Reduced mortality associated with breast-feeding-acquired HIV infection and breast-feeding among HIV-infected children in Zambia.

PubMed

Fox, Matthew P; Brooks, Daniel; Kuhn, Louise; Aldrovandi, Grace; Sinkala, Moses; Kankasa, Chipepo; Mwiya, Mwiya; Horsburgh, Robert; Thea, Donald M

2008-05-01

In developing countries, where mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breast-feeding is common, little is known about the impact of postpartum transmission on child survival. This study assessed whether children infected postpartum have longer survival from time of infection versus those infected during gestation or delivery. We used a prospective cohort study to analyze data from 213 HIV-infected children enrolled in a breast-feeding intervention trial in Lusaka, Zambia (2001 to 2004). We compared mortality 1 year after HIV infection in children stratified by age of infection: 0 to 3 days (intrauterine [IU] group), 4 to 40 days (intrapartum/early postpartum [IP/EPP] group), and >40 days (postpartum [PP] group). A total of 61, 71, and 81 children were infected in the IU, IP/EPP, and PP groups, respectively. Children with intrauterine or intrapartum/early postpartum transmission had higher mortality over the first 12 months after infection than children with postpartum transmission (P = 0.001 and P = 0.006, respectively); no differences were detected between children with intrauterine and intrapartum/early postpartum transmission. Nearly 20% of the IU and IP/EPP groups died by 100 days after infection, whereas nearly 10% of the PP group had died by this time. After adjusting for birth weight, maternal CD4 cell count, breast-feeding, and maternal death, children infected postpartum had one quarter the mortality rate (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.15 to 0.50) of those infected in utero. Stopping breast-feeding increased mortality in infected children (HR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.8 to 5.3). This study demonstrates a survival benefit among children infected postpartum versus children infected during pregnancy or delivery and a benefit to increased breast-feeding duration among infected children. Testing children for HIV early may provide a means to allow for earlier intervention.

Effect of temperature on endplate potential rundown and recovery in rat diaphragm.

PubMed

Moyer, M; van Lunteren, E

2001-05-01

The amplitude of neuromuscular junction end-plate potentials (EPPs) decreases quickly within a train but recovers nearly completely from train to train during intermittent stimulation. Rundown has been shown to be dependent not only on the rate of transmitter release but also on the rate of replenishment of the depleted neurotransmitter at the site of release. Two groups of processes have been proposed for synaptic vesicle recycling, both of which involve multiple energy-requiring steps and enzymatic reactions and which therefore would be expected to be very temperature-sensitive. The present study tested the hypothesis that low temperature therefore increases the rate of EPP amplitude rundown. Studies were performed in vitro on rat diaphragm and used micro-conotoxin to allow normal-sized EPPs to be recorded from intact fibers. EPP amplitude rundown during intermittent stimulation at 20 and 50 Hz (duty cycle 333 ms) was greater at 20 degrees C than it was at 37 degrees C. Initially, temperature affected only intra-train rundown but, over longer periods of stimulation, both intra- and inter-train rundown were significantly accelerated by cold temperature. Cumulative EPP amplitudes were calculated by successively adding the amplitudes of each EPP during the stimulation period to provide an estimate of total neurotransmitter release in the neuromuscular junction. The cumulative EPP amplitude was significantly lower at 20 degrees C than it was at 37 degrees C during both 20 and 50 Hz stimulation. These data indicate that the mechanism involved in EPP amplitude rundown and recovery is temperature-sensitive, with a greater decrement in EPP amplitude at cold than at warm temperatures.

Electromagnetic Analysis of ITER Diagnostic Equatorial Port Plugs During Plasma Disruptions

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

Y. Zhai, R. Feder, A. Brooks, M. Ulrickson, C.S. Pitcher and G.D. Loesser

2012-08-27

ITER diagnostic port plugs perform many functionsincluding structural support of diagnostic systems under high electromagnetic loads while allowing for diagnostic access to the plasma. The design of diagnostic equatorial port plugs (EPP) are largely driven by electromagnetic loads and associate responses of EPP structure during plasma disruptions and VDEs. This paper summarizes results of transient electromagnetic analysis using Opera 3d in support of the design activities for ITER diagnostic EPP. A complete distribution of disruption loads on the Diagnostic First Walls (DFWs), Diagnostic Shield Modules (DSMs) and the EPP structure, as well as impact on the system design integration duemore » to electrical contact among various EPP structural components are discussed.« less

Exacerbation of erythropoietic protoporphyria by hyperthyroidism.

PubMed

Minder, Elisabeth I; Haldemann, Andreas R; Schneider-Yin, Xiaoye

2010-12-01

Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a hereditary disorder caused by deficiency of ferrochelatase, the last enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway. The majority of EPP patients present with a clinical symptom of painful phototoxicity. Liver damage, the most serious complication of EPP, occurs in <5% of the patients. This report describes a case of an EPP patient who complained of worsening cutaneous symptoms, nervousness, and insomnia. Laboratory tests showed highly increased protoporphyrin concentration in erythrocytes and elevated serum transaminases that are indicative of EPP-related liver damage. The subsequent finding of decreased serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and increased free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) concentrations, as well antibodies against both thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and TSH receptors, led to the diagnosis of Graves' disease. The patient received 500 MBq of radioiodine (I(131)). Three months after the radioactive iodine therapy, the thyroid volume was reduced to 30% of pretherapeutic volume. Although the patient was slightly hypothyroidic, his liver enzymes returned to normal, his erythrocytic protoporphyrin concentration dropped fivefold, and his skin symptoms improved dramatically. The coexistence of Graves' disease and EPP is a statistically rare event as, besides our patient, there was one additional case reported in the literature. Although the exact mechanism whereby Graves' disease interacts with EPP is yet to be explored, we recommend testing thyroid function in EPP patients with liver complication to exclude hyperthyroidism as a potential cause.

Social workers and unemployment: Factors associated with using employment-promoting practices in Israeli Municipal Departments of Social Services.

PubMed

Levin, Lia; Sefati, Noga

2018-04-23

Unemployment is a harsh social phenomenon with far reaching negative implications. Unemployed individuals often seek assistance from social workers working in Municipal Departments of Social Services around the world. However, little to no research exists on the factors involved in social workers' choice to engage in employment-promoting practices (EPP). The current study aimed to tackle this gap of knowledge, providing initial conclusions about the relationship between social workers' attitudes towards unemployment, their knowledge regarding EPP, the extent to which they perceive their organisations as endorsing EPP and their actual implementation. The main research question dealt with the extent to which each of the examined factors, in itself or in combination with others, would be the best predictor of social workers' utilisation of EPP. The study sample consisted of 163 social workers in Israel with varied experience in working with the unemployed, all working in public sector social services. Structural equation modelling performed on the attained data revealed that knowledge, skills and perceived organisational endorsement of EPP were positively associated with implementation of EPP. Contrary to the hypothesised, attitudes towards unemployment were not associated with the implementation of such practices. At the same time, professional training and seniority were associated with EPP only through the mediation of perceived organisational endorsement. Ultimately, perceived organisational endorsement of EPP emerged as the most influential factor involved in social workers' decision to carry out EPP with their service-users. Consequences of these findings for social work education, supervision, research and policy making are discussed, referring to the local Israeli context as well as its possible international inferences. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

How organizational escalation prevention potential affects success of implementation of innovations: electronic medical records in hospitals.

PubMed

Lambooij, Mattijs S; Koster, Ferry

2016-05-20

Escalation of commitment is the tendency that (innovation) projects continue, even if it is clear that they will not be successful and/or become extremely costly. Escalation prevention potential (EPP), the capability of an organization to stop or steer implementation processes that do not meet their expectations, may prevent an organization of losing time and money on unsuccessful projects. EPP consists of a set of checks and balances incorporated in managerial practices that safeguard management against irrational (but very human) decisions and may limit the escalation of implementation projects. We study whether successful implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs) relates to EPP and investigate the organizational factors accounting for this relationship. Structural equation modelling (SEM), using questionnaire data of 427 doctors and 631 nurses who had experience with implementation and use of EMRs in hospitals, was applied to study whether formal governance and organizational culture mediate the relationship between EPP and the perceived added value of EMRs. Doctors and nurses in hospitals with more EPP report more successful implementation of EMR (in terms of perceived added value of the EMR). Formal governance mediates the relation between EPP and implementation success. We found no evidence that open or innovative culture explains the relationship between EPP and implementation success. There is a positive relationship between the level of EPP and perceived added value of EMRs. This relationship is explained by formal governance mechanisms of organizations. This means that management has a set of tangible tools to positively affect the success of innovation processes. However, it also means that management needs to be able to critically reflect on its (previous) actions and decisions and is willing to change plans if elements of EPP signal that the implementation process is hampered.

Electromagnetic Analysis For The Design Of ITER Diagnostic Port Plugs During Plasma Disruptions

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

Zhai, Y

2014-03-03

ITER diagnostic port plugs perform many functions including structural support of diagnostic systems under high electromagnetic loads while allowing for diagnostic access to plasma. The design of diagnotic equatorial port plugs (EPP) are largely driven by electromagnetic loads and associate response of EPP structure during plasma disruptions and VDEs. This paper summarizes results of transient electromagnetic analysis using Opera 3d in support of the design activities for ITER diagnostic EPP. A complete distribution of disruption loads on the Diagnostic First Walls (DFWs). Diagnostic Shield Modules (DSMs) and the EPP structure, as well as impact on the system design integration duemore » to electrical contact among various EPP structural components are discussed.« less

Modulation of the Polar Vortex by Energetic Particle Precipitation and Quasi-Biennial Oscillation via Ozone Loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asikainen, T.; Salminen, A.; Maliniemi, V.; Mursula, K.

2017-12-01

Energetic particle precipitation (EPP) has been shown to cause ozone loss in the stratosphere during polar winter. This has been suggested to enhance polar vortex with the effect propagating even to ground level, where it is observed as a more positive phase of the Northern Annular Mode (NAM), the dominant ground circulation pattern in the winter time at high latitudes. Recent research has also shown that the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) modulates the relationship between the ground NAM and EPP so that the positive correlation between the two is more clearly seen in the easterly phase of QBO measured at 30 hPa height especially during the late winter season. Here we elaborate the QBO modulated connection between EPP and NAM by studying how the EPP affects the stratospheric polar vortex in the two phases of the QBO. Since the EPP presumably affects the polar stratosphere via indirect ozone loss we will study how the EPP modulates the amount of ozone, the stratospheric temperatures and zonal winds in the two QBO phases.

Modulation of the polar vortex by energetic particle precipitation and Quasi-Biennial Oscillation via ozone loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salminen, Antti; Asikainen, Timo; Maliniemi, Ville; Mursula, Kalevi

2017-04-01

Energetic particle precipitation (EPP) has been shown to cause ozone loss in the stratosphere during polar winter. This has been suggested to enhance polar vortex with the effect propagating even to ground level, where it is observed as a more positive phase of the Northern Annular Mode (NAM), the dominant ground circulation pattern in the winter time at high latitudes. Recent research has also shown that the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) modulates the relationship between the ground NAM and EPP so that the positive correlation between the two is more clearly seen in the easterly phase of QBO measured at 30 hPa height especially during the late winter season. Here we elaborate the QBO modulated connection between EPP and NAM by studying how the EPP affects the stratospheric polar vortex in the two phases of the QBO. Since the EPP presumably affects the polar stratosphere via indirect ozone loss we will study how the EPP modulates the amount of ozone, the stratospheric temperatures and zonal winds in the two QBO phases.

PLUTO'S SEASONS: NEW PREDICTIONS FOR NEW HORIZONS

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

Young, L. A.

Since the last Pluto volatile transport models were published in 1996, we have (1) new stellar occultation data from 2002 and 2006-2012 that show roughly twice the pressure as the first definitive occultation from 1988, (2) new information about the surface properties of Pluto, (3) a spacecraft due to arrive at Pluto in 2015, and (4) a new volatile transport model that is rapid enough to allow a large parameter-space search. Such a parameter-space search coarsely constrained by occultation results reveals three broad solutions: a high-thermal inertia, large volatile inventory solution with permanent northern volatiles (PNVs; using the rotational northmore » pole convention); a lower thermal-inertia, smaller volatile inventory solution with exchanges of volatiles between hemispheres and a pressure plateau beyond 2015 (exchange with pressure plateau, EPP); and solutions with still smaller volatile inventories, with exchanges of volatiles between hemispheres and an early collapse of the atmosphere prior to 2015 (exchange with early collapse, EEC). PNV and EPP are favored by stellar occultation data, but EEC cannot yet be definitively ruled out without more atmospheric modeling or additional occultation observations and analysis.« less

Does social defeat mediate the association between childhood trauma and psychosis? Evidence from the NEMESIS-2 Study.

PubMed

van Nierop, M; van Os, J; Gunther, N; van Zelst, C; de Graaf, R; ten Have, M; van Dorsselaer, S; Bak, M; Myin-Germeys, I; van Winkel, R

2014-06-01

Based on theoretical considerations and animal studies, mediation of 'social defeat' (SD) in the association between childhood trauma (CT) and psychosis was investigated. Trained interviewers administered a structured interview assessing CT, psychotic experiences and other psychopathology in 6646 participants in the second Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS-2). Childhood trauma was associated with psychotic experiences making up the extended psychosis phenotype (EPP), as well as with a diagnosis of psychotic disorder (PD). Similarly, CT was associated with a priori selected items indexing SD (discouraged, hopeless, worthless, loss of self-confidence, low self-esteem, better off dead, suicidal thoughts) and with a measure of affective dysregulation (AD), which in turn were also associated with psychosis. While SD and AD individually acted as mediators in the association between CT and EPP, only SD acted as a mediator in the association between CT and PD. Cannabis use did not mediate the association between CT and EPP or PD. The present results suggest a developmental model implicating SD as an important mediator in the link between childhood adverse experiences and later development of psychotic experiences. The combined mediation by SD and AD is compatible with an 'affective pathway' to early psychosis. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

LGBTQ Inclusion in Educator Preparation: Getting Ready for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Secondary School Settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoelscher, Mary Helen

While many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students are able to resiliently navigate their public school education many others experience harsh school climates and negative health and educational outcomes. Harassment and bullying of LGBTQ students in school environments have been linked to numerous negative psychological and academic outcomes for students diverse in sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Preparing teacher candidates (TCs) to respond effectively to harassment and bullying of students and to create inclusive curriculum has been recommended to improve outcomes for students. Yet the development of these teaching practices has not been pursued broadly in educator preparation programs (EPPs) or specifically in science EPPs (SEPPs). This dissertation broadens the notion of diversity traditionally attended to in EPPs through three studies. The first study is a holistic single-case study of an LGBTQ-inclusive EPP. It focused on the following three research questions: What were the contextual features that surrounded the LGBTQ-inclusive EPP? What were the specific elements of LGBTQ inclusion in the EPP? And, what were the strengths and weaknesses of the LGBTQ-inclusive EPP? This study drew primarily from data collected from interviews with faculty and administrators in a large post-baccalaureate 5th year preparation for licensure program. Document analysis was used to triangulate and expand upon the data collected during the interviews. A framework for analyzing LGBTQ inclusion across the components of an EPP was developed as part of this study. This study has direct implications for the particular EPP, but also clarifies research needs around LGBTQ inclusion in secondary EPPs. While little has research exists about LGBTQ inclusion in EPPs, far less has been attempted and understood in the discipline of secondary life science. The second study thus narrows its focus from the particulars of LGBTQ inclusion in an EPP to the possibilities for LGBTQ inclusion in life science educator preparation. This study, thus, is theoretical as it sets about exploring possibilities for LGBTQ inclusion across life science education curriculum by drawing from the literature about the needs of LGBT and questioning students, the small amount of scholarly work related to science teacher education, and other scholarly work that relates to preparing teachers for gender and sexual diversity in secondary settings. The second study explored possibilities for LGBTQ inclusion in science teacher education. The third study, a holistic multiple-case study, explored science teacher candidates' adoption of LGBTQ inclusion in their praxis during a science EPP (SEPP). The research questions guiding this study were: what were science TCs' commitments to LGBTQ-inclusive praxis? What were science TCs' enactments of LGBTQ-inclusive praxis? And, what supports and barriers influenced TCs' commitment to and enactment of LGBTQ-inclusive praxis during the SEPP? Understanding these commitments, enactments, and the supports and barriers to them will benefit the particular SEPP and contribute to greater understanding of the capacities and needs of science TCs as they are challenged to fully welcome and educate the diversity of learners who enter their classrooms. The set of studies concludes with a discussion of implications for EPPs and future research that may lead to the realization of a vision of classroom practices that are inclusive of LGBTQ students for the benefit of schools and communities.

Report on FY15 alloy 617 code rules development

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

Sham, Sam; Jetter, Robert I; Hollinger, Greg

2015-09-01

Due to its strength at very high temperatures, up to 950°C (1742°F), Alloy 617 is the reference construction material for structural components that operate at or near the outlet temperature of the very high temperature gas-cooled reactors. However, the current rules in the ASME Section III, Division 5 Subsection HB, Subpart B for the evaluation of strain limits and creep-fatigue damage using simplified methods based on elastic analysis have been deemed inappropriate for Alloy 617 at temperatures above 650°C (1200°F) (Corum and Brass, Proceedings of ASME 1991 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, PVP-Vol. 215, p.147, ASME, NY, 1991). The rationalemore » for this exclusion is that at higher temperatures it is not feasible to decouple plasticity and creep, which is the basis for the current simplified rules. This temperature, 650°C (1200°F), is well below the temperature range of interest for this material for the high temperature gas-cooled reactors and the very high temperature gas-cooled reactors. The only current alternative is, thus, a full inelastic analysis requiring sophisticated material models that have not yet been formulated and verified. To address these issues, proposed code rules have been developed which are based on the use of elastic-perfectly plastic (EPP) analysis methods applicable to very high temperatures. The proposed rules for strain limits and creep-fatigue evaluation were initially documented in the technical literature (Carter, Jetter and Sham, Proceedings of ASME 2012 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, papers PVP 2012 28082 and PVP 2012 28083, ASME, NY, 2012), and have been recently revised to incorporate comments and simplify their application. Background documents have been developed for these two code cases to support the ASME Code committee approval process. These background documents for the EPP strain limits and creep-fatigue code cases are documented in this report.« less

Studies in porphyria: functional evidence for a partial deficiency of ferrochelatase activity in mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes from patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria.

PubMed Central

Sassa, S; Zalar, G L; Poh-Fitzpatrick, M B; Anderson, K E; Kappas, A

1982-01-01

In this paper we show that the ferrochelatase defect in erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) can readily be identified in mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes since such cells from patients with EPP accumulate approximately twice as much protoporphyrin IX as cells from normal subjects when incubated with a porphyrin precursor, gamma-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Treatment of cultures with ALA and with the iron chelator, CaMgEDTA significantly increased the level of protoporphyrin IX in mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes from normal subjects, while the same treatment failed to produce an increase in protoporphyrin IX in cell preparations from EPP patients. In contrast to the results with the chelator treatment, supplementation of the cultures with iron and ALA reduced the level of protoporphyrin IX in normal cells, but not in EPP cells. These findings are compatible with a partial deficiency of ferrochelatase in EPP lymphocytes. The gene defects of acute intermittent porphyria and hereditary coproporphyria have previously been identified using lymphocyte preparations from the gene carriers of these diseases. The present study demonstrates that EPP represents another form of human porphyria in which the gene defect of the disease can now be identified in lymphocyte preparations. PMID:6804493

Learning Conversations and Listening Pedagogy: The Relationship in Student Teachers' Developing Professional Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egan, Bridget A.

2009-01-01

Recent developments in early childhood education in the UK and other parts of Europe have emphasised the importance of dialogue between adults and children. In the UK, the EPPE project paid particular attention to the role of extended child-centred conversations ("sustained shared thinking"--Sylva et al. 2003) as an important element or…

NS(B) (Nitrogen Sulfide (B State)) Spectrum Theory and Code

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-05-01

8217TRAhS’oTRWCNp laP) ,NIfIP C NOTE: EP- BPP <C FCF RED DEGRADED BANDS C PP- BPP >C FCF BLUE DEGRACED eANCS WRITEC3o*) *BP-EPPs’f9(NN*1,I)-8CNNpIP) 60... FMA X. GT .Ft!ACLC .AND .C FPA X1 /FMAX ) GT..2) THEN XPEAK (N,IoIP)=XI1 YP EAK (N.,!,IP) rnPA)I( PE AX(N, IIP) ,FPAX) FfAX CLD=F PAX ENDIF 5

"Would You Like to Tidy up Now?" An Analysis of Adult Questioning in the English Foundation Stage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siraj-Blatchford, Iram; Manni, Laura

2008-01-01

This study provides an extension of analysis concerned with adult questioning carried out in the Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (REPEY) study. The REPEY study drew on robust quantitative data provided by the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) project to identify the particular pedagogical strategies being applied…

Technology to Augment Early Home Visitation for Child Maltreatment Prevention: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial.

PubMed

Ondersma, Steven J; Martin, Joanne; Fortson, Beverly; Whitaker, Daniel J; Self-Brown, Shannon; Beatty, Jessica; Loree, Amy; Bard, David; Chaffin, Mark

2017-11-01

Early home visitation (EHV) for child maltreatment prevention is widely adopted but has received inconsistent empirical support. Supplementation with interactive software may facilitate attention to major risk factors and use of evidence-based approaches. We developed eight 20-min computer-delivered modules for use by mothers during the course of EHV. These modules were tested in a randomized trial in which 413 mothers were assigned to software-supplemented e-Parenting Program ( ePP), services as usual (SAU), or community referral conditions, with evaluation at 6 and 12 months. Outcomes included satisfaction, working alliance, EHV retention, child maltreatment, and child maltreatment risk factors. The software was well-received overall. At the 6-month follow-up, working alliance ratings were higher in the ePP condition relative to the SAU condition (Cohen's d = .36, p < .01), with no differences at 12 months. There were no between-group differences in maltreatment or major risk factors at either time point. Despite good acceptability and feasibility, these findings provide limited support for use of this software within EHV. These findings contribute to the mixed results seen across different models of EHV for child maltreatment prevention.

Evaluation of the expert patient program in a Chinese population with permanent colostomy.

PubMed

Cheng, Fang; Xu, Qin; Dai, Xiao-dong; Yang, Lin-li

2012-01-01

A colostomy can negatively impact patients' quality of life. Recent research findings suggest that self-efficacy and psychosocial adjustment are positively associated with quality of life, but there are few research reports about the self-efficacy and psychosocial adjustment of patients with a permanent colostomy. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of a 3-week Expert Patient Program (EPP) on colostomy knowledge, stoma care self-efficacy, self-management, and psychosocial adjustment in Chinese patients who had a permanent colostomy. Eleven patients with permanent colostomy volunteered to be trained to be expert patients. Eighty-one patients with permanent colostomy were recruited and participated in the 3-week EPP courses. Questionnaires with items about knowledge on colostomy, stoma care self efficacy, self-management, and psychosocial adjustment were administered before and at 4 weeks following the EPP courses. Each EPP participant also completed a verbal interview at the end of the program. The EPP participants demonstrated statistically significant improvement (P < .01) in knowledge, self-efficacy, self-management, and psychosocial adjustment to colostomy (mean [SD]: 51.89 [11.45] vs 89.22 [19.90], 71.56 [5.93] vs 85.61 [14.32], 125.44 [19.27] vs 140.78 [15.34], 47.59 [9.64] vs 53.37 [10.68], respectively). Most participants gave positive ratings to the EPP. This study showed that the EPP was applied effectively in patients with permanent colostomy. This study highlights the importance of psychosocial support for patients with permanent colostomy. It offers a model of self-help practice in colostomy patients, supported by community that can benefit more patients with permanent colostomy.

Post-recurrence chemotherapy for mesothelioma patients undergoing extrapleural pneumonectomy.

PubMed

Takuwa, Teruhisa; Hashimoto, Masaki; Matsumoto, Seiji; Kondo, Nobuyuki; Kuribayash, Kozo; Nakano, Takashi; Hasegawa, Seiki

2017-10-01

Additional chemotherapy is often not feasible in patients with recurrent malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) undergoing extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), due to deteriorated cardiopulmonary reserve. We thus examined the feasibility and efficacy of additional chemotherapy in patients with recurrent MPM after EPP. A retrospective review was conducted of 59 consecutive patients who underwent bi-/tri-modal treatment with induction chemotherapy, EPP, and radiation therapy from July 2004 to August 2013 at Hyogo College of Medicine (Nishinomiya, Japan). Of 59 patients, 39 (male/female = 31/8, right/left = 15/24, pathological stage I/II/III/IV = 1/7/23/3, bi-/tri-modality = 27/12) relapsed at a median age of 62 (range 37-71) years. The median time to recurrence after EPP was 11.6 months. Of the 39 relapsed patients, 12 received best supportive care alone, six started but discontinued chemotherapy, and the remaining 21 (53%) completed more than three cycles of intravenous chemotherapy. The median survival time after EPP was significantly longer in 21 patients who received additional chemotherapy than in 18 patients who did not (39.2 vs. 12.2 months, P = 0.009). Additional systemic chemotherapy was successfully administered in more than 50% of relapsed patients after bi-/tri-modal treatment, which included EPP, and resulted in a longer survival in comparison with best supportive care alone.

Surface modification by electrolytic plasma processing for high Nb-TiAl alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gui, Wanyuan; Hao, Guojian; Liang, Yongfeng; Li, Feng; Liu, Xiao; Lin, Junpin

2016-12-01

Metal surface modification by electrolytic plasma processing (EPP) is an innovative treatment widely commonly applied to material processing and pretreatment process of coating and galvanization. EPP involves complex processes and a great deal of parameters, such as preset voltage, current, solution temperature and processing time. Several characterization methods are presented in this paper for evaluating the micro-structure surfaces of Ti45Al8Nb alloys: SEM, EDS, XRD and 3D topography. The results showed that the oxide scale and other contaminants on the surface of Ti45Al8Nb alloys can be effectively removed via EPP. The typical micro-crater structure of the surface of Ti45Al8Nb alloys were observed by 3D topography after EPP to find that the mean diameter of the surface structure and roughness value can be effectively controlled by altering the processing parameters. The mechanical properties of the surface according to nanomechanical probe testing exhibited slight decrease in microhardness and elastic modulus after EPP, but a dramatic increase in surface roughness, which is beneficial for further processing or coating.

Climate impact of idealized winter polar mesospheric and stratospheric ozone losses as caused by energetic particle precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meraner, Katharina; Schmidt, Hauke

2018-01-01

Energetic particles enter the polar atmosphere and enhance the production of nitrogen oxides and hydrogen oxides in the winter stratosphere and mesosphere. Both components are powerful ozone destroyers. Recently, it has been inferred from observations that the direct effect of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) causes significant long-term mesospheric ozone variability. Satellites observe a decrease in mesospheric ozone up to 34 % between EPP maximum and EPP minimum. Stratospheric ozone decreases due to the indirect effect of EPP by about 10-15 % observed by satellite instruments. Here, we analyze the climate impact of winter boreal idealized polar mesospheric and polar stratospheric ozone losses as caused by EPP in the coupled Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM). Using radiative transfer modeling, we find that the radiative forcing of mesospheric ozone loss during polar night is small. Hence, climate effects of mesospheric ozone loss due to energetic particles seem unlikely. Stratospheric ozone loss due to energetic particles warms the winter polar stratosphere and subsequently weakens the polar vortex. However, those changes are small, and few statistically significant changes in surface climate are found.

Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP) or Protoporphyria

MedlinePlus

... protoporphyrin can differentiate X-linked protoporphyria from EPP. Molecular genetic testing can confirm a diagnosis of X-linked ... systematically and comprehensively plan an affected child’s treatment. Genetic ... expression and characterization of erythroid-specific 5-aminolevulinate ...

Expert patient self-management program versus usual care in bronchiectasis: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Lavery, Katherine A; O'Neill, Brenda; Parker, Michael; Elborn, J Stuart; Bradley, Judy M

2011-08-01

To investigate the efficacy of a disease-specific Expert Patient Programme (EPP) compared with usual care in patients with bronchiectasis. Proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial. Regional respiratory center. Adult patients (N=64; age, >18y) with a primary diagnosis of bronchiectasis based on a respiratory physician's assessment including a computed tomographic scan. Patients were randomly assigned to an intervention (usual care plus EPP; n=32) or control group (usual care only; n=32). The primary outcome measure was the Chronic Disease Self-efficacy Scale (CDSS). Other outcome measures included the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), the St Georges Respiratory Questionnaire, and standard EPP questionnaires. Data were collected at baseline, postintervention, and 3 and 6 months postintervention. This disease-specific EPP for patients with bronchiectasis significantly improved self-efficacy in 6 of 10 subscales (CDSS subscales: exercise regularly [P=.02]; get information about disease [P=.03]; obtain help from community, family, and friends [P=.06]; communicate with physician [P=.85]; manage disease in general [P=.05]; do chores [P=.04]; social/recreational activities [P=.03]; manage symptoms [P<.01]; manage shortness of breath [P=.08]; control/manage depression [P=.01]) compared with usual care. There was no improvement on IPQ-R score. Patients who received the intervention reported more symptoms and decreased quality of life between 3 and 6 months postintervention and an increase in some components of self reported health care use. Patients receiving the disease-specific EPP indicated they were satisfied with the intervention and learned new self-management techniques. There were no significant differences in lung function over time. This original study indicates that a disease-specific EPP results in short-term improvements in self-efficacy. Based on these positive preliminary findings, a larger adequately powered study is justified to investigate the efficacy of a disease-specific EPP in patients with bronchiectasis. Copyright © 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analytical traceability of melon (Cucumis melo var reticulatus): proximate composition, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant capacity in relation to cultivar, plant physiology state, and seasonal variability.

PubMed

Maietti, Annalisa; Tedeschi, Paola; Stagno, Caterina; Bordiga, Matteo; Travaglia, Fabiano; Locatelli, Monica; Arlorio, Marco; Brandolini, Vincenzo

2012-06-01

Two morphologically different cultivars of Italian melons (Baggio and Giusto) were characterized considering samples harvested in different times, at the beginning (BPP) and at the end of the physiological plant production period (EPP). Proximate composition, protein, minerals, pH, phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, condensed tannins, and flavonoids were measured, showing a significant decrease in EPP samples (phenolics, antioxidant capacity, condensed tannins, and flavonoids); ascorbic acid decreased in Giusto cv, carotenoids in Baggio cv. Mineral content increased in either the cultivars (EPP samples). Year-to-year difference was significantly highlighted; the plant growing cycle significantly affected the chemotype. Despite these effects, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) permitted the discrimination of Baggio from Giusto cv, and the discrimination of BPP from EPP samples as well. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

A fast one-chip event-preprocessor and sequencer for the Simbol-X Low Energy Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schanz, T.; Tenzer, C.; Maier, D.; Kendziorra, E.; Santangelo, A.

2010-12-01

We present an FPGA-based digital camera electronics consisting of an Event-Preprocessor (EPP) for on-board data preprocessing and a related Sequencer (SEQ) to generate the necessary signals to control the readout of the detector. The device has been originally designed for the Simbol-X low energy detector (LED). The EPP operates on 64×64 pixel images and has a real-time processing capability of more than 8000 frames per second. The already working releases of the EPP and the SEQ are now combined into one Digital-Camera-Controller-Chip (D3C).

High Fidelity – No Evidence for Extra-Pair Paternity in Siberian Jays (Perisoreus infaustus)

PubMed Central

Gienapp, Phillip; Merilä, Juha

2010-01-01

Extra-pair paternity (EPP) in birds is related to a number of ecological and social factors. For example, it has been found to be positively related with breeding density, negatively with the amount of paternal care and especially high rates have been observed in group-living species. Siberian jays (Perisoreous infaustus) breed at low densities and have extended parental care, which leads to the expectation of low rates of EPP. On the other hand, Siberian jays live in groups which can include also unrelated individuals, and provide opportunities for extra-pair matings. To assess the potential occurrence of EPP in Siberian jays, we analysed a large data pool (n = 1029 offspring) covering ca. 30 years of samples from a Finnish Siberian jay population. Paternities were assigned based on up to 21 polymorphic microsatellite markers with the additional information from field observations. We were unable to find any evidence for occurrence of EPP in this species. Our findings are in line with earlier studies and confirm the generally low rates of EPP in related Corvid species. These results suggest that ecological factors may be more important than social factors (group living) in determining costs and benefits of extra-pair paternity. PMID:20711255

New support for an old hypothesis: density affects extra-pair paternity

PubMed Central

Mayer, Christian; Pasinelli, Gilberto

2013-01-01

Density has been suggested to affect variation in extra-pair paternity (EPP) in avian mating systems, because increasing density promotes encounter rates and thus mating opportunities. However, the significance of density affecting EPP variation in intra- and interspecific comparisons has remained controversial, with more support from intraspecific comparisons. Neither experimental nor empirical studies have consistently provided support for the density hypothesis. Testing the density hypothesis is challenging because density measures may not necessarily reflect extra-pair mating opportunities, mate guarding efforts may covary with density, populations studied may differ in migratory behavior and/or climatic conditions, and variation in density may be insufficient. Accounting for these potentially confounding factors, we tested whether EPP rates within and among subpopulations of the reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) were related to density. Our analyses were based on data from 13 subpopulations studied over 4 years. Overall, 56.4% of totally 181 broods contained at least one extra-pair young (EPY) and 37.1% of totally 669 young were of extra-pair origin. Roughly 90% of the extra-pair fathers were from the adjacent territory or from the territory after the next one. Within subpopulations, the proportion of EPY in broods was positively related to local breeding density. Similarly, among subpopulations, proportion of EPY was positively associated with population density. EPP was absent in subpopulations consisting of single breeding pairs, that is, without extra-pair mating opportunities. Our study confirms that density is an important biological factor, which significantly influences the amount of EPP within and among subpopulations, but also suggests that other mechanisms influence EPP beyond the variation explained by density. PMID:23533071

Incident Energy Focused Design and Validation for the Floating Potential Probe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fincannon, James

2002-01-01

Utilizing the spacecraft shadowing and incident energy analysis capabilities of the NASA Glenn Research Center Power and Propulsion Office's SPACE System Power Analysis for Capability Evaluation) computer code, this paper documents the analyses for various International Space Station (ISS) Floating Potential Probe (EPP) preliminary design options. These options include various solar panel orientations and configurations as well as deployment locations on the ISS. The incident energy for the final selected option is characterized. A good correlation between the predicted data and on-orbit operational telemetry is demonstrated. Minor deviations are postulated to be induced by degradation or sensor drift.

Dual Electrolytic Plasma Processing for Steel Surface Cleaning and Passivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, L.; Zhang, P.; Shi, J.; Liang, J.; Tian, W. B.; Zhang, Y. M.; Sun, Z. M.

2017-10-01

To remove the rust on rebars and passivate the fresh surfaces, electrodes reversing electrolytic plasma processing (EPP) was proposed and conducted in a 10 wt.% Na2CO3 aqueous solution. The morphology and the composition of the surface were investigated by SEM and XPS. Experimental results show that the rust on the surface was removed effectively by cathode EPP, and a passive film containing Cr2O3 was achieved by the succeeding anode EPP treatment, by a simple operation of reversing the bias. The corrosion resistance was evaluated in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution using an electrochemical workstation. In comparison, the corrosion resistance was improved by the succeeding anode EPP treatment, which is evidenced by a positive shift of the open-circuit potential, an increase in the electrochemical impedance representing the inner layer by 76.8% and the decrease in the corrosion current density by 49.6%. This is an effective and environment-friendly technique to clean and passivate rebars and similar steel materials.

Auxologic parameters and response to 2-year therapy with recombinant human growth hormone in growth hormone deficient children with an ectopic posterior pituitary.

PubMed

Kalina, Maria; Kalina-Faska, Barbara; Gruszczyńska, Katarzyna; Baron, Jan; Cisowska, Anita; Morawiec, Karolina; Biel-Lewandowska, Paulina; Małecka-Tendera, Ewa

2015-01-01

Structural defects of the hypothalamic-pituitary area in MRI are suggested as being a more accurate marker of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) than laboratory assays. To compare auxological characteristics in GHD children with normal pituitary (NP) function and with ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP), prior to therapy with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), extending the follow-up to two years following treatment. Eighty-six (86) GHD patients were divided into two groups depending on the pituitary MRI: the EPP (23 children, 3.2-16.8 years old) and the NP group (63 children, 3.3-14.8 years old). Height deficits in the population (hSD) and parents (hSD-mpSD) and the change of hSD and bone/chronological age ratio were assessed before and after 12 and 24 months of rhGH therapy. Height deficits before treatment were significantly greater in EPP compared to NP [median -4.07 (-7.06, -2.75) vs -3.15 (-4.9, -2.35) for hSD, and -3.65 (-7.06, -1.21) vs -1.83 (-4.31, -0.28) for hSD-mpSD; p<0.05]. Bone age was significantly delayed in the EPP group [0.62 (0.27, 0.92) vs 0.75 (0.21, 0.71); p<0.05]; differences remained significant during follow-up. After 12 months of rhGH therapy, EPP showed significantly greater catch-up growth compared to NP [ΔhSD=1.2 (0.42, 2.69) vs 0.74 (0.05, 1.48); p<0.05]. In the 2nd year, height velocity slowed down and was comparable in the two groups. At the conclusion of the study, hSD was similar in both groups, but hSD-mpSD was more deviated in EPP [-1.79 (-3.71, -1.21) vs -1.1 (0.98, -0.07); p<0.05]. The study showed relevant auxologic differences between EPP and NP children, as well as beneficial effects of rhGH therapy in both groups.

Factor Pattern Comparisons of EPPS Scales of High School, College, and Innovative College Program Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dixon, Paul W.; Ahern, Elsie H.

1973-01-01

EPPS scores from 167 high school seniors (Study 1, S1), 137 introductory psychology students (S2), and students from an innovative college program (S3) were compared using analysis of variance, image analysis, and factor pattern comparison. (Editor)

EPP Monitor, Volume 8, Issues 1&2, Spring/Summer 2004

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerrier, Martine

2004-01-01

This issue of EPP Monitor contains the following articles: "Countdown for Justice," Five Quick and Inexpensive Ways to End Overcrowding," "Third Grade Retention -- Deja Vu All Over Again," High-Need African-American and Latino Students Doing Better in Suburban Districts," "An Emerging Consensus on Facts, not…

Psychosocial Interventions in Reducing Cannabis Use in Early Phase Psychosis: A Canadian Survey of Treatments Offered.

PubMed

Aydin, Cristina; Tibbo, Philip G; Ursuliak, Zenovia

2016-06-01

Cannabis use in people with early phase psychosis (EPP) can have a significant impact on long-term outcomes. The purpose of this investigation was to describe current cannabis use treatment practices in English-speaking early intervention services (EISs) in Canada and determine if their services are informed by available evidence. Thirty-five Canadian English-speaking EISs for psychosis were approached to complete a survey through email, facsimile, or online in order to collect information regarding their current cannabis use treatment practices. Data were acquired from 27 of the 35 (78%) programs approached. Only 12% of EISs offered formal services that targeted cannabis use, whereas the majority (63%) of EISs offered informal services for all substance use, not specifically cannabis. In programs with informal services, individual patient psychoeducation (86%) was slightly more common than individual motivational interviewing (MI) (76%) followed by group patient psychoeducation (52%) and information handouts (52%). Thirty-seven percent of EISs offered formal services for substance use, and compared to programs with informal services, more MI, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and family services were offered, with individual treatment modalities more common than groups. No EISs used contingency management, even though it has some preliminary evidence in chronic populations. Evidence-based service implementation barriers included appropriate training and administrative support. While most English-speaking Canadian EIS programs offer individual MI and psychoeducation, which is in line with the available literature, there is room for improvement in cannabis treatment services based on current evidence for both people with EPP and their families. © The Author(s) 2016.

Report on FY15 Two-Bar Thermal Ratcheting Test Results

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

Wang, Yanli; Jetter, Robert I; Baird, Seth T

2015-06-22

Alloy 617 is a reference structural material for very high temperature components of advanced-gas cooled reactors with outlet temperatures in the range of . In order for designers to be able to use Alloy 617 for these high temperature components, Alloy 617 has to be approved for use in Section III (the nuclear section) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. A plan has been developed to submit a draft code for Alloy 617 to ASME Section III by 2015. However, the current rules in Subsection NH* for the evaluation of strain limits andmore » creep-fatigue damage using simplified methods based on elastic analysis have been deemed inappropriate for Alloy 617 at temperatures above . The rationale for this exclusion is that at higher temperatures it is not feasible to decouple plasticity and creep deformation, which is the basis for the current simplified rules. This temperature, , is well below the temperature range of interest for this material in High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR) applications. The only current alternative is, thus, a full inelastic analysis which requires sophisticated material models which have been formulated but not yet verified. To address this issue, proposed code rules have been developed which are based on the use of elastic-perfectly plastic (EPP) analysis methods and which are expected to be applicable to very high temperatures. These newly proposed rules also address a long-term objective to provide an option for more simple, comprehensive and easily applied rules than the current so called simplified rules These two-bar tests discussed herein are part of an ongoing series of tests with cyclic loading at high temperatures using specimens representing key features of potential component designs. The initial focus of the two-bar ratcheting test program, to verify the procedure for evaluation of strain limits for Alloy 617 at very high temperatures, has been expanded to respond to guidance from ASME Code committees that the proposed EPP methodology should also apply to other Subsection NH materials throughout their allowed temperature range. To support these objectives, two suites of tests have been accomplished during this reporting period. One suite addresses the issue of the response of Alloy 617 at a lower temperature with tests in range of 500 800oC and a few at 350 650°C. The other suite addresses the response of SS316H up to its current maximum allowed temperature of 1500°F (815°C) In the two-bar test methodology, the two bars can be viewed as specimens taken out of a tubular component across the wall thickness representing the inner wall element and the outer wall element respectively. The two bars are alternately heated and cooled under sustained axial loading to generate ratcheting. A sustained hold time is introduced at the hot extreme of the cycle to capture the accelerated ratcheting and strain accumulation due to creep. Since the boundary conditions are a combination of strain control and load control it is necessary to use two coupled servo-controlled testing machines to achieve the key features of the two-bar representation of actual component behavior. Two-bar thermal ratcheting test results with combinations of applied mean stresses, transient temperature difference and heating and cooling rates were recorded. Tests performed at heating and cooling rates of 30°C/min are comparable to a strain rate of 10 ⁻⁵/sec. At high mean stresses in tension the direction of ratcheting was in-phase with the load, e.g. tensile strain ratcheting under high tensile loading; however, at lower loads, strain ratcheting in compression was observed under net tensile mean stresses. The strain accumulation was proportional to the applied thermal load. However, there was a narrow range of applied load in which the high applied thermal loading did not result in significant strain accumulation. Unfortunately, when the proposed EPP strain limit evaluation rules were applied to the loading history for the two-bar configuration, the predicted narrow range of low strain accumulation did not coincide with the experimental data. However, by the use of inelastic analysis in conjunction with an analytic experiment it was possible to show that the EPP strain limit code case rules could be applied to high temperature structures where the stress and temperature is not uniform throughout which is the general case. Interestingly, the suite of tests on Alloy 617 at the lower temperature range of 500°C to 800oC showed good agreement with the proposed EPP strain limit rules with a much wider band of applied load that exhibited minimal ratcheting. The four tests conducted at the lower temperature range of 350°C to 650°C showed no ratcheting. The suite of tests on SS316H at a temperature range of 515°C to 815°C resembled the results from the tests on Alloy 617 at 650°C to 950°C. Both exhibited a narrow band of applied load wher...« less

Automated PET-only quantification of amyloid deposition with adaptive template and empirically pre-defined ROI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akamatsu, G.; Ikari, Y.; Ohnishi, A.; Nishida, H.; Aita, K.; Sasaki, M.; Yamamoto, Y.; Sasaki, M.; Senda, M.

2016-08-01

Amyloid PET is useful for early and/or differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Quantification of amyloid deposition using PET has been employed to improve diagnosis and to monitor AD therapy, particularly in research. Although MRI is often used for segmentation of gray matter and for spatial normalization into standard Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) space where region-of-interest (ROI) template is defined, 3D MRI is not always available in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of PET-only amyloid quantification with an adaptive template and a pre-defined standard ROI template that has been empirically generated from typical cases. A total of 68 subjects who underwent brain 11C-PiB PET were examined. The 11C-PiB images were non-linearly spatially normalized to the standard MNI T1 atlas using the same transformation parameters of MRI-based normalization. The automatic-anatomical-labeling-ROI (AAL-ROI) template was applied to the PET images. All voxel values were normalized by the mean value of cerebellar cortex to generate the SUVR-scaled images. Eleven typical positive images and eight typical negative images were normalized and averaged, respectively, and were used as the positive and negative template. Positive and negative masks which consist of voxels with SUVR  ⩾1.7 were extracted from both templates. Empirical PiB-prone ROI (EPP-ROI) was generated by subtracting the negative mask from the positive mask. The 11C-PiB image of each subject was non-rigidly normalized to the positive and negative template, respectively, and the one with higher cross-correlation was adopted. The EPP-ROI was then inversely transformed to individual PET images. We evaluated differences of SUVR between standard MRI-based method and PET-only method. We additionally evaluated whether the PET-only method would correctly categorize 11C-PiB scans as positive or negative. Significant correlation was observed between the SUVRs obtained with AAL-ROI and those with EPP-ROI when MRI-based normalization was used, the latter providing higher SUVR. When EPP-ROI was used, MRI-based method and PET-only method provided almost identical SUVR. All 11C-PiB scans were correctly categorized into positive and negative using a cutoff value of 1.7 as compared to visual interpretation. The 11C-PiB SUVR were 2.30  ±  0.24 and 1.25  ±  0.11 for the positive and negative images. PET-only amyloid quantification method with adaptive templates and EPP-ROI can provide accurate, robust and simple amyloid quantification without MRI.

The Dependency Axiom and the Relation between Agreement and Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linares Scarcerieau, Carlo Andrei

2012-01-01

Agreement and movement go hand in hand in a number of constructions across languages, and this correlation has played an important role in syntactic theory. The current standard approach to this "movement-agreement connection" is the Agree+EPP model, whose EPP component has often been questioned on conceptual grounds. The goal of this…

The Development of a Comprehensive Intervention Plan for Millsboro Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, LouAnn

2012-01-01

The focus of this Executive Position Paper (EPP) is school improvement through the development and implementation a comprehensive, research-based, intervention plan for Millsboro Middle School (MMS) in the Indian River School District (IRSD). Studies conducted for this EPP began with an informal investigation of MMS data that included the Delaware…

Protective effects of extracts from Pomegranate peels and seeds on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats.

PubMed

Wei, Xiang-Lan; Fang, Ru-Tang; Yang, Yong-Hua; Bi, Xue-Yuan; Ren, Guo-Xia; Luo, A-Li; Zhao, Ming; Zang, Wei-Jin

2015-10-27

Liver fibrosis is a feature in the majority of chronic liver diseases and oxidative stress is considered to be its main pathogenic mechanism. Antioxidants including vitamin E, are effective in preventing liver fibrogenesis. Several plant-drived antioxidants, such as silymarin, baicalin, beicalein, quercetin, apigenin, were shown to interfere with liver fibrogenesis. The antioxidans above are polyphenols, flavonoids or structurally related compounds which are the main chemical components of Pomegranate peels and seeds, and the antioxidant activity of Pomegranate peels and seeds have been verified. Here we investigated whether the extracts of pomegranate peels (EPP) and seeds (EPS) have preventive efficacy on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats and explored its possible mechanisms. The animal model was established by injection with 50 % CCl4 subcutaneously in male wistar rats twice a week for four weeks. Meanwhile, EPP and EPS were administered orally every day for 4 weeks, respectively. The protective effects of EPP and EPS on biochemical metabolic parameters, liver function, oxidative markers, activities of antioxidant enzymes and liver fibrosis were determined in CCl4-induced liver toxicity in rats. Compared with the sham group, the liver function was worse in CCl4 group, manifested as increased levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and total bilirubin. EPP and EPS treatment significantly ameliorated these effects of CCl4. EPP and EPS attenuated CCl4-induced increase in the levels of TGF-β1, hydroxyproline, hyaluronic acid laminin and procollagen type III. They also restored the decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and inhibited the formation of lipid peroxidized products in rats treated with CCl4. The EPP and EPS have protective effects against liver fibrosis induced by CCl4, and its mechanisms might be associated with their antioxidant activity, the ability of decreasing the level of TGF-β1 and inhibition of collagen synthesis.

HEPPA-II model-measurement intercomparison project: EPP indirect effects during the dynamically perturbed NH winter 2008-2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Funke, Bernd; Ball, William; Bender, Stefan; Gardini, Angela; Harvey, V. Lynn; Lambert, Alyn; López-Puertas, Manuel; Marsh, Daniel R.; Meraner, Katharina; Nieder, Holger; Päivärinta, Sanna-Mari; Pérot, Kristell; Randall, Cora E.; Reddmann, Thomas; Rozanov, Eugene; Schmidt, Hauke; Seppälä, Annika; Sinnhuber, Miriam; Sukhodolov, Timofei; Stiller, Gabriele P.; Tsvetkova, Natalia D.; Verronen, Pekka T.; Versick, Stefan; von Clarmann, Thomas; Walker, Kaley A.; Yushkov, Vladimir

2017-03-01

We compare simulations from three high-top (with upper lid above 120 km) and five medium-top (with upper lid around 80 km) atmospheric models with observations of odd nitrogen (NOx = NO + NO2), temperature, and carbon monoxide from seven satellite instruments (ACE-FTS on SciSat, GOMOS, MIPAS, and SCIAMACHY on Envisat, MLS on Aura, SABER on TIMED, and SMR on Odin) during the Northern Hemisphere (NH) polar winter 2008/2009. The models included in the comparison are the 3-D chemistry transport model 3dCTM, the ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model, FinROSE, the Hamburg Model of the Neutral and Ionized Atmosphere (HAMMONIA), the Karlsruhe Simulation Model of the Middle Atmosphere (KASIMA), the modelling tools for SOlar Climate Ozone Links studies (SOCOL and CAO-SOCOL), and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM4). The comparison focuses on the energetic particle precipitation (EPP) indirect effect, that is, the polar winter descent of NOx largely produced by EPP in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. A particular emphasis is given to the impact of the sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in January 2009 and the subsequent elevated stratopause (ES) event associated with enhanced descent of mesospheric air. The chemistry climate model simulations have been nudged toward reanalysis data in the troposphere and stratosphere while being unconstrained above. An odd nitrogen upper boundary condition obtained from MIPAS observations has further been applied to medium-top models. Most models provide a good representation of the mesospheric tracer descent in general, and the EPP indirect effect in particular, during the unperturbed (pre-SSW) period of the NH winter 2008/2009. The observed NOx descent into the lower mesosphere and stratosphere is generally reproduced within 20 %. Larger discrepancies of a few model simulations could be traced back either to the impact of the models' gravity wave drag scheme on the polar wintertime meridional circulation or to a combination of prescribed NOx mixing ratio at the uppermost model layer and low vertical resolution. In March-April, after the ES event, however, modelled mesospheric and stratospheric NOx distributions deviate significantly from the observations. The too-fast and early downward propagation of the NOx tongue, encountered in most simulations, coincides with a temperature high bias in the lower mesosphere (0.2-0.05 hPa), likely caused by an overestimation of descent velocities. In contrast, upper-mesospheric temperatures (at 0.05-0.001 hPa) are generally underestimated by the high-top models after the onset of the ES event, being indicative for too-slow descent and hence too-low NOx fluxes. As a consequence, the magnitude of the simulated NOx tongue is generally underestimated by these models. Descending NOx amounts simulated with medium-top models are on average closer to the observations but show a large spread of up to several hundred percent. This is primarily attributed to the different vertical model domains in which the NOx upper boundary condition is applied. In general, the intercomparison demonstrates the ability of state-of-the-art atmospheric models to reproduce the EPP indirect effect in dynamically and geomagnetically quiescent NH winter conditions. The encountered differences between observed and simulated NOx, CO, and temperature distributions during the perturbed phase of the 2009 NH winter, however, emphasize the need for model improvements in the dynamical representation of elevated stratopause events in order to allow for a better description of the EPP indirect effect under these particular conditions.

FY16 Status Report on Development of Integrated EPP and SMT Design Methods

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

Jetter, R. I.; Sham, T. -L.; Wang, Y.

2016-08-01

The goal of the Elastic-Perfectly Plastic (EPP) combined integrated creep-fatigue damage evaluation approach is to incorporate a Simplified Model Test (SMT) data based approach for creep-fatigue damage evaluation into the EPP methodology to avoid the separate evaluation of creep and fatigue damage and eliminate the requirement for stress classification in current methods; thus greatly simplifying evaluation of elevated temperature cyclic service. The EPP methodology is based on the idea that creep damage and strain accumulation can be bounded by a properly chosen “pseudo” yield strength used in an elastic-perfectly plastic analysis, thus avoiding the need for stress classification. The originalmore » SMT approach is based on the use of elastic analysis. The experimental data, cycles to failure, is correlated using the elastically calculated strain range in the test specimen and the corresponding component strain is also calculated elastically. The advantage of this approach is that it is no longer necessary to use the damage interaction, or D-diagram, because the damage due to the combined effects of creep and fatigue are accounted in the test data by means of a specimen that is designed to replicate or bound the stress and strain redistribution that occurs in actual components when loaded in the creep regime. The reference approach to combining the two methodologies and the corresponding uncertainties and validation plans are presented. Results from recent key feature tests are discussed to illustrate the applicability of the EPP methodology and the behavior of materials at elevated temperature when undergoing stress and strain redistribution due to plasticity and creep.« less

Reducing School Factors That Lead to Student Dropout at Sussex Central High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jerns, Pamela Renee

2012-01-01

The focus of this Executive Position Paper (EPP) is to address the dropout rate at Sussex Central High School (SCHS) in the Indian River School District (IRSD). Studies conducted for this EPP align with current research--student dropout is a result of culminating school-based factors that include poor attendance and lack of exposure to rigorous…

76 FR 15057 - Notice of Proposed Exemption; BlackRock, Inc. and Its Investment Advisory, Investment Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-18

... Officer (ECO); and (5) the retention by BlackRock of an Independent Monitor (IM). The purpose of these... parties. The EPPs are to be developed with the cooperation of both the ECO and the IM, and such EPPs are... constitute Violations. The ECO will make a written determination as to whether such transgressions constitute...

Creating a More Inclusive Talent Pool for the GeoSciences in NOAA Mission Fields:

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousseau, J.; Trotman, A. A.

2014-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program (EPP) with Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) is recognized as a model federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, (STEM) education investment. The EPP has a premier goal of increasing the numbers of students, especially from underrepresented communities, who are trained and awarded degrees in NOAA mission-relevant STEM fields. This goal is being achieved through awards to support undergraduate and graduate level student scholarships and to enhance NOAA mission-relevant education, research and internships at EPP Cooperative Science Centers located at MSIs. The internships allow undergraduate students to gain technical experience in STEM fields while gaining an understanding of a science mission agency such as NOAA. EPP has built evidence supporting the value of internships with its Undergraduate Scholarship Program (USP). Program metrics are used to refine and improve the internship to ensure student success. Scholarships are competitively awarded and requires applicants to submit a personal statement detailing the NOAA-relevant professional experience the applicant seeks to acquire, and gauges the depth of understanding of the work of NOAA.A focus is the EPP USP Student Internship at NOAA, which has two training phases. The first occurs at NOAA HQ in Maryland and incorporates exposure to NOAA professional culture including mentoring and professional development for scholarship recipients. The second occurs at NOAA facilities in the 50 states and US Territories. The internship projects are conducted under the supervision of a NOAA mentor and allow the scholars to: acquire increased science and technology skills: be attached to a research group and participate in a research activity as part of the team; and, acquire practical experience and knowledge of the day-to-day work of the NOAA facility. EPP has recently initiated the Experiential Research and Training Opportunities (NERTO) for students from the CSCs. The NERTO is a longer term immersion at NOAA facilities, with a NOAA mentor working collaboratively with their academic advisor on a NOAA science priority. Consequently, the NERTO is strengthening the undergraduate to graduate education and workforce pipeline.

Modeling the ferrochelatase c.315-48C modifier mutation for erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) in mice

PubMed Central

Bansode, Vijay B.; Koentgen, Frank; Trüb, Judith; Pelczar, Pawel; Schneider-Yin, Xiaoye; Minder, Elisabeth I.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is caused by deficiency of ferrochelatase (FECH), which incorporates iron into protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) to form heme. Excitation of accumulated PPIX by light generates oxygen radicals that evoke excessive pain and, after longer light exposure, cause ulcerations in exposed skin areas of individuals with EPP. Moreover, ∼5% of the patients develop a liver dysfunction as a result of PPIX accumulation. Most patients (∼97%) have a severe FECH mutation (Mut) in trans to an intronic polymorphism (c.315-48C), which reduces ferrochelatase synthesis by stimulating the use of an aberrant 3′ splice site 63 nt upstream of the normal site for exon 4. In contrast, with the predominant c.315-48T allele, the correct splice site is mostly used, and individuals with a T/Mut genotype do not develop EPP symptoms. Thus, the C allele is a potential target for therapeutic approaches that modify this splicing decision. To provide a model for pre-clinical studies of such approaches, we engineered a mouse containing a partly humanized Fech gene with the c.315-48C polymorphism. F1 hybrids obtained by crossing these mice with another inbred line carrying a severe Fech mutation (named m1Pas) show a very strong EPP phenotype that includes elevated PPIX in the blood, enlargement of liver and spleen, anemia, as well as strong pain reactions and skin lesions after a short period of light exposure. In addition to the expected use of the aberrant splice site, the mice also show a strong skipping of the partly humanized exon 3. This will limit the use of this model for certain applications and illustrates that engineering of a hybrid gene may have unforeseeable consequences on its splicing. PMID:28093505

Recovering Wood and McCarthy's ERP-prototypes by means of ERP-specific procrustes-rotation.

PubMed

Beauducel, André

2018-02-01

The misallocation of treatment-variance on the wrong component has been discussed in the context of temporal principal component analysis of event-related potentials. There is, until now, no rotation-method that can perfectly recover Wood and McCarthy's prototypes without making use of additional information on treatment-effects. In order to close this gap, two new methods: for component rotation were proposed. After Varimax-prerotation, the first method identifies very small slopes of successive loadings. The corresponding loadings are set to zero in a target-matrix for event-related orthogonal partial Procrustes- (EPP-) rotation. The second method generates Gaussian normal distributions around the peaks of the Varimax-loadings and performs orthogonal Procrustes-rotation towards these Gaussian distributions. Oblique versions of this Gaussian event-related Procrustes- (GEP) rotation and of EPP-rotation are based on Promax-rotation. A simulation study revealed that the new orthogonal rotations recover Wood and McCarthy's prototypes and eliminate misallocation of treatment-variance. In an additional simulation study with a more pronounced overlap of the prototypes GEP Promax-rotation reduced the variance misallocation slightly more than EPP Promax-rotation. Comparison with Existing Method(s): Varimax- and conventional Promax-rotations resulted in substantial misallocations of variance in simulation studies when components had temporal overlap. A substantially reduced misallocation of variance occurred with the EPP-, EPP Promax-, GEP-, and GEP Promax-rotations. Misallocation of variance can be minimized by means of the new rotation methods: Making use of information on the temporal order of the loadings may allow for improvements of the rotation of temporal PCA components. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trimodality strategy for treating malignant pleural mesothelioma: results of a feasibility study of induction pemetrexed plus cisplatin followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy and postoperative hemithoracic radiation (Japan Mesothelioma Interest Group 0601 Trial).

PubMed

Hasegawa, Seiki; Okada, Morihito; Tanaka, Fumihiro; Yamanaka, Takeharu; Soejima, Toshinori; Kamikonya, Norihiko; Tsujimura, Tohru; Fukuoka, Kazuya; Yokoi, Kohei; Nakano, Takashi

2016-06-01

We conducted a prospective multi-institutional study to determine the feasibility of trimodality therapy (TMT) comprising induction chemotherapy followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and radiation therapy in Japanese patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Major eligibility criteria were histologically confirmed diagnosis of MPM, including clinical subtypes T0-3, N0-2, M0 disease; no prior treatment for the disease; age 20-75 years; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 or 1; predicted postoperative forced expiratory volume >1000 ml in 1 s; written informed consent. Treatment methods comprised induction chemotherapy using pemetrexed (500 mg/m(2)) plus cisplatin (60 mg/m(2)) for three cycles, followed by EPP and postoperative hemithoracic radiation therapy (54 Gy). Primary endpoints were macroscopic complete resection (MCR) rate for EPP and treatment-related mortality for TMT. Forty-two eligible patients were enrolled: median age 64.5 (range 43-74) years; M:F = 39:3, clinical stage I:II:III = 14:13:15; histological type epithelioid were sarcomatoid; biphasic; others = 28:1:9:4. Of 42 patients, 30 completed EPP with MCR and 17 completed TMT. The trial met the primary endpoints, with an MCR rate of 71 % (30/42) and treatment-related mortality of 9.5 % (4/42). Overall median survival time and 2-year survival rate for 42 registered patients were 19.9 months and 42.9 %, respectively. Two-year relapse-free survival rate of 30 patients who completed EPP with MCR was 37.0 %. This phase II study met the predefined primary endpoints, but its risk/benefit ratio was not satisfactory.

Extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant mesothelioma: an Italian multicenter retrospective study.

PubMed

Spaggiari, Lorenzo; Marulli, Giuseppe; Bovolato, Pietro; Alloisio, Marco; Pagan, Vittore; Oliaro, Alberto; Ratto, Giovanni Battista; Facciolo, Francesco; Sacco, Rocco; Brambilla, Daniela; Maisonneuve, Patrick; Mucilli, Felice; Alessandrini, Gabriele; Leoncini, Giacomo; Ruffini, Enrico; Fontana, Paolo; Infante, Maurizio; Pariscenti, Gian Luca; Casiraghi, Monica; Rea, Federico

2014-06-01

This study assessed perioperative outcome and long-term survival in a large series of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) to identify prognostic factors allowing better patient selection. We retrospectively collected data from nine referral centers for thoracic surgery in Italy. Perioperative outcome and survival data were available for 518 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients (84.4% with epithelial tumors, 68.0% with pathologic stage 3 disease) who underwent EPP with intention-to-treat (R0/R1) between 2000 and 2010. Induction chemotherapy was administered in 271 patients (52.3%) and adjuvant therapy in 373 patients (72.0%), including radiotherapy in 213 patients (41.1%), adjuvant chemotherapy in 43 patients (8.3%), and both in 117 patients (22.6%). In all, 136 patients (26.3%) had major complications after EPP, and 36 (6.9%) died within 90 days after surgery. The median overall survival was 18 months, with a 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival of 65%, 41%, and 27%, respectively. At multivariable analysis adjusted for age and disease stage, male sex (hazard ratio [HR] 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12 to 1.92), nonepithelial histology (HR 1.96, 95% CI: 1.48 to 2.58), and trimodality treatment using induction chemotherapy (HR 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43 to 0.85) were significantly associated with survival. Development of a major complication also significantly worsened outcome (HR 1.85, 95% CI: 1.37 to 2.50). The success of EPP in the context of a multimodality treatment depends on a series of patient characteristics. Female patients, patients with epithelial tumors, and patients who received induction chemotherapy will best benefit from EPP. Copyright © 2014 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optical Coherence Tomography Based Estimates of Crystalline Lens Volume, Equatorial Diameter, and Plane Position.

PubMed

Martinez-Enriquez, Eduardo; Sun, Mengchan; Velasco-Ocana, Miriam; Birkenfeld, Judith; Pérez-Merino, Pablo; Marcos, Susana

2016-07-01

Measurement of crystalline lens geometry in vivo is critical to optimize performance of state-of-the-art cataract surgery. We used custom-developed quantitative anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) and developed dedicated algorithms to estimate lens volume (VOL), equatorial diameter (DIA), and equatorial plane position (EPP). The method was validated ex vivo in 27 human donor (19-71 years of age) lenses, which were imaged in three-dimensions by OCT. In vivo conditions were simulated assuming that only the information within a given pupil size (PS) was available. A parametric model was used to estimate the whole lens shape from PS-limited data. The accuracy of the estimated lens VOL, DIA, and EPP was evaluated by comparing estimates from the whole lens data and PS-limited data ex vivo. The method was demonstrated in vivo using 2 young eyes during accommodation and 2 cataract eyes. Crystalline lens VOL was estimated within 96% accuracy (average estimation error across lenses ± standard deviation: 9.30 ± 7.49 mm3). Average estimation errors in EPP were below 40 ± 32 μm, and below 0.26 ± 0.22 mm in DIA. Changes in lens VOL with accommodation were not statistically significant (2-way ANOVA, P = 0.35). In young eyes, DIA decreased and EPP increased statistically significantly with accommodation (P < 0.001) by 0.14 mm and 0.13 mm, respectively, on average across subjects. In cataract eyes, VOL = 205.5 mm3, DIA = 9.57 mm, and EPP = 2.15 mm on average. Quantitative OCT with dedicated image processing algorithms allows estimation of human crystalline lens volume, diameter, and equatorial lens position, as validated from ex vivo measurements, where entire lens images are available.

Barriers faced by expanded practice dental hygienists in Oregon.

PubMed

Coplen, Amy E; Bell, Kathryn P

2015-04-01

Oregon allows dental hygienists to provide services without the supervision of a dentist if they hold an expanded practice permit (EPP). This study surveyed practicing and non-practicing EPP holders with the purpose of assessing perceived barriers to practicing independently and better educating students to begin independent practice upon graduation. A survey was developed, approved by the institutional review board and pilot tested with current Expanded Practice Dental Hygienists (EPDHs). A list of EPDHs was obtained from the Oregon State Dental Board, and 181 surveys were mailed in November 2011. The response rate was 39% (n=71). Data from this study indicate a large number of new EPP holders, with 62% (n=41) holding their permit for 3 years or less, but only 41% (n=29) of respondents are actually providing care in a setting requiring an EPP. Responding practicing EPDHs reported barriers including: challenges with insurance reimbursement, lack of knowledge/acceptance, equipment cost/maintenance, difficulty obtaining a collaborative agreement/cooperating facility, advertising and inability to make a living wage. Responding non-practicing EPDHs reported barriers including: currently working in another setting, lack of business knowledge, time, start-up cost, inability to make a living wage, lack of opportunity, reimbursement difficulties and lack of experience. Perceived barriers to practicing independently differ between those practicing utilizing their EPP and those not practicing. Ways to eliminate barriers for both practicing and non-practicing EPDHs should be explored. There is potential to reduce the barriers to independent practice through curricular changes, public health partnerships among EPDHs, and new health care systems that specifically address barriers found through this study. Copyright © 2015 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Atmospheric Effects of Energetic Particle Precipitation in the Arctic Winter 1978-1979 Revisited

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holt, L. A.; Randall, C. E.; Harvey, V. L.; Remsberg, E. E.; Stiller, G. P.; Funke, B.; Bernath, P. F.; Walker, K. A.

2012-01-01

The Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) measured polar stratospheric enhancements of NO2 mixing ratios due to energetic particle precipitation (EPP) in the Arctic winter of 1978-1979. Recently reprocessed LIMS data are compared to more recent measurements from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) and the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) to place the LIMS measurements in the context of current observations. The amount of NOx (NO + NO2) entering the stratosphere that has been created by EPP in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (EPP-NOx) has been quantified for the 1978-1979 and 2002-2003 through 2008-2009 Arctic winters. The NO2 enhancements in the LIMS data are similar to those in MIPAS and ACE-FTS data in the Arctic winters of 2002-2003, 2004-2005, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008. The largest enhancement by far is in 2003-2004 (approximately 2.2 Gmol at 1500 K), which is attributed to a combination of elevated EPP and unusual dynamics that led to strong descent in the upper stratosphere/lower mesosphere in late winter. The enhancements in 2005-2006 and 2008-2009, during which large stratospheric NOx enhancements were caused by a dynamical situation similar to that in 2003 2004, are larger than in all the other years (except 2003-2004) at 3000 K. However, by 2000 K the enhancements in 2005-2006 (2008-2009) are on the same order of magnitude as (smaller than) all other years. These results highlight the importance of the timing of the descent in determining the potential of EPP-NOx for reaching the middle stratosphere.

NWP model forecast skill optimization via closure parameter variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Järvinen, H.; Ollinaho, P.; Laine, M.; Solonen, A.; Haario, H.

2012-04-01

We present results of a novel approach to tune predictive skill of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. These models contain tunable parameters which appear in parameterizations schemes of sub-grid scale physical processes. The current practice is to specify manually the numerical parameter values, based on expert knowledge. We developed recently a concept and method (QJRMS 2011) for on-line estimation of the NWP model parameters via closure parameter variations. The method called EPPES ("Ensemble prediction and parameter estimation system") utilizes ensemble prediction infra-structure for parameter estimation in a very cost-effective way: practically no new computations are introduced. The approach provides an algorithmic decision making tool for model parameter optimization in operational NWP. In EPPES, statistical inference about the NWP model tunable parameters is made by (i) generating an ensemble of predictions so that each member uses different model parameter values, drawn from a proposal distribution, and (ii) feeding-back the relative merits of the parameter values to the proposal distribution, based on evaluation of a suitable likelihood function against verifying observations. In this presentation, the method is first illustrated in low-order numerical tests using a stochastic version of the Lorenz-95 model which effectively emulates the principal features of ensemble prediction systems. The EPPES method correctly detects the unknown and wrongly specified parameters values, and leads to an improved forecast skill. Second, results with an ensemble prediction system emulator, based on the ECHAM5 atmospheric GCM show that the model tuning capability of EPPES scales up to realistic models and ensemble prediction systems. Finally, preliminary results of EPPES in the context of ECMWF forecasting system are presented.

Experimental food supplementation reveals habitat-dependent male reproductive investment in a migratory bird

PubMed Central

Kaiser, Sara A.; Sillett, T. Scott; Risk, Benjamin B.; Webster, Michael S.

2015-01-01

Environmental factors can shape reproductive investment strategies and influence the variance in male mating success. Environmental effects on extrapair paternity have traditionally been ascribed to aspects of the social environment, such as breeding density and synchrony. However, social factors are often confounded with habitat quality and are challenging to disentangle. We used both natural variation in habitat quality and a food supplementation experiment to separate the effects of food availability—one key aspect of habitat quality—on extrapair paternity (EPP) and reproductive success in the black-throated blue warbler, Setophaga caerulescens. High natural food availability was associated with higher within-pair paternity (WPP) and fledging two broods late in the breeding season, but lower EPP. Food-supplemented males had higher WPP leading to higher reproductive success relative to controls, and when in low-quality habitat, food-supplemented males were more likely to fledge two broods but less likely to gain EPP. Our results demonstrate that food availability affects trade-offs in reproductive activities. When food constraints are reduced, males invest in WPP at the expense of EPP. These findings imply that environmental change could alter how individuals allocate their resources and affect the selective environment that drives variation in male mating success. PMID:25673677

EMG and EPP-integrated human-machine interface between the paralyzed and rehabilitation exoskeleton.

PubMed

Yin, Yue H; Fan, Yuan J; Xu, Li D

2012-07-01

Although a lower extremity exoskeleton shows great prospect in the rehabilitation of the lower limb, it has not yet been widely applied to the clinical rehabilitation of the paralyzed. This is partly caused by insufficient information interactions between the paralyzed and existing exoskeleton that cannot meet the requirements of harmonious control. In this research, a bidirectional human-machine interface including a neurofuzzy controller and an extended physiological proprioception (EPP) feedback system is developed by imitating the biological closed-loop control system of human body. The neurofuzzy controller is built to decode human motion in advance by the fusion of the fuzzy electromyographic signals reflecting human motion intention and the precise proprioception providing joint angular feedback information. It transmits control information from human to exoskeleton, while the EPP feedback system based on haptic stimuli transmits motion information of the exoskeleton back to the human. Joint angle and torque information are transmitted in the form of air pressure to the human body. The real-time bidirectional human-machine interface can help a patient with lower limb paralysis to control the exoskeleton with his/her healthy side and simultaneously perceive motion on the paralyzed side by EPP. The interface rebuilds a closed-loop motion control system for paralyzed patients and realizes harmonious control of the human-machine system.

A simple microstructure return model explaining microstructure noise and Epps effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saichev, A.; Sornette, D.

2014-01-01

We present a novel simple microstructure model of financial returns that combines (i) the well-known ARFIMA process applied to tick-by-tick returns, (ii) the bid-ask bounce effect, (iii) the fat tail structure of the distribution of returns and (iv) the non-Poissonian statistics of inter-trade intervals. This model allows us to explain both qualitatively and quantitatively important stylized facts observed in the statistics of both microstructure and macrostructure returns, including the short-ranged correlation of returns, the long-ranged correlations of absolute returns, the microstructure noise and Epps effects. According to the microstructure noise effect, volatility is a decreasing function of the time-scale used to estimate it. The Epps effect states that cross correlations between asset returns are increasing functions of the time-scale at which the returns are estimated. The microstructure noise is explained as the result of the negative return correlations inherent in the definition of the bid-ask bounce component (ii). In the presence of a genuine correlation between the returns of two assets, the Epps effect is due to an average statistical overlap of the momentum of the returns of the two assets defined over a finite time-scale in the presence of the long memory process (i).

Refined hyperentanglement purification of two-photon systems for high-capacity quantum communication with cavity-assisted interaction

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

Du, Fang-Fang; Li, Tao; Long, Gui-Lu, E-mail: gllong@tsinghua.edu.cn

Hyperentanglement, defined as the entanglement in multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs) of a photonic quantum system, has attracted much attention recently as it can improve the channel capacity of quantum communication largely. Here we present a refined hyperentanglement purification protocol (hyper-EPP) for two-photon systems in mixed hyperentangled states in both the spatial-mode and polarization DOFs, assisted by cavity quantum electrodynamics. By means of the spatial (polarization) quantum state transfer process, the quantum states that are discarded in the previous hyper-EPPs can be preserved. That is, the spatial (polarization) state of a four-photon system with high fidelity can be transformed intomore » another four-photon system with low fidelity, not disturbing its polarization (spatial) state, which makes this hyper-EPP take the advantage of possessing a higher efficiency.« less

A Primer on Bayesian Analysis for Experimental Psychopathologists

PubMed Central

Krypotos, Angelos-Miltiadis; Blanken, Tessa F.; Arnaudova, Inna; Matzke, Dora; Beckers, Tom

2016-01-01

The principal goals of experimental psychopathology (EPP) research are to offer insights into the pathogenic mechanisms of mental disorders and to provide a stable ground for the development of clinical interventions. The main message of the present article is that those goals are better served by the adoption of Bayesian statistics than by the continued use of null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST). In the first part of the article we list the main disadvantages of NHST and explain why those disadvantages limit the conclusions that can be drawn from EPP research. Next, we highlight the advantages of Bayesian statistics. To illustrate, we then pit NHST and Bayesian analysis against each other using an experimental data set from our lab. Finally, we discuss some challenges when adopting Bayesian statistics. We hope that the present article will encourage experimental psychopathologists to embrace Bayesian statistics, which could strengthen the conclusions drawn from EPP research. PMID:28748068

Multi-copy entanglement purification with practical spontaneous parametric down conversion sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shuai-Shuai; Shu, Qi; Zhou, Lan; Sheng, Yu-Bo

2017-06-01

Entanglement purification is to distill the high quality entanglement from the low quality entanglement with local operations and classical communications. It is one of the key technologies in long-distance quantum communication. We discuss an entanglement purification protocol (EPP) with spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) sources, in contrast to previous EPP with multi-copy mixed states, which requires ideal entanglement sources. We show that the SPDC source is not an obstacle for purification, but can benefit the fidelity of the purified mixed state. This EPP works for linear optics and is feasible in current experiment technology. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11474168 and 61401222), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. BK20151502), the Qing Lan Project in Jiangsu Province, China, and a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, China.

jsc2017e136942 - In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Jeanette Epps of NASA, Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency lay flowers Dec. 6 at the sta

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-06

jsc2017e136942 - In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Jeanette Epps of NASA, Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency lay flowers Dec. 6 at the sta

jsc2017e136944 - In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Jeanette Epps of NASA, Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency lay flowers Dec. 6 at the sta

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-06

jsc2017e136944 - In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Jeanette Epps of NASA, Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency lay flowers Dec. 6 at the sta

X-linked dominant protoporphyria: The first reported Japanese case.

PubMed

Ninomiya, Yukiko; Kokunai, Yasuhito; Tanizaki, Hideaki; Akasaka, Eijiro; Nakano, Hajime; Moriwaki, Shinichi

2016-04-01

A 12-year-old boy with photosensitivity since 3 years of age presented with small concavities on both cheeks, the nasal root and the dorsal surface of both hands. According to the clinical features, erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) was suspected. Urine and blood samples were tested for porphyrin derivatives, which revealed a markedly elevated level of erythrocyte protoporphyrin (EP) and a diagnosis of EPP was made. The patient's mother had no photosensitivity, however, lesions appearing slightly as small scars were found on the dorsum of her right hand; his elder sister and father showed no rash. The EP levels were elevated in samples from his mother and mildly elevated in those from his elder sister and father. To obtain a definitive diagnosis, genetic analyses were performed using samples from all family members, which revealed no mutations in the ferrochelatase-encoding gene (FECH), which is responsible for EPP. Instead, a pathological mutation of the 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase-encoding gene (ALAS2) was identified in samples from the patient, his mother and his elder sister, confirming a definitive diagnosis of X-linked dominant protoporphyria (XLDPP). This is the first Japanese family reported to have XLDPP, demonstrating evidence of the condition in Japan. In addition, because XLDPP is very similar to EPP in its clinical aspects and laboratory findings, a genetic analysis is required for the differential diagnosis. © 2015 Japanese Dermatological Association.

High frequency of extra-pair paternity in an urban population of Cooper's Hawks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rosenfield, Robert N.; Sonsthagen, Sarah A.; Stout, William C.; Talbot, Sandra L.

2015-01-01

Raptors exhibit some of the highest rates of intra-pair copulations among birds, perhaps in an attempt by males to reduce the risk of being cuckolded. Indeed, the frequency of extra-pair fertilizations reported in studies of raptors to date is relatively low (0-11.2%). Socially monogamous Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) exhibit one of the highest copulation rates among birds, yet there are no published accounts of extra-pair copulations (or paternity). We studied a population of Cooper's Hawks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during three breeding seasons (2003, 2004, and 2007), examining the possible effects of age (1 yr old vs. ≥ 2 yr old), adult mass, and brood size on the frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP). We found that 19.3% of nestlings (N = 27/140) were extra-pair young (EPY), and 34% of all broods (N = 15/44) had at least one EPY. The sires of the EPY in our study were identified for only two broods, suggesting that floater males may have engaged in extra-pair copulations with territorial females. We found that brood size was a good predictor of the occurrence of EPP (EPP) in nests, but adult mass and female age were not. To our knowledge, these possible correlates of the occurrence of EPP in raptors had not previously been investigated. Male Cooper's Hawks provide food for females during the pre-nesting period, and delivery of food is, in contrast to other raptor species, typically followed by copulation. Thus, one possible explanation of the relatively high rates of EPP in our study is that females might accept or even solicit extra-pair copulations from males other than their mates as a means of maximizing energy intake for egg production. Such behavior might be particularly likely in our study area, i.e., a food-rich urban setting with a high breeding density of Cooper's Hawks.

Canadian hepatitis C look-back investigation to detect transmission from an infected general surgeon

PubMed Central

Dawar, Meenakshi; Stuart, Tammy L; Sweet, Lamont E; Neatby, Anne M; Abbott, Lewis P; Andonov, Anton P; Wong, Tom; Gervais, Robert; Stirling, Rob

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: In February 2007, a general surgeon in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, tested positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV). The surgeon’s infection onset date could not be determined; however, episodic hepatic enzyme elevations were first detected in November 2004 and again in February 2007. HCV transmission during surgery, alhough rare, has been documented. A phased look-back HCV screening program was conducted to detect HCV transmission from this surgeon to patients who underwent the highest-risk procedures in the three years before his positive test. METHODS: Highest-risk procedures were defined as exposure-prone procedures (EPP) in which exposure to the surgeon’s blood was most likely. EPP patients from January 2004 to February 2007 were identified using hospital and administrative records. Linkages with the provincial notifiable disease for HCV was performed, and death records for deceased EPP patients were reviewed. Eligible patients were invited for screening. RESULTS: Of 6248 patients seen in phase 1, 272 (4.4%) were identified to be EPP. Of the 272 patients, 248 (91.1%) were invited for HCV testing and 24 (8.8%) were deceased. To date, 231 of 248 (93.1%) patients have presented for screening. Two patients (one alive, one deceased) were HCV positive before their EPP. Viral sequence of the surgeon’s isolate is unrelated to the first patient; the second individual has a resolved infection (polymerase chain reaction negative). No new transmission events were identified in the screened patients. The 95% CI of the transmission probability was estimated to be 0 to 0.016. INTERPRETATION: HCV transmission from the surgeon during a 38-month look back was unlikely. In the absence of protocols for investigating HCV transmission from infected health care workers, screening was initially prioritized to the highest-risk patients. The investigation has been satisfactorily terminated based on these results. PMID:21358878

jsc2017e136939 - At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers take a stroll down the Walk of Cosmonauts Dec. 6 to lay flowers in traditional pre-launch ceremonies. From left to right are Jeanette Epp

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-06

jsc2017e136939 - At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers take a stroll down the Walk of Cosmonauts Dec. 6 to lay flowers in traditional pre-launch ceremonies. From left to right are Jeanette Epp

Transitioning from traditional to green cleaners: an analysis of custodian and manager focus groups.

PubMed

Simcox, Nancy; Wakai, Sara; Welsh, Loyola; Westinghouse, Carol; Morse, Tim

2012-01-01

Custodians represent one of the largest occupational groups using cleaning agents, and yet their voices are infrequently heard in relation to the introduction of "green" cleaners and the laws regarding environmentally preferable products (EPP). This study reflects worker voices on use and effectiveness of chemicals, as well as incentives and obstacles for green cleaning programs. Sixty-four custodians and staff participated in 10 focus groups. Data were entered into Atlas Ti and the constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis was used to identify themes. Themes included satisfaction in a "well-done" job, more effort required for job, lack of involvement in EPP selection process, EPP's ease of use for workers with English as a Second Language (ESL), misuse of disinfectants, health complaints, and need for training. This study shows that custodians have a voice, and that improved communication and feedback among all the stakeholders are needed to make the transition to green cleaning more effective.

Promiscuity drives sexual selection in a socially monogamous bird.

PubMed

Webster, Michael S; Tarvin, Keith A; Tuttle, Elaina M; Pruett-Jones, Stephen

2007-09-01

Many socially monogamous species paradoxically show signs of strong sexual selection, suggesting cryptic sources of sexual competition among males. Darwin argued that sexual selection could operate in monogamous systems if breeding sex ratios are biased or if some males attract highly fecund females. Alternatively, sexual selection might result from promiscuous copulations outside the pair bond, although several recent studies have cast doubt on this possibility, in particular by showing that variance in apparent male reproductive success (number of social young) differs little from variance in actual male reproductive success (number of young sired). Our results from a long-term study of the socially monogamous splendid fairy-wren (Malurus splendens) demonstrate that such comparisons are misleading and do not adequately assess the effects of extra-pair paternity (EPP). By partitioning the opportunity for selection and calculating Bateman gradients, we show that EPP has a strong effect on male annual and lifetime fitness, whereas other proposed mechanisms of sexual selection do not. Thus, EPP drives sexual selection in this, and possibly other, socially monogamous species.

Error Propagation in the four terrestrial reference frames of the 2022 Modernized National Spatial Reference System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roman, D. R.; Smith, D. A.

2017-12-01

In 2022, the National Geodetic Survey will replace all three NAD 83 reference frames with four new terrestrial reference frames. Each frame will be named after a tectonic plate (North American, Pacific, Caribbean and Mariana) and each will be related to the IGS frame through three Euler Pole parameters (EPPs). This talk will focus on three main areas of error propagation when defining coordinates in these four frames. Those areas are (1) use of the small angle approximation to relate true rotation about an Euler Pole to small rotations about three Cartesian axes (2) The current state of the art in determining the Euler Poles of these four plates and (3) the combination of both IGS Cartesian coordinate uncertainties and EPP uncertainties into coordinate uncertainties in the four new frames. Discussion will also include recent efforts at improving the Euler Poles for these frames and expected dates when errors in the EPPs will cause an unacceptable level of uncertainty in the four new terrestrial reference frames.

Regulation of maize kernel weight and carbohydrate metabolism by abscisic acid applied at the early and middle post-pollination stages in vitro.

PubMed

Zhang, Li; Li, Xu-Hui; Gao, Zhen; Shen, Si; Liang, Xiao-Gui; Zhao, Xue; Lin, Shan; Zhou, Shun-Li

2017-09-01

Abscisic acid (ABA) accumulates in plants under drought stress, but views on the role of ABA in kernel formation and abortion are not unified. The response of the developing maize kernel to exogenous ABA was investigated by excising kernels from cob sections at four days after pollination and culturing in vitro with different concentrations of ABA (0, 5, 10, 100μM). When ABA was applied at the early post-pollination stage (EPPS), significant weight loss was observed at high ABA concentration (100μM), which could be attributed to jointly affected sink capacity and activity. Endosperm cells and starch granules were decreased significantly with high concentration, and ABA inhibited the activities of soluble acid invertase and acid cell wall invertase, together with earlier attainment of peak values. When ABA was applied at the middle post-pollination stage (MPPS), kernel weight was observably reduced with high concentration and mildly increased with low concentration, which was regulated due to sink activity. The inhibitory effect of high concentration and the mild stimulatory effect of low concentration on sucrose synthase and starch synthase activities were noted, but a peak level of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) was stimulated in all ABA treatments. Interestingly, AGPase peak values were advanced by low concentration and postponed by high concentration. In addition, compared with the control, the weight of low ABA concentration treatments were not statistically significant at the two stages, whereas weight loss from high concentration applied at EPPS was considerably obvious compared with that of the MPPS, but neither led to kernel abortion. The temporal- and dose-dependent impacts of ABA reveal a complex process of maize kernel growth and development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Modelling ion cyclotron emission from KSTAR tokamak and LHD helical device plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dendy, Richard; Chapman, Ben; Reman, Bernard; Chapman, Sandra; Akiyama, Tsuyoshi; Yun, Gunsu

2017-10-01

New high quality measurements of ion cyclotron emission (ICE) from KSTAR and LHD greatly extend the scope and diversity of plasma conditions under which ICE is observed. Variables include the origin (fusion reactions or neutral beam injection) and energy (sub- or super-Alfvénic) of the minority energetic ions that drive ICE; the composition of the bulk plasma (hydrogen or deuterium) which supports the modes excited; plasma density in the emitting region, and the timescale on which it changes; and toroidal magnetic field geometry (tokamak or helical device). Future exploitation of ICE as a diagnostic for energetic ion populations in JET D-T plasmas and in ITER rests on quantitative understanding of the physics of the emission. This is tested and extended by current KSTAR and LHD measurements of ICE. We report progress on direct numerical simulation using full orbit ion kinetic codes that solve the Maxwell-Lorentz equations for hundreds of millions of particles. In the saturated regime, these simulations yield excited field spectra that correspond directly to the measured ICE spectra under diverse KSTAR and LHD regimes. At early times, comparison of simulation outputs with linear analytical theory confirms the magnetoacoustic cyclotron instability as the basic driver of ICE. Supported by RCUK Energy Programme Grant EP/P012450/1, NRF Korea Grant 2014M1A7A1A03029881, NIFS budget ULHH029 and Euratom.

GOES-16 On-Orbit Dual Isolation Performance Characterization Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, Delano; Clapp, Brian; Early, Derrick; Freesland, Douglas; Chapel, Jim; Bailey, Robert; Krimchansky, Alexander

2016-01-01

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) is the first of the next generation geostationary weather satellites. GOES-R successfully launched on November19, 2016 and renamed GOES-16 upon entering geostationary orbit. Subsequently, GOES-16post-launch testing began. This paper presents the GOES-16 Satellite Dynamic Interaction Characterization results for the Earth Pointed Platform (EPP) stowed, referred to as the Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA) Isolation Only configuration, and deployed, referred to as the Dual Isolation configuration. GOES-R represents a quantum increase in Earth and solar weather observation capabilities, with 4 times the resolution, 5 times the observation rate, and 3 times the number of spectral bands for Earth observations. With the improved resolution, comes the instrument suites increased sensitivity to disturbances over a broad spectrum 0-512Hz. Sources of disturbance include reaction wheels, thruster firings for station keeping and momentum management, gimbal motion, and internal instrument disturbances. To minimize the impact of these disturbances, the baseline design included an EPP, a stiff optical bench to which the two nadir pointed instruments are collocated together with the Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) star trackers and Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). The EPP is passively isolated from the spacecraft bus with Honeywell D-Strut isolators providing attenuation for frequencies above 5 Hz in all six degrees-of-freedom. To reduce the risk of wheel disturbances impacting performance, a secondary passive isolation system manufactured by Moog CSA Engineering was incorporated under each of the six 160 Nms reaction wheels, tuned to provide attenuation at frequencies above 50 Hz. Integrated wheel and isolator testing was performed on a Kistler table at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Pre-launch Satellite Dynamic Interaction Characterization high-fidelity simulations and ground testing were conducted to evaluate jitter performance for two cases: 1) deployed EPP and reaction wheel (Dual Isolation) and 2) EPP hard mounted (RWA Isolation Only) to the spacecraft. A comparison of pre-launch to post-launch Satellite Dynamic Interaction Characterization results are also presented in this paper.

Structural Pituitary Abnormalities Associated With CHARGE Syndrome

PubMed Central

Gregory, Louise C.; Gevers, Evelien F.; Baker, Joanne; Kasia, Tessa; Chong, Kling; Josifova, Dragana J.; Caimari, Maria; Bilan, Frederic; McCabe, Mark J.

2013-01-01

Introduction: CHARGE syndrome is a multisystem disorder that, in addition to Kallmann syndrome/isolated hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism, has been associated with anterior pituitary hypoplasia (APH). However, structural abnormalities such as an ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP) have not yet been described in such patients. Objective: The aims of the study were: 1) to describe the association between CHARGE syndrome and a structurally abnormal pituitary gland; and 2) to investigate whether CHD7 variants, which are identified in 65% of CHARGE patients, are common in septo-optic dysplasia /hypopituitarism. Methods: We describe 2 patients with features of CHARGE and EPP. CHD7 was sequenced in these and other patients with septo-optic dysplasia/hypopituitarism. Results: EPP, APH, and GH, TSH, and probable LH/FSH deficiency were present in 1 patient, and EPP and APH with GH, TSH, LH/FSH, and ACTH deficiency were present in another patient, both of whom had features of CHARGE syndrome. Both had variations in CHD7 that were novel and undetected in control cohorts or in the international database of CHARGE patients, but were also present in their unaffected mothers. No CHD7 variants were detected in the patients with septo-optic dysplasia/hypopituitarism without additional CHARGE features. Conclusion: We report a novel association between CHARGE syndrome and structural abnormalities of the pituitary gland in 2 patients with variations in CHD7 that are of unknown significance. However, CHD7 mutations are an uncommon cause of septo-optic dysplasia or hypopituitarism. Our data suggest the need for evaluation of pituitary function/anatomy in patients with CHARGE syndrome. PMID:23526466

A Modernized National Spatial Reference System in 2022: Focus on the Caribbean Terrestrial Reference Frame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roman, D. R.

2017-12-01

In 2022, the National Geodetic Survey will replace all three NAD 83 reference frames the four new terrestrial reference frames. Each frame will be named after a tectonic plate (North American, Pacific, Caribbean and Mariana) and each will be related to the IGS frame through three Euler Pole parameters (EPPs). This talk will focus on practical application in the Caribbean region. A working group is being re-established for development of the North American region and will likely also result in analysis of the Pacific region as well. Both of these regions are adequately covered with existing CORS sites to model the EPPs. The Mariana region currently lacks sufficient coverage, but a separate project is underway to collect additional information to help in defining EPPs for that region at a later date. The Caribbean region has existing robust coverage through UNAVCO's COCONet and other data sets, but these require further analysis. This discussion will focus on practical examination of Caribbean sites to establish candidates for determining the Caribbean frame EPPs as well as an examination of any remaining velocities that might inform a model of the remaining velocities within that frame (Intra-Frame Velocity Model). NGS has a vested interest in defining such a model to meet obligations to U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Beyond this, NGS aims to collaborate with other countries in the region through efforts with SIRGAS and UN-GGIM-Americas for a more acceptable regional model to serve everyone's needs.

Towards an improved ensemble precipitation forecast: A probabilistic post-processing approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khajehei, Sepideh; Moradkhani, Hamid

2017-03-01

Recently, ensemble post-processing (EPP) has become a commonly used approach for reducing the uncertainty in forcing data and hence hydrologic simulation. The procedure was introduced to build ensemble precipitation forecasts based on the statistical relationship between observations and forecasts. More specifically, the approach relies on a transfer function that is developed based on a bivariate joint distribution between the observations and the simulations in the historical period. The transfer function is used to post-process the forecast. In this study, we propose a Bayesian EPP approach based on copula functions (COP-EPP) to improve the reliability of the precipitation ensemble forecast. Evaluation of the copula-based method is carried out by comparing the performance of the generated ensemble precipitation with the outputs from an existing procedure, i.e. mixed type meta-Gaussian distribution. Monthly precipitation from Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFS) and gridded observation from Parameter-Elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) have been employed to generate the post-processed ensemble precipitation. Deterministic and probabilistic verification frameworks are utilized in order to evaluate the outputs from the proposed technique. Distribution of seasonal precipitation for the generated ensemble from the copula-based technique is compared to the observation and raw forecasts for three sub-basins located in the Western United States. Results show that both techniques are successful in producing reliable and unbiased ensemble forecast, however, the COP-EPP demonstrates considerable improvement in the ensemble forecast in both deterministic and probabilistic verification, in particular in characterizing the extreme events in wet seasons.

Numerical weather prediction model tuning via ensemble prediction system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarvinen, H.; Laine, M.; Ollinaho, P.; Solonen, A.; Haario, H.

2011-12-01

This paper discusses a novel approach to tune predictive skill of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. NWP models contain tunable parameters which appear in parameterizations schemes of sub-grid scale physical processes. Currently, numerical values of these parameters are specified manually. In a recent dual manuscript (QJRMS, revised) we developed a new concept and method for on-line estimation of the NWP model parameters. The EPPES ("Ensemble prediction and parameter estimation system") method requires only minimal changes to the existing operational ensemble prediction infra-structure and it seems very cost-effective because practically no new computations are introduced. The approach provides an algorithmic decision making tool for model parameter optimization in operational NWP. In EPPES, statistical inference about the NWP model tunable parameters is made by (i) generating each member of the ensemble of predictions using different model parameter values, drawn from a proposal distribution, and (ii) feeding-back the relative merits of the parameter values to the proposal distribution, based on evaluation of a suitable likelihood function against verifying observations. In the presentation, the method is first illustrated in low-order numerical tests using a stochastic version of the Lorenz-95 model which effectively emulates the principal features of ensemble prediction systems. The EPPES method correctly detects the unknown and wrongly specified parameters values, and leads to an improved forecast skill. Second, results with an atmospheric general circulation model based ensemble prediction system show that the NWP model tuning capacity of EPPES scales up to realistic models and ensemble prediction systems. Finally, a global top-end NWP model tuning exercise with preliminary results is published.

Improvements in prevalence trend fitting and incidence estimation in EPP 2013

PubMed Central

Brown, Tim; Bao, Le; Eaton, Jeffrey W.; Hogan, Daniel R.; Mahy, Mary; Marsh, Kimberly; Mathers, Bradley M.; Puckett, Robert

2014-01-01

Objective: Describe modifications to the latest version of the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) Estimation and Projection Package component of Spectrum (EPP 2013) to improve prevalence fitting and incidence trend estimation in national epidemics and global estimates of HIV burden. Methods: Key changes made under the guidance of the UNAIDS Reference Group on Estimates, Modelling and Projections include: availability of a range of incidence calculation models and guidance for selecting a model; a shift to reporting the Bayesian median instead of the maximum likelihood estimate; procedures for comparison and validation against reported HIV and AIDS data; incorporation of national surveys as an integral part of the fitting and calibration procedure, allowing survey trends to inform the fit; improved antenatal clinic calibration procedures in countries without surveys; adjustment of national antiretroviral therapy reports used in the fitting to include only those aged 15–49 years; better estimates of mortality among people who inject drugs; and enhancements to speed fitting. Results: The revised models in EPP 2013 allow closer fits to observed prevalence trend data and reflect improving understanding of HIV epidemics and associated data. Conclusion: Spectrum and EPP continue to adapt to make better use of the existing data sources, incorporate new sources of information in their fitting and validation procedures, and correct for quantifiable biases in inputs as they are identified and understood. These adaptations provide countries with better calibrated estimates of incidence and prevalence, which increase epidemic understanding and provide a solid base for program and policy planning. PMID:25406747

Eating disorders need more experimental psychopathology.

PubMed

Jansen, Anita

2016-11-01

Eating disorders are severe and disabling mental disorders. The scientific study of eating disorders has expanded dramatically over the past few decades, and provided significant understanding of eating disorders and their treatments. Those significant advances notwithstanding, there is scant knowledge about key processes that are crucial to clinical improvement. The lack of understanding mechanisms that cause, maintain and change eating disorders, currently is the biggest problem facing the science of eating disorders. It hampers the development of really effective interventions that could be fine-tuned to target the mechanisms of change and, therefore, the development of more effective treatments. It is argued here that the science of eating disorders and eating disorder treatment could benefit tremendously from pure experimental studies into its mechanisms of change, that is, experimental psychopathology (EPP). To illustrate why eating disorders need more EPP research, some key symptoms - restriction of intake, binge eating and body overvaluation - will be discussed. EPP studies challenge some generally accepted views and offer a fresh new look at key symptoms. This will, consequently, better inform eating disorder treatments. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A fast event preprocessor for the Simbol-X Low-Energy Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schanz, T.; Tenzer, C.; Kendziorra, E.; Santangelo, A.

2008-07-01

The Simbol-X1 Low Energy Detector (LED), a 128 × 128 pixel DEPFET array, will be read out very fast (8000 frames/second). This requires a very fast onboard data preprocessing of the raw data. We present an FPGA based Event Preprocessor (EPP) which can fulfill this requirements. The design is developed in the hardware description language VHDL and can be later ported on an ASIC technology. The EPP performs a pixel related offset correction and can apply different energy thresholds to each pixel of the frame. It also provides a line related common-mode correction to reduce noise that is unavoidably caused by the analog readout chip of the DEPFET. An integrated pattern detector can block all invalid pixel patterns. The EPP has an internal pipeline structure and can perform all operation in realtime (< 2 μs per line of 64 pixel) with a base clock frequency of 100 MHz. It is utilizing a fast median-value detection algorithm for common-mode correction and a new pattern scanning algorithm to select only valid events. Both new algorithms were developed during the last year at our institute.

Application of a GPU-Assisted Maxwell Code to Electromagnetic Wave Propagation in ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubota, S.; Peebles, W. A.; Woodbury, D.; Johnson, I.; Zolfaghari, A.

2014-10-01

The Low Field Side Reflectometer (LSFR) on ITER is envisioned to provide capabilities for electron density profile and fluctuations measurements in both the plasma core and edge. The current design for the Equatorial Port Plug 11 (EPP11) employs seven monostatic antennas for use with both fixed-frequency and swept-frequency systems. The present work examines the characteristics of this layout using the 3-D version of the GPU-Assisted Maxwell Code (GAMC-3D). Previous studies in this area were performed with either 2-D full wave codes or 3-D ray- and beam-tracing. GAMC-3D is based on the FDTD method and can be run with either a fixed-frequency or modulated (e.g. FMCW) source, and with either a stationary or moving target (e.g. Doppler backscattering). The code is designed to run on a single NVIDIA Tesla GPU accelerator, and utilizes a technique based on the moving window method to overcome the size limitation of the onboard memory. Effects such as beam drift, linear mode conversion, and diffraction/scattering will be examined. Comparisons will be made with beam-tracing calculations using the complex eikonal method. Supported by U.S. DoE Grants DE-FG02-99ER54527 and DE-AC02-09CH11466, and the DoE SULI Program at PPPL.

Comparison of a 3-D GPU-Assisted Maxwell Code and Ray Tracing for Reflectometry on ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gady, Sarah; Kubota, Shigeyuki; Johnson, Irena

2015-11-01

Electromagnetic wave propagation and scattering in magnetized plasmas are important diagnostics for high temperature plasmas. 1-D and 2-D full-wave codes are standard tools for measurements of the electron density profile and fluctuations; however, ray tracing results have shown that beam propagation in tokamak plasmas is inherently a 3-D problem. The GPU-Assisted Maxwell Code utilizes the FDTD (Finite-Difference Time-Domain) method for solving the Maxwell equations with the cold plasma approximation in a 3-D geometry. Parallel processing with GPGPU (General-Purpose computing on Graphics Processing Units) is used to accelerate the computation. Previously, we reported on initial comparisons of the code results to 1-D numerical and analytical solutions, where the size of the computational grid was limited by the on-board memory of the GPU. In the current study, this limitation is overcome by using domain decomposition and an additional GPU. As a practical application, this code is used to study the current design of the ITER Low Field Side Reflectometer (LSFR) for the Equatorial Port Plug 11 (EPP11). A detailed examination of Gaussian beam propagation in the ITER edge plasma will be presented, as well as comparisons with ray tracing. This work was made possible by funding from the Department of Energy for the Summer Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. This work is supported by the US DOE Contract No.DE-AC02-09CH11466 and DE-FG02-99-ER54527.

Modelling of Divertor Detachment in MAST Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moulton, David; Carr, Matthew; Harrison, James; Meakins, Alex

2017-10-01

MAST Upgrade will have extensive capabilities to explore the benefits of alternative divertor configurations such as the conventional, Super-X, x divertor, snowflake and variants in a single device with closed divertors. Initial experiments will concentrate on exploring the Super-X and conventional configurations, in terms of power and particle loads to divertor surfaces, access to detachment and its control. Simulations have been carried out with the SOLPS5.0 code validated against MAST experiments. The simulations predict that the Super-X configuration has significant advantages over the conventional, such as lower detachment threshold (2-3x lower in terms of upstream density and 4x higher in terms of PSOL). Synthetic spectroscopy diagnostics from these simulations have been created using the Raysect ray tracing code to produce synthetic filtered camera images, spectra and foil bolometer data. Forward modelling of the current set of divertor diagnostics will be presented, together with a discussion of future diagnostics and analysis to improve estimates of the plasma conditions. Work supported by the RCUK Energy Programme [Grant Number EP/P012450/1] and EURATOM.

Numerical studies of CO2 and brine leakage into a shallow aquifer through an open wellbore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jingrui; Hu, Litang; Pan, Lehua; Zhang, Keni

2018-03-01

Industrial-scale geological storage of CO2 in saline aquifers may cause CO2 and brine leakage from abandoned wells into shallow fresh aquifers. This leakage problem involves the flow dynamics in both the wellbore and the storage reservoir. T2Well/ECO2N, a coupled wellbore-reservoir flow simulator, was used to analyze CO2 and brine leakage under different conditions with a hypothetical simulation model in water-CO2-brine systems. Parametric studies on CO2 and brine leakage, including the salinity, excess pore pressure (EPP) and initially dissolved CO2 mass fraction, are conducted to understand the mechanism of CO2 migration. The results show that brine leakage rates increase proportionally with EPP and inversely with the salinity when EPP varies from 0.5 to 1.5 MPa; however, there is no CO2 leakage into the shallow freshwater aquifer if EPP is less than 0.5 MPa. The dissolved CO2 mass fraction shows an important influence on the CO2 plume, as part of the dissolved CO2 becomes a free phase. Scenario simulation shows that the gas lifting effect will significantly increase the brine leakage rate into the shallow freshwater aquifer under the scenario of 3.89% dissolved CO2 mass fraction. The equivalent porous media (EPM) approach used to model the wellbore flow has been evaluated and results show that the EPM approach could either under- or over-estimate brine leakage rates under most scenarios. The discrepancies become more significant if a free CO2 phase evolves. Therefore, a model that can correctly describe the complex flow dynamics in the wellbore is necessary for investigating the leakage problems.

Ferrochelatase gene mutation in Singapore and a novel frame-shift mutation in an Asian boy with erythropoietic protoporphyria.

PubMed

Alagappan, Uma; Pramono, Zacharias A D; Chong, Wei-Sheng

2017-03-01

Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a rare inherited disorder of heme biosynthesis caused by decreased activity of the enzyme ferrochelatase (FECH ). The frequency of the hypomorphic c.333-48C allele in a population directly contributes to the prevalence of EPP in the same population. This study sought to identify the molecular basis of EPP in a Chinese patient from Singapore and the c.333-48C allele frequency among the Chinese population in Singapore. FECH gene was screened for mutation in the patient's DNA sample by polymerase chain reaction amplification and DNA sequencing. To validate the identified mutation, the FECH region harboring the mutation was screened in DNA samples from all healthy controls. One patient and 46 ethnically matched healthy controls were included in the study. A novel c.474dupC which leads to a frameshift and premature stop codon was identified in one allele, while the other allele showed to carry c.333-48C and c.337C>T variants in the patient's FECH. The frequency of the c.333-48C hypomorphic allele is 27% among Chinese population in Singapore. c.474dupC in one allele trans to hypomorphic c.333-48C and c.337C>T allele in FECH gene may be the underlying cause of the clinical EPP of the studied patient. The FECH hypomorphic c.333-48C allele frequency in Singapore is lower than the Han Chinese (41.3%) and Japanese (43%) populations but nearly the same as the Southeast Asian (31%) population and higher than the European (2.7-11%) population. © 2016 The International Society of Dermatology.

Real benefit of a protective factor against dementia: Importance of controlling for death. Example of sport practice.

PubMed

Grasset, Leslie; Joly, Pierre; Jacqmin-Gadda, Hélène; Letenneur, Luc; Wittwer, Jérôme; Amieva, Hélène; Helmer, Catherine; Dartigues, Jean François

2017-01-01

To analyse the impact of a risk factor on several epidemiological indicators of death and dementia; the example of sport practice is presented. A population of 3670 non-demented subjects living at home and aged 65 and older from the PAQUID study were followed for 22 years. Sport practice was documented at baseline. Dementia (according to DSM-III-R criteria) and death were assessed at each visit. Analyses were performed with an Illness-Death model, providing results on the risks of dementia and death, probabilities and life expectancies. A total of 743 subjects (20.2%) participated in regular sport practice. During the follow-up, the proportion of death was lower in the elderly people practicing sport (EPPS), whereas the proportion of incident dementia cases was the same. The adjusted model showed a decreased risk of dementia (HR = 0.84 (0.72-1.00)) and of death for non-demented subjects (HR = 0.61 (0.51-0.71)) for EPPS but a similar risk of death with dementia in both sport groups. The probability of remaining alive without dementia was higher in EPPS, whereas the probability of dying was lower. The mean lifetime without dementia was 3 years higher for the EPPS, but the mean lifetime with dementia was the same. A preventive measure on a protective factor that is more effective for preventing death than dementia could lead to an increased lifetime without dementia; however, the number of demented cases may remain unchanged, even if the risk of developing dementia is reduced. This dynamic is important to forecast the need for health care and social services for the elderly.

Affairs happen—to whom? A study on extrapair paternity in common nightingales

PubMed Central

Wilhelm, Kerstin; Wirth, Jutta; Weiss, Michael; Kipper, Silke

2017-01-01

Abstract Most birds engage in extrapair copulations despite great differences across and within species. Besides cost and benefit considerations of the two sex environmental factors have been found to alter mating strategies within or between populations and/or over time. For socially monogamous species, the main advantage that females might gain from mating with multiple males is probably increasing their offspring’s genetic fitness. Since male (genetic) quality is mostly not directly measurable for female birds, (extrapair) mate choice is based on male secondary traits. In passerines male song is such a sexual ornament indicating male phenotypic and/or genetic quality and song repertoires seem to affect female mate choice in a number of species. Yet their role in extrapair mating behavior is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the proportion of extrapair paternity (EPP) in a population of common nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos. We found that EPP rate was rather high (21.5% of all offspring tested) for a species without sexual dimorphism and high levels of paternal care. Furthermore, the occurrence of EPP was strongly related to the spatial distribution of male territories with males settling in densely occupied areas having higher proportions of extrapair young within their own brood. Also, song repertoire size affected EPP: here larger repertoires of social mates were negatively related to the probability of being cuckolded. When directly comparing repertoires sizes of social and extrapair mates, extrapair mates tended to have larger repertoires. We finally discuss our results as a hint for a flexible mating strategy in nightingales where several factors—including ecological as well as male song features—need to be considered when studying reproductive behavior in monogamous species with complex song. PMID:29492002

Active and Progressive Exoskeleton Rehabilitation Using Multisource Information Fusion From EMG and Force-Position EPP.

PubMed

Fan, Yuanjie; Yin, Yuehong

2013-12-01

Although exoskeletons have received enormous attention and have been widely used in gait training and walking assistance in recent years, few reports addressed their application during early poststroke rehabilitation. This paper presents a healthcare technology for active and progressive early rehabilitation using multisource information fusion from surface electromyography and force-position extended physiological proprioception. The active-compliance control based on interaction force between patient and exoskeleton is applied to accelerate the recovery of the neuromuscular function, whereby progressive treatment through timely evaluation contributes to an effective and appropriate physical rehabilitation. Moreover, a clinic-oriented rehabilitation system, wherein a lower extremity exoskeleton with active compliance is mounted on a standing bed, is designed to ensure comfortable and secure rehabilitation according to the structure and control requirements. Preliminary experiments and clinical trial demonstrate valuable information on the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of the progressive exoskeleton-assisted training.

Joseph A. Burton Forum Award Talk: How a Physics Education has Influenced Practice and Graduate Education in Technically-Focused Quantitative Policy Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Granger Morgan, M.

2011-04-01

In a book for the general public published a year before his death, Carl Sagan wrote, "Every time a scientific paper presents a bit of data, it's accompanied by an error bar---a quiet but instant reminder that no knowledge is complete or perfect." For those of us educated in experimental natural science such an observation seems so obvious as to hardly need saying. Yet when, after completing a PhD in experimental radio physics, I began to work on problems in environmental and energy risk and policy analysis in the early 1970s, I was amazed to find that the characterization and treatment of uncertainty was almost completely lacking in the analysis of that day. In the first part of this talk, I will briefly summarize how I, and a number of my physics-educated colleagues, have worked to rectify this situation. Doctoral education in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) at Carnegie Mellon University has also been shaped by a number of ideas and problem-solving styles that derive from physics. These have been strengthened considerably through integration with a number of ideas from experimental social science -- a field that too many in physics ignore or even belittle. In the second part of the talk, I will describe the PhD program in EPP, talk a bit about some of its unique features, and describe a few of the problems we address.

Celebrating the 21st anniversary of empowerment evaluation with our critical friends.

PubMed

Fetterman, David; Wandersman, Abraham

2017-08-01

This special topic edition of E&PP presents the insights of luminaries in the field who have helped shape empowerment evaluation with their critiques, concerns, and congratulations. We celebrate their contributions to empowerment evaluation. This special topic edition of E&PP presents their comments about an evaluation approach that, according to president Stewart Donaldson, has "gone viral" across the globe (Donaldson, 2015). To set the stage for these critical friends' comments, additional context for their discussion is provided. In addition, this special topic edition concludes with a brief comment on their thoughts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CAD-Based Shielding Analysis for ITER Port Diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serikov, Arkady; Fischer, Ulrich; Anthoine, David; Bertalot, Luciano; De Bock, Maartin; O'Connor, Richard; Juarez, Rafael; Krasilnikov, Vitaly

2017-09-01

Radiation shielding analysis conducted in support of design development of the contemporary diagnostic systems integrated inside the ITER ports is relied on the use of CAD models. This paper presents the CAD-based MCNP Monte Carlo radiation transport and activation analyses for the Diagnostic Upper and Equatorial Port Plugs (UPP #3 and EPP #8, #17). The creation process of the complicated 3D MCNP models of the diagnostics systems was substantially accelerated by application of the CAD-to-MCNP converter programs MCAM and McCad. High performance computing resources of the Helios supercomputer allowed to speed-up the MCNP parallel transport calculations with the MPI/OpenMP interface. The found shielding solutions could be universal, reducing ports R&D costs. The shield block behind the Tritium and Deposit Monitor (TDM) optical box was added to study its influence on Shut-Down Dose Rate (SDDR) in Port Interspace (PI) of EPP#17. Influence of neutron streaming along the Lost Alpha Monitor (LAM) on the neutron energy spectra calculated in the Tangential Neutron Spectrometer (TNS) of EPP#8. For the UPP#3 with Charge eXchange Recombination Spectroscopy (CXRS-core), an excessive neutron streaming along the CXRS shutter, which should be prevented in further design iteration.

Small area estimation of proportions with different levels of auxiliary data.

PubMed

Chandra, Hukum; Kumar, Sushil; Aditya, Kaustav

2018-03-01

Binary data are often of interest in many small areas of applications. The use of standard small area estimation methods based on linear mixed models becomes problematic for such data. An empirical plug-in predictor (EPP) under a unit-level generalized linear mixed model with logit link function is often used for the estimation of a small area proportion. However, this EPP requires the availability of unit-level population information for auxiliary data that may not be always accessible. As a consequence, in many practical situations, this EPP approach cannot be applied. Based on the level of auxiliary information available, different small area predictors for estimation of proportions are proposed. Analytic and bootstrap approaches to estimating the mean squared error of the proposed small area predictors are also developed. Monte Carlo simulations based on both simulated and real data show that the proposed small area predictors work well for generating the small area estimates of proportions and represent a practical alternative to the above approach. The developed predictor is applied to generate estimates of the proportions of indebted farm households at district-level using debt investment survey data from India. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A murine model of elastase- and cigarette smoke-induced emphysema.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Rubia; Olivo, Clarice Rosa; Lourenço, Juliana Dias; Riane, Alyne; Cervilha, Daniela Aparecida de Brito; Ito, Juliana Tiyaki; Martins, Milton de Arruda; Lopes, Fernanda Degobbi Tenório Quirino Dos Santos

2017-01-01

To describe a murine model of emphysema induced by a combination of exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) and instillation of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE). A total of 38 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups: control (one intranasal instillation of 0.9% saline solution); PPE (two intranasal instillations of PPE); CS (CS exposure for 60 days); and CS + PPE (two intranasal instillations of PPE + CS exposure for 60 days). At the end of the experimental protocol, all animals were anesthetized and tracheostomized for calculation of respiratory mechanics parameters. Subsequently, all animals were euthanized and their lungs were removed for measurement of the mean linear intercept (Lm) and determination of the numbers of cells that were immunoreactive to macrophage (MAC)-2 antigen, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-12, and glycosylated 91-kDa glycoprotein (gp91phox) in the distal lung parenchyma and peribronchial region. Although there were no differences among the four groups regarding the respiratory mechanics parameters assessed, there was an increase in the Lm in the CS + PPE group. The numbers of MAC-2-positive cells in the peribronchial region and distal lung parenchyma were higher in the CS + PPE group than in the other groups, as were the numbers of cells that were positive for MMP-12 and gp91phox, although only in the distal lung parenchyma. Our model of emphysema induced by a combination of PPE instillation and CS exposure results in a significant degree of parenchymal destruction in a shorter time frame than that employed in other models of CS-induced emphysema, reinforcing the importance of protease-antiprotease imbalance and oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in the pathogenesis of emphysema. Descrever um modelo murino de enfisema induzido por exposição a fumaça de cigarro (FC) e instilação de elastase pancreática porcina (EPP). Trinta e oito camundongos C57BL/6 foram aleatoriamente divididos em quatro grupos: controle (uma instilação intranasal de solução salina a 0,9%); EPP (duas instilações intranasais de EPP); FC (exposição a FC durante 60 dias) e FC + EPP (duas instilações intranasais de EPP + exposição a FC durante 60 dias). No fim do protocolo experimental, todos os animais foram anestesiados e traqueostomizados para o cálculo de parâmetros de mecânica respiratória. Em seguida, todos os animais foram sacrificados e seus pulmões foram removidos para a medição da intercepção linear média (Lm) e a determinação do número de células imunorreativas a antígeno macrofágico (MAC)-2, metaloproteinase da matriz (MMP)-12 e glicoproteína glicosilada de 91 kDa (gp91phox) no parênquima pulmonar distal e na região peribrônquica. Embora não tenha havido diferenças entre os quatro grupos quanto aos parâmetros de mecânica respiratória avaliados, houve aumento da Lm no grupo FC + EPP. O número de células positivas para MAC-2 na região peribrônquica e no parênquima pulmonar distal foi maior no grupo FC + EPP do que nos outros grupos, assim como o foi o número de células positivas para MMP-12 e gp91phox, porém somente no parênquima pulmonar distal. Nosso modelo de enfisema induzido por instilação de EPP e exposição a FC resulta em um grau significativo de destruição parenquimatosa em um período de tempo menor que o empregado em outros modelos de enfisema induzido por FC, o que reforça a importância do desequilíbrio entre proteases e antiproteases e entre oxidantes e antioxidantes na patogênese do enfisema.

An assessment strategy for proposals of engineering projects in the Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering Curriculum at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa.

PubMed

Castañeda-Villa, N; Jiménez-González, A; Ortiz-Posadas, M R

2015-08-01

Since 1974, the Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering Program (BBME) is offered at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, in Mexico City. By design, it must be completed in four years (12 trimesters) and, in the latter three, the senior students work on a BME project, which is done by completing three modules: Project Seminar (PS), Project on BME I and Project on BME II. In the PS module, the student must find a problem of interest in the BME field and suggest a solution through the development of an Engineering Project Proposal (EPP). Currently, the module is being taught by two faculty members of the BBME, who instruct students on how to develop their EPPs and evaluate their progress by reviewing a number of EPPs during the trimester. This generates a huge workload for the module instructors, which makes it necessary to involve more faculty members trimester-to-trimester (i.e. every 12 weeks) and, therefore, to create a set of systematic guidelines that ease the evaluation process for new instructors. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present an assessment strategy (in the form of an assessment matrix) for the PS module as well as some preliminary results after two trimesters of its implementation.

Efficacy of Propolis on the Denture Stomatitis Treatment in Older Adults: A Multicentric Randomized Trial

PubMed Central

Pina, Gisela de M. S.; Lia, Erica N.; Berretta, Andresa A.; Nascimento, Andresa P.; Torres, Elina C.; Buszinski, Andrei F. M.; de Campos, Tatiana A.; Martins, Vicente de P.

2017-01-01

Our hypothesis tested the efficacy and safety of a mucoadhesive oral gel formulation of Brazilian propolis extract compared to miconazole oral gel for the treatment of denture stomatitis due to Candida spp. infection in older adults. Forty patients were randomly allocated in a noninferiority clinical trial into two groups. The control group (MIC) received 20 mg/g miconazole oral gel and the study group (PROP) received mucoadhesive formulation containing standardized extract of 2% (20 mg/g) propolis (EPP-AF®) during 14 days. Patients were examined on days 1, 7, and 14. The Newton's score was used to classify the severity of denture stomatitis. The colony forming unity count (CFU/mL) was quantified and identified (CHROMagar Candida®) before and after the treatment. Baseline characteristics did not differ between groups. Both treatments reduced Newton's score (P < 0.0001), indicating a clinical improvement of the symptoms of candidiasis with a clinical cure rate of 70%. The microbiological cure with significant reduction in fungal burden on T14 was 70% in the miconazole group and 25% in the EPP-AF group. The EPP-AF appears to be noninferior to miconazole considering the clinical cure rate and could be recommended as an alternative treatment in older patients. PMID:28396692

Correlates of genetic monogamy in socially monogamous mammals: insights from Azara's owl monkeys

PubMed Central

Huck, Maren; Fernandez-Duque, Eduardo; Babb, Paul; Schurr, Theodore

2014-01-01

Understanding the evolution of mating systems, a central topic in evolutionary biology for more than 50 years, requires examining the genetic consequences of mating and the relationships between social systems and mating systems. Among pair-living mammals, where genetic monogamy is extremely rare, the extent of extra-group paternity rates has been associated with male participation in infant care, strength of the pair bond and length of the breeding season. This study evaluated the relationship between two of those factors and the genetic mating system of socially monogamous mammals, testing predictions that male care and strength of pair bond would be negatively correlated with rates of extra-pair paternity (EPP). Autosomal microsatellite analyses provide evidence for genetic monogamy in a pair-living primate with bi-parental care, the Azara's owl monkey (Aotus azarae). A phylogenetically corrected generalized least square analysis was used to relate male care and strength of the pair bond to their genetic mating system (i.e. proportions of EPP) in 15 socially monogamous mammalian species. The intensity of male care was correlated with EPP rates in mammals, while strength of pair bond failed to reach statistical significance. Our analyses show that, once social monogamy has evolved, paternal care, and potentially also close bonds, may facilitate the evolution of genetic monogamy. PMID:24648230

Correlates of genetic monogamy in socially monogamous mammals: insights from Azara's owl monkeys.

PubMed

Huck, Maren; Fernandez-Duque, Eduardo; Babb, Paul; Schurr, Theodore

2014-05-07

Understanding the evolution of mating systems, a central topic in evolutionary biology for more than 50 years, requires examining the genetic consequences of mating and the relationships between social systems and mating systems. Among pair-living mammals, where genetic monogamy is extremely rare, the extent of extra-group paternity rates has been associated with male participation in infant care, strength of the pair bond and length of the breeding season. This study evaluated the relationship between two of those factors and the genetic mating system of socially monogamous mammals, testing predictions that male care and strength of pair bond would be negatively correlated with rates of extra-pair paternity (EPP). Autosomal microsatellite analyses provide evidence for genetic monogamy in a pair-living primate with bi-parental care, the Azara's owl monkey (Aotus azarae). A phylogenetically corrected generalized least square analysis was used to relate male care and strength of the pair bond to their genetic mating system (i.e. proportions of EPP) in 15 socially monogamous mammalian species. The intensity of male care was correlated with EPP rates in mammals, while strength of pair bond failed to reach statistical significance. Our analyses show that, once social monogamy has evolved, paternal care, and potentially also close bonds, may facilitate the evolution of genetic monogamy.

Workforce and graduate school outcomes of NOAA's Educational Partnership Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christenson, T.; Kaplan, M.

2017-12-01

Underrepresented groups, including Black, Hispanic, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island professionals remain underrepresented in STEM fields generally, and in the ocean and atmospheric sciences specifically. NOAA has tried to address this disparity through a number of initiatives under the Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP MSI) which currently has two components: four Cooperative Science Centers (CSCs) aligned with NOAA's mission areas; and an Undergraduate Scholarship Program (USP), both established in 2001. In order to determine the outcomes for the program participants and the impacts of these programs on degree completions and on the workforce, the EPP MSI undertook a multi-pronged effort to identify career and education achievements for 80% of the approximately 1750 EPP MSI alumni, 75% of whom are from underrepresented groups. This was accomplished through 1) searching online resources (e.g. professional web pages, LinkedIn, etc.), 2) personal communication with program-associated faculty, 3) National Student Clearinghouse, 4) a survey of former scholars conducted by Insight Policy Research, and 5) self-reporting though NOAA's Voluntary Alumni Update System. Results show that 60% of CSC alumni currently hold an advanced degree in a STEM field with another 8% currently working toward one. 66% of EPP Undergraduate Scholars go to graduate school. 72% of CSC and USP alumni are currently employed in or pursuing a graduate degree in a NOAA-related* field. More than 70 CSC graduates currently work for NOAA as contractors or federal employees while more than 240 work for other government agencies. More than 400 are employed in the private sector. Of more than 225 PhD graduates, 66 have completed or currently hold post-doctoral positions in NOAA mission fields; 71 have held faculty positions at major universities. However, one challenge is retaining diverse STEM talent within the Geosciences in light of the lure of lucrative jobs in other STEM fields and ensuring robust outcomes beyond degree completions.

Buffers more than buffering agent: introducing a new class of stabilizers for the protein BSA.

PubMed

Gupta, Bhupender S; Taha, Mohamed; Lee, Ming-Jer

2015-01-14

In this study, we have analyzed the influence of four biological buffers on the thermal stability of bovine serum albumin (BSA) using dynamic light scattering (DLS). The investigated buffers include 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES), 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazine-propanesulfonic acid (EPPS), 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic acid sodium salt (HEPES-Na), and 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid sodium salt (MOPS-Na). These buffers behave as a potential stabilizer for the native structure of BSA against thermal denaturation. The stabilization tendency follows the order of MOPS-Na > HEPES-Na > HEPES ≫ EPPS. To obtain an insight into the role of hydration layers and peptide backbone in the stabilization of BSA by these buffers, we have also explored the phase transition of a thermoresponsive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM)), a model compound for protein, in aqueous solutions of HEPES, EPPS, HEPES-Na, and MOPS-Na buffers at different concentrations. It was found that the lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) of PNIPAM in the aqueous buffer solutions substantially decrease with increase in buffer concentration. The mechanism of interactions between these buffers and protein BSA was probed by various techniques, including UV-visible, fluorescence, and FTIR. The results of this series of studies reveal that the interactions are mainly governed by the influence of the buffers on the hydration layers surrounding the protein. We have also explored the possible binding sites of BSA with these buffers using a molecular docking technique. Moreover, the activities of an industrially important enzyme α-chymotrypsin (α-CT) in 0.05 M, 0.5 M, and 1.0 M of HEPES, EPPS, HEPES-Na, and MOPS-Na buffer solutions were analyzed at pH = 8.0 and T = 25 °C. Interestingly, the activities of α-CT were found to be enhanced in the aqueous solutions of these investigated buffers. Based upon the Jones-Dole viscosity parameters, the kosmotropic or chaotropic behaviors of the investigated buffers at 25 °C have been examined.

Usefulness of magnetic resonance findings of the hypothalamic-pituitary region in the management of short children with growth hormone deficiency: evidence from a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Kalina, Maria A; Kalina-Faska, Barbara; Gruszczyńska, Katarzyna; Baron, Jan; Małecka-Tendera, Ewa

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the hypothalamic-pituitary (H-P) region and response to recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment in short children with growth hormone deficiency, basing on changes of auxologic parameters, as well as to answer the question if MRI may serve for selecting and monitoring the rhGH responders. The study group comprised 85 children treated with rhGH, aged 7.3-18.7 years, followed for the mean period of 3.2 years (range, 2.1-9.5 years). Auxologic parameters (height deficit hSDS, deviation from the mid-parental height hSDS-mpSDS, bone delay index bone age/chronological age ratio (BA/CA)) were assessed before, during and at the end of rhGH treatment; growth velocity was calculated before and during rhGH therapy. Parameters were correlated with the MRI of the H-P region. Structural anomalies of the H-P region were found in 22 (25.9%) children: empty sella syndrome (ESS) in 12 (14.1%) patients, ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP) in ten (11.8%). Patients' height deficit and their deviation from parental height before rhGH therapy was significantly greater in the EPP group (median hSDS = -3.8; hSDS-mpSDS = -2.5), bone age delay was the greatest in the ESS group (median BA/CA = 0.69), after therapy - in the EPP group (median BA/CA = 0.82). Growth velocity improved in the first year of the rhGH therapy in all groups; however, the most significant acceleration was observed in the EPP group (median delta hSDS = 0.9), then stabilised and was comparable in all groups. MRI may be helpful in predicting response to the rhGH treatment, providing midline abnormalities are taken into account.

Influence of Radiotherapy Technique and Dose on Patterns of Failure for Mesothelioma Patients After Extrapleural Pneumonectomy

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

Allen, Aaron M.; Den, Robert; Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

2007-08-01

Purpose: Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is an effective treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. We compared the outcomes after moderate-dose hemithoracic radiotherapy (MDRT) and high-dose hemithoracic RT (HDRT) after EPP for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Methods and Materials: Between July 1994 and April 2004, 39 patients underwent EPP and adjuvant RT at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women's Hospital. Between 1994 and 2002, MDRT, including 30 Gy to the hemithorax, 40 Gy to the mediastinum, and boosts to positive margins or nodes to 54 Gy, was given, generally with concurrent chemotherapy. In 2003, HDRT to 54 Gy with a matched photon/electron technique was given,more » with sequential chemotherapy. Results: A total of 39 patients underwent RT after EPP. The median age was 59 years (range, 44-77). The histologic type was epithelial in 25 patients (64%) and mixed or sarcomatoid in 14 patients (36%). Of the 39 patients, 24 underwent MDRT and 15 (39%) HDRT. The median follow-up was 23 months (range, 6-71). The median overall survival was 19 months (95% confidence interval, 14-24). The median time to distant failure (DF) and local failure (LF) was 20 months (95% confidence interval, 14-26) and 26 months (95% confidence interval, 16-36), respectively. On univariate and multivariate analyses, only a mixed histologic type was predictive of inferior DF (p <0.006) and overall survival (p <0.004). The RT technique was not predictive of LF, DF, or overall survival. The LF rate was 50% (12 of 24) after MDRT and 27% (4 of 15) after HDRT (p = NS). Four patients who had undergone HDRT were alive and without evidence of disease at the last follow-up. Conclusions: High-dose hemithoracic RT appears to limit in-field LF compared with MDRT. However, DF remains a significant challenge, with one-half of our patients experiencing DF.« less

Cleaning Products Pilot Project

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This 1997 case study documents a three-year effort to identify and compare environmentally preferable commercial cleaning products and to implement the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program (EPP).

Reversion of multidrug resistance in the P-glycoprotein-positive human pancreatic cell line (EPP85-181RDB) by introduction of a hammerhead ribozyme.

PubMed Central

Holm, P. S.; Scanlon, K. J.; Dietel, M.

1994-01-01

A major problem in cytostatic treatment of many tumours is the development of multidrug resistance (MDR4). This is most often accompanied by the overexpression of a membrane transport protein, P-glycoprotein, and its encoding mRNA. In order to reverse the resistant phenotype in cell cultures, we constructed a specific hammerhead ribozyme possessing catalytic activity that cleaves the 3'-end of the GUC sequence in codon 880 of the mdr1 mRNA. We demonstrated that the constructed ribozyme is able to cleave a reduced substrate mdr1 mRNA at the GUC position under physiological conditions in a cell-free system. A DNA sequence encoding the ribozyme gene was then incorporated into a mammalian expression vector (pH beta APr-1 neo) and transfected into the human pancreatic carcinoma cell line EPP85-181RDB, which is resistant to daunorubicin and expresses the MDR phenotype. The expressed ribozyme decreased the level of mdr1 mRNA expression, inhibited the formation of P-glycoprotein and reduced the cell's resistance to daunorubicin dramatically; this means that the resistant cells were 1,600-fold more resistant than the parental cell line (EPP85-181P), whereas those cell clones that showed ribozyme expression were only 5.3-fold more resistant than the parental cell line. Images Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 2 PMID:7914421

Evaluation of Physicians’ Awareness of Pediatric Diseases in Iran

PubMed Central

Abolhassani, Hassan; Mirminachi, Babak; Daryabeigi, Maedeh; Agharahimi, Zahra; Aghamohammadi, Asghar; Rabbani, Ali; Rezaei, Nima

2014-01-01

Objective: Physicians’ awareness about pediatric health problems is very important in health system. This has not been investigated in Iran as yet. Therefore this study was conducted to characterize the knowledge of the Iranian physicians which has direct association with health status of children. Methods: One hundred and four physicians, mainly pediatric specialists (58.6%) working in the state hospitals (45.1%) were enrolled. They filled a valid and reliable questionnaire, containing 26 questions about basic and important pediatric issues before and after an educational pediatric program (EPP). Findings : Thirty nine (37.5%) physicians answered correctly more than 2/3 of all questions (passed the examination) before EPP, which increased to 42.3% after EEP. Subgroup analysis showed that the total scores of general practitioners (P=0.007) was significantly increased after the EPP. Moreover, physicians with shorter practicing time (P=0.006) and those with shorter time past graduation (P=0.01) had a significant improvement in their total scores after the program. The best scores of educational issues were documented in growth and development (16.0%; P=0.04), followed by dermatology (9.2%, P=0.04), urology (9.1%; P=0.04), and asthma and allergy (9.0%, P=0.04). Conclusion: This study revealed that there are gaps in the knowledge of professionals about the pediatric issues. PMID:25793051

Selective depolarization of the muscle membrane in frog nerve-muscle preparations by a chromatographically purified extract of the dinoflagellate Ostreopsis lenticularis

PubMed Central

Meunier, Frédéric A; Mercado, José A; Molgó, Jordi; Tosteson, Thomas R; Escalona de Motta, Gladys

1997-01-01

The actions of a chromatographically identified extract of the marine dinoflagellate Ostreopsis lenticularis, named ostreotoxin-3 (OTX-3), were studied on frog isolated neuromuscular preparations. OTX-3 (1–10 μg ml−1) applied to cutaneous pectoris nerve-muscle preparations depolarized skeletal muscle fibres and caused spontaneous contractions. The depolarization was neither reversed by prolonged washing nor by (+)-tubocurarine. OTX-3 decreased the amplitude of miniature end plate potentials (m.e.p.ps) but did not affect their frequency. Extracellular recording of compound action potentials revealed that OTX-3 affected neither excitability nor conduction along intramuscular nerve branches. End-plate potentials (e.p.ps) elicited by nerve stimulation were reduced in amplitude by OTX-3 and even showed reversed polarity in junctions deeply depolarized by the toxin. Membrane depolarization induced by OTX-3 was decreased about 70% in muscles pretreated for 30 min with 10 μM tetrodotoxin. In contrast, muscles pretreated with 5 μM μ-conotoxin GIIIA were completely insensitive to OTX-3-induced depolarization. OTX-3 did not affect e.p.p. amplitude and the quantal content of e.p.ps in junctions in which muscle depolarization was abolished by μ-conotoxin GIIIA. OTX-3 is a novel type of sodium-channel activating toxin that discriminates between nerve and skeletal muscle membranes. PMID:9249261

Intraoperative intracavitary hyperthermic chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a dreadful disease with a poor prognosis. Multimodality therapy including surgical macroscopic complete resection is performed to treat operable MPM. Intraoperative intracavitary hyperthermic chemotherapy for MPM was reviewed. Appropriate papers published between 2006 and present were extracted by the PubMed advanced search by MPM (Title/Abstract), chemotherapy (Title/Abstract), and hyperthermia (All fields). Among the selected papers, those written in English, and treated more than ten MPM patients were reviewed. The intraoperative intracavitary hyperthermic chemotherapy has been performed following extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) or pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) for MPM. Cisplatin was mainly used for perfusion, and the morbidity and mortality was acceptable. In conclusion, the intraoperative intracavitary hyperthermic chemotherapy following EPP or P/D for MPM might enhance local control in the chest cavity. PMID:28706901

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

Chance, William W.; Rice, David C.; Allen, Pamela K.

Purpose: To investigate safety, efficacy, and recurrence after hemithoracic intensity modulated radiation therapy after pleurectomy/decortication (PD-IMRT) and after extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP-IMRT). Methods and Materials: In 2009-2013, 24 patients with mesothelioma underwent PD-IMRT to the involved hemithorax to a dose of 45 Gy, with an optional integrated boost; 22 also received chemotherapy. Toxicity was scored with the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0. Pulmonary function was compared at baseline, after surgery, and after IMRT. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), time to locoregional failure, and time to distant metastasis. Failures were in-field, marginal, or outmore » of field. Outcomes were compared with those of 24 patients, matched for age, nodal status, performance status, and chemotherapy, who had received EPP-IMRT. Results: Median follow-up time was 12.2 months. Grade 3 toxicity rates were 8% skin and 8% pulmonary. Pulmonary function declined from baseline to after surgery (by 21% for forced vital capacity, 16% for forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and 19% for lung diffusion of carbon monoxide [P for all = .01]) and declined still further after IMRT (by 31% for forced vital capacity [P=.02], 25% for forced expiratory volume in 1 second [P=.01], and 30% for lung diffusion of carbon monoxide [P=.01]). The OS and PFS rates were 76% and 67%, respectively, at 1 year and 56% and 34% at 2 years. Median OS (28.4 vs 14.2 months, P=.04) and median PFS (16.4 vs 8.2 months, P=.01) favored PD-IMRT versus EPP-IMRT. No differences were found in grade 4-5 toxicity (0 of 24 vs 3 of 24, P=.23), median time to locoregional failure (18.7 months vs not reached, P not calculable), or median time to distant metastasis (18.8 vs 11.8 months, P=.12). Conclusions: Hemithoracic intensity modulated radiation therapy after pleurectomy/decortication produced little high-grade toxicity but led to progressive declines in pulmonary function; OS and PFS were better in PD-IMRT compared with EPP-IMRT.« less

Hemithoracic intensity modulated radiation therapy after pleurectomy/decortication for malignant pleural mesothelioma: toxicity, patterns of failure, and a matched survival analysis.

PubMed

Chance, William W; Rice, David C; Allen, Pamela K; Tsao, Anne S; Fontanilla, Hiral P; Liao, Zhongxing; Chang, Joe Y; Tang, Chad; Pan, Hubert Y; Welsh, James W; Mehran, Reza J; Gomez, Daniel R

2015-01-01

To investigate safety, efficacy, and recurrence after hemithoracic intensity modulated radiation therapy after pleurectomy/decortication (PD-IMRT) and after extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP-IMRT). In 2009-2013, 24 patients with mesothelioma underwent PD-IMRT to the involved hemithorax to a dose of 45 Gy, with an optional integrated boost; 22 also received chemotherapy. Toxicity was scored with the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0. Pulmonary function was compared at baseline, after surgery, and after IMRT. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), time to locoregional failure, and time to distant metastasis. Failures were in-field, marginal, or out of field. Outcomes were compared with those of 24 patients, matched for age, nodal status, performance status, and chemotherapy, who had received EPP-IMRT. Median follow-up time was 12.2 months. Grade 3 toxicity rates were 8% skin and 8% pulmonary. Pulmonary function declined from baseline to after surgery (by 21% for forced vital capacity, 16% for forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and 19% for lung diffusion of carbon monoxide [P for all = .01]) and declined still further after IMRT (by 31% for forced vital capacity [P=.02], 25% for forced expiratory volume in 1 second [P=.01], and 30% for lung diffusion of carbon monoxide [P=.01]). The OS and PFS rates were 76% and 67%, respectively, at 1 year and 56% and 34% at 2 years. Median OS (28.4 vs 14.2 months, P=.04) and median PFS (16.4 vs 8.2 months, P=.01) favored PD-IMRT versus EPP-IMRT. No differences were found in grade 4-5 toxicity (0 of 24 vs 3 of 24, P=.23), median time to locoregional failure (18.7 months vs not reached, P not calculable), or median time to distant metastasis (18.8 vs 11.8 months, P=.12). Hemithoracic intensity modulated radiation therapy after pleurectomy/decortication produced little high-grade toxicity but led to progressive declines in pulmonary function; OS and PFS were better in PD-IMRT compared with EPP-IMRT. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine and Artemether-Lumefantrine for Treating Uncomplicated Malaria in African Children: A Randomised, Non-Inferiority Trial

PubMed Central

Bassat, Quique; Mulenga, Modest; Tinto, Halidou; Piola, Patrice; Borrmann, Steffen; Menéndez, Clara; Nambozi, Michael; Valéa, Innocent; Nabasumba, Carolyn; Sasi, Philip; Bacchieri, Antonella; Corsi, Marco; Ubben, David; Talisuna, Ambrose; D'Alessandro, Umberto

2009-01-01

Background Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) are currently the preferred option for treating uncomplicated malaria. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQP) is a promising fixed-dose ACT with limited information on its safety and efficacy in African children. Methodology/Principal Findings The non-inferiority of DHA-PQP versus artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in children 6–59 months old with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria was tested in five African countries (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia). Patients were randomised (2∶1) to receive either DHA-PQP or AL. Non-inferiority was assessed using a margin of −5% for the lower limit of the one-sided 97.5% confidence interval on the treatment difference (DHA-PQP vs. AL) of the day 28 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) corrected cure rate. Efficacy analysis was performed in several populations, and two of them are presented here: intention-to-treat (ITT) and enlarged per-protocol (ePP). 1553 children were randomised, 1039 receiving DHA-PQP and 514 AL. The PCR-corrected day 28 cure rate was 90.4% (ITT) and 94.7% (ePP) in the DHA-PQP group, and 90.0% (ITT) and 95.3% (ePP) in the AL group. The lower limits of the one-sided 97.5% CI of the difference between the two treatments were −2.80% and −2.96%, in the ITT and ePP populations, respectively. In the ITT population, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of the proportion of new infections up to Day 42 was 13.55% (95% CI: 11.35%–15.76%) for DHA-PQP vs 24.00% (95% CI: 20.11%–27.88%) for AL (p<0.0001). Conclusions/Significance DHA-PQP is as efficacious as AL in treating uncomplicated malaria in African children from different endemicity settings, and shows a comparable safety profile. The occurrence of new infections within the 42-day follow up was significantly lower in the DHA-PQP group, indicating a longer post-treatment prophylactic effect. Trial Registration Controlled-trials.com ISRCTN16263443 PMID:19936217

Personal protective equipment for the Ebola virus disease: A comparison of 2 training programs.

PubMed

Casalino, Enrique; Astocondor, Eugenio; Sanchez, Juan Carlos; Díaz-Santana, David Enrique; Del Aguila, Carlos; Carrillo, Juan Pablo

2015-12-01

Personal protective equipment (PPE) for preventing Ebola virus disease (EVD) includes basic PPE (B-PPE) and enhanced PPE (E-PPE). Our aim was to compare conventional training programs (CTPs) and reinforced training programs (RTPs) on the use of B-PPE and E-PPE. Four groups were created, designated CTP-B, CTP-E, RTP-B, and RTP-E. All groups received the same theoretical training, followed by 3 practical training sessions. A total of 120 students were included (30 per group). In all 4 groups, the frequency and number of total errors and critical errors decreased significantly over the course of the training sessions (P < .01). The RTP was associated with a greater reduction in the number of total errors and critical errors (P < .0001). During the third training session, we noted an error frequency of 7%-43%, a critical error frequency of 3%-40%, 0.3-1.5 total errors, and 0.1-0.8 critical errors per student. The B-PPE groups had the fewest errors and critical errors (P < .0001). Our results indicate that both training methods improved the student's proficiency, that B-PPE appears to be easier to use than E-PPE, that the RTP achieved better proficiency for both PPE types, and that a number of students are still potentially at risk for EVD contamination despite the improvements observed during the training. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Muscle paralyzing effect of the juice from the trunk of the banana tree.

PubMed

Singh, Y N; Dryden, W F

1985-01-01

The effect of an extract from the trunk of the banana tree (Musa sapientum) was investigated in isolated skeletal muscle preparations from the chick, mouse and frog using twitch tension and intracellular recording techniques. The extract produced, in the same concentration range and after an initial period of twitch augmentation, paralysis of skeletal muscle in both directly and indirectly stimulated preparations. It also had a dose-dependent stimulant effect on the muscle causing a contracture. The neuromuscular blockade was reversed by calcium, but only when added before complete paralysis of the muscle. On the other hand, neostigmine usually hastened the blockade and aggravated the contracture. The frequency of the miniature endplate potential in the mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation greatly increased initially, declining to an elevated plateau. Effects on quantal content of endplate potentials (e.p.p.s) were studied in the transected mouse phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm using trains of e.p.p.s. In the presence of the extract, only a few e.p.p. trains could normally be evoked, probably due to nerve terminal block. When quantal content could be measured at low concentrations of the extract, an increase was usually obtained. Muscle action potentials in the frog sartorius muscle were decreased in amplitude until no further potentials could be generated. The results suggest that the nature of the block produced by the extract resembles that of a potent local anaesthetic with an initial atypical labilizing effect on cell calcium rather than a conventional curariform block.

Drug Combination Synergy in Worm-like Polymeric Micelles Improves Treatment Outcome for Small Cell and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

PubMed

Wan, Xiaomeng; Min, Yuanzeng; Bludau, Herdis; Keith, Andrew; Sheiko, Sergei S; Jordan, Rainer; Wang, Andrew Z; Sokolsky-Papkov, Marina; Kabanov, Alexander V

2018-03-27

Nanoparticle-based systems for concurrent delivery of multiple drugs can improve outcomes of cancer treatments, but face challenges because of differential solubility and fairly low threshold for incorporation of many drugs. Here we demonstrate that this approach can be used to greatly improve the treatment outcomes of etoposide (ETO) and platinum drug combination ("EP/PE") therapy that is the backbone for treatment of prevalent and deadly small cell lung cancer (SCLC). A polymeric micelle system based on amphiphilic block copolymer poly(2-oxazoline)s (POx) poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline- block-2-butyl-2-oxazoline- block-2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (P(MeOx- b-BuOx- b-MeOx) is used along with an alkylated cisplatin prodrug to enable co-formulation of EP/PE in a single high-capacity vehicle. A broad range of drug mixing ratios and exceptionally high two-drug loading of over 50% wt. drug in dispersed phase is demonstrated. The highly loaded POx micelles have worm-like morphology, unprecedented for drug loaded polymeric micelles reported so far, which usually form spheres upon drug loading. The drugs co-loading in the micelles result in a slowed-down release, improved pharmacokinetics, and increased tumor distribution of both drugs. A superior antitumor activity of co-loaded EP/PE drug micelles compared to single drug micelles or their combination as well as free drug combination was demonstrated using several animal models of SCLC and non-small cell lung cancer.

Qualitative Measurement of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Among Federal Employees in 2000

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program is mandated by Executive Order 13101 to green the federal government. This was a study to determine federal attitudes.

Insights into public export promotion programs in an emerging economy: the case of Malaysian SMEs.

PubMed

Ayob, Abu H; Freixanet, Joan

2014-10-01

This study evaluates the impact of public export promotion programs (EPPs) among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Three indicators, level of awareness, frequency of use, and perception of usefulness, were examined according to a firm's export status. The global evaluation suggests that exporters are more frequent users of EPPs and perceive them to be more useful than non-exporters. Nonetheless, both groups demonstrate higher levels of awareness, are frequent users, and perceive the programs relating to export info/knowledge are more usefulness than programs relating to financial assistance. Further analysis also reveals that the frequency of use and the perception of usefulness for most programs are positively related to export experience, but not to export turnover. This study offers insights into the effectiveness of export programs for encouraging export initiation and expansion in an emerging economy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Minimal position-velocity uncertainty wave packets in relativistic and non-relativistic quantum mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Hashimi, M. H.; Wiese, U.-J.

2009-12-01

We consider wave packets of free particles with a general energy-momentum dispersion relation E(p). The spreading of the wave packet is determined by the velocity v=∂pE. The position-velocity uncertainty relation ΔxΔv⩾12|<∂p2E>| is saturated by minimal uncertainty wave packets Φ(p)=Aexp(-αE(p)+βp). In addition to the standard minimal Gaussian wave packets corresponding to the non-relativistic dispersion relation E(p)=p2/2m, analytic calculations are presented for the spreading of wave packets with minimal position-velocity uncertainty product for the lattice dispersion relation E(p)=-cos(pa)/ma2 as well as for the relativistic dispersion relation E(p)=p2+m2. The boost properties of moving relativistic wave packets as well as the propagation of wave packets in an expanding Universe are also discussed.

jsc2017e136057 - On a snowy night at Red Square Moscow, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left), Jeanette Epps of NASA (center) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency (right) pay

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-30

jsc2017e136057 - On a snowy night at Red Square Moscow, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmembers Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left), Jeanette Epps of NASA (center) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency (right) pay homage at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred in traditional pre-launch ceremonies Nov. 30. They are backups to Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), who will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 17 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

jsc2017e136055 - On a snowy night at Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmember Jeanette Epps of NASA lays flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred in traditional pre-launch ceremonies Nov. 30. Looking on are backup

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-30

jsc2017e136055 - On a snowy night at Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 54-55 backup crewmember Jeanette Epps of NASA lays flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred in traditional pre-launch ceremonies Nov. 30. Looking on are backup crewmembers Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left) and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. They are backups to Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), who will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 17 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

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

Krayenbuehl, Jerome; Hartmann, Matthias; Lomax, Anthony J.

Purpose: To perform comparative planning for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and proton therapy (PT) for malignant pleural mesothelioma after radical surgery. Methods and Materials: Eight patients treated with IMRT after extrapleural pleuropneumonectomy (EPP) were replanned for PT, comparing dose homogeneity, target volume coverage, and mean and maximal dose to organs at risk. Feasibility of PT was evaluated regarding the dose distribution with respect to air cavities after EPP. Results: Dose coverage and dose homogeneity of the planning target volume (PTV) were significantly better for PT than for IMRT regarding the volume covered by >95% (V95) for the high-dose PTV. The meanmore » dose to the contralateral kidney, ipsilateral kidney, contralateral lung, liver, and heart and spinal cord dose were significantly reduced with PT compared with IMRT. After EPP, air cavities were common (range, 0-850 cm{sup 3}), decreasing from 0 to 18.5 cm{sup 3}/day. In 2 patients, air cavity changes during RT decreased the generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) in the case of using an a value of < - 10 to the PTV2 to <2 Gy in the presence of changing cavities for PT, and to 40 Gy for IMRT. Small changes were observed for gEUD of PTV1 because PTV1 was reached by the beams before air. Conclusion: Both PT and IMRT achieved good target coverage and dose homogeneity. Proton therapy accomplished additional dose sparing of most organs at risk compared with IMRT. Proton therapy dose distributions were more susceptible to changing air cavities, emphasizing the need for adaptive RT and replanning.« less

Sexual conflict arising from extrapair matings in birds.

PubMed

Chaine, Alexis S; Montgomerie, Robert; Lyon, Bruce E

2015-01-20

The discovery that extrapair copulation (EPC) and extrapair paternity (EPP) are common in birds led to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the evolution of mating systems. The prevalence of extrapair matings in pair-bonded species sets the stage for sexual conflict, and a recent focus has been to consider how this conflict can shape variation in extrapair mating rates. Here, we invert the causal arrow and consider the consequences of extrapair matings for sexual conflict. Extrapair matings shift sexual conflict from a simple two-player (male vs. female) game to a game with three or more players, the nature of which we illustrate with simple diagrams that highlight the net costs and benefits of extrapair matings to each player. This approach helps identify the sorts of traits that might be under selection because of sexual conflict. Whether EPP is driven primarily by the extrapair male or the within-pair female profoundly influences which players are in conflict, but the overall pattern of conflict varies little among different mating systems. Different aspects of conflict are manifest at different stages of the breeding cycle and can be profitably considered as distinct episodes of selection caused by conflict. This perspective is illuminating both because conflict between specific players can change across episodes and because the traits that evolve to mediate conflict likely differ between episodes. Although EPP clearly leads to sexual conflict, we suggest that the link between sexual conflict and multiple paternity might be usefully understood by examining how deviations from lifetime sexual monogamy influence sexual conflict. Copyright © 2015 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Sexual Conflict Arising from Extrapair Matings in Birds

PubMed Central

Chaine, Alexis S.; Montgomerie, Robert; Lyon, Bruce E.

2015-01-01

The discovery that extrapair copulation (EPC) and extrapair paternity (EPP) are common in birds led to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the evolution of mating systems. The prevalence of extrapair matings in pair-bonded species sets the stage for sexual conflict, and a recent focus has been to consider how this conflict can shape variation in extrapair mating rates. Here, we invert the causal arrow and consider the consequences of extrapair matings for sexual conflict. Extrapair matings shift sexual conflict from a simple two-player (male vs. female) game to a game with three or more players, the nature of which we illustrate with simple diagrams that highlight the net costs and benefits of extrapair matings to each player. This approach helps identify the sorts of traits that might be under selection because of sexual conflict. Whether EPP is driven primarily by the extrapair male or the within-pair female profoundly influences which players are in conflict, but the overall pattern of conflict varies little among different mating systems. Different aspects of conflict are manifest at different stages of the breeding cycle and can be profitably considered as distinct episodes of selection caused by conflict. This perspective is illuminating both because conflict between specific players can change across episodes and because the traits that evolve to mediate conflict likely differ between episodes. Although EPP clearly leads to sexual conflict, we suggest that the link between sexual conflict and multiple paternity might be usefully understood by examining how deviations from lifetime sexual monogamy influence sexual conflict. PMID:25605708

Multicenter Evaluation of BD Max Enteric Parasite Real-Time PCR Assay for Detection of Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium hominis, Cryptosporidium parvum, and Entamoeba histolytica

PubMed Central

Relich, R. F.; Doyle, L.; Espina, N.; Fuller, D.; Karchmer, T.; Lainesse, A.; Mortensen, J. E.; Pancholi, P.; Veros, W.; Harrington, S. M.

2016-01-01

Common causes of chronic diarrhea among travelers worldwide include protozoan parasites. The majority of parasitic infections are caused by Giardia duodenalis, Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium parvum, and Cryptosporidium hominis. Similarly, these species cause the majority of parasitic diarrhea acquired in the United States. Detection of parasites by gold standard microscopic methods is time-consuming and requires considerable expertise; enzyme immunoassays and direct fluorescent-antibody (DFA) stains have lowered hands-on time for testing, but improvements in sensitivity and technical time may be possible with a PCR assay. We performed a clinical evaluation of a multiplex PCR panel, the enteric parasite panel (EPP), for the detection of these common parasites using the BD Max instrument, which performs automated extraction and amplification. A total of 2,495 compliant specimens were enrolled, including 2,104 (84%) specimens collected prospectively and 391 (16%) specimens collected retrospectively. Approximately equal numbers were received in 10% formalin (1,273 specimens) and unpreserved (1,222 specimens). The results from the EPP were compared to those from alternate PCR and bidirectional sequencing (APCR), as well as DFA (G. duodenalis and C. parvum or C. hominis) or trichrome stain (E. histolytica). The sensitivity and specificity for prospective and retrospective specimens combined were 98.2% and 99.5% for G. duodenalis, 95.5% and 99.6 for C. parvum or C. hominis, and 100% and 100% for E. histolytica, respectively. The performance of the FDA-approved BD Max EPP compared well to the reference methods and may be an appropriate substitute for microscopic examination or immunoassays. PMID:27535690

Prognostic impact of peakVO2-changes in stable CHF on chronic beta-blocker treatment.

PubMed

Frankenstein, L; Nelles, M; Hallerbach, M; Dukic, D; Fluegel, A; Schellberg, D; Katus, H A; Remppis, A; Zugck, C

2007-11-15

Peak oxygen uptake (pVO2) is used for risk stratification in chronic heart failure (CHF), but little is known about the prognostic impact of pVO2-changes in patients on chronic beta-blocker (BBL) therapy. We therefore prospectively evaluated individual pVO2-changes at a 6-month interval in patients all receiving BBL. 194 patients with stable CHF on stable medication were included (V1) and underwent clinical evaluation and exercise testing. Testing was repeated (V2) at 5.7+/-1.5 months after V1 and patients were followed >12 months after V2. Death or hospitalisation due to cardiac reasons was the predefined EP (EPP, end-point positive; n=62; EPN, end-point negative; n=113). Initial characteristics did not differ between EPP and EPN. Multivariate cox regression analysis revealed that change of pVO2 (EPP: -0.6+/-2.6 ml/kg min; EPN: +2.5+/-3.3 ml/kg min; p<0.001) was independent to pVO2, LVEF, NTproBNP and NYHA at V2 for prediction of the combined end-point during follow-up. An increase of pVO2 by 10% was identified as an adequate cut-off value for risk stratification and ROC-analysis showed the significant incremental prognostic value of the determination of pVO2 changes in combination with pVO2. Serial measurements of pVO2 yield additional information for risk stratification in clinically homogenous CHF patients receiving BBL. This is the first study demonstrating this fact within a narrow predefined interval with all patients on BBL.

48 CFR 970.2301-1 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 970.2301-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AGENCY SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS DOE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACTS Environment, Energy and Water Efficiency, Renewable Energy... http://www.hss.energy.gov/pp/epp. Contractors operating DOE facilities shall comply with the...

Self-Other Orientations and the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santee, Richard T.

1975-01-01

A modified version of the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) was administered to measure self and other orientations on 15 personality variables. The respondents were shown to have different preferences for themselves than for others. (Author/DEP)

A GLM Post-processor to Adjust Ensemble Forecast Traces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiemann, M.; Day, G. N.; Schaake, J. C.; Draijer, S.; Wang, L.

2011-12-01

The skill of hydrologic ensemble forecasts has improved in the last years through a better understanding of climate variability, better climate forecasts and new data assimilation techniques. Having been extensively utilized for probabilistic water supply forecasting, interest is developing to utilize these forecasts in operational decision making. Hydrologic ensemble forecast members typically have inherent biases in flow timing and volume caused by (1) structural errors in the models used, (2) systematic errors in the data used to calibrate those models, (3) uncertain initial hydrologic conditions, and (4) uncertainties in the forcing datasets. Furthermore, hydrologic models have often not been developed for operational decision points and ensemble forecasts are thus not always available where needed. A statistical post-processor can be used to address these issues. The post-processor should (1) correct for systematic biases in flow timing and volume, (2) preserve the skill of the available raw forecasts, (3) preserve spatial and temporal correlation as well as the uncertainty in the forecasted flow data, (4) produce adjusted forecast ensembles that represent the variability of the observed hydrograph to be predicted, and (5) preserve individual forecast traces as equally likely. The post-processor should also allow for the translation of available ensemble forecasts to hydrologically similar locations where forecasts are not available. This paper introduces an ensemble post-processor (EPP) developed in support of New York City water supply operations. The EPP employs a general linear model (GLM) to (1) adjust available ensemble forecast traces and (2) create new ensembles for (nearby) locations where only historic flow observations are available. The EPP is calibrated by developing daily and aggregated statistical relationships form historical flow observations and model simulations. These are then used in operation to obtain the conditional probability density function (PDF) of the observations to be predicted, thus jointly adjusting individual ensemble members. These steps are executed in a normalized transformed space ('z'-space) to account for the strong non-linearity in the flow observations involved. A data window centered on each calibration date is used to minimize impacts from sampling errors and data noise. Testing on datasets from California and New York suggests that the EPP can successfully minimize biases in ensemble forecasts, while preserving the raw forecast skill in a 'days to weeks' forecast horizon and reproducing the variability of climatology for 'weeks to years' forecast horizons.

Analysis of filament statistics in fast camera data on MAST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farley, Tom; Militello, Fulvio; Walkden, Nick; Harrison, James; Silburn, Scott; Bradley, James

2017-10-01

Coherent filamentary structures have been shown to play a dominant role in turbulent cross-field particle transport [D'Ippolito 2011]. An improved understanding of filaments is vital in order to control scrape off layer (SOL) density profiles and thus control first wall erosion, impurity flushing and coupling of radio frequency heating in future devices. The Elzar code [T. Farley, 2017 in prep.] is applied to MAST data. The code uses information about the magnetic equilibrium to calculate the intensity of light emission along field lines as seen in the camera images, as a function of the field lines' radial and toroidal locations at the mid-plane. In this way a `pseudo-inversion' of the intensity profiles in the camera images is achieved from which filaments can be identified and measured. In this work, a statistical analysis of the intensity fluctuations along field lines in the camera field of view is performed using techniques similar to those typically applied in standard Langmuir probe analyses. These filament statistics are interpreted in terms of the theoretical ergodic framework presented by F. Militello & J.T. Omotani, 2016, in order to better understand how time averaged filament dynamics produce the more familiar SOL density profiles. This work has received funding from the RCUK Energy programme (Grant Number EP/P012450/1), from Euratom (Grant Agreement No. 633053) and from the EUROfusion consortium.

Isolated drops from capillary jets by means of Gaussian wave packets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, Francisco Javier; Gonzalez, Heliodoro; Castrejon-Pita, Alfonso Arturo; Castrejon-Pita, Jose Rafael; Gomez-Aguilar, Francisco Jose

2017-11-01

The possibility of obtaining isolated drops from a continuous liquid jet through localized velocity perturbations is explored analytically, numerically and experimentally. We show that Gaussian wave packets are appropriate for this goal. A temporal linear analysis predicts the early evolution of these wave packets and provides an estimate of the breakup length of the jet. Non-linear numerical simulations allow us both to corroborate these results and to obtain the shape of the surface of the jet prior to breakup. Finally, we show experimental evidence that stimulating with a Gaussian wave packet can lead to the formation of an isolated drop without disturbing the rest of the jet. The authors acknowledge support from the Spanish Government under Contract No. FIS2014-25161, the Junta de Andalucia under Contract No. P11-FQM-7919, the EPSRC-UK via the Grant EP/P024173/1, and the Royal Society.

Unpacking socio-economic risks for reading and academic self-concept in primary school: Differential effects and the role of the preschool home learning environment.

PubMed

Crampton, Alexandria; Hall, James

2017-09-01

Uncertainty remains concerning how children's reading and academic self-concept are related and how these are differentially affected by social disadvantage and home learning environments. To contrast the impacts of early socio-economic risks and preschool home learning environments upon British children's reading abilities and academic self-concept between 7 and 10 years. n = 3,172 British children aged 3-10 years and their families. A secondary analysis of the nationally representative UK EPPE database. Multilevel structural equation modelling calculated the direct, indirect, and total impacts of early socio-economic risks (0-3 years) and preschool home learning environments (3-5 years) upon children's reading ability and academic self-concept between 7 and 10 years. Early socio-economic risk had different effects upon children's reading ability and academic self-concept. Early socio-economic risks affected children's reading at ages 7 and 10 both directly and indirectly via effects upon preschool home learning environments. By contrast, early socio-economic risks had only indirect effects upon children's academic self-concept via less stimulating home learning environments in the preschool period and by limiting reading abilities early on in primary school. Although the impacts of early socio-economic risks are larger and more easily observed upon reading than upon academic self-concept, they can impact both by making it less likely that children will experience enriching home learning environments during the preschool period. This has implications for social policymakers, early educators, and interventionists. Intervening early and improving preschool home learning environments can do more than raise children's reading abilities; secondary benefits may also be achievable upon children's self-concept. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Role of MRI T2-DRIVE in the assessment of pituitary stalk abnormalities without gadolinium in pituitary diseases.

PubMed

Godano, Elisabetta; Morana, Giovanni; Di Iorgi, Natascia; Pistorio, Angela; Allegri, Anna Elsa Maria; Napoli, Flavia; Gastaldi, Roberto; Calcagno, Annalisa; Patti, Giuseppa; Gallizia, Annalisa; Notarnicola, Sara; Giaccardi, Marta; Noli, Serena; Severino, Mariasavina; Tortora, Domenico; Rossi, Andrea; Maghnie, Mohamad

2018-06-01

To investigate the role of T2-DRIVE MRI sequence in the accurate measurement of pituitary stalk (PS) size and the identification of PS abnormalities in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disorders without the use of gadolinium. This was a retrospective study conducted on 242 patients who underwent MRI due to pituitary dysfunction between 2006 and 2015. Among 135 eligible patients, 102 showed eutopic posterior pituitary (PP) gland and 33 showed 'ectopic' PP (EPP). Two readers independently measured the size of PS in patients with eutopic PP at the proximal, midpoint and distal levels on pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted as well as T2-DRIVE images; PS visibility was assessed on pre-contrast T1 and T2-DRIVE sequences in those with EPP. The length, height, width and volume of the anterior pituitary (AP), PP height and length and PP area were analyzed. Significant agreement between the two readers was obtained for T2-DRIVE PS measurements in patients with 'eutopic' PP; a significant difference was demonstrated between the intraclass correlation coefficient calculated on the T2-DRIVE and the T1-pre- and post-contrast sequences. The percentage of PS identified by T2-DRIVE in EPP patients was 72.7% compared to 30.3% of T1 pre-contrast sequences. A significant association was found between the visibility of PS on T2-DRIVE and the height of AP. T2-DRIVE sequence is extremely precise and reliable for the evaluation of PS size and the recognition of PS abnormalities; the use of gadolinium-based contrast media does not add significant information and may thus be avoided. © 2018 European Society of Endocrinology.

GOES-R Dual Isolation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freesland, Doug; Carter, Delano; Chapel, Jim; Clapp, Brian; Howat, John; Krimchansky, Alexander

2015-01-01

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) is the first of the next generation geostationary weather satellites, scheduled for delivery in late 2015. GOES-R represents a quantum increase in Earth and solar weather observation capabilities, with 4 times the resolution, 5 times the observation rate, and 3 times the number of spectral bands for Earth observations. With the improved resolution, comes the instrument suite's increased sensitive to disturbances over a broad spectrum 0-512 Hz. Sources of disturbance include reaction wheels, thruster firings for station keeping and momentum management, gimbal motion, and internal instrument disturbances. To minimize the impact of these disturbances, the baseline design includes an Earth Pointed Platform (EPP), a stiff optical bench to which the two nadir pointed instruments are collocated together with the Guidance Navigation & Control (GN&C) star trackers and Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). The EPP is passively isolated from the spacecraft bus with Honeywell D-Strut isolators providing attenuation for frequencies above approximately 5 Hz in all six degrees-of-freedom. A change in Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA) vendors occurred very late in the program. To reduce the risk of RWA disturbances impacting performance, a secondary passive isolation system manufactured by Moog CSA Engineering was incorporated under each of the six 160 Nms RWAs, tuned to provide attenuation at frequencies above approximately 50 Hz. Integrated wheel and isolator testing was performed on a Kistler table at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. High fidelity simulations were conducted to evaluate jitter performance for four topologies: 1) hard mounted no isolation, 2) EPP isolation only, 2) RWA isolation only, and 4) dual isolation. Simulation results demonstrate excellent performance relative to the pointing stability requirements, with dual isolated Line of Sight (LOS) jitter less than 1 micron rad.

A diet and physical activity intervention for preventing weight retention among Taiwanese childbearing women: a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Huang, Tzu-ting; Yeh, Chieh-Ying; Tsai, Yc-Chen

2011-04-01

to examine the effect of individual counselling on diet and physical activity from pregnancy to six months post partum, or from birth to six months post partum, on weight retention among Taiwanese women. a randomised controlled trial assigned participants to two experimental groups [from pregnancy to six months post partum (EP) and from birth to six months post partum (EPP)] and one comparison group. a 3900-bed medical centre in northern Taiwan with around 3000 births annually. a sample of 189 women who had regular check-ups during pregnancy and gave birth at the medical centre. the comparison group received the routine outpatient department obstetric educational programme. The EP group attended regularly scheduled clinic visits with individualised dietary and physical activity education plans from 16 gestational weeks to six months post partum, and received on brochure. The EPP group received the same educational intervention as the EP group from 24-48 hours after birth to six months post partum. body weight, body mass index, health-promoting behaviour and psycho-social variables (self-efficacy, body image, depression and social support). average gestational weight gain was 14.02, 15.27 and 16.22 kg in the three EP, EPP and comparison groups respectively, and average weight retention at six months post partum was 2.34, 4.06 and 5.08 kg in the three groups, respectively. a diet and physical activity intervention from pregnancy is effective for reducing post-pregnancy weight retention. the findings of the present study should be taken into consideration when incorporating significant others and weight-loss maintenance strategies with interventions for a healthier family lifestyle. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kinetics, Ca2+ dependence, and biophysical properties of integrin-mediated mechanical modulation of transmitter release from frog motor nerve terminals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, B. M.; Grinnell, A. D.

1997-01-01

Neurotransmitter release from frog motor nerve terminals is strongly modulated by change in muscle length. Over the physiological range, there is an approximately 10% increase in spontaneous and evoked release per 1% muscle stretch. Because many muscle fibers do not receive suprathreshold synaptic inputs at rest length, this stretch-induced enhancement of release constitutes a strong peripheral amplifier of the spinal stretch reflex. The stretch modulation of release is inhibited by peptides that block integrin binding of natural ligands. The modulation varies linearly with length, with a delay of no more than approximately 1-2 msec and is maintained constant at the new length. Moreover, the stretch modulation persists in a zero Ca2+ Ringer and, hence, is not dependent on Ca2+ influx through stretch activated channels. Eliminating transmembrane Ca2+ gradients and buffering intraterminal Ca2+ to approximately normal resting levels does not eliminate the modulation, suggesting that it is not the result of release of Ca2+ from internal stores. Finally, changes in temperature have no detectable effect on the kinetics of stretch-induced changes in endplate potential (EPP) amplitude or miniature EPP (mEPP) frequency. We conclude, therefore, that stretch does not act via second messenger pathways or a chemical modification of molecules involved in the release pathway. Instead, there is direct mechanical modulation of release. We postulate that tension on integrins in the presynaptic membrane is transduced mechanically into changes in the position or conformation of one or more molecules involved in neurotransmitter release, altering sensitivity to Ca2+ or the equilibrium for a critical reaction leading to vesicle fusion.

Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model With Lower Ionospheric Chemistry: Improved Modeling of Nitric Acid and Active Chlorine During Energetic Particle Precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verronen, P. T.; Andersson, M. E.; Marsh, D. R.; Kovacs, T.; Plane, J. M. C.; Päivärinta, S. M.

2016-12-01

Energetic particle precipitation (EPP) and ion chemistry affect the neutral composition of the polar middle atmosphere. For example, production of odd nitrogen and odd hydrogen during EPP events can decrease ozone by tens of percent. However, the standard ion chemistry parameterizations used in atmospheric models neglect the effects on some important species, such as nitric acid. We present WACCM-D, a variant of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model, which includes a set of lower ionosphere (D-region) chemistry: 307 reactions of 20 positive ions and 21 negative ions. Compared to the Sodankylä Ion and Neutral Chemistry (SIC), a state-of-the-art 1-D model of the D-region chemistry, WACCM-D represents the lower ionosphere well. Comparison of ion concentrations between the models shows that the WACCM-D bias is typically within ±10% or less below 70 km. At 70-90 km, when strong altitude gradients in ionization rates and/or ion concentrations exist, the bias can be larger for some ions but is still within tens of percent. We also compare WACCM-D results for the January 2005 solar proton event (SPE) to those from the standard WACCM and observations from the Aura/MLS and SCISAT/ACE-FTS instruments. The results indicate that WACCM-D improves the modeling of {HNO3}, {HCl}, {ClO}, {OH}, and {NOx} during the SPE. For example, Northern Hemispheric {HNO3} from WACCM-D shows an increase by two orders of magnitude at 40-70 km compared to WACCM, reaching 2.6 ppbv, in agreement with the observations. Based on our results, WACCM-D provides a state-of-the-art global representation of D-region ion chemistry and improves modeling of EPP atmospheric effects considerably.

An Investigation on Low Velocity Impact Response of Multilayer Sandwich Composite Structures

PubMed Central

Jedari Salami, S.; Sadighi, M.; Shakeri, M.; Moeinfar, M.

2013-01-01

The effects of adding an extra layer within a sandwich panel and two different core types in top and bottom cores on low velocity impact loadings are studied experimentally in this paper. The panel includes polymer composite laminated sheets for faces and the internal laminated sheet called extra layer sheet, and two types of crushable foams are selected as the core material. Low velocity impact tests were carried out by drop hammer testing machine to the clamped multilayer sandwich panels with expanded polypropylene (EPP) and polyurethane rigid (PUR) in the top and bottom cores. Local displacement of the top core, contact force and deflection of the sandwich panel were obtained for different locations of the internal sheet; meanwhile the EPP and PUR were used in the top and bottom cores alternatively. It was found that the core material type has made significant role in improving the sandwich panel's behavior compared with the effect of extra layer location. PMID:24453804

Chitosan active films containing agro-industrial residue extracts for shelf life extension of chicken restructured product.

PubMed

Serrano-León, Juan S; Bergamaschi, Keityane B; Yoshida, Cristiana M P; Saldaña, Erick; Selani, Miriam M; Rios-Mera, Juan D; Alencar, Severino M; Contreras-Castillo, Carmen J

2018-06-01

This study aimed to develop chitosan films incorporating natural antioxidants from peanut skin (EPS) and pink pepper residue (EPP) extracts, as well as to evaluate their effects on lipid oxidation, pH, color, and microbial counts of a restructured chicken product. EPS had higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity compared to EPP. When both extracts were applied to chicken meat and the chitosan films, there were no differences for color, pH and total mesophilic counts compared to control at the end of the storage period. For lipid oxidation (peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), both extracts proved to be as effective as butylated hydroxytoluene to maintain the oxidative stability of the chicken product. The microbial counts of psychrotrophic microorganisms were significantly lower for treatments with active films. Chitosan active films with residue extracts may maintain the quality of chicken products due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of the Hellenic Military Education Buying Process Using Trend Analysis to Identify Determinant Factors

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

objectives, and because of their 26 Kotler Philip and Keller Kevin Lane, Marketing Management 12e...pp. 143-156. Kotler , Philip and Keller, Kevin Lane. Marketing Management 12e, Prentice Hall, 2005. NPS Academic Catalog 2007. NPS Registrar Office

NEEMO 18 (NCO-125)

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-07-22

JSC2014-E-068003 (July 2014) --- NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who represent half the NEEMO 18 crew, waste little time in performing experiments and other assignments inside a 400 square-foot habitat housing them for nine days underwater off Key Largo. Photo credit: NASA

Fatal pneumonitis associated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy for mesothelioma

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

Allen, Aaron M.; Czerminska, Maria; Jaenne, Pasi A.

2006-07-01

Purpose: To describe the initial experience at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women's Hospital with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) as adjuvant therapy after extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods and Materials: The medical records of patients treated with IMRT after EPP and adjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. IMRT was given to a dose of 54 Gy to the clinical target volume in 1.8 Gy daily fractions. Treatment was delivered with a dynamic multileaf collimator using a sliding window technique. Eleven of 13 patients received heated intraoperative cisplatin chemotherapy (225 mg/m{sup 2}). Two patients received neoadjuvant intravenous cisplatin/pemetrexed, and 10 patientsmore » received adjuvant cisplatin/pemetrexed chemotherapy after EPP but before radiation therapy. All patients received at least 2 cycles of intravenous chemotherapy. The contralateral lung was limited to a V20 (volume of lung receiving 20 Gy or more) of 20% and a mean lung dose (MLD) of 15 Gy. All patients underwent fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) for staging, and any FDG-avid areas in the hemithorax were given a simultaneous boost of radiotherapy to 60 Gy. Statistical comparisons were done using two-sided t test. Results: Thirteen patients were treated with IMRT from December 2004 to September 2005. Six patients developed fatal pneumonitis after treatment. The median time from completion of IMRT to the onset of radiation pneumonitis was 30 days (range 5-57 days). Thirty percent of patients (4 of 13) developed acute Grade 3 nausea and vomiting. One patient developed acute Grade 3 thrombocytopenia. The median V20, MLD, and V5 (volume of lung receiving 5 Gy or more) for the patients who developed pneumonitis was 17.6% (range, 15.3-22.3%), 15.2 Gy (range, 13.3-17 Gy), and 98.6% (range, 81-100%), respectively, as compared with 10.9% (range, 5.5-24.7%) (p = 0.08), 12.9 Gy (range, 8.7-16.9 Gy) (p = 0.07), and 90% (range, 66-98.3%) (p = 0.20), respectively, for the patients who did not develop pneumonitis. Conclusions: Intensity-modulated RT treatment for mesothelioma after EPP and adjuvant chemotherapy resulted in a high rate of fatal pneumonitis when standard dose parameters were used. We therefore recommend caution in the utilization of this technique. Our data suggest that with IMRT, metrics such as V5 and MLD should be considered in addition to V20 to determine tolerance levels in future patients.« less

VISITOR - SULTAN - JSC

NASA Image and Video Library

1985-04-04

S85-29711 (April 1985) --- Ronald C. Epps, right of the training division in the mission operations directorate, briefs the Saudi Arabian payload specialist, Sultan Salman Abdelazize Al-Saud, and his backup, Abdulmohsen Hamad Al-Bassam, in the flight control room (FCR) of the mission control center (MCC). Erlinda Stevenson is also pictured.

Teacher Perceptions of Administrator Leadership Styles Regarding Job Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Zachary Tyler

2017-01-01

One of the greatest challenges within education is a growing shortage of teachers (Epps & Foor, 2015). Various factors can be attributed to this phenomenon; however, two major factors that influence teachers to leave the profession are accountability and administrator leadership styles (Weinbaum, Weis, & Beaver, 2012). These two factors…

78 FR 48417 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Educational Partnership Program (EPP), Ernest F...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-08

... support of the scholarship application by academic professors/advisors. NOAA OEd student scholar alumni... are required to update the student tracker database with the required student information. In addition... System database form, 17 hours; undergraduate application form, 8 hours; reference forms, 1 hour; alumni...

78 FR 27188 - Proposed Information Collection-Renewal; Comment Request; Educational Partnership Program (EPP...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-09

... form in support of the scholarship application by academic professors/advisors. NOAA OEd student... grantees are required to update the student tracker database with the required student information. In... Tracking System database form, 17 hours; undergraduate application form, 8 hours; reference forms, 1 hour...

75 FR 20981 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Educational Partnership Program (EPP) and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... completion of a NOAA student scholar reference form in support of the scholarship application by academic... internal tracking purposes. NOAA OEd grantees are required to update the student tracker database with the... tracker database form, 16 hours; graduate application form, 8 hours; undergraduate application form, 8...

The Role of International School Counselors in U.S. College Recruitment Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley, Amy Greenwald

2013-01-01

The University of Delaware has embraced a global admissions initiative with minimal experience in international endeavors and a limited budget for international recruitment. This EPP serves as exploratory research for improving our understanding of the international student market in Latin America and working more effectively with international…

PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF INNOVATIVE PHYSICS TEACHERS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

WALBERG, HERBERT J.; WELCH, WAYNE W.

TO DETERMINE HOW THE INNOVATIVE PHYSICS TEACHER'S PERSONALITY DIFFERS FROM HIS NON-INNOVATIVE COLLEAGUE'S AND HOW HIS PERSONALITY IS RELATED TO HIS KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSICS AND HIS ATTITUDES TOWARD TEACHING, 36 MALE PHYSICS TEACHERS WERE GIVEN THE ALLPORT-VERNON-LINDZEY STUDY OF VALUES (AVL), THE EDWARDS PERSONAL PREFERENCE SCHEDULE (EPPS), THE…

Getting Home on Time: Predicting Timely Permanence for Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potter, Cathryn C.; Klein-Rothschild, Susan

2002-01-01

Studied the multivariate predictors of timely permanence for children served by Colorado's Expedited Permanency Planning (EPP) Project. Used qualitative interviews with child welfare and court personnel to identify critical barriers to and supports for effective permanency planning focusing on the areas of: (1) concurrent planning practice and…

Closing the Gap: Public Libraries and Senior Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welliver, Hilary

2017-01-01

This executive position paper (EPP) examines the gap in Delaware's public library services to senior citizens engaged in lifelong learning. Re-envisioning the public library as a center that provides support of lifelong learning for the whole individual and improving the quality of life for Kent County's seniors is one approach that may keep…

Haberman Star Teacher Interview as a Predictor of Success in Urban Teacher Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waddell, Jennifer H.; Marszalek, Jacob M.

2018-01-01

In urban schools, along with skills for effective teaching, successful teachers must also possess values and belief systems conducive to teaching effectively in diverse settings (Becker, Kennedy, & Hundersmarck, 2003; Haberman, 2008; Metzgar & Wu, 2008). As demonstrated in CAEP standard 3, there is a critical need for EPPs to admit…

Threats and Aggression Directed at Soccer Referees: An Empirical Phenomenological Psychological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friman, Margareta; Nyberg, Claes; Norlander, Torsten

2004-01-01

A descriptive qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews involving seven provincial Soccer Association referees was carried out in order to find out how referees experience threats and aggression directed to soccer referees. The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method (EPP-method) was used. The analysis resulted in thirty categories which…

Cradle to Gate Life Cycle Assessment of North American Cellulosic Fiberboard Production

Treesearch

Maureen Puettmann; Richard Bergman; Elaine Oneil

2016-01-01

All consumer products have an environmental footprint. Quantifying that footprint has become more common with the advent of Environmental Preferential Purchasing (EPP), an emergent world-wide phenomenon. The forest products industry in particular has been challenged regarding its environmental sustainability. The greatest challenges with respect to practices center on...

CAEP Challenges for a Mid-South U.S. College Teacher Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moffett, David W.

2016-01-01

What are the challenges faced by a mid-south liberal arts college teacher education program, in its attempt to successfully meet the new Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accreditation requirements? The Investigator studied the Educator Program Provider (EPP) during academic year 2015-2016. The challenges faced by the…

Affordability Constraints in Major Defense Acquisitions

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-01

Fence Inc 1 30-May-2014 4-Oct-2012 4-Nov-2015 32 SSC 5-Jul-2012 33 VH-92A (VXX) 5-Apr-2013 17-Apr-2014 34 FAB -T CPT 26-Oct...Development EPAWSS Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System EPP Extended Planning Period EPS Enhanced Polar System FAB -T CPT Family of

Representative Personality Dimensions Characteristic of Different Occupational Choice in the Paramedical Field.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campos, Priscilla Bernadette

To ascertain differences in the area of non-intellectual characteristics among senior students and successful practitioners in four paramedical groups, data collected by administering the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) were statistically analyzed. This test, measuring the relative strength of 15 personality needs, was given to 396…

KSC-2014-2643

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Chirold Epp, the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT, project manager, speaks to members of the media inside a facility near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Behind Epp is the Project Morpheus prototype lander. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT sensors and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

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

Patel, Pretesh R., E-mail: patel073@mc.duke.edu; Yoo, Sua; Broadwater, Gloria

Purpose: To assess the impact of increasing experience with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) after extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Methods and Materials: The records of all patients who received IMRT following EPP at Duke University Medical Center between 2005 and 2010 were reviewed. Target volumes included the preoperative extent of the pleural space, chest wall incisions, involved nodal stations, and a boost to close/positive surgical margins if applicable. Patients were typically treated with 9-11 beams with gantry angles, collimator rotations, and beam apertures manually fixed to avoid the contalateral lung and to optimize target coverage. Toxicity wasmore » graded retrospectively using National Cancer Institute common toxicity criteria version 4.0. Target coverage and contralateral lung irradiation were evaluated over time by using linear regression. Local control, disease-free survival, and overall survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Thirty patients received IMRT following EPP; 21 patients also received systemic chemotherapy. Median follow-up was 15 months. The median dose prescribed to the entire ipsilateral hemithorax was 45 Gy (range, 40-50.4 Gy) with a boost of 8-25 Gy in 9 patients. Median survival was 23.2 months. Two-year local control, disease-free survival, and overall survival rates were 47%, 34%, and 50%, respectively. Increasing experience planning MPM cases was associated with improved coverage of planning target volumes (P=.04). Similarly, mean lung dose (P<.01) and lung V5 (volume receiving 5 Gy or more; P<.01) values decreased with increasing experience. Lung toxicity developed after IMRT in 4 (13%) patients at a median of 2.2 months after RT (three grade 3-4 and one grade 5). Lung toxicity developed in 4 of the initial 15 patients vs none of the last 15 patients treated. Conclusions: With increasing experience, target volume coverage improved and dose to the contralateral lung decreased. Rates of pulmonary toxicity were relatively low. However, both local and distant control rates remained suboptimal.« less

Evaluating the Impact of Expanded Practice Dental Hygienists in Oregon: An Outcomes Assessment.

PubMed

Bell, Kathryn P; Coplen, Amy E

2016-06-01

Currently the dental hygiene practice model in Oregon includes the Expanded Practice Dental Hygienist (EPDH), which allows dental hygienists with an Expanded Practice Permit (EPP) to provide care to limited access populations without the supervision of a dentist. The number and types of services provided by EPDH practitioners is thus far undocumented. The purpose of this study is to conduct an outcomes assessment of EPDH practitioners in order to quantify the impact, defined by count of services, on the access to care crisis in Oregon. A 16 question confidential survey was developed and approved by the Pacific University institutional review board. The mail-based survey was sent to 181 EPDHs in Oregon in November 2011 (all EPDHs except pilot testers and one author). A second mailing was sent to non-respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis in SPSS. The response rate was 39% (n=71). Approximately 41% (n=29) of the respondents were currently using their EPP to provide care to limited access patients with an additional 21% (n=15) planning to start their own expanded practice. The majority of practicing EPDHs provide care in residential care facilities (n=21) and in school settings (n=13). Of the current practicing EPP holders, 76% practice ≤10 hours per week, and 66% make <$10,000 per year. Total services reported in an average month from all responding EPDH practitioners were: 254 adult prophylaxes, 1,003 child prophylaxes, 106 adult fluorides, 901 child fluorides and 1,994 fluoride varnishes, among many other preventive procedures. To a limited extent, the amount and type of services provided by EPDHs has now been quantified, and EPDHs are making an impact on the access to care crisis in Oregon. Continued outcomes assessment is needed to further quantify the impact of EPDHs. Copyright © 2016 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Evaluating the impact of expanded practice dental hygienists in Oregon: an outcomes assessment.

PubMed

Bell, Kathryn P; Coplen, Amy E

2015-02-01

Currently the dental hygiene practice model in Oregon includes the Expanded Practice Dental Hygienist (EPDH), which allows dental hygienists with an Expanded Practice Permit (EPP) to provide care to limited access populations without the supervision of a dentist. The number and types of services provided by EPDH practitioners is thus far undocumented. The purpose of this study is to conduct an outcomes assessment of EPDH practitioners in order to quantify the impact, defined by count of services, on the access to care crisis in Oregon. A 16 question confidential survey was developed and approved by the Pacific University institutional review board. The mail-based survey was sent to 181 EPDHs in Oregon in November 2011 (all EPDHs except pilot testers and one author). A second mailing was sent to non-respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis in SPSS. The response rate was 39% (n = 71). Approximately 41% (n = 29) of the respondents were currently using their EPP to provide care to limited access patients with an additional 21% (n = 15) planning to start their own expanded practice. The majority of practicing EPDHs provide care in residential care facilities (n = 21) and in school settings (n=13). Of the current practicing EPP holders, 76% practice ≤ 10 hours per week, and 66% make < $10,000 per year. Total services reported in an average month from all responding EPDH practitioners were: 254 adult prophylaxes, 1,003 child prophylaxes, 106 adult fluorides, 901 child fluorides and 1,994 fluoride varnishes, among many other preventive procedures. To a limited extent, the amount and type of services provided by EPDHs has now been quantified, and EPDHs are making an impact on the access to care crisis in Oregon. Continued outcomes assessment is needed to further quantify the impact of EPDHs. Copyright © 2015 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Use of noninvasive ‘bug-eggs’ to enable comparative inferences on genetic mating system with and without parental information: A study in a cattle egret colony

PubMed Central

de Souza, Elaine Dantas; Moralez-Silva, Emmanuel; Valdes, Talita Alvarenga; Cortiço Corrêa Rodrigues, Vera Lúcia

2017-01-01

Colonial waterbirds such as herons, egrets and spoonbills exhibit ecological characteristics that could have promoted the evolution of conspecific brood parasitism and extra-pair copulation. However, an adequate characterization of the genetic mating systems of this avian group has been hindered by the lack of samples of elusive candidate parents which precluded conducting conventional parentage allocation tests. Here, we investigate the genetic mating system of the invasive cattle egret using hematophagous insects contained in fake eggs to collect blood from incubating adults in a wild breeding colony. We tested a protocol with a previously unused Neotropical Triatominae, Panstrongylus megistus, obtained blood samples from males and females in 31 nests built on trees, drew blood from 89 nestlings at those nests, and genotyped all samples at 14 microsatellite loci, including six new species-specific loci. We comparatively addressed the performance of parentage allocation versus kinship classification of nestlings to infer the genetic mating system of cattle egrets. In line with previous behavioral observations, we found evidence in support of a non-monogamous genetic mating system, including extra-pair paternity (EPP) and conspecific brood parasitism (CBP). Parentage allocation tests detected a higher percentage of nests with alternative reproductive tactics (EPP: 61.7%; CBP: 64.5%) than the kinship classification method (EPP: 50.0%; CBP: 43.3%). Overall, these results indicate that rates of alternative reproductive tactics inferred in the absence of parental genetic information could be underestimated and should be interpreted with caution. This study highlights the importance of incorporating samples from candidate parents to adequately determine the genetic mating system of a species. We expand knowledge on the reproductive tactics of colonial waterbirds, contributing novel data on the genetic mating system of the cattle egret, valuable for the design of management strategies for this invasive bird. PMID:28854191

Use of noninvasive 'bug-eggs' to enable comparative inferences on genetic mating system with and without parental information: A study in a cattle egret colony.

PubMed

Miño, Carolina Isabel; de Souza, Elaine Dantas; Moralez-Silva, Emmanuel; Valdes, Talita Alvarenga; Cortiço Corrêa Rodrigues, Vera Lúcia; Del Lama, Sílvia Nassif

2017-01-01

Colonial waterbirds such as herons, egrets and spoonbills exhibit ecological characteristics that could have promoted the evolution of conspecific brood parasitism and extra-pair copulation. However, an adequate characterization of the genetic mating systems of this avian group has been hindered by the lack of samples of elusive candidate parents which precluded conducting conventional parentage allocation tests. Here, we investigate the genetic mating system of the invasive cattle egret using hematophagous insects contained in fake eggs to collect blood from incubating adults in a wild breeding colony. We tested a protocol with a previously unused Neotropical Triatominae, Panstrongylus megistus, obtained blood samples from males and females in 31 nests built on trees, drew blood from 89 nestlings at those nests, and genotyped all samples at 14 microsatellite loci, including six new species-specific loci. We comparatively addressed the performance of parentage allocation versus kinship classification of nestlings to infer the genetic mating system of cattle egrets. In line with previous behavioral observations, we found evidence in support of a non-monogamous genetic mating system, including extra-pair paternity (EPP) and conspecific brood parasitism (CBP). Parentage allocation tests detected a higher percentage of nests with alternative reproductive tactics (EPP: 61.7%; CBP: 64.5%) than the kinship classification method (EPP: 50.0%; CBP: 43.3%). Overall, these results indicate that rates of alternative reproductive tactics inferred in the absence of parental genetic information could be underestimated and should be interpreted with caution. This study highlights the importance of incorporating samples from candidate parents to adequately determine the genetic mating system of a species. We expand knowledge on the reproductive tactics of colonial waterbirds, contributing novel data on the genetic mating system of the cattle egret, valuable for the design of management strategies for this invasive bird.

Using Student Centred Evaluation for Curriculum Enhancement: An Examination of Undergraduate Physiotherapy Education in Relation to Physical Activity and Exercise Prescription

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Donoghue, Grainne; Doody, Catherine; Cusack, Tara

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine physiotherapy students' perceptions of current education content of entry-level physiotherapy programmes in terms of physical activity (PA) and exercise promotion and prescription (EPP). Sixty-two physiotherapy students from three Irish Universities participated. Three Structured Group Feedback Sessions…

On Social Psychology and Human Nature: An Interview with Roy Baumeister

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Natalie Kerr

2008-01-01

Roy F. Baumeister currently holds the Eppes Eminent Professorship in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University. He received his PhD in social psychology from Princeton in 1978 working under Edward E. Jones. After a postdoctoral fellowship in sociology at Berkeley, he spent 23 years on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University,…

Education for Parenthood: Eighth Graders Change Child Rearing Attitudes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richett, Diana; Towns, Kathryn

This study examined the effects of an Education for Parenthood Program (EPP) on the childrearing attitudes of eighth grade students. Two eighth grade classes were randomly selected from five sections at a middle school in south central Pennsylvania. One of the classes (both of which were approximatley 60% male and 70% black) was randomly assigned…

Educational Research and Evidence-Based Policy: The Mixed-Method Approach of the EPPE Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siraj-Blatchford, I.

2006-01-01

In a review of the challenges to progress in providing social research evidence that might usefully inform policy, Oakley (2004) argues strongly that the "paradigm divide" between qualitative and quantitative research communities continues to constitute a major problem. Oakley refers to a number of recent critiques of what is seen as "misplaced…

A Community-Based Social Marketing Campaign at Pacific University Oregon: Recycling, Paper Reduction, and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Elaine J.; Fieselman, Laura

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to design a community-based social marketing (CBSM) campaign to foster sustainable behavior change in paper reduction, commingled recycling, and purchasing environmentally preferred products (EPP) with faculty and staff at Pacific University Oregon. Design/methodology/approach: A CBSM campaign was developed…

Learning in the Home and at School: How Working Class Children "Succeed against the Odds"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siraj-Blatchford, Iram

2010-01-01

This paper presents data collected in individual case studies that aimed to investigate children and their families who succeeded against the usual "odds" of disadvantage. Funded as an extension of EPPE 3-11 by the Cabinet Office for the Equalities Review, the study focused particularly closely upon the performance of disadvantaged…

Using Data to Drive Success in Educator Prep: Massachusetts and Endicott College Collaborate for Continuous Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Data Quality Campaign, 2016

2016-01-01

For educator preparation programs (EPPs) to produce effective teachers, they must engage in a process of continuous improvement using timely, high-quality information about the performance of their respective graduates in the classroom as measured by student outcomes. While states have the capacity to provide this information through their…

Summary of Activities and Policy Studies. Educational Policy and Planning Project. A Government of Indonesia-USAID Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boediono; And Others

The Educational Policy and Planning (EPP) Project assists the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) in establishing an information system to improve policy analysis and formulation. There are five elements of the project strategy: increase the ability of MOEC staff to create and use information for use in policy research, strengthen…

USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3199): A Brief Look

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-12-09

sales of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine (EPP) products, 21 U.S.C. 830(d); (b) requires that the products be available only "behind the...counter" and that purchasers of products containing more than 60 mg of pseudoephedrine present a photo Id and sign a log book, 21 U.S.C. 830(e); (c

Applying Multimedia Learning Theories to the Redesign of Residence Life Online Training Modules

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaliher, Licinia Barrueco

2010-01-01

The purpose of this Executive Position Paper (EPP) is to develop a model for improving the online training modules utilized by a mid-Atlantic Residence Life department. The complexity of the Residence Life staff positions, coupled with demands from other university departments and the need to provide as much information as possible, resulted in an…

The molecular defect of ferrochelatase in a patient with erythropoietic protoporphyria.

PubMed Central

Nakahashi, Y; Fujita, H; Taketani, S; Ishida, N; Kappas, A; Sassa, S

1992-01-01

The molecular basis of an inherited defect of ferrochelatase in a patient with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) was investigated. Ferrochelatase is the terminal enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway and catalyzes the insertion of ferrous iron into protoporphyrin IX to form heme. In Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cells from a proband with EPP, enzyme activity, an immunochemically quantifiable protein, and mRNA content of ferrochelatase were about one-half the normal level. In contrast, the rate of transcription of ferrochelatase mRNA in the proband's cells was normal, suggesting that decreased ferrochelatase mRNA is due to an unstable transcript. cDNA clones encoding ferrochelatase in the proband, isolated by amplification using the polymerase chain reaction, were found to be classified either into those encoding the normal protein or into those encoding an abnormal protein that lacked exon 2 of the ferrochelatase gene, indicating that the proband is heterozygous for the ferrochelatase defect. Genomic DNA analysis revealed that the abnormal allele had a point mutation, C----T, near the acceptor site of intron 1. This point mutation appears to be responsible for the post-transcriptional splicing abnormality resulting in an aberrant transcript of ferrochelatase in this patient. Images PMID:1729699

Surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma: an international guidelines review

PubMed Central

Cardillo, Giuseppe; Zirafa, Carmelina Cristina; Carleo, Francesco; Facciolo, Francesco; Fontanini, Gabriella; Mutti, Luciano; Melfi, Franca

2018-01-01

Currently there is no universally accepted surgical therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The goal of surgery in this dismal disease is a macroscopic complete resection (MCR) and there are two types of intervention with a curative intent. At one side, there is the extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) which consists in an en-bloc resection of the lung, pleura, pericardium and diaphragm and at the other side, there is pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) a lung-sparing surgery. Initially, EPP was considered the only surgical option with a curative aim, but during the decades P/D have acquired a role of increasing importance in MPM therapy. Several randomized prospective trials are required to establish the best strategy in the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. Although which is the best surgical option remains unclear, the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG), recently have stated that the type of surgery depends on clinical factors and on individual surgical judgment and expertise. Moreover, according to the current evidence, the surgery should be performed in high-volume centres within multimodality protocols. The aim of this study is to examine the currently available international guidelines in the surgical diagnosis and treatment of MPM. PMID:29507797

CephFS: a new generation storage platform for Australian high energy physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borges, G.; Crosby, S.; Boland, L.

2017-10-01

This paper presents an implementation of a Ceph file system (CephFS) use case at the ARC Center of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale (CoEPP). CoEPP’s CephFS provides a posix-like file system on top of a Ceph RADOS object store, deployed on commodity hardware and without single points of failure. By delivering a unique file system namespace at different CoEPP centres spread across Australia, local HEP researchers can store, process and share data independently of their geographical locations. CephFS is also used as the back-end file system for a WLCG ATLAS user area at the Australian Tier-2. Dedicated SRM and XROOTD services, deployed on top of CoEPP’s CephFS, integrates it in ATLAS data distributed operations. This setup, while allowing Australian HEP researchers to trigger data movement via ATLAS grid tools, also enables local posix-like read access providing greater control to scientists of their data flows. In this article we will present details on CoEPP’s Ceph/CephFS implementation and report performance I/O metrics collected during the testing/tuning phase of the system.

Optimizing Eco-Efficiency Across the Procurement Portfolio.

PubMed

Pelton, Rylie E O; Li, Mo; Smith, Timothy M; Lyon, Thomas P

2016-06-07

Manufacturing organizations' environmental impacts are often attributable to processes in the firm's upstream supply chain. Environmentally preferable procurement (EPP) and the establishment of environmental purchasing criteria can potentially reduce these indirect impacts. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) can help identify the purchasing criteria that are most effective in reducing environmental impacts. However, the high costs of LCA and the problems associated with the comparability of results have limited efforts to integrate procurement performance with quantitative organizational environmental performance targets. Moreover, environmental purchasing criteria, when implemented, are often established on a product-by-product basis without consideration of other products in the procurement portfolio. We develop an approach that utilizes streamlined LCA methods, together with linear programming, to determine optimal portfolios of product impact-reduction opportunities under budget constraints. The approach is illustrated through a simulated breakfast cereal manufacturing firm procuring grain, containerboard boxes, plastic packaging, electricity, and industrial cleaning solutions. Results suggest that extending EPP decisions and resources to the portfolio level, recently made feasible through the methods illustrated herein, can provide substantially greater CO2e and water-depletion reductions per dollar spend than a product-by-product approach, creating opportunities for procurement organizations to participate in firm-wide environmental impact reduction targets.

Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Students at a High-Achieving High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fegley, Alan D.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this EPP is to develop a plan for changing the mindset of a large number of Haddonfield Memorial High School (HMHS) students from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. HMHS is by most conventional measures a high performing school. Typically 100% of the students graduate with 96% of the students attending two or four year colleges…

A Mid-Level Dental Provider in Oregon: Dental hygienists' perceptions.

PubMed

Coplen, Amy E; Bell, Kathryn; Aamodt, Gail L; Ironside, Lynn

2017-10-01

Purpose: Many states are exploring alternative provider models and examining the role of the dental hygienist to address access to care challenges as the United States continues to face increasing demands for oral healthcare services. The purpose of this study was to assess dental hygienists' opinions in the state of Oregon regarding the current limitations of dental hygienists' scope of practice, perceived need for a mid-level provider in Oregon, and personal interest in becoming a mid-level provider. Methods: In December 2013 a survey was mailed to a sample of 1,231 dental hygienists registered in Oregon representing 30% of the licentiates. All licentiates holding expanded practice permits (EPP) were included in the sample (n=351). The following categories were included in the 32-question survey: scope of practice, mid-level provider, current practice, and demographics. Results: A total of 440 surveys were returned for a response rate of 36%. Of the EPP holders, 51% responded to the survey. Over half of respondents (59%) believe that a mid-level provider is needed in the state. Respondents holding membership in the American Dental Hygienists' Association, as well as EPP holders, were significantly more likely to respond that a mid-level dental provider was needed in the state (p<0.0001). Ninety-one percent (n=400) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that if a mid-level provider was introduced in Oregon, the new provider should be a registered dental hygienist model. Forty-three percent (n=186) of respondents were interested in becoming mid-level providers and 47% (n=203) of respondents believed that the minimum education for a mid-level provider should be a bachelor's degree. The majority, 74% (n=137), of those interested in becoming a mid-level provider indicated a preference in completing their education through online teaching combined with a clinical internship. Conclusion: There is strong support from dental hygienists in Oregon that a need exists for a mid-level dental provider and that this provider model should be dental hygiene based. Individuals interested in developing a curriculum for a mid-level provider should consider including online teaching components with a clinical internship component. Copyright © 2017 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Selection of Drought Tolerant Maize Hybrids Using Path Coefficient Analysis and Selection Index.

PubMed

Dao, Abdalla; Sanou, Jacob; V S Traore, Edgar; Gracen, Vernon; Danquah, Eric Y

2017-01-01

In drought-prone environments, direct selection for yield is not adequate because of the variable environment and genotype x environment interaction. Therefore, the use of secondary traits in addition to yield has been suggested. The relative usefulness of secondary traits as indirect selection criteria for maize grain yield is determined by the magnitudes of their genetic variance, heritability and genetic correlation with the grain yield. Forty eight testcross hybrids derived from lines with different genetic background and geographical origins plus 7 checks were evaluated in both well-watered and water-stressed conditions over two years for grain yield and secondary traits to determine the most appropriate secondary traits and select drought tolerant hybrids. Study found that broad-sense heritability of grain yield and Ear Per Plant (EPP) increased under drought stress. Ear aspect (EASP) and ear height (EHT) had larger correlation coefficients and direct effect on grain yield but in opposite direction, negative and positive respectively. Traits like, EPP, Tassel Size (TS) and Plant Recovery (PR) contributed to increase yield via EASP by a large negative indirect effect. Under drought stress, EHT had positive and high direct effect and negative indirect effect via plant height on grain yield indicating that the ratio between ear and plant heights (R-EPH) was associated to grain yield. Path coefficient analysis showed that traits EPP, TS, PR, EASP, R-EPH were important secondary traits in the present experiment. These traits were used in a selection index to classify hybrids according to their performance under drought. The selection procedure included also a Relative Decrease in Yield (RDY) index. Some secondary traits reported as significant selection criteria for selection under drought stress were not finally established in the present study. This is because the relationship between grain and secondary traits can be affected by various factors including germplasm, environment and applied statistical analysis. Therefore, different traits and selection procedure should be applied in the selection process of drought tolerant genotypes for diverse genetic materials and growing conditions.

AGARD Bulletin Technical Programme 1986.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-08-01

basic research findings are being exploited by the pharmaceutical industry to develop new performance enhancing drugs with limited side effects and to... effects of nutrients on performance will also be considered. SHORT COURSE ( K Subject to final approval by the National Delegates Board at its Fall...coordinated with the AVP. WORKING GROUP The EPP will initiate Working Group-02 on "Near Water Propagation Effects and Modem System Adaptation". This

Adding Up the Numbers: The Education Budget under Mayoral Control. Update and Summary of 2005-06 EPP Bulletins

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connell, Noreen

2007-01-01

For more than a century, a succession of New York City (NYC) mayors have claimed that they were reducing administrative overhead in the school system and driving more resources to instruction. These claims have been dutifully reported by the press with rarely any effort to verify them. For the last 50 years, the salaries of teachers were increased…

EPPS16: nuclear parton distributions with LHC data.

PubMed

Eskola, Kari J; Paakkinen, Petja; Paukkunen, Hannu; Salgado, Carlos A

2017-01-01

We introduce a global analysis of collinearly factorized nuclear parton distribution functions (PDFs) including, for the first time, data constraints from LHC proton-lead collisions. In comparison to our previous analysis, EPS09, where data only from charged-lepton-nucleus deep inelastic scattering (DIS), Drell-Yan (DY) dilepton production in proton-nucleus collisions and inclusive pion production in deuteron-nucleus collisions were the input, we now increase the variety of data constraints to cover also neutrino-nucleus DIS and low-mass DY production in pion-nucleus collisions. The new LHC data significantly extend the kinematic reach of the data constraints. We now allow much more freedom for the flavor dependence of nuclear effects than in other currently available analyses. As a result, especially the uncertainty estimates are more objective flavor by flavor. The neutrino DIS plays a pivotal role in obtaining a mutually consistent behavior for both up and down valence quarks, and the LHC dijet data clearly constrain gluons at large momentum fraction. Mainly for insufficient statistics, the pion-nucleus DY and heavy-gauge-boson production in proton-lead collisions impose less visible constraints. The outcome - a new set of next-to-leading order nuclear PDFs called EPPS16 - is made available for applications in high-energy nuclear collisions.

The BC Educator Pathway Collaborative Framework: creating the foundation for nursing education capacity.

PubMed

Semeniuk, Patricia; Mildon, Barbara; Purkis, Mary Ellen; Thorne, Sally; Wejr, Patricia

2010-05-01

This paper describes the conceptual structure and organizational framework of the Educator Pathway Project (EPP), which is a unique collaborative capacity-building project creating infrastructure for integrating nursing practice learning and development throughout the service and education sectors in British Columbia. Since 2005, two major health authorities, two universities and the provincial nurses' bargaining association have been engaged in an intensive and dynamic partnership to conceptualize and fundamentally change intersectoral directions and possibilities. This unique initiative has required considerable investment and commitment among all partner organizations, resulting in a clear, shared vision of systemwide support of nursing. With the EPP now in its final year of funding, we are beginning to document its elements and interpret its significant impact on nurses and their workplaces across the regions. In this paper, we describe the overall program design, explain the collaborative partnership mechanisms through which we have been implementing the project and articulate a range of processes through which we are working together to enact significant system-level adjustments aimed at a genuine practice-education continuum. As part of sustaining a strong nursing workforce, we believe that nursing practice and education leaders across Canada are ready to employ this kind of creative approach towards realizing our common goals.

Heritability of female extra-pair paternity rate in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia)

PubMed Central

Reid, Jane M.; Arcese, Peter; Sardell, Rebecca J.; Keller, Lukas F.

2011-01-01

The forces driving the evolution of extra-pair reproduction in socially monogamous animals remain widely debated and unresolved. One key hypothesis is that female extra-pair reproduction evolves through indirect genetic benefits, reflecting increased additive genetic value of extra-pair offspring. Such evolution requires that a female's propensity to produce offspring that are sired by an extra-pair male is heritable. However, additive genetic variance and heritability in female extra-pair paternity (EPP) rate have not been quantified, precluding accurate estimation of the force of indirect selection. Sixteen years of comprehensive paternity and pedigree data from socially monogamous but genetically polygynandrous song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) showed significant additive genetic variance and heritability in the proportion of a female's offspring that was sired by an extra-pair male, constituting major components of the genetic architecture required for extra-pair reproduction to evolve through indirect additive genetic benefits. However, estimated heritabilities were moderately small (0.12 and 0.18 on the observed and underlying latent scales, respectively). The force of selection on extra-pair reproduction through indirect additive genetic benefits may consequently be relatively weak. However, the additive genetic variance and non-zero heritability observed in female EPP rate allow for multiple further genetic mechanisms to drive and constrain mating system evolution. PMID:20980302

Social pairing of Seychelles warblers under reduced constraints: MHC, neutral heterozygosity, and age.

PubMed

Wright, David J; Brouwer, Lyanne; Mannarelli, Maria-Elena; Burke, Terry; Komdeur, Jan; Richardson, David S

2016-01-01

The prevalence and significance of precopulatory mate choice remains keenly debated. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in vertebrate adaptive immunity, and variation at the MHC influences individual survival. Although MHC-dependent mate choice has been documented in certain species, many other studies find no such pattern. This may be, at least in part, because in natural systems constraints may reduce the choices available to individuals and prevent full expression of underlying preferences. We used translocations to previously unoccupied islands to experimentally reduce constraints on female social mate choice in the Seychelles warbler ( Acrocephalus sechellensis ), a species in which patterns of MHC-dependent extrapair paternity (EPP), but not social mate choice, have been observed. We find no evidence of MHC-dependent social mate choice in the new populations. Instead, we find that older males and males with more microsatellite heterozygosity are more likely to have successfully paired. Our data cannot resolve whether these patterns in pairing were due to male-male competition or female choice. However, our research does suggest that female Seychelles warblers do not choose social mates using MHC class I to increase fitness. It may also indicate that the MHC-dependent EPP observed in the source population is probably due to mechanisms other than female precopulatory mate choice based on MHC cues.

SEUSS and PIF4 Coordinately Regulate Light and Temperature Signaling Pathways to Control Plant Growth.

PubMed

Huai, Junling; Zhang, Xinyu; Li, Jialong; Ma, Tingting; Zha, Ping; Jing, Yanjun; Lin, Rongcheng

2018-05-02

Plants continuously monitor environmental conditions (such as light and temperature) and adjust their growth and development accordingly. The transcription factor PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR4 (PIF4) regulates both light and temperature signaling pathways. Here, we identified ENHANCED PHOTOMORPHOGENIC2 (EPP2) as a new repressor of photomorphogenesis in red, far-red, and blue light. Map-based cloning revealed that EPP2 encodes the SEUSS (SEU) transcription regulator. The C-terminus of SEU has transcriptional activation activity and SEU physically interacts with PIF4. Moreover, SEU promotes the expression of many genes, including auxin biosynthetic and responsive genes, and regulates IAA levels in plants. SEU associates with regulatory regions in INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID INDUCIBLE6 (IAA6) and IAA19 in a PIF4-independent manner, whereas the binding of PIF4 to these genes requires SEU. Furthermore, mutations in SEU affect H3K4me3 methylation at IAA6 and IAA19, and SEU positively regulates warm temperature-mediated hypocotyl growth together with PIF4. Therefore, our results reveal that SEU acts as a central regulator to integrate light and temperature signals to control plant growth by coordinating with PIF4. Copyright © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Blocking p75 (NTR) receptors alters polyinnervationz of neuromuscular synapses during development.

PubMed

Garcia, Neus; Tomàs, Marta; Santafe, Manel M; Lanuza, Maria A; Besalduch, Nuria; Tomàs, Josep

2011-09-01

High-resolution immunohistochemistry shows that the receptor protein p75(NTR) is present in the nerve terminal, muscle cell, and glial Schwann cell at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of postnatal rats (P4-P6) during the synapse elimination period. Blocking the receptor with the antibody anti-p75-192-IgG (1-5 μg/ml, 1 hr) results in reduced endplate potentials (EPPs) in mono- and polyinnervated synapses ex vivo, but the mean number of functional inputs per NMJ does not change for as long as 3 hr. Incubation with exogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) for 1 hr (50 nM) resulted in a significant increase in the size of the EPPs in all nerve terminals, and preincubation with anti-p75-192-IgG prevented this potentiation. Long exposure (24 hr) in vivo of the NMJs to the antibody anti-p75-192-IgG (1-2 μg/ml) results in a delay of postnatal synapse elimination and even some regrowth of previously withdrawn axons, but also in some acceleration of the morphologic maturation of the postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) clusters. The results indicate that p75(NTR) is involved in both ACh release and axonal retraction during postnatal axonal competition and synapse elimination. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Mercury's Sodium Exosphere: Observations during the MESSENGER Orbital Phase

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Killen, Rosemary M.; Cassidy, Timothy A.; Vervack, Ronald J., Jr.; Burger, Matthew H.; Merkel, Aimee W.; Sarantos, Menelaos; Sprague, Ann L.; McClintock, William E.; Benna, Mehdi; Solomon, Sean C.

2012-01-01

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft entered into orbit about Mercury on March 18,2011. We now have approximately five Mercury years of data from orbit. Prior to the MESSENGER mission, Mercury's surface-bounded exosphere was known to contain H, He, Na. K, and Ca. The Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVVS) began routine orbital observations of both the dayside and nightside exosphere on March 29. 2011, measuring altitude profiles for all previously detected neutral species except for He and K. We focus here on what we have learned about the sodium exosphere: its spatial, seasonal, and sporadic variation. Observations to date permit delineation of the relative roles of photon-stimulated desorption (PSD) and impact vaporization (IV) from seasonal and spatial effects, as well as of the roles of ions both as sputtering agents and in their possible role to enhance the efficiency of PSD. Correlations of Mercury's neutral sodium exosphere with measurements from MESSENGER's Magnetometer (MAG) and Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer (EPPS) provide insight into the roles of ions and electrons. Models incorporating MAG observations provide a basis for identifying the location and area of the surface exposed to solar wind plasma, and EPPS observations reveal episodic populations of energetic electrons in the magnetosphere and the presence of planetary He(+), 0(+), and Na(+),

Identification and characterization of a drug sensitive strain enables puromycin-based translational assays in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PubMed Central

Cary, Gregory A.; Yoon, Sung Hwan; Torres, Cecilia Garmendia; Wang, Kathie; Hays, Michelle; Ludlow, Catherine; Goodlett, David R.; Dudley, Aimée M.

2014-01-01

Puromycin is an aminonucleoside antibiotic with structural similarity to aminoacyl tRNA. This structure allows the drug to bind the ribosomal A-site and incorporate into nascent polypeptides causing chain termination, ribosomal subunit dissociation, and widespread translational arrest at high concentrations. In contrast, at sufficiently low concentrations, puromycin incorporates primarily at the C-terminus of proteins. While a number of techniques utilize puromycin incorporation as a tool for probing translational activity in vivo, these methods cannot be applied in yeasts that are insensitive to puromycin. Here, we describe a mutant strain of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is sensitive to puromycin and characterize the cellular response to the drug. Puromycin inhibits the growth of yeast cells mutant for erg6Δ, pdr1Δ, and pdr3Δ (EPP) on both solid and liquid media. Puromycin also induces the aggregation of the cytoplasmic processing body component Edc3 in the mutant strain. We establish that puromycin is rapidly incorporated into yeast proteins and test the effects of puromycin on translation in vivo. This work establishes the EPP strain as a valuable tool for implementing puromycin-based assays in yeast, which will enable new avenues of inquiry into protein production and maturation. PMID:24610064

Functionally Graded Shape Memory Alloy Composites Optimized for Passive Vibration Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-11-20

Nitinol , it is anticipated that the wire can only experience an incomplete hysteresis. 2.1. SMA wires in sleeves continuously bonded to the plate...Gilheany, J. 1995. Control of the natural frequencies of nitinol -reinforced composite beams, Journal of Sound and Vibrations, Vol. 185, 171-185. 3 Ro...J., and Baz, A., 1995. Nitinol -reinforced plates: Part III, Dynamic characteristics, Composites Engineering, Vol. 5, 91-106. 4 Epps, J and Chandra

A common class of transcripts with 5'-intron depletion, distinct early coding sequence features, and N1-methyladenosine modification.

PubMed

Cenik, Can; Chua, Hon Nian; Singh, Guramrit; Akef, Abdalla; Snyder, Michael P; Palazzo, Alexander F; Moore, Melissa J; Roth, Frederick P

2017-03-01

Introns are found in 5' untranslated regions (5'UTRs) for 35% of all human transcripts. These 5'UTR introns are not randomly distributed: Genes that encode secreted, membrane-bound and mitochondrial proteins are less likely to have them. Curiously, transcripts lacking 5'UTR introns tend to harbor specific RNA sequence elements in their early coding regions. To model and understand the connection between coding-region sequence and 5'UTR intron status, we developed a classifier that can predict 5'UTR intron status with >80% accuracy using only sequence features in the early coding region. Thus, the classifier identifies transcripts with 5 ' proximal- i ntron- m inus-like-coding regions ("5IM" transcripts). Unexpectedly, we found that the early coding sequence features defining 5IM transcripts are widespread, appearing in 21% of all human RefSeq transcripts. The 5IM class of transcripts is enriched for non-AUG start codons, more extensive secondary structure both preceding the start codon and near the 5' cap, greater dependence on eIF4E for translation, and association with ER-proximal ribosomes. 5IM transcripts are bound by the exon junction complex (EJC) at noncanonical 5' proximal positions. Finally, N 1 -methyladenosines are specifically enriched in the early coding regions of 5IM transcripts. Taken together, our analyses point to the existence of a distinct 5IM class comprising ∼20% of human transcripts. This class is defined by depletion of 5' proximal introns, presence of specific RNA sequence features associated with low translation efficiency, N 1 -methyladenosines in the early coding region, and enrichment for noncanonical binding by the EJC. © 2017 Cenik et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

An Alternative Approach to Early Literacy: The Effects of ASL in Educational Media on Literacy Skills Acquisition for Hearing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Annie M.; Golos, Debbie B.; Bennett, Colleen M.

2015-01-01

Early childhood educators need access to research-based practices and materials to help all children learn to read. Some theorists have suggested that individuals learn to read through "dual coding" (i.e., a verbal code and a nonverbal code) and may benefit from more than one route to literacy (e.g., dual coding theory). Although deaf…

Modelled thermal and dynamical responses of the middle atmosphere to EPP-induced ozone changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karami, K.; Braesicke, P.; Kunze, M.; Langematz, U.; Sinnhuber, M.; Versick, S.

2015-11-01

Energetic particles including protons, electrons and heavier ions, enter the Earth's atmosphere over the polar regions of both hemispheres, where they can greatly disturb the chemical composition of the upper and middle atmosphere and contribute to ozone depletion in the stratosphere and mesosphere. The chemistry-climate general circulation model EMAC is used to investigate the impact of changed ozone concentration due to Energetic Particle Precipitation (EPP) on temperature and wind fields. The results of our simulations show that ozone perturbation is a starting point for a chain of processes resulting in temperature and circulation changes over a wide range of latitudes and altitudes. In both hemispheres, as winter progresses the temperature and wind anomalies move downward with time from the mesosphere/upper stratosphere to the lower stratosphere. In the Northern Hemisphere (NH), once anomalies of temperature and zonal wind reach the lower stratosphere, another signal develops in mesospheric heights and moves downward. Analyses of Eliassen and Palm (EP) flux divergence show that accelerating or decelerating of the stratospheric zonal flow is in harmony with positive and negative anomalies of the EP flux divergences, respectively. This results suggest that the oscillatory mode in the downwelling signal of temperature and zonal wind in our simulations are the consequence of interaction between the resolved waves in the model and the mean stratospheric flow. Therefore, any changes in the EP flux divergence lead to anomalies in the zonal mean zonal wind which in turn feed back on the propagation of Rossby waves from the troposphere to higher altitudes. The analyses of Rossby waves refractive index show that the EPP-induced ozone anomalies are capable of altering the propagation condition of the planetary-scale Rossby waves in both hemispheres. It is also found that while ozone depletion was confined to mesospheric and stratospheric heights, but it is capable to alter Rossby wave propagation down to tropospheric heights. In response to an accelerated polar vortex in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) late wintertime, we found almost two weeks delay in the occurrence of mean dates of Stratospheric Final Warming (SFW). These results suggest that the stratosphere is not merely a passive sink of wave activity from below, but it plays an active role in determining its own budget of wave activity.

Auditory-neurophysiological responses to speech during early childhood: Effects of background noise

PubMed Central

White-Schwoch, Travis; Davies, Evan C.; Thompson, Elaine C.; Carr, Kali Woodruff; Nicol, Trent; Bradlow, Ann R.; Kraus, Nina

2015-01-01

Early childhood is a critical period of auditory learning, during which children are constantly mapping sounds to meaning. But learning rarely occurs under ideal listening conditions—children are forced to listen against a relentless din. This background noise degrades the neural coding of these critical sounds, in turn interfering with auditory learning. Despite the importance of robust and reliable auditory processing during early childhood, little is known about the neurophysiology underlying speech processing in children so young. To better understand the physiological constraints these adverse listening scenarios impose on speech sound coding during early childhood, auditory-neurophysiological responses were elicited to a consonant-vowel syllable in quiet and background noise in a cohort of typically-developing preschoolers (ages 3–5 yr). Overall, responses were degraded in noise: they were smaller, less stable across trials, slower, and there was poorer coding of spectral content and the temporal envelope. These effects were exacerbated in response to the consonant transition relative to the vowel, suggesting that the neural coding of spectrotemporally-dynamic speech features is more tenuous in noise than the coding of static features—even in children this young. Neural coding of speech temporal fine structure, however, was more resilient to the addition of background noise than coding of temporal envelope information. Taken together, these results demonstrate that noise places a neurophysiological constraint on speech processing during early childhood by causing a breakdown in neural processing of speech acoustics. These results may explain why some listeners have inordinate difficulties understanding speech in noise. Speech-elicited auditory-neurophysiological responses offer objective insight into listening skills during early childhood by reflecting the integrity of neural coding in quiet and noise; this paper documents typical response properties in this age group. These normative metrics may be useful clinically to evaluate auditory processing difficulties during early childhood. PMID:26113025

Predicting Subsequent Service Potential for Former Army Prisoners

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-03-25

Esteem Scale, and Hudson’s (1974) Index of Self - Esteem , fou9d significant d_ e.re.e beteen-gr duates-and-non-gj The results of the two studies are...a greater need for autonomy, on the EPPS, and less self - esteem , on the Rosenberg (1965) scale. 400 Table 1 Predicting Graduation/Discharge from...Acceptance (CPI) .588 Education Completed .410 Socialization (CPI) -.445 Highest Pay Grade -.388 Social Presence (CPI) -.443 Marital Status .388 Self - Esteem (Rosenberg

Aedes Hartwellianae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smyth, William Henry

2014-02-01

1. Details respecting the parish and manor of Hartwell: locality, geology, produce, and general statistics; 2. The successive lords of the manor of Hartwell, from the Conquest to the present time: Peverel, De Hertewell, Luton, Hampden, and Lee; 3. Particulars respecting Hartwell House: its appartments, paintings, library, museum, numismata, and Egyptian antiquities; 4. Origin of the Hartwell Observatory. The transit-room. The equatorial tower. Mr Epps's meridional observations. The double-stars measured by Captain Smyth. Encke's comet. The meteorological department; Appendix; Index.

Operation JUBILEE: The Allied Raid on Dieppe (1942) -- A Historical Analysis of a Planning Failure

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-06

8217..’ ; I • l345.. THE FORMA ~~N OF ~~T F~RCES ii ~ \\ i J •.~..<a) For any amphIbIous CllDlpalgn lnvolvmg assaults on stroQgly defended coast:i held...the general pulicy of His Majesty’s Governm.ent. although an CXl’I’ptillll might havc been made .. iri the,-.o I .’ .. case of D~eppe,had the

Shake table test of soil-pile groups-bridge structure interaction in liquefiable ground

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Liang; Ling, Xianzhang; Xu, Pengju; Gao, Xia; Wang, Dongsheng

2010-03-01

This paper describes a shake table test study on the seismic response of low-cap pile groups and a bridge structure in liquefiable ground. The soil profile, contained in a large-scale laminar shear box, consisted of a horizontally saturated sand layer overlaid with a silty clay layer, with the simulated low-cap pile groups embedded. The container was excited in three El Centro earthquake events of different levels. Test results indicate that excessive pore pressure (EPP) during slight shaking only slightly accumulated, and the accumulation mainly occurred during strong shaking. The EPP was gradually enhanced as the amplitude and duration of the input acceleration increased. The acceleration response of the sand was remarkably influenced by soil liquefaction. As soil liquefaction occurred, the peak sand displacement gradually lagged behind the input acceleration; meanwhile, the sand displacement exhibited an increasing effect on the bending moment of the pile, and acceleration responses of the pile and the sand layer gradually changed from decreasing to increasing in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top. A jump variation of the bending moment on the pile was observed near the soil interface in all three input earthquake events. It is thought that the shake table tests could provide the groundwork for further seismic performance studies of low-cap pile groups used in bridges located on liquefiable groun.

Log and data from a trench across the Hubbell Spring Fault Zone, Bernalillo County, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Personius, S.F.; Eppes, M.C.; Mahan, S.A.; Love, D.W.; Mitchell, D.K.; Murphy, Anne

2000-01-01

This report contains field and laboratory data resulting from a trench study of the Hubbell Spring fault zone near Albuquerque, New Mexico. This trench was excavated in September, 1997, as part of earthquake hazards investigations of Quaternary faults in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The trench was excavated across the youngest of several fault strands near the northern end of the Hubbell Spring fault zone. The site is located on Pueblo of Isleta tribal lands, approximately 1 km south of the southern boundary of Kirtland Air Force Base. Thus the paleoearthquake data derived from investigations at the Hubbell Spring site will be useful in assessing potential earthquake hazards in Isleta Pueblo, Kirtland Air Force Base/Sandia National Laboratories, and the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The purpose of this report is to present a detailed trench log, a scarp profile, soils data (table 1), magnetic susceptibility data (table 2), luminescence and uranium-series ages (tables 3 and 4), and detailed unit descriptions (table 5) obtained in this investigation. S.F. Personius had primary responsibility for siting, excavating, describing, and interpreting the trench; S.A. Mahan did the luminescence dating, and James B. Paces did the uranium-series dating. M.C. Eppes and D.W. Love assisted with trench logging and mapping; and M.C. Eppes, D.K. Mitchell, and A. Murphy did the soils analyses.

Parental emotional management benefits family relationships: A randomized controlled trial in Hong Kong, China.

PubMed

Fabrizio, Cecilia S; Lam, Tai Hing; Hirschmann, Malia R; Pang, Irene; Yu, Nancy Xiaonan; Wang, Xin; Stewart, Sunita M

2015-08-01

There is a shortage of culturally appropriate, brief, preventive interventions designed to be sustainable and acceptable for community participants in nonwestern cultures. Parents' ability to regulate their emotions is an important factor for psychological well-being of the family. In Chinese societies, emotional regulation may be more important in light of the cultural desirability of maintaining harmonious family relationships. The objectives of our randomized controlled trial were to test the effectiveness of our Effective Parenting Programme (EPP) to increase the use of emotional management strategies (primary outcome) and enhance the parent-child relationship (secondary outcome). We utilized design characteristics that promoted recruitment, retention, and intervention sustainability. We randomized a community sample of 412 Hong Kong middle- and low-income mothers of children aged 6-8 years to the EPP or attention control group. At 3, 6 and 12- month follow up, the Effective Parent Program group reported greater increases in the use of emotion management strategies during parent-child interactions, with small to medium effect size, and lower negative affect and greater positive affect, subjective happiness, satisfaction with the parent-child relationship, and family harmony, compared to the control group, with small to medium effect size. Our results provided evidence of effectiveness for a sustainable, preventive, culturally appropriate, cognitive behaviorally-based emotion management program, in a non-clinical setting for Chinese mothers. HKCTR-1190. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social pairing of Seychelles warblers under reduced constraints: MHC, neutral heterozygosity, and age

PubMed Central

Wright, David J.; Brouwer, Lyanne; Mannarelli, Maria-Elena; Burke, Terry; Komdeur, Jan

2016-01-01

The prevalence and significance of precopulatory mate choice remains keenly debated. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in vertebrate adaptive immunity, and variation at the MHC influences individual survival. Although MHC-dependent mate choice has been documented in certain species, many other studies find no such pattern. This may be, at least in part, because in natural systems constraints may reduce the choices available to individuals and prevent full expression of underlying preferences. We used translocations to previously unoccupied islands to experimentally reduce constraints on female social mate choice in the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), a species in which patterns of MHC-dependent extrapair paternity (EPP), but not social mate choice, have been observed. We find no evidence of MHC-dependent social mate choice in the new populations. Instead, we find that older males and males with more microsatellite heterozygosity are more likely to have successfully paired. Our data cannot resolve whether these patterns in pairing were due to male–male competition or female choice. However, our research does suggest that female Seychelles warblers do not choose social mates using MHC class I to increase fitness. It may also indicate that the MHC-dependent EPP observed in the source population is probably due to mechanisms other than female precopulatory mate choice based on MHC cues. PMID:26792973

NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct. Revised = Codigo de Conducta Etica. Revisada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), 2005

2005-01-01

This document presents a code of ethics for early childhood educators that offers guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for resolving ethical dilemmas encountered in early education. It represents the English and Spanish versions of the revised code. Its contents were approved by the NAEYC Governing Board in April 2005…

Ethical Behavior in Early Childhood Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katz, Lilian G.; Ward, Evangeline H.

This booklet contains two essays on ethics for early childhood educators. The first essay discusses the meaning of a code of ethics, the importance of a code of ethics for working with preschool children, ethical conflicts in day care and preschool work, and steps which may be taken to help early childhood workers resolve these conflicts. Ethical…

Investigation on the Use of Equivalency Factors for the Design and Evaluation of Flexible Airfield Pavements

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

Operations on Alternate Launch and Recovery Surfaces (No. ESL -TR-83-46). Tyndall Air Force Base, FL: Air Force Engineering and Services Center. U.S...Little, D. N., Thompson, M. R., Terrell, R. L., Epps, J. A., & Barenberg, E. J. (1987). Soil Stabilization for Roadways and Airfields (No. ESL -TR...Alternate Launch and Recovery Surfaces (No. ESL -TR-83-46). Tyndall Air Force Base, FL: Air Force Engineering and Services Center. U.S. Army Corps of

Structural Characterization of Atomically Thin Hexagonal Boron Nitride via Raman Spectroscopy

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

thickness and the use of depth profiling to maximize spectral returns. Chapter 3 also outlines the experimental set-up and procedures related to...section. 46 Figure 4.8: Unaltered spectral return of both Site 1 (A) and Site 2 ( B ). As to be expected the relative intensity of the Raman...Dent, Modern Raman Spectroscopy : A Practical Approach. Wiley, 2006, p. 224. 59 25. A. B . Kaul, E. W . Wong, L. Epp, and B . D. Hunt, “Two

Inhibition of Xenobiotic-Degrading Hydrolases by Organophosphinates

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-07-01

TMB-4 doubled the rates of recovery. Concentrations of Lcarboxyl- CIprocaine in blood of mice were increased three-fold for 27 m I" exposure to 0-4...enzyme was found to have recovered 45.7% of its activity 24 h 35 after exposure to 4.87 x 10- 4 M EPP (Table 10). Neither rabbit liver carboxylesterase...case of a competitive mechanism of inhibition. It is possible that IPP and DPP were competitive inhibitors acting by occupation of the active site of

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Improved astrometry bor BE74 stars (Howarth, 2012)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howarth, I. D.

2012-10-01

Accurate astrometry is required to reliably cross-match 20th-century catalogues against 21st-century surveys. The present work aims to provide such astrometry for the 625 entries of the Bohannan & Epps (BE74; 1974A&AS...18...47B) catalogue of Hα emission-line stars. BE74 targets have been individually identified in digital images and, in most cases, unambiguously matched to entries in the UCAC4 (I/322) astrometric catalogue. (3 data files).

NEW SERDP Project: Copper- Beryllium Alternatives Alloys Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-10

ChemistryRefining Lath Martensite: Ms≥200°C Nickel: Cleavage Resistance Cobalt: SRO Recovery Resistance Chromium : Corrosion Resistance σuts > 280 ksi σys...230 ksi (Cr, Mo, V, Fe)2 C Avoid Fe3C, M6C, M7C3, M23C6 ~ 15-5 PH Chromium Partitioning Into Oxide Film epp and icrit Chromium , Molybdenum, Vandium...Primary exposure risk is Be dust or fume inhalation – ~ 4-10% of population show sensitivity to Be – Allergic type reaction in lungs creating fluid

A Fast Event Preprocessor and Sequencer for the Simbol-X Low Energy Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schanz, T.; Tenzer, C.; Maier, D.; Kendziorra, E.; Santangelo, A.

2009-05-01

The Simbol-X Low Energy Detector (LED), a 128×128 pixel DEPFET (Depleted Field Effect Transistor) array, will be read out at a very high rate (8000 frames/second) and, therefore, requires a very fast on board electronics. We present an FPGA-based LED camera electronics consisting of an Event Preprocessor (EPP) for on board data preprocessing and filtering of the Simbol-X low-energy detector and a related Sequencer (SEQ) to generate the necessary signals to control the readout.

The Development of French Nuclear Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-11-01

4.1 a rc I -MM RON -- .’-.U . . tn L) L- _*z T M - N EppCV :c 4:-ea THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRENCH NUCLEAR FORCES SMEEC TEV46 P 1 9 1988 Martin J. Wisda...TABLES 1. Transformation of the French Nuclear Force ..... . 100 2. Characteristics of French Nucleac Weapons . . .. 01 3. French Defense Expenditures...pap-er is to examine how and why the French undertook the development of their own nuclear force and through this examination, argue that the French

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the polyphenols and antioxidant activity of plantain pulp (Musa paradisiaca AAB).

PubMed

Jiménez-Martínez, Miriam C; Montalvo-González, Efigenia; Sáyago-Ayerdi, Sonia G; Mercado-Mercado, Gilberto; Ramírez-de León, José A; Paz-Gamboa, Ernestina; Vivar-Vera, Maria A

2017-06-01

The impact of high-pressure processing (HPP) on the polyphenol (PP) content and antioxidant activity (AOX) of plantain pulp was evaluated. Pressures of 400, 500 and 600 MPa were applied to plantain pulp for 90 and 180 s at room temperature (25 °C). Polyphenoloxidase activity, extractable (EPP) and non-extractable PP (NEPP) contents, flavonoid content and AOX (FRAP, ABTS •+ ) were evaluated. In addition, PP identification was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Polyphenoloxidase activity was inhibited after HPP under all of the conditions studied. Increases of 110.80% and 137.40% in EPP content under conditions of 500 MPa/180 s and 600 MPa/90 s were observed with a simultaneous improvement in the AOX with increments of up to 128.71%. The treatment under conditions of 500 MPa/90 s had the highest total PP content, including the highest content of flavonoids (0.22 g ellagic acid equivalents kg -1  dry weight) and the proportion of NEPP that contained hydrolysable PPs (91.12 g gallic acid equivalents kg -1  dry weight with high AOX. The identified PPs included catechin, quercetin, gallic and hydroxybenzoic acids. HPP performed at a room temperature can be used for improving the total content of PP compounds in plantain pulp under specific pressure and time conditions. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Current issues in malignant pleural mesothelioma evaluation and management.

PubMed

Ai, Jing; Stevenson, James P

2014-09-01

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an uncommon disease most often associated with occupational asbestos exposure and is steadily increasing in worldwide incidence. Patients typically present at an older age, with advanced clinical stage and other medical comorbidities, making management quite challenging. Despite great efforts, the prognosis of MPM remains poor, especially at progression after initial treatment. Macroscopic complete resection of MPM can be achieved through extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) or extended (ie, radical) pleurectomy (e-P/D) in selected patients and can result in prolonged survival when incorporated into a multimodality approach. Given the morbidity associated with surgical resection of MPM, optimizing identification of appropriate patients is essential. Unfortunately, most patients are not candidates for EPP or e-P/D due to advanced stage, age, and/or medical comorbidity. Pemetrexed and platinum combination chemotherapy has become the cornerstone of therapy for patients with unresectable disease because the combination is associated with improved survival and quality of life in treated patients. However, MPM eventually becomes resistant to initial therapy, and benefit to further lines of therapy has not been substantiated in randomized clinical trials. Translational research has provided exciting insights into tumorigenesis, biomarkers, and immune response in MPM, leading to the development of multiple novel therapeutic agents that are currently in clinical trials. These advances hold the promise of a new era in the treatment of MPM and suggest that this disease will not be left behind in the war on cancer. ©AlphaMed Press.

Associations between pituitary imaging abnormalities and clinical and biochemical phenotypes in children with congenital growth hormone deficiency: data from an international observational study.

PubMed

Deal, Cheri; Hasselmann, Caroline; Pfäffle, Roland W; Zimmermann, Alan G; Quigley, Charmian A; Child, Christopher J; Shavrikova, Elena P; Cutler, Gordon B; Blum, Werner F

2013-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to investigate the etiology of growth hormone deficiency (GHD). This study examined relationships between MRI findings and clinical/hormonal phenotypes in children with GHD in the observational Genetics and Neuroendocrinology of Short Stature International Study, GeNeSIS. Clinical presentation, hormonal status and first-year GH response were compared between patients with pituitary imaging abnormalities (n = 1,071), patients with mutations in genes involved in pituitary development/GH secretion (n = 120) and patients with idiopathic GHD (n = 7,039). Patients with hypothalamic-pituitary abnormalities had more severe phenotypes than patients with idiopathic GHD. Additional hormonal deficiencies were found in 35% of patients with structural abnormalities (thyroid-stimulating hormone > adrenocorticotropic hormone > luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone > antidiuretic hormone), most frequently in patients with septo-optic dysplasia (SOD). Patients with the triad [ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP), pituitary aplasia/hypoplasia and stalk defects] had a more severe phenotype and better response to GH treatment than patients with isolated abnormalities. The sex ratio was approximately equal for patients with SOD, but there was a significantly higher proportion of males (approximately 70%) in the EPP, pituitary hypoplasia, stalk defects, and triad categories. This large, international database demonstrates the value of classification of GH-deficient patients by the presence and type of hypothalamic-pituitary imaging abnormalities. This information may assist family counseling and patient management. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Analysis of crash proportion by vehicle type at traffic analysis zone level: A mixed fractional split multinomial logit modeling approach with spatial effects.

PubMed

Lee, Jaeyoung; Yasmin, Shamsunnahar; Eluru, Naveen; Abdel-Aty, Mohamed; Cai, Qing

2018-02-01

In traffic safety literature, crash frequency variables are analyzed using univariate count models or multivariate count models. In this study, we propose an alternative approach to modeling multiple crash frequency dependent variables. Instead of modeling the frequency of crashes we propose to analyze the proportion of crashes by vehicle type. A flexible mixed multinomial logit fractional split model is employed for analyzing the proportions of crashes by vehicle type at the macro-level. In this model, the proportion allocated to an alternative is probabilistically determined based on the alternative propensity as well as the propensity of all other alternatives. Thus, exogenous variables directly affect all alternatives. The approach is well suited to accommodate for large number of alternatives without a sizable increase in computational burden. The model was estimated using crash data at Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) level from Florida. The modeling results clearly illustrate the applicability of the proposed framework for crash proportion analysis. Further, the Excess Predicted Proportion (EPP)-a screening performance measure analogous to Highway Safety Manual (HSM), Excess Predicted Average Crash Frequency is proposed for hot zone identification. Using EPP, a statewide screening exercise by the various vehicle types considered in our analysis was undertaken. The screening results revealed that the spatial pattern of hot zones is substantially different across the various vehicle types considered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mate choice for neutral and MHC genetic characteristics in Alpine marmots: different targets in different contexts?

PubMed

Ferrandiz-Rovira, Mariona; Allainé, Dominique; Callait-Cardinal, Marie-Pierre; Cohas, Aurélie

2016-07-01

Sexual selection through female mate choice for genetic characteristics has been suggested to be an important evolutionary force maintaining genetic variation in animal populations. However, the genetic targets of female mate choice are not clearly identified and whether female mate choice is based on neutral genetic characteristics or on particular functional loci remains an open question. Here, we investigated the genetic targets of female mate choice in Alpine marmots (Marmota marmota), a socially monogamous mammal where extra-pair paternity (EPP) occurs. We used 16 microsatellites to describe neutral genetic characteristics and two MHC loci belonging to MHC class I and II as functional genetic characteristics. Our results reveal that (1) neutral and MHC genetic characteristics convey different information in this species, (2) social pairs show a higher MHC class II dissimilarity than expected under random mate choice, and (3) the occurrence of EPP increases when social pairs present a high neutral genetic similarity or dissimilarity but also when they present low MHC class II dissimilarity. Thus, female mate choice is based on both neutral and MHC genetic characteristics, and the genetic characteristics targeted seem to be context dependent (i.e., the genes involved in social mate choice and genetic mate choice differ). We emphasize the need for empirical studies of mate choice in the wild using both neutral and MHC genetic characteristics because whether neutral and functional genetic characteristics convey similar information is not universal.

ICF-CY code set for infants with early delay and disabilities (EDD Code Set) for interdisciplinary assessment: a global experts survey.

PubMed

Pan, Yi-Ling; Hwang, Ai-Wen; Simeonsson, Rune J; Lu, Lu; Liao, Hua-Fang

2015-01-01

Comprehensive description of functioning is important in providing early intervention services for infants with developmental delay/disabilities (DD). A code set of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY) could facilitate the practical use of the ICF-CY in team evaluation. The purpose of this study was to derive an ICF-CY code set for infants under three years of age with early delay and disabilities (EDD Code Set) for initial team evaluation. The EDD Code Set based on the ICF-CY was developed on the basis of a Delphi survey of international professionals experienced in implementing the ICF-CY and professionals in early intervention service system in Taiwan. Twenty-five professionals completed the Delphi survey. A total of 82 ICF-CY second-level categories were identified for the EDD Code Set, including 28 categories from the domain Activities and Participation, 29 from body functions, 10 from body structures and 15 from environmental factors. The EDD Code Set of 82 ICF-CY categories could be useful in multidisciplinary team evaluations to describe functioning of infants younger than three years of age with DD, in a holistic manner. Future validation of the EDD Code Set and examination of its clinical utility are needed. The EDD Code Set with 82 essential ICF-CY categories could be useful in the initial team evaluation as a common language to describe functioning of infants less than three years of age with developmental delay/disabilities, with a more holistic view. The EDD Code Set including essential categories in activities and participation, body functions, body structures and environmental factors could be used to create a functional profile for each infant with special needs and to clarify the interaction of child and environment accounting for the child's functioning.

Restoration of Motor Defects Caused by Loss of Drosophila TDP-43 by Expression of the Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel, Cacophony, in Central Neurons.

PubMed

Lembke, Kayly M; Scudder, Charles; Morton, David B

2017-09-27

Defects in the RNA-binding protein, TDP-43, are known to cause a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar dementia. A variety of experimental systems have shown that neurons are sensitive to TDP-43 expression levels, yet the specific functional defects resulting from TDP-43 dysregulation have not been well described. Using the Drosophila TDP-43 ortholog TBPH, we previously showed that TBPH-null animals display locomotion defects as third instar larvae. Furthermore, loss of TBPH caused a reduction in cacophony , a Type II voltage-gated calcium channel, expression and that genetically restoring cacophony in motor neurons in TBPH mutant animals was sufficient to rescue the locomotion defects. In the present study, we examined the relative contributions of neuromuscular junction physiology and the motor program to the locomotion defects and identified subsets of neurons that require cacophony expression to rescue the defects. At the neuromuscular junction, we showed mEPP amplitudes and frequency require TBPH. Cacophony expression in motor neurons rescued mEPP frequency but not mEPP amplitude. We also showed that TBPH mutants displayed reduced motor neuron bursting and coordination during crawling and restoring cacophony selectively in two pairs of cells located in the brain, the AVM001b/2b neurons, also rescued the locomotion and motor defects, but not the defects in neuromuscular junction physiology. These results suggest that the behavioral defects associated with loss of TBPH throughout the nervous system can be associated with defects in a small number of genes in a limited number of central neurons, rather than peripheral defects. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT TDP-43 dysfunction is a common feature in neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal lobar dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Loss- and gain-of-function models have shown that neurons are sensitive to TDP-43 expression levels, but the specific defects caused by TDP-43 loss of function have not been described in detail. A Drosophila loss-of-function model displays pronounced locomotion defects that can be reversed by restoring the expression levels of a voltage-gated calcium channel, cacophony. We show these defects can be rescued by expression of cacophony in motor neurons and by expression in two pairs of neurons in the brain. These data suggest that loss of TDP-43 can disrupt the central circuitry of the CNS, opening up identification of alternative therapeutic targets for TDP-43 proteinopathies. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/379486-12$15.00/0.

Is phonology bypassed in normal or dyslexic development?

PubMed

Pennington, B F; Lefly, D L; Van Orden, G C; Bookman, M O; Smith, S D

1987-01-01

A pervasive assumption in most accounts of normal reading and spelling development is that phonological coding is important early in development but is subsequently superseded by faster, orthographic coding which bypasses phonology. We call this assumption, which derives from dual process theory, the developmental bypass hypothesis. The present study tests four specific predictions of the developmental bypass hypothesis by comparing dyslexics and nondyslexics from the same families in a cross-sectional design. The four predictions are: 1) That phonological coding skill develops early in normal readers and soon reaches asymptote, whereas orthographic coding skill has a protracted course of development; 2) that the correlation of adult reading or spelling performance with phonological coding skill is considerably less than the correlation with orthographic coding skill; 3) that dyslexics who are mainly deficient in phonological coding skill should be able to bypass this deficit and eventually close the gap in reading and spelling performance; and 4) that the greatest differences between dyslexics and developmental controls on measures of phonological coding skill should be observed early rather than late in development.None of the four predictions of the developmental bypass hypothesis were upheld. Phonological coding skill continued to develop in nondyslexics until adulthood. It accounted for a substantial (32-53 percent) portion of the variance in reading and spelling performance in adult nondyslexics, whereas orthographic coding skill did not account for a statistically reliable portion of this variance. The dyslexics differed little across age in phonological coding skill, but made linear progress in orthographic coding skill, surpassing spelling-age (SA) controls by adulthood. Nonetheless, they didnot close the gap in reading and spelling performance. Finally, dyslexics were significantly worse than SA (and Reading Age [RA]) controls in phonological coding skill only in adulthood.

Transconductance and Coulomb Blockade Properties of In-Plane Grown Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

Lett. 89, 232113 (2006). 9. K. Grove-Rasmussen, H. I. Jørgensen, T. Hayashi , P. E. Lindelof, and T. Fujisawa, Nano Lett. 8, 1055 (2008). 10. D. S...Wong, L. Epp and B. D. Hunt, Nanoletters, 6, 942 (2006). 15 18. K. Maehashi, H. Ozaki, Y. Ohno , K. Inoue, K. Matsumoto, S. Seki, and S. Tagawa, Appl...Phys. Lett. 90, 023103 (2007). 19. Y. Ohno , Y. Asai, K. Maehashi, K. Inoue and K. Matsumoto, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 053112 (2009). 20. N. Ai, Y.T

Value of Undergraduate Internship Experiences at NOAA: Analysis of Survey Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaplan, M.

2014-12-01

This presentation will examine survey data from over 500 undergraduates who participated in summer internships at NOAA facilities as Ernest F. Hollings Scholars and Educational Partnership Program (EPP) Undergraduate Scholars. NOAA selects over 100 students per year to receive academic support in their junior and senior years and a paid summer internship at any NOAA facility in the country. Scholars are hosted by NOAA mentors who actively oversee summer research activities. Analysis of survey results identified six thematic impacts from the internship experience (McIntosh and Baek, 2013).

A Monte Carlo study of the energy spectra and transmission characteristics of scattered radiation from x-ray computed tomography.

PubMed

Platten, David John

2014-06-01

Existing data used to calculate the barrier transmission of scattered radiation from computed tomography (CT) are based on primary beam CT energy spectra. This study uses the EGSnrc Monte Carlo system and Epp user code to determine the energy spectra of CT scatter from four different primary CT beams passing through an ICRP 110 male reference phantom. Each scatter spectrum was used as a broad-beam x-ray source in transmission simulations through seventeen thicknesses of lead (0.00-3.50 mm). A fit of transmission data to lead thickness was performed to obtain α, β and γ parameters for each spectrum. The mean energy of the scatter spectra were up to 12.3 keV lower than that of the primary spectrum. For 120 kVp scatter beams the transmission through lead was at least 50% less than predicted by existing data for thicknesses of 1.5 mm and greater; at least 30% less transmission was seen for 140 kVp scatter beams. This work has shown that the mean energy and half-value layer of CT scatter spectra are lower than those of the corresponding primary beam. The transmission of CT scatter radiation through lead is lower than that calculated with currently available data. Using the data from this work will result in less lead shielding being required for CT scanner installations.

Standardized Radiation Shield Design Methods: 2005 HZETRN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, John W.; Tripathi, Ram K.; Badavi, Francis F.; Cucinotta, Francis A.

2006-01-01

Research committed by the Langley Research Center through 1995 resulting in the HZETRN code provides the current basis for shield design methods according to NASA STD-3000 (2005). With this new prominence, the database, basic numerical procedures, and algorithms are being re-examined with new methods of verification and validation being implemented to capture a well defined algorithm for engineering design processes to be used in this early development phase of the Bush initiative. This process provides the methodology to transform the 1995 HZETRN research code into the 2005 HZETRN engineering code to be available for these early design processes. In this paper, we will review the basic derivations including new corrections to the codes to insure improved numerical stability and provide benchmarks for code verification.

Dyadic Coregulation and Deviant Talk in Adolescent Friendships: Interaction Patterns Associated with Problematic Substance Use in Early Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piehler, Timothy F.; Dishion, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

In a sample of 711 ethnically diverse adolescents, the observed interpersonal dynamics of dyadic adolescent friendship interactions were coded to predict early adulthood tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Deviant discussion content within the interactions was coded along with dyadic coregulation (i.e., interpersonal coordination, attention…

Early esophagogastroduodenoscopy is associated with better Outcomes in upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a nationwide study

PubMed Central

Garg, Sushil K.; Anugwom, Chimaobi; Campbell, James; Wadhwa, Vaibhav; Gupta, Nancy; Lopez, Rocio; Shergill, Sukhman; Sanaka, Madhusudhan R.

2017-01-01

Background and study aims We analyzed NIS (National Inpatient Sample) database from 2007 – 2013 to determine if early esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) (24 hours) for upper gastrointestinal bleeding improved the outcomes in terms of mortality, length of stay and costs. Patients and methods Patients were classified as having upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage by querying all diagnostic codes for the ICD-9-CM codes corresponding to upper gastrointestinal bleeding. For these patients, performance of EGD during admission was determined by querying all procedural codes for the ICD-9-CM codes corresponding to EGD; early EGD was defined as having EGD performed within 24 hours of admission and late EGD was defined as having EGD performed after 24 hours of admission. Results A total of 1,789,532 subjects with UGIH were identified. Subjects who had an early EGD were less likely to have hypovolemia, acute renal failure and acute respiratory failure. On multivariable analysis, we found that subjects without EGD were 3 times more likely to die during the admission than those with early EGD. In addition, those with late EGD had 50 % higher odds of dying than those with an early EGD. Also, after adjusting for all factors in the model, hospital stay was on average 3 and 3.7 days longer for subjects with no or late EGD, respectively, then for subjects with early EGD. Conclusion Early EGD (within 24 hours) is associated with lower in-hospital mortality, morbidity, shorter length of stay and lower total hospital costs. PMID:28512647

Reduced adaptability, but no fundamental disruption, of norm-based face coding following early visual deprivation from congenital cataracts.

PubMed

Rhodes, Gillian; Nishimura, Mayu; de Heering, Adelaide; Jeffery, Linda; Maurer, Daphne

2017-05-01

Faces are adaptively coded relative to visual norms that are updated by experience, and this adaptive coding is linked to face recognition ability. Here we investigated whether adaptive coding of faces is disrupted in individuals (adolescents and adults) who experience face recognition difficulties following visual deprivation from congenital cataracts in infancy. We measured adaptive coding using face identity aftereffects, where smaller aftereffects indicate less adaptive updating of face-coding mechanisms by experience. We also examined whether the aftereffects increase with adaptor identity strength, consistent with norm-based coding of identity, as in typical populations, or whether they show a different pattern indicating some more fundamental disruption of face-coding mechanisms. Cataract-reversal patients showed significantly smaller face identity aftereffects than did controls (Experiments 1 and 2). However, their aftereffects increased significantly with adaptor strength, consistent with norm-based coding (Experiment 2). Thus we found reduced adaptability but no fundamental disruption of norm-based face-coding mechanisms in cataract-reversal patients. Our results suggest that early visual experience is important for the normal development of adaptive face-coding mechanisms. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Porphyria Diagnostics – Part 1: A brief overview of the porphyrias

PubMed Central

Ramanujam, Vaithamanithi-Mudumbai Sadagopa; Anderson, Karl Elmo

2015-01-01

The porphyria diseases are a group of metabolic disorders caused by abnormal functioning of heme biosynthesis enzymes and characterized by the excessive accumulation and excretion of porphyrins and their precursors. Precisely which of these chemicals builds up depends on the type of porphyria. Porphyria is not a single disease but a group of nine disorders: acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), hereditary coproporphyria (HCP), variegate porphyria (VP), delta-aminolevelunic acid dehyratase deficiency porphyria (ADP), porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT), hepatoerythropoetic porphyria (HEP), congenital erythropoetic porphyria (CEP), erythropoetic protoporphyria (EPP), and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP). Each porphyria results from overproduction of heme precursors secondary to partial deficiency or, in XLP, increased activity of one of the enzymes of heme biosynthesis. Taken together, all forms of porphyria afflict fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Based on European studies, the prevalence of the most common porphyria, PCT, is 1 in 10,000, the most common acute porphyria, AlP, is about 1 in 20,000, and the most common erythropoietic porphyria, EPP, is estimated at 1 in 50,000 to 75,000. CEP is extremely rare with prevalence estimates of 1 in 1,000,000 or less. Only 6 cases of ADP are documented. The current porphyria literature is very exhaustive and a brief overview of porphyria diseases is essential in order for the reader to better appreciate the relevance of this area of research prior to undertaking biochemical diagnostics procedures. This unit summarizes the current knowledge on the classification, clinical features, etiology, pathogenesis, and genetics of these porphyria diseases. PMID:26132003

Semantic and Phonological Coding in Poor and Normal Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vellutino, Frank R.; And Others

1995-01-01

Using poor and normal readers, three studies evaluated semantic coding and phonological coding deficits as explanations for reading disability. It was concluded that semantic coding deficits are unlikely causes of difficulties in poor readers in early stages but accrue with prolonged reading difficulties in older readers. Phonological coding…

An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Ethical Beliefs among Early Childhood Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French-Lee, Stacey; Dooley, Caitlin McMunn

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to learn how early childhood educators make ethical decisions. The study also explores how these educators might learn to base their ethical decisions on a professionally accepted ethical code through a participatory professional development process. The professional code of ethics used in this study is the National…

Neuromas

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Foot Surgery

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Athlete's Foot

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Heel Pain

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator: Using the NAEYC Code. 2005 Code Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Nancy; Feeney, Stephanie

2005-01-01

With updated language and references to the 2005 revision of the Code of Ethical Conduct, this book, like the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, seeks to inform, not prescribe, answers to tough questions that teachers face as they work with children, families, and colleagues. To help everyone become well acquainted with the Code and use it in one's…

Sweaty Feet (Hyperhidrosis)

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Corns and Calluses

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Diabetic Wound Care

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Toenail Fungus (Onychomycosis)

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Sprains, Strains and Fractures

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Arthritis and the Feet

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

HCPCS Coding: An Integral Part of Your Reimbursement Strategy.

PubMed

Nusgart, Marcia

2013-12-01

The first step to a successful reimbursement strategy is to ensure that your wound care product has the most appropriate Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code (or billing) for your product. The correct HCPCS code plays an essential role in patient access to new and existing technologies. When devising a strategy to obtain a HCPCS code for its product, companies must consider a number of factors as follows: (1) Has the product gone through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory process or does it need to do so? Will the FDA code designation impact which HCPCS code will be assigned to your product? (2) In what "site of service" do you intend to market your product? Where will your customers use the product? Which coding system (CPT ® or HCPCS) applies to your product? (3) Does a HCPCS code for a similar product already exist? Does your product fit under the existing HCPCS code? (4) Does your product need a new HCPCS code? What is the linkage, if any, between coding, payment, and coverage for the product? Researchers and companies need to start early and place the same emphasis on a reimbursement strategy as it does on a regulatory strategy. Your reimbursement strategy staff should be involved early in the process, preferably during product research and development and clinical trial discussions.

Skin Cancers of the Feet

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

Predictive information processing is a fundamental learning mechanism present in early development: evidence from infants.

PubMed

Trainor, Laurel J

2012-02-01

Evidence is presented that predictive coding is fundamental to brain function and present in early infancy. Indeed, mismatch responses to unexpected auditory stimuli are among the earliest robust cortical event-related potential responses, and have been measured in young infants in response to many types of deviation, including in pitch, timing, and melodic pattern. Furthermore, mismatch responses change quickly with specific experience, suggesting that predictive coding reflects a powerful, early-developing learning mechanism. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attitudes of Nursing Facilities' Staff Toward Pharmacy Students' Interaction with its Residents.

PubMed

Adkins, Donna; Gavaza, Paul; Deel, Sharon

2017-06-01

All Appalachian College of Pharmacy second-year students undertake the longitudinal geriatric early pharmacy practice experiences (EPPE) 2 course, which involves interacting with geriatric residents in two nursing facilities over two semesters. The study investigated the nursing staff's perceptions about the rotation and the pharmacy students' interaction with nursing facility residents. Cross-sectional study. Academic setting. 63 nursing facility staff. A 10-item attitude survey administered to nursing staff. Nursing staff attitude toward pharmacy students' interaction with geriatric residents during the course. Sixty-three responses were received (84% response rate). Most respondents were female (95.2%), who occasionally interacted with pharmacy students (54.8%) and had worked at the facilities for an average of 6.8 years (standard deviation [SD] = 6.7) years. Staff reported that pharmacy students practiced interacting with geriatric residents and nursing facility staff, learned about different medications taken by residents as well as their life as a nursing facility resident. In addition, the student visits improved the mood of residents and staff's understanding of medicines, among others. Staff suggested that students spend more time with their residents in the facility as well as ask more questions of staff. The nursing facility staff generally had favorable attitudes about pharmacy students' visits in their nursing facility. Nursing facility staff noted that the geriatric rotation was a great learning experience for the pharmacy students.

Discharge start-up and ramp-up development for NSTX-U and MAST-U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battaglia, D. J.; Boyer, M. D.; Gerhardt, S. P.; Menard, J. E.; Mueller, D.; Cunningham, G.; Kirk, A.; Kogan, L.; McArdle, G.; Pangione, L.; Thornton, A. J.; Ren, E.

2017-10-01

A collaborative modeling effort is underway to develop robust inductive start-up and ramp-up scenarios for NSTX-U and MAST-U. These complementary spherical tokamak devices aim to generate the physics basis for achieving steady-state, high-beta and high-confinement plasma discharges with a self-consistent solution for managing the divertor heat flux. High-performance discharges in these devices require sufficient plasma elongation (κ = 2.4 - 2.8) to maximize the bootstrap and beam-driven current drive, increase MHD stability at high Ip and high βN, and realize advanced divertor geometries such as the snowflake and super-X. Achieving the target elongation on NSTX-U is enabled by an L-H transition in the current ramp-up that slows the current diffusion and maintains a low internal inductance (li <= 0.8). Modeling focuses on developing scenarios that achieve a suitable field null for breakdown and discharge conditions conducive to an early L-H transition while maintaining vertical and MHD stability, with appropriate margin for variation in experimental conditions. The toroidal currents induced in conducting structures and the specifications of the real-time control and power supply systems are unique constraints for the two devices. Work Supported by U.S. DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-09CH11466 and the RCUK Energy Programme [Grant Number EP/P012450/1].

Prescription Custom Orthotics and Shoe Inserts

MedlinePlus

... and Reimbursement Basics APMA Career Center Your APMA Leadership Opportunities Early Career Resources Academic and Scientific Resources Practice Management & Reimbursement Coding Resources Coding Resource Center Reimbursement Resources ...

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

Krayenbuehl, Jerome Dipl.Phys. E.T.H.; Oertel, Susanne; Davis, J. Bernard

Purpose: The optimal technique for postoperative radiotherapy (RT) after extrapleural pleuropneumonectomy (EPP) of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) remains debated. Methods and Materials: The data from 8 right-sided and 9 left-sided consecutive cases of MPM treated with RT after radical EPP were reviewed. Of the 17 patients, 8 had been treated with three-dimensional (3D) conformal RT (3D-CRT) and 9 with intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) with 6-MV photons. The clinical outcome and adverse events were assessed. For comparative planning, each case was replanned with 3D-CRT using photons and electrons or with IMRT. Homogeneity, doses to the organs at risk, and target volume coveragemore » were analyzed. Results: Both techniques yielded acceptable plans. The dose coverage and homogeneity of IMRT increased by 7.7% for the first planning target volume and 9.7% for the second planning target volume, ensuring {>=}95% of the prescribed dose compared with 3D-CRT (p < 0.01). Compared with 3D-CRT, IMRT increased the dose to the contralateral lung, with an increase in the mean lung dose of 7.8 Gy and an increase in the volume receiving 13 Gy and 20 Gy by 20.5% and 7.2%, respectively (p < 0.01). A negligible dose increase to the contralateral kidney and liver was observed. No differences were seen for the spinal cord and ipsilateral kidney. Two adverse events of clinical relevant lung toxicity were observed with IMRT. Conclusion: Intensity-modulated RT and 3D-CRT are both suitable for adjuvant RT. IMRT improves the planning target volume coverage but delivered greater doses to the organs at risk. Rigid dose constraints for the lung should be respected.« less

Bovine epididymal spermatozoa: Resistance to cryopreservation and binding ability to oviductal cells.

PubMed

Cunha, A T M; Carvalho, J O; Kussano, N R; Martins, C F; Mourão, G B; Dode, M A N

2016-12-01

In this study we examined quality, longevity and ability of epididymal sperm (EP) to bind to oviduct explants (OE) after cooling and cryopreservation. Ejaculated (EJ) and EP sperm from seven bulls were evaluated before, during and after cryopreservation for total (TM), progressive motility (PM), sperm morphology, plasma membrane integrity (PMI) and acrosome integrity (ACI). For longevity, cryopreserved EP, EJ and a third group of cells in which EP spermatozoa were incubated with seminal plasm (SP) for 10 min after thawing (EPP group), were compared, and the groups were analyzed at 0, 3, 6, and 24 h for all parameters. Sperm from each group were co-incubated with OE for 30 min, 6 h, and 24 h for binding evaluation. Data were analyzed by the generalized linear models SAS 9.1 (P < 0.05). After cooling, EP displayed higher TM, higher PMI, and higher ACI (P < 0.05) than EJ. No differences were noted in the percentage of spermatozoa with PMI and AI between EJ and EP for fresh, cooled or cryopreserved sperm. However, a reduction in motility occurred in the EJ sperm after cooling, while in EP group such reduction occurred only after cryopreservation. At 6 h of incubation EP and EPP had higher PMI and ACI than EJ (P < 0.05). The number of spermatozoa bound to OE was similar P > 0.05) for all groups either at 30 min or 24 h. We conclude that EP are more resistant to cooling than EJ, and can bind to OE similarly to EJ. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Asymmetry of Peak Thicknesses between the Superior and Inferior Retinal Nerve Fiber Layers for Early Glaucoma Detection: A Simple Screening Method.

PubMed

Bae, Hyoung Won; Lee, Sang Yeop; Kim, Sangah; Park, Chan Keum; Lee, Kwanghyun; Kim, Chan Yun; Seong, Gong Je

2018-01-01

To assess whether the asymmetry in the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness between superior and inferior hemispheres on optical coherence tomography (OCT) is useful for early detection of glaucoma. The patient population consisted of Training set (a total of 60 subjects with early glaucoma and 59 normal subjects) and Validation set (30 subjects with early glaucoma and 30 normal subjects). Two kinds of ratios were employed to measure the asymmetry between the superior and inferior pRNFL thickness using OCT. One was the ratio of the superior to inferior peak thicknesses (peak pRNFL thickness ratio; PTR), and the other was the ratio of the superior to inferior average thickness (average pRNFL thickness ratio; ATR). The diagnostic abilities of the PTR and ATR were compared to the color code classification in OCT. Using the optimal cut-off values of the PTR and ATR obtained from the Training set, the two ratios were independently validated for diagnostic capability. For the Training set, the sensitivities/specificities of the PTR, ATR, quadrants color code classification, and clock-hour color code classification were 81.7%/93.2%, 71.7%/74.6%, 75.0%/93.2%, and 75.0%/79.7%, respectively. The PTR showed a better diagnostic performance for early glaucoma detection than the ATR and the clock-hour color code classification in terms of areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) (0.898, 0.765, and 0.773, respectively). For the Validation set, the PTR also showed the best sensitivity and AUC. The PTR is a simple method with considerable diagnostic ability for early glaucoma detection. It can, therefore, be widely used as a new screening method for early glaucoma. © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2018

Embedding Secure Coding Instruction into the IDE: Complementing Early and Intermediate CS Courses with ESIDE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitney, Michael; Lipford, Heather Richter; Chu, Bill; Thomas, Tyler

2018-01-01

Many of the software security vulnerabilities that people face today can be remediated through secure coding practices. A critical step toward the practice of secure coding is ensuring that our computing students are educated on these practices. We argue that secure coding education needs to be included across a computing curriculum. We are…

Pigeons may not use dual coding in the radial maze analog task.

PubMed

DiGian, Kelly A; Zentall, Thomas R

2007-07-01

Using a radial maze analog task, T. R. Zentall, J. N. Steirn, and P. Jackson-Smith (1990) found evidence that when a delay was interpolated early in a trial, pigeons coded locations retrospectively, but when the delay was interpolated late in the trial, they coded locations prospectively (support for a dual coding hypothesis). In Experiment 1 of the present study, the authors replicated the original finding of dual coding. In Experiments 2 and 3, they used a 2-alternative test procedure that does not require the assumption that pigeons' choice criterion, which changes over the course of the trial, is the same on delay and control trials. Under these conditions, the pigeons no longer showed evidence for dual coding. Instead, there was some evidence that they showed prospective coding, but a more parsimonious account of the results may be that the delay produced a relatively constant decrement in performance at all points of delay interpolation. The original finding of dual coding by Zentall et al. might have been biased by more impulsive choices early in control trials but not in delay trials and by a more stringent choice criterion late in delay trials. ((c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).

Bilingual Storytelling: Code Switching, Discourse Control, and Learning Opportunities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Mejia, Anne-Marie

1998-01-01

Alternating between languages in the construction of stories offers students creative opportunities for bilingual learning. Describes how a storyteller can code switch to tell stories to children who are becoming bilingual and presents an example from early-immersion classrooms in Colombia, discussing code switching and discourse control, and…

28 CFR 2.43 - Early termination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Early termination. 2.43 Section 2.43..., YOUTH OFFENDERS, AND JUVENILE DELINQUENTS United States Code Prisoners and Parolees § 2.43 Early... shall also conduct a status review whenever the supervision officer recommends early termination of the...

28 CFR 2.43 - Early termination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Early termination. 2.43 Section 2.43..., YOUTH OFFENDERS, AND JUVENILE DELINQUENTS United States Code Prisoners and Parolees § 2.43 Early... shall also conduct a status review whenever the supervision officer recommends early termination of the...

28 CFR 2.43 - Early termination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Early termination. 2.43 Section 2.43..., YOUTH OFFENDERS, AND JUVENILE DELINQUENTS United States Code Prisoners and Parolees § 2.43 Early... shall also conduct a status review whenever the supervision officer recommends early termination of the...

28 CFR 2.43 - Early termination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Early termination. 2.43 Section 2.43..., YOUTH OFFENDERS, AND JUVENILE DELINQUENTS United States Code Prisoners and Parolees § 2.43 Early... shall also conduct a status review whenever the supervision officer recommends early termination of the...

28 CFR 2.43 - Early termination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Early termination. 2.43 Section 2.43..., YOUTH OFFENDERS, AND JUVENILE DELINQUENTS United States Code Prisoners and Parolees § 2.43 Early... shall also conduct a status review whenever the supervision officer recommends early termination of the...

Coding as a Trojan Horse for Mathematics Education Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadanidis, George

2015-01-01

The history of mathematics educational reform is replete with innovations taken up enthusiastically by early adopters without significant transfer to other classrooms. This paper explores the coupling of coding and mathematics education to create the possibility that coding may serve as a Trojan Horse for mathematics education reform. That is,…

Talking about Code: Integrating Pedagogical Code Reviews into Early Computing Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hundhausen, Christopher D.; Agrawal, Anukrati; Agarwal, Pawan

2013-01-01

Given the increasing importance of soft skills in the computing profession, there is good reason to provide students withmore opportunities to learn and practice those skills in undergraduate computing courses. Toward that end, we have developed an active learning approach for computing education called the "Pedagogical Code Review"…

Development of Code-Switching: A Case Study on a Turkish/English/Arabic Multilingual Child

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tunaz, Mehmet

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research was to investigate the early code switching patterns of a simultaneous multilingual subject (Aris) in accordance with Muysken's (2000) code switching typology: insertion and alternation. Firstly, the records of naturalistic spontaneous conversations were obtained from the parents via e-mail, phone calls and…

Is Phonology Bypassed in Normal or Dyslexic Development?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennington, Bruce F.; And Others

1987-01-01

Two studies involving 215 subjects tested the hypothesis that orthographic coding bypasses phonological coding after the early stages of reading or spelling. It was found that nondyslexics continue to develop phonological coding skill until adulthood and rely on it for reading and spelling to a significantly greater extent than do dyslexics.…

Earthquake Early Warning ShakeAlert System: Testing and certification platform

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cochran, Elizabeth S.; Kohler, Monica D.; Given, Douglas; Guiwits, Stephen; Andrews, Jennifer; Meier, Men-Andrin; Ahmad, Mohammad; Henson, Ivan; Hartog, Renate; Smith, Deborah

2017-01-01

Earthquake early warning systems provide warnings to end users of incoming moderate to strong ground shaking from earthquakes. An earthquake early warning system, ShakeAlert, is providing alerts to beta end users in the western United States, specifically California, Oregon, and Washington. An essential aspect of the earthquake early warning system is the development of a framework to test modifications to code to ensure functionality and assess performance. In 2016, a Testing and Certification Platform (TCP) was included in the development of the Production Prototype version of ShakeAlert. The purpose of the TCP is to evaluate the robustness of candidate code that is proposed for deployment on ShakeAlert Production Prototype servers. TCP consists of two main components: a real‐time in situ test that replicates the real‐time production system and an offline playback system to replay test suites. The real‐time tests of system performance assess code optimization and stability. The offline tests comprise a stress test of candidate code to assess if the code is production ready. The test suite includes over 120 events including local, regional, and teleseismic historic earthquakes, recentering and calibration events, and other anomalous and potentially problematic signals. Two assessments of alert performance are conducted. First, point‐source assessments are undertaken to compare magnitude, epicentral location, and origin time with the Advanced National Seismic System Comprehensive Catalog, as well as to evaluate alert latency. Second, we describe assessment of the quality of ground‐motion predictions at end‐user sites by comparing predicted shaking intensities to ShakeMaps for historic events and implement a threshold‐based approach that assesses how often end users initiate the appropriate action, based on their ground‐shaking threshold. TCP has been developed to be a convenient streamlined procedure for objectively testing algorithms, and it has been designed with flexibility to accommodate significant changes in development of new or modified system code. It is expected that the TCP will continue to evolve along with the ShakeAlert system, and the framework we describe here provides one example of how earthquake early warning systems can be evaluated.

Emotional Self-Regulation, Peer Rejection, and Antisocial Behavior: Developmental Associations from Early Childhood to Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trentacosta, Christopher J.; Shaw, Daniel S.

2009-01-01

This study examined relations among emotional self-regulation, peer rejection, and antisocial behavior in a sample of 122 boys from low-income families who participated in a summer camp and were followed longitudinally from early childhood to early adolescence. Emotional self-regulation strategies were coded in early childhood from a waiting task,…

Dentists' perspectives on caries-related treatment decisions.

PubMed

Gomez, J; Ellwood, R P; Martignon, S; Pretty, I A

2014-06-01

To assess the impact of patient risk status on Colombian dentists' caries related treatment decisions for early to intermediate caries lesions (ICDAS code 2 to 4). A web-based questionnaire assessed dentists' views on the management of early/intermediate lesions. The questionnaire included questions on demographic characteristics, five clinical scenarios with randomised levels of caries risk, and two questions on different clinical and radiographic sets of images with different thresholds of caries. Questionnaires were completed by 439 dentists. For the two scenarios describing occlusal lesions ICDAS code 2, dentists chose to provide a preventive option in 63% and 60% of the cases. For the approximal lesion ICDAS code 2, 81% of the dentists chose to restore. The main findings of the binary logistic regression analysis for the clinical scenarios suggest that for the ICDAS code 2 occlusal lesions, the odds of a high caries risk patient having restorations is higher than for a low caries risk patient. For the questions describing different clinical thresholds of caries, most dentists would restore at ICDAS code 2 (55%) and for the question showing different radiographic thresholds images, 65% of dentists would intervene operatively at the inner half of enamel. No significant differences with respect to risk were found for these questions with the logistic regression. The results of this study indicate that Colombian dentists have not yet fully adopted non-invasive treatment for early caries lesions.

Public Health Data in Action: An Analysis of Using Louisiana Vital Statistics for Quality Improvement and Payment Reform.

PubMed

Danilack, Valery A; Gee, Rebekah E; Berthelot, Danielle P; Gurvich, Rebecca; Muri, Janet H

2017-05-01

Introduction In 2012, the Louisiana (LA) Department of Health and Hospitals revised the LA birth certificate to include medical reasons for births before 39 completed weeks' gestation. We compared the completeness and validity of these data with hospital discharge records. Methods For births occurring 4/1/2012-9/30/2012 at Woman's Hospital of Baton Rouge, we linked maternal delivery and newborn birth data collected through the National Perinatal Information Center with LA birth certificates. Among early term births (37-38 completed weeks' gestation), we quantified the reasons for early delivery listed on the birth certificate and compared them with ICD-9-CM codes from Woman's discharge data. Results Among 4353 birth certificates indicating delivery at Woman's Hospital, we matched 99.8% to corresponding Woman's administrative data. Among 1293 early term singleton births, the most common reasons for early delivery listed on the birth certificate were spontaneous active labor (57.5%), gestational hypertensive disorders (15.3%), gestational diabetes (8.7%), and premature rupture of membranes (8.1%). Only 2.7% of births indicated "other reason" as the only reason for early delivery. Most reasons for early delivery had >80% correspondence with ICD-9-CM codes. Lower correspondence (35 and 72%, respectively) was observed for premature rupture of membranes and abnormal heart rate or fetal distress. Discussion There was near-perfect ability to match LA birth certificates with Woman's Hospital records, and the agreement between reasons for early delivery on the birth certificate and ICD-9-CM codes was high. A benchmark of 2.7% can be used as an attainable frequency of "other reason" for early delivery reported by hospitals. Louisiana implemented an effective mechanism to identify and explain early deliveries using vital records.

Biodegradation of PuEDTA and Impacts on Pu Mobility

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

Bolton, H., Jr.; Rai, D.; Xun, L.

The contamination of many DOE sites by Pu presents a long-term problem because of its long half-life (240,000 yrs) and the low drinking water standard (<10{sup -12} M). EDTA was co-disposed with radionuclides (e.g., Pu, {sup 60}Co), formed strong complexes, and enhanced radionuclide transport at several DOE sites. Biodegradation of EDTA should decrease Pu mobility. One objective of this project was to determine the biodegradation of EDTA in the presence of PuEDTA complexes. The aqueous system investigated at pH 7 (10{sup -4} M EDTA and 10{sup -6} M Pu) contained predominantly Pu(OH){sub 2}EDTA{sup 2-}. The EDTA was degraded at amore » faster rate in the presence of Pu. As the total concentration of both EDTA and PuEDTA decreased (i.e., 10{sup -5} M EDTA and 10{sup -7} M PuEDTA), the presence of Pu decreased the biodegradation rate of the EDTA. It is currently unclear why the concentration of Pu directly affects the increase/decrease in rate of EDTA biodegradation. The soluble Pu concentration decreased, in agreement with thermodynamic predictions, as the EDTA was biodegraded, indicating that biodegradation of EDTA will decrease Pu mobility when the Pu is initially present as Pu(IV)EDTA. A second objective was to investigate how the presence of competing metals, commonly encountered in geologic media, will influence the speciation and biodegradation of Pu(IV)-EDTA. Studies on the solubilities of Fe(OH){sub 3}(s) and of Fe(OH){sub 3}(s) plus PuO{sub 2}(am) in the presence of EDTA and as a function of pH showed that Fe(III) out competes the Pu(IV) for the EDTA complex, thereby showing that Pu(IV) will not form stable complexes with EDTA for enhanced transport of Pu in Fe(III) dominated subsurface systems. A third objective is to investigate the genes and enzymes involved in EDTA biodegradation. BNC1 can use EDTA and another synthetic chelating agent nitrilotriacetate (NTA) as sole carbon and nitrogen sources. The same catabolic enzymes are responsible for both EDTA and NTA degradation except that additional enzymes are required for EDTA degradation. When the catabolic genes were cloned and sequenced, the gene cluster also contained genes encoding a hypothetical ABC-type transporter. RT-PCR analysis showed that the transporter genes and EDTA monooxygenase gene (emoA) are co-transcribed. EppA is one of the transporter genes, and it codes for a periplasmic binding protein responsible for binding to the substrate before transport across the membrane can occur. EppA was cloned, expressed, and purified in Escherichia coli and found to bind, MgEDTA, CaEDTA, Fe(III)EDTA, MgNTA, CaNTA, and Fe(III)NTA. Our data also suggest that BNC1 uses the same ABC-type transporter for both EDTA and NTA uptake. Results from these studies can provide mechanistic understanding and approaches to assist in the bioremediate PuEDTA and other radionuclide-EDTA complexes at DOE sites.« less

Bistatic Radar Cross Section of a Perfectly Conducting Rhombus-Shaped Flat Plate

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-02

1 -3]. A physical optics formulation for the bistatic scattering of...7ESP13900 2 12X1*4*0.’.. MAO, (O5/M**2) oss- 1 ’ ESP13k10 3 SX,.-00se.’ PHASE (DEC) *.....’../ EPP13920 4 2X,’F(t0Z)’.4X,’STTV,4X,’SPPM’,4X,’ STPM ’,4X,’SPTM...3751’, 38116370 a2 ’ S15U4’) ES8115380 ENDIF 18P15390 ENDIF ESPIS400 IFCIANG.GE. 1 )THEN ESP16410 XFCRF.LE.O.0)WRIT£(g,183)TH000,PHDOD,STTN,SPPM, STPM

2011 Remediation Effectiveness Report for the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee - Data and Evaluations

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

Bechtel Jacobs

2011-03-01

Under the requirements of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) established between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) in 1992, all environmental restoration activities on the ORR are performed in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). Since the 1990s, the environmental restoration activities have experienced a gradual shift from characterization to remediation. As this has occurred, it has been determined that the assessment of the individual and cumulative performance of all ORR CERCLA remedial actionsmore » (RAs) is most effectively tracked in a single document. The Remediation Effectiveness Report (RER) is an FFA document intended to collate all ORR CERCLA decision requirements, compare pre- and post-remediation conditions at CERCLA sites, and present the results of any required post-decision remediation effectiveness monitoring. First issued in 1997, the RER has been reissued annually to update the performance histories of completed actions and to add descriptions of new CERCLA actions. Monitoring information used in the 2011 RER to assess remedy performance was collected and/or compiled by DOE's Water Resources Restoration Program (WRRP). Only data used to assess performance of completed actions are provided. In addition to collecting CERCLA performance assessment data, the WRRP also collects baseline data to be used to gauge the effectiveness of future actions once implemented. These baseline data are maintained in the Oak Ridge Environmental Information System and will be reported in future RERs, as necessary, once the respective actions are completed. However, when insufficient data exist to assess the impact of the RAs, e.g., when the RA was only recently completed, a preliminary evaluation is made of early indicators of effectiveness at the watershed scale, such as contaminant trends at surface water integration points (IFs). Long-term stewardship (LTS) information used in this report is collected, compiled, and tracked by the WRRP in conjunction with the Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC (BJC) Surveillance and Maintenance (S&M) program, the BJC Radiation Protection Organization at East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), ETTP Environmental Compliance Program, B&W Y-12 Liquid Waste Treatment Operations, and UT Battelle Facilities Management Division. Additionally, documentation verifying the implementation of administrative land use controls (LUCs) [i.e., property record restrictions, property record notices, zoning notices, and excavation/penetration permit (EPP) program] is also obtained from many sources throughout the fiscal year (FY), including County Register of Deeds offices for property record restrictions and property record notices, City Planning Commission for zoning notices, and BJC project engineers for EPP program verification. Copies of this documentation are obtained by the WRRP and maintained with the project RER files.« less

Functional interplay of top-down attention with affective codes during visual short-term memory maintenance.

PubMed

Kuo, Bo-Cheng; Lin, Szu-Hung; Yeh, Yei-Yu

2018-06-01

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) allows individuals to briefly maintain information over time for guiding behaviours. Because the contents of VSTM can be neutral or emotional, top-down influence in VSTM may vary with the affective codes of maintained representations. Here we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the functional interplay of top-down attention with affective codes in VSTM using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were instructed to remember both threatening and neutral objects in a cued VSTM task. Retrospective cues (retro-cues) were presented to direct attention to the hemifield of a threatening object (i.e., cue-to-threat) or a neutral object (i.e., cue-to-neutral) during VSTM maintenance. We showed stronger activity in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex and amygdala for attending threatening relative to neutral representations. Using multivoxel pattern analysis, we found better classification performance for cue-to-threat versus cue-to-neutral objects in early visual areas and in the amygdala. Importantly, retro-cues modulated the strength of functional connectivity between the frontoparietal and early visual areas. Activity in the frontoparietal areas became strongly correlated with the activity in V3a-V4 coding the threatening representations instructed to be relevant for the task. Together, these findings provide the first demonstration of top-down modulation of activation patterns in early visual areas and functional connectivity between the frontoparietal network and early visual areas for regulating threatening representations during VSTM maintenance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Barriers to Early Detection of Breast Cancer Among African American Females Over Age of 55

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-02-01

used for data analysis. NUDIST , software for qualitative data analysis will be used for systematic coding. All transcripts, as well as interviewer notes...will be coded in NUDIST . Dr. Smith and Mr. Worts will jointly develop the NUDIST coding system. Each of them will separately code each transcript and...already provided training in NUDIST to Dr. Smith and Mr. Worts. All interviews will be conducted by the Principal Investigator for this study who is

The foreign exchange market: return distributions, multifractality, anomalous multifractality and the Epps effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drożdż, Stanisław; Kwapień, Jarosław; Oświȩcimka, Paweł; Rak, Rafał

2010-10-01

We present a systematic study of various statistical characteristics of high-frequency returns from the foreign exchange market. This study is based on six exchange rates forming two triangles: EUR-GBP-USD and GBP-CHF-JPY. It is shown that the exchange rate return fluctuations for all of the pairs considered are well described by the non-extensive statistics in terms of q-Gaussians. There exist some small quantitative variations in the non-extensivity q-parameter values for different exchange rates (which depend also on the time scales studied), and this can be related to the importance of a given exchange rate in the world's currency trade. Temporal correlations organize the series of returns such that they develop the multifractal characteristics for all of the exchange rates, with a varying degree of symmetry of the singularity spectrum f(α), however. The most symmetric spectrum is identified for the GBP/USD. We also form time series of triangular residual returns and find that the distributions of their fluctuations develop disproportionately heavier tails as compared to small fluctuations, which excludes description in terms of q-Gaussians. The multifractal characteristics of these residual returns reveal such anomalous properties as negative singularity exponents and even negative singularity spectra. Such anomalous multifractal measures have so far been considered in the literature in connection with diffusion-limited aggregation and with turbulence. Studying the cross-correlations among different exchange rates, we found that market inefficiency on short time scales leads to the occurrence of the Epps effect on much longer time scales, but comparable to the ones for the stock market. Although the currency market is much more liquid than the stock markets and has a much greater transaction frequency, the building up of correlations takes up to several hours—a duration that does not differ much from what is observed in the stock markets. This may suggest that non-synchronicity of transactions is not the unique source of the observed effect.

Blood lead and the symptoms of lead absorption

PubMed Central

Williams, M K; Walford, Joan; King, E

1983-01-01

ABSTRACT Eighty-one percent of all hourly paid men who had been employed for more than six months in a factory making lead acid batteries and plastics completed a modified Cornell medical index health questionnaire. Blood lead and erythrocyte protoporphyrin (EPP) were also measured. The questions were grouped into symptom categories as follows: all physical, all psychological, “potentially lead induced,” pulmonary, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, skin, nervous system, genitourinary, and fatigue. For each symptom category the pooled percentages of men whose symptom scores were above the common median of the three blood lead groups 10-, 40-, and 60 and over μg/100 ml (0·48-, 1·93-, and 2·90 and over μmol/l) within age/smoking subgroups were calculated. In every symptom category the percentages in the two lower blood lead groups differed little, but the percentages were consistently higher in men with blood concentration of 60 μg/100 ml (2·90 μmol/l) and over. Differences between a combined 10-59 μg/100 ml (0·48-2·85 μmol/l) blood lead group and the 60 and over μg/100 ml (≥2·90 μmol/l) group were statistically significant at the 0·01 level for “potentially lead induced” symptoms and at the 0·05 level for skin and psychological symptoms. Broadly similar results were obtained with four log10 EPP groups 0·6-, 1·5-, 1·7-, and ≥2·0, but differences did not reach statistical significance. There was no obvious explanation as to why symptoms that are not found in classic lead poisoning should be increased almost as much as those that are. It was thought that these results could be biased due to the men's knowledge of the symptoms associated with lead exposure, but the possibility that they may be partly due to lead absorption cannot be excluded. PMID:6871117

Characterization of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites Among Custodians

PubMed Central

Cavallari, Jennifer M.; Simcox, Nancy J.; Wakai, Sara; Lu, Chensheng; Garza, Jennifer L.; Cherniack, Martin

2015-01-01

Phthalates, a ubiquitous class of chemicals found in consumer, personal care, and cleaning products, have been linked to adverse health effects. Our goal was to characterize urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations and to identify work and nonwork sources among custodians using traditional cleaning chemicals and ‘green’ or environmentally preferable products (EPP). Sixty-eight custodians provided four urine samples on a workday (first void, before shift, end of shift, and before bedtime) and trained observers recorded cleaning tasks and types of products used (traditional, EPP, or disinfectant) hourly over the work shifts. Questionnaires were used to assess personal care product use. Four different phthalate metabolites [monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monomethyl phthalate (MMP), mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), and monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP)] were quantified using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Geometric means (GM) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for creatinine-adjusted urinary phthalate concentrations. Mixed effects univariate and multivariate modeling, using a random intercept for each individual, was performed to identify predictors of phthalate metabolites including demographics, workplace factors, and personal care product use. Creatinine-adjusted urinary concentrations [GM (95% CI)] of MEP, MMP, MEHP, and MBzP were 107 (91.0–126), 2.69 (2.18–3.30), 6.93 (6.00–7.99), 8.79 (7.84–9.86) µg g−1, respectively. An increasing trend in phthalate concentrations from before to after shift was not observed. Creatinine-adjusted urinary MEP was significantly associated with frequency of traditional cleaning chemical intensity in the multivariate model after adjusting for potential confounding by demographics, workplace factors, and personal care product use. While numerous demographics, workplace factors, and personal care products were statistically significant univariate predictors of MMP, MEHP, and MBzP, few associations persisted in multivariate models. In summary, among this population of custodians, we identified both occupational and nonoccupational predictors of phthalate exposures. Identification of phthalates as ingredients in cleaning chemicals and consumer products would allow workers and consumers to avoid phthalate exposure. PMID:26240196

Multipath noise reduction spread spectrum signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meehan, Thomas K. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

The concepts of early-prompt delay tracking, multipath correction of early-prompt delay tracking from correlation shape, and carrier phase multipath correction are addressed. In early-prompt delay tracking, since multipath is always delayed with respect to the direct signals, the system derives phase and pseudorange observables from earlier correlation lags. In multipath correction of early-prompt delay tracking from correlation shape, the system looks for relative variations of amplitude across the code correlation function that do not match the predicted multipath-free code cross-correlation shape. The system then uses deviations from the multipath-free shape to infer the magnitude of multipath, and to generate corrections pseudorange observables. In carrier phase multipath correction, the system looks for variations of phase among plural early and prompt lags. The system uses the measured phase variations, along with the general principle that the multipath errors are larger for later lags, to infer the presence of multipath, and to generate corrections for carrier-phase observables.

Structural Phylogenomics Retrodicts the Origin of the Genetic Code and Uncovers the Evolutionary Impact of Protein Flexibility

PubMed Central

Caetano-Anollés, Gustavo; Wang, Minglei; Caetano-Anollés, Derek

2013-01-01

The genetic code shapes the genetic repository. Its origin has puzzled molecular scientists for over half a century and remains a long-standing mystery. Here we show that the origin of the genetic code is tightly coupled to the history of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase enzymes and their interactions with tRNA. A timeline of evolutionary appearance of protein domain families derived from a structural census in hundreds of genomes reveals the early emergence of the ‘operational’ RNA code and the late implementation of the standard genetic code. The emergence of codon specificities and amino acid charging involved tight coevolution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and tRNA structures as well as episodes of structural recruitment. Remarkably, amino acid and dipeptide compositions of single-domain proteins appearing before the standard code suggest archaic synthetases with structures homologous to catalytic domains of tyrosyl-tRNA and seryl-tRNA synthetases were capable of peptide bond formation and aminoacylation. Results reveal that genetics arose through coevolutionary interactions between polypeptides and nucleic acid cofactors as an exacting mechanism that favored flexibility and folding of the emergent proteins. These enhancements of phenotypic robustness were likely internalized into the emerging genetic system with the early rise of modern protein structure. PMID:23991065

Assessing and Predicting Small-Group Literacy Instruction in Early Childhood Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farley, Kristin Sue; Piasta, Shayne; Dogucu, Mine; O'Connell, Ann

2017-01-01

Research Findings: The present study assessed the extent to which early childhood educators utilized small-group literacy instruction and explored factors potentially associated with the use of this evidence-based practice. The classroom activities of 83 early childhood educators were observed in the fall and spring, and videos were coded to…

Coarse coding and discourse comprehension in adults with right hemisphere brain damage

PubMed Central

Tompkins, Connie A.; Scharp, Victoria L.; Meigh, Kimberly M.; Fassbinder, Wiltrud

2009-01-01

Background Various investigators suggest that some discourse-level comprehension difficulties in adults with right hemisphere brain damage (RHD) have a lexical-semantic basis. As words are processed, the intact right hemisphere arouses and sustains activation of a wide-ranging network of secondary or peripheral meanings and features—a phenomenon dubbed “coarse coding”. Coarse coding impairment has been postulated to underpin some prototypical RHD comprehension deficits, such as difficulties with nonliteral language interpretation, discourse integration, some kinds of inference generation, and recovery when a reinterpretation is needed. To date, however, no studies have addressed the hypothesised link between coarse coding deficit and discourse comprehension in RHD. Aims The current investigation examined whether coarse coding was related to performance on two measures of narrative comprehension in adults with RHD. Methods & Procedures Participants were 32 adults with unilateral RHD from cerebrovascular accident, and 38 adults without brain damage. Coarse coding was operationalised as poor activation of peripheral/weakly related semantic features of words. For the coarse coding assessment, participants listened to spoken sentences that ended in a concrete noun. Each sentence was followed by a spoken target phoneme string. Targets were subordinate semantic features of the sentence-final nouns that were incompatible with their dominant mental representations (e.g., “rotten” for apple). Targets were presented at two post-noun intervals. A lexical decision task was used to gauge both early activation and maintenance of activation of these weakly related semantic features. One of the narrative tasks assessed comprehension of implied main ideas and details, while the other indexed high-level inferencing and integration. Both comprehension tasks were presented auditorily. For all tasks, accuracy of performance was the dependent measure. Correlations were computed within the RHD group between both the early and late coarse coding measures and the two discourse measures. Additionally, ANCOVA and independent t-tests were used to compare both early and sustained coarse coding in subgroups of good and poor RHD comprehenders. Outcomes & Results The group with RHD was less accurate than the control group on all measures. The finding of coarse coding impairment (difficulty activating/sustaining activation of a word’s peripheral features) may appear to contradict prior evidence of RHD suppression deficit (prolonged activation for context-inappropriate meanings of words). However, the sentence contexts in this study were unbiased and thus did not provide an appropriate test of suppression function. Correlations between coarse coding and the discourse measures were small and nonsignificant. There were no differences in coarse coding between RHD comprehension subgroups on the high-level inferencing task. There was also no distinction in early coarse coding for subgroups based on comprehension of implied main ideas and details. But for these same subgroups, there was a difference in sustained coarse coding. Poorer RHD comprehenders of implied information from discourse were also poorer at maintaining activation for semantically distant features of concrete nouns. Conclusions This study provides evidence of a variant of the postulated link between coarse coding and discourse comprehension in RHD. Specifically, adults with RHD who were particularly poor at sustaining activation for peripheral semantic features of nouns were also relatively poor comprehenders of implied information from narratives. PMID:20037670

The Validation of Macro and Micro Observations of Parent-Child Dynamics Using the Relationship Affect Coding System in Early Childhood.

PubMed

Dishion, Thomas J; Mun, Chung Jung; Tein, Jenn-Yun; Kim, Hanjoe; Shaw, Daniel S; Gardner, Frances; Wilson, Melvin N; Peterson, Jenene

2017-04-01

This study examined the validity of micro social observations and macro ratings of parent-child interaction in early to middle childhood. Seven hundred and thirty-one families representing multiple ethnic groups were recruited and screened as at risk in the context of Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Nutritional Supplement service settings. Families were randomly assigned to the Family Checkup (FCU) intervention or the control condition at age 2 and videotaped in structured interactions in the home at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. Parent-child interaction videotapes were micro-coded using the Relationship Affect Coding System (RACS) that captures the duration of two mutual dyadic states: positive engagement and coercion. Macro ratings of parenting skills were collected after coding the videotapes to assess parent use of positive behavior support and limit setting skills (or lack thereof). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the measurement model of macro ratings of limit setting and positive behavior support was not supported by the data, and thus, were excluded from further analyses. However, there was moderate stability in the families' micro social dynamics across early childhood and it showed significant improvements as a function of random assignment to the FCU. Moreover, parent-child dynamics were predictive of chronic behavior problems as rated by parents in middle childhood, but not emotional problems. We conclude with a discussion of the validity of the RACS and on methodological advantages of micro social coding over the statistical limitations of macro rating observations. Future directions are discussed for observation research in prevention science.

The Challenges of Qualitatively Coding Ancient Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slingerland, Edward; Chudek, Maciej

2012-01-01

We respond to several important and valid concerns about our study ("The Prevalence of Folk Dualism in Early China," "Cognitive Science" 35: 997-1007) by Klein and Klein, defending our interpretation of our data. We also argue that, despite the undeniable challenges involved in qualitatively coding texts from ancient cultures,…

Supports for Vocabulary Instruction in Early Language and Literacy Methods Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Tanya S.; Peltier, Marliese R.

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which the content and recommendations in recently published early language and literacy methods textbooks may support early childhood teachers in learning to provide vocabulary instruction for young children. We completed a content analysis of 9 textbooks with coding at the sentence level.…

Transcription of the cottontail rabbit papillomavirus early region and identification of two E6 polypeptides in COS-7 cells.

PubMed Central

Barbosa, M S; Wettstein, F O

1987-01-01

Cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) early proteins are present at very low levels in virus-induced tumors and cannot be detected by immunological methods. Furthermore, cells in culture are not readily transformed by the virus. To overcome these difficulties in identifying and characterizing the putative transforming protein(s) coded by the E6 open reading frame, the early cottontail rabbit papillomavirus region was expressed under the control of the late simian virus 40 promoter. Mapping of the transcripts in transiently transfected COS-7 cells indicated that transcription was initiated in the late region of simian virus 40. Two E6-coded polypeptides were identified, representing translation products initiated at the first and second AUG codons. Images PMID:3039182

Evidence of translation efficiency adaptation of the coding regions of the bacteriophage lambda.

PubMed

Goz, Eli; Mioduser, Oriah; Diament, Alon; Tuller, Tamir

2017-08-01

Deciphering the way gene expression regulatory aspects are encoded in viral genomes is a challenging mission with ramifications related to all biomedical disciplines. Here, we aimed to understand how the evolution shapes the bacteriophage lambda genes by performing a high resolution analysis of ribosomal profiling data and gene expression related synonymous/silent information encoded in bacteriophage coding regions.We demonstrated evidence of selection for distinct compositions of synonymous codons in early and late viral genes related to the adaptation of translation efficiency to different bacteriophage developmental stages. Specifically, we showed that evolution of viral coding regions is driven, among others, by selection for codons with higher decoding rates; during the initial/progressive stages of infection the decoding rates in early/late genes were found to be superior to those in late/early genes, respectively. Moreover, we argued that selection for translation efficiency could be partially explained by adaptation to Escherichia coli tRNA pool and the fact that it can change during the bacteriophage life cycle.An analysis of additional aspects related to the expression of viral genes, such as mRNA folding and more complex/longer regulatory signals in the coding regions, is also reported. The reported conclusions are likely to be relevant also to additional viruses. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Kazusa DNA Research Institute.

Computer codes developed and under development at Lewis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chamis, Christos C.

1992-01-01

The objective of this summary is to provide a brief description of: (1) codes developed or under development at LeRC; and (2) the development status of IPACS with some typical early results. The computer codes that have been developed and/or are under development at LeRC are listed in the accompanying charts. This list includes: (1) the code acronym; (2) select physics descriptors; (3) current enhancements; and (4) present (9/91) code status with respect to its availability and documentation. The computer codes list is grouped by related functions such as: (1) composite mechanics; (2) composite structures; (3) integrated and 3-D analysis; (4) structural tailoring; and (5) probabilistic structural analysis. These codes provide a broad computational simulation infrastructure (technology base-readiness) for assessing the structural integrity/durability/reliability of propulsion systems. These codes serve two other very important functions: they provide an effective means of technology transfer; and they constitute a depository of corporate memory.

Studying the genetic basis of speciation in high gene flow marine invertebrates

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

A growing number of genes responsible for reproductive incompatibilities between species (barrier loci) exhibit the signals of positive selection. However, the possibility that genes experiencing positive selection diverge early in speciation and commonly cause reproductive incompatibilities has not been systematically investigated on a genome-wide scale. Here, I outline a research program for studying the genetic basis of speciation in broadcast spawning marine invertebrates that uses a priori genome-wide information on a large, unbiased sample of genes tested for positive selection. A targeted sequence capture approach is proposed that scores single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in widely separated species populations at an early stage of allopatric divergence. The targeted capture of both coding and non-coding sequences enables SNPs to be characterized at known locations across the genome and at genes with known selective or neutral histories. The neutral coding and non-coding SNPs provide robust background distributions for identifying FST-outliers within genes that can, in principle, identify specific mutations experiencing diversifying selection. If natural hybridization occurs between species, the neutral coding and non-coding SNPs can provide a neutral admixture model for genomic clines analyses aimed at finding genes exhibiting strong blocks to introgression. Strongylocentrotid sea urchins are used as a model system to outline the approach but it can be used for any group that has a complete reference genome available. PMID:29491951

How Well Prepared Are Pre-Service Teachers to Teach Early Reading? A Systematic Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meeks, Linda; Stephenson, Jennifer; Kemp, Coral; Madelaine, Alison

2016-01-01

This review examined studies that had addressed opinions of pre-service teachers (PSTs) concerning their preparedness for teaching early reading skills to all students, the extent of their content knowledge, and their attitudes towards code-based and/or meaning-based approaches to early reading. From the limited amount of research available, it…

Are There Gendered Pathways to Intimacy in Early Adolescents' and Emerging Adults' Friendships?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radmacher, Kimberley; Azmitia, Margarita

2006-01-01

Two studies addressed age- and gender-related patterns in early adolescents' and emerging adults' conceptions of intimacy in friendships. Forty-one early adolescents and 96 emerging adults in Study 1 and 174 emerging adults in Study 2 described a time when they felt especially close to a friend. Narratives were coded for intimate behaviors and…

A "Politics against Social Submission": Of Early Years Teachers' Accessibility and Work with Children in Québec

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang-Kredl, Sandra

2017-01-01

In this paper, I examine the claim that teachers' subjective experiences can lead to social change through the perspective of the early years teacher in Quebec. Fourteen early childhood teachers participated in memory writing and individual interviews. Data were inductively coded and analysed in terms of the teachers' subjective experiences of:…

Code-Switching and Vernacular Support: An Early Middle English Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skaffari, Janne

2016-01-01

In the multilingual history of England, the period following the Norman Conquest in 1066 is a particularly intriguing phase, but its code-switching patterns have so far received little attention. The present article describes and analyses the multilingual practices evinced in London, British Library, MS Stowe 34, containing one instructional prose…

FOREWORD: Corfu Summer Institute on Elementary Particle Physics (CORFU2005)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anagnostopoulos, Konstantinos; Antoniadis, Ignatios; Fanourakis, George; Kehagias, Alexandros; Savoy-Navarro, Aurore; Wess, Julius; Zoupanos, George

2006-12-01

These are the Proceedings of the Corfu Summer Institute on Elementary Particle Physics (CORFU2005) (http://corfu2005.physics.uoi.gr), which took place in Corfu, Greece from 4 - 26 September 2005. The Corfu Summer Institute has a very long, interesting and successful history, some elements of which can be found in http://www.corfu-summer-institute.gr. In short, the Corfu Meeting started as a Summer School on Elementary Particle Physics (EPP) mostly for Greek graduate students in 1982 and has developed into a leading international Summer Institute in the field of EPP, both experimental and theoretical, providing in addition a very rich outreach programme to teachers and school students. The CORFU2005 Summer Institute on EPP, although based on the general format that has been developed and established in the Corfu Meetings during previous years, is characterized by the fact that it was a full realization of a new idea, which started experimentally in the previous two Corfu Meetings. The successful new ingredient was that three European Marie Curie Research Training Networks decided to hold their Workshops in Corfu during September 2005 and they managed to coordinate the educational part of their meetings to a huge Summer School called `The 8th Hellenic School on Elementary Particle Physics' (4 - 11 September). The European Networks which joined forces to materialize this project and the corresponding dates of their own Workshops are:

Systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopy versus chromoendoscopy for the detection of precancerous gastric lesions and early gastric cancer in subjects at average risk for gastric cancer.

PubMed

Pérez-Mendoza, A; Zárate-Guzmán, Á M; Galvis García, E S; Sobrino Cossío, S; Djamus Birch, J

Gastric cancer is one of the main causes of cancer worldwide, but there is currently no global screening strategy for the disease. Endoscopy is the screening method of choice in some Asian countries, but no standardized technique has been recognized. Systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopy can increase gastric lesion detection. The aim of the present article was to compare the usefulness of systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopy with conventional endoscopy for the detection of premalignant lesions and early gastric cancer in subjects at average risk for gastric cancer. A cross-sectional, comparative, prospective, randomized study was conducted on patients at average risk for gastric cancer (40-50 years of age, no history of H. pylori infection, intestinal metaplasia, gastric atrophy, or gastrointestinal surgery). Before undergoing endoscopy, the patients had gastric preparation (200mg of oral acetylcysteine or 50mg of oral dimethicone). Conventional chromoendoscopy was performed with indigo carmine dye for contrast enhancement. Fifty consecutive cases (mean age 44.4 ± 3.34 years, 60% women, BMI 27.6 ± 5.82 kg/m 2 ) were evaluated. Endoscopic imaging quality was satisfactory in all the cases, with no differences between methods (p = 0.817). The detection rate of premalignant lesions and early gastric cancer was 14% (6 cases of intestinal metaplasia and one case of gastric adenocarcinoma). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy were 100, 95, 80, 100 and 96%, respectively, for systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopy, and 100, 45, 20, 100, and 52%, respectively, for conventional endoscopy. Lesion detection through systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopy was superior to that of conventional endoscopy (p = 0.003; OR = 12). Both techniques were effective, but systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopy significantly reduced the false positive rate. Copyright © 2018 Asociación Mexicana de Gastroenterología. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

A new approach to the characterization of subtle errors in everyday action: implications for mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Seligman, Sarah C; Giovannetti, Tania; Sestito, John; Libon, David J

2014-01-01

Mild functional difficulties have been associated with early cognitive decline in older adults and increased risk for conversion to dementia in mild cognitive impairment, but our understanding of this decline has been limited by a dearth of objective methods. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of a new system to code subtle errors on an established performance-based measure of everyday action and described preliminary findings within the context of a theoretical model of action disruption. Here 45 older adults completed the Naturalistic Action Test (NAT) and neuropsychological measures. NAT performance was coded for overt errors, and subtle action difficulties were scored using a novel coding system. An inter-rater reliability coefficient was calculated. Validity of the coding system was assessed using a repeated-measures ANOVA with NAT task (simple versus complex) and error type (overt versus subtle) as within-group factors. Correlation/regression analyses were conducted among overt NAT errors, subtle NAT errors, and neuropsychological variables. The coding of subtle action errors was reliable and valid, and episodic memory breakdown predicted subtle action disruption. Results suggest that the NAT can be useful in objectively assessing subtle functional decline. Treatments targeting episodic memory may be most effective in addressing early functional impairment in older age.

Improving early detection of gastric cancer: a novel systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopic approach.

PubMed

Emura, Fabian; Gralnek, Ian; Baron, Todd H

2013-01-01

Despite extensive worldwide use of standard esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) examinations, gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common forms of cancer and ranks as the most common malignant tumor in East Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Latin America. Current limitations of using non systematic examination during standard EGD could be at least partially responsible for the low incidence of early GC diagnosis in countries with a high prevalence of the disease. Originally proposed by Emura et al., systematic alphanumeric-coded endoscopy (SACE) is a novel method that facilitates complete examination of the upper GI tract based on sequential systematic overlapping photo-documentation using an endoluminal alphanumeric-coded nomenclature comprised of eight regions and 28 areas covering the entire surface upper GI surface. For precise localization or normal or abnormal areas, SACE incorporates a simple coordinate system based on the identification of certain natural axes, walls, curvatures and anatomical endoluminal landmarks. Efectiveness of SACE was recently demonstrated in a screening study that diagnosed early GC at a frequency of 0.30% (2/650) in healthy, average-risk volunteer subjects. Such a novel approach, if uniformly implemented worldwide, could significantly change the way we practice upper endoscopy in our lifetimes.

Early MIMD experience on the CRAY X-MP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhoades, Clifford E.; Stevens, K. G.

1985-07-01

This paper describes some early experience with converting four physics simulation programs to the CRAY X-MP, a current Multiple Instruction, Multiple Data (MIMD) computer consisting of two processors each with an architecture similar to that of the CRAY-1. As a multi-processor, the CRAY X-MP together with the high speed Solid-state Storage Device (SSD) in an ideal machine upon which to study MIMD algorithms for solving the equations of mathematical physics because it is fast enough to run real problems. The computer programs used in this study are all FORTRAN versions of original production codes. They range in sophistication from a one-dimensional numerical simulation of collisionless plasma to a two-dimensional hydrodynamics code with heat flow to a couple of three-dimensional fluid dynamics codes with varying degrees of viscous modeling. Early research with a dual processor configuration has shown speed-ups ranging from 1.55 to 1.98. It has been observed that a few simple extensions to FORTRAN allow a typical programmer to achieve a remarkable level of efficiency. These extensions involve the concept of memory local to a concurrent subprogram and memory common to all concurrent subprograms.

Metabolic basis for the self-referential genetic code.

PubMed

Guimarães, Romeu Cardoso

2011-08-01

An investigation of the biosynthesis pathways producing glycine and serine was necessary to clarify an apparent inconsistency between the self-referential model (SRM) for the formation of the genetic code and the model of coevolution of encodings and of amino acid biosynthesis routes. According to the SRM proposal, glycine was the first amino acid encoded, followed by serine. The coevolution model does not state precisely which the first encodings were, only presenting a list of about ten early assignments including the derivation of glycine from serine-this being derived from the glycolysis intermediate glycerate, which reverses the order proposed by the self-referential model. Our search identified the glycine-serine pathway of syntheses based on one-carbon sources, involving activities of the glycine decarboxylase complex and its associated serine hydroxymethyltransferase, which is consistent with the order proposed by the self-referential model and supports its rationale for the origin of the genetic code: protein synthesis was developed inside an early metabolic system, serving the function of a sink of amino acids; the first peptides were glycine-rich and fit for the function of building the early ribonucleoproteins; glycine consumption in proteins drove the fixation of the glycine-serine pathway.

MELCOR/CONTAIN LMR Implementation Report-Progress FY15

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

Humphries, Larry L.; Louie, David L.Y.

2016-01-01

This report describes the progress of the CONTAIN-LMR sodium physics and chemistry models to be implemented in to MELCOR 2.1. It also describes the progress to implement these models into CONT AIN 2 as well. In the past two years, the implementation included the addition of sodium equations of state and sodium properties from two different sources. The first source is based on the previous work done by Idaho National Laborat ory by modifying MELCOR to include liquid lithium equation of state as a working fluid to mode l the nuclear fusion safety research. The second source uses properties generatedmore » for the SIMMER code. Testing and results from this implementation of sodium pr operties are given. In addition, the CONTAIN-LMR code was derived from an early version of C ONTAIN code. Many physical models that were developed sin ce this early version of CONTAIN are not captured by this early code version. Therefore, CONTAIN 2 is being updated with the sodium models in CONTAIN-LMR in or der to facilitate verification of these models with the MELCOR code. Although CONTAIN 2, which represents the latest development of CONTAIN, now contains ma ny of the sodium specific models, this work is not complete due to challenges from the lower cell architecture in CONTAIN 2, which is different from CONTAIN- LMR. This implementation should be completed in the coming year, while sodi um models from C ONTAIN-LMR are being integrated into MELCOR. For testing, CONTAIN decks have been developed for verification and validation use. In terms of implementing the sodium m odels into MELCOR, a separate sodium model branch was created for this document . Because of massive development in the main stream MELCOR 2.1 code and the require ment to merge the latest code version into this branch, the integration of the s odium models were re-directed to implement the sodium chemistry models first. This change led to delays of the actual implementation. For aid in the future implementation of sodium models, a new sodium chemistry package was created. Thus reporting for the implementation of the sodium chemistry is discussed in this report.« less

Data integration of structured and unstructured sources for assigning clinical codes to patient stays

PubMed Central

Luyckx, Kim; Luyten, Léon; Daelemans, Walter; Van den Bulcke, Tim

2016-01-01

Objective Enormous amounts of healthcare data are becoming increasingly accessible through the large-scale adoption of electronic health records. In this work, structured and unstructured (textual) data are combined to assign clinical diagnostic and procedural codes (specifically ICD-9-CM) to patient stays. We investigate whether integrating these heterogeneous data types improves prediction strength compared to using the data types in isolation. Methods Two separate data integration approaches were evaluated. Early data integration combines features of several sources within a single model, and late data integration learns a separate model per data source and combines these predictions with a meta-learner. This is evaluated on data sources and clinical codes from a broad set of medical specialties. Results When compared with the best individual prediction source, late data integration leads to improvements in predictive power (eg, overall F-measure increased from 30.6% to 38.3% for International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic codes), while early data integration is less consistent. The predictive strength strongly differs between medical specialties, both for ICD-9-CM diagnostic and procedural codes. Discussion Structured data provides complementary information to unstructured data (and vice versa) for predicting ICD-9-CM codes. This can be captured most effectively by the proposed late data integration approach. Conclusions We demonstrated that models using multiple electronic health record data sources systematically outperform models using data sources in isolation in the task of predicting ICD-9-CM codes over a broad range of medical specialties. PMID:26316458

Development and verification of NRC`s single-rod fuel performance codes FRAPCON-3 AND FRAPTRAN

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

Beyer, C.E.; Cunningham, M.E.; Lanning, D.D.

1998-03-01

The FRAPCON and FRAP-T code series, developed in the 1970s and early 1980s, are used by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to predict fuel performance during steady-state and transient power conditions, respectively. Both code series are now being updated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to improve their predictive capabilities at high burnup levels. The newest versions of the codes are called FRAPCON-3 and FRAPTRAN. The updates to fuel property and behavior models are focusing on providing best estimate predictions under steady-state and fast transient power conditions up to extended fuel burnups (> 55 GWd/MTU). Both codes will be assessedmore » against a data base independent of the data base used for code benchmarking and an estimate of code predictive uncertainties will be made based on comparisons to the benchmark and independent data bases.« less

jsc2017e137338 - At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 prime crewmember Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) tries his hand at a game of billiards Dec. 11 during a break in pre-launch tr

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-11

jsc2017e137338 - At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 prime crewmember Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) tries his hand at a game of billiards Dec. 11 during a break in pre-launch training while backup crewmember Jeanette Epps of NASA looks on. Kanai, Scott Tingle of NASA and Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will launch Dec. 17 on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a five month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin / Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence of tris(2,2' bipyridine)ruthenium(II) using common biological buffers as co-reactant, pH buffer and supporting electrolyte.

PubMed

Kebede, Noah; Francis, Paul S; Barbante, Gregory J; Hogan, Conor F

2015-11-07

A series of aliphatic tertiary amines (HEPES, POPSO, EPPS and BIS-TRIS) commonly used to buffer the pH in biological experiments, were examined as alternative, non-toxic co-reactants for the electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(ii) ([Ru(bpy)3](2+)). These were found to be very attractive as "multi-tasking" reagents, serving not only as co-reactants, but also fulfiling the roles of pH buffer and supporting electrolyte within an aqueous environment; thus significantly simplifying the overall ECL analysis. Sub-nanomolar detection limits were obtained for [Ru(bpy)3](2+) in the presence of BIS-TRIS, making this species an valuable option for co-reactant ECL-based bioanalytical applications.

The Polarized Deuteron Breakup Experiment at COSY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rathmann, F.; Barsov, S.; Dymov, S.; Kacharava, A.; Khoukaz, A.; Komarov, V.; Kulikov, A.; Kurbatov, A.; Lang, N.; Lehmann, I.; Lorentz, B.; Macharashvili, G.; Mussgiller, A.; Paetz gen. Schieck, H.; Schleichert, R.; Seyfarth, H.; Steffens, E.; Ströher, H.; Uzikov, Yu.; Yaschenko, S.; Zalikhanov, B.

2003-07-01

A study of the deuteron breakup reaction pd → (pp)n with forward emission of a fast proton pair with small excitation energy Epp < 3 MeV has been performed using the ANKE spectrometer at COSY Jülich. The differential cross section of the breakup reaction, averaged up to 8° over the cm polar angle of the total momentum of the pp pairs, has been obtained at six proton beam energies Tp = 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.95, 1.35, and 1.9 GeV. A first measurement of the vector analyzing power Ayp has been carried out, using a polarization normalization obtained with the EDDA detector. In addition, for the first time asymmetries of p⃗d elastic scattering at Tp = 500 MeV have been recorded with the spectator setup at ANKE.

Self-management for bronchiectasis.

PubMed

Kelly, Carol; Grundy, Seamus; Lynes, Dave; Evans, David Jw; Gudur, Sharada; Milan, Stephen J; Spencer, Sally

2018-02-07

Bronchiectasis is a long term respiratory condition with an increasing rate of diagnosis. It is associated with persistent symptoms, repeated infective exacerbations, and reduced quality of life, imposing a burden on individuals and healthcare systems. The main aims of therapeutic management are to reduce exacerbations and improve quality of life. Self-management interventions are potentially important for empowering people with bronchiectasis to manage their condition more effectively and to seek care in a timely manner. Self-management interventions are beneficial in the management of other airways diseases such as asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and have been identified as a research priority for bronchiectasis. To assess the efficacy, cost-effectiveness and adverse effects of self-management interventions for adults and children with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. We searched the Cochrane Airways Specialised Register of trials, clinical trials registers, reference lists of included studies and review articles, and relevant manufacturers' websites up to 13 December 2017. We included all randomised controlled trials of any duration that included adults or children with a diagnosis of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis assessing self-management interventions delivered in any form. Self-management interventions included at least two of the following elements: patient education, airway clearance techniques, adherence to medication, exercise (including pulmonary rehabilitation) and action plans. Two review authors independently screened searches, extracted study characteristics and outcome data and assessed risk of bias for each included study. Primary outcomes were, health-related quality of life, exacerbation frequency and serious adverse events. Secondary outcomes were the number of participants admitted to hospital on at least one occasion, lung function, symptoms, self-efficacy and economic costs. We used a random effects model for analyses and standard Cochrane methods throughout. Two studies with a total of 84 participants were included: a 12-month RCT of early rehabilitation in adults of mean age 72 years conducted in two centres in England (UK) and a six-month proof-of-concept RCT of an expert patient programme (EPP) in adults of mean age 60 years in a single regional respiratory centre in Northern Ireland (UK). The EPP was delivered in group format once a week for eight weeks using standardised EPP materials plus disease-specific education including airway clearance techniques, dealing with symptoms, exacerbations, health promotion and available support. We did not find any studies that included children. Data aggregation was not possible and findings are reported narratively in the review.For the primary outcomes, both studies reported health-related quality of life, as measured by the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), but there was no clear evidence of benefit. In one study, the mean SGRQ total scores were not significantly different at 6 weeks', 3 months' and 12 months' follow-up (12 months mean difference (MD) -10.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) -45.15 to 24.61). In the second study there were no significant differences in SGRQ. Total scores were not significantly different between groups (six months, MD 3.20, 95% CI -6.64 to 13.04). We judged the evidence for this outcome as low or very low. Neither of the included studies reported data on exacerbations requiring antibiotics. For serious adverse events, one study reported more deaths in the intervention group compared to the control group, (intervention: 4 of 8, control: 2 of 12), though interpretation is limited by the low event rate and the small number of participants in each group.For our secondary outcomes, there was no evidence of benefit in terms of frequency of hospital admissions or FEV1 L, based on very low-quality evidence. One study reported self-efficacy using the Chronic Disease Self-Efficacy scale, which comprises 10 components. All scales showed significant benefit from the intervention but effects were only sustained to study endpoint on the Managing Depression scale. Further details are reported in the main review. Based on overall study quality, we judged this evidence as low quality. Neither study reported data on respiratory symptoms, economic costs or adverse events. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether self-management interventions benefit people with bronchiectasis. In the absence of high-quality evidence it is advisable that practitioners adhere to current international guidelines that advocate self-management for people with bronchiectasis.Future studies should aim to clearly define and justify the specific nature of self-management, measure clinically important outcomes and include children as well as adults.

Phonological Codes Are Assembled before Word Fixation: Evidence from Boundary Paradigm in Sentence Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miellet, Sebastien; Sparrow, Laurent

2004-01-01

This experiment employed the boundary paradigm during sentence reading to explore the nature of early phonological coding in reading. Fixation durations were shorter when the parafoveal preview was the correct word than when it was a spelling control pseudoword. In contrast, there was no significant difference between correct word and…

Ethics and the Early Childhood Teacher Educator: A Proposed Addendum to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Nancy; Feeney, Stephanie; Moravcik, Eva

2003-01-01

Proposes an addendum to the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Code of Ethical Conduct concerning the unique ethical challenges facing teacher educators. Presents a conception of professional responsibility in six areas: children and families, adult students, programs hosting practicum students and programs' staffs and…

A New Realistic Evaluation Analysis Method: Linked Coding of Context, Mechanism, and Outcome Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Suzanne F.; Kolla, Gillian

2012-01-01

In attempting to use a realistic evaluation approach to explore the role of Community Parents in early parenting programs in Toronto, a novel technique was developed to analyze the links between contexts (C), mechanisms (M) and outcomes (O) directly from experienced practitioner interviews. Rather than coding the interviews into themes in terms of…

Write to Read: Investigating the Reading-Writing Relationship of Code-Level Early Literacy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Cindy D.; Reutzel, D. Ray

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the code-related features used in current methods of writing instruction in kindergarten classrooms transfer reading outcomes for kindergarten students. We randomly assigned kindergarten students to 3 instructional groups: a writing workshop group, an interactive writing group, and a control group.…

PyORBIT: A Python Shell For ORBIT

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

Jean-Francois Ostiguy; Jeffrey Holmes

2003-07-01

ORBIT is code developed at SNS to simulate beam dynamics in accumulation rings and synchrotrons. The code is structured as a collection of external C++ modules for SuperCode, a high level interpreter shell developed at LLNL in the early 1990s. SuperCode is no longer actively supported and there has for some time been interest in replacing it by a modern scripting language, while preserving the feel of the original ORBIT program. In this paper, we describe a new version of ORBIT where the role of SuperCode is assumed by Python, a free, well-documented and widely supported object-oriented scripting language. Wemore » also compare PyORBIT to ORBIT from the standpoint of features, performance and future expandability.« less

Efficient transformation of an auditory population code in a small sensory system.

PubMed

Clemens, Jan; Kutzki, Olaf; Ronacher, Bernhard; Schreiber, Susanne; Wohlgemuth, Sandra

2011-08-16

Optimal coding principles are implemented in many large sensory systems. They include the systematic transformation of external stimuli into a sparse and decorrelated neuronal representation, enabling a flexible readout of stimulus properties. Are these principles also applicable to size-constrained systems, which have to rely on a limited number of neurons and may only have to fulfill specific and restricted tasks? We studied this question in an insect system--the early auditory pathway of grasshoppers. Grasshoppers use genetically fixed songs to recognize mates. The first steps of neural processing of songs take place in a small three-layer feed-forward network comprising only a few dozen neurons. We analyzed the transformation of the neural code within this network. Indeed, grasshoppers create a decorrelated and sparse representation, in accordance with optimal coding theory. Whereas the neuronal input layer is best read out as a summed population, a labeled-line population code for temporal features of the song is established after only two processing steps. At this stage, information about song identity is maximal for a population decoder that preserves neuronal identity. We conclude that optimal coding principles do apply to the early auditory system of the grasshopper, despite its size constraints. The inputs, however, are not encoded in a systematic, map-like fashion as in many larger sensory systems. Already at its periphery, part of the grasshopper auditory system seems to focus on behaviorally relevant features, and is in this property more reminiscent of higher sensory areas in vertebrates.

Ethics Instruction for Preservice Teachers: How Are We Doing in ECE?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Nancy Krupnick; Brown, Mac H.

1996-01-01

Notes the importance of providing preservice early childhood educators with ethics guidance and instruction. Summarizes results of Survey of Instruction in Professional Ethics (SIPE) indicating that most early childhood teacher educators include professional ethics instruction. Suggests use of a Code of Ethics, SIPE, textbooks, and videotape…

Dose-Response Analysis of Early MicroRNA Alterations Linked to PPAR-alpha Activation

EPA Science Inventory

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA species that play a critical role in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. MiRNAs also serve as a promising source of early predictive biomarkers for different types of health outcomes, although there is limited informatio...

The Emergence of Ethics and Professionalism in the Early Advertising Business.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schultze, Quentin J.

In the pre-World War I era, advertising practitioners attempted to make their craft a profession. Generally agreeing that the creation of ethical codes was the most important step toward professionalism, practitioners organized the Associated Advertising Clubs of America (AACA). Early journal articles and AACA proceedings indicate that…

Overview of the ArbiTER edge plasma eigenvalue code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baver, Derek; Myra, James; Umansky, Maxim

2011-10-01

The Arbitrary Topology Equation Reader, or ArbiTER, is a flexible eigenvalue solver that is currently under development for plasma physics applications. The ArbiTER code builds on the equation parser framework of the existing 2DX code, extending it to include a topology parser. This will give the code the capability to model problems with complicated geometries (such as multiple X-points and scrape-off layers) or model equations with arbitrary numbers of dimensions (e.g. for kinetic analysis). In the equation parser framework, model equations are not included in the program's source code. Instead, an input file contains instructions for building a matrix from profile functions and elementary differential operators. The program then executes these instructions in a sequential manner. These instructions may also be translated into analytic form, thus giving the code transparency as well as flexibility. We will present an overview of how the ArbiTER code is to work, as well as preliminary results from early versions of this code. Work supported by the U.S. DOE.

Disentangling the impact of resistance and ambivalence on therapy outcomes in cognitive behavioural therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Button, Melissa L; Westra, Henny A; Hara, Kimberley M; Aviram, Adi

2015-01-01

Resistance and ambivalence about change are increasingly recognized as important determinants of treatment outcomes. Moreover, resistance and ambivalence are thought to be theoretically related in that clients who are more ambivalent about change are more likely to demonstrate resistance to the process and tasks of treatment. In the context of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for generalized anxiety disorder, the present study simultaneously examined early resistance and ambivalence using two observer-based coding systems in order to determine their inter-relationship and, importantly, to investigate their relative contributions to outcome. Resistance was also coded during mid-treatment in order to investigate possible mediation pathways. Early ambivalence (clients' arguments against change or counter-change talk) was found to be no longer related to outcomes when early resistance was taken into account, suggesting that disharmony in the therapeutic relationship is more important to outcomes than ambivalence per se. Moreover, mid-treatment resistance partially mediated the relationship between early resistance and post-treatment worry severity. That is, higher early opposition to therapist direction is related to poorer outcomes, in part because it is associated with greater resistance during the working phase of CBT. The findings underscore the critical need for therapists to be sensitive to identifying resistance early and throughout treatment.

Efficacy and Safety of Ixekizumab in Patients with Active Psoriatic Arthritis: 52-week Results from a Phase III Study (SPIRIT-P1).

PubMed

van der Heijde, Désirée; Gladman, Dafna D; Kishimoto, Mitsumasa; Okada, Masato; Rathmann, Suchitrita S; Moriarty, Susan R; Shuler, Catherine L; Carlier, Hilde; Benichou, Olivier; Mease, Philip J

2018-03-01

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ixekizumab (IXE), an interleukin 17A antagonist, in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) after 52 weeks in a phase III study. Patients were initially randomly assigned to IXE 80 mg every 2 weeks (IXEQ2W) or every 4 weeks (IXEQ4W) after a 160-mg starting dose, placebo (PBO), or adalimumab (ADA) 40 mg Q2W. At Week 24 (Week 16 for inadequate responders), ADA (8-week washout before starting IXE) and PBO patients were rerandomized to IXEQ2W or IXEQ4W. Six treatment groups were evaluated in the extension period (weeks 24-52): IXEQ2W/IXEQ2W, IXEQ4W/IXEQ4W, ADA/IXEQ2W, ADA/IXEQ4W, PBO/IXEQ2W, and PBO/IXEQ4W. The extension period population (EPP) included patients who received ≥ 1 dose of study medication during the extension period. There were 381/417 (91.4%) patients who entered the extension period. In the IXEQ4W/IXEQ4W and IXEQ2W/IXEQ2W groups (EPP), respectively, American College of Rheumatology (ACR)20 (69.1% and 68.8%), ACR50 (54.6% and 53.1%), and ACR70 (39.2% and 39.6%) response rates were sustained at Week 52. Patients rerandomized to IXE also demonstrated efficacy measured by ACR response rates at Week 52. A similar pattern was observed for Psoriasis Area and Severity Index outcomes. Radiographic progression in all 6 groups was minimal. The most frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse events (≥ 4%) were nasopharyngitis, injection site reaction, injection site erythema, upper respiratory tract infection, and back pain. No deaths were reported, and serious adverse event frequency was 0-4% with IXE. During the extension period, IXEQ4W or IXEQ2W treatment demonstrated sustained efficacy in key PsA domains with a safety profile consistent with other studies investigating IXE. Clinical trial number: NCT01695239; EudraCT 2011-002326-49.

A scaling approach to Budyko's framework and the complementary relationship of evapotranspiration in humid environments: case study of the Amazon River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carmona, A. M.; Poveda, G.; Sivapalan, M.; Vallejo-Bernal, S. M.; Bustamante, E.

2015-10-01

This paper studies a 3-D generalization of Budyko's framework designed to capture the mutual interdependence among long-term mean actual evapotranspiration (E), potential evapotranspiration (Ep) and precipitation (P). For this purpose we use three dimensionless and dependent quantities: Ψ = E/P, Φ = Ep/P and Ω = E/Ep. This 3-D space and its 2-D projections provide an interesting setting to test the physical soundness of Budyko's hypothesis. We demonstrate analytically that Budyko-type equations are unable to capture the physical limit of the relation between Ω and Φ in humid environments, owing to the unfeasibility of Ep/P → 0 at E/Ep = 1. Using data from 146 sub-catchments in the Amazon River basin we overcome this inconsistency by proposing a physically consistent power law: Ψ = k Φe, with k = 0.66, and e = 0.83 (R2 = 0.93). This power law is compared with two other Budyko-type equations. Taking into account the goodness of fits and the ability to comply with the physical limits of the 3-D space, our results show that the power law is better suited to model the coupled water and energy balances within the Amazon River basin. Moreover, k is found to be related to the partitioning of energy via evapotranspiration in terms of Ω. This suggests that our power law implicitly incorporates the complementary relationship of evapotranspiration into the Budyko curve, which is a consequence of the dependent nature of the studied variables within our 3-D space. This scaling approach is also consistent with the asymmetrical nature of the complementary relationship of evapotranspiration. Looking for a physical explanation for the parameters k and e, the inter-annual variability of individual catchments is studied. Evidence of space-time symmetry in Amazonia emerges, since both between-catchment and between-year variability follow the same Budyko curves. Finally, signs of co-evolution of catchments are explored by linking spatial patterns of the power law parameters with fundamental characteristics of the Amazon River basin. In general, k and e are found to be related to vegetation, topography and water in soils.

[Association between acid reflux and esophageal dysmotility in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease].

PubMed

Yi, Zhi-hui; Feng, Li; Wen, Mao-yao; Liu, Jian-rong; Yang, Li

2014-05-01

To investigate the association between esophageal motility and acid reflux in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). A total of 94 patients with typical reflux symptoms such as heartburn, regurgitation and chest pain, whose score (Sc) of reflux diagnostic questionnaire (RDQ) was greater than or equal to 12 were enrolled in the study. Each participant was evaluated by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, high resolution manometry (HRM) of esophagus and 24 h esophageal pH monitoring. The participants were divided into groups of reflux esophagitis (RE) and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) on the basis of endoscopy findings. The 24 h esophageal pH monitoring categorized participants into physiologic reflux (pH) and pathologic reflux (pH+). The characteristics of esophageal motility and acid reflux were compared between the two groups of participants. Lower but non-significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in pressure of lower esophageal sphincter (LESP), length of lower esophageal sphincter (LESL), esophageal contraction amplitude (CA), distal contractile integral (DCI) and effective peristalsis proportion (EPP) in the participants in the RE group compared with those in the NERD group. Participants in the RE group had significantly higher prevalence of reduced LESP (63.0% vs. 31.7%, P < 0.01) and hiatus hernia (HH) (37.0% vs. 14.3%, P < 0.05) than those in the NERD group, pH+ was more prevalent in the RE group than in the NERD group (63.0% vs. 17.5%, P < 0.01). Indicators of 24 h esophageal pH monitoring were significantly higher in participants in the RE group compared with those in the NERD group (P < 0.05). Participants with pH+ had significantly lower LESP, CA and higher HH and prevalence of reduced LESP compared with those with pH (P < 0.05). LESL, DCI and EPP were lower in those with pH+ compared with those with pH-, but without statistical significance (P > 0.05). RE is closely associated with acid reflux and hiatus hernia. Esophageal dysmotility is more likely to appear in patients with pH+. The interaction of acid reflux and esophageal dysmotility may play a role in GERD.

Experimentally Reproducing Thermal Breakdown of Rock at Earth's Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eppes, M. C.; Griffiths, L.; Heap, M. J.; Keanini, R.; Baud, P.

2016-12-01

Thermal stressing induces microcrack growth in rock in part due to thermal expansion mismatch between different minerals, mineral phases, or crystalline axes and/or thermal gradients in the entire rock mass. This knowledge is largely derived from experimental studies of thermal microcracking, typically under conditions of very high temperatures (hundreds of °C). Thermal stressing at lower temperatures has received significantly less attention despite the fact that it may play an important role in rock breakdown at and near Earth's surface (Aldred et al., 2015; Collins and Stock, 2016). In particular, Eppes et al. (2016) attribute recorded Acoustic Emissions (AE) from a highly instrumented granite boulder sitting on the ground in natural conditions to subcritical crack growth driven by thermal stresses arising from a combination of solar- and weather-induced temperature changes; however the maximum temperature the boulder experienced was just 65 °C. In order to better understand these results without complicating factors of a natural environment, we conducted controlled laboratory experiments on cylindrical samples (40 mm length and 20 mm diameter) cored from the same granite as the Eppes et al. (2016) experiment, subjecting them to temperature fluctuations that reproduced the field measurements. We used a novel experimental configuration whereby two high temperature piezo-transducers are each in contact with an opposing face of the sample. The servo-controlled uniaxial press compensates for the thermal expansion and contraction of the pistons and the sample, keeping the coupling between the transducers and the sample, and the axial force acting on the sample, constant throughout. The system records AE, as well as P-wave velocity, both independent proxies for microfracture, as well as strain and temperature. Preliminary tests, heating and cooling granite at a rate of 1 °C/min, show that a large amount of AE occurs at temperatures as low as 100 °C. Ultimately, by subjecting the samples to more realistic temperature cycles and by then comparing those results to field data and to modelling output for thermal-stress related fracture, we hope to expand our understanding of the specific environmental conditions that lead to thermal-stress related rock breakdown at Earth's surface.

Soil bioengineering measures for disaster mitigation and environmental restoration in Central America: authochtonal cuttings suitability and economic efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrone, A.; Preti, F.

2009-04-01

The use of Soil Bio-Engineering techniques in Developing countries is a relevant issue for Disaster mitigation, environmental restoration and poverty reduction. Research on authochtonal plants suitable for this kind of works and on economic efficiency is essential for the divulgation of this Discipline. The present paper is focused on this two issues related to the realization of various typologies of Soil Bio-engineering works in the Humid tropic of Nicaragua. In the area of Río Blanco, located in the Department of Matagalpa, Soil bio-engineering installations were built in several sites. The particular structures built were: drainages with live fascine mattress, a live palisade, a vegetated live crib wall for riverbank protection, a vegetative covering made of a metallic net and biotextile coupled with a live palisade made of bamboo. In order to evaluate the suitability of the various plants used in the works, monitorings were performed, one in the live palisade alongside an unpaved road and the other on the live crib wall along a riverbank, collecting survival rate and morphological parameters data. Concerning the economic efficiency we proceed to a financial analysis of the works and once the unit price was obtained, we converted the amount in EPP Dollars (Equal Purchasing Power) in order to compare the Nicaraguan context with the Italian one. Among the used species we found that Madero negro (Gliricidia sepium) and Roble macuelizo (Tabebuia rosea) are adequate for Soil-bioengineering measure on slopes while Helequeme (Erythrina fusca) reported a successful behaviour only in the crib wall for riverbank protection. In the comparison of the costs in Nicaragua and in Italy, the unit price reduction for the central American country ranges between 1.5 times (for the vegetative covering) and almost 4 times (for the fascine mattress) if it's used the EPP dollar exchange rate. Thus, a conclusion can be reached with regard to hydrological-risk mitigating actions performed on a basin scale and through naturalistic techniques: not only are they technically attainable, even in hardship areas (by maximizing the contribution of the local labor force and minimizing the use of mechanical equipment), but they are also economically sustainable.

Soil bio-engineering for risk mitigation and environmental restoration in a humid tropical area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrone, A.; Preti, F.

2009-07-01

The use of soil bio-engineering techniques in developing countries is a relevant issue for disaster mitigation, environmental restoration and poverty reduction. Research on authochtonal plants suitable for this kind of works and on economic efficiency is essential for the divulgation of such techniques. The present paper is focused on this two issues related to the realization of various typologies of soil bio-engineering works in the humid tropic of Nicaragua. In the area of Río Blanco, located in the Department of Matagalpa, soil bio-engineering installations were built in several sites. The particular structures built were: drainages with live fascine mattress, a live palisade, a vegetated live crib wall for riverbank protection, a vegetative covering made of a metallic net and biotextile coupled with a live palisade made of bamboo. In order to evaluate the suitability of the various plants used in the works, monitorings were performed, one in the live palisade alongside an unpaved road and the other on the live crib wall along a riverbank, collecting survival rate and morphological parameters data. Concerning the economic efficiency we proceed to a financial analysis of the works and once the unit price was obtained, we converted the amount in EPP Dollars (Equal Purchasing Power) in order to compare the Nicaraguan context with the Italian one. Among the used species we found that Madero negro (Gliricidia sepium) and Roble macuelizo (Tabebuia rosea) are adequate for soil-bioengineering measure on slopes while Helequeme (Erythrina fusca) reported a successful behaviour only in the crib wall for riverbank protection. In the comparison of the costs in Nicaragua and in Italy, the unit price reduction for the Central American country ranges between 1.5 times (for the vegetative covering) and almost 4 times (for the fascine mattress) if it's used the EPP dollar exchange rate. Conclusions are reached with regard to hydrological-risk mitigating actions performed on a basin scale and through naturalistic (live) interventions: not only are they socially and technically attainable, even in hardship areas (by maximizing the contribution of the local labor force and minimizing the use of mechanical equipment), but they are also economically sustainable.

Soil bioengineering for risk mitigation and environmental restoration in a humid tropical area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrone, A.; Preti, F.

2010-02-01

The use of soil bio-engineering techniques in developing countries is a relevant issue for disaster mitigation, environmental restoration and poverty reduction. Research on the autochthonal plants suitable for these kinds of interventions and on the economic efficiency of the interventions is essential for the dissemination of such techniques. The present paper is focused on these two issues as related to the realization of various typologies of soil bioengineering works in the humid tropics of Nicaragua. In the area of Río Blanco, located in the Department of Matagalpa, soil bioengineering installations were built in several sites. The particular structures built were: drainages with live fascine mattress, a live palisade, a vegetated live crib wall for riverbank protection, a vegetative covering made of a metallic net and biotextile coupled with a live palisade made of bamboo. In order to evaluate the suitability of the various plants used in these works, monitoring was performed, one on the live palisade alongside an unpaved road and the other on the live crib wall along a riverbank, by collecting data on survival rate and morphological parameters. Concerning economic efficiency, we proceeded to a financial analysis of the works. Once the unit price was obtained, we converted the amount into EPP Dollars (Equal Purchasing Power) in order to compare the Nicaraguan context with the European one. Among the species used we found that Gliricidia sepium (local common name: Madero negro) and Tabebuia rosea (local common name: Roble macuelizo) are adequate for soil bioengineering measures on slopes, while Erythrina fusca (local common name: Helequeme) resulted in successful behaviour only in the crib wall for riverbank protection. In comparing costs in Nicaragua and in Italy, the unit price reduction for Nicaragua ranges from 1.5 times (for the vegetative covering) to almost 4 times (for the fascine mattress), using the EPP dollar exchange rate. Our conclusions with regard to hydrological-risk mitigating actions performed on a basin scale and through naturalistic (live) interventions are that they are not only socially and technically possible, even in hardship areas (by maximizing the contribution of the local labour force and minimizing the use of mechanical equipment), but also economically sustainable.

Code to Learn: Where Does It Belong in the K-12 Curriculum?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moreno-León, Jesús; Robles, Gregorio; Román-González, Marcos

2016-01-01

The introduction of computer programming in K-12 has become mainstream in the last years, as countries around the world are making coding part of their curriculum. Nevertheless, there is a lack of empirical studies that investigate how learning to program at an early age affects other school subjects. In this regard, this paper compares three…

Learning Concepts, Language, and Literacy in Hybrid Linguistic Codes: The Multilingual Maze of Urban Grade 1 Classrooms in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henning, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

From the field of developmental psycholinguistics and from conceptual development theory there is evidence that excessive linguistic "code-switching" in early school education may pose some hazards for the learning of young multilingual children. In this article the author addresses the issue, invoking post-Piagetian and neo-Vygotskian…

ESTEST: A Framework for the Verification and Validation of Electronic Structure Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Gary; Gygi, Francois

2011-03-01

ESTEST is a verification and validation (V& V) framework for electronic structure codes that supports Qbox, Quantum Espresso, ABINIT, the Exciting Code and plans support for many more. We discuss various approaches to the electronic structure V& V problem implemented in ESTEST, that are related to parsing, formats, data management, search, comparison and analyses. Additionally, an early experiment in the distribution of V& V ESTEST servers among the electronic structure community will be presented. Supported by NSF-OCI 0749217 and DOE FC02-06ER25777.

Study of Chlamydia trachomatis in Military Women; Prevalence, Risk Factors, and a Cost Benefit Analysis of Early Diagnosis and Treatment

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-09-01

ectopic pregnancy, and infertility represent a large disease burden 1,3. Infection rates for young, sexually active women range from 5-20%. In men...Hospitalizations (PASBA) for PID (ICD9 codes 614 and 615), infertility (ICD9 code 628), and 18 * ectopic pregnancy (ICD9 code 633) in Army enlisted females...trachomatisinfections in women has been lim- flammatory disease, infertility , and ectopic pregnancy. ited by the need for access to a medical clinic and a To design

Conserved pattern of embryonic actin gene expression in several sea urchins and a sand dollar.

PubMed

Bushman, F D; Crain, W R

1983-08-01

An examination of the size and relative abundance of actin-coding RNA in embryos of four sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, Arbacia punctulata, Lytechinus variegatus) and one sand dollar (Echinarachnius parma) reveals a generally conserved program of expression. In each species the relative abundance of these sequences is low in early embryos and begins to rise during late cleavage or blastula stages. In the four sea urchins, actin-coding RNAs increase between approximately 9- and 35-fold by pluteus or an earlier stage, and in the sand dollar about 5.5-fold by blastula. A major actin-coding RNA class of 2.0-2.2 kilobases (kb) is found in each species. A smaller actin-coding RNA class, which accumulates during embryogenesis, is also present in S. purpuratus (1.8 kb), S. droebachiensis (1.9 kb), and A. punctulata (1.6 kb), but apparently absent in L. variegatus and E. parma. In S. droebachiensis, actin-coding RNA is relatively abundant in unfertilized eggs and drops sharply by the 16-cell stage. This is in contrast to the other sea urchins where the actin message content is relatively low in eggs and does not change substantially in the embryos throughout early cleavage. The observations in this study suggest that the pattern of embryonic expression of at least some members of this gene family is ancient and conserved.

Delay Analysis of Car-to-Car Reliable Data Delivery Strategies Based on Data Mulling with Network Coding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Joon-Sang; Lee, Uichin; Oh, Soon Young; Gerla, Mario; Lun, Desmond Siumen; Ro, Won Woo; Park, Joonseok

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) aims to enhance vehicle navigation safety by providing an early warning system: any chance of accidents is informed through the wireless communication between vehicles. For the warning system to work, it is crucial that safety messages be reliably delivered to the target vehicles in a timely manner and thus reliable and timely data dissemination service is the key building block of VANET. Data mulling technique combined with three strategies, network codeing, erasure coding and repetition coding, is proposed for the reliable and timely data dissemination service. Particularly, vehicles in the opposite direction on a highway are exploited as data mules, mobile nodes physically delivering data to destinations, to overcome intermittent network connectivity cause by sparse vehicle traffic. Using analytic models, we show that in such a highway data mulling scenario the network coding based strategy outperforms erasure coding and repetition based strategies.

ADM. Administration Building (TAN602). Early room layout, door and room ...

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

ADM. Administration Building (TAN-602). Early room layout, door and room schedules. Ralph M. Parsons 902-2-ANP-602-A 31. Date: December 1952. Approved by INEEL Classification Office for public release. INEEL index code no. 033-0602-00-693-106710 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Test Area North, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Dancing Robots: Integrating Art, Music, and Robotics in Singapore's Early Childhood Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Amanda; Bers, Marina Umaschi

2018-01-01

In recent years, Singapore has increased its national emphasis on technology and engineering in early childhood education. Their newest initiative, the Playmaker Programme, has focused on teaching robotics and coding in preschool settings. Robotics offers a playful and collaborative way for children to engage with foundational technology and…

Perceptual-Motor Programs Do Not Facilitate Development: Why Not Play?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corrie, Loraine; Barratt-Pugh, Caroline

1997-01-01

Early childhood perceptual-motor programs as preventive and remedial measures present three concerns: (1) they have minimal positive effects; (2) funds could be used to investigate more effective educational strategies; and (3) the rationale for these programs does not fit with the Australian Early Childhood Association's Code of Ethics. Play is…

Conservation Seeds Activities Book. An Early Childhood Conservation Education Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, Sherri

This activities book is used with an early childhood conservation education program. The activities are presented in four color-coded sections, each section representing one of the four seasons. Each activity includes a statement of purpose, list of materials needed, instructional strategies, and a list of supplementary activities. In addition to…

Early Childhood Practitioner Involvement in Functional Behavioral Assessment and Function-Based Interventions: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Brenna K.; Drogan, Robin R.; Janney, Donna M.

2014-01-01

Reviewers analyzed studies published from 1990 to 2012 to determine early childhood practitioner involvement in functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and function-based behavioral intervention plans (BIP) for children with challenging behavior, age 6 and younger. Coding of 30 studies included practitioner involvement in FBA and BIP processes,…

Dyadic Coregulation and Deviant Talk in Adolescent Friendships: Interaction Patterns Associated With Problematic Substance Use in Early Adulthood

PubMed Central

Piehler, Timothy F.; Dishion, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

In a sample of 711 ethnically diverse adolescents, the observed interpersonal dynamics of dyadic adolescent friendship interactions were coded to predict early adulthood tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Deviant discussion content within the interactions was coded along with dyadic coregulation (i.e., interpersonal coordination, attention synchrony). Structural equation modeling revealed that, as expected, deviant content in adolescent interactions at age 16–17 years was strongly predictive of problematic use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana at ages 22 and 23. Although dyadic coregulation was not directly predictive of early adulthood substance use, it did moderate the impact of deviant talk within the dyad on future alcohol and marijuana use. For these substances, high levels of dyadic coregulation increased the risk associated with high levels of deviant talk for problematic use in early adulthood. Results held when comparing across genders and across ethnic groups. The results suggest that these interpersonal dynamics are associated with developmental trajectories of risk for or resilience to peer influence processes. PMID:24188039

Dyadic coregulation and deviant talk in adolescent friendships: interaction patterns associated with problematic substance use in early adulthood.

PubMed

Piehler, Timothy F; Dishion, Thomas J

2014-04-01

In a sample of 711 ethnically diverse adolescents, the observed interpersonal dynamics of dyadic adolescent friendship interactions were coded to predict early adulthood tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Deviant discussion content within the interactions was coded along with dyadic coregulation (i.e., interpersonal coordination, attention synchrony). Structural equation modeling revealed that, as expected, deviant content in adolescent interactions at age 16-17 years was strongly predictive of problematic use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana at ages 22 and 23. Although dyadic coregulation was not directly predictive of early adulthood substance use, it did moderate the impact of deviant talk within the dyad on future alcohol and marijuana use. For these substances, high levels of dyadic coregulation increased the risk associated with high levels of deviant talk for problematic use in early adulthood. Results held when comparing across genders and across ethnic groups. The results suggest that these interpersonal dynamics are associated with developmental trajectories of risk for or resilience to peer influence processes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

A Verification Method of Inter-Task Cooperation in Embedded Real-time Systems and its Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Toshio

In software development process of embedded real-time systems, the design of the task cooperation process is very important. The cooperating process of such tasks is specified by task cooperation patterns. Adoption of unsuitable task cooperation patterns has fatal influence on system performance, quality, and extendibility. In order to prevent repetitive work caused by the shortage of task cooperation performance, it is necessary to verify task cooperation patterns in an early software development stage. However, it is very difficult to verify task cooperation patterns in an early software developing stage where task program codes are not completed yet. Therefore, we propose a verification method using task skeleton program codes and a real-time kernel that has a function of recording all events during software execution such as system calls issued by task program codes, external interrupts, and timer interrupt. In order to evaluate the proposed verification method, we applied it to the software development process of a mechatronics control system.

Transcriptional role of androgen receptor in the expression of long non-coding RNA Sox2OT in neurogenesis

PubMed Central

Tosetti, Valentina; Sassone, Jenny; Ferri, Anna L. M.; Taiana, Michela; Bedini, Gloria; Nava, Sara; Brenna, Greta; Di Resta, Chiara; Pareyson, Davide; Di Giulio, Anna Maria; Carelli, Stephana

2017-01-01

The complex architecture of adult brain derives from tightly regulated migration and differentiation of precursor cells generated during embryonic neurogenesis. Changes at transcriptional level of genes that regulate migration and differentiation may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. Androgen receptor (AR) is a transcription factor that is already expressed during early embryonic days. However, AR role in the regulation of gene expression at early embryonic stage is yet to be determinate. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Sox2 overlapping transcript (Sox2OT) plays a crucial role in gene expression control during development but its transcriptional regulation is still to be clearly defined. Here, using Bicalutamide in order to pharmacologically inactivated AR, we investigated whether AR participates in the regulation of the transcription of the lncRNASox2OTat early embryonic stage. We identified a new DNA binding region upstream of Sox2 locus containing three androgen response elements (ARE), and found that AR binds such a sequence in embryonic neural stem cells and in mouse embryonic brain. Our data suggest that through this binding, AR can promote the RNA polymerase II dependent transcription of Sox2OT. Our findings also suggest that AR participates in embryonic neurogenesis through transcriptional control of the long non-coding RNA Sox2OT. PMID:28704421

Transcriptional role of androgen receptor in the expression of long non-coding RNA Sox2OT in neurogenesis.

PubMed

Tosetti, Valentina; Sassone, Jenny; Ferri, Anna L M; Taiana, Michela; Bedini, Gloria; Nava, Sara; Brenna, Greta; Di Resta, Chiara; Pareyson, Davide; Di Giulio, Anna Maria; Carelli, Stephana; Parati, Eugenio A; Gorio, Alfredo

2017-01-01

The complex architecture of adult brain derives from tightly regulated migration and differentiation of precursor cells generated during embryonic neurogenesis. Changes at transcriptional level of genes that regulate migration and differentiation may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. Androgen receptor (AR) is a transcription factor that is already expressed during early embryonic days. However, AR role in the regulation of gene expression at early embryonic stage is yet to be determinate. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Sox2 overlapping transcript (Sox2OT) plays a crucial role in gene expression control during development but its transcriptional regulation is still to be clearly defined. Here, using Bicalutamide in order to pharmacologically inactivated AR, we investigated whether AR participates in the regulation of the transcription of the lncRNASox2OTat early embryonic stage. We identified a new DNA binding region upstream of Sox2 locus containing three androgen response elements (ARE), and found that AR binds such a sequence in embryonic neural stem cells and in mouse embryonic brain. Our data suggest that through this binding, AR can promote the RNA polymerase II dependent transcription of Sox2OT. Our findings also suggest that AR participates in embryonic neurogenesis through transcriptional control of the long non-coding RNA Sox2OT.

Early Childhood Diarrhea Predicts Cognitive Delays in Later Childhood Independently of Malnutrition

PubMed Central

Pinkerton, Relana; Oriá, Reinaldo B.; Lima, Aldo A. M.; Rogawski, Elizabeth T.; Oriá, Mônica O. B.; Patrick, Peter D.; Moore, Sean R.; Wiseman, Benjamin L.; Niehaus, Mark D.; Guerrant, Richard L.

2016-01-01

Understanding the complex relationship between early childhood infectious diseases, nutritional status, poverty, and cognitive development is significantly hindered by the lack of studies that adequately address confounding between these variables. This study assesses the independent contributions of early childhood diarrhea (ECD) and malnutrition on cognitive impairment in later childhood. A cohort of 131 children from a shantytown community in northeast Brazil was monitored from birth to 24 months for diarrhea and anthropometric status. Cognitive assessments including Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI), coding tasks (WISC-III), and verbal fluency (NEPSY) were completed when children were an average of 8.4 years of age (range = 5.6–12.7 years). Multivariate analysis of variance models were used to assess the individual as well as combined effects of ECD and stunting on later childhood cognitive performance. ECD, height for age (HAZ) at 24 months, and weight for age (WAZ) at 24 months were significant univariate predictors of the studies three cognitive outcomes: TONI, coding, and verbal performance (P < 0.05). Multivariate models showed that ECD remained a significant predictor, after adjusting for the effect of 24 months HAZ and WAZ, for both TONI (HAZ, P = 0.029 and WAZ, P = 0.006) and coding (HAZ, P = 0.025 and WAZ, P = 0.036) scores. WAZ and HAZ were also significant predictors after adjusting for ECD. ECD remained a significant predictor of coding (WISC III) after number of household income was considered (P = 0.006). This study provides evidence that ECD and stunting may have independent effects on children's intellectual function well into later childhood. PMID:27601523

The Validation of Macro and Micro Observations of Parent–Child Dynamics Using the Relationship Affect Coding System in Early Childhood

PubMed Central

Mun, Chung Jung; Tein, Jenn-Yun; Kim, Hanjoe; Shaw, Daniel S.; Gardner, Frances; Wilson, Melvin N.; Peterson, Jenene

2018-01-01

This study examined the validity of micro social observations and macro ratings of parent–child interaction in early to middle childhood. Seven hundred and thirty-one families representing multiple ethnic groups were recruited and screened as at risk in the context of Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Nutritional Supplement service settings. Families were randomly assigned to the Family Checkup (FCU) intervention or the control condition at age 2 and videotaped in structured interactions in the home at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. Parent–child interaction videotapes were microcoded using the Relationship Affect Coding System (RACS) that captures the duration of two mutual dyadic states: positive engagement and coercion. Macro ratings of parenting skills were collected after coding the videotapes to assess parent use of positive behavior support and limit setting skills (or lack thereof). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the measurement model of macro ratings of limit setting and positive behavior support was not supported by the data, and thus, were excluded from further analyses. However, there was moderate stability in the families’ micro social dynamics across early childhood and it showed significant improvements as a function of random assignment to the FCU. Moreover, parent–child dynamics were predictive of chronic behavior problems as rated by parents in middle childhood, but not emotional problems. We conclude with a discussion of the validity of the RACS and on methodological advantages of micro social coding over the statistical limitations of macro rating observations. Future directions are discussed for observation research in prevention science. PMID:27620623

Exome sequencing identifies rare LDLR and APOA5 alleles conferring risk for myocardial infarction.

PubMed

Do, Ron; Stitziel, Nathan O; Won, Hong-Hee; Jørgensen, Anders Berg; Duga, Stefano; Angelica Merlini, Pier; Kiezun, Adam; Farrall, Martin; Goel, Anuj; Zuk, Or; Guella, Illaria; Asselta, Rosanna; Lange, Leslie A; Peloso, Gina M; Auer, Paul L; Girelli, Domenico; Martinelli, Nicola; Farlow, Deborah N; DePristo, Mark A; Roberts, Robert; Stewart, Alexander F R; Saleheen, Danish; Danesh, John; Epstein, Stephen E; Sivapalaratnam, Suthesh; Hovingh, G Kees; Kastelein, John J; Samani, Nilesh J; Schunkert, Heribert; Erdmann, Jeanette; Shah, Svati H; Kraus, William E; Davies, Robert; Nikpay, Majid; Johansen, Christopher T; Wang, Jian; Hegele, Robert A; Hechter, Eliana; Marz, Winfried; Kleber, Marcus E; Huang, Jie; Johnson, Andrew D; Li, Mingyao; Burke, Greg L; Gross, Myron; Liu, Yongmei; Assimes, Themistocles L; Heiss, Gerardo; Lange, Ethan M; Folsom, Aaron R; Taylor, Herman A; Olivieri, Oliviero; Hamsten, Anders; Clarke, Robert; Reilly, Dermot F; Yin, Wu; Rivas, Manuel A; Donnelly, Peter; Rossouw, Jacques E; Psaty, Bruce M; Herrington, David M; Wilson, James G; Rich, Stephen S; Bamshad, Michael J; Tracy, Russell P; Cupples, L Adrienne; Rader, Daniel J; Reilly, Muredach P; Spertus, John A; Cresci, Sharon; Hartiala, Jaana; Tang, W H Wilson; Hazen, Stanley L; Allayee, Hooman; Reiner, Alex P; Carlson, Christopher S; Kooperberg, Charles; Jackson, Rebecca D; Boerwinkle, Eric; Lander, Eric S; Schwartz, Stephen M; Siscovick, David S; McPherson, Ruth; Tybjaerg-Hansen, Anne; Abecasis, Goncalo R; Watkins, Hugh; Nickerson, Deborah A; Ardissino, Diego; Sunyaev, Shamil R; O'Donnell, Christopher J; Altshuler, David; Gabriel, Stacey; Kathiresan, Sekar

2015-02-05

Myocardial infarction (MI), a leading cause of death around the world, displays a complex pattern of inheritance. When MI occurs early in life, genetic inheritance is a major component to risk. Previously, rare mutations in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) genes have been shown to contribute to MI risk in individual families, whereas common variants at more than 45 loci have been associated with MI risk in the population. Here we evaluate how rare mutations contribute to early-onset MI risk in the population. We sequenced the protein-coding regions of 9,793 genomes from patients with MI at an early age (≤50 years in males and ≤60 years in females) along with MI-free controls. We identified two genes in which rare coding-sequence mutations were more frequent in MI cases versus controls at exome-wide significance. At low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), carriers of rare non-synonymous mutations were at 4.2-fold increased risk for MI; carriers of null alleles at LDLR were at even higher risk (13-fold difference). Approximately 2% of early MI cases harbour a rare, damaging mutation in LDLR; this estimate is similar to one made more than 40 years ago using an analysis of total cholesterol. Among controls, about 1 in 217 carried an LDLR coding-sequence mutation and had plasma LDL cholesterol > 190 mg dl(-1). At apolipoprotein A-V (APOA5), carriers of rare non-synonymous mutations were at 2.2-fold increased risk for MI. When compared with non-carriers, LDLR mutation carriers had higher plasma LDL cholesterol, whereas APOA5 mutation carriers had higher plasma triglycerides. Recent evidence has connected MI risk with coding-sequence mutations at two genes functionally related to APOA5, namely lipoprotein lipase and apolipoprotein C-III (refs 18, 19). Combined, these observations suggest that, as well as LDL cholesterol, disordered metabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins contributes to MI risk.

Attention enhances multi-voxel representation of novel objects in frontal, parietal and visual cortices.

PubMed

Woolgar, Alexandra; Williams, Mark A; Rich, Anina N

2015-04-01

Selective attention is fundamental for human activity, but the details of its neural implementation remain elusive. One influential theory, the adaptive coding hypothesis (Duncan, 2001, An adaptive coding model of neural function in prefrontal cortex, Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2:820-829), proposes that single neurons in certain frontal and parietal regions dynamically adjust their responses to selectively encode relevant information. This selective representation may in turn support selective processing in more specialized brain regions such as the visual cortices. Here, we use multi-voxel decoding of functional magnetic resonance images to demonstrate selective representation of attended--and not distractor--objects in frontal, parietal, and visual cortices. In addition, we highlight a critical role for task demands in determining which brain regions exhibit selective coding. Strikingly, representation of attended objects in frontoparietal cortex was highest under conditions of high perceptual demand, when stimuli were hard to perceive and coding in early visual cortex was weak. Coding in early visual cortex varied as a function of attention and perceptual demand, while coding in higher visual areas was sensitive to the allocation of attention but robust to changes in perceptual difficulty. Consistent with high-profile reports, peripherally presented objects could also be decoded from activity at the occipital pole, a region which corresponds to the fovea. Our results emphasize the flexibility of frontoparietal and visual systems. They support the hypothesis that attention enhances the multi-voxel representation of information in the brain, and suggest that the engagement of this attentional mechanism depends critically on current task demands. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clinical indicators for routine use in the evaluation of early psychosis intervention: development, training support and inter-rater reliability.

PubMed

Catts, Stanley V; Frost, Aaron D J; O'Toole, Brian I; Carr, Vaughan J; Lewin, Terry; Neil, Amanda L; Harris, Meredith G; Evans, Russell W; Crissman, Belinda R; Eadie, Kathy

2011-01-01

Clinical practice improvement carried out in a quality assurance framework relies on routinely collected data using clinical indicators. Herein we describe the development, minimum training requirements, and inter-rater agreement of indicators that were used in an Australian multi-site evaluation of the effectiveness of early psychosis (EP) teams. Surveys of clinician opinion and face-to-face consensus-building meetings were used to select and conceptually define indicators. Operationalization of definitions was achieved by iterative refinement until clinicians could be quickly trained to code indicators reliably. Calculation of percentage agreement with expert consensus coding was based on ratings of paper-based clinical vignettes embedded in a 2-h clinician training package. Consensually agreed upon conceptual definitions for seven clinical indicators judged most relevant to evaluating EP teams were operationalized for ease-of-training. Brief training enabled typical clinicians to code indicators with acceptable percentage agreement (60% to 86%). For indicators of suicide risk, psychosocial function, and family functioning this level of agreement was only possible with less precise 'broad range' expert consensus scores. Estimated kappa values indicated fair to good inter-rater reliability (kappa > 0.65). Inspection of contingency tables (coding category by health service) and modal scores across services suggested consistent, unbiased coding across services. Clinicians are able to agree upon what information is essential to routinely evaluate clinical practice. Simple indicators of this information can be designed and coding rules can be reliably applied to written vignettes after brief training. The real world feasibility of the indicators remains to be tested in field trials.

Systematic and reliable multiscale modelling of lithium batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atalay, Selcuk; Schmuck, Markus

2017-11-01

Motivated by the increasing interest in lithium batteries as energy storage devices (e.g. cars/bycicles/public transport, social robot companions, mobile phones, and tablets), we investigate three basic cells: (i) a single intercalation host; (ii) a periodic arrangement of intercalation hosts; and (iii) a rigorously upscaled formulation of (ii) as initiated in. By systematically accounting for Li transport and interfacial reactions in (i)-(iii), we compute the associated chracteristic current-voltage curves and power densities. Finally, we discuss the influence of how the intercalation particles are arranged. Our findings are expected to improve the understanding of how microscopic properties affect the battery behaviour observed on the macroscale and at the same time, the upscaled formulation (iii) serves as an efficient computational tool. This work has been supported by EPSRC, UK, through the Grant No. EP/P011713/1.

The role of Edward Harrison's (1766-1838) disciples, Thomas Engall, John and George Epps, Charles Hoyland, John Evans Riadore, John Robinson and John Baptiste de Serney in the treatment of spinal deformity in the Victorian medical world.

PubMed

Bovine, Gary; Silver, John Russell; Weiner, Marie-France

2012-02-01

Edward Harrison was a distinguished and innovative physician, an educationalist who had a profound influence on the treatment of spinal deformities. He founded the first infirmary for the treatment of spinal diseases in London in 1837. Little is known of this institution but much of Harrison's legacy rests with his disciples who followed Harrison's principles of treatment to treat spinal deformity. Like Harrison they were unconventional individuals, influenced by religious beliefs and liberal political and social ideologies. After his death, initially they followed his methods of treatment but subsequently they were not afraid to pursue new forms of treatment including homeopathy at a time when traditional medicine had little to offer.

MELCOR/CONTAIN LMR Implementation Report - FY16 Progress.

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

Louie, David; Humphries, Larry L.

2016-11-01

This report describes the progress of the CONTAIN - LMR sodium physics and chemistry models to be implemented in MELCOR 2.1. In the past three years , the implementation included the addition of sodium equations of state and sodium properties from two different sources. The first source is based on the previous work done by Idaho National Laboratory by modifying MELCOR to include liquid lithium equation of state as a working fluid to model the nuclear fusion safety research. The second source uses properties generated for the SIMMER code. The implemented modeling has been tested and results are reported inmore » this document. In addition, the CONTAIN - LMR code was derived from an early version of the CONTAIN code, and many physical models that were developed since this early version of CONTAIN are not available in this early code version. Therefore, CONTAIN 2 has been updated with the sodium models in CONTAIN - LMR as CONTAIN2 - LMR, which may be used to provide code-to-code comparison with CONTAIN - LMR and MELCOR when the sodium chemistry models from CONTAIN - LMR have been completed. Both the spray fire and pool fire chemistry routines from CONTAIN - LMR have been integrated into MELCOR 2.1, and debugging and testing are in progress. Because MELCOR only models the equation of state for liquid and gas phases of the coolant, a modeling gap still exists when dealing with experiments or accident conditions that take place when the ambient temperature is below the freezing point of sodium. An alternative method is under investigation to overcome this gap . We are no longer working on the separate branch from the main branch of MELCOR 2.1 since the major modeling of MELCOR 2.1 has been completed. At the current stage, the newly implemented sodium chemistry models will be a part of the main MELCOR release version (MELCOR 2.2). This report will discuss the accomplishments and issues relating to the implementation. Also, we will report on the planned completion of all remaining tasks in the upcoming FY2017, including the atmospheric chemistry model and sodium - concrete interaction model implementation .« less

Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions across the World: (Under) Investing in the Very Young

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nores, Milagros; Barnett, W. Steven

2010-01-01

This paper reviews the international (non-U.S.) evidence on the benefits of early childhood interventions. A total of 38 contrasts of 30 interventions in 23 countries were analyzed. It focuses on studies applying a quasi-experimental or random assignment. Studies were coded according to: the type of intervention (cash transfer, nutritional,…

Early Language Development in Context: Interactions between Infant Temperament and Parenting Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laake, Lauren M.; Bridgett, David J.

2018-01-01

Research Findings: This study considered the interplay between infant temperament and maternal caregiving behaviors in relation to early language. A total of 118 mother-infant dyads participated in the study. Mothers rated infant positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), and maternal behaviors were coded during a free-play task when infants…

Anxious Mothers and At-Risk Infants: The Influence of Mild Hearing Impairment on Early Interaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Pat Spencer; Prezioso, Carlene

To examine the influence of imperfect audition in otherwise intact infants on early mother-infant interaction, three hard of hearing and three normally hearing infants were videotaped in interaction with their mothers. Interaction was coded, a narrative record of the mothers' nonverbal behavior was made, and transcripts of interviews with the…

Predictive Coding Accelerates Word Recognition and Learning in the Early Stages of Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ylinen, Sari; Bosseler, Alexis; Junttila, Katja; Huotilainen, Minna

2017-01-01

The ability to predict future events in the environment and learn from them is a fundamental component of adaptive behavior across species. Here we propose that inferring predictions facilitates speech processing and word learning in the early stages of language development. Twelve- and 24-month olds' electrophysiological brain responses to heard…

Extensions under development for the HEVC standard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, Gary J.

2013-09-01

This paper discusses standardization activities for extending the capabilities of the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard - the first edition of which was completed in early 2013. These near-term extensions are focused on three areas: range extensions (such as enhanced chroma formats, monochrome video, and increased bit depth), bitstream scalability extensions for spatial and fidelity scalability, and 3D video extensions (including stereoscopic/multi-view coding, and probably also depth map coding and combinations thereof). Standardization extensions on each of these topics will be completed by mid-2014, and further work beyond that timeframe is also discussed.

Performance and structure of single-mode bosonic codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albert, Victor V.; Noh, Kyungjoo; Duivenvoorden, Kasper; Young, Dylan J.; Brierley, R. T.; Reinhold, Philip; Vuillot, Christophe; Li, Linshu; Shen, Chao; Girvin, S. M.; Terhal, Barbara M.; Jiang, Liang

2018-03-01

The early Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill (GKP) proposal for encoding a qubit in an oscillator has recently been followed by cat- and binomial-code proposals. Numerically optimized codes have also been proposed, and we introduce codes of this type here. These codes have yet to be compared using the same error model; we provide such a comparison by determining the entanglement fidelity of all codes with respect to the bosonic pure-loss channel (i.e., photon loss) after the optimal recovery operation. We then compare achievable communication rates of the combined encoding-error-recovery channel by calculating the channel's hashing bound for each code. Cat and binomial codes perform similarly, with binomial codes outperforming cat codes at small loss rates. Despite not being designed to protect against the pure-loss channel, GKP codes significantly outperform all other codes for most values of the loss rate. We show that the performance of GKP and some binomial codes increases monotonically with increasing average photon number of the codes. In order to corroborate our numerical evidence of the cat-binomial-GKP order of performance occurring at small loss rates, we analytically evaluate the quantum error-correction conditions of those codes. For GKP codes, we find an essential singularity in the entanglement fidelity in the limit of vanishing loss rate. In addition to comparing the codes, we draw parallels between binomial codes and discrete-variable systems. First, we characterize one- and two-mode binomial as well as multiqubit permutation-invariant codes in terms of spin-coherent states. Such a characterization allows us to introduce check operators and error-correction procedures for binomial codes. Second, we introduce a generalization of spin-coherent states, extending our characterization to qudit binomial codes and yielding a multiqudit code.

Design of Cyber Attack Precursor Symptom Detection Algorithm through System Base Behavior Analysis and Memory Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Sungmo; Kim, Jong Hyun; Cagalaban, Giovanni; Lim, Ji-Hoon; Kim, Seoksoo

More recently, botnet-based cyber attacks, including a spam mail or a DDos attack, have sharply increased, which poses a fatal threat to Internet services. At present, antivirus businesses make it top priority to detect malicious code in the shortest time possible (Lv.2), based on the graph showing a relation between spread of malicious code and time, which allows them to detect after malicious code occurs. Despite early detection, however, it is not possible to prevent malicious code from occurring. Thus, we have developed an algorithm that can detect precursor symptoms at Lv.1 to prevent a cyber attack using an evasion method of 'an executing environment aware attack' by analyzing system behaviors and monitoring memory.

Automated Discovery of Machine-Specific Code Improvements

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

operation of the source language. Additional analysis may reveal special features of the target architecture that may be exploited to generate efficient...Additional analysis may reveal special features of the target architecture that may be exploited to generate efficient code. Such analysis is optional...incorporate knowledge of the source language, but do not refer to features of the target machine. These early phases are sometimes referred to as the

Functional annotation of the vlinc class of non-coding RNAs using systems biology approach

PubMed Central

Laurent, Georges St.; Vyatkin, Yuri; Antonets, Denis; Ri, Maxim; Qi, Yao; Saik, Olga; Shtokalo, Dmitry; de Hoon, Michiel J.L.; Kawaji, Hideya; Itoh, Masayoshi; Lassmann, Timo; Arner, Erik; Forrest, Alistair R.R.; Nicolas, Estelle; McCaffrey, Timothy A.; Carninci, Piero; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Wahlestedt, Claes; Kapranov, Philipp

2016-01-01

Functionality of the non-coding transcripts encoded by the human genome is the coveted goal of the modern genomics research. While commonly relied on the classical methods of forward genetics, integration of different genomics datasets in a global Systems Biology fashion presents a more productive avenue of achieving this very complex aim. Here we report application of a Systems Biology-based approach to dissect functionality of a newly identified vast class of very long intergenic non-coding (vlinc) RNAs. Using highly quantitative FANTOM5 CAGE dataset, we show that these RNAs could be grouped into 1542 novel human genes based on analysis of insulators that we show here indeed function as genomic barrier elements. We show that vlincRNAs genes likely function in cis to activate nearby genes. This effect while most pronounced in closely spaced vlincRNA–gene pairs can be detected over relatively large genomic distances. Furthermore, we identified 101 vlincRNA genes likely involved in early embryogenesis based on patterns of their expression and regulation. We also found another 109 such genes potentially involved in cellular functions also happening at early stages of development such as proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Overall, we show that Systems Biology-based methods have great promise for functional annotation of non-coding RNAs. PMID:27001520

A long-term predictive validity study: can the CDI Short Form be used to predict language and early literacy skills four years later?

PubMed

Can, Dilara Deniz; Ginsburg-Block, Marika; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathryn

2013-09-01

This longitudinal study examined the predictive validity of the MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories-Short Form (CDI-SF), a parent report questionnaire about children's language development (Fenson, Pethick, Renda, Cox, Dale & Reznick, 2000). Data were first gathered from parents on the CDI-SF vocabulary scores for seventy-six children (mean age=1 ; 10). Four years later (mean age=6 ; 1), children were assessed on language outcomes (expressive vocabulary, syntax, semantics and pragmatics) and code-related skills, including phonemic awareness, word recognition and decoding skills. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that early expressive vocabulary accounted for 17% of the variance in picture vocabulary, 11% of the variance in syntax, and 7% of the variance in semantics, while not accounting for any variance in pragmatics in kindergarten. CDI-SF scores did not predict code-related skills in kindergarten. The importance of early vocabulary skills for later language development and CDI-SF as a valuable research tool are discussed.

Astrophysical Supercomputing with GPUs: Critical Decisions for Early Adopters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fluke, Christopher J.; Barnes, David G.; Barsdell, Benjamin R.; Hassan, Amr H.

2011-01-01

General-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is dramatically changing the landscape of high performance computing in astronomy. In this paper, we identify and investigate several key decision areas, with a goal of simplifying the early adoption of GPGPU in astronomy. We consider the merits of OpenCL as an open standard in order to reduce risks associated with coding in a native, vendor-specific programming environment, and present a GPU programming philosophy based on using brute force solutions. We assert that effective use of new GPU-based supercomputing facilities will require a change in approach from astronomers. This will likely include improved programming training, an increased need for software development best practice through the use of profiling and related optimisation tools, and a greater reliance on third-party code libraries. As with any new technology, those willing to take the risks and make the investment of time and effort to become early adopters of GPGPU in astronomy, stand to reap great benefits.

Early Childhood Diarrhea Predicts Cognitive Delays in Later Childhood Independently of Malnutrition.

PubMed

Pinkerton, Relana; Oriá, Reinaldo B; Lima, Aldo A M; Rogawski, Elizabeth T; Oriá, Mônica O B; Patrick, Peter D; Moore, Sean R; Wiseman, Benjamin L; Niehaus, Mark D; Guerrant, Richard L

2016-11-02

Understanding the complex relationship between early childhood infectious diseases, nutritional status, poverty, and cognitive development is significantly hindered by the lack of studies that adequately address confounding between these variables. This study assesses the independent contributions of early childhood diarrhea (ECD) and malnutrition on cognitive impairment in later childhood. A cohort of 131 children from a shantytown community in northeast Brazil was monitored from birth to 24 months for diarrhea and anthropometric status. Cognitive assessments including Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI), coding tasks (WISC-III), and verbal fluency (NEPSY) were completed when children were an average of 8.4 years of age (range = 5.6-12.7 years). Multivariate analysis of variance models were used to assess the individual as well as combined effects of ECD and stunting on later childhood cognitive performance. ECD, height for age (HAZ) at 24 months, and weight for age (WAZ) at 24 months were significant univariate predictors of the studies three cognitive outcomes: TONI, coding, and verbal performance (P < 0.05). Multivariate models showed that ECD remained a significant predictor, after adjusting for the effect of 24 months HAZ and WAZ, for both TONI (HAZ, P = 0.029 and WAZ, P = 0.006) and coding (HAZ, P = 0.025 and WAZ, P = 0.036) scores. WAZ and HAZ were also significant predictors after adjusting for ECD. ECD remained a significant predictor of coding (WISC III) after number of household income was considered (P = 0.006). This study provides evidence that ECD and stunting may have independent effects on children's intellectual function well into later childhood. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Concatenated Coding Using Trellis-Coded Modulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Michael W.

1997-01-01

In the late seventies and early eighties a technique known as Trellis Coded Modulation (TCM) was developed for providing spectrally efficient error correction coding. Instead of adding redundant information in the form of parity bits, redundancy is added at the modulation stage thereby increasing bandwidth efficiency. A digital communications system can be designed to use bandwidth-efficient multilevel/phase modulation such as Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Phase Shift Keying (PSK), Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK) or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). Performance gain can be achieved by increasing the number of signals over the corresponding uncoded system to compensate for the redundancy introduced by the code. A considerable amount of research and development has been devoted toward developing good TCM codes for severely bandlimited applications. More recently, the use of TCM for satellite and deep space communications applications has received increased attention. This report describes the general approach of using a concatenated coding scheme that features TCM and RS coding. Results have indicated that substantial (6-10 dB) performance gains can be achieved with this approach with comparatively little bandwidth expansion. Since all of the bandwidth expansion is due to the RS code we see that TCM based concatenated coding results in roughly 10-50% bandwidth expansion compared to 70-150% expansion for similar concatenated scheme which use convolution code. We stress that combined coding and modulation optimization is important for achieving performance gains while maintaining spectral efficiency.

Molecular Evolution of Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetase Proteins in the Early History of Life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fournier, Gregory P.; Andam, Cheryl P.; Alm, Eric J.; Gogarten, J. Peter

2011-12-01

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) consist of several families of functionally conserved proteins essential for translation and protein synthesis. Like nearly all components of the translation machinery, most aaRS families are universally distributed across cellular life, being inherited from the time of the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA). However, unlike the rest of the translation machinery, aaRS have undergone numerous ancient horizontal gene transfers, with several independent events detected between domains, and some possibly involving lineages diverging before the time of LUCA. These transfers reveal the complexity of molecular evolution at this early time, and the chimeric nature of genomes within cells that gave rise to the major domains. Additionally, given the role of these protein families in defining the amino acids used for protein synthesis, sequence reconstruction of their pre-LUCA ancestors can reveal the evolutionary processes at work in the origin of the genetic code. In particular, sequence reconstructions of the paralog ancestors of isoleucyl- and valyl- RS provide strong empirical evidence that at least for this divergence, the genetic code did not co-evolve with the aaRSs; rather, both amino acids were already part of the genetic code before their cognate aaRSs diverged from their common ancestor. The implications of this observation for the early evolution of RNA-directed protein biosynthesis are discussed.

Conference on Early Mars: Geologic and Hydrologic Evolution, Physical and Chemical Environments, and the Implications for Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clifford, S. M. (Editor); Treiman, A. H. (Editor); Newsom, H. E. (Editor); Farmer, J. D. (Editor)

1997-01-01

Topics considered include: Geology alteration and life in an extreme environment; developing a chemical code to identify magnetic biominerals; effect of impacts on early Martin geologic evolution; spectroscopic identification of minerals in Hematite-bearing soils and sediments; exopaleontology and the search for a Fossil record on Mars; geochemical evolution of the crust of Mars; geological evolution of the early earth;solar-wind-induced erosion of the Mars atmosphere. Also included geological evolution of the crust of Mars.

PSEUDO-CODEWORD LANDSCAPE

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

CHERTKOV, MICHAEL; STEPANOV, MIKHAIL

2007-01-10

The authors discuss performance of Low-Density-Parity-Check (LDPC) codes decoded by Linear Programming (LP) decoding at moderate and large Signal-to-Noise-Ratios (SNR). Frame-Error-Rate (FER) dependence on SNR and the noise space landscape of the coding/decoding scheme are analyzed by a combination of the previously introduced instanton/pseudo-codeword-search method and a new 'dendro' trick. To reduce complexity of the LP decoding for a code with high-degree checks, {ge} 5, they introduce its dendro-LDPC counterpart, that is the code performing identifically to the original one under Maximum-A-Posteriori (MAP) decoding but having reduced (down to three) check connectivity degree. Analyzing number of popular LDPC codes andmore » their dendro versions performing over the Additive-White-Gaussian-Noise (AWGN) channel, they observed two qualitatively different regimes: (i) error-floor sets early, at relatively low SNR, and (ii) FER decays with SNR increase faster at moderate SNR than at the largest SNR. They explain these regimes in terms of the pseudo-codeword spectra of the codes.« less

Comparing Turbulence Simulation with Experiment in DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, D. W.; Bravenec, R. V.; Dorland, W.; Beer, M. A.; Hammett, G. W.; McKee, G. R.; Murakami, M.; Jackson, G. L.

2000-10-01

Gyrofluid simulations of DIII-D discharges with the GRYFFIN code(D. W. Ross et al.), Transport Task Force Workshop, Burlington, VT, (2000). are compared with transport and fluctuation measurements. The evolution of confinement-improved discharges(G. R. McKee et al.), Phys. Plasmas 7, 1870 (200) is studied at early times following impurity injection, when EXB rotational shear plays a small role. The ion thermal transport predicted by the code is consistent with the experimental values. Experimentally, changes in density profiles resulting from the injection of neon, lead to reduction in fluctuation levels and transport following the injection. This triggers subsequent changes in the shearing rate that further reduce the turbulence.(M. Murakami et al.), European Physical Society, Budapest (2000); M. Murakami et al., this meeting. Estimated uncertainties in the plasma profiles, however, make it difficult to simulate these reductions with the code. These cases will also be studied with the GS2 gyrokinetic code.

Ethics Today in Early Care and Education: Review, Reflection, and the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feeney, Stephanie

2010-01-01

A strong foundation in professional ethics, which includes knowledge of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Code of Ethical Conduct and skill in applying it to the real-life workplace, is an essential part of the professional repertoire of every early childhood educator. Two-and-a-half decades ago, NAEYC saw the…

Mothers' Attention-Getting Utterances during Shared Book Reading: Links to Low-Income Preschoolers' Verbal Engagement, Visual Attention, and Early Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Son, Seung-Hee Claire; Tineo, Maria F.

2016-01-01

This study examined associations among low-income mothers' use of attention-getting utterances during shared book reading, preschoolers' verbal engagement and visual attention to reading, and their early literacy skills (N = 51). Mother-child shared book reading sessions were videotaped and coded for each utterance, including attention talk,…

The impact of health changes on labor supply: evidence from merged data on individual objective medical diagnosis codes and early retirement behavior.

PubMed

Christensen, Bent Jesper; Kallestrup-Lamb, Malene

2012-06-01

The justification bias in the estimated impact of health shocks on retirement is mitigated by using objective health measures from a large, register-based longitudinal data set including medical diagnosis codes, along with labor market status, financial, and socio-economic variables. The duration until retirement is modeled using single and competing risk specifications, observed and unobserved heterogeneity, and flexible baseline hazards. Wealth is used as a proxy for elapsed duration to mitigate the potential selection bias stemming from conditioning on initial participation. The competing risk specification distinguishes complete multiperiod routes to retirement, such as unemployment followed by early retirement. A result on comparison of coefficients across all states is offered. The empirical results indicate a strong impact of health changes on retirement and hence a large potential for public policy measures intended to retain older workers longer in the labor force. Disability responds more to health shocks than early retirement, especially to diseases of the circulatory, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems, as well as mental and behavioral disorders. Some unemployment spells followed by early retirement appear voluntary and spurred by life style diseases. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Precursors of Reading Difficulties in Czech and Slovak Children At-Risk of Dyslexia.

PubMed

Moll, Kristina; Thompson, Paul A; Mikulajova, Marina; Jagercikova, Zuzana; Kucharska, Anna; Franke, Helena; Hulme, Charles; Snowling, Margaret J

2016-05-01

Children with preschool language difficulties are at high risk of literacy problems; however, the nature of the relationship between delayed language development and dyslexia is not understood. Three hundred eight Slovak and Czech children were recruited into three groups: family risk of dyslexia, speech/language difficulties and controls, and were assessed three times from kindergarten until Grade 1. There was a twofold increase in probability of reading problems in each risk group. Precursors of 'dyslexia' included difficulties in oral language and code-related skills (phoneme awareness, letter-knowledge and rapid automatized naming); poor performance in phonological memory and vocabulary was observed in both affected and unaffected high-risk peers. A two-group latent variable path model shows that early language skills predict code-related skills, which in turn predict literacy skills. Findings suggest that dyslexia in Slavic languages has its origins in early language deficits, and children who succumb to reading problems show impaired code-related skills before the onset of formal reading instruction. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Coding of visual object features and feature conjunctions in the human brain.

PubMed

Martinovic, Jasna; Gruber, Thomas; Müller, Matthias M

2008-01-01

Object recognition is achieved through neural mechanisms reliant on the activity of distributed coordinated neural assemblies. In the initial steps of this process, an object's features are thought to be coded very rapidly in distinct neural assemblies. These features play different functional roles in the recognition process--while colour facilitates recognition, additional contours and edges delay it. Here, we selectively varied the amount and role of object features in an entry-level categorization paradigm and related them to the electrical activity of the human brain. We found that early synchronizations (approx. 100 ms) increased quantitatively when more image features had to be coded, without reflecting their qualitative contribution to the recognition process. Later activity (approx. 200-400 ms) was modulated by the representational role of object features. These findings demonstrate that although early synchronizations may be sufficient for relatively crude discrimination of objects in visual scenes, they cannot support entry-level categorization. This was subserved by later processes of object model selection, which utilized the representational value of object features such as colour or edges to select the appropriate model and achieve identification.

Non-coding stem-bulge RNAs are required for cell proliferation and embryonic development in C. elegans

PubMed Central

Kowalski, Madzia P.; Baylis, Howard A.; Krude, Torsten

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Stem bulge RNAs (sbRNAs) are a family of small non-coding stem-loop RNAs present in Caenorhabditis elegans and other nematodes, the function of which is unknown. Here, we report the first functional characterisation of nematode sbRNAs. We demonstrate that sbRNAs from a range of nematode species are able to reconstitute the initiation of chromosomal DNA replication in the presence of replication proteins in vitro, and that conserved nucleotide sequence motifs are essential for this function. By functionally inactivating sbRNAs with antisense morpholino oligonucleotides, we show that sbRNAs are required for S phase progression, early embryonic development and the viability of C. elegans in vivo. Thus, we demonstrate a new and essential role for sbRNAs during the early development of C. elegans. sbRNAs show limited nucleotide sequence similarity to vertebrate Y RNAs, which are also essential for the initiation of DNA replication. Our results therefore establish that the essential function of small non-coding stem-loop RNAs during DNA replication extends beyond vertebrates. PMID:25908866

Wave Propagation and Inversion in Shallow Water and Poro-elastic Sediment

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-09-30

water and high freq. acoustics LONG-TERM GOALS To create codes accurately model wave propagation and scattering in shallow water, and to quantify...is undergoing testing for the acoustic stratified Green’s function. We have adapted code generated by J. Schuster in Geophysics for the FDTD model ...inversions and modelling , and have repercussions in environmental imaging [5], acoustic imaging [1,4,5,6,7] and early breast cancer diagnosis

Validating the BISON fuel performance code to integral LWR experiments

DOE PAGES

Williamson, R. L.; Gamble, K. A.; Perez, D. M.; ...

2016-03-24

BISON is a modern finite element-based nuclear fuel performance code that has been under development at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) since 2009. The code is applicable to both steady and transient fuel behavior and has been used to analyze a variety of fuel forms in 1D spherical, 2D axisymmetric, or 3D geometries. Code validation is underway and is the subject of this study. A brief overview of BISON’s computational framework, governing equations, and general material and behavioral models is provided. BISON code and solution verification procedures are described, followed by a summary of the experimental data used to datemore » for validation of Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel. Validation comparisons focus on fuel centerline temperature, fission gas release, and rod diameter both before and following fuel-clad mechanical contact. Comparisons for 35 LWR rods are consolidated to provide an overall view of how the code is predicting physical behavior, with a few select validation cases discussed in greater detail. Our results demonstrate that 1) fuel centerline temperature comparisons through all phases of fuel life are very reasonable with deviations between predictions and experimental data within ±10% for early life through high burnup fuel and only slightly out of these bounds for power ramp experiments, 2) accuracy in predicting fission gas release appears to be consistent with state-of-the-art modeling and with the involved uncertainties and 3) comparison of rod diameter results indicates a tendency to overpredict clad diameter reduction early in life, when clad creepdown dominates, and more significantly overpredict the diameter increase late in life, when fuel expansion controls the mechanical response. In the initial rod diameter comparisons they were unsatisfactory and have lead to consideration of additional separate effects experiments to better understand and predict clad and fuel mechanical behavior. Results from this study are being used to define priorities for ongoing code development and validation activities.« less

DataRocket: Interactive Visualisation of Data Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parkes, Steve; Ramsay, Craig

2010-08-01

CodeRocket is a software engineering tool that provides cognitive support to the software engineer for reasoning about a method or procedure and for documenting the resulting code [1]. DataRocket is a software engineering tool designed to support visualisation and reasoning about program data structures. DataRocket is part of the CodeRocket family of software tools developed by Rapid Quality Systems [2] a spin-out company from the Space Technology Centre at the University of Dundee. CodeRocket and DataRocket integrate seamlessly with existing architectural design and coding tools and provide extensive documentation with little or no effort on behalf of the software engineer. Comprehensive, abstract, detailed design documentation is available early on in a project so that it can be used for design reviews with project managers and non expert stakeholders. Code and documentation remain fully synchronised even when changes are implemented in the code without reference to the existing documentation. At the end of a project the press of a button suffices to produce the detailed design document. Existing legacy code can be easily imported into CodeRocket and DataRocket to reverse engineer detailed design documentation making legacy code more manageable and adding substantially to its value. This paper introduces CodeRocket. It then explains the rationale for DataRocket and describes the key features of this new tool. Finally the major benefits of DataRocket for different stakeholders are considered.

Group delay variations of GPS transmitting and receiving antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wanninger, Lambert; Sumaya, Hael; Beer, Susanne

2017-09-01

GPS code pseudorange measurements exhibit group delay variations at the transmitting and the receiving antenna. We calibrated C1 and P2 delay variations with respect to dual-frequency carrier phase observations and obtained nadir-dependent corrections for 32 satellites of the GPS constellation in early 2015 as well as elevation-dependent corrections for 13 receiving antenna models. The combined delay variations reach up to 1.0 m (3.3 ns) in the ionosphere-free linear combination for specific pairs of satellite and receiving antennas. Applying these corrections to the code measurements improves code/carrier single-frequency precise point positioning, ambiguity fixing based on the Melbourne-Wübbena linear combination, and determination of ionospheric total electron content. It also affects fractional cycle biases and differential code biases.

Auditory Processing in Noise: A Preschool Biomarker for Literacy.

PubMed

White-Schwoch, Travis; Woodruff Carr, Kali; Thompson, Elaine C; Anderson, Samira; Nicol, Trent; Bradlow, Ann R; Zecker, Steven G; Kraus, Nina

2015-07-01

Learning to read is a fundamental developmental milestone, and achieving reading competency has lifelong consequences. Although literacy development proceeds smoothly for many children, a subset struggle with this learning process, creating a need to identify reliable biomarkers of a child's future literacy that could facilitate early diagnosis and access to crucial early interventions. Neural markers of reading skills have been identified in school-aged children and adults; many pertain to the precision of information processing in noise, but it is unknown whether these markers are present in pre-reading children. Here, in a series of experiments in 112 children (ages 3-14 y), we show brain-behavior relationships between the integrity of the neural coding of speech in noise and phonology. We harness these findings into a predictive model of preliteracy, revealing that a 30-min neurophysiological assessment predicts performance on multiple pre-reading tests and, one year later, predicts preschoolers' performance across multiple domains of emergent literacy. This same neural coding model predicts literacy and diagnosis of a learning disability in school-aged children. These findings offer new insight into the biological constraints on preliteracy during early childhood, suggesting that neural processing of consonants in noise is fundamental for language and reading development. Pragmatically, these findings open doors to early identification of children at risk for language learning problems; this early identification may in turn facilitate access to early interventions that could prevent a life spent struggling to read.

CREME96 and Related Error Rate Prediction Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, James H., Jr.

2012-01-01

Predicting the rate of occurrence of single event effects (SEEs) in space requires knowledge of the radiation environment and the response of electronic devices to that environment. Several analytical models have been developed over the past 36 years to predict SEE rates. The first error rate calculations were performed by Binder, Smith and Holman. Bradford and Pickel and Blandford, in their CRIER (Cosmic-Ray-Induced-Error-Rate) analysis code introduced the basic Rectangular ParallelePiped (RPP) method for error rate calculations. For the radiation environment at the part, both made use of the Cosmic Ray LET (Linear Energy Transfer) spectra calculated by Heinrich for various absorber Depths. A more detailed model for the space radiation environment within spacecraft was developed by Adams and co-workers. This model, together with a reformulation of the RPP method published by Pickel and Blandford, was used to create the CR ME (Cosmic Ray Effects on Micro-Electronics) code. About the same time Shapiro wrote the CRUP (Cosmic Ray Upset Program) based on the RPP method published by Bradford. It was the first code to specifically take into account charge collection from outside the depletion region due to deformation of the electric field caused by the incident cosmic ray. Other early rate prediction methods and codes include the Single Event Figure of Merit, NOVICE, the Space Radiation code and the effective flux method of Binder which is the basis of the SEFA (Scott Effective Flux Approximation) model. By the early 1990s it was becoming clear that CREME and the other early models needed Revision. This revision, CREME96, was completed and released as a WWW-based tool, one of the first of its kind. The revisions in CREME96 included improved environmental models and improved models for calculating single event effects. The need for a revision of CREME also stimulated the development of the CHIME (CRRES/SPACERAD Heavy Ion Model of the Environment) and MACREE (Modeling and Analysis of Cosmic Ray Effects in Electronics). The Single Event Figure of Merit method was also revised to use the solar minimum galactic cosmic ray spectrum and extended to circular orbits down to 200 km at any inclination. More recently a series of commercial codes was developed by TRAD (Test & Radiations) which includes the OMERE code which calculates single event effects. There are other error rate prediction methods which use Monte Carlo techniques. In this chapter the analytic methods for estimating the environment within spacecraft will be discussed.

Language Use in Real-time Interactions during Early Elementary Science Lessons: The Bidirectional Dynamics of the Language Complexity of Teachers and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menninga, Astrid; van Dijk, Marijn; Steenbeek, Henderien; van Geert, Paul

2017-01-01

This study used a dynamic approach to explore bidirectional sequential relations between the real-time language use of teachers and students in naturalistic early elementary science lessons. It also compared experienced teachers (n = 22) with novice teachers (n = 8) with respect to such relations. Verbal interactions were transcribed and coded at…

Dysregulation of non-coding RNAs in gastric cancer

PubMed Central

Yang, Qing; Zhang, Ren-Wen; Sui, Peng-Cheng; He, Hai-Tao; Ding, Lei

2015-01-01

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers in the world and a significant threat to the health of patients, especially those from China and Japan. The prognosis for patients with late stage GC receiving the standard of care treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, remains poor. Developing novel treatment strategies, identifying new molecules for targeted therapy, and devising screening techniques to detect this cancer in its early stages are needed for GC patients. The discovery of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), primarily microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), helped to elucidate the mechanisms of tumorigenesis, diagnosis and treatment of GC. Recently, significant research has been conducted on non-coding RNAs and how the regulatory dysfunction of these RNAs impacts the tumorigenesis of GC. In this study, we review papers published in the last five years concerning the dysregulation of non-coding RNAs, especially miRNAs and lncRNAs, in GC. We summarize instances of aberrant expression of the ncRNAs in GC and their effect on survival-related events, including cell cycle regulation, AKT signaling, apoptosis and drug resistance. Additionally, we evaluate how ncRNA dysregulation affects the metastatic process, including the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, stem cells, transcription factor activity, and oncogene and tumor suppressor expression. Lastly, we determine how ncRNAs affect angiogenesis in the microenvironment of GC. We further discuss the use of ncRNAs as potential biomarkers for use in clinical screening, early diagnosis and prognosis of GC. At present, no ideal ncRNAs have been identified as targets for the treatment of GC. PMID:26494954

Functional annotation of the vlinc class of non-coding RNAs using systems biology approach.

PubMed

St Laurent, Georges; Vyatkin, Yuri; Antonets, Denis; Ri, Maxim; Qi, Yao; Saik, Olga; Shtokalo, Dmitry; de Hoon, Michiel J L; Kawaji, Hideya; Itoh, Masayoshi; Lassmann, Timo; Arner, Erik; Forrest, Alistair R R; Nicolas, Estelle; McCaffrey, Timothy A; Carninci, Piero; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Wahlestedt, Claes; Kapranov, Philipp

2016-04-20

Functionality of the non-coding transcripts encoded by the human genome is the coveted goal of the modern genomics research. While commonly relied on the classical methods of forward genetics, integration of different genomics datasets in a global Systems Biology fashion presents a more productive avenue of achieving this very complex aim. Here we report application of a Systems Biology-based approach to dissect functionality of a newly identified vast class of very long intergenic non-coding (vlinc) RNAs. Using highly quantitative FANTOM5 CAGE dataset, we show that these RNAs could be grouped into 1542 novel human genes based on analysis of insulators that we show here indeed function as genomic barrier elements. We show that vlinc RNAs genes likely function in cisto activate nearby genes. This effect while most pronounced in closely spaced vlinc RNA-gene pairs can be detected over relatively large genomic distances. Furthermore, we identified 101 vlinc RNA genes likely involved in early embryogenesis based on patterns of their expression and regulation. We also found another 109 such genes potentially involved in cellular functions also happening at early stages of development such as proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Overall, we show that Systems Biology-based methods have great promise for functional annotation of non-coding RNAs. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Spatially invariant coding of numerical information in functionally defined subregions of human parietal cortex.

PubMed

Eger, E; Pinel, P; Dehaene, S; Kleinschmidt, A

2015-05-01

Macaque electrophysiology has revealed neurons responsive to number in lateral (LIP) and ventral (VIP) intraparietal areas. Recently, fMRI pattern recognition revealed information discriminative of individual numbers in human parietal cortex but without precisely localizing the relevant sites or testing for subregions with different response profiles. Here, we defined the human functional equivalents of LIP (feLIP) and VIP (feVIP) using neurophysiologically motivated localizers. We applied multivariate pattern recognition to investigate whether both regions represent numerical information and whether number codes are position specific or invariant. In a delayed number comparison paradigm with laterally presented numerosities, parietal cortex discriminated between numerosities better than early visual cortex, and discrimination generalized across hemifields in parietal, but not early visual cortex. Activation patterns in the 2 parietal regions of interest did not differ in the coding of position-specific or position-independent number information, but in the expression of a numerical distance effect which was more pronounced in feLIP. Thus, the representation of number in parietal cortex is at least partially position invariant. Both feLIP and feVIP contain information about individual numerosities in humans, but feLIP hosts a coarser representation of numerosity than feVIP, compatible with either broader tuning or a summation code. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

In-Flight Guidance, Navigation, and Control Performance Results for the GOES-16 Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapel, Jim; Stancliffe, Devin; Bevacqua, Tim; Winkler, Stephen; Clapp, Brian; Rood, Tim; Freesland, Doug; Reth, Alan; Early, Derrick; Walsh, Tim;

Quantifying Cyclic Thermal Stresses Due to Solar Exposure in Rock Fragments in Gale Crater, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallet, B.; Mackenzie-Helnwein, P.; Sletten, R. S.

2017-12-01

Curiosity and earlier rovers on Mars have revealed in detail rocky landscapes with decaying outcrops, rubble, stone-littered regolith, and bedrock exposures that reflect the weathering processes operating on rock exposed to Mars' cold and hyperarid environment. Evidence from diverse sources points to the importance of thermal stresses driven by cyclic solar exposure in contributing to the mechanical weathering of exposed rock and generation of regolith in various settings on Earth [1,2,3], and even more so on extraterrestrial bodies where large, rapid cyclic temperature variations are frequent (e.g. Mars [4], as well as comets [5], asteroids [6] and other airless bodies [7]). To study these thermal stresses, we use a 3d finite element (FE) model constrained by ground-based surface temperature measurements from Curiosity's Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS). The numerical model couples radiation and conduction with elastic response to determine the temperature and stress fields in individual rocks on the surface of Mars based on rock size and thermo-mechanical properties. We provide specific quantitative results for boulder-size basalt rocks resting on the ground using a realistic thermal forcing that closely matches the REMS temperature observations, and related thermal inertia data. Moreover, we introduce analytical studies showing that these numerical results can readily be generalized. They are quite universal, informing us about thermal stresses due to cyclic solar exposure in general, for rock fragments of different sizes, lithologies, and fracture- thermal- and mechanical-properties. Using Earth-analogue studies to gain insight, we also consider how the shapes, fractures, and surface details of rock fragments imaged by Curiosity likely reflect the importance of rock breakdown due to thermal stresses relative to wind-driven rock erosion and other surface processes on Mars. References:[1] McFadden L et al. (2005) Geol. Soc.Am. Bull. 117(1-2): 161-173 [2] Collins and Stock (2016) Nature Geoscience 9: 395-400 [3] Eppes M C et al. (2016) Geol. Soc.Am. Bull. 128(9-10), 1315-1338. [4] Eppes M C et al. (2015) Nature Communications 6:6712 [5] El-Maarry M R et al. (2015) Geophys. Res. Lett. 42:5170-5178 [6] Delbo M et al. (2014) Nature 508(7495): 233-236 [7] Molaro J L et al. (2017) Icarus 294, 247-261

Level-2 Milestone 6007: Sierra Early Delivery System Deployed to Secret Restricted Network

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

Bertsch, A. D.

This report documents the delivery and installation of Shark, a CORAL Sierra early delivery system deployed on the LLNL SRD network. Early ASC program users have run codes on the machine in support of application porting for the final Sierra system which will be deployed at LLNL in CY2018. In addition to the SRD resource, Shark, unclassified resources, Rzmanta and Ray, have been deployed on the LLNL Restricted Zone and Collaboration Zone networks in support of application readiness for the Sierra platform.

Palliative Care Processes Embedded in the ICU Workflow May Reserve Palliative Care Teams for Refractory Cases.

PubMed

Mun, Eluned; Umbarger, Lillian; Ceria-Ulep, Clementina; Nakatsuka, Craig

2018-01-01

Palliative Care Teams have been shown to be instrumental in the early identification of multiple aspects of advanced care planning. Despite an increased number of services to meet the rising consultation demand, it is conceivable that the numbers of palliative care consultations generated from an ICU alone could become overwhelming for an existing palliative care team. Improve end-of-life care in the ICU by incorporating basic palliative care processes into the daily routine ICU workflow, thereby reserving the palliative care team for refractory situations. A structured, palliative care, quality-improvement program was implemented and evaluated in the ICU at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Hawaii. This included selecting trigger criteria, a care model, forming guidelines, and developing evaluation criteria. These included the early identification of the multiple features of advanced care planning, numbers of proactive ICU and palliative care family meetings, and changes in code status and treatment upon completion of either meeting. Early identification of Goals-of-Care, advance directives, and code status by the ICU staff led to a proactive ICU family meeting with resultant increases in changes in code status and treatment. The numbers of palliative care consultations also rose, but not significantly. Palliative care processes could be incorporated into a daily ICU workflow allowing for integration of aspects of advanced care planning to be identified in a systematic and proactive manner. This reserved the palliative care team for situations when palliative care efforts performed by the ICU staff were ineffective.

Phonological coding during reading.

PubMed

Leinenger, Mallorie

2014-11-01

The exact role that phonological coding (the recoding of written, orthographic information into a sound based code) plays during silent reading has been extensively studied for more than a century. Despite the large body of research surrounding the topic, varying theories as to the time course and function of this recoding still exist. The present review synthesizes this body of research, addressing the topics of time course and function in tandem. The varying theories surrounding the function of phonological coding (e.g., that phonological codes aid lexical access, that phonological codes aid comprehension and bolster short-term memory, or that phonological codes are largely epiphenomenal in skilled readers) are first outlined, and the time courses that each maps onto (e.g., that phonological codes come online early [prelexical] or that phonological codes come online late [postlexical]) are discussed. Next the research relevant to each of these proposed functions is reviewed, discussing the varying methodologies that have been used to investigate phonological coding (e.g., response time methods, reading while eye-tracking or recording EEG and MEG, concurrent articulation) and highlighting the advantages and limitations of each with respect to the study of phonological coding. In response to the view that phonological coding is largely epiphenomenal in skilled readers, research on the use of phonological codes in prelingually, profoundly deaf readers is reviewed. Finally, implications for current models of word identification (activation-verification model, Van Orden, 1987; dual-route model, e.g., M. Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001; parallel distributed processing model, Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989) are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Mistranslation: from adaptations to applications.

PubMed

Hoffman, Kyle S; O'Donoghue, Patrick; Brandl, Christopher J

2017-11-01

The conservation of the genetic code indicates that there was a single origin, but like all genetic material, the cell's interpretation of the code is subject to evolutionary pressure. Single nucleotide variations in tRNA sequences can modulate codon assignments by altering codon-anticodon pairing or tRNA charging. Either can increase translation errors and even change the code. The frozen accident hypothesis argued that changes to the code would destabilize the proteome and reduce fitness. In studies of model organisms, mistranslation often acts as an adaptive response. These studies reveal evolutionary conserved mechanisms to maintain proteostasis even during high rates of mistranslation. This review discusses the evolutionary basis of altered genetic codes, how mistranslation is identified, and how deviations to the genetic code are exploited. We revisit early discoveries of genetic code deviations and provide examples of adaptive mistranslation events in nature. Lastly, we highlight innovations in synthetic biology to expand the genetic code. The genetic code is still evolving. Mistranslation increases proteomic diversity that enables cells to survive stress conditions or suppress a deleterious allele. Genetic code variants have been identified by genome and metagenome sequence analyses, suppressor genetics, and biochemical characterization. Understanding the mechanisms of translation and genetic code deviations enables the design of new codes to produce novel proteins. Engineering the translation machinery and expanding the genetic code to incorporate non-canonical amino acids are valuable tools in synthetic biology that are impacting biomedical research. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Biochemistry of Synthetic Biology - Recent Developments" Guest Editor: Dr. Ilka Heinemann and Dr. Patrick O'Donoghue. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phonological coding during reading

PubMed Central

Leinenger, Mallorie

2014-01-01

The exact role that phonological coding (the recoding of written, orthographic information into a sound based code) plays during silent reading has been extensively studied for more than a century. Despite the large body of research surrounding the topic, varying theories as to the time course and function of this recoding still exist. The present review synthesizes this body of research, addressing the topics of time course and function in tandem. The varying theories surrounding the function of phonological coding (e.g., that phonological codes aid lexical access, that phonological codes aid comprehension and bolster short-term memory, or that phonological codes are largely epiphenomenal in skilled readers) are first outlined, and the time courses that each maps onto (e.g., that phonological codes come online early (pre-lexical) or that phonological codes come online late (post-lexical)) are discussed. Next the research relevant to each of these proposed functions is reviewed, discussing the varying methodologies that have been used to investigate phonological coding (e.g., response time methods, reading while eyetracking or recording EEG and MEG, concurrent articulation) and highlighting the advantages and limitations of each with respect to the study of phonological coding. In response to the view that phonological coding is largely epiphenomenal in skilled readers, research on the use of phonological codes in prelingually, profoundly deaf readers is reviewed. Finally, implications for current models of word identification (activation-verification model (Van Order, 1987), dual-route model (e.g., Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001), parallel distributed processing model (Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989)) are discussed. PMID:25150679

PCG: A prototype incremental compilation facility for the SAGA environment, appendix F

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimball, Joseph John

1985-01-01

A programming environment supports the activity of developing and maintaining software. New environments provide language-oriented tools such as syntax-directed editors, whose usefulness is enhanced because they embody language-specific knowledge. When syntactic and semantic analysis occur early in the cycle of program production, that is, during editing, the use of a standard compiler is inefficient, for it must re-analyze the program before generating code. Likewise, it is inefficient to recompile an entire file, when the editor can determine that only portions of it need updating. The pcg, or Pascal code generation, facility described here generates code directly from the syntax trees produced by the SAGA syntax directed Pascal editor. By preserving the intermediate code used in the previous compilation, it can limit recompilation to the routines actually modified by editing.

Preparing beginning reading teachers: An experimental comparison of initial early literacy field experiences.

PubMed

Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Lake, Vickie E; Greulich, Luana; Folsom, Jessica S; Guidry, Lisa

2012-01-01

This randomized-control trial examined the learning of preservice teachers taking an initial Early Literacy course in an early childhood education program and of the kindergarten or first grade students they tutored in their field experience. Preservice teachers were randomly assigned to one of two tutoring programs: Book Buddies and Tutor Assisted Intensive Learning Strategies (TAILS), which provided identical meaning-focused instruction (shared book reading), but differed in the presentation of code-focused skills. TAILS used explicit, scripted lessons, and the Book Buddies required that code-focused instruction take place during shared book reading. Our research goal was to understand which tutoring program would be most effective in improving knowledge about reading, lead to broad and deep language and preparedness of the novice preservice teachers, and yield the most successful student reading outcomes. Findings indicate that all pre-service teachers demonstrated similar gains in knowledge, but preservice teachers in the TAILS program demonstrated broader and deeper application of knowledge and higher self-ratings of preparedness to teach reading. Students in both conditions made similar comprehension gains, but students tutored with TAILS showed significantly stronger decoding gains.

On the possible origin and evolution of the genetic code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jukes, T. H.

1974-01-01

The genetic code is examined for indications of possible preceding codes that existed during early evolution. Eight of the 20 amino acids are coded by 'quartets' of codons with fourfold degeneracy, and 16 such quartets can exist, so that an earlier code could have provided for 15 or 16 amino acids, rather than 20. If twofold degeneracy is postulated for the first position of the codon, there could have been ten amino acids in the code. It is speculated that these may have been phenylalanine, valine, proline, alanine, histidine, glutamine, glutanic acid, aspartic acid, cysteine and glycine. There is a notable deficiency of arginine in proteins, despite the fact that it has six codons. Simultaneously, there is more lysine in proteins than would be expected from its two codons, if the four bases in mRNA are equiprobable and are arranged randomly. It is speculated that arginine is an 'intruder' into the genetic code, and that it may have displayed another amino acid such as ornithine, or may even have displayed lysine from some of its previous codon assignments. As a result, natural selection has favored lysine against the fact that it has only two codons.

Identification and functional analysis of long non-coding RNAs in human and mouse early embryos based on single-cell transcriptome data

PubMed Central

Qiu, Jia-jun; Ren, Zhao-rui; Yan, Jing-bin

2016-01-01

Epigenetics regulations have an important role in fertilization and proper embryonic development, and several human diseases are associated with epigenetic modification disorders, such as Rett syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and Angelman syndrome. However, the dynamics and functions of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), one type of epigenetic regulators, in human pre-implantation development have not yet been demonstrated. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of human and mouse early-stage embryonic lncRNAs was performed based on public single-cell RNA sequencing data. Expression profile analysis revealed that lncRNAs are expressed in a developmental stage–specific manner during human early-stage embryonic development, whereas a more temporal-specific expression pattern was identified in mouse embryos. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis suggested that lncRNAs involved in human early-stage embryonic development are associated with several important functions and processes, such as oocyte maturation, zygotic genome activation and mitochondrial functions. We also found that the network of lncRNAs involved in zygotic genome activation was highly preservative between human and mouse embryos, whereas in other stages no strong correlation between human and mouse embryo was observed. This study provides insight into the molecular mechanism underlying lncRNA involvement in human pre-implantation embryonic development. PMID:27542205

The underlying number-space mapping among kindergarteners and its relation with early numerical abilities.

PubMed

Chan, Winnie Wai Lan; Wong, Terry Tin-Yau

2016-08-01

People map numbers onto space. The well-replicated SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect indicates that people have a left-sided bias when responding to small numbers and a right-sided bias when responding to large numbers. This study examined whether such spatial codes were tagged to the ordinal or magnitude information of numbers among kindergarteners and whether it was related to early numerical abilities. Based on the traditional magnitude judgment task, we developed two variant tasks-namely the month judgment task and dot judgment task-to elicit ordinal and magnitude processing of numbers, respectively. Results showed that kindergarteners oriented small numbers toward the left side and large numbers toward the right side when processing the ordinal information of numbers in the month judgment task but not when processing the magnitude information in the number judgment task and dot judgment task, suggesting that the left-to-right spatial bias was probably tagged to the ordinal but not magnitude property of numbers. Moreover, the strength of the SNARC effect was not related to early numerical abilities. These findings have important implications for the early spatial representation of numbers and its role in numerical performance among kindergarteners. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A long-term, integrated impact assessment of alternative building energy code scenarios in China

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

Yu, Sha; Eom, Jiyong; Evans, Meredydd

2014-04-01

China is the second largest building energy user in the world, ranking first and third in residential and commercial energy consumption. Beginning in the early 1980s, the Chinese government has developed a variety of building energy codes to improve building energy efficiency and reduce total energy demand. This paper studies the impact of building energy codes on energy use and CO2 emissions by using a detailed building energy model that represents four distinct climate zones each with three building types, nested in a long-term integrated assessment framework GCAM. An advanced building stock module, coupled with the building energy model, ismore » developed to reflect the characteristics of future building stock and its interaction with the development of building energy codes in China. This paper also evaluates the impacts of building codes on building energy demand in the presence of economy-wide carbon policy. We find that building energy codes would reduce Chinese building energy use by 13% - 22% depending on building code scenarios, with a similar effect preserved even under the carbon policy. The impact of building energy codes shows regional and sectoral variation due to regionally differentiated responses of heating and cooling services to shell efficiency improvement.« less

FY15 Status Report on NEAMS Neutronics Activities

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

Lee, C. H.; Shemon, E. R.; Smith, M. A.

2015-09-30

This report summarizes the current status of NEAMS activities in FY2015. The tasks this year are (1) to improve solution methods for steady-state and transient conditions, (2) to develop features and user friendliness to increase the usability and applicability of the code, (3) to improve and verify the multigroup cross section generation scheme, (4) to perform verification and validation tests of the code using SFRs and thermal reactor cores, and (5) to support early users of PROTEUS and update the user manuals.

Chopper-stabilized phase detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hopkins, P. M.

1978-01-01

Phase-detector circuit for binary-tracking loops and other binary-data acquisition systems minimizes effects of drift, gain imbalance, and voltage offset in detector circuitry. Input signal passes simultaneously through two channels where it is mixed with early and late codes that are alternately switched between channels. Code switching is synchronized with polarity switching of detector output of each channel so that each channel uses each detector for half time. Net result is that dc offset errors are canceled, and effect of gain imbalance is simply change in sensitivity.

Numerical simulation of the early-time high altitude electromagnetic pulse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Cui; Chen, Yu-Sheng; Liu, Shun-Kun; Xie, Qin-Chuan; Chen, Xiang-Yue; Gong, Jian-Cheng

2003-12-01

In this paper, the finite difference method is used to develop the Fortran software MCHII. The physical process in which the electromagnetic signal is generated by the interaction of nuclear-explosion-induced Compton currents with the geomagnetic field is numerically simulated. The electromagnetic pulse waveforms below the burst point are investigated. The effects of the height of burst, yield and the time-dependence of gamma-rays are calculated by using the MCHII code. The results agree well with those obtained by using the code CHAP.

Digital visual communications using a Perceptual Components Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Andrew B.

1991-01-01

The next era of space exploration will generate extraordinary volumes of image data, and management of this image data is beyond current technical capabilities. We propose a strategy for coding visual information that exploits the known properties of early human vision. This Perceptual Components Architecture codes images and image sequences in terms of discrete samples from limited bands of color, spatial frequency, orientation, and temporal frequency. This spatiotemporal pyramid offers efficiency (low bit rate), variable resolution, device independence, error-tolerance, and extensibility.

Modeling the acute health effects of astronauts from exposure to large solar particle events.

PubMed

Hu, Shaowen; Kim, Myung-Hee Y; McClellan, Gene E; Cucinotta, Francis A

2009-04-01

Radiation exposure from Solar Particle Events (SPE) presents a significant health concern for astronauts for exploration missions outside the protection of the Earth's magnetic field, which could impair their performance and result in the possibility of failure of the mission. Assessing the potential for early radiation effects under such adverse conditions is of prime importance. Here we apply a biologically based mathematical model that describes the dose- and time-dependent early human responses that constitute the prodromal syndromes to consider acute risks from SPEs. We examine the possible early effects on crews from exposure to some historically large solar events on lunar and/or Mars missions. The doses and dose rates of specific organs were calculated using the Baryon radiation transport (BRYNTRN) code and a computerized anatomical man model, while the hazard of the early radiation effects and performance reduction were calculated using the Radiation-Induced Performance Decrement (RIPD) code. Based on model assumptions we show that exposure to these historical events would cause moderate early health effects to crew members inside a typical spacecraft or during extra-vehicular activities, if effective shielding and medical countermeasure tactics were not provided. We also calculate possible even worse cases (double intensity, multiple occurrences in a short period of time, etc.) to estimate the severity, onset and duration of various types of early illness. Uncertainties in the calculation due to limited data on relative biological effectiveness and dose-rate modifying factors for protons and secondary radiation, and the identification of sensitive sites in critical organs are discussed.

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

Audren, Benjamin; Lesgourgues, Julien; Benabed, Karim

Models for the latest stages of the cosmological evolution rely on a less solid theoretical and observational ground than the description of earlier stages like BBN and recombination. As suggested in a previous work by Vonlanthen et al., it is possible to tweak the analysis of CMB data in such way to avoid making assumptions on the late evolution, and obtain robust constraints on ''early cosmology parameters''. We extend this method in order to marginalise the results over CMB lensing contamination, and present updated results based on recent CMB data. Our constraints on the minimal early cosmology model are weakermore » than in a standard ΛCDM analysis, but do not conflict with this model. Besides, we obtain conservative bounds on the effective neutrino number and neutrino mass, showing no hints for extra relativistic degrees of freedom, and proving in a robust way that neutrinos experienced their non-relativistic transition after the time of photon decoupling. This analysis is also an occasion to describe the main features of the new parameter inference code MONTE PYTHON, that we release together with this paper. MONTE PYTHON is a user-friendly alternative to other public codes like COSMOMC, interfaced with the Boltzmann code CLASS.« less

Effective Instruction for Persisting Dyslexia in Upper Grades: Adding Hope Stories and Computer Coding to Explicit Literacy Instruction.

PubMed

Thompson, Robert; Tanimoto, Steve; Lyman, Ruby Dawn; Geselowitz, Kira; Begay, Kristin Kawena; Nielsen, Kathleen; Nagy, William; Abbott, Robert; Raskind, Marshall; Berninger, Virginia

2018-05-01

Children in grades 4 to 6 ( N =14) who despite early intervention had persisting dyslexia (impaired word reading and spelling) were assessed before and after computerized reading and writing instruction aimed at subword, word, and syntax skills shown in four prior studies to be effective for treating dyslexia. During the 12 two-hour sessions once a week after school they first completed HAWK Letters in Motion© for manuscript and cursive handwriting, HAWK Words in Motion© for phonological, orthographic, and morphological coding for word reading and spelling, and HAWK Minds in Motion© for sentence reading comprehension and written sentence composing. A reading comprehension activity in which sentences were presented one word at a time or one added word at a time was introduced. Next, to instill hope they could overcome their struggles with reading and spelling, they read and discussed stories about struggles of Buckminister Fuller who overcame early disabilities to make important contributions to society. Finally, they engaged in the new Kokopelli's World (KW)©, blocks-based online lessons, to learn computer coding in introductory programming by creating stories in sentence blocks (Tanimoto and Thompson 2016). Participants improved significantly in hallmark word decoding and spelling deficits of dyslexia, three syntax skills (oral construction, listening comprehension, and written composing), reading comprehension (with decoding as covariate), handwriting, orthographic and morphological coding, orthographic loop, and inhibition (focused attention). They answered more reading comprehension questions correctly when they had read sentences presented one word at a time (eliminating both regressions out and regressions in during saccades) than when presented one added word at a time (eliminating only regressions out during saccades). Indicators of improved self-efficacy that they could learn to read and write were observed. Reminders to pay attention and stay on task needed before adding computer coding were not needed after computer coding was added.

An overview of new video coding tools under consideration for VP10: the successor to VP9

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Debargha; Su, Hui; Bankoski, James; Converse, Alex; Han, Jingning; Liu, Zoe; Xu, Yaowu

2015-09-01

Google started an opensource project, entitled the WebM Project, in 2010 to develop royaltyfree video codecs for the web. The present generation codec developed in the WebM project called VP9 was finalized in mid2013 and is currently being served extensively by YouTube, resulting in billions of views per day. Even though adoption of VP9 outside Google is still in its infancy, the WebM project has already embarked on an ambitious project to develop a next edition codec VP10 that achieves at least a generational bitrate reduction over the current generation codec VP9. Although the project is still in early stages, a set of new experimental coding tools have already been added to baseline VP9 to achieve modest coding gains over a large enough test set. This paper provides a technical overview of these coding tools.

Temporal Processing in the Olfactory System: Can We See a Smell?

PubMed Central

Gire, David H.; Restrepo, Diego; Sejnowski, Terrence J.; Greer, Charles; De Carlos, Juan A.; Lopez-Mascaraque, Laura

2013-01-01

Sensory processing circuits in the visual and olfactory systems receive input from complex, rapidly changing environments. Although patterns of light and plumes of odor create different distributions of activity in the retina and olfactory bulb, both structures use what appears on the surface similar temporal coding strategies to convey information to higher areas in the brain. We compare temporal coding in the early stages of the olfactory and visual systems, highlighting recent progress in understanding the role of time in olfactory coding during active sensing by behaving animals. We also examine studies that address the divergent circuit mechanisms that generate temporal codes in the two systems, and find that they provide physiological information directly related to functional questions raised by neuroanatomical studies of Ramon y Cajal over a century ago. Consideration of differences in neural activity in sensory systems contributes to generating new approaches to understand signal processing. PMID:23664611

A Unified View of Global Instabilities of Compressible Flow Over Open Cavities

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-30

the early work of Rossiter [3], have treated the shear-layer emanating from the upstream comer of the cavity in isolation ( using parallel flow... using a domain-decomposition method. The code has optional equation sets to solve either (i) nonlinear Navier-Stokes, (ii) Navier-Stokes equations...early experments of Maull and East [15]. They used oil flow visualization of surface streamlines on the cavity bottom to show the existence, under certain

Interplanetary Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (IPOST). Volume 3: Programmer's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, P. E.; Kent, P. D.; Olson, D. W.; Vallado, C. A.

1992-01-01

The Interplanetary Program to Optimize Space Trajectories (IPOST) is intended to support many analysis phases, from early interplanetary feasibility studies through spacecraft development and operations. Here, information is given on the IPOST code.

Tactile communication, cooperation, and performance: an ethological study of the NBA.

PubMed

Kraus, Michael W; Huang, Cassey; Keltner, Dacher

2010-10-01

Tactile communication, or physical touch, promotes cooperation between people, communicates distinct emotions, soothes in times of stress, and is used to make inferences of warmth and trust. Based on this conceptual analysis, we predicted that in group competition, physical touch would predict increases in both individual and group performance. In an ethological study, we coded the touch behavior of players from the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2008-2009 regular season. Consistent with hypotheses, early season touch predicted greater performance for individuals as well as teams later in the season. Additional analyses confirmed that touch predicted improved performance even after accounting for player status, preseason expectations, and early season performance. Moreover, coded cooperative behaviors between teammates explained the association between touch and team performance. Discussion focused on the contributions touch makes to cooperative groups and the potential implications for other group settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Breaking the Supermassive Black Hole Speed Limit

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

Smidt, Joseph

A new computer simulation helps explain the existence of puzzling supermassive black holes observed in the early universe. The simulation is based on a computer code used to understand the coupling of radiation and certain materials. “Supermassive black holes have a speed limit that governs how fast and how large they can grow,” said Joseph Smidt of the Theoretical Design Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. “The relatively recent discovery of supermassive black holes in the early development of the universe raised a fundamental question, how did they get so big so fast?” Using computer codes developed at Los Alamosmore » for modeling the interaction of matter and radiation related to the Lab’s stockpile stewardship mission, Smidt and colleagues created a simulation of collapsing stars that resulted in supermassive black holes forming in less time than expected, cosmologically speaking, in the first billion years of the universe.« less

Eye coding mechanisms in early human face event-related potentials.

PubMed

Rousselet, Guillaume A; Ince, Robin A A; van Rijsbergen, Nicola J; Schyns, Philippe G

2014-11-10

In humans, the N170 event-related potential (ERP) is an integrated measure of cortical activity that varies in amplitude and latency across trials. Researchers often conjecture that N170 variations reflect cortical mechanisms of stimulus coding for recognition. Here, to settle the conjecture and understand cortical information processing mechanisms, we unraveled the coding function of N170 latency and amplitude variations in possibly the simplest socially important natural visual task: face detection. On each experimental trial, 16 observers saw face and noise pictures sparsely sampled with small Gaussian apertures. Reverse-correlation methods coupled with information theory revealed that the presence of the eye specifically covaries with behavioral and neural measurements: the left eye strongly modulates reaction times and lateral electrodes represent mainly the presence of the contralateral eye during the rising part of the N170, with maximum sensitivity before the N170 peak. Furthermore, single-trial N170 latencies code more about the presence of the contralateral eye than N170 amplitudes and early latencies are associated with faster reaction times. The absence of these effects in control images that did not contain a face refutes alternative accounts based on retinal biases or allocation of attention to the eye location on the face. We conclude that the rising part of the N170, roughly 120-170 ms post-stimulus, is a critical time-window in human face processing mechanisms, reflecting predominantly, in a face detection task, the encoding of a single feature: the contralateral eye. © 2014 ARVO.

ISSOL Meeting, Barcelona, Spain, 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferris, James P. (Editor)

1995-01-01

Topics in a conference on the origins of life and the evolution of the biosphere include the origin of chirality, prebiotic chemistry of small biomolecules, primitive polymer formation, RNA regulation and control. Early origins of life and the ecology of hydrothermal systems such as ocean floor vents and their simple organisms are examined. The process of mineral catalysis in Montmorillonite as a model for early metabolism is used. The origin of the genetic code and the development of branching in molecular structures of amino acids is described. Studies are reported of the effects of meteorite impact on early Earth life.

Parametric study of potential early commercial power plants Task 3-A MHD cost analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The development of costs for an MHD Power Plant and the comparison of these costs to a conventional coal fired power plant are reported. The program is divided into three activities: (1) code of accounts review; (2) MHD pulverized coal power plant cost comparison; (3) operating and maintenance cost estimates. The scope of each NASA code of account item was defined to assure that the recently completed Task 3 capital cost estimates are consistent with the code of account scope. Improvement confidence in MHD plant capital cost estimates by identifying comparability with conventional pulverized coal fired (PCF) power plant systems is undertaken. The basis for estimating the MHD plant operating and maintenance costs of electricity is verified.

Hypersonic code efficiency and validation studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bennett, Bradford C.

1992-01-01

Renewed interest in hypersonic and supersonic flows spurred the development of the Compressible Navier-Stokes (CNS) code. Originally developed for external flows, CNS was modified to enable it to also be applied to internal high speed flows. In the initial phase of this study CNS was applied to both internal flow applications and fellow researchers were taught to run CNS. The second phase of this research was the development of surface grids over various aircraft configurations for the High Speed Research Program (HSRP). The complex nature of these configurations required the development of improved surface grid generation techniques. A significant portion of the grid generation effort was devoted to testing and recommending modifications to early versions of the S3D surface grid generation code.

Predictive coding accelerates word recognition and learning in the early stages of language development.

PubMed

Ylinen, Sari; Bosseler, Alexis; Junttila, Katja; Huotilainen, Minna

2017-11-01

The ability to predict future events in the environment and learn from them is a fundamental component of adaptive behavior across species. Here we propose that inferring predictions facilitates speech processing and word learning in the early stages of language development. Twelve- and 24-month olds' electrophysiological brain responses to heard syllables are faster and more robust when the preceding word context predicts the ending of a familiar word. For unfamiliar, novel word forms, however, word-expectancy violation generates a prediction error response, the strength of which significantly correlates with children's vocabulary scores at 12 months. These results suggest that predictive coding may accelerate word recognition and support early learning of novel words, including not only the learning of heard word forms but also their mapping to meanings. Prediction error may mediate learning via attention, since infants' attention allocation to the entire learning situation in natural environments could account for the link between prediction error and the understanding of word meanings. On the whole, the present results on predictive coding support the view that principles of brain function reported across domains in humans and non-human animals apply to language and its development in the infant brain. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: http://hy.fi/unitube/video/e1cbb495-41d8-462e-8660-0864a1abd02c. [Correction added on 27 January 2017, after first online publication: The video abstract link was added.]. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Efficient coding of spectrotemporal binaural sounds leads to emergence of the auditory space representation

PubMed Central

Młynarski, Wiktor

2014-01-01

To date a number of studies have shown that receptive field shapes of early sensory neurons can be reproduced by optimizing coding efficiency of natural stimulus ensembles. A still unresolved question is whether the efficient coding hypothesis explains formation of neurons which explicitly represent environmental features of different functional importance. This paper proposes that the spatial selectivity of higher auditory neurons emerges as a direct consequence of learning efficient codes for natural binaural sounds. Firstly, it is demonstrated that a linear efficient coding transform—Independent Component Analysis (ICA) trained on spectrograms of naturalistic simulated binaural sounds extracts spatial information present in the signal. A simple hierarchical ICA extension allowing for decoding of sound position is proposed. Furthermore, it is shown that units revealing spatial selectivity can be learned from a binaural recording of a natural auditory scene. In both cases a relatively small subpopulation of learned spectrogram features suffices to perform accurate sound localization. Representation of the auditory space is therefore learned in a purely unsupervised way by maximizing the coding efficiency and without any task-specific constraints. This results imply that efficient coding is a useful strategy for learning structures which allow for making behaviorally vital inferences about the environment. PMID:24639644

BHDD: Primordial black hole binaries code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavanagh, Bradley J.; Gaggero, Daniele; Bertone, Gianfranco

2018-06-01

BHDD (BlackHolesDarkDress) simulates primordial black hole (PBH) binaries that are clothed in dark matter (DM) halos. The software uses N-body simulations and analytical estimates to follow the evolution of PBH binaries formed in the early Universe.

The Numerical Electromagnetics Code (NEC) - A Brief History

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

Burke, G J; Miller, E K; Poggio, A J

The Numerical Electromagnetics Code, NEC as it is commonly known, continues to be one of the more widely used antenna modeling codes in existence. With several versions in use that reflect different levels of capability and availability, there are now 450 copies of NEC4 and 250 copies of NEC3 that have been distributed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to a limited class of qualified recipients, and several hundred copies of NEC2 that had a recorded distribution by LLNL. These numbers do not account for numerous copies (perhaps 1000s) that were acquired through other means capitalizing on the open source code,more » the absence of distribution controls prior to NEC3 and the availability of versions on the Internet. In this paper we briefly review the history of the code that is concisely displayed in Figure 1. We will show how it capitalized on the research of prominent contributors in the early days of computational electromagnetics, how a combination of events led to the tri-service-supported code development program that ultimately led to NEC and how it evolved to the present day product. The authors apologize that space limitations do not allow us to provide a list of references or to acknowledge the numerous contributors to the code both of which can be found in the code documents.« less

Risk of Cerebrovascular Events in Elderly Patients After Radiation Therapy Versus Surgery for Early-Stage Glottic Cancer

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

Hong, Julian C.; Kruser, Tim J.; Gondi, Vinai

Purpose: Comprehensive neck radiation therapy (RT) has been shown to increase cerebrovascular disease (CVD) risk in advanced-stage head-and-neck cancer. We assessed whether more limited neck RT used for early-stage (T1-T2 N0) glottic cancer is associated with increased CVD risk, using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database. Methods and Materials: We identified patients ≥66 years of age with early-stage glottic laryngeal cancer from SEER diagnosed from 1992 to 2007. Patients treated with combined surgery and RT were excluded. Medicare CPT codes for carotid interventions, Medicare ICD-9 codes for cerebrovascular events, and SEER data for stroke as the causemore » of death were collected. Similarly, Medicare CPT and ICD-9 codes for peripheral vascular disease (PVD) were assessed to serve as an internal control between treatment groups. Results: A total of 1413 assessable patients (RT, n=1055; surgery, n=358) were analyzed. The actuarial 10-year risk of CVD was 56.5% (95% confidence interval 51.5%-61.5%) for the RT cohort versus 48.7% (41.1%-56.3%) in the surgery cohort (P=.27). The actuarial 10-year risk of PVD did not differ between the RT (52.7% [48.1%-57.3%]) and surgery cohorts (52.6% [45.2%-60.0%]) (P=.89). Univariate analysis showed an increased association of CVD with more recent diagnosis (P=.001) and increasing age (P=.001). On multivariate Cox analysis, increasing age (P<.001) and recent diagnosis (P=.002) remained significantly associated with a higher CVD risk, whereas the association of RT and CVD remained not statistically significant (HR=1.11 [0.91-1.37,] P=.31). Conclusions: Elderly patients with early-stage laryngeal cancer have a high burden of cerebrovascular events after surgical management or RT. RT and surgery are associated with comparable risk for subsequent CVD development after treatment in elderly patients.« less

User's Manual for the ECLS-K Third Grade. Public-Use Data File and Electronic Code Book. Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99. NCES 2004-001

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tourangeau, Karen; Brick, Mike; Le, Thanh; Wan, Siu; Weant, Margaret; Nord, Christine; Vaden-Kiernan, Nancy; Hagedorn, Mary; Bissett, Elizabeth; Dulaney, Richard; Fowler, Jean; Pollack, Judith; Rock, Donald; Weiss, Michael J.; Atkins-Burnett, Sally; Hausken, Elvira Germino; West, Jerry; Rathbun, Amy; Walston, Jill

2004-01-01

This document highlights key information needed to work with the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) data and points the reader to the appropriate sections of the User's Manual so that they can get started quickly. To read more about any particular topic, the reader should go to the indicated section of the…

A Mode Propagation Database Suitable for Code Validation Utilizing the NASA Glenn Advanced Noise Control Fan and Artificial Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutliff, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center's Advanced Noise Control Fan (ANCF) was developed in the early 1990s to provide a convenient test bed to measure and understand fan-generated acoustics, duct propagation, and radiation to the farfield. A series of tests were performed primarily for the use of code validation and tool validation. Rotating Rake mode measurements were acquired for parametric sets of: (i) mode blockage, (ii) liner insertion loss, (iii) short ducts, and (iv) mode reflection.

A Mode Propagation Database Suitable for Code Validation Utilizing the NASA Glenn Advanced Noise Control Fan and Artificial Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutliff, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center's Advanced Noise Control Fan (ANCF) was developed in the early 1990s to provide a convenient test bed to measure and understand fan-generated acoustics, duct propagation, and radiation to the farfield. A series of tests were performed primarily for the use of code validation and tool validation. Rotating Rake mode measurements were acquired for parametric sets of: (1) mode blockage, (2) liner insertion loss, (3) short ducts, and (4) mode reflection.

Orthographic and phonological preview benefits: parafoveal processing in skilled and less-skilled deaf readers.

PubMed

Bélanger, Nathalie N; Mayberry, Rachel I; Rayner, Keith

2013-01-01

Many deaf individuals do not develop the high-level reading skills that will allow them to fully take part into society. To attempt to explain this widespread difficulty in the deaf population, much research has honed in on the use of phonological codes during reading. The hypothesis that the use of phonological codes is associated with good reading skills in deaf readers, though not well supported, still lingers in the literature. We investigated skilled and less-skilled adult deaf readers' processing of orthographic and phonological codes in parafoveal vision during reading by monitoring their eye movements and using the boundary paradigm. Orthographic preview benefits were found in early measures of reading for skilled hearing, skilled deaf, and less-skilled deaf readers, but only skilled hearing readers processed phonological codes in parafoveal vision. Crucially, skilled and less-skilled deaf readers showed a very similar pattern of preview benefits during reading. These results support the notion that reading difficulties in deaf adults are not linked to their failure to activate phonological codes during reading.

Malnutrition coding 101: financial impact and more.

PubMed

Giannopoulos, Georgia A; Merriman, Louise R; Rumsey, Alissa; Zwiebel, Douglas S

2013-12-01

Recent articles have addressed the characteristics associated with adult malnutrition as published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the Academy) and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.). This article describes a successful interdisciplinary program developed by the Department of Food and Nutrition at New York-Presbyterian Hospital to maintain and monitor clinical documentation, ensure accurate International Classification of Diseases 9th Edition (ICD-9) coding, and identify subsequent incremental revenue resulting from the early identification, documentation, and treatment of malnutrition in an adult inpatient population. The first step in the process requires registered dietitians to identify patients with malnutrition; then clear and specifically worded diagnostic statements that include the type and severity of malnutrition are documented in the medical record by the physician, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant. This protocol allows the Heath Information Management/Coding department to accurately assign ICD-9 codes associated with protein-energy malnutrition. Once clinical coding is complete, a final diagnosis related group (DRG) is generated to ensure appropriate hospital reimbursement. Successful interdisciplinary programs such as this can drive optimal care and ensure appropriate reimbursement.

High compression image and image sequence coding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunt, Murat

1989-01-01

The digital representation of an image requires a very large number of bits. This number is even larger for an image sequence. The goal of image coding is to reduce this number, as much as possible, and reconstruct a faithful duplicate of the original picture or image sequence. Early efforts in image coding, solely guided by information theory, led to a plethora of methods. The compression ratio reached a plateau around 10:1 a couple of years ago. Recent progress in the study of the brain mechanism of vision and scene analysis has opened new vistas in picture coding. Directional sensitivity of the neurones in the visual pathway combined with the separate processing of contours and textures has led to a new class of coding methods capable of achieving compression ratios as high as 100:1 for images and around 300:1 for image sequences. Recent progress on some of the main avenues of object-based methods is presented. These second generation techniques make use of contour-texture modeling, new results in neurophysiology and psychophysics and scene analysis.

Epoch of Reionization : An Investigation of the Semi-Analytic 21CMMC Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Michelle

2018-01-01

After the Big Bang the universe was filled with neutral hydrogen that began to cool and collapse into the first structures. These first stars and galaxies began to emit radiation that eventually ionized all of the neutral hydrogen in the universe. 21CMMC is a semi-numerical code that takes simulated boxes of this ionized universe from another code called 21cmFAST. Mock measurements are taken from the simulated boxes in 21cmFAST. Those measurements are thrown into 21CMMC and help us determine three major parameters of this simulated universe: virial temperature, mean free path, and ionization efficiency. My project tests the robustness of 21CMMC on universe simulations other than 21cmFAST to see whether 21CMMC can properly reconstruct early universe parameters given a mock “measurement” in the form of power spectra. We determine that while two of the three EoR parameters (Virial Temperature and Efficiency) have some reconstructability, the mean free path parameter in the code is the least robust. This requires development of the 21CMMC code.

Verification and Validation of the BISON Fuel Performance Code for PCMI Applications

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

Gamble, Kyle Allan Lawrence; Novascone, Stephen Rhead; Gardner, Russell James

2016-06-01

BISON is a modern finite element-based nuclear fuel performance code that has been under development at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) since 2009. The code is applicable to both steady and transient fuel behavior and has been used to analyze a variety of fuel forms in 1D spherical, 2D axisymmetric, or 3D geometries. A brief overview of BISON’s computational framework, governing equations, and general material and behavioral models is provided. BISON code and solution verification procedures are described. Validation for application to light water reactor (LWR) PCMI problems is assessed by comparing predicted and measured rod diameter following base irradiation andmore » power ramps. Results indicate a tendency to overpredict clad diameter reduction early in life, when clad creepdown dominates, and more significantly overpredict the diameter increase late in life, when fuel expansion controls the mechanical response. Initial rod diameter comparisons have led to consideration of additional separate effects experiments to better understand and predict clad and fuel mechanical behavior. Results from this study are being used to define priorities for ongoing code development and validation activities.« less

Heterogeneity in geographical trends of HIV epidemics among key populations in Pakistan: a mathematical modeling study of survey data.

PubMed

Melesse, Dessalegn Y; Shafer, Leigh Anne; Emmanuel, Faran; Reza, Tahira; Achakzai, Baseer K; Furqan, Sofia; Blanchard, James F

2018-06-01

Assessing patterns and trends in new infections is key to better understanding of HIV epidemics, and is best done through monitoring changes in incidence over time. In this study, we examined disparities in geographical trends of HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs (PWIDs), female sex workers (FSWs) and hijra /transgender/male sex workers (H/MSWs), in Pakistan. The UNAIDS Estimation and Projection Package (EPP) mathematical model was used to explore geographical trends in HIV epidemics. Four rounds of mapping and surveillance data collected among key populations (KPs) across 20 cities in Pakistan between 2005-2011 was used for modeling. Empirical estimates of HIV prevalence of each KP in each city were used to fit the model to estimate prevalence and incidence over time. HIV incidence among PWIDs in Pakistan reached its peak in 2011, estimated at 45.3 per 1000 person-years. Incidence was projected to continue to rise from 18.9 in 2015 to 24.3 in 2020 among H/MSWs and from 3.2 in 2015 to 6.3 in 2020 among FSWs. The number of people living with HIV in Pakistan was estimated to steadily increase through at least 2020. HIV incidence peak among PWIDs ranged from 16.2 in 1997 in Quetta to 71.0 in 2010 in Faisalabad (per 1000 person-years). Incidence among H/MSWs may continue to rise through 2020 in all the cities, except in Larkana where it peaked in the early 2000s. In 2015, model estimated incidence among FSWs was 8.1 in Karachi, 6.6 in Larkana, 2.0 in Sukkur and 1.2 in Lahore (per 1000 person-years). There exists significant geographical heterogeneity in patterns and trends of HIV sub-epidemics in Pakistan. Focused interventions and service delivery approaches, different by KP and city, are recommended.

Aerial surveys of landslide bodies through light UAVs: peculiarities and advantages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spilotro, Giuseppe; Pellicani, Roberta; Leandro, Gianfranco; Marzo, Cosimo; Manzari, Paola; Belmonte, Antonella

2015-04-01

The use of UAV in civil applications and particularly for aerial surveillance or surveying is rapidly expanding for several reasons. The first reason is undoubtedly the lowering of the costs of the machines, accompanied by high technology for their positioning and control. The results are high performances and ease of driving. Authors have surveyed some big landslides by drones, with excellent results, which can retail for this technique a specific role, not in conflict with classical airborne aerial surveys, such as LIDAR and others. Obviously the first difference is in the amount of payload, over 100 Kg for classical airborne apparatus, but 1000 times lower in the case of the drones. Nevertheless the advantages of the use of drones and of their products can be synthesized as follows: -Start from the site, without the need of transfers, flight plans and long time weather forecasts; -Imagery product georeferenced and immediately exportable to GIS -Inspection of areas not easily accessible (impervious areas, high layers of mud, crossing of rivers, etc) or unreachable in safety conditions; -Inspection of specific points, relevant for the interpretation of the type and intensity of movement. -The pilot and the landslide specialist define route and compare images in real time -Possibility of flying at very low altitude and hovering. For the geomorphological interpretation of the big landslide of Montescaglioso (Mt, Italy) has been used a 1.5 m EPP (Expanded polipropilene) fixed wing, driven by 3DR Open Source Autopilot, equipped with a 16 Mp compact camera CANON A2300. Very useful revealed the image of the toe of the landslide, critical point for the interpretation of the mechanics of the whole landslide. Results have been of excellent quality and allowed authors to an early correct analysis Other landslides have been explored with a commercial drone (Phantom Vision 2 Dji), the use of which has proved likewise invaluable for returning images of areas not otherwise explorable, allowing real time risk management

Heterogeneity in geographical trends of HIV epidemics among key populations in Pakistan: a mathematical modeling study of survey data

PubMed Central

Melesse, Dessalegn Y; Shafer, Leigh Anne; Emmanuel, Faran; Reza, Tahira; Achakzai, Baseer K; Furqan, Sofia; Blanchard, James F

2018-01-01

Background Assessing patterns and trends in new infections is key to better understanding of HIV epidemics, and is best done through monitoring changes in incidence over time. In this study, we examined disparities in geographical trends of HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs (PWIDs), female sex workers (FSWs) and hijra/transgender/male sex workers (H/MSWs), in Pakistan. Methods The UNAIDS Estimation and Projection Package (EPP) mathematical model was used to explore geographical trends in HIV epidemics. Four rounds of mapping and surveillance data collected among key populations (KPs) across 20 cities in Pakistan between 2005-2011 was used for modeling. Empirical estimates of HIV prevalence of each KP in each city were used to fit the model to estimate prevalence and incidence over time. Results HIV incidence among PWIDs in Pakistan reached its peak in 2011, estimated at 45.3 per 1000 person-years. Incidence was projected to continue to rise from 18.9 in 2015 to 24.3 in 2020 among H/MSWs and from 3.2 in 2015 to 6.3 in 2020 among FSWs. The number of people living with HIV in Pakistan was estimated to steadily increase through at least 2020. HIV incidence peak among PWIDs ranged from 16.2 in 1997 in Quetta to 71.0 in 2010 in Faisalabad (per 1000 person-years). Incidence among H/MSWs may continue to rise through 2020 in all the cities, except in Larkana where it peaked in the early 2000s. In 2015, model estimated incidence among FSWs was 8.1 in Karachi, 6.6 in Larkana, 2.0 in Sukkur and 1.2 in Lahore (per 1000 person-years). Conclusions There exists significant geographical heterogeneity in patterns and trends of HIV sub-epidemics in Pakistan. Focused interventions and service delivery approaches, different by KP and city, are recommended. PMID:29770215

The Early Development of Programmable Machinery.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Martin D.

1985-01-01

Programmable equipment innovations, precursors of today's technology, are examined, including the development of the binary code and feedback control systems, such as temperature sensing devices, interchangeable parts, punched cards carrying instructions, continuous flow oil refining process, assembly lines for mass production, and the…

Chemical decontamination technical resources at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2008)

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

Moore, Murray E

This document supplies information resources for a person seeking to create planning or pre-planning documents for chemical decontamination operations. A building decontamination plan can be separated into four different sections: Pre-planning, Characterization, Decontamination (Initial response and also complete cleanup), and Clearance. Of the identified Los Alamos resources, they can be matched with these four sections: Pre-planning -- Dave Seidel, EO-EPP, Emergency Planning and Preparedness; David DeCroix and Bruce Letellier, D-3, Computational fluids modeling of structures; Murray E. Moore, RP-2, Aerosol sampling and ventilation engineering. Characterization (this can include development projects) -- Beth Perry, IAT-3, Nuclear Counterterrorism Response (SNIPER database); Fernandomore » Garzon, MPA-11, Sensors and Electrochemical Devices (development); George Havrilla, C-CDE, Chemical Diagnostics and Engineering; Kristen McCabe, B-7, Biosecurity and Public Health. Decontamination -- Adam Stively, EO-ER, Emergency Response; Dina Matz, IHS-IP, Industrial hygiene; Don Hickmott, EES-6, Chemical cleanup. Clearance (validation) -- Larry Ticknor, CCS-6, Statistical Sciences.« less

Time scales involved in emergent market coherence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwapień, J.; Drożdż, S.; Speth, J.

2004-06-01

In addressing the question of the time scales characteristic for the market formation, we analyze high-frequency tick-by-tick data from the NYSE and from the German market. By using returns on various time scales ranging from seconds or minutes up to 2 days, we compare magnitude of the largest eigenvalue of the correlation matrix for the same set of securities but for different time scales. For various sets of stocks of different capitalization (and the average trading frequency), we observe a significant elevation of the largest eigenvalue with increasing time scale. Our results from the correlation matrix study can be considered as a manifestation of the so-called Epps effect. There is no unique explanation of this effect and it seems that many different factors play a role here. One of such factors is randomness in transaction moments for different stocks. Another interesting conclusion to be drawn from our results is that in the contemporary markets the emergence of significant correlations occurs on time scales much smaller than in the more distant history.

jsc2017e136047 - At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 54-55 prime crewmember Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) signs a ceremonial book Nov. 30 as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-11-30

jsc2017e136047 - At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 54-55 prime crewmember Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) signs a ceremonial book Nov. 30 as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies. In the front row from left to right are the prime crewmembers, Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Shkaplerov and Scott Tingle of NASA. Looking on in the back row are the backup crewmembers, NASA’s Jeanette Epps, Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. Shkaplerov, Tingle and Kanai will launch Dec. 17 on the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

Rapid promotion and progression of fibrovascular polyps by inflammation and/or hyperplasia in hamster check pouch: implications for carcinogenesis assay.

PubMed

McGaughey, C; Jensen, J L

1983-03-01

Tumor initiation by topical application of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) followed by topical application of retinyl acetate (RA), ethylphenylpropiolate, or acetic acid in DMSO at inflammatory and hyperplasiogenic dose regimens caused the rapid promotion of fibrovascular polyps with dysplastic epithelium in hamster cheek pouch. Such lesions did not occur in control animals initiated with DMBA followed by application of DMSO only, where inflammation was also minimal. At the dose regimen employed, RA caused obvious cytotoxicity and tissue destruction. With EPP and AA, there was no histological evidence of tissue destruction. At dose regimens resulting in minimal inflammation and no apparent cytotoxicity, RA promoted almost no polyps, but a higher yield of other tumor types. Thus, inflammation and/or hyperplasia apparently exerted a strong polyp-promoting and progressive influence. This and other differences between the tumorigenic responses of hamster-pouch mucosa and mouse skin suggest that the former supplement the latter in carcinogenic risk assessment.

The generation of meaningful information in molecular systems.

PubMed

Wills, Peter R

2016-03-13

The physico-chemical processes occurring inside cells are under the computational control of genetic (DNA) and epigenetic (internal structural) programming. The origin and evolution of genetic information (nucleic acid sequences) is reasonably well understood, but scant attention has been paid to the origin and evolution of the molecular biological interpreters that give phenotypic meaning to the sequence information that is quite faithfully replicated during cellular reproduction. The near universality and age of the mapping from nucleotide triplets to amino acids embedded in the functionality of the protein synthetic machinery speaks to the early development of a system of coding which is still extant in every living organism. We take the origin of genetic coding as a paradigm of the emergence of computation in natural systems, focusing on the requirement that the molecular components of an interpreter be synthesized autocatalytically. Within this context, it is seen that interpreters of increasing complexity are generated by series of transitions through stepped dynamic instabilities (non-equilibrium phase transitions). The early phylogeny of the amino acyl-tRNA synthetase enzymes is discussed in such terms, leading to the conclusion that the observed optimality of the genetic code is a natural outcome of the processes of self-organization that produced it. © 2016 The Author(s).

Validation of ICD-9 Codes for Stable Miscarriage in the Emergency Department.

PubMed

Quinley, Kelly E; Falck, Ailsa; Kallan, Michael J; Datner, Elizabeth M; Carr, Brendan G; Schreiber, Courtney A

2015-07-01

International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis codes have not been validated for identifying cases of missed abortion where a pregnancy is no longer viable but the cervical os remains closed. Our goal was to assess whether ICD-9 code "632" for missed abortion has high sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) in identifying patients in the emergency department (ED) with cases of stable early pregnancy failure (EPF). We studied females ages 13-50 years presenting to the ED of an urban academic medical center. We approached our analysis from two perspectives, evaluating both the sensitivity and PPV of ICD-9 code "632" in identifying patients with stable EPF. All patients with chief complaints "pregnant and bleeding" or "pregnant and cramping" over a 12-month period were identified. We randomly reviewed two months of patient visits and calculated the sensitivity of ICD-9 code "632" for true cases of stable miscarriage. To establish the PPV of ICD-9 code "632" for capturing missed abortions, we identified patients whose visits from the same time period were assigned ICD-9 code "632," and identified those with actual cases of stable EPF. We reviewed 310 patient records (17.6% of 1,762 sampled). Thirteen of 31 patient records assigned ICD-9 code for missed abortion correctly identified cases of stable EPF (sensitivity=41.9%), and 140 of the 142 patients without EPF were not assigned the ICD-9 code "632"(specificity=98.6%). Of the 52 eligible patients identified by ICD-9 code "632," 39 cases met the criteria for stable EPF (PPV=75.0%). ICD-9 code "632" has low sensitivity for identifying stable EPF, but its high specificity and moderately high PPV are valuable for studying cases of stable EPF in epidemiologic studies using administrative data.

Mu-Like Prophage in Serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis Coding for Surface-Exposed Antigens

PubMed Central

Masignani, Vega; Giuliani, Marzia Monica; Tettelin, Hervé; Comanducci, Maurizio; Rappuoli, Rino; Scarlato, Vincenzo

2001-01-01

Sequence analysis of the genome of Neisseria meningititdis serogroup B revealed the presence of an ∼35-kb region inserted within a putative gene coding for an ABC-type transporter. The region contains 46 open reading frames, 29 of which are colinear and homologous to the genes of Escherichia coli Mu phage. Two prophages with similar organizations were also found in serogroup A meningococcus, and one was found in Haemophilus influenzae. Early and late phage functions are well preserved in this family of Mu-like prophages. Several regions of atypical nucleotide content were identified. These likely represent genes acquired by horizontal transfer. Three of the acquired genes are shown to code for surface-associated antigens, and the encoded proteins are able to induce bactericidal antibodies. PMID:11254622

Simulations of Astrophysical Jets in Dense Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krause, Martin; Gaibler, Volker; Camenzind, Max

We have simulated the interaction of jets with a galactic wind at high resolution using the magnetohydrodynamics code NIRVANA on the NEC SX-6 at the HLRS. This setup may describe a typical situation for the starbursting radio galaxies of the early universe. The results show a clear resolution dependence in the expected way, but the formed clumps are denser than expected from linear extrapolation. We also report our recent progress in the adaptation of the magnetic part of NIRVANA to the SX-6. The code is now fully tuned to the machine and reached more than 3 Gflops. We plan to use this new code version to extend our study of magnetized jets down to very low jet densities. This should be especially applicable to the conditions in the young universe.

Structured Analysis/Design - LSA Task 101, Early Logistic Support Analysis Strategy, Subtask 101.2.1, Develop Early LSA Strategy

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-07-01

replacing "logic diagrams" or "flow charts") to aid in coordinating the functions to be performed by a computer program and its associated Inputs...ADDRESS (City, State, and ZIP Code) 10. SOURCE OF FUNDING NUMBERS PROGRAM PROJECT ITASK IWORK UNIT ELEMENT NO. NO. NO. ACCESSION NO. 11. TITLE...the analysis. Both the logical model and detailed procedures are used to develop the application software programs which will be provided to Government

Modeling the Prodromal Effects and Performance Reduction of Astronauts from Exposure to Large Solar Particle Events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hu, S.; Kim, M. Y.; McClellan, G. E.; Nikjoo, H.; Cucinotta, F. A.

2007-01-01

In space exploration outside the Earth's geomagnetic field, radiation exposure from solar particle events (SPE) presents a health concern for astronauts, that could impair their performance and result in possibility of failure of the mission. Acute risks are especially of concern during spacewalks on the lunar surface because of the rapid onset of SPE's and science goals that involve long distances to crew habitats. Thus assessing the potential of early radiation effect under such adverse conditions is of prime importance. Here we present a biologic based mathematical model which describes the dose and time-dependent early human responses to ionizing radiation. We examine the possible early effects on crew behind various shielding materials from exposure to some historical large SPEs on the lunar and Mars surfaces. The doses and dose rates were calculated using the BRYNTRN code (Kim, M.Y, Hu, X, and Cucinotta, F.A, Effect of Shielding Materials from SPEs on the Lunar and Mars Surface, AIAA Space 2005, paper number AIAA-2005-6653, Long Beach, CA, August 30-September 1, 2005) and the hazard of the early radiation effects and performance reduction were calculated using the RIPD code (Anno, G.H, McClellan, G.E., Dore, M.A, Protracted Radiation-Induced Performance Decrement, Volume 1 Model Development,1996, Defense Nuclear Agency: Alexandria VA). Based on model assumptions we show that exposure to these historical SPEs do cause early effects to crew members and impair their performance if effective shielding and medical countermeasure tactics are not provided. The calculations show multiple occurrence of large SPEs in a short period of time significantly increase the severity of early illness, however early death from failure of the hematopoietic system is very unlikely because of the dose-rate and dose heterogeneity of SPEs. Results from these types of calculations will be a guide in design of protection systems and medical response strategy for astronauts in case of exposure to high dose irradiation during future space missions.

How can experience in clinical and community settings contribute to early medical education? A BEME systematic review.

PubMed

Dornan, T; Littlewood, S; Margolis, S A; Scherpbier, A; Spencer, J; Ypinazar, V

2006-02-01

Review period January 1992-December 2001. Final analysis July 2004-January 2005. BACKGROUND AND REVIEW CONTEXT: There has been no rigorous systematic review of the outcomes of early exposure to clinical and community settings in medical education. OBJECTIVES OF REVIEW: Identify published empirical evidence of the effects of early experience in medical education, analyse it, and synthesize conclusions from it. Identify the strengths and limitations of the research effort to date, and identify objectives for future research. Ovid search of: BEI, ERIC, Medline, CINAHL and EMBASE Additional electronic searches of: Psychinfo, Timelit, EBM reviews, SIGLE, and the Cochrane databases. Hand-searches of:Medical Education, Medical Teacher, Academic Medicine, Teaching and Learning in Medicine, Advances in Health Sciences Education, Journal of Educational Psychology. Authentic (real as opposed to simulated) human contact in a social or clinical context that enhances learning of health, illness and/or disease, and the role of the health professional. Early: What would traditionally have been regarded as the preclinical phase, usually the first 2 years. Inclusions: All empirical studies (verifiable, observational data) of early experience in the basic education of health professionals, whatever their design or methodology, including papers not in English. Evidence from other health care professions that could be applied to medicine was included. Not empirical; not early; post-basic; simulated rather than 'authentic' experience. Careful validation of selection processes. Coding by two reviewers onto an extensively modified version of the standard BEME coding sheet. Accumulation into an Access database. Secondary coding and synthesis of an interpretation. A total of 73 studies met the selection criteria and yielded 277 educational outcomes; 116 of those outcomes (from 38 studies) were rated strong and important enough to include in a narrative synthesis of results; 76% of those outcomes were from descriptive studies and 24% from comparative studies. Early experience motivated and satisfied students of the health professions and helped them acclimatize to clinical environments, develop professionally, interact with patients with more confidence and less stress, develop self-reflection and appraisal skill, and develop a professional identity. It strengthened their learning and made it more real and relevant to clinical practice. It helped students learn about the structure and function of the healthcare system, and about preventive care and the role of health professionals. It supported the learning of both biomedical and behavioural/social sciences and helped students acquire communication and basic clinical skills. There were outcomes for beneficiaries other than students, including teachers, patients, populations, organizations and specialties. Early experience increased recruitment to primary care/rural medical practice, though mainly in US studies which introduced it for that specific purpose as part of a complex intervention. Early experience helps medical students socialize to their chosen profession. It helps them acquire a range of subject matter and makes their learning more real and relevant. It has potential benefits for other stakeholders, notably teachers and patients. It can influence career choices.

Development of a new version of the Vehicle Protection Factor Code (VPF3)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamieson, Terrance J.

1990-10-01

The Vehicle Protection Factor (VPF) Code is an engineering tool for estimating radiation protection afforded by armoured vehicles and other structures exposed to neutron and gamma ray radiation from fission, thermonuclear, and fusion sources. A number of suggestions for modifications have been offered by users of early versions of the code. These include: implementing some of the more advanced features of the air transport rating code, ATR5, used to perform the air over ground radiation transport analyses; allowing the ability to study specific vehicle orientations within the free field; implementing an adjoint transport scheme to reduce the number of transport runs required; investigating the possibility of accelerating the transport scheme; and upgrading the computer automated design (CAD) package used by VPF. The generation of radiation free field fluences for infinite air geometries as required for aircraft analysis can be accomplished by using ATR with the air over ground correction factors disabled. Analysis of the effects of fallout bearing debris clouds on aircraft will require additional modelling of VPF.

Characteristic Evolution and Matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winicour, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

I review the development of numerical evolution codes for general relativity based upon the characteristic initial-value problem. Progress in characteristic evolution is traced from the early stage of 1D feasibility studies to 2D-axisymmetric codes that accurately simulate the oscillations and gravitational collapse of relativistic stars and to current 3D codes that provide pieces of a binary black-hole spacetime. Cauchy codes have now been successful at simulating all aspects of the binary black-hole problem inside an artificially constructed outer boundary. A prime application of characteristic evolution is to extend such simulations to null infinity where the waveform from the binary inspiral and merger can be unambiguously computed. This has now been accomplished by Cauchy-characteristic extraction, where data for the characteristic evolution is supplied by Cauchy data on an extraction worldtube inside the artificial outer boundary. The ultimate application of characteristic evolution is to eliminate the role of this outer boundary by constructing a global solution via Cauchy-characteristic matching. Progress in this direction is discussed.

Differential metabolic responses of Beauveria bassiana cultured in pupae extracts, root exudates and its interactions with insect and plant.

PubMed

Luo, Feifei; Wang, Qian; Yin, Chunlin; Ge, Yinglu; Hu, Fenglin; Huang, Bo; Zhou, Hong; Bao, Guanhu; Wang, Bin; Lu, Ruili; Li, Zengzhi

2015-09-01

Beauveria bassiana is a kind of world-wide entomopathogenic fungus and can also colonize plant rhizosphere. Previous researches showed differential expression of genes when entomopathogenic fungi are cultured in insect or plant materials. However, so far there is no report on metabolic alterations of B. bassiana in the environments of insect or plant. The purpose of this paper is to address this problem. Herein, we first provide the metabolomic analysis of B. bassiana cultured in insect pupae extracts (derived from Euproctis pseudoconspersa and Bombyx mori, EPP and BMP), plant root exudates (derived from asparagus and carrot, ARE and CRE), distilled water and minimal media (MM), respectively. Principal components analysis (PCA) shows that mycelia cultured in pupae extracts and root exudates are evidently separated and individually separated from MM, which indicates that fungus accommodates to insect and plant environments by different metabolic regulation mechanisms. Subsequently, orthogonal projection on latent structure-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) identifies differential metabolites in fungus under three environments relative to MM. Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) is performed to cluster compounds based on biochemical relationships, showing that sphingolipids are increased in BMP but are decreased in EPP. This observation further implies that sphingolipid metabolism may be involved in the adaptation of fungus to different hosts. In the meantime, sphingolipids are significantly decreased in root exudates but they are not decreased in distilled water, suggesting that some components of the root exudates can suppress sphingolipid to down-regulate sphingolipid metabolism. Pathway analysis finds that fatty acid metabolism is maintained at high level but non-ribosomal peptides (NRP) synthesis is unaffected in mycelia cultured in pupae extracts. In contrast, fatty acid metabolism is not changed but NRP synthesis is high in mycelia cultured in root exudates and distilled water. This indicates that fungal fatty acid metabolism is enhanced when contacting insect, but when in the absence of insect hosts NRP synthesis is increased. Ornithine, arginine and GABA are decreased in mycelia cultured in pupae extracts and root exudates but remain unchanged in distilled water, which suggests that they may be associated with fungal cross-talk with insects and plants. Trehalose and mannitol are decreased while adenine is increased in three conditions, signifying carbon shortage in cells. Together, these results unveil that B. bassiana has differential metabolic responses in pupae extracts and root exudates, and metabolic similarity in root exudates and distilled water is possibly due to the lack of insect components. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Comprehensive evaluation of long-term hydrological data sets: Constraints of the Budyko framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greve, Peter; Orlowsky, Boris; Seneviratne, Sonia I.

2013-04-01

An accurate estimate of the climatological land water balance is essential for a wide range of socio-economical issues. Despite the simplicity of the underlying water balance equation, its individual variables are of complex nature. Global estimates, either derived from observations or from models, of precipitation (P ) and especially evapotranspiration (ET) are characterized by high uncertainties. This leads to inconsistent results in determining conditions related to the land water balance and its components. In this study, we consider the Budyko framework as a constraint to evaluate long-term hydrological data sets within the period from 1984 to 2005. The Budyko framework is a well established empirically based relationsship between ET-P and Ep-P , with Ep being the potential evaporation. We use estimates of ET associated with the LandFlux-EVAL initiative (Mueller et. al., 2012), either derived from observations, CMIP5 models or land-surface models (LSMs) driven with observation-based forcing or atmospheric reanalyses. Data sets of P comprise all commonly used global observation-based estimates. Ep is determined by methods of differing complexity with recent global temperature and radiation data sets. Based on this comprehensive synthesis of data sets and methods to determine Ep, more than 2000 possible combinations for ET-P in conjunction with Ep-P are created. All combinations are validated against the Budyko curve and against physical limits within the Budyko phase space. For this purpose we develop an error measure based on the root mean square error which combines both constraints. We find that uncertainties are mainly induced by the ET data sets. In particular, reanalysis and CMIP5 data sets are characterized by low realism. The realism of LSMs is further not primarily controlled by the forcing, as different LSMs driven with the same forcing show significantly different error measures. Our comprehensive approach is thus suitable to detect uncertainties associated with individual data sets. Furthermore, combinations performing well within the Budyko phase space are identified and could be used for future studies, like e.g. to investigate decadal changes of the land water balance. B. MUELLER, M. HIRSCHI, C. JIMENEZ, P. CIAIS, P.A. DIRMEYER, A.J. DOLMAN, J.B. FISHER, Z. GUO, M. JUNG, F. LUDWIG, F. MAIGNAN, D. MIRALLES, M.F. MCCABE, M. REICHSTEIN, J. SHEELD, K. WANG, E.F.WOOD, Y. ZHANG, S.I. SENEVIRATNE (2012): Benchmark products for land evapotranspiration: LandFlux-EVAL multi-dataset synthesis, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., submitted.

ISS External Payload Platform - a new opportunity for research in the space environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steimle, Christian; Pape, Uwe

The International Space Station (ISS) is a widely accepted platform for research activities in low Earth orbit. To a wide extent these activities are conducted in the pressurised laboratories of the station and less in the outside environment. Suitable locations outside the ISS are rare, existing facilities fully booked for the coming years. To overcome this limitation, an external payload platform accessible for small size payloads on a commercial basis will be launched to the ISS and installed on the Japanese Experiment Module External Facility (JEM-EF) in the third quarter of 2014 and will be ready to be used by the scientific community on a fully commercial basis. The new External Payload Platform (EPP) and its opportunities and constraints assessed regarding future research activities on-board the ISS. The small size platform is realised in a cooperation between the companies NanoRacks, Astrium North America in the United States, and Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The hardware allows the fully robotic installation and operation of payloads. In the nominal mission scenario payload items are installed not later than one year after the signature of the contract, stay in operation for 15 weeks, and can be returned to the scientist thereafter. Payload items are transported among the pressurised cargo usually delivered to the station with various supply vehicles. Due to the high frequency of flights and the flexibility of the vehicle manifests the risk of a delay in the payload readiness can be mitigated by delaying to the next flight opportunity which on average is available not more than two months later. The mission is extra-ordinarily fast and of low cost in comparison to traditional research conducted on-board the ISS and can fit into short-term funding cycles available on national and multi-national levels. The size of the payload items is limited by handling constraints on-board the ISS. Therefore, the standard experiment payload size is a multiple of a 4U CubeSat, which demands miniaturised hardware solutions. But every payload can extensively use all ISS resources required: mass is not limited, power only limited by the payload heat radiation capability, the datalink is a USB 2.0 standard bus enabling a real-time and private data link. The new EPP transforms the station into a true laboratory in space with the capability to support research in various fields: exposure of biologic or material samples, experiments related to the radiation environment in low Earth orbit, and more.

Multiplexed Detection of Cytokines Based on Dual Bar-Code Strategy and Single-Molecule Counting.

PubMed

Li, Wei; Jiang, Wei; Dai, Shuang; Wang, Lei

2016-02-02

Cytokines play important roles in the immune system and have been regarded as biomarkers. While single cytokine is not specific and accurate enough to meet the strict diagnosis in practice, in this work, we constructed a multiplexed detection method for cytokines based on dual bar-code strategy and single-molecule counting. Taking interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) as model analytes, first, the magnetic nanobead was functionalized with the second antibody and primary bar-code strands, forming a magnetic nanoprobe. Then, through the specific reaction of the second antibody and the antigen that fixed by the primary antibody, sandwich-type immunocomplex was formed on the substrate. Next, the primary bar-code strands as amplification units triggered multibranched hybridization chain reaction (mHCR), producing nicked double-stranded polymers with multiple branched arms, which were served as secondary bar-code strands. Finally, the secondary bar-code strands hybridized with the multimolecule labeled fluorescence probes, generating enhanced fluorescence signals. The numbers of fluorescence dots were counted one by one for quantification with epi-fluorescence microscope. By integrating the primary and secondary bar-code-based amplification strategy and the multimolecule labeled fluorescence probes, this method displayed an excellent sensitivity with the detection limits were both 5 fM. Unlike the typical bar-code assay that the bar-code strands should be released and identified on a microarray, this method is more direct. Moreover, because of the selective immune reaction and the dual bar-code mechanism, the resulting method could detect the two targets simultaneously. Multiple analysis in human serum was also performed, suggesting that our strategy was reliable and had a great potential application in early clinical diagnosis.

McCarthyism's Rhetorical Norms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Townsend, Rebecca M.

Rhetorical norms of early McCarthyist discourse reveal a reliance upon images of chaos and the body. Through such metaphors, rhetors crafted a model of discussion that feminized "democracy" and "tolerance" to support anti-Communist measures and de-legitimize their opponents. Political variety was coded as deviant to national…

Pattern formation in early embryogenesis of Xenopus laevis

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

Mglinets, V.A.

1995-07-01

Establishment of egg polarity, separation of germ layers, and the appearance of animal-vegetal, dorsoventral, and anteroposterior axes in Xenopus laevis embryos are considered. The control of these processes by gene coding for growth factors, protooncogens, and homeobox-containing genes is also been reviewed.

Polarized Continuum Radiation from Stellar Atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrington, J. Patrick

2015-10-01

Continuum scattering by free electrons can be significant in early type stars, while in late type stars Rayleigh scattering by hydrogen atoms or molecules may be important. Computer programs used to construct models of stellar atmospheres generally treat the scattering of the continuum radiation as isotropic and unpolarized, but this scattering has a dipole angular dependence and will produce polarization. We review an accurate method for evaluating the polarization and limb darkening of the radiation from model stellar atmospheres. We use this method to obtain results for: (i) Late type stars, based on the MARCS code models (Gustafsson et al. 2008), and (ii) Early type stars, based on the NLTE code TLUSTY (Lanz and Hubeny 2003). These results are tabulated at http://www.astro.umd.edu/~jph/Stellar_Polarization.html. While the net polarization vanishes for an unresolved spherical star, this symmetry is broken by rapid rotation or by the masking of part of the star by a binary companion or during the transit of an exoplanet. We give some numerical results for these last cases.

Clinical polyomavirus BK variants with agnogene deletion are non-functional but rescued by trans-complementation

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

Myhre, Marit Renee; Olsen, Gunn-Hege; Gosert, Rainer

High-level replication of polyomavirus BK (BKV) in kidney transplant recipients is associated with the emergence of BKV variants with rearranged (rr) non-coding control region (NCCR) increasing viral early gene expression and cytopathology. Cloning and sequencing revealed the presence of a BKV quasispecies which included non-functional variants when assayed in a recombinant virus assay. Here we report that the rr-NCCR of BKV variants RH-3 and RH-12, both bearing a NCCR deletion including the 5' end of the agnoprotein coding sequence, mediated early and late viral reporter gene expression in kidney cells. However, in a recombinant virus they failed to produce infectiousmore » progeny despite large T-antigen and VP1 expression and the formation of nuclear virus-like particles. Infectious progeny was generated when the agnogene was reconstructed in cis or agnoprotein provided in trans from a co-existing BKV rr-NCCR variant. We conclude that complementation can rescue non-functional BKV variants in vitro and possibly in vivo.« less

The openEHR Java reference implementation project.

PubMed

Chen, Rong; Klein, Gunnar

2007-01-01

The openEHR foundation has developed an innovative design for interoperable and future-proof Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems based on a dual model approach with a stable reference information model complemented by archetypes for specific clinical purposes.A team from Sweden has implemented all the stable specifications in the Java programming language and donated the source code to the openEHR foundation. It was adopted as the openEHR Java Reference Implementation in March 2005 and released under open source licenses. This encourages early EHR implementation projects around the world and a number of groups have already started to use this code. The early Java implementation experience has also led to the publication of the openEHR Java Implementation Technology Specification. A number of design changes to the specifications and important minor corrections have been directly initiated by the implementation project over the last two years. The Java Implementation has been important for the validation and improvement of the openEHR design specifications and provides building blocks for future EHR systems.

Nowcasting Ground Magnetic Perturbations with the Space Weather Modeling Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welling, D. T.; Toth, G.; Singer, H. J.; Millward, G. H.; Gombosi, T. I.

2015-12-01

Predicting ground-based magnetic perturbations is a critical step towards specifying and predicting geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) in high voltage transmission lines. Currently, the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF), a flexible modeling framework for simulating the multi-scale space environment, is being transitioned from research to operational use (R2O) by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. Upon completion of this transition, the SWMF will provide localized B/t predictions using real-time solar wind observations from L1 and the F10.7 proxy for EUV as model input. This presentation describes the operational SWMF setup and summarizes the changes made to the code to enable R2O progress. The framework's algorithm for calculating ground-based magnetometer observations will be reviewed. Metrics from data-model comparisons will be reviewed to illustrate predictive capabilities. Early data products, such as regional-K index and grids of virtual magnetometer stations, will be presented. Finally, early successes will be shared, including the code's ability to reproduce the recent March 2015 St. Patrick's Day Storm.

Development Context Driven Change Awareness and Analysis Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarma, Anita; Branchaud, Josh; Dwyer, Matthew B.; Person, Suzette; Rungta, Neha

2014-01-01

Recent work on workspace monitoring allows conflict prediction early in the development process, however, these approaches mostly use syntactic differencing techniques to compare different program versions. In contrast, traditional change-impact analysis techniques analyze related versions of the program only after the code has been checked into the master repository. We propose a novel approach, De- CAF (Development Context Analysis Framework), that leverages the development context to scope a change impact analysis technique. The goal is to characterize the impact of each developer on other developers in the team. There are various client applications such as task prioritization, early conflict detection, and providing advice on testing that can benefit from such a characterization. The DeCAF framework leverages information from the development context to bound the iDiSE change impact analysis technique to analyze only the parts of the code base that are of interest. Bounding the analysis can enable DeCAF to efficiently compute the impact of changes using a combination of program dependence and symbolic execution based approaches.

Development Context Driven Change Awareness and Analysis Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarma, Anita; Branchaud, Josh; Dwyer, Matthew B.; Person, Suzette; Rungta, Neha; Wang, Yurong; Elbaum, Sebastian

2014-01-01

Recent work on workspace monitoring allows conflict prediction early in the development process, however, these approaches mostly use syntactic differencing techniques to compare different program versions. In contrast, traditional change-impact analysis techniques analyze related versions of the program only after the code has been checked into the master repository. We propose a novel approach, DeCAF (Development Context Analysis Framework), that leverages the development context to scope a change impact analysis technique. The goal is to characterize the impact of each developer on other developers in the team. There are various client applications such as task prioritization, early conflict detection, and providing advice on testing that can benefit from such a characterization. The DeCAF framework leverages information from the development context to bound the iDiSE change impact analysis technique to analyze only the parts of the code base that are of interest. Bounding the analysis can enable DeCAF to efficiently compute the impact of changes using a combination of program dependence and symbolic execution based approaches.

Suppressive and enhancing effects in early visual cortex during illusory shape perception: A comment on.

PubMed

Moors, Pieter

2015-01-01

In a recent functional magnetic resonance imaging study, Kok and de Lange (2014) observed that BOLD activity for a Kanizsa illusory shape stimulus, in which pacmen-like inducers elicit an illusory shape percept, was either enhanced or suppressed relative to a nonillusory control configuration depending on whether the spatial profile of BOLD activity in early visual cortex was related to the illusory shape or the inducers, respectively. The authors argued that these findings fit well with the predictive coding framework, because top-down predictions related to the illusory shape are not met with bottom-up sensory input and hence the feedforward error signal is enhanced. Conversely, for the inducing elements, there is a match between top-down predictions and input, leading to a decrease in error. Rather than invoking predictive coding as the explanatory framework, the suppressive effect related to the inducers might be caused by neural adaptation to perceptually stable input due to the trial sequence used in the experiment.

An Introduction to Quantum Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greensite, Jeff

2017-02-01

Written in a lucid and engaging style, the author takes readers from an overview of classical mechanics and the historical development of quantum theory through to advanced topics. The mathematical aspects of quantum theory necessary for a firm grasp of the subject are developed in the early chapters, but an effort is made to motivate that formalism on physical grounds. Including animated figures and their respective Mathematica® codes, this book provides a complete and comprehensive text for students in physics, maths, chemistry and engineering needing an accessible introduction to quantum mechanics. Supplementary Mathematica codes available within Book Information

Governor Bush makes first phone call to KSC using new area code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1999-01-01

In the videoconference room at Headquarters, key representatives of KSC contractors, along with KSC directorates, fill the room during an early morning phone call from Florida Governor Jeb Bush (seen on the video screen) in Tallahassee, Fla. The call is to inaugurate the change of KSC's area code from 407 to 321, effective today. Deputy Director for Business Operations Jim Jennings (fourth from right) received the call. Next to Jennings (at his right) is seated Robert Osband, Florida Space Institute, who suggested the 3-2-1 sequence to reflect the importance of the space industry to Florida's space coast.

Investigations into the behaviour of Plasma surrounding Pulsars: DYMPHNA3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rochford, Ronan; Mc Donald, John; Shearer, Andy

2011-08-01

We report on a new 3D fully relativistic, modular, parallel and scalable Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code currently being developed at the Computational Astrophysics Laboratory in the National University of Ireland, Galway and its initial test applications to the plasma distribution in the vicinity of a rapidly rotating neutron star. We find that Plasma remains confined by trapping surfaces close to the star as opposed to propagating to a significant portion of the light-cylinder distance as predicted in this early work. We discuss planned future modifications and applications of the developed code.

MELCOR/CONTAIN LMR Implementation Report. FY14 Progress

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

Humphries, Larry L; Louie, David L.Y.

2014-10-01

This report describes the preliminary implementation of the sodium thermophysical properties and the design documentation for the sodium models of CONTAIN-LMR to be implemented into MELCOR 2.1. In the past year, the implementation included two separate sodium properties from two different sources. The first source is based on the previous work done by Idaho National Laboratory by modifying MELCOR to include liquid lithium equation of state as a working fluid to model the nuclear fusion safety research. To minimize the impact to MELCOR, the implementation of the fusion safety database (FSD) was done by utilizing the detection of the datamore » input file as a way to invoking the FSD. The FSD methodology has been adapted currently for this work, but it may subject modification as the project continues. The second source uses properties generated for the SIMMER code. Preliminary testing and results from this implementation of sodium properties are given. In this year, the design document for the CONTAIN-LMR sodium models, such as the two condensable option, sodium spray fire, and sodium pool fire is being developed. This design document is intended to serve as a guide for the MELCOR implementation. In addition, CONTAIN-LMR code used was based on the earlier version of CONTAIN code. Many physical models that were developed since this early version of CONTAIN may not be captured by the code. Although CONTAIN 2, which represents the latest development of CONTAIN, contains some sodium specific models, which are not complete, the utilizing CONTAIN 2 with all sodium models implemented from CONTAIN-LMR as a comparison code for MELCOR should be done. This implementation should be completed in early next year, while sodium models from CONTAIN-LMR are being integrated into MELCOR. For testing, CONTAIN decks have been developed for verification and validation use.« less

The ePLAS Code for Ignition Studies

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

Mason, Rodney J

2012-09-20

Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) presents unique opportunities for the extraction of clean energy from Fusion. Intense lasers and particle beams can create and interact with such plasmas, potentially yielding sufficient energy to satisfy all our national needs. However, few models are available to help aid the scientific community in the study and optimization of such interactions. This project enhanced and disseminated the computer code ePLAS for the early understanding and control of Ignition in ICF. ePLAS is a unique simulation code that tracks the transport of laser light to a target, the absorption of that light resulting in the generationmore » and transport of hot electrons, and the heating and flow dynamics of the background plasma. It uses an implicit electromagnetic field-solving method to greatly reduce computing demands, so that useful target interaction studies can often be completed in 15 minutes on a portable 2.1 GHz PC. The code permits the rapid scoping of calculations for the optimization of laser target interactions aimed at fusion. Recent efforts have initiated the use of analytic equations of state (EOS), K-alpha image rendering graphics, allocatable memory for source-free usage, and adaption to the latest Mac and Linux Operating Systems. The speed and utility of ePLAS are unequaled in the ICF simulation community. This project evaluated the effects of its new EOSs on target heating, compared fluid and particle models for the ions, initiated the simultaneous use of both ion models in the code, and studied long time scale 500 ps hot electron deposition for shock ignition. ePLAS has been granted EAR99 export control status, permitting export without a license to most foreign countries. Beta-test versions of ePLAS have been granted to several Universities and Commercial users. The net Project was aimed at achieving early success in the laboratory ignition of thermonuclear targets and the mastery of controlled fusion power for the nation.« less

Pathways to Early Violent Death: The Voices of Serious Violent Youth Offenders

PubMed Central

Richardson, Joseph B.; Brown, Jerry; Van Brakle, Michelle

2013-01-01

Quantitative studies have uncovered factors associated with early violent death among youth offenders detained in the juvenile justice system, but little is known about the contextual factors associated with pathways to early violent death among youths detained in adult jails. We interviewed young Black male serious violent youth offenders detained in an adult jail to understand their experience of violence. Their narratives reveal how the code of the street, informal rules that govern interpersonal violence among poor inner-city Black male youths, increases the likelihood of violent victimization. Youth offenders detained in adult jails have the lowest rate of service provision among all jail populations. We have addressed how services for youth offenders can be improved to reduce the pathways to early violent death. PMID:23678923

Pathways to early violent death: the voices of serious violent youth offenders.

PubMed

Richardson, Joseph B; Brown, Jerry; Van Brakle, Michelle

2013-07-01

Quantitative studies have uncovered factors associated with early violent death among youth offenders detained in the juvenile justice system, but little is known about the contextual factors associated with pathways to early violent death among youths detained in adult jails. We interviewed young Black male serious violent youth offenders detained in an adult jail to understand their experience of violence. Their narratives reveal how the code of the street, informal rules that govern interpersonal violence among poor inner-city Black male youths, increases the likelihood of violent victimization. Youth offenders detained in adult jails have the lowest rate of service provision among all jail populations. We have addressed how services for youth offenders can be improved to reduce the pathways to early violent death.

Rare missense coding variants in oxytocin receptor (OXTR) in schizophrenia cases are associated with early trauma exposure, cognition and emotional processing.

PubMed

Veras, Andre B; Getz, Mara; Froemke, Robert C; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; Alves, Gilberto Sousa; Walsh-Messinger, Julie; Chao, Moses V; Kranz, Thorsten M; Malaspina, Dolores

2018-02-01

Oxytocin is a peptide hormone that influences the integration of social cognition with behavior and affect regulation. Oxytocin also prominently directs the transition of neuronal GABA neurotransmission from excitatory to inhibitory after birth. The oxytocin receptor (OXTR) is linked to schizophrenia, a heterogeneous syndrome. Relationships of OXTR polymorphisms with specific clinical features could aid in evaluating any role of oxytocin in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia cases with rare missense coding OXTR single nucleotide variants (SNVs) were identified from a well-characterized sample of cases and controls who were assessed for symptoms, cognition and early life trauma. Five of 48 cases showed rare OXTR variants. Compared to the other cases they had less severe negative symptoms (deficits in emotional expression and motivation) and less severe general psychopathology scores (depression and anxiety). They demonstrated lower nonverbal (performance) than verbal intelligence due to deficient perceptual organization and slow processing speed. They also reported greater early trauma exposure (physical and sexual abuse and emotional trauma). Cases carrying rare OXTR SNVs had less negative and affective symptoms than other cases, but similar psychotic symptoms, along with specific cognitive deficits. The clinical characterization of these cases occurred in association with environmental exposure to early trauma, especially sexual abuse, which may have influenced the expression of schizophrenia in subjects harboring specific SNVs in the OXTR. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimising Use of Electronic Health Records to Describe the Presentation of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Primary Care: A Strategy for Developing Code Lists

PubMed Central

Nicholson, Amanda; Ford, Elizabeth; Davies, Kevin A.; Smith, Helen E.; Rait, Greta; Tate, A. Rosemary; Petersen, Irene; Cassell, Jackie

2013-01-01

Background Research using electronic health records (EHRs) relies heavily on coded clinical data. Due to variation in coding practices, it can be difficult to aggregate the codes for a condition in order to define cases. This paper describes a methodology to develop ‘indicator markers’ found in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA); these are a broader range of codes which may allow a probabilistic case definition to use in cases where no diagnostic code is yet recorded. Methods We examined EHRs of 5,843 patients in the General Practice Research Database, aged ≥30y, with a first coded diagnosis of RA between 2005 and 2008. Lists of indicator markers for RA were developed initially by panels of clinicians drawing up code-lists and then modified based on scrutiny of available data. The prevalence of indicator markers, and their temporal relationship to RA codes, was examined in patients from 3y before to 14d after recorded RA diagnosis. Findings Indicator markers were common throughout EHRs of RA patients, with 83.5% having 2 or more markers. 34% of patients received a disease-specific prescription before RA was coded; 42% had a referral to rheumatology, and 63% had a test for rheumatoid factor. 65% had at least one joint symptom or sign recorded and in 44% this was at least 6-months before recorded RA diagnosis. Conclusion Indicator markers of RA may be valuable for case definition in cases which do not yet have a diagnostic code. The clinical diagnosis of RA is likely to occur some months before it is coded, shown by markers frequently occurring ≥6 months before recorded diagnosis. It is difficult to differentiate delay in diagnosis from delay in recording. Information concealed in free text may be required for the accurate identification of patients and to assess the quality of care in general practice. PMID:23451024

Operational Tsunami Modelling with TsunAWI for the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System: Recent Developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakowsky, N.; Harig, S.; Androsov, A.; Fuchs, A.; Immerz, A.; Schröter, J.; Hiller, W.

2012-04-01

Starting in 2005, the GITEWS project (German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System) established from scratch a fully operational tsunami warning system at BMKG in Jakarta. Numerical simulations of prototypic tsunami scenarios play a decisive role in a priori risk assessment for coastal regions and in the early warning process itself. Repositories with currently 3470 regional tsunami scenarios for GITEWS and 1780 Indian Ocean wide scenarios in support of Indonesia as a Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RTSP) were computed with the non-linear shallow water modell TsunAWI. It is based on a finite element discretisation, employs unstructured grids with high resolution along the coast and includes inundation. This contribution gives an overview on the model itself, the enhancement of the model physics, and the experiences gained during the process of establishing an operational code suited for thousands of model runs. Technical aspects like computation time, disk space needed for each scenario in the repository, or post processing techniques have a much larger impact than they had in the beginning when TsunAWI started as a research code. Of course, careful testing on artificial benchmarks and real events remains essential, but furthermore, quality control for the large number of scenarios becomes an important issue.

The Canonical Immediate Early 3 Gene Product pIE611 of Mouse Cytomegalovirus Is Dispensable for Viral Replication but Mediates Transcriptional and Posttranscriptional Regulation of Viral Gene Products.

PubMed

Rattay, Stephanie; Trilling, Mirko; Megger, Dominik A; Sitek, Barbara; Meyer, Helmut E; Hengel, Hartmut; Le-Trilling, Vu Thuy Khanh

2015-08-01

Transcription of mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) immediate early ie1 and ie3 is controlled by the major immediate early promoter/enhancer (MIEP) and requires differential splicing. Based on complete loss of genome replication of an MCMV mutant carrying a deletion of the ie3-specific exon 5, the multifunctional IE3 protein (611 amino acids; pIE611) is considered essential for viral replication. Our analysis of ie3 transcription resulted in the identification of novel ie3 isoforms derived from alternatively spliced ie3 transcripts. Construction of an IE3-hemagglutinin (IE3-HA) virus by insertion of an in-frame HA epitope sequence allowed detection of the IE3 isoforms in infected cells, verifying that the newly identified transcripts code for proteins. This prompted the construction of an MCMV mutant lacking ie611 but retaining the coding capacity for the newly identified isoforms ie453 and ie310. Using Δie611 MCMV, we demonstrated the dispensability of the canonical ie3 gene product pIE611 for viral replication. To determine the role of pIE611 for viral gene expression during MCMV infection in an unbiased global approach, we used label-free quantitative mass spectrometry to delineate pIE611-dependent changes of the MCMV proteome. Interestingly, further analysis revealed transcriptional as well as posttranscriptional regulation of MCMV gene products by pIE611. Cytomegaloviruses are pathogenic betaherpesviruses persisting in a lifelong latency from which reactivation can occur under conditions of immunosuppression, immunoimmaturity, or inflammation. The switch from latency to reactivation requires expression of immediate early genes. Therefore, understanding of immediate early gene regulation might add insights into viral pathogenesis. The mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) immediate early 3 protein (611 amino acids; pIE611) is considered essential for viral replication. The identification of novel protein isoforms derived from alternatively spliced ie3 transcripts prompted the construction of an MCMV mutant lacking ie611 but retaining the coding capacity for the newly identified isoforms ie453 and ie310. Using Δie611 MCMV, we demonstrated the dispensability of the canonical ie3 gene product pIE611 for viral replication and delineated pIE611-dependent changes of the MCMV proteome. Our findings have fundamental implications for the interpretation of earlier studies on pIE3 functions and highlight the complex orchestration of MCMV gene regulation. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Parallelization of Finite Element Analysis Codes Using Heterogeneous Distributed Computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ozguner, Fusun

1996-01-01

Performance gains in computer design are quickly consumed as users seek to analyze larger problems to a higher degree of accuracy. Innovative computational methods, such as parallel and distributed computing, seek to multiply the power of existing hardware technology to satisfy the computational demands of large applications. In the early stages of this project, experiments were performed using two large, coarse-grained applications, CSTEM and METCAN. These applications were parallelized on an Intel iPSC/860 hypercube. It was found that the overall speedup was very low, due to large, inherently sequential code segments present in the applications. The overall execution time T(sub par), of the application is dependent on these sequential segments. If these segments make up a significant fraction of the overall code, the application will have a poor speedup measure.

A Dual Origin of the Xist Gene from a Protein-Coding Gene and a Set of Transposable Elements

PubMed Central

Elisaphenko, Eugeny A.; Kolesnikov, Nikolay N.; Shevchenko, Alexander I.; Rogozin, Igor B.; Nesterova, Tatyana B.; Brockdorff, Neil; Zakian, Suren M.

2008-01-01

X-chromosome inactivation, which occurs in female eutherian mammals is controlled by a complex X-linked locus termed the X-inactivation center (XIC). Previously it was proposed that genes of the XIC evolved, at least in part, as a result of pseudogenization of protein-coding genes. In this study we show that the key XIC gene Xist, which displays fragmentary homology to a protein-coding gene Lnx3, emerged de novo in early eutherians by integration of mobile elements which gave rise to simple tandem repeats. The Xist gene promoter region and four out of ten exons found in eutherians retain homology to exons of the Lnx3 gene. The remaining six Xist exons including those with simple tandem repeats detectable in their structure have similarity to different transposable elements. Integration of mobile elements into Xist accompanies the overall evolution of the gene and presumably continues in contemporary eutherian species. Additionally we showed that the combination of remnants of protein-coding sequences and mobile elements is not unique to the Xist gene and is found in other XIC genes producing non-coding nuclear RNA. PMID:18575625

The historical biogeography of Mammalia

PubMed Central

Springer, Mark S.; Meredith, Robert W.; Janecka, Jan E.; Murphy, William J.

2011-01-01

Palaeobiogeographic reconstructions are underpinned by phylogenies, divergence times and ancestral area reconstructions, which together yield ancestral area chronograms that provide a basis for proposing and testing hypotheses of dispersal and vicariance. Methods for area coding include multi-state coding with a single character, binary coding with multiple characters and string coding. Ancestral reconstruction methods are divided into parsimony versus Bayesian/likelihood approaches. We compared nine methods for reconstructing ancestral areas for placental mammals. Ambiguous reconstructions were a problem for all methods. Important differences resulted from coding areas based on the geographical ranges of extant species versus the geographical provenance of the oldest fossil for each lineage. Africa and South America were reconstructed as the ancestral areas for Afrotheria and Xenarthra, respectively. Most methods reconstructed Eurasia as the ancestral area for Boreoeutheria, Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria. The coincidence of molecular dates for the separation of Afrotheria and Xenarthra at approximately 100 Ma with the plate tectonic sundering of Africa and South America hints at the importance of vicariance in the early history of Placentalia. Dispersal has also been important including the origins of Madagascar's endemic mammal fauna. Further studies will benefit from increased taxon sampling and the application of new ancestral area reconstruction methods. PMID:21807730

Sequenced Instructional Programs in Physical Education for the Handicapped.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Dorothy B.; And Others

The curriculum guidelines for a comprehensive physical education program consist of developmentally sequenced skills and instructional activities appropriate for handicapped children from early preschool age (18 months) through high school. Suggested activities and materials are arranged in color-coded sections on motor and movement skills,…

Brownfields Samoa Peninsula, CA: Sustainable Solutions for Historic Houses in Northern California, A Voluntary Green Code & Green Rehabilitation Manual

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This manual was created to help homeowners choose sustainable strategies for restoring and rehabilitating many of the smaller, Victorian-style, wood-framed houses built in Northern California during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Temporal regulation of expression of immediate early and second phase transcripts by endothelin-1 in cardiomyocytes

PubMed Central

Cullingford, Timothy E; Markou, Thomais; Fuller, Stephen J; Giraldo, Alejandro; Pikkarainen, Sampsa; Zoumpoulidou, Georgia; Alsafi, Ali; Ekere, Collins; Kemp, Timothy J; Dennis, Jayne L; Game, Laurence; Sugden, Peter H; Clerk, Angela

2008-01-01

Background Endothelin-1 stimulates Gq protein-coupled receptors to promote proliferation in dividing cells or hypertrophy in terminally differentiated cardiomyocytes. In cardiomyocytes, endothelin-1 rapidly (within minutes) stimulates protein kinase signaling, including extracellular-signal regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2; though not ERK5), with phenotypic/physiological changes developing from approximately 12 h. Hypertrophy is associated with changes in mRNA/protein expression, presumably consequent to protein kinase signaling, but the connections between early, transient signaling events and developed hypertrophy are unknown. Results Using microarrays, we defined the early transcriptional responses of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes to endothelin-1 over 4 h, differentiating between immediate early gene (IEG) and second phase RNAs with cycloheximide. IEGs exhibited differential temporal and transient regulation, with expression of second phase RNAs within 1 h. Of transcripts upregulated at 30 minutes encoding established proteins, 28 were inhibited >50% by U0126 (which inhibits ERK1/2/5 signaling), with 9 inhibited 25-50%. Expression of only four transcripts was not inhibited. At 1 h, most RNAs (approximately 67%) were equally changed in total and polysomal RNA with approximately 17% of transcripts increased to a greater extent in polysomes. Thus, changes in expression of most protein-coding RNAs should be reflected in protein synthesis. However, approximately 16% of transcripts were essentially excluded from the polysomes, including some protein-coding mRNAs, presumably inefficiently translated. Conclusion The phasic, temporal regulation of early transcriptional responses induced by endothelin-1 in cardiomyocytes indicates that, even in terminally differentiated cells, signals are propagated beyond the primary signaling pathways through transcriptional networks leading to phenotypic changes (that is, hypertrophy). Furthermore, ERK1/2 signaling plays a major role in this response. PMID:18275597

A long non-coding RNA expression profile can predict early recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection.

PubMed

Lv, Yufeng; Wei, Wenhao; Huang, Zhong; Chen, Zhichao; Fang, Yuan; Pan, Lili; Han, Xueqiong; Xu, Zihai

2018-06-20

The aim of this study was to develop a novel long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression signature to accurately predict early recurrence for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection. Using expression profiles downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, we identified multiple lncRNAs with differential expression between early recurrence (ER) group and non-early recurrence (non-ER) group of HCC. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) for logistic regression models were used to develop a lncRNA-based classifier for predicting ER in the training set. An independent test set was used to validated the predictive value of this classifier. Futhermore, a co-expression network based on these lncRNAs and its highly related genes was constructed and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses of genes in the network were performed. We identified 10 differentially expressed lncRNAs, including 3 that were upregulated and 7 that were downregulated in ER group. The lncRNA-based classifier was constructed based on 7 lncRNAs (AL035661.1, PART1, AC011632.1, AC109588.1, AL365361.1, LINC00861 and LINC02084), and its accuracy was 0.83 in training set, 0.87 in test set and 0.84 in total set. And ROC curve analysis showed the AUROC was 0.741 in training set, 0.824 in the test set and 0.765 in total set. A functional enrichment analysis suggested that the genes of which is highly related to 4 lncRNAs were involved in immune system. This 7-lncRNA expression profile can effectively predict the early recurrence after surgical resection for HCC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Connectivity Reveals Sources of Predictive Coding Signals in Early Visual Cortex During Processing of Visual Optic Flow.

PubMed

Schindler, Andreas; Bartels, Andreas

2017-05-01

Superimposed on the visual feed-forward pathway, feedback connections convey higher level information to cortical areas lower in the hierarchy. A prominent framework for these connections is the theory of predictive coding where high-level areas send stimulus interpretations to lower level areas that compare them with sensory input. Along these lines, a growing body of neuroimaging studies shows that predictable stimuli lead to reduced blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses compared with matched nonpredictable counterparts, especially in early visual cortex (EVC) including areas V1-V3. The sources of these modulatory feedback signals are largely unknown. Here, we re-examined the robust finding of relative BOLD suppression in EVC evident during processing of coherent compared with random motion. Using functional connectivity analysis, we show an optic flow-dependent increase of functional connectivity between BOLD suppressed EVC and a network of visual motion areas including MST, V3A, V6, the cingulate sulcus visual area (CSv), and precuneus (Pc). Connectivity decreased between EVC and 2 areas known to encode heading direction: entorhinal cortex (EC) and retrosplenial cortex (RSC). Our results provide first evidence that BOLD suppression in EVC for predictable stimuli is indeed mediated by specific high-level areas, in accord with the theory of predictive coding. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effectiveness of teaching International Caries Detection and Assessment System II and its e-learning program to freshman dental students on occlusal caries detection

PubMed Central

El-Damanhoury, Hatem M.; Fakhruddin, Kausar Sadia; Awad, Manal A.

2014-01-01

Objective: To assess the feasibility of teaching International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) II and its e-learning program as tools for occlusal caries detection to freshmen dental students in comparison to dental graduates with 2 years of experience. Materials and Methods: Eighty-four freshmen and 32 dental graduates examined occlusal surfaces of molars/premolars (n = 72) after a lecture and a hands-on workshop. The same procedure was repeated after 1 month following the training with ICDAS II e-learning program. Validation of ICDAS II codes was done histologically. Intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility of ICDAS II severity scores were assessed before and after e-learning using (Fleiss's kappa). Results: The kappa values showed inter-examiner reproducibility ranged from 0.53 (ICDAS II code cut off ≥ 1) to 0.70 (ICDAS II code cut off ≥ 3) by undergraduates and 0.69 (ICDAS II code cut off ≥ 1) to 0.95 (ICDAS II code cut off ≥ 3) by graduates. The inter-examiner reproducibility ranged from 0.64 (ICDAS II code cut off ≥ 1) to 0.89 (ICDAS II code cut off ≥ 3). No statistically significant difference was found between both groups in intra-examiner agreements for assessing ICDAS II codes. A high statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.01) in correct identification of codes 1, 2, and 4 from before to after e-learning were observed in both groups. The bias indices for the undergraduate group were higher than those of the graduate group. Conclusions: Early exposure of students to ICDAS II is a valuable method of teaching caries detection and its e-learning program significantly improves their caries diagnostic skills. PMID:25512730

The fourfold way of the genetic code.

PubMed

Jiménez-Montaño, Miguel Angel

2009-11-01

We describe a compact representation of the genetic code that factorizes the table in quartets. It represents a "least grammar" for the genetic language. It is justified by the Klein-4 group structure of RNA bases and codon doublets. The matrix of the outer product between the column-vector of bases and the corresponding row-vector V(T)=(C G U A), considered as signal vectors, has a block structure consisting of the four cosets of the KxK group of base transformations acting on doublet AA. This matrix, translated into weak/strong (W/S) and purine/pyrimidine (R/Y) nucleotide classes, leads to a code table with mixed and unmixed families in separate regions. A basic difference between them is the non-commuting (R/Y) doublets: AC/CA, GU/UG. We describe the degeneracy in the canonical code and the systematic changes in deviant codes in terms of the divisors of 24, employing modulo multiplication groups. We illustrate binary sub-codes characterizing mutations in the quartets. We introduce a decision-tree to predict the mode of tRNA recognition corresponding to each codon, and compare our result with related findings by Jestin and Soulé [Jestin, J.-L., Soulé, C., 2007. Symmetries by base substitutions in the genetic code predict 2' or 3' aminoacylation of tRNAs. J. Theor. Biol. 247, 391-394], and the rearrangements of the table by Delarue [Delarue, M., 2007. An asymmetric underlying rule in the assignment of codons: possible clue to a quick early evolution of the genetic code via successive binary choices. RNA 13, 161-169] and Rodin and Rodin [Rodin, S.N., Rodin, A.S., 2008. On the origin of the genetic code: signatures of its primordial complementarity in tRNAs and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Heredity 100, 341-355], respectively.

Accounting for overdispersion when determining primary care outliers for the identification of chronic kidney disease: learning from the National Chronic Kidney Disease Audit.

PubMed

Kim, Lois G; Caplin, Ben; Cleary, Faye; Hull, Sally A; Griffith, Kathryn; Wheeler, David C; Nitsch, Dorothea

2017-04-01

Early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) facilitates best management in primary care. Testing coverage of those at risk and translation into subsequent diagnostic coding will impact on observed CKD prevalence. Using initial data from 915 general practitioner (GP) practices taking part in a UK national audit, we seek to apply appropriate methods to identify outlying practices in terms of CKD stages 3-5 prevalence and diagnostic coding. We estimate expected numbers of CKD stages 3-5 cases in each practice, adjusted for key practice characteristics, and further inflate the control limits to account for overdispersion related to unobserved factors (including unobserved risk factors for CKD, and between-practice differences in coding and testing). GP practice prevalence of coded CKD stages 3-5 ranges from 0.04 to 7.8%. Practices differ considerably in coding of CKD in individuals where CKD is indicated following testing (ranging from 0 to 97% of those with and glomerular filtration rate  <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ). After adjusting for risk factors and overdispersion, the number of  'extreme' practices is reduced from 29 to 2.6% for the low-coded CKD prevalence outcome, from 21 to 1% for high-uncoded CKD stage and from 22 to 2.4% for low total (coded and uncoded) CKD prevalence. Thirty-one practices are identified as outliers for at least one of these outcomes. These can then be categorized into practices needing to address testing, coding or data storage/transfer issues. GP practice prevalence of coded CKD shows wide variation. Accounting for overdispersion is crucial in providing useful information about outlying practices for CKD prevalence. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Final Technical Report for GO17004 Regulatory Logic: Codes and Standards for the Hydrogen Economy

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

Nakarado, Gary L.

The objectives of this project are to: develop a robust supporting research and development program to provide critical hydrogen behavior data and a detailed understanding of hydrogen combustion and safety across a range of scenarios, needed to establish setback distances in building codes and minimize the overall data gaps in code development; support and facilitate the completion of technical specifications by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for gaseous hydrogen refueling (TS 20012) and standards for on-board liquid (ISO 13985) and gaseous or gaseous blend (ISO 15869) hydrogen storage by 2007; support and facilitate the effort, led by the NFPA,more » to complete the draft Hydrogen Technologies Code (NFPA 2) by 2008; with experimental data and input from Technology Validation Program element activities, support and facilitate the completion of standards for bulk hydrogen storage (e.g., NFPA 55) by 2008; facilitate the adoption of the most recently available model codes (e.g., from the International Code Council [ICC]) in key regions; complete preliminary research and development on hydrogen release scenarios to support the establishment of setback distances in building codes and provide a sound basis for model code development and adoption; support and facilitate the development of Global Technical Regulations (GTRs) by 2010 for hydrogen vehicle systems under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations and Working Party on Pollution and Energy Program (ECE-WP29/GRPE); and to Support and facilitate the completion by 2012 of necessary codes and standards needed for the early commercialization and market entry of hydrogen energy technologies.« less

A critical analysis of the accuracy of several numerical techniques for combustion kinetic rate equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Radhadrishnan, Krishnan

1993-01-01

A detailed analysis of the accuracy of several techniques recently developed for integrating stiff ordinary differential equations is presented. The techniques include two general-purpose codes EPISODE and LSODE developed for an arbitrary system of ordinary differential equations, and three specialized codes CHEMEQ, CREK1D, and GCKP4 developed specifically to solve chemical kinetic rate equations. The accuracy study is made by application of these codes to two practical combustion kinetics problems. Both problems describe adiabatic, homogeneous, gas-phase chemical reactions at constant pressure, and include all three combustion regimes: induction, heat release, and equilibration. To illustrate the error variation in the different combustion regimes the species are divided into three types (reactants, intermediates, and products), and error versus time plots are presented for each species type and the temperature. These plots show that CHEMEQ is the most accurate code during induction and early heat release. During late heat release and equilibration, however, the other codes are more accurate. A single global quantity, a mean integrated root-mean-square error, that measures the average error incurred in solving the complete problem is used to compare the accuracy of the codes. Among the codes examined, LSODE is the most accurate for solving chemical kinetics problems. It is also the most efficient code, in the sense that it requires the least computational work to attain a specified accuracy level. An important finding is that use of the algebraic enthalpy conservation equation to compute the temperature can be more accurate and efficient than integrating the temperature differential equation.

Recent evidence for evolution of the genetic code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osawa, S.; Jukes, T. H.; Watanabe, K.; Muto, A.

1992-01-01

The genetic code, formerly thought to be frozen, is now known to be in a state of evolution. This was first shown in 1979 by Barrell et al. (G. Barrell, A. T. Bankier, and J. Drouin, Nature [London] 282:189-194, 1979), who found that the universal codons AUA (isoleucine) and UGA (stop) coded for methionine and tryptophan, respectively, in human mitochondria. Subsequent studies have shown that UGA codes for tryptophan in Mycoplasma spp. and in all nonplant mitochondria that have been examined. Universal stop codons UAA and UAG code for glutamine in ciliated protozoa (except Euplotes octacarinatus) and in a green alga, Acetabularia. E. octacarinatus uses UAA for stop and UGA for cysteine. Candida species, which are yeasts, use CUG (leucine) for serine. Other departures from the universal code, all in nonplant mitochondria, are CUN (leucine) for threonine (in yeasts), AAA (lysine) for asparagine (in platyhelminths and echinoderms), UAA (stop) for tyrosine (in planaria), and AGR (arginine) for serine (in several animal orders) and for stop (in vertebrates). We propose that the changes are typically preceded by loss of a codon from all coding sequences in an organism or organelle, often as a result of directional mutation pressure, accompanied by loss of the tRNA that translates the codon. The codon reappears later by conversion of another codon and emergence of a tRNA that translates the reappeared codon with a different assignment. Changes in release factors also contribute to these revised assignments. We also discuss the use of UGA (stop) as a selenocysteine codon and the early history of the code.

Delivering Science on Day One

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

Williams, Timothy J.

2016-03-01

While benchmarking software is useful for testing the performance limits and stability of Argonne National Laboratory’s new Theta supercomputer, there is no substitute for running real applications to explore the system’s potential. The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility’s Theta Early Science Program, modeled after its highly successful code migration program for the Mira supercomputer, has one primary aim: to deliver science on day one. Here is a closer look at the type of science problems that will be getting early access to Theta, a next-generation machine being rolled out this year.

Another self-similar blast wave: Early time asymptote with shock heated electrons and high thermal conductivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cox, D. P.; Edgar, R. J.

1982-01-01

Accurate approximations are presented for the self-similar structures of nonradiating blast waves with adiabatic ions, isothermal electrons, and equation ion and electron temperatures at the shock. The cases considered evolve in cavities with power law ambient densities (including the uniform density case) and have negligible external pressure. The results provide the early time asymptote for systems with shock heating of electrons and strong thermal conduction. In addition, they provide analytical results against which two fluid numerical hydrodynamic codes can be checked.

Does Daltonism Influence Young Children's Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suero, M.I.; Perez, A.L.; Diaz, F.; Montanero, M.; Pardo, P.J.; Gil, J.; Palomino, M.I.

2005-01-01

Anomalies in colour vision constitute a particular type of sensory deficiency whose influence in educational contexts has attracted surprisingly little research attention given its ubiquitous use in various learning activities as a code, an aid, or even as the focus of the activity itself, especially during early education. We here describe a…

Towards a Sustainability Reporting Guideline in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber, Sandra; Bassen, Alexander

2018-01-01

Purpose: So far, sustainability reporting in higher education is in a very early stage--partly, because of the lack of an established and widely recognized sustainability reporting framework for higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, a modification of the sustainability code for the use in the higher education context was recently…

Code-Switching Explorations in Teaching Early Number Sense

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arias de Sanchez, Gabriela; Gabriel, Martha A.; Anderson, Ann; Turnbull, Miles

2018-01-01

New semiotic perspectives about the role of language in mathematics education indicate that teachers have a fundamental role in communicating and teaching the language that carries mathematical meaning. However, little is known about how educators of young children understand and use the language of mathematics. This study addresses this void.…

The Co-Regulation of Emotions between Mothers and Their Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulsrud, Amanda C.; Jahromi, Laudan B.; Kasari, Connie

2010-01-01

Thirty-four toddlers with autism and their mothers participated in an early intervention targeting joint engagement. Across the 24 intervention sessions, any significant distress episode in the child was coded for emotion regulation outcomes including child negativity, child emotion self-regulation, and mother emotion co-regulation. Results…

78 FR 13496 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Prevention of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-28

... modifies Delaware's PSD program at 7 DE Admin. Code 1125 to establish appropriate emission thresholds for..., Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds. Dated: February 8, 2013. W.C. Early, Acting Regional...-approved baseline dates for sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide in the definition of...

Coding & Robotics for Young Children? You Bet!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadzikowski, Ann

2016-01-01

In 2012, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) revised its position statement regarding the appropriate use of technology in early childhood classrooms. The increased accessibility of touch screens on tablets and smart phones led to this revision, which moves the conversation from the question of "When shall we…

Breaking the Code: Changing Our Thinking about Children's Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan, Sandra

2011-01-01

It is the responsibility of educators and architects of classrooms to create spaces that promote positive relationships between people and their environments. Life in early childhood classrooms organizes and clusters around the relationships between adults, children, and the space they occupy. Classrooms become living systems, which experience…

Early Warning Signs of Suicide in Service Members Who Engage in Unauthorized Acts of Violence

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

observable to military law enforcement personnel. Statistical analyses tested for differences in warning signs between cases of suicide, violence, or...indicators, (2) Behavioral Change indicators, (3) Social indicators, and (4) Occupational indicators. Statistical analyses were conducted to test for...6 Coding _________________________________________________________________ 7 Statistical

Abbott Preschool: 10 Years Later

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donovan, Laura Fasbach

2009-01-01

When New Jersey set out to level the educational playing field between the state's poorest and wealthiest school districts a decade ago, one of the mission's most important components was ensuring teacher quality met the same high standards regardless of zip code. Research shows, a teacher's own education and training in early childhood education…

Communication Media in Ancient Cultures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jabusch, David M.

Interest in early means of communication and in the uses and kinds of media that existed in ancient cultures is starting to grow among communication scholars. Conversation analysis of these cultures is obviously impossible, so that the emphasis must rest with material cultural artifacts. Many ancient cultures used non-verbal codes for dyadic…

77 FR 14369 - Granting of Request for Early Termination of the Waiting Period Under the Premerger Notification...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-09

... Partners HI, L.P.; The Pep Boys- Manny, Moe & Jack; Gores Capital Partners III, L.P. 02/23/2012 20120338 G.... Donald S. Clark, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2012-5606 Filed 3-8-12; 8:45 a.m.] BILLING CODE 6750-01-M ...