, Michael

2015-10-14

Online, self-guided programs exist for a wide range of mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder, and discussion boards are often part of these interventions. The impact engagement with these discussion boards has on the psychosocial well-being of users is largely unknown. More specifically we need to clarify the influence of the type and level of engagement on outcomes. The primary aim of this exploratory study is to determine if there is a relationship between different types (active, passive or none) and levels (high, mid and low) of discussion board engagement and improvement in outcome measures from baseline to follow up, with a focus on self-reported social support, stigma, quality of life and levels of depression and mania. The secondary aim of this study is to identify any differences in demographic variables among discussion users. The present study is a sub-study of the MoodSwings 2.0 3-arm randomised controlled trial (discussion board only (arm 1), discussion board plus psychoeducation (arm 2), discussion board, psychoeducation plus cognitive behavioural therapy-based tools (arm 3)). Discussion engagement will be measured via online participant activity monitoring. Assessments include online self-report as well as blinded phone interviews at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months follow up. The results of this study will help to inform future programs about whether or not discussion boards are a beneficial inclusion in online self-help interventions. It will also help to determine if motivating users to actively engage in online discussion is necessary, and if so, what level of engagement is optimal to produce the most benefit. Future programs may benefit through being able to identify those most likely to poorly engage, based on demographic variables, so motivational strategies can be targeted accordingly. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02118623 registered April 15 2014 and NCT02106078 registered May 16 2013.

1975 Washington timber harvest.

Treesearch

J.D. Jr. Lloyd

1977-01-01

In 1975, the Washington timber harvest declined for the 2d year to 6.2 billion board feet, 10 percent below 1974, and the lowest level in 8 years. The decrease, which occurred on almost all ownerships, amounted to 561 million board feet in western Washington and 130 million board feet in eastern Washington.

Independent School Leadership: Heads, Boards, and Strategic Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Troy; Campbell, Stephen; Ostroff, David

2016-01-01

This study seeks to identify and assess factors that contribute to effective independent school governance at the board of trustees level. A review of extant literature reveals two major challenges: (a) definitions and standards of board effectiveness are inconsistent, and (b) there is very little empirical evidence to support existing definitions…

Gendered Behavior Patterns in School Board Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mountford, Meredith; Brunner, C. Cryss

2010-01-01

Background/Context: Educational leadership literature lacks research focused on how gender influences decision making, in particular at the highest level of school governance, the school board table. Consequently, whether gender makes a difference during decision making at the school board table has yet to be determined. Purpose/Objective/Research…

Loopback Tester: a synchronous communications circuit diagnostic device

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

Maestas, J.H.

1986-07-01

The Loopback Tester is an Intel SBC 86/12A Single Board Computer and an Intel SBC 534 Communications Expansion Board configured and programmed to perform various basic or less. These tests include: (1) Data Communications Equipment (DCE) transmit timing detection (2) data rate measurement (3) instantaneous loopback indication and (4) bit error rate testing. It requires no initial setup after plug in, and can be used to locate the source of communications loss in a circuit. It can also be used to determine when crypto variable mismatch problems are the source of communications loss. This report discusses the functionality of themore » Loopback Tester as a diagnostic device. It also discusses the hardware and software which implements this simple yet reliable device.« less

Concepts for on-board satellite image registration. Volume 3: Impact of VLSI/VHSIC on satellite on-board signal processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aanstoos, J. V.; Snyder, W. E.

1981-01-01

Anticipated major advances in integrated circuit technology in the near future are described as well as their impact on satellite onboard signal processing systems. Dramatic improvements in chip density, speed, power consumption, and system reliability are expected from very large scale integration. Improvements are expected from very large scale integration enable more intelligence to be placed on remote sensing platforms in space, meeting the goals of NASA's information adaptive system concept, a major component of the NASA End-to-End Data System program. A forecast of VLSI technological advances is presented, including a description of the Defense Department's very high speed integrated circuit program, a seven-year research and development effort.

Multi-level Simulation of a Real Time Vibration Monitoring System Component

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robertson, Bryan A.; Wilkerson, Delisa

2005-01-01

This paper describes the development of a custom built Digital Signal Processing (DSP) printed circuit board designed to implement the Advanced Real Time Vibration Monitoring Subsystem proposed by Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Transportation Directorate in 2000 for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Advanced Health Management System (AHMS). This Real Time Vibration Monitoring System (RTVMS) is being developed for ground use as part of the AHMS Health Management Computer-Integrated Rack Assembly (HMC-IRA). The HMC-IRA RTVMS design contains five DSPs which are highly interconnected through individual communication ports, shared memory, and a unique communication router that allows all the DSPs to receive digitized data fiom two multi-channel analog boards simultaneously. This paper will briefly cover the overall board design but will focus primarily on the state-of-the-art simulation environment within which this board was developed. This 16-layer board with over 1800 components and an additional mezzanine card has been an extremely challenging design. Utilization of a Mentor Graphics simulation environment provided the unique board and system level simulation capability to ascertain any timing or functional concerns before production. By combining VHDL, Synopsys Software and Hardware Models, and the Mentor Design Capture Environment, multiple simulations were developed to verify the RTVMS design. This multi-level simulation allowed the designers to achieve complete operability without error the first time the RTVMS printed circuit board was powered. The HMC-IRA design has completed all engineering and deliverable unit testing. P

Multi-level Simulation of a Real Time Vibration Monitoring System Component

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberston, Bryan; Wilkerson, DeLisa

2004-01-01

This paper describes the development of a custom built Digital Signal Processing (DSP) printed circuit board designed to implement the Advanced Real Time Vibration Monitoring Subsystem proposed by MSFC Transportation Directorate in 2000 for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Advanced Health Management System (AHMS). This Real Time Vibration Monitoring System (RTVMS) is being developed for ground use as part of the AHMS Health Management Computer-Integrated Rack Assembly (HMC-IRA). The HMC-IRA RTVMS design contains five DSPs which are highly interconnected through individual communication ports, shared memory, and a unique communication router that allows all the DSPs to receive digitized data from two multi-channel analog boards simultaneously. This paper will briefly cover the overall board design but will focus primarily on the state-of-the-art simulation environment within which this board was developed. This 16-layer board with over 1800 components and an additional mezzanine card has been an extremely challenging design. Utilization of a Mentor Graphics simulation environment provided the unique board and system level simulation capability to ascertain any timing or functional concerns before production. By combining VHDL, Synopsys Software and Hardware Models, and the Mentor Design Capture Environment, multiple simulations were developed to verify the RTVMS design. This multi-level simulation allowed the designers to achieve complete operability without error the first time the RTVMS printed circuit board was powered. The HMCIRA design has completed all engineering unit testing and the deliverable unit is currently under development.

The effects of single-session music therapy interventions on the observed and self-reported levels of pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation of hospice patients.

PubMed

Krout, R E

2001-01-01

This article describes the process and results of a three-month music therapy clinical effectiveness study conducted with terminally ill patients. The purpose of this study was to quantify and evaluate the effectiveness of single-session music therapy interventions with hospice patients in three patient problem areas: pain control; physical comfort; and relaxation. Data from a total of 90 sessions conducted with a total of 80 subjects served by Hospice of Palm Beach County, Florida, were included in the study. Music therapy services were provided by five board-certified music therapists and one music therapist eligible for board certification. The subjects in this study were receiving regularly scheduled music therapy services from the hospice organization. The study used both behavioral observation and subject's self-reporting as methods of data reporting and recording. Subjects were observed for, or self-reported, their levels of pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation, both before and after each music therapy session. The subjects were served in the environments where music therapy services would normally be delivered (i.e., home, hospital, nursing home, or inpatient acute-care unit of the hospice organization). Music therapy services included live active and passive music-based experiences. These were designed to build and to establish rapport with patient or family, to facilitate family interaction and patient control, to provide support and comfort, to facilitate relaxation, to enable reminiscence and life review, to provide a frame-work for spiritual exploration and validation, and to encourage the identification and expression of feelings of anticipatory mourning and grief. A total of six hypotheses stated that there would be significant pre- to postsession differences in each of the three variables: pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation, as measured during two different session and data collection scenarios. These scenarios included the independent observation and recording of the three subject variables and the subject's self-report of each variable. Reliability correlation coefficients were calculated for each of the different session and data-collection scenarios to help assess the correlation between primary and reliability observers. Pearson product moment correlations indicated reliability agreement coefficients of r = .85 and r = .90. One-tailed t-tests were performed on the collected data for subject pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation. Results of the t-tests were significant at the p < or = .001 (for observed pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation) and p < or = 005 (for self-reported pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation) levels. These results suggest that single-session music therapy interventions appear to be effective in increasing subject pain control, physical comfort, and relaxation during both data collection scenarios. Based on the results of these tests of the analyzed data, the hypotheses were all accepted. Tables illustrate pre- to post-session changes in levels of all three variables from both session and data-collection scenarios. Copies of the data-collection forms are also included in the Appendix. The discussion section addresses limitations of this study and suggestions for future studies.

CDF trigger interface board 'FRED'

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

Campbell, M.; Dell' Orso, M.; Giannetti, P.

1985-08-01

We describe FASTBUS boards which interface sixteen different trigger interrupts to the Collider Detector Facility (CDF) data acquisition system. The boards are known to CDF by the acronym 'FRED'. The data acquisition scheme for CDF allows for up to 16 different parts of the detector, called 'Partitions', to run independently. Four partitions are reserved for physics runs and sophisticated calibration and debugging: they use the common Level 1 and Level 2 trigger logic and have access to information from all the components of the CDF detector. These four partitions are called ''CDF Partitions''. The remaining twelve partitions have no accessmore » to the common trigger logic and provide their own Level 1 and Level 2 signals: they are called ''Autonomous Partitions''. Fred collects and interprets signals from independent parts of the CDF trigger system and delivers Level 1 and Level 2 responses to the Trigger Supervisors (FASTBUS masters which control the data acquisition process in each partition).« less

Overseeing oversight: governance of quality and safety by hospital boards in the English NHS.

PubMed

Mannion, Russell; Davies, Huw; Freeman, Tim; Millar, Ross; Jacobs, Rowena; Kasteridis, Panos

2015-01-01

To contribute towards an understanding of hospital board composition and to explore board oversight of patient safety and health care quality in the English NHS. We reviewed the theory related to hospital board governance and undertook two national surveys about board management in NHS acute and specialist hospital trusts in England. The first survey was issued to 150 trusts in 2011/2012 and was completed online via a dedicated web tool. A total 145 replies were received (97% response rate). The second online survey was undertaken in 2012/2013 and targeted individual board members, using a previously validated standard instrument on board members' attitudes and competencies (the Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire). A total of 334 responses were received from 165 executive and 169 non-executive board members, providing at least one response from 95 of the 144 NHS trusts then in existence (66% response rate). Over 90% of the English NHS trust boards had 10-15 members. We found no significant difference in board size between trusts of different types (e.g. Foundation Trusts versus non-Foundation Trusts and Teaching Hospital Trusts versus non-Teaching Hospital Trusts). Clinical representation on boards was limited: around 62% had three or fewer members with clinical backgrounds. For about two-thirds of the trusts (63%), board members with a clinical background comprised less than 30% of the members. Boards were using a wide range and mix of quantitative performance metrics and soft intelligence (e.g. walk-arounds, patient stories) to monitor their organisations with regard to patient safety. The Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire data showed generally high or very high levels of agreement with desirable statements of practice in each of its six dimensions. Aggregate levels of agreement within each dimension ranged from 73% (for the dimension addressing interpersonal issues) to 85% (on the political). English NHS boards largely hold a wide range of attitudes and behaviours that might be expected to benefit patient safety and quality. However, there is significant scope for improvement as regards formal training for board members on quality and safety, routine morbidity reporting at boards and attention to the interpersonal dynamics within boards. Directors with clinical backgrounds remain a minority on most boards despite policies to increase their representation. A better understanding of board composition, actions and attitudes should help refine policy recommendations around boards. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Large public display boards: a case study of an OR board and design implications.

PubMed

Lasome, C E; Xiao, Y

2001-01-01

A compelling reason for studying artifacts in collaborative work is to inform design. We present a case study of a public display board (12 ft by 4 ft) in a Level-I trauma center operating room (OR) unit. The board has evolved into a sophisticated coordination tool for clinicians and supporting personnel. This paper draws on study findings about how the OR board is used and organizes the findings into three areas: (1) visual and physical properties of the board that are exploited for collaboration, (2) purposes the board was configured to serve, and (3) types of physical and perceptual interaction with the board. Findings and implications related to layout, size, flexibility, task management, problem-solving, resourcing, shared awareness, and communication are discussed in an effort to propose guidelines to facilitate the design of electronic, computer driven display boards in the OR environment.

Printed wiring board system programmer's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brinkerhoff, C. D.

1973-01-01

The printed wiring board system provides automated techniques for the design of printed circuit boards and hybrid circuit boards. The system consists of four programs: (1) the preprocessor program combines user supplied data and pre-defined library data to produce the detailed circuit description data; (2) the placement program assigns circuit components to specific areas of the board in a manner that optimizes the total interconnection length of the circuit; (3) the organizer program assigns pin interconnections to specific board levels and determines the optimal order in which the router program should attempt to layout the paths connecting the pins; and (4) the router program determines the wire paths which are to be used to connect each input pin pair on the circuit board. This document is intended to serve as a programmer's reference manual for the printed wiring board system. A detailed description of the internal logic and flow of the printed wiring board programs is included.

Intelligent Design and educational policy: The case of Kansas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, John Yoshito

Advocates of an alternative explanation of life's origins, Intelligent Design, have lobbied hard since the 1987 Edwards v. Aguillard decision, which banned "creation science" from public schools, to effect educational policy change through local and state-level school boards. This study examines one such lobbying effort, the 2005 attempt to modify the Kansas Curricular Standards for Science so that biological evolution is actively challenged in the classroom, by analyzing the actions and motivations of several members of the Kansas Board of Education as well as non-Board participants through personal interviews and contemporary media reports. Board minutes from 1999 to 2007 and transcripts from the Board's May, 2005, public hearings on evolution are also analyzed. This study asks, "what strategies have creationists developed in the wake of the 1987 Edwards v. Aguillard Supreme Court decision striking down creation science and how have those strategies been employed?" The question's presumption, that Intelligent Design advocates have employed new strategies to advance a creationist agenda, is validated in the study through coding the language used by the interviewees, the Board minutes, and hearings transcripts, as well as a review of contemporary media coverage. Several themes emerged: the belief of participants on each side of the debate that their opponents were attempting to oppress their views, participants on each side claiming to have the best definition of "good science," the emergence of national-level organizations such as the Discovery Institute in coordinating science-related public advocacy at the state level, evolution's importance as a state-level public policy issue, and the importance of keeping the voting public informed of science-related educational policy. This case study should be useful to state and local-level educational policymakers grappling with debates over the place of evolution in public schools.

Downlinks for DBS - Design and engineering considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blecker, M.; Martin, E. R.

1985-01-01

The subsystem interrelationships and design parameters choice procedures for a DBS downlink design are discussed from a business decisions point of view. The image quality is determined by customer satisfaction, which is translated to a required carrier/noise (C/N) ratio. The C/N ratio defines acceptable levels of signal fading, a subjective value which is modified by the demographics of the service area. Increasing the satellite on-board transmitting power to meet acceptable broadcast reliability places burdens on the start-up capitalization of the business. Larger receiving antennas in rural areas ameliorates some of the power requirements. The dish size, however, affects the labor costs of installation, but must be kept small enough to be used in heavily populated areas. The satellites must be built, as far as is possible, from off-the-shelf components to keep costs down. Design selections for a sample complete system are listed.

StressHacker: Towards Practical Stress Monitoring in the Wild with Smartwatches.

PubMed

Hao, Tian; Walter, Kimberly N; Ball, Marion J; Chang, Hung-Yang; Sun, Si; Zhu, Xinxin

2017-01-01

In modern life, the nonstop and pervasive stress tends to keep us on long-lasting high alert, which over time, could lead to a broad range of health problems from depression, metabolic disorders to heart diseases. However, there is a stunning lack of practical tools for effective stress management that can help people navigate through their daily stress. This paper presents the feasibility evaluation of StressHacker, a smartwatch-based system designed to continuously and passively monitor one's stress level using bio-signals obtained from the on-board sensors. With the proliferation of smartwatches, StressHacker is highly accessible and suited for daily use. Our preliminary evaluation is based on 300 hours of data collected in a real-life setting (12 subjects, 29 days). The result suggests that StressHacker is capable of reliably capturing daily stress dynamics (precision = 86.1%, recall = 91.2%), thus with great potential to enable seamless and personalized stress management.

A highly sensitive and specific capacitive aptasensor for rapid and label-free trace analysis of Bisphenol A (BPA) in canned foods.

PubMed

Mirzajani, Hadi; Cheng, Cheng; Wu, Jayne; Chen, Jiangang; Eda, Shigotoshi; Najafi Aghdam, Esmaeil; Badri Ghavifekr, Habib

2017-03-15

A rapid, highly sensitive, specific and low-cost capacitive affinity biosensor is presented here for label-free and single step detection of Bisphenol A (BPA). The sensor design allows rapid prototyping at low-cost using printed circuit board material by benchtop equipment. High sensitivity detection is achieved through the use of a BPA-specific aptamer as probe molecule and large electrodes to enhance AC-electroelectrothermal effect for long-range transport of BPA molecules toward electrode surface. Capacitive sensing technique is used to determine the bounded BPA level by measuring the sample/electrode interfacial capacitance of the sensor. The developed biosensor can detect BPA level in 20s and exhibits a large linear range from 1 fM to 10 pM, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 152.93 aM. This biosensor was applied to test BPA in canned food samples and could successfully recover the levels of spiked BPA. This sensor technology is demonstrated to be highly promising and reliable for rapid, sensitive and on-site monitoring of BPA in food samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Early Oscillation Detection for DC/DC Converter Fault Diagnosis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Bright L.

2011-01-01

The electrical power system of a spacecraft plays a very critical role for space mission success. Such a modern power system may contain numerous hybrid DC/DC converters both inside the power system electronics (PSE) units and onboard most of the flight electronics modules. One of the faulty conditions for DC/DC converter that poses serious threats to mission safety is the random occurrence of oscillation related to inherent instability characteristics of the DC/DC converters and design deficiency of the power systems. To ensure the highest reliability of the power system, oscillations in any form shall be promptly detected during part level testing, system integration tests, flight health monitoring, and on-board fault diagnosis. The popular gain/phase margin analysis method is capable of predicting stability levels of DC/DC converters, but it is limited only to verification of designs and to part-level testing on some of the models. This method has to inject noise signals into the control loop circuitry as required, thus, interrupts the DC/DC converter's normal operation and increases risks of degrading and damaging the flight unit. A novel technique to detect oscillations at early stage for flight hybrid DC/DC converters was developed.

75 FR 49938 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; NIH NCI Central Institutional Review Board (CIRB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-16

... Institutional Review Board (CIRB). Type of Information Collection Request: Existing Collection in Use Without an... level of reviewer and board member satisfaction and is absent of conflicts of interest with the... operations as well as a non-disclosure agreement. A conflict of interest form is completed occasionally or...

Vocational & Industrial Training Board Annual Report 89/90.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fairfax County Public Schools, Falls Church, VA. Office of Adult and Community Education.

During fiscal year (FY) 1989, the Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB) in Singapore offered full-time training at seven levels for secondary school leavers. The board's intake of 9,333 participants was 8% below the FY 1988 intake, a fact that was attributed to fewer primary school leavers. The introduction of the Revised Vocational…

Turning Schools Around: The National Board Certification Process as a School Improvement Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaquith, Ann; Snyder, Jon

2016-01-01

Can the National Board certification process support school improvement where large proportions of students score below grade level on standardized tests? This SCOPE study examines a project that sought to seize and capitalize upon the learning opportunities embedded in the National Board certification process, particularly opportunities to learn…

Turning Schools Around: The National Board Certification Process as a School Improvement Strategy. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaquith, Ann; Snyder, Jon

2016-01-01

Can the National Board certification process support school improvement where large proportions of students score below grade level on standardized tests? This SCOPE study examines a project that sought to seize and capitalize upon the learning opportunities embedded in the National Board certification process, particularly opportunities to learn…

Health governance--its introduction in Lanarkshire Health Board.

PubMed

Wrench, J G; Moir, D C

2002-01-01

To describe an approach to implementing the principles of clinical governance in a Health Board setting. Using guidance from the Scottish Executive and The Faculty of Public Health Medicine to set up a health governance structure at Health Board level. Auditing current work to identify areas that required to be progressed. Lanarkshire Health Board. A Health Governance Committee and a Health Governance Advisory Group, to support the work of the main committee, were set up at Board level. The Scottish Executive Governance Monitoring Template has been adapted to cover the main public health functions. Topics considered in the first year include qualifications, registration and CPD activity of Consultants in Public Health Medicine, audit of public health advice on gastro-intestinal illness, audit of DPH Annual Report and audit of items of business on Health Board agenda. The model developed in Lanarkshire has a Health Governance Advisory Group which works in support of the main Health Governance Committee. This model works well in practice with much of the routine work being done by the Advisory Group. This has streamlined the work of the Health Governance Committee and facilitated its introduction.

A scheme for a high-power, low-cost transmitter for deep space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheffer, L. K.

2005-10-01

Applications such as planetary radars and spacecraft communications require transmitters with extremely high effective isotropic radiated power. Until now, this has been done by combining a high-power microwave source with a large reflective antenna. However, this arrangement has a number of disadvantages. It is costly, since the steerable reflector alone is quite expensive, and for spacecraft communications, the need to transmit hurts the receive performance. For planetary radars, the utilization is very low since the antenna must be shared with other applications such as radio astronomy or spacecraft communications. This paper describes a potential new way of building such transmitters with lower cost, greater versatility, higher reliability, and potentially higher power. The basic idea is a phased array with a very large number of low-power elements, built with mass production techniques that have been optimized for consumer markets. The antennas are built en mass on printed circuit boards and are driven by chips, built with consumer complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology, that adjust the phase of each element. Assembly and maintenance should be comparatively inexpensive since the boards need only be attached to large, flat, unmoving, ground-level infrastructure. Applications to planetary radar and spacecraft communications are examined. Although we would be unlikely to use such a facility in this way, an implication for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is that high-power beacons are easier to build than had been thought.

[The willingness to pay for new drugs is based on ethical principles].

PubMed

Liliemark, Jan; Lööf, Lars; Befrits, Gustaf; Back, Stefan; Sandman, Lars

2016-10-18

The County Council's board for new therapies (the NT Council) provides recommendations on the use of new drugs based on the ethical platform of priorities, founded by the Swedish parliament. The Council has formulated a policy that interprets the parliamentary ethical platform and operationalize its need and solidarity principle and cost effectiveness principle in four dimensions. The NT Council weighs the health economic evaluation of the drug and the four dimensions: the severity of the condition, the rarity of the condition, the effect size and the data reliability to determine the willingness to pay level and whether the platform allows a recommendation for using of the drug. The severity of the condition has a greater impact than the other dimensions. In the assessment of severity there is also a trade-off between prevention and treatment of manifest diseases and in prevention, the size of the risk of falling ill is of importance. A slightly higher willingness to pay level is reasonable for treatment of very rare conditions, but it is important that identified patients are not given priority over anonymous patient groups with equally strong needs.

Effect of Compressive Stresses on Leakage Currents in Microchip Tantalum Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2012-01-01

Microchip tantalum capacitors are manufactured using new technologies that allow for production of small size capacitors (down to EIA case size 0402) with volumetric efficiency much greater than for regular chip capacitors. Due to a small size of the parts and leadless design they might be more sensitive to mechanical stresses that develop after soldering onto printed wiring boards (PWB) compared to standard chip capacitors. In this work, the effect of compressive stresses on leakage currents in capacitors has been investigated in the range of stresses up to 200 MPa. Significant, up to three orders of magnitude, variations of currents were observed after the stress exceeds a certain critical level that varied from 10 MPa to 180 MPa for capacitors used in this study. A stress-induced generation of electron traps in tantalum pentoxide dielectric is suggested to explain reversible variations of leakage currents in tantalum capacitors. Thermo-mechanical characteristics of microchip capacitors have been studied to estimate the level of stresses caused by assembly onto PWB and assess the risk of stress-related degradation and failures. Keywords: tantalum capacitors, leakage current, soldering, reliability, mechanical stress.

The National Board Certification Portfolio Process and Its Influence on Teacher Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Jennifer L.

2012-01-01

This study examined the types of teacher reflections and the changes in reflective levels as 15 candidates for National Board Certification worked through the portfolio process. This study also examined how the portfolio requirements and mentoring from candidate support providers helped teachers deepen their levels of reflection. Study findings…

Maui Smart Grid Demonstration Project Managing Distribution System Resources for Improved Service Quality and Reliability, Transmission Congestion Relief, and Grid Support Functions

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

none,

2014-09-30

The Maui Smart Grid Project (MSGP) is under the leadership of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The project team includes Maui Electric Company, Ltd. (MECO), Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO), Sentech (a division of SRA International, Inc.), Silver Spring Networks (SSN), Alstom Grid, Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), University of Hawaii-Maui College (UHMC), and the County of Maui. MSGP was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Cooperative Agreement Number DE-FC26-08NT02871, with approximately 50% co-funding supplied by MECO. The project was designed to develop and demonstrate an integrated monitoring, communications,more » database, applications, and decision support solution that aggregates renewable energy (RE), other distributed generation (DG), energy storage, and demand response technologies in a distribution system to achieve both distribution and transmission-level benefits. The application of these new technologies and procedures will increase MECO’s visibility into system conditions, with the expected benefits of enabling more renewable energy resources to be integrated into the grid, improving service quality, increasing overall reliability of the power system, and ultimately reducing costs to both MECO and its customers.« less

The Geostationary Operational Satellite R Series SpaceWire Based Data System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, William; Birmingham, Michael; Krimchansky, Alexander; Lombardi, Matthew

2016-01-01

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series Program (GOES-R, S, T, and U) mission is a joint program between National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). SpaceWire was selected as the science data bus as well as command and telemetry for the GOES instruments. GOES-R, S, T, and U spacecraft have a mission data loss requirement for all data transfers between the instruments and spacecraft requiring error detection and correction at the packet level. The GOES-R Reliable Data Delivery Protocol (GRDDP) [1] was developed in house to provide a means of reliably delivering data among various on board sources and sinks. The GRDDP was presented to and accepted by the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) and is part of the ECSS Protocol Identification Standard [2]. GOES-R development and integration is complete and the observatory is scheduled for launch November 2016. Now that instrument to spacecraft integration is complete, GOES-R Project reviewed lessons learned to determine how the GRDDP could be revised to improve the integration process. Based on knowledge gained during the instrument to spacecraft integration process the following is presented to help potential GRDDP users improve their system designs and implementation.

Selection of a method to rate the strength of scientific evidence for AORN recommendations.

PubMed

Steelman, Victoria M; Pape, Theresa; King, Cecil A; Graling, Paula; Gaberson, Kathleen B

2011-04-01

The use of scientific evidence to support national recommendations about clinical decisions has become an expectation of multidisciplinary health care organizations. The objectives of this project were to identify the most applicable evidence-rating method for perioperative nursing practice, evaluate the reliability of this method for perioperative nursing recommendations, and identify barriers and facilitators to adoption of this method for AORN recommendations. A panel of perioperative nurse experts evaluated 46 evidence-rating systems for quality, quantity, and consistency. We rated the methods that fully covered all three domains on five aspects of applicability to perioperative nursing practice recommendations. The Oncology Nursing Society's method was rated highest for all five aspects of applicability, and interrater reliability of this method for perioperative recommendations was 100%. Potential barriers to implementation of the rating method include knowledge deficit, staff resources, resistance to change, and fear of showing that lower levels of evidence support some recommendations. Facilitators included education, resource allocation, and starting small. Barriers and facilitators will be considered by the implementation team that will develop a plan to achieve integration of evidence rating into AORN documents. The AORN Board of Directors approved adoption of this method in June 2010. Copyright © 2011 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computer-Aided Design for Built-In-Test (CADBIT) - Software Specification. Volume 3

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-10-01

CADD COMAN WIDO IO-CNURET MSL PPLYING~ TET ATEN Figur 3-13- TUTORIA FIGUR PLCMI IN CAD-NVIOMENT ON BOAR SEFTST- 1"os-rnenu, long-tur d nnnih que- list...have software package for reliability calculation A-8 LIBRARY ELEMENT DATA SHE T’" BIT TECHNIQUE: ON-BOARD ROM CATEGORY: L’ONG TUTORIA PAGE ,5 of 14

Applying Resource Utilization Groups (RUG-III) in Hong Kong Nursing Homes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Kee-Lee; Chi, Iris; Leung, Joe C. B.

2008-01-01

Resource Utilization Groups III (RUG-III) is a case-mix system developed in the United States for categorization of nursing home residents and the financing of residential care services. In Hong Kong, RUG-III is based on several board groups of residents. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the RUG-III in Hong Kong…

Applying Best Business Practices from Corporate Performance Management to DoD

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

leading or governing large, complex corporations and are experienced in creating reliable solutions to complex management issues guided by best business ...recommendations and effective solutions aimed at improving DoD. Defense Business Board Corporate Performance Management REPORT FY13-03 Task...Group 1 Applying Best Business Practices from Corporate Performance Management to DoD TASK The Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF

Ferroelectric memory evaluation and development system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bondurant, David W.

Attention is given to the Ramtron FEDS-1, an IBM PC/AT compatible single-board 16-b microcomputer with 8-kbyte program/data memory implemented with nonvolatile ferroelectric dynamic RAM. This is the first demonstration of a new type of solid state nonvolatile read/write memory, the ferroelectric RAM (FRAM). It is suggested that this memory technology will have a significant impact on avionics system performance and reliability.

Electric propulsion reliability: Statistical analysis of on-orbit anomalies and comparative analysis of electric versus chemical propulsion failure rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleh, Joseph Homer; Geng, Fan; Ku, Michelle; Walker, Mitchell L. R.

2017-10-01

With a few hundred spacecraft launched to date with electric propulsion (EP), it is possible to conduct an epidemiological study of EP's on orbit reliability. The first objective of the present work was to undertake such a study and analyze EP's track record of on orbit anomalies and failures by different covariates. The second objective was to provide a comparative analysis of EP's failure rates with those of chemical propulsion. Satellite operators, manufacturers, and insurers will make reliability- and risk-informed decisions regarding the adoption and promotion of EP on board spacecraft. This work provides evidence-based support for such decisions. After a thorough data collection, 162 EP-equipped satellites launched between January 1997 and December 2015 were included in our dataset for analysis. Several statistical analyses were conducted, at the aggregate level and then with the data stratified by severity of the anomaly, by orbit type, and by EP technology. Mean Time To Anomaly (MTTA) and the distribution of the time to (minor/major) anomaly were investigated, as well as anomaly rates. The important findings in this work include the following: (1) Post-2005, EP's reliability has outperformed that of chemical propulsion; (2) Hall thrusters have robustly outperformed chemical propulsion, and they maintain a small but shrinking reliability advantage over gridded ion engines. Other results were also provided, for example the differentials in MTTA of minor and major anomalies for gridded ion engines and Hall thrusters. It was shown that: (3) Hall thrusters exhibit minor anomalies very early on orbit, which might be indicative of infant anomalies, and thus would benefit from better ground testing and acceptance procedures; (4) Strong evidence exists that EP anomalies (onset and likelihood) and orbit type are dependent, a dependence likely mediated by either the space environment or differences in thrusters duty cycles; (5) Gridded ion thrusters exhibit both infant and wear-out failures, and thus would benefit from a reliability growth program that addresses both these types of problems.

A 16 channel discriminator VME board with enhanced triggering capabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borsato, E.; Garfagnini, A.; Menon, G.

2012-08-01

Electronics and data acquisition systems used in small and large scale laboratories often have to handle analog signals with varying polarity, amplitude and duration which have to be digitized to be used as trigger signals to validate the acquired data. In the specific case of experiments dealing with ionizing radiation, ancillary particle detectors (for instance plastic scintillators or Resistive Plate Chambers) are used to trigger and select the impinging particles for the experiment. A novel approach using commercial LVDS line receivers as discriminator devices is presented. Such devices, with a proper calibration, can handle positive and negative analog signals in a wide dynamic range (from 20 mV to 800 mV signal amplitude). The clear advantages, with respect to conventional discriminator devices, are reduced costs, high reliability of a mature technology and the possibility of high integration scale. Moreover, commercial discriminator boards with positive input signal and a wide threshold swing are not available on the market. The present paper describes the design and characterization of a VME board capable to handle 16 differential or single-ended input channels. The output digital signals, available independently for each input, can be combined in the board into three independent trigger logic units which provide additional outputs for the end user.

Thermoelectric Outer Planets Spacecraft (TOPS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The research and advanced development work is reported on a ballistic-mode, outer planet spacecraft using radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) power. The Thermoelectric Outer Planet Spacecraft (TOPS) project was established to provide the advanced systems technology that would allow the realistic estimates of performance, cost, reliability, and scheduling that are required for an actual flight mission. A system design of the complete RTG-powered outer planet spacecraft was made; major technical innovations of certain hardware elements were designed, developed, and tested; and reliability and quality assurance concepts were developed for long-life requirements. At the conclusion of its active phase, the TOPS Project reached its principal objectives: a development and experience base was established for project definition, and for estimating cost, performance, and reliability; an understanding of system and subsystem capabilities for successful outer planets missions was achieved. The system design answered long-life requirements with massive redundancy, controlled by on-board analysis of spacecraft performance data.

78 FR 9900 - National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-12

... and specifications, developing appropriate student achievement levels for each grade and subject... briefing on the NAEP 2012 Economics Report. The Board will receive an embargoed briefing on preliminary...

Reliability model generator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, Gerald C. (Inventor); McMann, Catherine M. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

An improved method and system for automatically generating reliability models for use with a reliability evaluation tool is described. The reliability model generator of the present invention includes means for storing a plurality of low level reliability models which represent the reliability characteristics for low level system components. In addition, the present invention includes means for defining the interconnection of the low level reliability models via a system architecture description. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a reliability model for the entire system is automatically generated by aggregating the low level reliability models based on the system architecture description.

The Effects of School Board Consolidation and Financing on Student Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leach, John; Payne, A. Abigail; Chan, Steve

2010-01-01

Over the last 20 years, states and provinces have become increasingly involved in the financing and administration of elementary and secondary education. Local school boards, however, still retain control over key aspects of the provision of education. Historically, these boards were organized at the community level so as to meet the wants of the…

Financial Aid and Enrollment: Questions for Boards to Consider

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baum, Sandy

2015-01-01

This white paper encourages board members to take a step back and think about long-term strategies for ensuring that financial aid policies are consistent with institutional mission at the same time that they serve fiscal and enrollment goals. While board members can determine financial aid and enrollment policies only at the broadest level, it is…

The Virginia Commission on Higher Education Board Appointments: The Impact of Legislative Reform on Public University Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chappell, Carolyn D.

2013-01-01

Recent national attention to issues of access, cost, and institutional performance in our public institutions of higher education have included numerous critiques and calls for reform at the level of board appointments and board governance. There has been considerable attention in both scholarly and popular media regarding governance issues…

Measurement properties of instruments assessing permanent functional impairment of the spine: a systematic review protocol.

PubMed

Goes, Suelen Meira; Trask, Catherine M; Boden, Catherine; Bath, Brenna; Ribeiro, Daniel Cury; Hendrick, Paul; Clay, Lynne; Zeng, Xiaoke; Milosavljevic, Stephan

2018-01-27

Permanent functional impairment (PFI) of the spine is a rating system used by compensation authorities, such as workers compensation boards, to establish an appropriate level of financial compensation for persistent loss of function. Determination of PFI of the spine is commonly based on the assessment of spinal movement combined with other measures of physical and functional impairments; however, the reliability and validity of the measurement instruments used for these evaluations have yet to be established. The aim of this study is to systematically review and synthesise the literature concerning measurement properties of the various and different instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Three conceptual groups of terms (1) PFI, (2) spinal disorder and (3) measurement properties will be combined to search Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, OTSeeker and Health and Safety Science Abstracts. We will examine peer-reviewed, full-text articles over the full available date range. Two reviewers will independently screen citations (title, abstract and full text) and perform data extraction. Included studies will be appraised as to their methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments criteria. Findings will be summarised and presented descriptively, with meta-analysis pursued as appropriate. This review will summarise the current level of evidence of measurement properties of instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Findings of this review may be applicable to clinicians, policy-makers, workers' compensation boards, other insurers and health and safety organisations. The findings will likely provide a foundation and direction for future research priorities for assessing spinal PFI. CRD42017060390. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Multiprocessor shared-memory information exchange

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

Santoline, L.L.; Bowers, M.D.; Crew, A.W.

1989-02-01

In distributed microprocessor-based instrumentation and control systems, the inter-and intra-subsystem communication requirements ultimately form the basis for the overall system architecture. This paper describes a software protocol which addresses the intra-subsystem communications problem. Specifically the protocol allows for multiple processors to exchange information via a shared-memory interface. The authors primary goal is to provide a reliable means for information to be exchanged between central application processor boards (masters) and dedicated function processor boards (slaves) in a single computer chassis. The resultant Multiprocessor Shared-Memory Information Exchange (MSMIE) protocol, a standard master-slave shared-memory interface suitable for use in nuclear safety systems, ismore » designed to pass unidirectional buffers of information between the processors while providing a minimum, deterministic cycle time for this data exchange.« less

A projector calibration method for monocular structured light system based on digital image correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Zhixin

2018-02-01

Projector calibration is crucial for a camera-projector three-dimensional (3-D) structured light measurement system, which has one camera and one projector. In this paper, a novel projector calibration method is proposed based on digital image correlation. In the method, the projector is viewed as an inverse camera, and a plane calibration board with feature points is used to calibrate the projector. During the calibration processing, a random speckle pattern is projected onto the calibration board with different orientations to establish the correspondences between projector images and camera images. Thereby, dataset for projector calibration are generated. Then the projector can be calibrated using a well-established camera calibration algorithm. The experiment results confirm that the proposed method is accurate and reliable for projector calibration.

Development of a time-variable nuclear pulser for half life measurements

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

Zahn, Guilherme S.; Domienikan, Claudio; Carvalhaes, Roberto P. M.

2013-05-06

In this work a time-variable pulser system with an exponentially-decaying pulse frequency is presented, which was developed using the low-cost, open-source Arduino microcontroler plataform. In this system, the microcontroller produces a TTL signal in the selected rate and a pulse shaper board adjusts it to be entered in an amplifier as a conventional pulser signal; both the decay constant and the initial pulse rate can be adjusted using a user-friendly control software, and the pulse amplitude can be adjusted using a potentiometer in the pulse shaper board. The pulser was tested using several combinations of initial pulse rate and decaymore » constant, and the results show that the system is stable and reliable, and is suitable to be used in half-life measurements.« less

Demonstration of glass-based photonic interposer for mid-board-optical engines and electrical-optical circuit board (EOCB) integration strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schröder, H.; Neitz, M.; Schneider-Ramelow, M.

2018-02-01

Due to its optical transparency and superior dielectric properties glass is regarded as a promising candidate for advanced applications as active photonic interposer for mid-board-optics and optical PCB waveguide integration. The concepts for multi-mode and single-mode photonic system integration are discussed and related demonstration project results will be presented. A hybrid integrated photonic glass body interposer with integrated optical lenses for multi-mode data communication wavelength of 850 nm have been realized. The paper summarizes process developments which allow cost efficient metallization of TGV. Electro-optical elements like photodiodes and VCSELs can be directly flip-chip mounted on the glass substrate according to the desired lens positions. Furthermore results for a silicon photonic based single-mode active interposer integration onto a single mode glass made EOCB will be compared in terms of packaging challenges. The board level integration strategy for both of these technological approaches and general next generation board level integration concepts for photonic interposer will be introductorily discussed.

Quality of leadership in multidisciplinary cancer tumor boards: development and evaluation of a leadership assessment instrument (ATLAS).

PubMed

Jalil, Rozh; Soukup, Tayana; Akhter, Waseem; Sevdalis, Nick; Green, James S A

2018-03-03

High-quality leadership and chairing skills are vital for good performance in multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs), but no instruments currently exist for assessing and improving these skills. To construct and validate a robust instrument for assessment of MTB leading and chairing skills. We developed an observational MTB leadership assessment instrument (ATLAS). ATLAS includes 12 domains that assess the leadership and chairing skills of the MTB chairperson. ATLAS has gone through a rigorous process of refinement and content validation prior to use to assess the MTB lead by two urological surgeons (blinded to each other) in 7 real-live (n = 286 cases) and 10 video-recorded (n = 131 cases) MTBs. ATLAS domains were analyzed via descriptive statistics. Instrument content was evaluated for validity using the content validation index (CVI). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to assess inter-observer reliability. Instrument refining resulted in ATLAS including the following 12 domains: time management, communication, encouraging contribution, ability to summarize, ensuring all patients have treatment plan, case prioritization, keeping meeting focused, facilitate discussion, conflict management, leadership, creating good working atmosphere, and recruitment for clinical trials. CVI was acceptable and inter-rater agreement adequate to high for all domains. Agreement was somewhat higher in real-time MTBs compared to video ratings. Concurrent validation evidence was derived via positive and significant correlations between ATLAS and an established validated brief MTB leadership assessment scale. ATLAS is an observational assessment instrument that can be reliably used for assessing leadership and chairing skills in cancer MTBs (both live and video-recorded). The ability to assess and feedback on team leader performance provides the ground for promotion of good practice and continuing professional development of tumor board leaders.

The Economics of Developing Countries Component of GCE "A" Level Economics--A Review of Examination Questions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Keith

1984-01-01

A review of the summer examination papers in 'A' level economics set by the eight boards of England and Wales during the period 1979-1983 show that, with two notable exceptions, the boards have not devoted much space to questions relating to the economics of developing countries. (Author/RM)

The Perception of Participation in Executive Governance Structures in Dutch Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huisman, Jeroen; de Boer, Harry; Goedegebuure, Leo

2006-01-01

In 1997 a new governance act, based on the principles of New Public Management (NPM) was introduced at Dutch universities. The aims were to realise integrated management, to strengthen the position of executives at the central (executive board) and faculty (dean) levels, to introduce a Supervisory Board at the institution's central level, and to…

Evaluation of adding item-response theory analysis for evaluation of the European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma examination.

PubMed

Mathysen, Danny G P; Aclimandos, Wagih; Roelant, Ella; Wouters, Kristien; Creuzot-Garcher, Catherine; Ringens, Peter J; Hawlina, Marko; Tassignon, Marie-José

2013-11-01

To investigate whether introduction of item-response theory (IRT) analysis, in parallel to the 'traditional' statistical analysis methods available for performance evaluation of multiple T/F items as used in the European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma (EBOD) examination, has proved beneficial, and secondly, to study whether the overall assessment performance of the current written part of EBOD is sufficiently high (KR-20≥ 0.90) to be kept as examination format in future EBOD editions. 'Traditional' analysis methods for individual MCQ item performance comprise P-statistics, Rit-statistics and item discrimination, while overall reliability is evaluated through KR-20 for multiple T/F items. The additional set of statistical analysis methods for the evaluation of EBOD comprises mainly IRT analysis. These analysis techniques are used to monitor whether the introduction of negative marking for incorrect answers (since EBOD 2010) has a positive influence on the statistical performance of EBOD as a whole and its individual test items in particular. Item-response theory analysis demonstrated that item performance parameters should not be evaluated individually, but should be related to one another. Before the introduction of negative marking, the overall EBOD reliability (KR-20) was good though with room for improvement (EBOD 2008: 0.81; EBOD 2009: 0.78). After the introduction of negative marking, the overall reliability of EBOD improved significantly (EBOD 2010: 0.92; EBOD 2011:0.91; EBOD 2012: 0.91). Although many statistical performance parameters are available to evaluate individual items, our study demonstrates that the overall reliability assessment remains the only crucial parameter to be evaluated allowing comparison. While individual item performance analysis is worthwhile to undertake as secondary analysis, drawing final conclusions seems to be more difficult. Performance parameters need to be related, as shown by IRT analysis. Therefore, IRT analysis has proved beneficial for the statistical analysis of EBOD. Introduction of negative marking has led to a significant increase in the reliability (KR-20 > 0.90), indicating that the current examination format can be kept for future EBOD examinations. © 2013 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Automatic Detection and Reproduction of Natural Head Position in Stereo-Photogrammetry.

PubMed

Hsung, Tai-Chiu; Lo, John; Li, Tik-Shun; Cheung, Lim-Kwong

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop an automatic orientation calibration and reproduction method for recording the natural head position (NHP) in stereo-photogrammetry (SP). A board was used as the physical reference carrier for true verticals and NHP alignment mirror orientation. Orientation axes were detected and saved from the digital mesh model of the board. They were used for correcting the pitch, roll and yaw angles of the subsequent captures of patients' facial surfaces, which were obtained without any markings or sensors attached onto the patient. We tested the proposed method on two commercial active (3dMD) and passive (DI3D) SP devices. The reliability of the pitch, roll and yaw for the board placement were within ±0.039904°, ±0.081623°, and ±0.062320°; where standard deviations were 0.020234°, 0.045645° and 0.027211° respectively. Orientation-calibrated stereo-photogrammetry is the most accurate method (angulation deviation within ±0.1°) reported for complete NHP recording with insignificant clinical error.

Automatic Detection and Reproduction of Natural Head Position in Stereo-Photogrammetry

PubMed Central

Hsung, Tai-Chiu; Lo, John; Li, Tik-Shun; Cheung, Lim-Kwong

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop an automatic orientation calibration and reproduction method for recording the natural head position (NHP) in stereo-photogrammetry (SP). A board was used as the physical reference carrier for true verticals and NHP alignment mirror orientation. Orientation axes were detected and saved from the digital mesh model of the board. They were used for correcting the pitch, roll and yaw angles of the subsequent captures of patients’ facial surfaces, which were obtained without any markings or sensors attached onto the patient. We tested the proposed method on two commercial active (3dMD) and passive (DI3D) SP devices. The reliability of the pitch, roll and yaw for the board placement were within ±0.039904°, ±0.081623°, and ±0.062320°; where standard deviations were 0.020234°, 0.045645° and 0.027211° respectively. Conclusion: Orientation-calibrated stereo-photogrammetry is the most accurate method (angulation deviation within ±0.1°) reported for complete NHP recording with insignificant clinical error. PMID:26125616

Using Arduino microcontroller boards to measure response latencies.

PubMed

Schubert, Thomas W; D'Ausilio, Alessandro; Canto, Rosario

2013-12-01

Latencies of buttonpresses are a staple of cognitive science paradigms. Often keyboards are employed to collect buttonpresses, but their imprecision and variability decreases test power and increases the risk of false positives. Response boxes and data acquisition cards are precise, but expensive and inflexible, alternatives. We propose using open-source Arduino microcontroller boards as an inexpensive and flexible alternative. These boards connect to standard experimental software using a USB connection and a virtual serial port, or by emulating a keyboard. In our solution, an Arduino measures response latencies after being signaled the start of a trial, and communicates the latency and response back to the PC over a USB connection. We demonstrated the reliability, robustness, and precision of this communication in six studies. Test measures confirmed that the error added to the measurement had an SD of less than 1 ms. Alternatively, emulation of a keyboard results in similarly precise measurement. The Arduino performs as well as a serial response box, and better than a keyboard. In addition, our setup allows for the flexible integration of other sensors, and even actuators, to extend the cognitive science toolbox.

Principles of Good Principals: Effective Leadership Brings a Board's Vision to the School Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martineau, Pamela

2012-01-01

The importance of effective principals to school reform is well-documented. But what makes a school principal an effective change agent, and how can a school board and district administrators assist in pushing their top site leaders to excellence? Many district and board leaders say it's all about vision, building trust with staff, and developing…

Can Boards of Directors Think Strategically? Some Issues in Developing Direction-Givers' Thinking to a Mega Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garratt, Bob

2005-01-01

The author argues that current corporate government legislation and practice is weighted too much in the direction of "board compliance." It is, therefore, in danger of reducing the risks taken by boards of directors. In the long term this could slow significantly the growth of capitalism. He proposes a rebalancing of the fundamental board…

What Are Your Patients Reading Online About Soft-tissue Fillers? An Analysis of Internet Information

PubMed Central

Al Youha, Sarah A.; Bull, Courtney E.; Butler, Michael B.; Williams, Jason G.

2016-01-01

Background: Soft-tissue fillers are increasingly being used for noninvasive facial rejuvenation. They generally offer minimal downtime and reliable results. However, significant complications are reported and patients need to be aware of these as part of informed consent. The Internet serves as a vital resource to inform patients of the risks and benefits of this procedure. Methods: Three independent reviewers performed a structured analysis of 65 Websites providing information on soft-tissue fillers. Validated instruments were used to analyze each site across multiple domains, including readability, accessibility, reliability, usability, quality, and accuracy. Associations between the endpoints and Website characteristics were assessed using linear regression and proportional odds modeling. Results: The majority of Websites were physician private practice sites (36.9%) and authored by board-certified plastic surgeons or dermatologists (35.4%) or nonphysicians (27.7%). Sites had a mean Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 11.9 ± 2.6, which is well above the recommended average of 6 to 7 grade level. Physician private practice sites had the lowest scores across all domains with a notable lack of information on complications. Conversely, Websites of professional societies focused in plastic surgery and dermatology, as well as academic centers scored highest overall. Conclusions: As the use of soft-tissue fillers is rising, patients should be guided toward appropriate sources of information such as Websites sponsored by professional societies. Medical professionals should be aware that patients may be accessing poor information online and strive to improve the overall quality of information available on soft-tissue fillers. PMID:27536503

Electrical power technology for robotic planetary rovers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bankston, C. P.; Shirbacheh, M.; Bents, D. J.; Bozek, J. M.

1993-01-01

Power technologies which will enable a range of robotic rover vehicle missions by the end of the 1990s and beyond are discussed. The electrical power system is the most critical system for reliability and life, since all other on board functions (mobility, navigation, command and data, communications, and the scientific payload instruments) require electrical power. The following are discussed: power generation, energy storage, power management and distribution, and thermal management.

Wireless Orbiter Hang-Angle Inclinometer System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lucena, Angel; Perotti, Jose; Green, Eric; Byon, Jonathan; Burns, Bradley; Mata, Carlos; Randazzo, John; Blalock, Norman

2011-01-01

A document describes a system to reliably gather the hang-angle inclination of the orbiter. The system comprises a wireless handheld master station (which contains the main station software) and a wireless remote station (which contains the inclinometer sensors, the RF transceivers, and the remote station software). The remote station is designed to provide redundancy to the system. It includes two RF transceivers, two power-management boards, and four inclinometer sensors.

Electronics for Low Temperature Space Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Hammoud, Ahmad; Elbuluk, Malik

2007-01-01

Exploration missions to outer planets and deep space require spacecraft, probes, and on-board data and communication systems to operate reliably and efficiently under severe harsh conditions. On-board electronics, in particular those in direct exposures to the space environment without any shielding or protection, will encounter extreme low temperature and thermal cycling in their service cycle in most of NASA s upcoming exploration missions. For example, Venus atmosphere, Jupiter atmosphere, Moon surface, Pluto orbiter, Mars, comets, Titan, Europa, and James Webb Space Telescope all involve low-temperature surroundings. Therefore, electronics for space exploration missions need to be designed for operation under such environmental conditions. There are ongoing efforts at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to establish a database on the operation and reliability of electronic devices and circuits under extreme temperature operation for space applications. This work is being performed under the Extreme Temperature Electronics Program with collaboration and support of the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program. The results of these investigations will be used to establish safe operating areas and to identify degradation and failure modes, and the information will be disseminated to mission planners and system designers for use as tools for proper part selection and in risk mitigation. An overview of this program along with experimental data will be presented.

Reliability Study of Solder Paste Alloy for the Improvement of Solder Joint at Surface Mount Fine-Pitch Components.

PubMed

Rahman, Mohd Nizam Ab; Zubir, Noor Suhana Mohd; Leuveano, Raden Achmad Chairdino; Ghani, Jaharah A; Mahmood, Wan Mohd Faizal Wan

2014-12-02

The significant increase in metal costs has forced the electronics industry to provide new materials and methods to reduce costs, while maintaining customers' high-quality expectations. This paper considers the problem of most electronic industries in reducing costly materials, by introducing a solder paste with alloy composition tin 98.3%, silver 0.3%, and copper 0.7%, used for the construction of the surface mount fine-pitch component on a Printing Wiring Board (PWB). The reliability of the solder joint between electronic components and PWB is evaluated through the dynamic characteristic test, thermal shock test, and Taguchi method after the printing process. After experimenting with the dynamic characteristic test and thermal shock test with 20 boards, the solder paste was still able to provide a high-quality solder joint. In particular, the Taguchi method is used to determine the optimal control parameters and noise factors of the Solder Printer (SP) machine, that affects solder volume and solder height. The control parameters include table separation distance, squeegee speed, squeegee pressure, and table speed of the SP machine. The result shows that the most significant parameter for the solder volume is squeegee pressure (2.0 mm), and the solder height is the table speed of the SP machine (2.5 mm/s).

Reliability Study of Solder Paste Alloy for the Improvement of Solder Joint at Surface Mount Fine-Pitch Components

PubMed Central

Rahman, Mohd Nizam Ab.; Zubir, Noor Suhana Mohd; Leuveano, Raden Achmad Chairdino; Ghani, Jaharah A.; Mahmood, Wan Mohd Faizal Wan

2014-01-01

The significant increase in metal costs has forced the electronics industry to provide new materials and methods to reduce costs, while maintaining customers’ high-quality expectations. This paper considers the problem of most electronic industries in reducing costly materials, by introducing a solder paste with alloy composition tin 98.3%, silver 0.3%, and copper 0.7%, used for the construction of the surface mount fine-pitch component on a Printing Wiring Board (PWB). The reliability of the solder joint between electronic components and PWB is evaluated through the dynamic characteristic test, thermal shock test, and Taguchi method after the printing process. After experimenting with the dynamic characteristic test and thermal shock test with 20 boards, the solder paste was still able to provide a high-quality solder joint. In particular, the Taguchi method is used to determine the optimal control parameters and noise factors of the Solder Printer (SP) machine, that affects solder volume and solder height. The control parameters include table separation distance, squeegee speed, squeegee pressure, and table speed of the SP machine. The result shows that the most significant parameter for the solder volume is squeegee pressure (2.0 mm), and the solder height is the table speed of the SP machine (2.5 mm/s). PMID:28788270

Innovative on board payload optical architecture for high throughput satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baudet, D.; Braux, B.; Prieur, O.; Hughes, R.; Wilkinson, M.; Latunde-Dada, K.; Jahns, J.; Lohmann, U.; Fey, D.; Karafolas, N.

2017-11-01

For the next generation of HighThroughPut (HTP) Telecommunications Satellites, space end users' needs will result in higher link speeds and an increase in the number of channels; up to 512 channels running at 10Gbits/s. By keeping electrical interconnections based on copper, the constraints in term of power dissipation, number of electrical wires and signal integrity will become too demanding. The replacement of the electrical links by optical links is the most adapted solution as it provides high speed links with low power consumption and no EMC/EMI. But replacing all electrical links by optical links of an On Board Payload (OBP) is challenging. It is not simply a matter of replacing electrical components with optical but rather the whole concept and architecture have to be rethought to achieve a high reliability and high performance optical solution. In this context, this paper will present the concept of an Innovative OBP Optical Architecture. The optical architecture was defined to meet the critical requirements of the application: signal speed, number of channels, space reliability, power dissipation, optical signals crossing and components availability. The resulting architecture is challenging and the need for new developments is highlighted. But this innovative optically interconnected architecture will substantially outperform standard electrical ones.

On-board adaptive model for state of charge estimation of lithium-ion batteries based on Kalman filter with proportional integral-based error adjustment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Jingwen; Dong, Guangzhong; Chen, Zonghai

2017-10-01

With the rapid development of battery-powered electric vehicles, the lithium-ion battery plays a critical role in the reliability of vehicle system. In order to provide timely management and protection for battery systems, it is necessary to develop a reliable battery model and accurate battery parameters estimation to describe battery dynamic behaviors. Therefore, this paper focuses on an on-board adaptive model for state-of-charge (SOC) estimation of lithium-ion batteries. Firstly, a first-order equivalent circuit battery model is employed to describe battery dynamic characteristics. Then, the recursive least square algorithm and the off-line identification method are used to provide good initial values of model parameters to ensure filter stability and reduce the convergence time. Thirdly, an extended-Kalman-filter (EKF) is applied to on-line estimate battery SOC and model parameters. Considering that the EKF is essentially a first-order Taylor approximation of battery model, which contains inevitable model errors, thus, a proportional integral-based error adjustment technique is employed to improve the performance of EKF method and correct model parameters. Finally, the experimental results on lithium-ion batteries indicate that the proposed EKF with proportional integral-based error adjustment method can provide robust and accurate battery model and on-line parameter estimation.

Reliability Constrained Priority Load Shedding for Aerospace Power System Automation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Momoh, James A.; Zhu, Jizhong; Kaddah, Sahar S.; Dolce, James L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The need for improving load shedding on board the space station is one of the goals of aerospace power system automation. To accelerate the optimum load-shedding functions, several constraints must be involved. These constraints include congestion margin determined by weighted probability contingency, component/system reliability index, generation rescheduling. The impact of different faults and indices for computing reliability were defined before optimization. The optimum load schedule is done based on priority, value and location of loads. An optimization strategy capable of handling discrete decision making, such as Everett optimization, is proposed. We extended Everett method to handle expected congestion margin and reliability index as constraints. To make it effective for real time load dispatch process, a rule-based scheme is presented in the optimization method. It assists in selecting which feeder load to be shed, the location of the load, the value, priority of the load and cost benefit analysis of the load profile is included in the scheme. The scheme is tested using a benchmark NASA system consisting of generators, loads and network.

Reliability Analysis and Optimal Release Problem Considering Maintenance Time of Software Components for an Embedded OSS Porting Phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamura, Yoshinobu; Yamada, Shigeru

OSS (open source software) systems which serve as key components of critical infrastructures in our social life are still ever-expanding now. Especially, embedded OSS systems have been gaining a lot of attention in the embedded system area, i.e., Android, BusyBox, TRON, etc. However, the poor handling of quality problem and customer support prohibit the progress of embedded OSS. Also, it is difficult for developers to assess the reliability and portability of embedded OSS on a single-board computer. In this paper, we propose a method of software reliability assessment based on flexible hazard rates for the embedded OSS. Also, we analyze actual data of software failure-occurrence time-intervals to show numerical examples of software reliability assessment for the embedded OSS. Moreover, we compare the proposed hazard rate model for the embedded OSS with the typical conventional hazard rate models by using the comparison criteria of goodness-of-fit. Furthermore, we discuss the optimal software release problem for the porting-phase based on the total expected software maintenance cost.

Design of a highly parallel board-level-interconnection with 320 Gbps capacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lohmann, U.; Jahns, J.; Limmer, S.; Fey, D.; Bauer, H.

2012-01-01

A parallel board-level interconnection design is presented consisting of 32 channels, each operating at 10 Gbps. The hardware uses available optoelectronic components (VCSEL, TIA, pin-diodes) and a combination of planarintegrated free-space optics, fiber-bundles and available MEMS-components, like the DMD™ from Texas Instruments. As a specific feature, we present a new modular inter-board interconnect, realized by 3D fiber-matrix connectors. The performance of the interconnect is evaluated with regard to optical properties and power consumption. Finally, we discuss the application of the interconnect for strongly distributed system architectures, as, for example, in high performance embedded computing systems and data centers.

Bulletin Boards and Displays. A Bibliography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Michael M., Comp.

A bibliography is presented of over one hundred resources on the construction and utilization of bulletin boards and displays. Each citation includes publisher, price, and recommended grade level. A list of publishers' addresses is included. (CMV)

Science Advisory Board Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Partial Lead Service Line Replacements

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Report of the Science Advisory Board (SAB) to evaluate the current scientific data to determine the effectiveness of partial lead service line replacements (PLSLR) in reducing drinking water lead levels.

Teacher quality: a comparison of National Board-certified and non-Board-certified teachers of deaf students.

PubMed

Scheetz, Nanci A; Martin, David S

2006-01-01

THE STUDY was designed to identify specific components of teacher excellence, focusing initially on the characteristics of the small number of teachers of the deaf who are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), then comparing those with the characteristics of other teachers identified as master teachers by university faculty in teacher preparation in deafness. Classroom observation, written lesson plans, teacher questionnaires on beliefs, and content analysis of interactive electronic focus groups were used to compare the two groups of teachers. Results indicated similarities between Board-certified and non-Board-certified master teachers in regard to teacher behaviors and commitment to well-founded pedagogical principles. Differences were found in classroom priorities and in the greater level of interconnectivity expressed by Board-certified teachers as the result of becoming Board certified. Recommendations are made for preparing teachers of deaf students.

Board oversight of executive performance and compensation.

PubMed

Curran, Connie R; Totten, Mary K

2010-01-01

Making sure the relative roles of the board and management are clear and agreed upon is becoming more important as market and regulatory forces compel boards to govern at levels of detail once considered micromanagement, but are now required and necessary in the current environment of heightened governance accountability. A clear understanding of each other's roles and responsibilities is step one in building a solid partnership between the board and chief executive. A second element of building a strong foundation for the board-CEO relationship is taking time early on to establish mutual expectations about working together. The board's responsibilities in CEO performance management and compensation include setting performance expectations and goals that are clear and measurable and coaching and motivating the CEO. When a CEO fails, one of the most important steps for the board to take is to look in the mirror and commit to the rigorous due diligence needed to avoid future mistakes. Boards should always have CEO succession on their agenda.

Editorial: phys. stat. sol. (b) 241/5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stutzmann, Martin

2004-04-01

Physica status solidi was founded in 1961 by a number of eminent solid state physicists as an attempt to overcome the iron curtain, which then separated East and West, at least in the field of science. Since that time our world has changed quite a bit, and so have the boundary conditions of science publishing. However, one thing has not changed: then as now, the general policy and development of a respectable scientific journal should be determined by a board of independent scientists, who volunteer to assume responsibility for the scientific content of the journal, to assure a fair and critical peer review process for all submitted manuscripts, and, in cases of conflict, to finally decide which papers will be published and which will not.As a matter of fact, an international Board of Editors which consists of scientists coming from different countries and continents, with a good reputation in their respective community, and without any conflict of interest with the Publisher of the journal is, in my opinion, these days more important than ever. As our daily scientific work becomes increasingly specialized, but at the same time also increasingly interdisciplinary, we are more and more forced to trust the quality and reliability of published scientific results in the literature, without really having a chance to come to an independent opinion on our own. This is one of the reasons why the many recent cases of plagiarism, scientific misconduct, or outright fraud have caused such a high level of public awareness. It is quite clear that without a serious peer review there would be an even larger number of such cases in the literature, and that without the responsible action taken by concerned Journal Editors, many of the revealed cases probably would have remained under the carpet.It is, therefore, a particular pleasure for me to introduce to you on the following pages the current Editorial Board of physica status solidi (b) in the form of a brief curriculum vitae, a photograph, and an e-mail address (in case you want to contact our Editors directly!). Of course, since 1961 the Editorial Board of our journal has undergone many changes and will continue to do so, but we always have attempted to maintain a good balance between the different areas of solid state physics, between theory and experiment, and between different countries. And although nothing is perfect, I hope that you will find at least one or two board members, who are known to you through their contributions to the literature in solid state physics.For me, this is the perfect occasion to thank all Members of the Editorial Board, past and present, for their advice, continuing support, and dedication! Vielen herzlichen Dank!

Editorial: phys. stat. sol. (a) 201/5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stutzmann, Martin

2004-04-01

Physica status solidi was founded in 1961 by a number of eminent solid state physicists as an attempt to overcome the iron curtain, which then separated East and West, at least in the field of science. Since that time our world has changed quite a bit, and so have the boundary conditions of science publishing. However, one thing has not changed: then as now, the general policy and development of a respectable scientific journal should be determined by a board of independent scientists, who volunteer to assume responsibility for the scientific content of the journal, to assure a fair and critical peer review process for all submitted manuscripts, and, in cases of conflict, to finally decide which papers will be published and which will not.As a matter of fact, an international Board of Editors which consists of scientists coming from different countries and continents, with a good reputation in their respective community, and without any conflict of interest with the Publisher of the journal is, in my opinion, these days more important than ever. As our daily scientific work becomes increasingly specialized, but at the same time also increasingly interdisciplinary, we are more and more forced to trust the quality and reliability of published scientific results in the literature, without really having a chance to come to an independent opinion on our own. This is one of the reasons why the many recent cases of plagiarism, scientific misconduct, or outright fraud have caused such a high level of public awareness. It is quite clear that without a serious peer review there would be an even larger number of such cases in the literature, and that without the responsible action taken by concerned Journal Editors, many of the revealed cases probably would have remained under the carpet.It is, therefore, a particular pleasure for me to introduce to you on the following pages the current Editorial Board of physica status solidi (a) in the form of a brief curriculum vitae, a photograph, and an e-mail address (in case you want to contact our Editors directly!). Of course, since 1961 the Editorial Board of our journal has undergone many changes and will continue to do so, but we always have attempted to maintain a good balance between the different areas of solid state physics, between theory and experiment, and between different countries. And although nothing is perfect, I hope that you will find at least one or two board members, who are known to you through their contributions to the literature in solid state physics.For me, this is the perfect occasion to thank all Members of the Editorial Board, past and present, for their advice, continuing support, and dedication! Vielen herzlichen Dank!

Food allergy: opportunities and challenges in the clinical practice of allergy and immunology.

PubMed

James, John M

2004-10-01

Food allergy offers numerous opportunities and challenges for the allergy and clinical immunology specialist. Physicians with board certification in allergy and clinical immunology should be the main source of reliable clinical information to educate patients with food-related disorders. There has been a wealth of reliable information published related to food allergy that can be utilized by health care providers in clinical practice. This includes information about the cross-reactivity of food allergens, the evaluation of potential new therapies, and the practical application of new diagnostic methods and management strategies. This article addresses some of the new developments in food allergy, with an emphasis on cross-reactvity of food allergens, recombinant food allergens, and potential future therapies for food allergy.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Nondestructive Evaluation Program for Safe and Reliable Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Generazio, Ed

2005-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Program is presented. As a result of the loss of seven astronauts and the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003, NASA has undergone many changes in its organization. NDE is one of the key areas that are recognized by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) that needed to be strengthened by warranting NDE as a discipline with Independent Technical Authority (iTA). The current NASA NDE system and activities are presented including the latest developments in inspection technologies being applied to the Space Transportation System (STS). The unfolding trends and directions in NDE for the future are discussed as they apply to assuring safe and reliable operations.

The techniques of quality operations computational and experimental researches of the launch vehicles in the drawing-board stage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozhaeva, K.

2018-01-01

The aim of the researchis the quality operations of the design process at the stage of research works on the development of active on-Board system of the launch vehicles spent stages descent with liquid propellant rocket engines by simulating the gasification process of undeveloped residues of fuel in the tanks. The design techniques of the gasification process of liquid rocket propellant components residues in the tank to the expense of finding and fixing errors in the algorithm calculation to increase the accuracy of calculation results is proposed. Experimental modelling of the model liquid evaporation in a limited reservoir of the experimental stand, allowing due to the false measurements rejection based on given criteria and detected faults to enhance the results reliability of the experimental studies; to reduce the experiments cost.

Measurement System of Surface Electrostatic Potential on Insulation Board in Vacuum and its Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morita, Hiroshi; Hatanaka, Ayumu; Yokosuka, Toshiyuki; Seki, Yoshitaka; Tsumuraya, Yoshiaki; Doi, Motomichi

The measurement system of the surface electrostatic potential on a solid insulation board in vacuum has been developed. We used this system to measure the electrostatic potential distribution of the surface of a borosilicate glass plate applied a high voltage. A local increase in the electric field was observed. It is considered that this phenomenon is caused by a positive electrostatic charge generated by a secondary emission of field emission electrons from an electrode. On the other hand, a local increase in the electric field was not observed on a glass plate coated with silica particles and a glass plate roughened by sandblast. We reasoned that this could be because the electrons were trapped by the roughness of the surface. It is considered that these phenomena make many types of equipment using the vacuum insulation more reliable.

Comparative analysis of single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for electrochemical sensing of glucose on gold printed circuit boards.

PubMed

Alhans, Ruby; Singh, Anukriti; Singhal, Chaitali; Narang, Jagriti; Wadhwa, Shikha; Mathur, Ashish

2018-09-01

In the present work, a comparative study was performed between single-walled carbon nanotubes and multi-walled carbon nanotubes coated gold printed circuit board electrodes for glucose detection. Various characterization techniques were demonstrated in order to compare the modified electrodes viz. cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chrono-amperometry. Results revealed that single-walled carbon nanotubes outperformed multi-walled carbon nanotubes and proved to be a better sensing interface for glucose detection. The single-walled carbon nanotubes coated gold printed circuit board electrodes showed a wide linear sensing range (1 mM to 100 mM) with detection limit of 0.1 mM with response time of 5 s while multi-walled carbon nanotubes coated printed circuit board gold electrodes showed linear sensing range (1 mM to 100 mM) with detection limit of 0.1 mM with response time of 5 s. This work provided low cost sensors with enhanced sensitivity, fast response time and reliable results for glucose detection which increased the affordability of such tests in remote areas. In addition, the comparative results confirmed that single-walled carbon nanotubes modified electrodes can be exploited for better amplification signal as compared to multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A Coherent VLSI Design Environment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-03-31

Schema were a CMOS sorter and a TTL PC board for gathering statistics from a Multibus. Neither design was completed using Schema, but at least in the...technique for automatically adjusting signal delays in an MOS system has been developed. The Dynamic Delay Adjustment (DDA) technique provides...34Synchronization Reliability in CMOS Technology," IEEE J. of Solid - State Circuits, Vol. SC-20, No. 4, pp. 880-883, 1985. * [8] J. Hohl, W. Larsen and L. Schooley

Validity and reliability of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board for assessment of standing balance.

PubMed

Clark, Ross A; Bryant, Adam L; Pua, Yonghao; McCrory, Paul; Bennell, Kim; Hunt, Michael

2010-03-01

Impaired standing balance has a detrimental effect on a person's functional ability and increases their risk of falling. There is currently no validated system which can precisely quantify center of pressure (COP), an important component of standing balance, while being inexpensive, portable and widely available. The Wii Balance Board (WBB) fits these criteria, and we examined its validity in comparison with the 'gold standard'-a laboratory-grade force platform (FP). Thirty subjects without lower limb pathology performed a combination of single and double leg standing balance tests with eyes open or closed on two separate occasions. Data from the WBB were acquired using a laptop computer. The test-retest reliability for COP path length for each of the testing devices, including a comparison of the WBB and FP data, was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland-Altman plots (BAP) and minimum detectable change (MDC). Both devices exhibited good to excellent COP path length test-retest reliability within-device (ICC=0.66-0.94) and between-device (ICC=0.77-0.89) on all testing protocols. Examination of the BAP revealed no relationship between the difference and the mean in any test, however the MDC values for the WBB did exceed those of the FP in three of the four tests. These findings suggest that the WBB is a valid tool for assessing standing balance. Given that the WBB is portable, widely available and a fraction of the cost of a FP, it could provide the average clinician with a standing balance assessment tool suitable for the clinical setting. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Putting the pediatrics milestones into practice: a consensus roadmap and resource analysis.

PubMed

Schumacher, Daniel J; Spector, Nancy D; Calaman, Sharon; West, Daniel C; Cruz, Mario; Frohna, John G; Gonzalez Del Rey, Javier; Gustafson, Kristina K; Poynter, Sue Ellen; Rosenbluth, Glenn; Southgate, W Michael; Vinci, Robert J; Sectish, Theodore C

2014-05-01

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has partnered with member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties to initiate the next steps in advancing competency-based assessment in residency programs. This initiative, known as the Milestone Project, is a paradigm shift from traditional assessment efforts and requires all pediatrics residency programs to report individual resident progression along a series of 4 to 5 developmental levels of performance, or milestones, for individual competencies every 6 months beginning in June 2014. The effort required to successfully make this shift is tremendous given the number of training programs, training institutions, and trainees. However, it holds great promise for achieving training outcomes that align with patient needs; developing a valid, reliable, and meaningful way to track residents' development; and providing trainees with a roadmap for learning. Recognizing the resources needed to implement this new system, the authors, all residency program leaders, provide their consensus view of the components necessary for implementing and sustaining this effort, including resource estimates for completing this work. The authors have identified 4 domains: (1) Program Review and Development of Stakeholders and Participants, (2) Assessment Methods and Validation, (3) Data and Assessment System Development, and (4) Summative Assessment and Feedback. This work can serve as a starting point and framework for collaboration with program, department, and institutional leaders to identify and garner necessary resources and plan for local and national efforts that will ensure successful transition to milestones-based assessment. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology

PubMed Central

Kinter, Lewis B.; Kelman, Bruce

2015-01-01

Background Employers, courts, and the general public judge the credibility of professionals based on credentials such as academic degrees, publications, memberships in professional organizations, board certifications, and professional registrations. However, the relevance and merit of these credentials can be difficult to determine objectively. Board certification can be a reliable indicator of proficiency if the certifying organization demonstrates, through regularly scheduled independent review, that its processes meet established standards and when a certificate holder is required to periodically demonstrate command of a body of knowledge that is essential to current professional practice. Objective We report herein a current Standard of Knowledge in general toxicology compiled from the experience and opinions of 889 certified practicing professional toxicologists. Discussion An examination is the most commonly used instrument for testing a certification candidate’s command of the body of knowledge. However, an examination-based certification is only creditable when the body of knowledge, to which a certification examination tests, is representative of the current knowledge, skills, and capabilities needed to effectively practice at the professional level. Thus, that body of knowledge must be the current “Standard of Knowledge” for the profession, compiled in a transparent fashion from current practitioners of the profession. Conclusion This work was conducted toward ensuring the scientific integrity of the products produced by professional toxicologists. Citation Hulla JE, Kinter LB, Kelman B. 2015. A Standard of Knowledge for the professional practice of toxicology. Environ Health Perspect 123:743–748; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408643 PMID:25782181

National Differences in Regional Emergency Department Boarding Times: Are US Emergency Departments Prepared for a Public Health Emergency?

PubMed

Love, Jennifer S; Karp, David; Delgado, M Kit; Margolis, Gregg; Wiebe, Douglas J; Carr, Brendan G

2016-08-01

Boarding admitted patients decreases emergency department (ED) capacity to accommodate daily patient surge. Boarding in regional hospitals may decrease the ability to meet community needs during a public health emergency. This study examined differences in regional patient boarding times across the United States and in regions at risk for public health emergencies. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed by using 2012 ED visit data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) database and 2012 hospital ED boarding data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare database. Hospitals were grouped into hospital referral regions (HRRs). The primary outcome was mean ED boarding time per HRR. Spatial hot spot analysis examined boarding time spatial clustering. A total of 3317 of 4671 (71%) hospitals were included in the study cohort. A total of 45 high-boarding-time HRRs clustered along the East/West coasts and 67 low-boarding-time HRRs clustered in the Midwest/Northern Plains regions. A total of 86% of HRRs at risk for a terrorist event had high boarding times and 36% of HRRs with frequent natural disasters had high boarding times. Urban, coastal areas have the longest boarding times and are clustered with other high-boarding-time HRRs. Longer boarding times suggest a heightened level of vulnerability and a need to enhance surge capacity because these regions have difficulty meeting daily emergency care demands and are at increased risk for disasters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:576-582).

Emission of formaldehyde by particleboard : effect of ventilation rate and loading on air-contamination levels

Treesearch

George E. Myers; Muneo Nagaoka

1981-01-01

Dynamic tests for determining the formaldehyde emission behavior of UF-bonded boards involve the measurement of formaldehyde concentration in the air within a vessel which contains a specified board loading L (m2 of board area per m3 of vessel free volume) and is being ventilated at a specified air exchange rate N (hr.-1). Such tests constitute a primary...

Information technology and the board of directors.

PubMed

Nolan, Richard; McFarlan, F Warren

2005-10-01

Ever since the Y2K scare, boards have grown increasingly nervous about corporate dependence on information technology. Since then, computer crashes, denial of service attacks, competitive pressures, and the need to automate compliance with government regulations have heightened board sensitivity to IT risk. Unfortunately, most boards remain largely in the dark when it comes to IT spending and strategy, despite the fact that corporate information assets can account for more than 50% of capital spending. A lack of board oversight for IT activities is dangerous, the authors say. It puts firms at risk in the same way that failing to audit their books would. Companies that have established board-level IT governance committees are better able to control IT project costs and carve out competitive advantage. But there is no one-size-fits-all model for board supervision of a company's IT operations. The correct approach depends on what strategic "mode" a company is in whether its operations are extremely dependent on IT or not, and whether or not it relies heavily on keeping up with the latest technologies. This article spells out the conditions under which boards need to change their level of involvement in IT decisions, explaining how members can recognize their firms' IT risks and decide whether they should pursue more aggressive IT governance. The authors delineate what an IT governance committee should look like in terms of charter, membership, duties, and overall agenda. They also offer recommendations for developing IT policies that take into account an organization's operational and strategic needs and suggest what to do when those needs change. Given the dizzying pace of change in the world of IT, boards can't afford to ignore the state of their IT systems and capabilities. Appropriate board governance can go a long way toward helping a company avoid unnecessary risk and improve its competitive position.

Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) in a shipping company.

PubMed

Saarni, H; Saari, S; Häkkinen, U

1999-01-01

Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) is a method used successfully to reduce suffering from stress-related ailments such as insomnia, depression, anger, headaches etc. The resources of the shipping company are very limited and, thus, networking with existing organizations and specialists is necessary to carry out CISD effectively. The present company model has been adopted to take into account various situations and levels of disaster. The model has been adopted at three levels of events:Level 1. Serious accidents on shore, sudden deaths, severe events and threats. Events involving one or only few persons. Level 2. Life-threatening occupational accidents on board ship, suicide of a workmate, sudden death and fire on board ship. Events involving one person or limited group of persons. Level 3. Disasters at sea. Severe events involving all or nearly all persons on board ship. Actions at different levels: Level 1: A leaflet describing CISD, situations where it would be appropriate and where it is available, is given to each sailor. The victim is encouraged to seek CISD from public health care centres, most of which have their own services in Finland. Level 2. Training of about 8 hours is carried out by an experienced crisis psychologist for supervisors and officers on board ship. After the training they are able to identify stressful situations. At each harbour, the shipping company has made agreements with experienced crisis psychologists to act as specialists and contact persons on shore. These nominated psychologists will initiate CISD actions when necessary. If they need extra manpower they will turn to other psychologists. Level 3. In such serious accidents, the company's own resources alone are insufficient to provide effective CISD. All available public and private resources will he needed (health care organizations, Red Cross, Church etc.).

The Failure Models of Lead Free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Solder Joint Reliability Under Low-G and High-G Drop Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Jian; Lei, YongPing; Lin, Jian; Fu, HanGuang; Wu, Zhongwei

2017-02-01

The reliability of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC 305) solder joint under a broad level of drop impacts was studied. The failure performance of solder joint, failure probability and failure position were analyzed under two shock test conditions, i.e., 1000 g for 1 ms and 300 g for 2 ms. The stress distribution on the solder joint was calculated by ABAQUS. The results revealed that the dominant reason was the tension due to the difference in stiffness between the print circuit board and ball grid array, and the maximum tension of 121.1 MPa and 31.1 MPa, respectively, under both 1000 g or 300 g drop impact, was focused on the corner of the solder joint which was located in the outmost corner of the solder ball row. The failure modes were summarized into the following four modes: initiation and propagation through the (1) intermetallic compound layer, (2) Ni layer, (3) Cu pad, or (4) Sn-matrix. The outmost corner of the solder ball row had a high failure probability under both 1000 g and 300 g drop impact. The number of failures of solder ball under the 300 g drop impact was higher than that under the 1000 g drop impact. The characteristic drop values for failure were 41 and 15,199, respectively, following the statistics.

On the challenge of a century lifespan satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalo, Jesús; Domínguez, Diego; López, Deibi

2014-10-01

This paper provides a review of the main issues affecting satellite survivability, including a discussion on the technologies to mitigate the risks and to enhance system reliability. The feasibility of a 100-year lifespan space mission is taken as the guiding thread for the discussion. Such a mission, defined with a few preliminary requirements, could be used to deliver messages to our descendants regardless of the on-ground contingencies. After the analysis of the main threats for long endurance in space, including radiation, debris and micrometeoroids, atmospheric drag and thermal environment, the available solutions are investigated. A trade-off study analyses orbital profiles from the point of view of radiation, thermal stability and decay rate, providing best locations to maximize lifespan. Special attention is also paid to on-board power, in terms of energy harvesting and accumulation, highlighting the limitations of current assets, i.e. solar panels and batteries, and revealing possible future solutions. Furthermore, the review includes electronics, non-volatile memories and communication elements, which need extra hardening against radiation and thermal cycling if extra-long endurance is required. As a result of the analysis, a century-lifetime mission is depicted by putting together all the reviewed concepts. The satellite, equipped with reliability enhanced elements and system-level solutions such as smart hibernation policies, could provide limited but still useful performance after a 100-year flight.

Sequin Form Board; Technical Report 20. Disadvantaged Children and Their First School Experiences. ETS-Head Start Longitudinal Study. Technical Report Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindstrom, David R.; Shipman, Virginia C.

The Seguin Form Board Test is used to assess visual discrimination and matching and eye-hand coordination. Previous analysis has shown the vactor loadings for the same scale to differ among age levels, so the test may be measuring different abilities at different age levels. Test materials consist of ten differently shaped wooden blocks and a…

Validity and reliability of portfolio assessment of competency in a baccalaureate dental hygiene program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gadbury-Amyot, Cynthia C.

This study examined validity and reliability of portfolio assessment using Messick's (1996, 1995) unified framework of construct validity. Theoretical and empirical evidence was sought for six aspects of construct validity. The sample included twenty student portfolios. Each portfolio were evaluated by seven faculty raters using a primary trait analysis scoring rubric. There was a significant relationship (r = .81--.95; p < .01) between the seven subscales in the scoring rubric demonstrating measurement of a common construct. Item analysis was conducted to examine convergent and discriminant empirical relationships of the 35 items in the scoring rubric. There was a significant relationship between all items ( p < .01), and all but one item was more strongly correlated with its own subscale than with other subscales. However, correlations of items across subscales were predominantly moderate in strength indicating that items did not strongly discriminate between subscales. A fully crossed, two facet generalizability (G) study design was used to examine reliability. Analysis of variance demonstrated that the greatest source of variance was the scoring rubric itself, accounting for 78% of the total variance. The smallest source of variance was the interaction between portfolio and rubric (1.15%) indicating that while the seven subscales varied in difficulty level, the relative standing of individual portfolios was maintained across subscales. Faculty rater variance accounted for only 1.28% of total variance. A phi coefficient of .86, analogous to a reliability coefficient in classical test theory, was obtained in the Decision study by increasing the subscales to fourteen and decreasing faculty raters to three. There was a significant relationship between portfolios and grade point average (r = .70; p < .01), and the National Dental Hygiene Board Examination (r = .60; p < .01). The relationship between portfolios and the Central Regional Dental Testing Service examination was both weak and nonsignificant (r = .19; p > .05). An open-ended survey was used to elicit student feedback on portfolio development. A majority of the students (76%) perceived value in the development of programmatic portfolios. In conclusion, the pattern of findings from this study suggest that portfolios can serve as a valid and reliable measure for assessing student competency.

Validation of On-board Cloud Cover Assessment Using EO-1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandl, Dan; Miller, Jerry; Griffin, Michael; Burke, Hsiao-hua

2003-01-01

The purpose of this NASA Earth Science Technology Office funded effort was to flight validate an on-board cloud detection algorithm and to determine the performance that can be achieved with a Mongoose V flight computer. This validation was performed on the EO-1 satellite, which is operational, by uploading new flight code to perform the cloud detection. The algorithm was developed by MIT/Lincoln Lab and is based on the use of the Hyperion hyperspectral instrument using selected spectral bands from 0.4 to 2.5 microns. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of this technology at the beginning of the task was level 5 and was TRL 6 upon completion. In the final validation, an 8 second (0.75 Gbytes) Hyperion image was processed on-board and assessed for percentage cloud cover within 30 minutes. It was expected to take many hours and perhaps a day considering that the Mongoose V is only a 6-8 MIP machine in performance. To accomplish this test, the image taken had to have level 0 and level 1 processing performed on-board before the cloud algorithm was applied. For almost all of the ground test cases and all of the flight cases, the cloud assessment was within 5% of the correct value and in most cases within 1-2%.

Whirling Arm Tests on the Effect of Ground Proximity to an Airplane Wing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, M. E.

1944-01-01

This report gives the results of tests on a rectangular wing model with a 20% full spun split flap, conducted on the whirling arm at the Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute in Akron, Ohio. The effect of a ground board on the lift and pitching moment was measured. The ground board consisted of an inclined ramp rising up in the test channel to a level floor extending for some distance parallel to the model path. The path of the wing model with respect to the ground board accordingly represented with comparative exactness an airplane coming in for a landing. The ground clearances over the level portion of the board varied from 0 6 to 1,6 chord lengths. Results are given in the standard dimensionless coefficients plotted versus angle of attack for a particular ground clearance. The effect of the ground board is to increase the lift coefficient for a given angle of attack all the way up the stall. The magnitude of the increase varies both with the ground clearance and the angle of attack. The effect on the pitching moment coefficient is not so readily apparent due to experimental difficulties but, in general, the diving moment increases over the ground board. This effect is apparent principally at the high angles of attack. An exception to this effect occurs with flaps deflected at the lowest ground clearance (0.6 chords). Here the diving moment decreases over the ground board.

Development of an instrument to measure the use of behaviors taught in the American Physical Therapy Association Clinical Instructor Education and Credentialing Program (APTA CIECP): a pilot study.

PubMed

Bridges, Patricia H; Carter, Vincent; Rehm, Stephanie; Tintl, Sara Bowers; Halperin, Rebecca; Kniesly, Elizabeth; Pelino, Soni

2013-01-01

Conduct a pilot study to establish the reliability and validity of a survey instrument that directly measures the objectives and content of the APTA CIECP; and measure the self-reported frequency of use of the behaviors taught in the APTA CIECP. Eighteen (18) APTA credentialed CIs. Develop a web-based survey consisting of 58 items representative of the behaviors taught in the APTA CIECP and 8 demographic characteristics. Establish the content validity and reliability of the survey instrument. Conduct a descriptive analysis of the frequency of self-reported use of the behaviors. The APTA Clinical Instructor Education Board (CIEB) reviewed the items and determined that the items matched the objectives and content of the APTA CIECP, thereby establishing content validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.79-0.90 confirmed the reliability. The overall mean for all items on a 1-6 scale was 4.81. The content validity and reliability of the survey instrument were established. The outcomes of this pilot study suggest that when measured by a valid and reliable instrument that is representative of the objectives and content of the CIECP, the behaviors taught in the CIECP are being applied in the clinical setting by APTA credentialed clinical instructors.

Relating Measurement Invariance, Cross-Level Invariance, and Multilevel Reliability.

PubMed

Jak, Suzanne; Jorgensen, Terrence D

2017-01-01

Data often have a nested, multilevel structure, for example when data are collected from children in classrooms. This kind of data complicate the evaluation of reliability and measurement invariance, because several properties can be evaluated at both the individual level and the cluster level, as well as across levels. For example, cross-level invariance implies equal factor loadings across levels, which is needed to give latent variables at the two levels a similar interpretation. Reliability at a specific level refers to the ratio of true score variance over total variance at that level. This paper aims to shine light on the relation between reliability, cross-level invariance, and strong factorial invariance across clusters in multilevel data. Specifically, we will illustrate how strong factorial invariance across clusters implies cross-level invariance and perfect reliability at the between level in multilevel factor models.

Weighing up the weighted case mix tool (WCMT): a psychometric investigation using confirmatory factor analysis.

PubMed

Duane, B G; Humphris, G; Richards, D; Okeefe, E J; Gordon, K; Freeman, R

2014-12-01

To assess the use of the WCMT in two Scottish health boards and to consider the impact of simplifying the tool to improve efficient use. A retrospective analysis of routine WCMT data (47,276 cases). Public Dental Service (PDS) within NHS Lothian and Highland. The WCMT consists of six criteria. Each criterion is measured independently on a four-point scale to assess patient complexity and the dental care for the disabled/impaired patient. Psychometric analyses on the data-set were conducted. Conventional internal consistency coefficients were calculated. Latent variable modelling was performed to assess the 'fit' of the raw data to a pre-specified measurement model. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test three potential changes to the existing WCMT that included, the removal of the oral risk factor question, the removal of original weightings for scoring the Tool, and collapsing the 4-point rating scale to three categories. The removal of the oral risk factor question had little impact on the reliability of the proposed simplified CMT to discriminate between levels of patient complexity. The removal of weighting and collapsing each item's rating scale to three categories had limited impact on reliability of the revised tool. The CFA analysis provided strong evidence that a new, proposed simplified Case Mix Tool (sCMT) would operate closely to the pre-specified measurement model (the WMCT). A modified sCMT can demonstrate, without reducing reliability, a useful measure of the complexity of patient care. The proposed sCMT may be implemented within primary care dentistry to record patient complexity as part of an oral health assessment.

Deployment of precise and robust sensors on board ISS-for scientific experiments and for operation of the station.

PubMed

Stenzel, Christian

2016-09-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest technical vehicle ever built by mankind. It provides a living area for six astronauts and also represents a laboratory in which scientific experiments are conducted in an extraordinary environment. The deployed sensor technology contributes significantly to the operational and scientific success of the station. The sensors on board the ISS can be thereby classified into two categories which differ significantly in their key features: (1) sensors related to crew and station health, and (2) sensors to provide specific measurements in research facilities. The operation of the station requires robust, long-term stable and reliable sensors, since they assure the survival of the astronauts and the intactness of the station. Recently, a wireless sensor network for measuring environmental parameters like temperature, pressure, and humidity was established and its function could be successfully verified over several months. Such a network enhances the operational reliability and stability for monitoring these critical parameters compared to single sensors. The sensors which are implemented into the research facilities have to fulfil other objectives. The high performance of the scientific experiments that are conducted in different research facilities on-board demands the perfect embedding of the sensor in the respective instrumental setup which forms the complete measurement chain. It is shown that the performance of the single sensor alone does not determine the success of the measurement task; moreover, the synergy between different sensors and actuators as well as appropriate sample taking, followed by an appropriate sample preparation play an essential role. The application in a space environment adds additional challenges to the sensor technology, for example the necessity for miniaturisation, automation, reliability, and long-term operation. An alternative is the repetitive calibration of the sensors. This approach, however, increases the operational overhead significantly. But meeting especially these requirements offers unique opportunities for testing these sensor technologies in harsh and dedicated environments which are not available on Earth, therefore pushing the related technologies and methodologies to their limits. The scientific objectives for selected experiments, representing a wide range of research fields, are presented, including the instrument setups and the implemented sensor technologies, and where available, the first scientific results are presented.

A Critique of Cab Regulatory Policy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, J. C., III

1972-01-01

The regulatory policies of the Civil Aviation Board are discussed. The objectives of the Civil Aviation Board are defined. Specific actions of the Civil Aviation Board with respect to passenger fares, rate levels, and load factors are presented. The decisions on successful and unsuccessful mergers of airlines during the 1938 to 1972 time period are analyzed. Tables of data are presented to show the economic aspects of airline operations during 1955, 1960, and 1970.

Thermal Stability of Nanocrystalline Copper for Potential Use in Printed Wiring Board Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, Patrick Kai Fai

Copper is a widely used conductor in the manufacture of printed wiring boards (PWB). The trends in miniaturization of electronic devices create increasing challenges to all electronic industries. In particular PWB manufacturers face great challenges because the increasing demands in greater performance and device miniaturization pose enormous difficulties in manufacturing and product reliability. Nanocrystalline and ultra-fine grain copper can potentially offer increased reliability and functionality of the PWB due to the increases in strength and achievable wiring density by reduction in grain size. The first part of this thesis is concerned with the synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline and ultra-fine grain-sized copper for potential applications in the PWB industry. Nanocrystalline copper with different amounts of sulfur impurities (25-230ppm) and grain sizes (31-49nm) were produced and their hardness, electrical resistivity and etchability were determined. To study the thermal stability of nanocrystalline copper, differential scanning calorimetry and isothermal heat treatments combined with electron microscopy techniques for microstructural analysis were used. Differential scanning calorimetry was chosen to continuously monitor the grain growth process in the temperature range from 40?C to 400?C. During isothermal annealing experiments samples were annealed at 23?C, 100?C and 300?C to study various potential thermal issues for these materials in PWB applications such as the long-term room temperature thermal stability as well as for temperature excursions above the operation temperature and peak temperature exposure during the PWB manufacturing process. From all annealing experiments the various grain growth events and the overall stability of these materials were analyzed in terms of driving and dragging forces. Experimental evidence is presented which shows that the overall thermal stability, grain boundary character and texture evolution of copper is greatly related to changes in driving and dragging forces, which in turn, are strongly depended on parameters such as annealing temperature and time, total sulfur impurity content and the distribution of the impurities within the material. It was shown that a simple increase in the sulfur impurity level does not necessarily improve the thermal stability of nanocrystalline copper.

The applicability of frame imaging from a spinning spacecraft. Volume 1: Summary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Botticelli, R. A.; Johnson, R. O.; Wallmark, G. N.

1973-01-01

A detailed study was made of frame-type imaging systems for use on board a spin stabilized spacecraft for outer planets applications. All types of frame imagers capable of performing this mission were considered, regardless of the current state of the art. Detailed sensor models of these systems were developed at the component level and used in the subsequent analyses. An overall assessment was then made of the various systems based upon results of a worst-case performance analysis, foreseeable technology problems, and the relative reliability and radiation tolerance of the systems. Special attention was directed at restraints imposed by image motion and the limited data transmission and storage capability of the spacecraft. Based upon this overall assessment, the most promising systems were selected and then examined in detail for a specified Jupiter orbiter mission. The relative merits of each selected system were then analyzed, and the system design characteristics were demonstrated using preliminary configurations, block diagrams, and tables of estimated weights, volumes and power consumption.

An Evolvable Multi-Agent Approach to Space Operations Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandutianu, Sanda; Stoica, Adrian

1999-01-01

A complex system of spacecraft and ground tracking stations, as well as a constellation of satellites or spacecraft, has to be able to reliably withstand sudden environment changes, resource fluctuations, dynamic resource configuration, limited communication bandwidth, etc., while maintaining the consistency of the system as a whole. It is not known in advance when a change in the environment might occur or when a particular exchange will happen. A higher degree of sophistication for the communication mechanisms between different parts of the system is required. The actual behavior has to be determined while the system is performing and the course of action can be decided at the individual level. Under such circumstances, the solution will highly benefit from increased on-board and on the ground adaptability and autonomy. An evolvable architecture based on intelligent agents that communicate and cooperate with each other can offer advantages in this direction. This paper presents an architecture of an evolvable agent-based system (software and software/hardware hybrids) as well as some plans for further implementation.

Microfabricated Chemical Sensors for Aerospace Fire Detection Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.; Neudeck, Philip G.; Fralick, Gustave; Thomas, Valarie; Makel, D.; Liu, C. C.; Ward, B.; Wu, Q. H.

2001-01-01

The detection of fires on-board commercial aircraft is extremely important for safety reasons. Although dependable fire detection equipment presently exists within the cabin, detection of fire within the cargo hold has been less reliable and susceptible to false alarms. A second, independent method of fire detection to complement the conventional smoke detection techniques, such as the measurement of chemical species indicative of a fire, will help reduce false alarms and improve aircraft safety. Although many chemical species are indicative of a fire, two species of particular interest are CO and CO2. This paper discusses microfabricated chemical sensor development tailored to meet the needs of fire safety applications. This development is based on progress in three types of technology: 1) Micromachining and microfabrication (Microsystem) technology to fabricate miniaturized sensors. 2) The use of nanocrystalline materials to develop sensors with improved stability combined with higher sensitivity. 3) The development of high temperature semiconductors, especially silicon carbide. The individual sensor being developed and their level of maturity will be presented.

MEMS device for mass market gas and chemical sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinkade, Brian R.; Daly, James T.; Johnson, Edward A.

2000-08-01

Gas and chemical sensors are used in many applications. Industrial health and safety monitors allow companies to meet OSHA requirements by detecting harmful levels of toxic or combustible gases. Vehicle emissions are tested during annual inspections. Blood alcohol breathalizers are used by law enforcement. Refrigerant leak detection ensures that the Earth's ozone layer is not being compromised. Industrial combustion emissions are also monitored to minimize pollution. Heating and ventilation systems watch for high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) to trigger an increase in fresh air exchange. Carbon monoxide detectors are used in homes to prevent poisoning from poor combustion ventilation. Anesthesia gases are monitored during a patients operation. The current economic reality is that two groups of gas sensor technologies are competing in two distinct existing market segments - affordable (less reliable) chemical reaction sensors for consumer markets and reliable (expensive) infrared (IR) spectroscopic sensors for industrial, laboratory, and medical instrumentation markets. Presently high volume mass-market applications are limited to CO detectros and on-board automotive emissions sensors. Due to reliability problems with electrochemical sensor-based CO detectors there is a hesitancy to apply these sensors in other high volume applications. Applications such as: natural gas leak detection, non-invasive blood glucose monitoring, home indoor air quality, personal/portable air quality monitors, home fire/burnt cooking detector, and home food spoilage detectors need a sensor that is a small, efficient, accurate, sensitive, reliable, and inexpensive. Connecting an array of these next generation gas sensors to wireless networks that are starting to proliferate today creates many other applications. Asthmatics could preview the air quality of their destinations as they venture out into the day. HVAC systems could determine if fresh air intake was actually better than the air in the house. Internet grocery delivery services could check for spoiled foods in their clients' refrigerators. City emissions regulators could monitor the various emissions sources throughout the area from their desk to predict how many pollution vouchers they will need to trade in the next week. We describe a new component architecture for mass-market sensors based on silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. MEMS are micrometer-scale devices that can be fabricated as discrete devices or large arrays, using the technology of integrated circuit manufacturing. These new photonic bandgap and MEMS fabricataion technologies will simplify the component technology to provide high-quality gas and chemical sensors at consumer prices.

Wafer level reliability testing: An idea whose time has come

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trapp, O. D.

1987-01-01

Wafer level reliability testing has been nurtured in the DARPA supported workshops, held each autumn since 1982. The seeds planted in 1982 have produced an active crop of very large scale integration manufacturers applying wafer level reliability test methods. Computer Aided Reliability (CAR) is a new seed being nurtured. Users are now being awakened by the huge economic value of the wafer reliability testing technology.

Selection and Reporting of Statistical Methods to Assess Reliability of a Diagnostic Test: Conformity to Recommended Methods in a Peer-Reviewed Journal

PubMed Central

Park, Ji Eun; Han, Kyunghwa; Sung, Yu Sub; Chung, Mi Sun; Koo, Hyun Jung; Yoon, Hee Mang; Choi, Young Jun; Lee, Seung Soo; Kim, Kyung Won; Shin, Youngbin; An, Suah; Cho, Hyo-Min

2017-01-01

Objective To evaluate the frequency and adequacy of statistical analyses in a general radiology journal when reporting a reliability analysis for a diagnostic test. Materials and Methods Sixty-three studies of diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) and 36 studies reporting reliability analyses published in the Korean Journal of Radiology between 2012 and 2016 were analyzed. Studies were judged using the methodological guidelines of the Radiological Society of North America-Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (RSNA-QIBA), and COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) initiative. DTA studies were evaluated by nine editorial board members of the journal. Reliability studies were evaluated by study reviewers experienced with reliability analysis. Results Thirty-one (49.2%) of the 63 DTA studies did not include a reliability analysis when deemed necessary. Among the 36 reliability studies, proper statistical methods were used in all (5/5) studies dealing with dichotomous/nominal data, 46.7% (7/15) of studies dealing with ordinal data, and 95.2% (20/21) of studies dealing with continuous data. Statistical methods were described in sufficient detail regarding weighted kappa in 28.6% (2/7) of studies and regarding the model and assumptions of intraclass correlation coefficient in 35.3% (6/17) and 29.4% (5/17) of studies, respectively. Reliability parameters were used as if they were agreement parameters in 23.1% (3/13) of studies. Reproducibility and repeatability were used incorrectly in 20% (3/15) of studies. Conclusion Greater attention to the importance of reporting reliability, thorough description of the related statistical methods, efforts not to neglect agreement parameters, and better use of relevant terminology is necessary. PMID:29089821

Characterization of CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner

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

Not Available

A fringe detection and measurement system was constructed for use with the CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner, consisting of three circuit boards. The first board is a standard Reticon RC-100 B motherboard which is used to provide the timing, video processing, and housekeeping functions required by the Reticon RL-512 G photodiode array used in the system. The sampled and held video signal from the motherboard is processed by a second, custom-fabricated circuit board which contains a high-speed fringe detection and locating circuit. This board includes a dc level-discriminator-type fringe detector, a counter circuit to determine fringe center, a pulsed lasermore » triggering circuit, and a control circuit to operate the shutter for the He-Ne reference laser beam. The fringe center information is supplied to the third board, a commercial single board computer, which governs the data-collection process and interprets the results.« less

Characterization of CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

A fringe detection and measurement system was constructed for use with the CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner, consisting of three circuit boards. The first board is a standard Reticon RC-100 B motherboard which is used to provide the timing, video processing, and housekeeping functions required by the Reticon RL-512 G photodiode array used in the system. The sampled and held video signal from the motherboard is processed by a second, custom fabricated circuit board which contains a high speed fringe detection and locating circuit. This board includes a dc level discriminator type fringe detector, a counter circuit to determine fringe center, a pulsed laser triggering circuit, and a control circuit to operate the shutter for the He-Ne reference laser beam. The fringe center information is supplied to the third board, a commercial single board computer, which governs the data collection process and interprets the results.

Design, processing and testing of LSI arrays: Hybrid microelectronics task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Himmel, R. P.; Stuhlbarg, S. M.; Ravetti, R. G.; Zulueta, P. J.

1979-01-01

Mathematical cost factors were generated for both hybrid microcircuit and printed wiring board packaging methods. A mathematical cost model was created for analysis of microcircuit fabrication costs. The costing factors were refined and reduced to formulae for computerization. Efficient methods were investigated for low cost packaging of LSI devices as a function of density and reliability. Technical problem areas such as wafer bumping, inner/outer leading bonding, testing on tape, and tape processing, were investigated.

77 FR 60450 - Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-03

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of the Secretary Senior Executive Service Performance... announces the appointment of the members of the Senior Executive Service Performance Review Boards for the... appropriate personnel actions for incumbents of Senior Executive Service, Senior Level and Senior Professional...

75 FR 43495 - Sunshine Act Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-26

... DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD Sunshine Act Notice AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities..., structures, and components, and (5) safety-related design aspects of new facilities or modifications of existing facilities needed to deliver high-level waste feed. The Board will be prepared to accept any other...

Validity and reliability of portfolio assessment of student competence in two dental school populations: a four-year study.

PubMed

Gadbury-Amyot, Cynthia C; McCracken, Michael S; Woldt, Janet L; Brennan, Robert L

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the validity and reliability of portfolio assessment in two U.S. dental schools using a unified framework for validity. In the process of validation, it is not the test that is validated but rather the claims (interpretations and uses) about test scores that are validated. Kane's argument-based validation framework provided the structure for reporting results where validity claims are followed by evidence to support the argument. This multivariate generalizability theory study found that the greatest source of variance was attributable to faculty raters, suggesting that portfolio assessment would benefit from two raters' evaluating each portfolio independently. The results are generally supportive of holistic scoring, but analytical scoring deserves further research. Correlational analyses between student portfolios and traditional measures of student competence and readiness for licensure resulted in significant correlations between portfolios and National Board Dental Examination Part I (r=0.323, p<0.01) and Part II scores (r=0.268, p<0.05) and small and non-significant correlations with grade point average and scores on the Western Regional Examining Board (WREB) exam. It is incumbent upon the users of portfolio assessment to determine if the claims and evidence arguments set forth in this study support the proposed claims for and decisions about portfolio assessment in their respective institutions.

A Tunable Terahertz Detector based on Self-Assembled Plasmonic Structure on a GaAs 2-Dimensional Electron Gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biradar, Anandrao Shesherao

The presented work in this report is about Real time Estimation of wind and analyzing current wind correction algorithm in commercial off the shelf Autopilot board. The open source ArduPilot Mega 2.5 (APM 2.5) board manufactured by 3D Robotics is used. Currently there is lot of development being done in the field of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAVs), various aerial platforms and corresponding; autonomous systems for them. This technology has advanced to such a stage that UAVs can be used for specific designed missions and deployed with reliability. But in some areas like missions requiring high maneuverability with greater efficiency is still under research area. This would help in increasing reliability and augmenting range of UAVs significantly. One of the problems addressed through this thesis work is, current autopilot systems have algorithm that handles wind by attitude correction with appropriate Crab angle. But the real time wind vector (direction) and its calculated velocity is based on geometrical and algebraic transformation between ground speed and air speed vectors. This method of wind estimation and prediction, many a times leads to inaccuracy in attitude correction. The same has been proved in the following report with simulation and actual field testing. In later part, new ways to tackle while flying windy conditions have been proposed.

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

Jin, Zheming; Yoshii, Kazutomo; Finkel, Hal

Open Computing Language (OpenCL) is a high-level language that enables software programmers to explore Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for application acceleration. The Intel FPGA software development kit (SDK) for OpenCL allows a user to specify applications at a high level and explore the performance of low-level hardware acceleration. In this report, we present the FPGA performance and power consumption results of the single-precision floating-point vector add OpenCL kernel using the Intel FPGA SDK for OpenCL on the Nallatech 385A FPGA board. The board features an Arria 10 FPGA. We evaluate the FPGA implementations using the compute unit duplication andmore » kernel vectorization optimization techniques. On the Nallatech 385A FPGA board, the maximum compute kernel bandwidth we achieve is 25.8 GB/s, approximately 76% of the peak memory bandwidth. The power consumption of the FPGA device when running the kernels ranges from 29W to 42W.« less

Arcjet starting reliability - A multistart test on hydrogen/nitrogen mixtures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haag, Thomas W.; Curran, Frank M.

1987-01-01

An arcjet starting reliability test was performed to investigate one feasibility issue in the use of arcjets on board a satellite for north-south stationkeeping. A 1 kW arcjet was run on hydrogen/nitrogen gas mixtures simulating decomposed hydrazine. A pulse width modulated power supply with an integral high voltage starting pulser was used for arc ignition and steady-state operation. The test was performed in four phases in order to determine if starting characteristics changed as a result of long term thruster operation. More than 300 successful starts were accumulated over an operating time of 18 hr. Overall results indicate that there is a link between starting characteristics and long term thruster operation; however, the large number of starts had no effect on steady-state performance.

The PRONE score: an algorithm for predicting doctors’ risks of formal patient complaints using routinely collected administrative data

PubMed Central

Spittal, Matthew J; Bismark, Marie M; Studdert, David M

2015-01-01

Background Medicolegal agencies—such as malpractice insurers, medical boards and complaints bodies—are mostly passive regulators; they react to episodes of substandard care, rather than intervening to prevent them. At least part of the explanation for this reactive role lies in the widely recognised difficulty of making robust predictions about medicolegal risk at the individual clinician level. We aimed to develop a simple, reliable scoring system for predicting Australian doctors’ risks of becoming the subject of repeated patient complaints. Methods Using routinely collected administrative data, we constructed a national sample of 13 849 formal complaints against 8424 doctors. The complaints were lodged by patients with state health service commissions in Australia over a 12-year period. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of subsequent complaints, defined as another complaint occurring within 2 years of an index complaint. Model estimates were then used to derive a simple predictive algorithm, designed for application at the doctor level. Results The PRONE (Predicted Risk Of New Event) score is a 22-point scoring system that indicates a doctor's future complaint risk based on four variables: a doctor's specialty and sex, the number of previous complaints and the time since the last complaint. The PRONE score performed well in predicting subsequent complaints, exhibiting strong validity and reliability and reasonable goodness of fit (c-statistic=0.70). Conclusions The PRONE score appears to be a valid method for assessing individual doctors’ risks of attracting recurrent complaints. Regulators could harness such information to target quality improvement interventions, and prevent substandard care and patient dissatisfaction. The approach we describe should be replicable in other agencies that handle large numbers of patient complaints or malpractice claims. PMID:25855664

Feasibility of a Low-Cost, Interactive Gaming System to Assess Balance in Older Women.

PubMed

Hall, Courtney D; Clevenger, Carolyn K; Wolf, Rachel A; Lin, James S; Johnson, Theodore M; Wolf, Steven L

2016-01-01

The use of low-cost interactive game technology for balance rehabilitation has become more popular recently, with generally good outcomes. Very little research has been undertaken to determine whether this technology is appropriate for balance assessment. The Wii balance board has good reliability and is comparable to a research-grade force plate; however, recent studies examining the relationship between Wii Fit games and measures of balance and mobility demonstrate conflicting findings. This study found that the Wii Fit was feasible for community-dwelling older women to safely use the balance board and quickly learn the Wii Fit games. The Ski Slalom game scores were strongly correlated with several balance and mobility measures, whereas Table Tilt game scores were not. Based on these findings, the Ski Slalom game may have utility in the evaluation of balance problems in community-dwelling older adults.

Numerical simulation on behaviour of timber-concrete composite beams in fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Hao; Hu, Xiamin; Zhang, Bing; Minli, Yao

2017-08-01

This paper established sequentially coupled thermal-mechanical models of timber--concrete composite (TCC) beams by finite element software ANSYS to investigate the fire resistance of TCC beam. Existing experimental results were used to verify the coupled thermal-mechanical model. The influencing parameters consisted of the width of timber beam, the thickness of the concrete slab and the timber board. Based on the numerical results, the effects of these parameters on fire resistance of TCC beams were investigated in detail. The results showed that modeling results agreed well with test results, and verified the reliability of the finite element model. The width of the timber beam had a significant influence on the fire resistance of TCC beams. The fire resistance of TCC beams would be enhanced by increasing the width of timber beam, the thickness of concrete slab and the timber board.

Integrated Systems Health Management for Intelligent Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Figueroa, Fernando; Melcher, Kevin

2011-01-01

The implementation of an integrated system health management (ISHM) capability is fundamentally linked to the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system. Management implies storage, distribution, sharing, maintenance, processing, reasoning, and presentation. ISHM is akin to having a team of experts who are all individually and collectively observing and analyzing a complex system, and communicating effectively with each other in order to arrive at an accurate and reliable assessment of its health. In this chapter, concepts, procedures, and approaches are presented as a foundation for implementing an ISHM capability relevant to intelligent systems. The capability stresses integration of DIaK from all elements of a system, emphasizing an advance toward an on-board, autonomous capability. Both ground-based and on-board ISHM capabilities are addressed. The information presented is the result of many years of research, development, and maturation of technologies, and of prototype implementations in operational systems.

Material handling robot system for flow-through storage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dill, James F.; Candiloro, Brian; Downer, James; Wiesman, Richard; Fallin, Larry; Smith, Ron

1999-01-01

This paper describes the design, development and planned implementation of a system of mobile robots for use in flow through storage applications. The robots are being designed with on-board embedded controls so that they can perform their tasks as semi-autonomous workers distributed within a centrally controlled network. On the storage input side, boxes will be identified by bar-codes and placed into preassigned flow through bins. On the shipping side, orders will be forwarded to the robots from a central order processing station and boxes will be picked from designated storage bins following proper sequencing to permit direct loading into trucks for shipping. Because of the need to maintain high system availability, a distributed control strategy has been selected. When completed, the system will permit robots to be dynamically reassigned responsibilities if an individual unit fails. On-board health diagnostics and condition monitoring will be used to maintain high reliability of the units.

Voice synthesis application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lightstone, P. C.; Davidson, W. M.

1982-04-01

The military detection assessment laboratory houses an experimental field system which assesses different alarm indicators such as fence disturbance sensors, MILES cables, and microwave Racons. A speech synthesis board which could be interfaced, by means of a computer, to an alarm logger making verbal acknowledgement of alarms possible was purchased. Different products and different types of voice synthesis were analyzed before a linear predictive code device produced by Telesensory Speech Systems of Palo Alto, California was chosen. This device is called the Speech 1000 Board and has a dedicated 8085 processor. A multiplexer card was designed and the Sp 1000 interfaced through the card into a TMS 990/100M Texas Instrument microcomputer. It was also necessary to design the software with the capability of recognizing and flagging an alarm on any 1 of 32 possible lines. The experimental field system was then packaged with a dc power supply, LED indicators, speakers, and switches, and deployed in the field performing reliably.

Assessing practice-based learning and improvement.

PubMed

Lynch, Deirdre C; Swing, Susan R; Horowitz, Sheldon D; Holt, Kathleen; Messer, Joseph V

2004-01-01

Practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI) is 1 of 6 general competencies expected of physicians who graduate from an accredited residency education program in the United States and is an anticipated requirement for those who wish to maintain certification by the member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties. This article describes methods used to assess PBLI. Six electronic databases were searched using several search terms pertaining to PBLI. The review indicated that 4 assessment methods have been used to assess some or all steps of PBLI: portfolios, projects, patient record and chart review, and performance ratings. Each method is described, examples of application are provided, and validity, reliability, and feasibility characteristics are discussed. Portfolios may be the most useful approach to assess residents' PBLI abilities. Active participation in peer-driven performance improvement initiatives may be a valuable approach to confirm practicing physician involvement in PBLI.

Creative Uses of Custom Electronics for Environmental Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hicks, S.; Aufdenkampe, A. K.; Montgomery, D. S.

2012-12-01

The ability to build custom electronic devices specifically suited to a unique task has gotten easier and cheaper, thanks to the recent popularity of open source electronics platforms like Arduino. Using Arduino-based processor boards, we have been creating a variety of helpful devices to perform functions that would have been too expensive to implement with standard methods and commercial hardware. The Christina River Basin CZO is currently operating dozens of homemade dataloggers that are connected to different types of environmental sensors. Most of these Arduino loggers have been deployed for over a year, so our experiences with them and their sensors have taught us a lot about the reliability and accuracy of both the loggers and the sensors. Some loggers also have the capability for wireless radio or ethernet data transmission for reporting live data to web sites for instant graphing or archiving. Other Arduino devices have the ability to be controlled remotely through web sites or telephones, making it easy to remotely trigger sample pumps or valves. The open-source nature of Arduino means collaboration is easy because the circuit schematics and source code for programming the boards can be shared between users. And because Arduino devices are easy to use and program, we developed an interface board that allows educators to easily connect a variety of inexpensive environmental sensors to an Arduino board. Then the students can write and upload simple programs to interact with the sensors, making it a very effective tool for teaching electronics and environmental science at the same time. The flexibility and capability of electronics prototyping platforms like Arduino mean these simple boards can cheaply and effectively perform a countless number of tasks for projects in environmental science and education.

Applying Resource Utilization Groups (RUG-III) in Hong Kong nursing homes.

PubMed

Chou, Kee-Lee; Chi, Iris; Leung, Joe C B

2008-01-01

Resource Utilization Groups III (RUG-III) is a case-mix system developed in the United States for categorization of nursing home residents and the financing of residential care services. In Hong Kong, RUG-III is based on several board groups of residents. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the RUG-III in Hong Kong nursing homes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in seven residential facilities operated by one agency. Residents ( N = 1,127) were assessed by the Minimum Data Set (MDS) and nursing as well as auxiliary staff care times were recorded within 2 weeks before or after the completion of MDS assessment. Forty-five out 1,127 residents were re-interviewed by an independent assessor to assess the inter-rater reliability. The inter-rater reliability of MDS assessment was excellent (kappa = 0.76) and the original RUG-III accounted for about 30 per cent of nursing staff time. Results provide preliminary evidence to support that RUG-III is a reliable and valid case-mix system for Hong Kong nursing homes, but future studies must be explored to reduce the variance of resource use explained by this case-mix system.

The Tire Noise Performance of Nevada Highway Pavements: On-Board Sound Intensity (OBSI) Measurement

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-06-01

On Board Sound Intensity measurements were conducted on freeway segments in the vicinity of Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada in an effort to document the tire-pavement noise levels of existing pavements. Tested pavements included Portland Cement Concrete (...

12 CFR 652.60 - Corporation board guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... (a) Your board of directors is responsible for ensuring that you maintain total capital at a level... developing the capital adequacy plan: (1) Capability of management; (2) Strategies and objectives in your business plan; (3) Quality of operating policies, procedures, and internal controls; (4) Quality and...

12 CFR 652.60 - Corporation board guidelines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.... (a) Your board of directors is responsible for ensuring that you maintain total capital at a level... developing the capital adequacy plan: (1) Capability of management; (2) Strategies and objectives in your business plan; (3) Quality of operating policies, procedures, and internal controls; (4) Quality and...

Numerical simulation of CTE mismatch and thermal-structural stresses in the design of interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Geoffrey John M.

With the ever-increasing chip complexity, interconnects have to be designed to meet the new challenges. Advances in optical lithography have made chip feature sizes available today at 70 nm dimensions. With advances in Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, X-ray Lithography, and Ion Projection Lithography it is expected that the line width will further decrease to 20 nm or less. With the decrease in feature size, the number of active devices on the chip increases. With higher levels of circuit integration, the challenge is to dissipate the increased heat flux from the chip surface area. Thermal management considerations include coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) matching to prevent failure between the chip and the board. This in turn calls for improved system performance and reliability of the electronic structural systems. Experience has shown that in most electronic systems, failures are mostly due to CTE mismatch between the chip, board, and the solder joint (solder interconnect). The resulting high thermal-structural stress and strain due to CTE mismatch produces cracks in the solder joints with eventual failure of the electronic component. In order to reduce the thermal stress between the chip, board, and the solder joint, this dissertation examines the effect of inserting wire bundle (wire interconnect) between the chip and the board. The flexibility of the wires or fibers would reduce the stress at the rigid joints. Numerical simulations of two, and three-dimensional models of the solder and wire interconnects are examined. The numerical simulation is linear in nature and is based on linear isotropic material properties. The effect of different wire material properties is examined. The effect of varying the wire diameter is studied by changing the wire diameter. A major cause of electronic equipment failure is due to fatigue failure caused by thermal cycling, and vibrations. A two-dimensional modal and harmonic analysis was simulated for the wire interconnect and the solder interconnect. The numerical model simulated using ANSYS program was validated with the numerical/experimental results of other published researchers. In addition the results were cross-checked by IDEAS program. A prototype non-working wire interconnect is proposed to emphasize practical application. The numerical analysis, in this dissertation is based on a U.S. Patent granted to G. Peter(42).

Teaching Young Children with Special Needs and Their Peers to Play Board Games: Effects of a Least to Most Prompting Procedure to Increase Independent Performance.

PubMed

Davis-Temple, Janet; Jung, Sunhwa; Sainato, Diane M

2014-05-01

We investigated the effects of a least to most prompting procedure on the performance of board game steps and game-related on-task behavior of young children with special needs and their typically developing peers. This study was conducted employing a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. After teaching the board game steps using a systematic prompting strategy, the participants demonstrated increases in the performance of board game steps and game-related on-task behavior. In addition, the participants maintained high levels of performance and game-related on-task behavior during post-game training. The effects of teaching board games using prompting strategies, implications for practice, and areas for future study are presented.

High-resolution monitoring of marine protists based on an observation strategy integrating automated on-board filtration and molecular analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metfies, Katja; Schroeder, Friedhelm; Hessel, Johanna; Wollschläger, Jochen; Micheller, Sebastian; Wolf, Christian; Kilias, Estelle; Sprong, Pim; Neuhaus, Stefan; Frickenhaus, Stephan; Petersen, Wilhelm

2016-11-01

Information on recent biomass distribution and biogeography of photosynthetic marine protists with adequate temporal and spatial resolution is urgently needed to better understand the consequences of environmental change for marine ecosystems. Here we introduce and review a molecular-based observation strategy for high-resolution assessment of these protists in space and time. It is the result of extensive technology developments, adaptations and evaluations which are documented in a number of different publications, and the results of the recently completed field testing which are introduced in this paper. The observation strategy is organized at four different levels. At level 1, samples are collected at high spatiotemporal resolution using the remotely controlled automated filtration system AUTOFIM. Resulting samples can either be preserved for later laboratory analyses, or directly subjected to molecular surveillance of key species aboard the ship via an automated biosensor system or quantitative polymerase chain reaction (level 2). Preserved samples are analyzed at the next observational levels in the laboratory (levels 3 and 4). At level 3 this involves molecular fingerprinting methods for a quick and reliable overview of differences in protist community composition. Finally, selected samples can be used to generate a detailed analysis of taxonomic protist composition via the latest next generation sequencing technology (NGS) at level 4. An overall integrated dataset of the results based on the different analyses provides comprehensive information on the diversity and biogeography of protists, including all related size classes. At the same time the cost of the observation is optimized with respect to analysis effort and time.

Missileborne Artificial Vision System (MAVIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andes, David K.; Witham, James C.; Miles, Michael D.

1994-01-01

Several years ago when INTEL and China Lake designed the ETANN chip, analog VLSI appeared to be the only way to do high density neural computing. In the last five years, however, digital parallel processing chips capable of performing neural computation functions have evolved to the point of rough equality with analog chips in system level computational density. The Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, has developed a real time, hardware and software system designed to implement and evaluate biologically inspired retinal and cortical models. The hardware is based on the Adaptive Solutions Inc. massively parallel CNAPS system COHO boards. Each COHO board is a standard size 6U VME card featuring 256 fixed point, RISC processors running at 20 MHz in a SIMD configuration. Each COHO board has a companion board built to support a real time VSB interface to an imaging seeker, a NTSC camera, and to other COHO boards. The system is designed to have multiple SIMD machines each performing different corticomorphic functions. The system level software has been developed which allows a high level description of corticomorphic structures to be translated into the native microcode of the CNAPS chips. Corticomorphic structures are those neural structures with a form similar to that of the retina, the lateral geniculate nucleus, or the visual cortex. This real time hardware system is designed to be shrunk into a volume compatible with air launched tactical missiles. Initial versions of the software and hardware have been completed and are in the early stages of integration with a missile seeker.

Weak and strong publics: drawing on Nancy Fraser to explore parental participation in neonatal networks.

PubMed

Gibson, Andrew J; Lewando-Hundt, Gillian; Blaxter, Loraine

2014-02-01

We draw on the work of Nancy Fraser, and in particular her concepts of weak and strong publics, to analyze the process of parental involvement in managed neonatal network boards. Public involvement has moved beyond the individual level to include greater involvement of both patients and the public in governance. However, there is relatively little literature that explores the nature and outcomes of long-term patient involvement initiatives or has attempted to theorize, particularly at the level of corporate decision making, the process of patient and public involvement. A repeated survey of all neonatal network managers in England was carried out in 2006-07 to capture developments and changes in parental representation over this time period. This elicited information about the current status of parent representation on neonatal network boards. Four networks were also selected as case studies. This involved interviews with key members of each network board, interviews with parent representatives, observation of meetings and access to board minutes. Data collected show that a wide range of approaches to involving parents has been adopted. These range from decisions not to involve parents at this level to relatively well-developed systems designed to link parent representatives on network boards to parents in neonatal units. Despite these variations, we suggest that parental participation within neonatal services remains an example of a weak public because the parent representatives had limited participation with little influence on decision making. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Design and production of a 2.5 kWe insulated metal substrate-based densely packed CPV assembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micheli, Leonardo; Sarmah, Nabin; Luo, Xichun; Reddy, K. S.; Mallick, Tapas K.

2014-09-01

The original design of a new 144-cell concentrating photovoltaic assembly is presented in this paper. It is conceived to work under 500 suns and to generate about 2.5 kWe. An insulated metal substrate was selected as baseplate, in order to get the best compromise between costs and thermal performances. It is based on a 2mm thick aluminum plate, which is in charge of removing the heat as quick as possible. The copper pattern and thickness has been designed accordingly to the IPC Generic Standard on Printed Board Design and to the restrictions of fit a reflective 125x primary optics and a 4x secondary refractive optics. The original outline of the conductive copper layer has been developed to minimize Joule losses by reducing the number of interconnections between the cells in series. Multijunction solar cells and Schottky bypass diodes have been soldered onto the board as surface mounted components. All the fabrication processes are described. This board represents a novelty for the innovative pattern of the conductive layer, which can be easily adapted to be coupled with different optics geometries and to allocate a different number of cells. The use of an IMS as baseplate will give an experimental contribution to the debate about the exploitability of this kind of substrates in CPV. This board is being characterized indoor and outdoor: the results will be used to improve the design and the reliability of the future receivers.

Validation of a global assessment of arthroscopic skills in a cadaveric knee model.

PubMed

Slade Shantz, Jesse A; Leiter, Jeff R; Collins, John B; MacDonald, Peter B

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a global assessment of arthroscopic skills was valid for blinded assessment of cadaveric diagnostic knee arthroscopy. A global skills assessment for arthroscopy was created using a published theory of the development of expertise. Faculty surgeons, fellows, and residents were consented and enrolled in this institutional review board-approved validation study. All participants were oriented to the equipment and procedures for diagnostic arthroscopy of the knee. After reviewing the anatomic structures to be visualized, participants were allowed 10 minutes to complete a diagnostic arthroscopy of the knee. The hands and arthroscopic view were recorded during this attempt. Resident participants completed a second filmed diagnostic arthroscopy 1 week after the initial attempt. Five blinded reviewers watched the synchronized videos and assessed arthroscopic skills with a procedure-specific checklist and the newly developed global skills assessment. The agreement between reviewers was determined by intraclass correlation coefficient. Internal consistency was determined with Cronbach's α. Test-retest reliability was measured by correlating repeated arthroscopies by residents. The ability of the global assessment to discriminate skill levels was determined with between-group Mann-Whitney U tests. The agreement between global assessment scores was strong (I.C.C. = 0.80, 95% C.I. 0.68-0.92). The internal consistency of evaluations was excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.97), and the test-retest reliability was strong (r = 0.52). The global assessment score was shown to be able to discriminate between skill levels by an analysis of variance indicating the difference in means among the various levels of training (P < .0001). The Objective Assessment of Arthroscopic Skills is a useful adjunct to arthroscopic educators and learners and could be used for in-training evaluations. The Objective Assessment of Arthroscopic Skills is an instrument that can be employed to measure the impact of skills curricula, including but not limited to simulation. Copyright © 2013 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PACT - a bottom pressure based, compact deep-ocean tsunameter with acoustic surface coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macrander, A.; Gouretski, V.; Boebel, O.

2009-04-01

The German-Indonsian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) processes a multitude of information to comprehensively and accurately evaluate the possible risks inherent to seismic events around Indonesia. Within just a few minutes, measurements of the vibration and horizontal movements off the coastal regions of Indonesia provide a clear picture of the location and intensity of a seaquake. However, not every seaquake causes a tsunami, nor is every tsunami caused by a seaquake. To avoid nerve-wrecking and costly false alarms and to protect against tsunamis caused by landslides, the oceanic sea-level must be measured directly. This goal is pursued in the GITEWS work package "ocean instrumentation", aiming at a a highest reliability and redundancy by developing a set of independent instruments, which measure the sea-level both offshore in the deep ocean and at the coast on the islands off Indonesia. Deep ocean sea-level changes less than a centimetre can be detected by pressure gauges deployed at the sea floor. Based on some of the concepts developed as part of the US DART system, a bottom pressure based, acoustically coupled tsunami detector (PACT) was developed under the auspices of the AWI in collaboration with two German SME and with support of University of Bremen and University of Rhode Island. The PACT system records ocean bottom pressure, performs on-board tsunami detection and acoustically relays the data to the surface buoy. However, employing computational powers and communication technologies of the new millennium, PACT integrates the entire sea-floor package (pressure gauge, data logger and analyzer, acoustic modem, acoustic release and relocation aids) into a single unit, i.e. a standard benthos sphere. PACT thereby reduces costs, minimizes the deployment efforts, while maximizing reliability and maintenance intervals. Several PACT systems are scheduled for their first deployment off Indonesia during 2009. In this presentation, the technical specifications and results from extensive laboratory and at-sea tests are shown.

Epidural steroids for treating "failed back surgery syndrome": is fluoroscopy really necessary?

PubMed

Fredman, B; Nun, M B; Zohar, E; Iraqi, G; Shapiro, M; Gepstein, R; Jedeikin, R

1999-02-01

Epidural steroids are commonly administered in the treatment of "failed back surgery syndrome." Because patient response is dependent on accurate steroid placement, fluoroscopic guidance has been advocated. However, because of ever-increasing medical expenditures, the cost-benefit of routine fluoroscopy should be critically evaluated. Therefore, 50 patients were enrolled into this institutional review board-approved, prospective, controlled, single-blinded study. At a predetermined intervertebral level, the epidural space was identified using an air loss of resistance technique. Thereafter, an epidural catheter was inserted 2 cm through the epidural needle. To determine the accuracy of the clinical placement, contrast medium was administered through the epidural catheter; antero-posterior and lateral lumbar spine radiographs were then obtained. The number of attempts required to successfully locate the epidural space, the reliability of the air loss of resistance technique in indicating successful epidural penetration in failed back surgery syndrome, the ability of the clinician to accurately predict the intervertebral space at which the epidural injection was performed, and the spread of contrast medium within the epidural space were recorded. A total of 48 epidurograms were performed. The number of attempts to successfully enter the epidural space was 2 +/- 1. In 44 cases, the radiological studies confirmed the clinical impression that the epidural space had been successfully identified. In three patients, the epidural catheter was in the paravertebral tissue. One myelogram was recorded. In 25 patients, the epidural catheter did not pass through the predetermined intervertebral space. In 35 cases, the contrast medium did not reach the level of pathology. The clinical sign of loss of resistance is a reliable indicator of epidural space penetration in most cases of "failed back surgery syndrome." However, surface anatomy is unreliable and may result in inaccurate steroid placement. Finally, despite accurate placement, the depot-steroid solution will spread to reach the level of pathology in only 26% of cases.

Effectiveness of icing as a postharvest treatment for control of Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica).

PubMed

Melody, Kevin; Senevirathne, Reshani; Janes, Marlene; Jaykus, Lee Ann; Supan, John

2008-07-01

The focus of this research was to investigate the efficacy of icing as a postharvest treatment for reduction of the levels of Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in commercial quantities of shellstock oysters. The experiments were conducted in June and August of 2006 and consisted of the following treatments: (i) on-board icing immediately after harvest; (ii) dockside icing approximately 1 to 2 h prior to shipment; and (iii) no icing (control). Changes in the levels of pathogenic Vibrio spp. during wholesale and retail handling for 2 weeks postharvest were also monitored. On-board icing achieved temperature reductions in all sacks in accordance with the National Shellfish Sanitation Program standard, but dockside icing did not meet this standard. Based on one-way analysis of variance, the only statistically significant relationship between Vibrio levels and treatment occurred for samples harvested in August; in this case, the levels of V. vulnificus in the noniced oysters were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than were the levels in the samples iced on-board. When analyzing counts over the 14-day storage period, using factorial analysis, there were statistically significant differences in V. vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus levels by sample date and/or treatment (P < 0.05), but these relationships were not consistent. Treated (iced) oysters had significantly higher gaping (approximately 20%) after 1 week in cold storage than did noniced oysters (approximately 10%) and gaping increased significantly by day 14 of commercial storage. On-board and dockside icing did not predictably reduce the levels of V. vulnificus or V. parahaemolyticus in oysters, and icing negatively impacted oyster survival during subsequent cold storage.

Navigation and vessel inspection circular No. 3-94. International maritime organization code for the safe carriage of irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high-level radioactive wastes in flasks on board ships (IMO resolution a.748(18)). Final report

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

NONE

1994-05-26

The Circular calls the attention of Coast Guard field units, marine surveyors, shippers and carriers of nuclear materials to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Code for the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes in Flasks on Board Ships (IMO Resolution A.748(18)).

Army Training Study: Training Effectiveness Analysis (TEA) Summary. Volume 4. Ordnance, Signal, CAMMS (Computer Assisted Map Maneuver System).

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-08-08

learning can be reinforced on the job because individuals at all aptitude and experience levels investigated have the ability to be successful ...both game board and brigade controllers provided realistic feedback and guidance to the command group players . A second major function of the brigade...and experimental measures. The brigade level data collectors and game board players were controllers provided by the participating units’ parent

Assessments of the quality of randomized controlled trials published in International Journal of Urology from 1994 to 2011.

PubMed

Cho, Hee Ju; Chung, Jae Hoon; Jo, Jung Ki; Kang, Dong Hyuk; Cho, Jeong Man; Yoo, Tag Keun; Lee, Seung Wook

2013-12-01

Randomized controlled trials are one of the most reliable resources for assessing the effectiveness and safety of medical treatments. Low quality randomized controlled trials carry a large bias that can ultimately impair the reliability of their conclusions. The present study aimed to evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trials published in International Journal of Urology by using multiple quality assessment tools. Randomized controlled trials articles published in International Journal of Urology were found using the PubMed MEDLINE database, and qualitative analysis was carried out with three distinct assessment tools: the Jadad scale, the van Tulder scale and the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool. The quality of randomized controlled trials was analyzed by publication year, type of subjects, intervention, presence of funding and whether an institutional review board reviewed the study. A total of 68 randomized controlled trial articles were published among a total of 1399 original articles in International Journal of Urology. Among these randomized controlled trials, 10 (2.70%) were from 1994 to 1999, 23 (4.10%) were from 2000 to 2005 and 35 (4.00%) were from 2006 to 2011 (P = 0.494). On the assessment with the Jadad and van Tulder scale, the numbers and percentage of high quality randomized controlled trials increased over time. The studies that had institutional review board reviews, funding resources or that were carried out in multiple institutions had an increased percentage of high quality articles. The numbers and percentage of high-quality randomized controlled trials published in International Journal of Urology have increased over time. Furthermore, randomized controlled trials with funding resources, institutional review board reviews or carried out in multiple institutions have been found to be of higher quality compared with others not presenting these features. © 2013 The Japanese Urological Association.

The use of Local Ecological Knowledge as a complementary approach to understand the temporal and spatial patterns of fishery resources distribution.

PubMed

Lima, Mauro Sergio Pinheiro; Oliveira, Jorge Eduardo Lins; de Nóbrega, Marcelo Francisco; Lopes, Priscila Fabiana Macedo

2017-06-01

Acquiring fast and accurate information on ecological patterns of fishery resources is a basic first step for their management. However, some countries may lack the technical and/or the financial means to undergo traditional scientific samplings to get such information; therefore affordable and reliable alternatives need to be sought. We compared two different approaches to identify occurrence patterns and catch for three main fish species caught with bottom-set gillnets used by artisanal fishers from northeast Brazil: (1) scientific on-board record data of small-scale fleet (n = 72 trips), and (2) interviews with small-scale fishers on Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) (n = 32 interviews). We correlated (Pearson correlations) the months cited by fishers (LEK) as belonging to the rainy or to the dry season with observed periods of higher and lower precipitation (SK). The presence of the three main fish species at different depths was compared between LEK and SK by Spearman correlations. Spearman correlations were also used to compare the depths of greatest abundance (with the highest Capture per Unit Effort - CPUE) of these species; the CPUEs were descendly ordered. Both methods provided similar and complementary bathymetric patterns of species occurrence and catch. The largest catches occured in deeper areas, which also happened to be less intensively fished. The preference for fishing in shallower and less productive areas was mostly due to environmental factors, such as weaker currents and less drifting algae at such depths. Both on-board and interview methods were accurate and brought complementary information, even though fishers provided faster data when compared to scientific on-board observations. When time and funding are not limited, integrative approaches such as the one presented here are likely the best option to obtain information, otherwise fishers' LEK could be a better choice for when a compromise between speed, reliability and cost needs to be reached.

Advancing methods for reliably assessing motivational interviewing fidelity using the Motivational Interviewing Skills Code

PubMed Central

Lord, Sarah Peregrine; Can, Doğan; Yi, Michael; Marin, Rebeca; Dunn, Christopher W.; Imel, Zac E.; Georgiou, Panayiotis; Narayanan, Shrikanth; Steyvers, Mark; Atkins, David C.

2014-01-01

The current paper presents novel methods for collecting MISC data and accurately assessing reliability of behavior codes at the level of the utterance. The MISC 2.1 was used to rate MI interviews from five randomized trials targeting alcohol and drug use. Sessions were coded at the utterance-level. Utterance-based coding reliability was estimated using three methods and compared to traditional reliability estimates of session tallies. Session-level reliability was generally higher compared to reliability using utterance-based codes, suggesting that typical methods for MISC reliability may be biased. These novel methods in MI fidelity data collection and reliability assessment provided rich data for therapist feedback and further analyses. Beyond implications for fidelity coding, utterance-level coding schemes may elucidate important elements in the counselor-client interaction that could inform theories of change and the practice of MI. PMID:25242192

Advancing methods for reliably assessing motivational interviewing fidelity using the motivational interviewing skills code.

PubMed

Lord, Sarah Peregrine; Can, Doğan; Yi, Michael; Marin, Rebeca; Dunn, Christopher W; Imel, Zac E; Georgiou, Panayiotis; Narayanan, Shrikanth; Steyvers, Mark; Atkins, David C

2015-02-01

The current paper presents novel methods for collecting MISC data and accurately assessing reliability of behavior codes at the level of the utterance. The MISC 2.1 was used to rate MI interviews from five randomized trials targeting alcohol and drug use. Sessions were coded at the utterance-level. Utterance-based coding reliability was estimated using three methods and compared to traditional reliability estimates of session tallies. Session-level reliability was generally higher compared to reliability using utterance-based codes, suggesting that typical methods for MISC reliability may be biased. These novel methods in MI fidelity data collection and reliability assessment provided rich data for therapist feedback and further analyses. Beyond implications for fidelity coding, utterance-level coding schemes may elucidate important elements in the counselor-client interaction that could inform theories of change and the practice of MI. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A particle swarm model for estimating reliability and scheduling system maintenance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puzis, Rami; Shirtz, Dov; Elovici, Yuval

2016-05-01

Modifying data and information system components may introduce new errors and deteriorate the reliability of the system. Reliability can be efficiently regained with reliability centred maintenance, which requires reliability estimation for maintenance scheduling. A variant of the particle swarm model is used to estimate reliability of systems implemented according to the model view controller paradigm. Simulations based on data collected from an online system of a large financial institute are used to compare three component-level maintenance policies. Results show that appropriately scheduled component-level maintenance greatly reduces the cost of upholding an acceptable level of reliability by reducing the need in system-wide maintenance.

Emerging Communities at BBC Learning English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Catherine; Scott, Paul

2008-01-01

This paper traces the development of the BBC Learning English [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/] online community, focusing on tools such as e-mail discussion lists, message boards, comments boards, student/teacher blogs, competitions, and voting. It describes how relationships between the intermediate level users of all…

Screening for Moral Injury: The Moral Injury Symptom Scale - Military Version Short Form.

PubMed

Koenig, Harold G; Ames, Donna; Youssef, Nagy A; Oliver, John P; Volk, Fred; Teng, Ellen J; Haynes, Kerry; Erickson, Zachary D; Arnold, Irina; O'Garo, Keisha; Pearce, Michelle

2018-03-26

To develop a short form (SF) of the 45-item multidimensional Moral Injury Symptom Scale - Military Version (MISS-M) to use when screening for moral injury and monitoring treatment response in veterans and active duty military with PTSD. A total of 427 veterans and active duty military with PTSD symptoms were recruited from VA Medical Centers in Augusta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; Durham, NC; Houston, TX; and San Antonio, TX; and from Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia. The sample was randomly split in two. In the first half (n = 214), exploratory factor analysis identified the highest loading item on each of the 10 MISS scales (guilt, shame, moral concerns, loss of meaning, difficulty forgiving, loss of trust, self-condemnation, religious struggle, and loss of religious faith) to form the 10-item MISS-M-SF; confirmatory factor analysis was then performed to replicate results in the second half of the sample (n = 213). Internal reliability, test-retest reliability, and convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity were examined in the overall sample. The study was approved by the institutional review boards and the Research & Development (R&D) Committees at Veterans Administration medical centers in Durham, Los Angeles, Augusta, Houston, and San Antonio, and the Liberty University and Duke University Medical Center institutional review boards. The 10-item MISS-M-SF had a median of 50 and a range of 12-91 (possible range 10-100). Over 70% scored a 9 or 10 (highest possible) on at least one item. Cronbach's alpha was 0.73 (95% CI 0.69-0.76), and test-retest reliability was 0.87 (95% CI 0.79-0.92). Convergent validity with the 45-item MISS-M was r = 0.92. Discriminant validity was demonstrated by relatively weak correlations with social, religious, and physical health constructs (r = 0.21-0.35), and concurrent validity was indicated by strong correlations with PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms (r = 0.54-0.58). The MISS-M-SF is a reliable and valid measure of MI symptoms that can be used to screen for MI and monitor response to treatment in veterans and active duty military with PTSD.

Department of Defense Task Force on the Care, Management, and Transition of Recovering Wounded, Ill, and Injured Members of the Armed Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-02

manpower and staffing model for Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officers (PEBLOs) and legal support. Ensure adequate PEBLO and legal staffing levels to...Function focus centrally on the restoration of the physical and mental health of the RW. In the trajectory toward recovery, rehabilitation, and...identified as going through the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB)/ Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) process,84 and a family liaison officer from the RW’s

The Relationship between Board of Management's Involvement in the Recruitment Process and Their Levels of Education: A Case of Public Secondary Schools in Wareng Sub County in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wainaina, Isabellah Wanjiku

2015-01-01

Boards of Managements (B.O.M) carry with them the success or failure of the schools' management. The success of B.O.M is portrayed through good academic performance and high discipline standards in schools. Poor management on the other hand, may lead to the dissolution of the Board and nomination of another to manage the school. Performance of the…

Impact of clinical history on chest radiograph interpretation.

PubMed

Test, Matthew; Shah, Samir S; Monuteaux, Michael; Ambroggio, Lilliam; Lee, Edward Y; Markowitz, Richard I; Bixby, Sarah; Diperna, Stephanie; Servaes, Sabah; Hellinger, Jeffrey C; Neuman, Mark I

2013-07-01

The inclusion of clinical information may have unrecognized influence in the interpretation of diagnostic testing. The objective of the study was to determine the impact of clinical history on chest radiograph interpretation in the diagnosis of pneumonia. Prospective case-based study. Radiologists interpreted 110 radiographs of children evaluated for suspicion of pneumonia. Clinical information was withheld during the first interpretation. After 6 months the radiographs were reviewed with clinical information. Radiologists reported on pneumonia indicators described by the World Health Organization (ie, any infiltrate, alveolar infiltrate, interstitial infiltrate, air bronchograms, hilar adenopathy, pleural effusion). Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Boston Children's Hospital. Six board-certified radiologists. Inter- and inter-rater reliability were assessed using the kappa statistic. The addition of clinical history did not have a substantial impact on the inter-rater reliability in the identification of any infiltrate, alveolar infiltrate, interstitial infiltrate, pleural effusion, or hilar adenopathy. Inter-rater reliability in the identification of air bronchograms improved from fair (k = 0.32) to moderate (k = 0.53). Intra-rater reliability for the identification of alveolar infiltrate remained substantial to almost perfect for all 6 raters with and without clinical information. One rater had a decrease in inter-rater reliability from almost perfect (k = 1.0) to fair (k = 0.21) in the identification of interstitial infiltrate with the addition of clinical history. Alveolar infiltrate and pleural effusion are findings with high intra- and inter-rater reliability in the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia. The addition of clinical information did not have a substantial impact on the reliability of these findings. © 2012 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Partial Support of Meeting of the Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications

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

Weidman, Scott

2014-08-31

During the performance period, BMSA released the following major reports: Transforming Combustion Research through Cyberinfrastructure (2011); Assessing the Reliability of Complex Models: Mathematical and Statistical Foundations of Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification (2012); Fueling Innovation and Discovery: The Mathematical Sciences in the 21st Century (2012); Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population (2012); The Mathematical Sciences in 2025 (2013); Frontiers in Massive Data Analysis (2013); and Developing a 21st Century Global Library for Mathematics Research (2014).

Use of the LANDSAT-2 Data Collection System in the Colorado River Basin Weather Modification Program. [San Juan Mountains, Colorado

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahan, A. M. (Principal Investigator)

1975-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The LANDSAT data collection system has proven itself to be a valuable tool for control of cloud seeding operations and for verification of weather forecasts. These platforms have proven to be reliable weather resistant units suitable for the collection of hydrometeorological data from remote severe weather environments. The detailed design of the wind speed and direction system and the wire-wrapping of the logic boards were completed.

The programming language HAL: A specification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

HAL accomplishes three significant objectives: (1) increased readability, through the use of a natural two-dimensional mathematical format; (2) increased reliability, by providing for selective recognition of common data and subroutines, and by incorporating specific data-protect features; (3) real-time control facility, by including a comprehensive set of real-time control commands and signal conditions. Although HAL is designed primarily for programming on-board computers, it is general enough to meet nearly all the needs in the production, verification and support of aerospace, and other real-time applications.

Solderability of pre-tinned Cu sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunwoo, A. J.; Morris, J. W.; Lucey, G. K.

1992-05-01

The reliability and integrity of pre-tinned copper-clad printed circuit (PC) boards are serious concerns in the manufacture of electronic devices. The factors that influence the wetting during soldering of Cu are discussed. The results suggest that pre-tinning with a Pb-rich solder, such as 95Pb-5Sn, is preferred to pre-tinning with eutectic solder, since the latter can develop exposed intermetallics during aging that wet poorly. The results also confirm that the use of flux leads to carbon contamination in the solder.

Lead (Pb)-Free Solder Applications

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

VIANCO,PAUL T.

2000-08-15

Legislative and marketing forces both abroad and in the US are causing the electronics industry to consider the use of Pb-free solders in place of traditional Sn-Pb alloys. Previous case studies have demonstrated the satisfactory manufacturability and reliability of several Pb-free compositions for printed circuit board applications. Those data, together with the results of fundamental studies on Pb-free solder materials, have indicated the general feasibility of their use in the broader range of present-day, electrical and electronic components.

Evaluation of Reliability Coefficients for Two-Level Models via Latent Variable Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raykov, Tenko; Penev, Spiridon

2010-01-01

A latent variable analysis procedure for evaluation of reliability coefficients for 2-level models is outlined. The method provides point and interval estimates of group means' reliability, overall reliability of means, and conditional reliability. In addition, the approach can be used to test simple hypotheses about these parameters. The…

Does arthroscopic rotator cuff repair improve patients' activity levels?

PubMed

Baumgarten, Keith M; Chang, Peter S; Dannenbring, Tasha M; Foley, Elaine K

2018-06-04

Rotator cuff repair decreases pain, improves range of motion, and increases strength. Whether these improvements translate to an improvement in a patient's activity level postoperatively remains unknown. The Shoulder Activity Level is a valid and reliable outcomes survey that can be used to measure a patient's shoulder-specific activity level. Currently, there are no studies that examine the effect of rotator cuff repair on shoulder activity level. Preoperative patient-determined outcomes scores collected prospectively on patients undergoing rotator cuff repair were compared with postoperative scores at a minimum of 2 years. These scores included the Shoulder Activity Level, Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation, and simple shoulder test. Inclusion criteria were patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Included were 281 shoulders from 273 patients with a mean follow-up of 3.7 years. The postoperative median Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (42 vs. 94), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (41 vs. 95), Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (30 vs. 95), and simple shoulder test (4 vs. 11) scores were statistically significantly improved compared with preoperative scores (P < .0001). The postoperative median Shoulder Activity Level score decreased compared with the preoperative score (12 vs. 11; P < .0001). Patients reported a statistically significant deterioration of their Shoulder Activity Level score after rotator cuff repair compared with their preoperative scores, although disease-specific and joint-specific quality of life scores all had statistically significantly improvement. This study suggests that patients generally have (1) significant improvements in their quality of life and (2) small deteriorations in activity level after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Copyright © 2018 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

48 CFR 2436.602-2 - Evaluation boards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) The cognizant program office head for boards appointed at the field level. (c) Conflict of interest... the regulations at 24 CFR part 0, Standards of Conduct, regarding conflicts of interest. If at any... being considered that might be or might appear to be a conflict of interest, he or she will disqualify...

77 FR 64335 - Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board; Perchlorate Advisory Panel

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-19

... Science Advisory Board; Perchlorate Advisory Panel AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... announces two public teleconferences of the SAB Perchlorate Advisory Panel to discuss its revised draft... Epidemiological Evidence to Develop a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) for Perchlorate. DATES: The public...

76 FR 64429 - Senior Executive Service; Public Debt Performance Review Board (PRB)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-18

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Bureau of the Public Debt Senior Executive Service; Public Debt Performance Review Board (PRB) AGENCY: Bureau of the Public Debt, Treasury. ACTION: Notice of Members of... reviews the performance appraisals of career senior executives who are below the level of Assistant...

75 FR 60864 - Senior Executive Service Combined Performance Review Board (PRB)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-01

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY United States Mint Senior Executive Service Combined Performance Review Board (PRB) AGENCY: United States Mint, Department of the Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to... career senior executives below the level of bureau head and principal deputy in the bureaus, except for...

Panoramic Night Vision Goggle Testing For Diagnosis and Repair

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

Visual Acuity Visual Acuity [ Marasco & Task, 1999] measures how well a human observer can see high contrast targets at specified light levels through...grid through the PNVG in-board and out-board channels simultaneously and comparing the defects to the size of grid features ( Marasco & Task, 1999). The

77 FR 56241 - Board Meeting; October 17, 2012; Idaho Falls, ID

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-12

.... Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will meet to discuss DOE work on packaging, transporting, and...) plans for the packaging, transportation, and disposition of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). Among the topics that will be discussed are current activities being undertaken by...

Asynchronous Discussion Board Facilitation and Rubric Use in a Blended Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giacumo, Lisa

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of instructor response prompts and rubrics on students' performance in an asynchronous discussion-board assignment, their learning achievement on an objective-type posttest, and their reported satisfaction levels. Researchers who have studied asynchronous computer-mediated student…

75 FR 65673 - Appointments to Performance Review Board for Senior Executive Service

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-26

... appointed as members of the NRC Performance Review Board (PRB) responsible for making recommendations to the... Executives and Senior Level System employees: Darren B. Ash, Deputy Executive Director for Corporate... of the NRC PRB Panel that was established to review appraisals and make recommendations to the...

Radiation Susceptibility Assessment of Off the Shelf (OTS) Hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Culpepper, William X.; Nicholson, Leonard L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The reduction in budgets, shortening of schedules and necessity of flying near state of the art technology have forced projects and designers to utilize not only modern, non-space rated EEE parts but also OTS boards, subassemblies and systems. New instrumentation, communications, portable computers and navigation systems for the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, and Crew Return Vehicle are examples of the realization of this paradigm change at the Johnson Space Center. Because of this change, there has been a shift in the radiation assessment methodology from individual part testing using low energy heavy ions to board and box level testing using high-energy particle beams. Highlights of several years of board and system level testing are presented along with lessons learned, present areas of concern, insights into test costs, and future challenges.

Site Management. An Analysis of the Concepts and Fundamental Operational Components Associated with the Delegation of Decision-Making Authority and Control of Resources to the School-Site Level in the California Public School System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Decker, Erwin A.; And Others

The pros and cons of decentralization of decision-making authority to the school-site level as a public school management technique are intended to serve as an informational summary for the members of the California State Board of Education, and as a resource for school district governing boards and district administrators to use to determine the…

Memorial Hermann: high reliability from board to bedside.

PubMed

Shabot, M Michael; Monroe, Douglas; Inurria, Juan; Garbade, Debbi; France, Anne-Claire

2013-06-01

In 2006 the Memorial Hermann Health System (MHHS), which includes 12 hospitals, began applying principles embraced by high reliability organizations (HROs). Three factors support its HRO journey: (1) aligned organizational structure with transparent management systems and compressed reporting processes; (2) Robust Process Improvement (RPI) with high-reliability interventions; and (3) cultural establishment, sustainment, and evolution. The Quality and Safety strategic plan contains three domains, each with a specific set of measures that provide goals for performance: (1) "Clinical Excellence;" (2) "Do No Harm;" and (3) "Saving Lives," as measured by the Serious Safety Event rate. MHHS uses a uniform approach to performance improvement--RPI, which includes Six Sigma, Lean, and change management, to solve difficult safety and quality problems. The 9 acute care hospitals provide multiple opportunities to integrate high-reliability interventions and best practices across MHHS. For example, MHHS partnered with the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare in its inaugural project to establish reliable hand hygiene behaviors, which improved MHHS's average hand hygiene compliance rate from 44% to 92% currently. Soon after compliance exceeded 85% at all 12 hospitals, the average rate of central line-associated bloodstream and ventilator-associated pneumonias decreased to essentially zero. MHHS's size and diversity require a disciplined approach to performance improvement and systemwide achievement of measurable success. The most significant cultural change at MHHS has been the expectation for 100% compliance with evidence-based quality measures and 0% incidence of patient harm.

Validation of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) among Chinese Children.

PubMed

Wang, Jing Jing; Baranowski, Tom; Lau, Wc Patrick; Chen, Tzu An; Pitkethly, Amanda Jane

2016-03-01

This study initially validates the Chinese version of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C), which has been identified as a potentially valid instrument to assess moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in children among diverse racial groups. The psychometric properties of the PAQ-C with 742 Hong Kong Chinese children were assessed with the scale's internal consistency, reliability, test-retest reliability, confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) in the overall sample, and multistep invariance tests across gender groups as well as convergent validity with body mass index (BMI), and an accelerometry-based MVPA. The Cronbach alpha coefficient (α=0.79), composite reliability value (ρ=0.81), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (α=0.82) indicate the satisfactory reliability of the PAQ-C score. The CFA indicated data fit a single factor model, suggesting that the PAQ-C measures only one construct, on MVPA over the previous 7 days. The multiple-group CFAs suggested that the factor loadings and variances and covariances of the PAQ-C measurement model were invariant across gender groups. The PAQ-C score was related to accelerometry-based MVPA (r=0.33) and inversely related to BMI (r=-0.18). This study demonstrates the reliability and validity of the PAQ-C in Chinese children. Copyright © 2016 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

An exploratory study of alternative configurations of governing boards of substance abuse treatment centers

PubMed Central

Blum, Terry C.; Roman, Paul M.

2011-01-01

Boards of directors are the ultimate governing authorities for most organizations providing substance abuse treatment. A governing board may establish policies, monitor and improve operations, and represent a treatment organization to the public. This paper explores alternative configurations of governing boards in a national sample of 500 substance abuse treatment centers. The study proceeds from the premise that boards may be configured with varying levels of engagement in five aspects of internal management and external connections in treatment center operating environments. Based on interviews with treatment center administrative directors, four clusters emerge, describing boards that are: (1) active and balanced across internal and external domains; (2) active boundary spanners concentrating primarily on external relationships; (3) focused primarily on internal organizational management; and (4) relatively inactive. In post hoc analysis, we found that placement in these clusters is associated with treatment center attributes such as rate of growth and financial results, use of evidence based practices and provision of integrated care. PMID:21489737

Killing of Campylobacter on contaminated plastic and wooden cutting boards by glycerol monocaprate (monocaprin).

PubMed

Thormar, H; Hilmarsson, H

2010-09-01

Contamination in the kitchen with foodborne bacteria is a risk factor in human exposure to these pathogens, an important route being transfer of bacteria from contaminated cutting boards and other surfaces to humans. The aim of this study was to test microbicidal emulsions of glycerol monocaprate (monocaprin) against Campylobacter on contaminated cutting boards. Plastic and wooden cutting boards, soiled with meat juice heavily contaminated with Campylobacter, were treated for 2 min with emulsions of monocaprin (MC) made in water or in buffer at low pH. Viable Campylobacter counts were reduced below the detectable level on plastic board surfaces after treatment with MC emulsions with or without 1.25% washing-up liquids (WUL). The counts were also greatly reduced on wooden boards (P < 0.05). Monocaprin emulsions and mixtures of MC emulsions and WUL may be useful as sanitizers/disinfectants in kitchens and in other food preparing and processing facilities. Cleaning with MC emulsions with or without WUL may reduce the risk of human exposure to Campylobacter.

Central FPGA-based destination and load control in the LHCb MHz event readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsson, R.

2012-10-01

The readout strategy of the LHCb experiment is based on complete event readout at 1 MHz. A set of 320 sub-detector readout boards transmit event fragments at total rate of 24.6 MHz at a bandwidth usage of up to 70 GB/s over a commercial switching network based on Gigabit Ethernet to a distributed event building and high-level trigger processing farm with 1470 individual multi-core computer nodes. In the original specifications, the readout was based on a pure push protocol. This paper describes the proposal, implementation, and experience of a non-conventional mixture of a push and a pull protocol, akin to credit-based flow control. An FPGA-based central master module, partly operating at the LHC bunch clock frequency of 40.08 MHz and partly at a double clock speed, is in charge of the entire trigger and readout control from the front-end electronics up to the high-level trigger farm. One FPGA is dedicated to controlling the event fragment packing in the readout boards, the assignment of the farm node destination for each event, and controls the farm load based on an asynchronous pull mechanism from each farm node. This dynamic readout scheme relies on generic event requests and the concept of node credit allowing load control and trigger rate regulation as a function of the global farm load. It also allows the vital task of fast central monitoring and automatic recovery in-flight of failing nodes while maintaining dead-time and event loss at a minimum. This paper demonstrates the strength and suitability of implementing this real-time task for a very large distributed system in an FPGA where no random delays are introduced, and where extreme reliability and accurate event accounting are fundamental requirements. It was in use during the entire commissioning phase of LHCb and has been in faultless operation during the first two years of physics luminosity data taking.

[Evaluation of Suicide Risk Levels in Hospitals: Validity and Reliability Tests].

PubMed

Macagnino, Sandro; Steinert, Tilman; Uhlmann, Carmen

2018-05-01

Examination of in-hospital suicide risk levels concerning their validity and their reliability. The internal suicide risk levels were evaluated in a cross sectional study of in 163 inpatients. A reliability check was performed via determining interrater-reliability of senior physician, therapist and the responsible nurse. Within the scope of the validity check, we conducted analyses of criterion validity and construct validity. For the total sample an "acceptable" to "good" interrater-reliability (Kendalls W = .77) of suicide risk levels were obtained. Schizophrenic disorders showed the lowest values, for personality disorders we found the highest level of interrater-reliability. When examining the criterion validity, Item-9 of the BDI-II is substantial correlated to our suicide risk levels (ρ m  = .54, p < .01). Within the scope of construct validity check, affective disorders showed the highest correlation (ρ = .77), compatible also with "convergent validity". They differed with schizophrenic disorders which showed the least concordance (ρ = .43). In-hospital suicide risk levels may represent an important contribution to the assessment of suicidal behavior of inpatients experiencing psychiatric treatment due to their overall good validity and reliability. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Validity and reliability of an instrument for assessing case analyses in bioengineering ethics education.

PubMed

Goldin, Ilya M; Pinkus, Rosa Lynn; Ashley, Kevin

2015-06-01

Assessment in ethics education faces a challenge. From the perspectives of teachers, students, and third-party evaluators like the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the National Institutes of Health, assessment of student performance is essential. Because of the complexity of ethical case analysis, however, it is difficult to formulate assessment criteria, and to recognize when students fulfill them. Improvement in students' moral reasoning skills can serve as the focus of assessment. In previous work, Rosa Lynn Pinkus and Claire Gloeckner developed a novel instrument for assessing moral reasoning skills in bioengineering ethics. In this paper, we compare that approach to existing assessment techniques, and evaluate its validity and reliability. We find that it is sensitive to knowledge gain and that independent coders agree on how to apply it.

Learning to play Go using recursive neural networks.

PubMed

Wu, Lin; Baldi, Pierre

2008-11-01

Go is an ancient board game that poses unique opportunities and challenges for artificial intelligence. Currently, there are no computer Go programs that can play at the level of a good human player. However, the emergence of large repositories of games is opening the door for new machine learning approaches to address this challenge. Here we develop a machine learning approach to Go, and related board games, focusing primarily on the problem of learning a good evaluation function in a scalable way. Scalability is essential at multiple levels, from the library of local tactical patterns, to the integration of patterns across the board, to the size of the board itself. The system we propose is capable of automatically learning the propensity of local patterns from a library of games. Propensity and other local tactical information are fed into recursive neural networks, derived from a probabilistic Bayesian network architecture. The recursive neural networks in turn integrate local information across the board in all four cardinal directions and produce local outputs that represent local territory ownership probabilities. The aggregation of these probabilities provides an effective strategic evaluation function that is an estimate of the expected area at the end, or at various other stages, of the game. Local area targets for training can be derived from datasets of games played by human players. In this approach, while requiring a learning time proportional to N(4), skills learned on a board of size N(2) can easily be transferred to boards of other sizes. A system trained using only 9 x 9 amateur game data performs surprisingly well on a test set derived from 19 x 19 professional game data. Possible directions for further improvements are briefly discussed.

High-bandwidth and low-loss multimode polymer waveguides and waveguide components for high-speed board-level optical interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bamiedakis, N.; Chen, J.; Penty, R. V.; White, I. H.

2016-03-01

Multimode polymer waveguides are being increasingly considered for use in short-reach board-level optical interconnects as they exhibit favourable optical properties and allow direct integration onto standard PCBs with conventional methods of the electronics industry. Siloxane-based multimode waveguides have been demonstrated with excellent optical transmission performance, while a wide range of passive waveguide components that offer routing flexibility and enable the implementation of complex on-board interconnection architectures has been reported. In recent work, we have demonstrated that these polymer waveguides can exhibit very high bandwidth-length products in excess of 30 GHz×m despite their highly-multimoded nature, while it has been shown that even larger values of > 60 GHz×m can be achieved by adjusting their refractive index profile. Furthermore, the combination of refractive index engineering and launch conditioning schemes can ensure high bandwidth (> 100 GHz×m) and high coupling efficiency (<1 dB) with standard multimode fibre inputs with relatively large alignment tolerances (~17×15 μm2). In the work presented here, we investigate the effects of refractive index engineering on the performance of passive waveguide components (crossings, bends) and provide suitable design rules for their on-board use. It is shown that, depending on the interconnection layout and link requirements, appropriate choice of refractive index profile can provide enhanced component performance, ensuring low loss interconnection and adequate link bandwidth. The results highlight the strong potential of this versatile optical technology for the formation of high-performance board-level optical interconnects with high routing flexibility.

Effect of Electromigration on the Type of Drop Failure of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Solder Joints in PBGA Packages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, M. L.; Zhao, N.

2015-10-01

Board-level drop tests of plastic ball grid array (PBGA) packages were performed in accordance with the Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council standard to investigate the effect of electromigration (EM) on the drop reliability of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joints with two substrate surface finishes, organic solderability preservative (OSP) and electroless nickel electroless palladium immersion gold (ENEPIG). In the as-soldered state, drop failures occurred at the substrate sides only, with cracks propagating within the interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) layer for OSP solder joints and along the IMC/Ni-P interface for ENEPIG solder joints. The drop lifetime of OSP solder joints was approximately twice that of ENEPIG joints. EM had an important effect on crack formation and drop lifetime of the PBGA solder joints. ENEPIG solder joints performed better in drop reliability tests after EM, that is, the drop lifetime of ENEPIG joints decreased by 43% whereas that of OSP solder joints decreased by 91%, compared with the as-soldered cases. The more serious polarity effect, i.e., excessive growth of the interfacial IMC at the anode, was responsible for the sharper decrease in drop lifetime. The different types of drop failure of PBGA solder joints before and after EM, including the position of initiation and the propagation path of cracks, are discussed on the basis of the growth behavior of interfacial IMC.

Glenohumeral articular cartilage lesions: prospective comparison of non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging and findings at arthroscopy.

PubMed

Spencer, Brian A; Dolinskas, Carol A; Seymour, Peter A; Thomas, Stephen J; Abboud, Joseph A

2013-09-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), and test-retest reliability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting cartilage abnormalities of the glenohumeral joint in comparison with the gold standard of diagnostic arthroscopy. Forty-four patients with a preoperative non-contrast MRI study of their affected shoulder underwent arthroscopy by one surgeon for rotator cuff tendinopathy from 2009 to 2010. Articular cartilage defects were prospectively recorded and graded according to the International Cartilage Repair Society classification system at the time of arthroscopy. One year after surgery, the preoperative MRI were reviewed by a board-certified radiologist and the treating surgeon for articular cartilage defects of both the humeral head and the glenoid. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and test-retest reliability were calculated. At arthroscopy, 43% of the shoulders were found to have articular cartilage defects. When the readers' findings were combined, the sensitivity of detecting humeral lesions on MRI was 32%; specificity, 80%; accuracy, 63%; PPV, 57%; and NPV, 66%. The sensitivity of detecting glenoid lesions was 31%; specificity, 86%; accuracy, 76%; PPV, 33%; and NPV, 85%. This study finds that the overall accuracy of MRI in detecting articular cartilage damage in patients with the clinical diagnosis of subacromial pathology is moderate. Level II, development of diagnostic criteria based on consecutive patients with universally applied reference "gold" standard. Copyright © 2013 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ramp-related incidents involving wheeled mobility device users during transit bus boarding/alighting.

PubMed

Frost, Karen L; Bertocci, Gina; Smalley, Craig

2015-05-01

To estimate the prevalence of wheeled mobility device (WhMD) ramp-related incidents while boarding/alighting a public transit bus and to determine whether the frequency of incidents is less when the ramp slope meets the proposed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) maximum allowable limit of ≤9.5°. Observational study. Community public transportation. WhMD users (N=414) accessing a public transit bus equipped with an instrumented ramp. Not applicable. Prevalence of boarding/alighting incidents involving WhMD users and associated ramp slopes; factors affecting incidents. A total of 4.6% (n=35) of WhMD users experienced an incident while boarding/alighting a transit bus. Significantly more incidents occurred during boarding (6.3%, n=26) than during alighting (2.2%, n=9) (P<.01), and when the ramp was deployed to street level (mean slope=11.4°) compared with sidewalk level (mean slope=4.2°) (P=.01). The odds ratio for experiencing an incident when the ramp slope exceeded the proposed ADA maximum allowable ramp slope was 5.4 (95% confidence interval, 2.4-12.2; P<.01). The odds ratio for assistance being rendered to board/alight when the ramp slope exceeded the proposed ADA maximum allowable ramp slope was 5.1 (95% confidence interval, 2.9-9.0; P<.01). The findings of this study support the proposed ADA maximum allowable ramp slope of 9.5°. Ramp slopes >9.5° and ramps deployed to street level are associated with a higher frequency of incidents and provision of assistance. Transit agencies should increase awareness among bus operators of the effect kneeling and deployment location (street/sidewalk) have on the ramp slope. In addition, ramp components and the built environment may contribute to incidents. When prescribing WhMDs, skills training must include ascending/descending ramps at slopes encountered during boarding/alighting to ensure safe and independent access to public transit buses. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accuracy of force and center of pressure measures of the Wii Balance Board.

PubMed

Bartlett, Harrison L; Ting, Lena H; Bingham, Jeffrey T

2014-01-01

The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) is increasingly used as an inexpensive force plate for assessment of postural control; however, no documentation of force and COP accuracy and reliability is publicly available. Therefore, we performed a standard measurement uncertainty analysis on 3 lightly and 6 heavily used WBBs to provide future users with information about the repeatability and accuracy of the WBB force and COP measurements. Across WBBs, we found the total uncertainty of force measurements to be within ± 9.1N, and of COP location within ± 4.1mm. However, repeatability of a single measurement within a board was better (4.5 N, 1.5mm), suggesting that the WBB is best used for relative measures using the same device, rather than absolute measurement across devices. Internally stored calibration values were comparable to those determined experimentally. Further, heavy wear did not significantly degrade performance. In combination with prior evaluation of WBB performance and published standards for measuring human balance, our study provides necessary information to evaluate the use of the WBB for analysis of human balance control. We suggest the WBB may be useful for low-resolution measurements, but should not be considered as a replacement for laboratory-grade force plates. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Accuracy of force and center of pressure measures of the Wii Balance Board

PubMed Central

Bartlett, Harrison L.; Ting, Lena H.; Bingham, Jeffrey T.

2013-01-01

The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) is increasingly used as an inexpensive force plate for assessment of postural control; however, no documentation of force and COP accuracy and reliability is publicly available. Therefore, we performed a standard measurement uncertainty analysis on 3 lightly and 6 heavily used WBBs to provide future users with information about the repeatability and accuracy of the WBB force and COP measurements. Across WBBs, we found the total uncertainty of force measurements to be within ±9.1 N, and of COP location within ±4.1 mm. However, repeatability of a single measurement within a board was better (4.5 N, 1.5 mm), suggesting that the WBB is best used for relative measures using the same device, rather than absolute measurement across devices. Internally stored calibration values were comparable to those determined experimentally. Further, heavy wear did not significantly degrade performance. In combination with prior evaluation of WBB performance and published standards for measuring human balance, our study provides necessary information to evaluate the use of the WBB for analysis of human balance control. We suggest the WBB may be useful for low-resolution measurements, but should not be considered as a replacement for laboratory-grade force plates. PMID:23910725

Industrial Applications of Graphite Fluoride Fibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, Ching-Cheh; Kucera, Donald

1991-01-01

Based on fluorination technology developed during 1934 to 1959, and the fiber technology developed during the 1970s, a new process was developed to produce graphite fluoride fibers. In the process, pitch based graphitized carbon fibers are at first intercalated and deintercalated several times by bromine and iodine, followed by several cycles of nitrogen heating and fluorination at 350 to 370 C. Electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of this fiber depend on the fluorination process and the fluorine content of the graphite fluoride product. However, these properties are between those of graphite and those of PTFE (Teflon). Therefore, it is considered to be a semiplastic. The physical properties suggest that this new material may have many new and unexplored applications. For example, it can be a thermally conductive electrical insulator. Its coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) can be adjusted to match that of silicon, and therefore, it can be a heat sinking printed circuit board which is CTE compatible with silicon. Using these fibers in printed circuit boards may provide improved electrical performance and reliability of the electronics on the board over existing designs. Also, since it releases fluorine at 300 C or higher, it can be used as a material to store fluorine and to conduct fluorination. This application may simplify the fluorination process and reduce the risk of handling fluorine.

The X-43 Fin Actuation System Problem - Reliability in Shades of Gray

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peebles, Curtis

2006-01-01

Following the loss of the first X-43 during launch, the mishap investigation board indicated the Fin Actuator System (FAS) needed to have a larger torque margin. To supply this added torque, a second actuator was added. The consequences of what seemed to be a simple modification would trouble the X-43 program. Because of the second actuator, a new computer board was required. This proved to be subject to electronic noise. This resulted in the actuator latch up in ground tests of the FAS for the second launch. Such a latch up would cause the Pegasus booster to fail, as the FAS was a single string system. The problem was corrected and the second flight was successful. The same modifications were added to the FAS for flight three. When the FAS underwent ground tests, it also latched up. The failure indicated that each computer board had a different tolerance to electronic noise. The problem with the FAS was corrected. Subsequently, another failure occurred, raising questions about the design, and the probability of failure for the X-43 Mach 10 flight. This was not simply a technical issue, but illuminated the difficulties facing both managers and engineers in assessing risk, design requirements, and probabilities in cutting edge aerospace projects.

Adaptive approach for on-board impedance parameters and voltage estimation of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farmann, Alexander; Waag, Wladislaw; Sauer, Dirk Uwe

2015-12-01

Robust algorithms using reduced order equivalent circuit model (ECM) for an accurate and reliable estimation of battery states in various applications become more popular. In this study, a novel adaptive, self-learning heuristic algorithm for on-board impedance parameters and voltage estimation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles is introduced. The presented approach is verified using LIBs with different composition of chemistries (NMC/C, NMC/LTO, LFP/C) at different aging states. An impedance-based reduced order ECM incorporating ohmic resistance and a combination of a constant phase element and a resistance (so-called ZARC-element) is employed. Existing algorithms in vehicles are much more limited in the complexity of the ECMs. The algorithm is validated using seven day real vehicle data with high temperature variation including very low temperatures (from -20 °C to +30 °C) at different Depth-of-Discharges (DoDs). Two possibilities to approximate both ZARC-elements with finite number of RC-elements on-board are shown and the results of the voltage estimation are compared. Moreover, the current dependence of the charge-transfer resistance is considered by employing Butler-Volmer equation. Achieved results indicate that both models yield almost the same grade of accuracy.

Use of a Relapse Monitoring Board

PubMed Central

MacFadden, Wayne; Anand, Ravi; Khanna, Sumant; Rapaport, Mark H.; Haskins, J. Thomas; Turkoz, Ibrahim; Alphs, Larry

2011-01-01

Objective: Independent review boards can provide an objective appraisal of investigators' decisions and may be useful for determining complex primary outcomes, such as bipolar disorder relapse, in crossnational studies. This article describes the use of an independent, blinded relapse monitoring board to assess the primary outcome (relapse) in an international clinical trial of risperidone long-acting therapy adjunctive to standard-care pharmacotherapy for patients with bipolar disorder. Design: The fully autonomous relapse monitoring board was composed of a chair and two additional members—all psychiatrists and experts in the diagnostic, clinical, and therapeutic management of bipolar disorder. The relapse monitoring board met six times during the study to review patient relapse data and was charged with the responsibility of determining if the events described by investigators qualified as relapses. Additionally, the relapse monitoring board reviewed data for all randomized patients to identify any relapse events not recognized by investigators. Results: Primary efficacy results were similar and significant for investigator- and relapse monitoring board-determined relapses. Ten discrepancies were noted: two of the 42 investigator-determined relapses did not meet the intended clinical relapse threshold as determined by the relapse monitoring board; conversely, the relapse monitoring board confirmed eight relapse events not identified by investigators. The relapse monitoring board had no direct interactions with patients and had to rely on the accuracy of investigator assessments. Also, once an investigator determined a relapse and the patients discontinued the study, less information was available to the relapse monitoring board for relapse assessment. Conclusions: Use of the relapse monitoring board supported the validity of the study by incorporating a level of standardization to mitigate the risk that local practice in different cultures and medical systems at the sites would confound study results. PMID:22132367

77 FR 31847 - Notification of a Public Meeting and Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board (SAB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-30

... Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board (SAB); Perchlorate Advisory Panel AGENCY: Environmental Protection... public meeting and follow-up public teleconference of the SAB Perchlorate Advisory Panel to conduct an advisory activity related to the development of a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for perchlorate...

20 CFR 220.127 - When the only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... unskilled physical labor. 220.127 Section 220.127 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS... only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor. (a) Arduous work. Arduous work is primarily physical work requiring a high level of strength or endurance. The Board will consider the claimant unable...

20 CFR 220.127 - When the only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... unskilled physical labor. 220.127 Section 220.127 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS... only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor. (a) Arduous work. Arduous work is primarily physical work requiring a high level of strength or endurance. The Board will consider the claimant unable...

20 CFR 220.127 - When the only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... unskilled physical labor. 220.127 Section 220.127 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS... only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor. (a) Arduous work. Arduous work is primarily physical work requiring a high level of strength or endurance. The Board will consider the claimant unable...

20 CFR 220.127 - When the only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... unskilled physical labor. 220.127 Section 220.127 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS... only work experience is arduous unskilled physical labor. (a) Arduous work. Arduous work is primarily physical work requiring a high level of strength or endurance. The Board will consider the claimant unable...

Teachers, School Boards, and the Power of Money: How the Right Wins at the Local Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schirmer, Eleni B.; Apple, Michael W.

2016-01-01

This article examines national conservative political advocacy groups' growing interest in local politics, and analyzes how they form alliances and gain political power. Following efforts to restrict collective bargaining for Wisconsin public employees, Kenosha school board members' attempts to legally protect teachers' rights provoked concern…

Scholarly Networking among Business Students: Structured Discussion Board Activity and Academic Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Kristen; Curren, Mary T.; Kiesler, Tina; Lammers, H. Bruce; Goldenson, Jamie

2013-01-01

The authors' intent was to show the effect of student discussion board activity on academic outcomes, after accounting for past academic performance. Data were collected from 516 students enrolled in a junior-level required business course. Controlling for students' grade point average, stepwise regression showed a significant…

Financial planning for major initiatives: a framework for success.

PubMed

Harris, John M

2007-11-01

A solid framework for assessing a major strategic initiative consists of four broad steps: Initial considerations, including level of analysis required and resources that will be brought to bear. Preliminary financial estimates for board approval to further assess the initiative. Assessment of potential partners' interest in the project. Feasibility analysis for board green light.

A Reliable, Feasible Method to Observe Neighborhoods at High Spatial Resolution

PubMed Central

Kepper, Maura M.; Sothern, Melinda S.; Theall, Katherine P.; Griffiths, Lauren A.; Scribner, Richard; Tseng, Tung-Sung; Schaettle, Paul; Cwik, Jessica M.; Felker-Kantor, Erica; Broyles, Stephanie T.

2016-01-01

Introduction Systematic social observation (SSO) methods traditionally measure neighborhoods at street level and have been performed reliably using virtual applications to increase feasibility. Research indicates that collection at even higher spatial resolution may better elucidate the health impact of neighborhood factors, but whether virtual applications can reliably capture social determinants of health at the smallest geographic resolution (parcel level) remains uncertain. This paper presents a novel, parcel-level SSO methodology and assesses whether this new method can be collected reliably using Google Street View and is feasible. Methods Multiple raters (N=5) observed 42 neighborhoods. In 2016, inter-rater reliability (observed agreement and kappa coefficient) was compared for four SSO methods: (1) street-level in person; (2) street-level virtual; (3) parcel-level in person; and (4) parcel-level virtual. Intra-rater reliability (observed agreement and kappa coefficient) was calculated to determine whether parcel-level methods produce results comparable to traditional street-level observation. Results Substantial levels of inter-rater agreement were documented across all four methods; all methods had >70% of items with at least substantial agreement. Only physical decay showed higher levels of agreement (83% of items with >75% agreement) for direct versus virtual rating source. Intra-rater agreement comparing street- versus parcel-level methods resulted in observed agreement >75% for all but one item (90%). Conclusions Results support the use of Google Street View as a reliable, feasible tool for performing SSO at the smallest geographic resolution. Validation of a new parcel-level method collected virtually may improve the assessment of social determinants contributing to disparities in health behaviors and outcomes. PMID:27989289

Accuracy of digital American Board of Orthodontics Discrepancy Index measurements.

PubMed

Dragstrem, Kristina; Galang-Boquiren, Maria Therese S; Obrez, Ales; Costa Viana, Maria Grace; Grubb, John E; Kusnoto, Budi

2015-07-01

A digital analysis that is shown to be accurate will ease the demonstration of initial case complexity. To date, no literature exists on the accuracy of the digital American Board of Orthodontics Discrepancy Index (DI) calculations when applied to pretreatment digital models. Plaster models were obtained from 45 previous patients with varying degrees of malocclusion. Total DI scores and the target disorders were computed manually with a periodontal probe on the original plaster casts (gold standard) and digitally using Ortho Insight 3D (Motion View Software, Hixson, Tenn) and OrthoCAD (Cadent, Carlstadt, NJ). Intrarater and interrater reliabilities were assessed for 15 subjects using the Spearman rho correlation test. Accuracies of the DI scores and target disorders were assessed for all 45 subjects using Wilcoxon signed ranks tests. Intrarater and interrater reliabilities were high for total DI scores and most target disorders (r > 0.8). No significant difference was found between total DI score when measured with OrthoCAD compared with manual calculations. The total DI scores calculated by Ortho Insight 3D were found to be significantly greater than those by manual calculation by 2.71 points. The findings indicate that a DI calculated by Ortho Insight 3D may lead the clinician to overestimate case complexity. OrthoCAD's DI module was demonstrated to be a clinically acceptable alternative to manual calculation of the total scores. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Survey on Ranging Sensors and Cooperative Techniques for Relative Positioning of Vehicles

PubMed Central

de Ponte Müller, Fabian

2017-01-01

Future driver assistance systems will rely on accurate, reliable and continuous knowledge on the position of other road participants, including pedestrians, bicycles and other vehicles. The usual approach to tackle this requirement is to use on-board ranging sensors inside the vehicle. Radar, laser scanners or vision-based systems are able to detect objects in their line-of-sight. In contrast to these non-cooperative ranging sensors, cooperative approaches follow a strategy in which other road participants actively support the estimation of the relative position. The limitations of on-board ranging sensors regarding their detection range and angle of view and the facility of blockage can be approached by using a cooperative approach based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The fusion of both, cooperative and non-cooperative strategies, seems to offer the largest benefits regarding accuracy, availability and robustness. This survey offers the reader a comprehensive review on different techniques for vehicle relative positioning. The reader will learn the important performance indicators when it comes to relative positioning of vehicles, the different technologies that are both commercially available and currently under research, their expected performance and their intrinsic limitations. Moreover, the latest research in the area of vision-based systems for vehicle detection, as well as the latest work on GNSS-based vehicle localization and vehicular communication for relative positioning of vehicles, are reviewed. The survey also includes the research work on the fusion of cooperative and non-cooperative approaches to increase the reliability and the availability. PMID:28146129

Demonstrating a Realistic IP Mission Prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rash, James; Ferrer, Arturo B.; Goodman, Nancy; Ghazi-Tehrani, Samira; Polk, Joe; Johnson, Lorin; Menke, Greg; Miller, Bill; Criscuolo, Ed; Hogie, Keith

2003-01-01

Flight software and hardware and realistic space communications environments were elements of recent demonstrations of the Internet Protocol (IP) mission concept in the lab. The Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI) Project and the Flight Software Branch at NASA/GSFC collaborated to build the prototype of a representative space mission that employed unmodified off-the-shelf Internet protocols and technologies for end-to-end communications between the spacecraft/instruments and the ground system/users. The realistic elements used in the prototype included an RF communications link simulator and components of the TRIANA mission flight software and ground support system. A web-enabled camera connected to the spacecraft computer via an Ethernet LAN represented an on-board instrument creating image data. In addition to the protocols at the link layer (HDLC), transport layer (UDP, TCP), and network (IP) layer, a reliable file delivery protocol (MDP) at the application layer enabled reliable data delivery both to and from the spacecraft. The standard Network Time Protocol (NTP) performed on-board clock synchronization with a ground time standard. The demonstrations of the prototype mission illustrated some of the advantages of using Internet standards and technologies for space missions, but also helped identify issues that must be addressed. These issues include applicability to embedded real-time systems on flight-qualified hardware, range of applicability of TCP, and liability for and maintenance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. The NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) funded the collaboration to build and demonstrate the prototype IP mission.

SMART-FDIR: Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Implementation of a Satellite FDIR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guiotto, A.; Martelli, A.; Paccagnini, C.

Nowadays space activities are characterized by increased constraints in terms of on-board computing power and functional complexity combined with reduction of costs and schedule. This scenario necessarily originates impacts on the on-board software with particular emphases to the interfaces between on-board software and system/mission level requirements. The questions are: How can the effectiveness of Space System Software design be improved? How can we increase sophistication in the area of autonomy and failure tolerance, maintaining the necessary quality with acceptable risks?

Universal test system for system embedded optical interconnect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitwon, R.; Wang, K.; Immonen, M.; Schröder, H.; Neitz, M.

2018-02-01

We introduce a universal test and measurement system allowing comparative characterisation of optical transceivers, board-to-board optical connectors and both embedded and passive optical circuit boards. The system comprises a test enclosure with interlocking and interchangeable test cards, allowing different technologies spanning different Technology Readiness Levels to be both characterised alone and in combination with other technologies. They form part of the open test design standards portfolio developed on the FP7 PhoxTroT and H2020 COSMICC projects and allow testing on a common test platform.

Optical-fiber-to-waveguide coupling using carbon-dioxide-laser-induced long-period fiber gratings.

PubMed

Bachim, Brent L; Ogunsola, Oluwafemi O; Gaylord, Thomas K

2005-08-15

Optical fibers are expected to play a role in chip-level and board-level optical interconnects because of limitations on the bandwidth and level of integration of electrical interconnects. Therefore, methods are needed to couple optical fibers directly to waveguides on chips and on boards. We demonstrate optical-fiber-to-waveguide coupling using carbon-dioxide laser-induced long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs). Such gratings can be written in standard fiber and offer wavelength multiplexing-demultiplexing performance. The coupler fabrication process and the characterization apparatus are presented. The operation and the wavelength response of a LPFG-based optical-fiber-to-waveguide directional coupler are demonstrated.

Demonstrating the Effect of Particle Impact Dampers on the Random Vibration Response and Fatigue Life of Printed Wiring Assemblies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, Brent; Montgomery, Randall; Geist, David; Hunt, Ron; LaVerde, Bruce; Towner, Robert

2013-01-01

In a recent experimental study, small Particle Impact Dampers (PID) were bonded directly to the surface of printed circuit board (PCB) or printed wiring assemblies (PWA), reducing the random vibration response and increasing the fatigue life. This study provides data verifying practicality of this approach. The measured peak strain and acceleration response of the fundamental out of plane bending mode was significantly attenuated by adding a PID device. Attenuation of this mode is most relevant to the fatigue life of a PWA because the local relative displacements between the board and the supported components, which ultimately cause fatigue failures of the electrical leads of the board-mounted components are dominated by this mode. Applying PID damping at the board-level of assembly provides mitigation with a very small mass impact, especially as compared to isolation at an avionics box or shelf level of assembly. When compared with other mitigation techniques at the PWA level (board thickness, stiffeners, constrained layer damping), a compact PID device has the additional advantage of not needing to be an integral part of the design. A PID can simply be bonded to heritage or commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware to facilitate its use in environments beyond which it was originally qualified. Finite element analysis and test results show that the beneficial effect is not localized and that the attenuation is not due to the simple addition of mass. No significant, detrimental reduction in frequency was observed. Side-by-side life testing of damped and un-damped boards at two different thicknesses (0.070" and 0.090") has shown that the addition of a PID was much more significant to the fatigue life than increasing the thickness. High speed video, accelerometer, and strain measurements have been collected to correlate with analytical results.

Tethered Satellite System Contingency Investigation Board

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-46) on July 31, 1992. During the attempted on-orbit operations, the Tethered Satellite System failed to deploy successfully beyond 256 meters. The satellite was retrieved successfully and was returned on August 6, 1992. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for Space Flight formed the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) Contingency Investigation Board on August 12, 1992. The TSS-1 Contingency Investigation Board was asked to review the anomalies which occurred, to determine the probable cause, and to recommend corrective measures to prevent recurrence. The board was supported by the TSS Systems Working group as identified in MSFC-TSS-11-90, 'Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Contingency Plan'. The board identified five anomalies for investigation: initial failure to retract the U2 umbilical; initial failure to flyaway; unplanned tether deployment stop at 179 meters; unplanned tether deployment stop at 256 meters; and failure to move tether in either direction at 224 meters. Initial observations of the returned flight hardware revealed evidence of mechanical interference by a bolt with the level wind mechanism travel as well as a helical shaped wrap of tether which indicated that the tether had been unwound from the reel beyond the travel by the level wind mechanism. Examination of the detailed mission events from flight data and mission logs related to the initial failure to flyaway and the failure to move in either direction at 224 meters, together with known preflight concerns regarding slack tether, focused the assessment of these anomalies on the upper tether control mechanism. After the second meeting, the board requested the working group to complete and validate a detailed integrated mission sequence to focus the fault tree analysis on a stuck U2 umbilical, level wind mechanical interference, and slack tether in upper tether control mechanism and to prepare a detailed plan for hardware inspection, test, and analysis including any appropriate hardware disassembly.

Tethered Satellite System Contingency Investigation Board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-11-01

The Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-46) on July 31, 1992. During the attempted on-orbit operations, the Tethered Satellite System failed to deploy successfully beyond 256 meters. The satellite was retrieved successfully and was returned on August 6, 1992. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for Space Flight formed the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) Contingency Investigation Board on August 12, 1992. The TSS-1 Contingency Investigation Board was asked to review the anomalies which occurred, to determine the probable cause, and to recommend corrective measures to prevent recurrence. The board was supported by the TSS Systems Working group as identified in MSFC-TSS-11-90, 'Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Contingency Plan'. The board identified five anomalies for investigation: initial failure to retract the U2 umbilical; initial failure to flyaway; unplanned tether deployment stop at 179 meters; unplanned tether deployment stop at 256 meters; and failure to move tether in either direction at 224 meters. Initial observations of the returned flight hardware revealed evidence of mechanical interference by a bolt with the level wind mechanism travel as well as a helical shaped wrap of tether which indicated that the tether had been unwound from the reel beyond the travel by the level wind mechanism. Examination of the detailed mission events from flight data and mission logs related to the initial failure to flyaway and the failure to move in either direction at 224 meters, together with known preflight concerns regarding slack tether, focused the assessment of these anomalies on the upper tether control mechanism. After the second meeting, the board requested the working group to complete and validate a detailed integrated mission sequence to focus the fault tree analysis on a stuck U2 umbilical, level wind mechanical interference, and slack tether in upper tether control mechanism and to prepare a detailed plan for hardware inspection, test, and analysis including any appropriate hardware disassembly.

Reference data on reaction time and aging using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board: A cross-sectional study of 354 subjects from 20 to 99 years of age.

PubMed

Blomkvist, Andreas W; Eika, Fredrik; Rahbek, Martin T; Eikhof, Karin D; Hansen, Mette D; Søndergaard, Malene; Ryg, Jesper; Andersen, Stig; Jørgensen, Martin G

2017-01-01

Falls among older adults is one of the major public health challenges facing the rapidly changing demography. The valid assessment of reaction time (RT) and other well-documented risk factors for falls are mainly restricted to specialized clinics due to the equipment needed. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board has the potential to be a multi-modal test and intervention instrument for these risk factors, however, reference data are lacking. To provide RT reference data and to characterize the age-related changes in RT measured by the Nintendo Wii Balance Board. Healthy participants were recruited at various locations and their RT in hands and feet were tested by six assessors using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board. Reference data were analysed and presented in age-groups, while the age-related change in RT was tested and characterized with linear regression models. 354 participants between 20 and 99 years of age were tested. For both hands and feet, mean RT and its variation increased with age. There was a statistically significant non-linear increase in RT with age. The averaged difference between male and female was significant, with males being faster than females for both hands and feet. The averaged difference between dominant and non-dominant side was non-significant. This study reported reference data with percentiles for a new promising method for reliably testing RT. The RT data were consistent with previously known effects of age and gender on RT.

Reference data on reaction time and aging using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board: A cross-sectional study of 354 subjects from 20 to 99 years of age

PubMed Central

Rahbek, Martin T.; Eikhof, Karin D.; Hansen, Mette D.; Søndergaard, Malene; Ryg, Jesper; Andersen, Stig; Jørgensen, Martin G.

2017-01-01

Background Falls among older adults is one of the major public health challenges facing the rapidly changing demography. The valid assessment of reaction time (RT) and other well-documented risk factors for falls are mainly restricted to specialized clinics due to the equipment needed. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board has the potential to be a multi-modal test and intervention instrument for these risk factors, however, reference data are lacking. Objective To provide RT reference data and to characterize the age-related changes in RT measured by the Nintendo Wii Balance Board. Method Healthy participants were recruited at various locations and their RT in hands and feet were tested by six assessors using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board. Reference data were analysed and presented in age-groups, while the age-related change in RT was tested and characterized with linear regression models. Results 354 participants between 20 and 99 years of age were tested. For both hands and feet, mean RT and its variation increased with age. There was a statistically significant non-linear increase in RT with age. The averaged difference between male and female was significant, with males being faster than females for both hands and feet. The averaged difference between dominant and non-dominant side was non-significant. Conclusion This study reported reference data with percentiles for a new promising method for reliably testing RT. The RT data were consistent with previously known effects of age and gender on RT. PMID:29287063

Evaluation of odometry algorithm performances using a railway vehicle dynamic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allotta, B.; Pugi, L.; Ridolfi, A.; Malvezzi, M.; Vettori, G.; Rindi, A.

2012-05-01

In modern railway Automatic Train Protection and Automatic Train Control systems, odometry is a safety relevant on-board subsystem which estimates the instantaneous speed and the travelled distance of the train; a high reliability of the odometry estimate is fundamental, since an error on the train position may lead to a potentially dangerous overestimation of the distance available for braking. To improve the odometry estimate accuracy, data fusion of different inputs coming from a redundant sensor layout may be used. Simplified two-dimensional models of railway vehicles have been usually used for Hardware in the Loop test rig testing of conventional odometry algorithms and of on-board safety relevant subsystems (like the Wheel Slide Protection braking system) in which the train speed is estimated from the measures of the wheel angular speed. Two-dimensional models are not suitable to develop solutions like the inertial type localisation algorithms (using 3D accelerometers and 3D gyroscopes) and the introduction of Global Positioning System (or similar) or the magnetometer. In order to test these algorithms correctly and increase odometry performances, a three-dimensional multibody model of a railway vehicle has been developed, using Matlab-Simulink™, including an efficient contact model which can simulate degraded adhesion conditions (the development and prototyping of odometry algorithms involve the simulation of realistic environmental conditions). In this paper, the authors show how a 3D railway vehicle model, able to simulate the complex interactions arising between different on-board subsystems, can be useful to evaluate the odometry algorithm and safety relevant to on-board subsystem performances.

Reliable data storage system design and implementation for acoustic logging while drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Xiaolong; Ju, Xiaodong; Wu, Xiling; Lu, Junqiang; Men, Baiyong; Yao, Yongchao; Liu, Dong

2016-12-01

Owing to the limitations of real-time transmission, reliable downhole data storage and fast ground reading have become key technologies in developing tools for acoustic logging while drilling (LWD). In order to improve the reliability of the downhole storage system in conditions of high temperature, intensive shake and periodic power supply, improvements were made in terms of hardware and software. In hardware, we integrated the storage system and data acquisition control module into one circuit board, to reduce the complexity of the storage process, by adopting the controller combination of digital signal processor and field programmable gate array. In software, we developed a systematic management strategy for reliable storage. Multiple-backup independent storage was employed to increase the data redundancy. A traditional error checking and correction (ECC) algorithm was improved and we embedded the calculated ECC code into all management data and waveform data. A real-time storage algorithm for arbitrary length data was designed to actively preserve the storage scene and ensure the independence of the stored data. The recovery procedure of management data was optimized to realize reliable self-recovery. A new bad block management idea of static block replacement and dynamic page mark was proposed to make the period of data acquisition and storage more balanced. In addition, we developed a portable ground data reading module based on a new reliable high speed bus to Ethernet interface to achieve fast reading of the logging data. Experiments have shown that this system can work stably below 155 °C with a periodic power supply. The effective ground data reading rate reaches 1.375 Mbps with 99.7% one-time success rate at room temperature. This work has high practical application significance in improving the reliability and field efficiency of acoustic LWD tools.

High-sensitivity detection of PSA by time-resolved fluorometry with Europium chelate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nahm, Kie B.; Jeong, Jin H.; Kim, Byoung C.; Kim, Jae H.; Kim, Young M.; Jeong, Dong S.; Oh, Sang W.; Choi, Eui Y.; Ko, Dong S.

2006-01-01

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is an androgen-dependent glycoprotein protease (M.W. 33 kDa) and a member of kallikrein super-family of serine protease, and has chymotrypsin-like enzymatic activity. It is synthesized by the prostate epithelial cells and found in the prostate gland and seminal plasma as a major protein. It is widely used as a clinical marker for diagnosis, screening, monitoring and prognosis of prostate cancer. In normal male adults, the concentration of PSA in the blood is below 4 ng/ml and this value increases in patients with the prostate cancer or the benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) due to its leakage into the circulatory system. As such, systematic monitoring of the PSA level in the blood can provide critical information about the progress of the prostatic disease. We have fabricated a bread-board time resolved fluorescence system that could detect a concentration of Prostate Specific Antigen t-PSA) at clinically meaningful level in plasma as well as in whole blood sample. We chose Europium chelates as the fluorescence markers to attach to the PSA for its long decay lifetime and relative photostability. We have simplified the electronic circuits considerably by employing a MCS. With this setup, we have successfully proved that PSA concentration of 4pg/mL can be detected with acceptable reliability.

Development a low-cost carbon monoxide sensor using homemade CW-DFB QCL and board-level electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dang, Jingmin; Yu, Haiye; Zheng, Chuantao; Wang, Lijun; Sui, Yuanyuan; Wang, Yiding

2018-05-01

A mid-infrared sensor was demonstrated for the detection of carbon monoxide (CO) at trace level. In order to reduce cost, a homemade continuous-wave mode distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (CW-DFB QCL), a mini gas cell with 1.6-m optical length, and some self-development electronic modules were adopted as excitation source, absorption pool, and signal controlling and processing tool, respectively. Wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) and phase sensitive detection (PSD) techniques as well as wavelet filtering software algorithm were used to reduce the influence of light source fluctuation and system noise and to improve measurement precision and sensitivity. Under the selected P(11) absorption line located at 2099.083 cm-1, a limit of detection (LoD) of 26 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) at atmospheric pressure was achieved with a 1-s acquisition time. Allan deviation was used to characterize the long-term performance of the CO sensor, and a measurement precision of ∼3.4 ppbv was observed with an optimal integration time of ∼114 s. As a field measurement, a continuous monitoring on indoor CO concentration for a period of 24 h was conducted, which verified the reliable and robust operation of the developed sensor.

Alternative Test Methods for Electronic Parts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plante, Jeannette

2004-01-01

It is common practice within NASA to test electronic parts at the manufacturing lot level to demonstrate, statistically, that parts from the lot tested will not fail in service using generic application conditions. The test methods and the generic application conditions used have been developed over the years through cooperation between NASA, DoD, and industry in order to establish a common set of standard practices. These common practices, found in MIL-STD-883, MIL-STD-750, military part specifications, EEE-INST-002, and other guidelines are preferred because they are considered to be effective and repeatable and their results are usually straightforward to interpret. These practices can sometimes be unavailable to some NASA projects due to special application conditions that must be addressed, such as schedule constraints, cost constraints, logistical constraints, or advances in the technology that make the historical standards an inappropriate choice for establishing part performance and reliability. Alternate methods have begun to emerge and to be used by NASA programs to test parts individually or as part of a system, especially when standard lot tests cannot be applied. Four alternate screening methods will be discussed in this paper: Highly accelerated life test (HALT), forward voltage drop tests for evaluating wire-bond integrity, burn-in options during or after highly accelerated stress test (HAST), and board-level qualification.

Wafer level reliability for high-performance VLSI design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Root, Bryan J.; Seefeldt, James D.

1987-01-01

As very large scale integration architecture requires higher package density, reliability of these devices has approached a critical level. Previous processing techniques allowed a large window for varying reliability. However, as scaling and higher current densities push reliability to its limit, tighter control and instant feedback becomes critical. Several test structures developed to monitor reliability at the wafer level are described. For example, a test structure was developed to monitor metal integrity in seconds as opposed to weeks or months for conventional testing. Another structure monitors mobile ion contamination at critical steps in the process. Thus the reliability jeopardy can be assessed during fabrication preventing defective devices from ever being placed in the field. Most importantly, the reliability can be assessed on each wafer as opposed to an occasional sample.

The Managing Emergencies in Paediatric Anaesthesia global rating scale is a reliable tool for simulation-based assessment in pediatric anesthesia crisis management.

PubMed

Everett, Tobias C; Ng, Elaine; Power, Daniel; Marsh, Christopher; Tolchard, Stephen; Shadrina, Anna; Bould, Matthew D

2013-12-01

The use of simulation-based assessments for high-stakes physician examinations remains controversial. The Managing Emergencies in Paediatric Anaesthesia course uses simulation to teach evidence-based management of anesthesia crises to trainee anesthetists in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. In this study, we investigated the feasibility and reliability of custom-designed scenario-specific performance checklists and a global rating scale (GRS) assessing readiness for independent practice. After research ethics board approval, subjects were videoed managing simulated pediatric anesthesia crises in a single Canadian teaching hospital. Each subject was randomized to two of six different scenarios. All 60 scenarios were subsequently rated by four blinded raters (two in the UK, two in Canada) using the checklists and GRS. The actual and predicted reliability of the tools was calculated for different numbers of raters using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula. Average measures ICCs ranged from 'substantial' to 'near perfect' (P ≤ 0.001). The reliability of the checklists and the GRS was similar. Single measures ICCs showed more variability than average measures ICC. At least two raters would be required to achieve acceptable reliability. We have established the reliability of a GRS to assess the management of simulated crisis scenarios in pediatric anesthesia, and this tool is feasible within the setting of a research study. The global rating scale allows raters to make a judgement regarding a participant's readiness for independent practice. These tools may be used in the future research examining simulation-based assessment. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Los Angeles School Board Race Shatters Spending Records

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxwell, Lesli A.

2013-01-01

The price tag to win a seat in this week's primary election for the Los Angeles school board climbed to unprecedented levels, as a massive influx of outside cash has turned a local campaign into a national showdown pitting the long-standing influence of teachers' unions against the expanding imprint of deep-pocketed education activists. The high…

A Content Analysis of 'O' Level Papers on Imperial and Commonwealth History Set by Two GCE Examination Boards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inglis, W. F. J.

1979-01-01

This study sought to determine what types of history were emphasized by the Examination Boards and thus to throw light on the experience in history which was gained by candidates for these exams. A bias toward the political history of the imperial power was found. (Author/SJL)

The Board of Governors Fee Waiver, Financial Aid, and Community College Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coria, Elizabeth F.

2013-01-01

California established the Board of Governors (BOG) fee waiver in 1984 to maintain educational access after the implementation of the state's first ever unit-based fees for community college attendance. Although it was not designed as an incentive to stimulate higher levels of academic achievement or student success, recent accountability policy…

Dimensional stability of flakeboards as affected by board specific gravity and flake alignment

Treesearch

Robert L. Geimer

1982-01-01

The objective was to determine the relationship between the variables specific gravity (SG) and flake alignment and the dimensional stability properties of flakeboard. Boards manufactured without a density gradient were exposed to various levels of relative humidity and a vacuum-pressure soak (VPS) treatment. Changes in moisture content (MC), thickness swelling, and...

1965 Oregon timber harvest.

Treesearch

Brian R. Wall

1966-01-01

Oregon maintained its high level of timber harvest in 1965 with an output of 9.4 billion board feet. This was the first time since 1926 that production remained unchanged in 2 consecutive years. The harvest from private lands remained stable at 4 billion feet, or 43 percent of the total. Forest industry's cut declined 2 percent (83 million board feet) from 1964,...

Impact of National Board for the Professional Teaching Standards Certification on Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belson, Sarah Irvine; Husted, Thomas A.

2015-01-01

A growing number of teachers have undertaken National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification training since its inception over twenty-five years ago. Previous empirical research on the impact of NBCTs on student performance has focused on state or district-level exams in individual states and found mixed results. This…